Kayla is Esme’s lifelong best friend and shares her dark secret of leaving Lillian behind at the fire. Kayla contrasts Esme with her bubbly, upbeat, and dramatic personality. She is described as “boy crazy, loves pink and heels and falls in love about every three minutes” (2), though Esme is prone to falling as well. Kayla was the one who pushed Lillian, but unlike Esme, she sees it as an innocent act of childhood fear, rather than something she should feel guilty about forever. Kayla is less willing to reflect on guilt, pushing it down rather than dealing with it and wanting the past to stay there. While Esme struggles with moral responsibility, Kayla leans into avoidance, resisting any accountability. Kayla was involved in a car accident in which her nana died, and ever since, she is terrified of all sources of danger.

In the story’s exposition, Kayla dismisses Esme’s theories about Lillian, but slowly she begins to come around, especially as the threats become personal and undeniable. Her anxiety is often physical, while Esme’s is mental; Esme can tell Kayla is nervous when she starts getting clumsy, which makes her fear feel real and physical. Kayla and Esme go through a series of conflicts throughout their time at camp, mainly over Esme’s continued “obsession” (as Kayla calls it) with Lillian, and Kayla’s desire to just have fun. These conflicts demonstrate The Effects of Fear on Human Bonds, as it nearly threatens their friendship. Despite her earlier denial, Kayla becomes supportive, especially after Esme is apparently drugged and wakes up in the woods. They have a moment of renewed connection and decide to take control together. Kayla’s most heroic moment comes when Lillian forces her to choose to either kill Esme or be killed herself. Though she initially says she’s choosing herself, she ultimately sacrifices her life. She dies refusing to kill her best friend, a final act of bravery and redemption.

Olly is initially a charming and mysterious side character. He claims to be from Missouri, but later reveals he was raised in Texas near the camp. Esme and Olly take an immediate interest in each other and begin spending time together. They become romantically involved and slowly find out more about each other’s past, edging each of them toward freedom from the weight of secrets, guilt, and lies. Eventually, it is revealed that Olly was at the fire 10 years ago, watching from the shadows as Esme, Kayla, and Lillian interacted. He shares the same guilt and regret as Esme, having also failed to help Lillian. Though he originally got close to Esme out of curiosity and a desire to learn the truth, it appears as though his feelings become genuine. Olly becomes increasingly strange, especially as he begins interrogating Esme, demanding to know what she found in the camp files, and Esme loses trust in him, showing the effects of fear on human bonds. Later, he and Esme agree to work together to stop Lillian, deciding they will confront her if they see her again. Olly shows maturity and bravery in helping remove the deer carcass and attempting to keep Esme safe and calm when Lillian comes to camp. He is shot by Lillian at the end, and though Esme tries to save him, he urges her to save herself instead and dies.

Lillian is the antagonist of the story. She begins as more of a myth or legend, and doubts run throughout the story as to whether Lillian is even responsible for what’s going on. She is a girl who was burned in the forest 10 years earlier after Esme and Kayla left her behind. When she first appeared to them, she claimed to be a runaway and wanted to show them “something… horrible” (74), which turned out to be a mutilated deer. Kayla was terrified and pushed Lillian, who landed in the fire, and the girls then ran. Ever since, they have kept the incident a secret, and returning to camp means facing up to the weight of secrets, guilt, and lies. After the fire, Lillian had to burn down her own home to hide her absence from her abusive father and was left scarred and traumatized. Lillian is responsible for all the incidents at camp, including the graffiti, notes, mutilated animals, and eventually, the murder of Jake, Olly, Rebekah, and Kayla. Her cabin is filled with photographs of Esme and Kayla, revealing how she was stalking them. She kidnaps Esme and Kayla at gunpoint, demands they explain why they ran, and kills Jake, claiming he didn’t care. Eventually, she shoots Olly, Rebekah, and Kayla, and then disappears into the woods, leaving Esme framed for all the murders.

Rebekah is a counselor-in-training who is introduced as someone with a “shy nature and desire to please” (26), which makes her seem harmless at first. Esme senses there’s something more beneath the surface, especially as Rebekah seems anxious and eager to talk to Esme about personal matters. At one point, Esme suspects Rebekah is Lillian, especially after seeing burn marks on her body. Rebekah was also bullied as a child, which is why she ends up sympathizing with Lillian. In the end, Rebekah admits to helping Lillian at first, believing in her cause but never intending for things to go so far. Rebekah is shot by Lillian, and her decision to support Lillian becomes her downfall.