"So, you are sure you're not taking me out into the middle of the deep dark woods to murder me?" I questioned in a teasing tone as I pushed some low hanging branches out of my face. I had to squint to see Alec walking a few feet ahead of me. I didn't know how he was navigating through the darkness as well as he was but I had to assume he had been through these woods enough to memorize it.
He flipped a look over his shoulder, white teeth catching the moonlight, "If I was, do you think I would tell you?" I rolled my eyes at his response, lips tugging up in amusement. It was nice to see that he had found himself a sense of humor, "Come on, slowpoke. We're almost there."
"Almost where?" I questioned, trying to get him to slip his secret.
Alec let out a chuckle, sounding further away than before, "Good try but you're just going to have to wait to find out." I grumbled under my breath playfully, stomping after him. The further we went the darker it seemed to get and the harder it was for me to see where Alec was. I could hear him moving in front of me, the ground was muddy from the melting snow.
"Just a little bit further, Mary-Beth!" He sounded excited as he exclaimed, his footsteps picking up and carrying him further away.
"Alec, wait." I called after him, trying to make sure I didn't fall to far behind, getting lost in the woods was not how I wanted to end my evening, "Alec, I can't really see..." I called again, feeling a wave of anxiety that I could no longer see or hear him. I picked up my pace, moving blindly with my hands in front of me. I suddenly wished that I had decided to stay at the party he had brought us to. This was definitely not a smart idea, who knew what could be in these woods.
The sound of rustling movement behind me had me spinning around quickly, heart jolting in my chest, "Alec..." I called out as I took a hesitant step back. I felt the balance of my body shift when my foot came in contact with only air. I let out a small yelp as I pin wheeled, trying to reach out for something to catch myself on. I felt myself falling, my body weightless for a moment before it collided with the earth once more.
I was suddenly tumbling downward, head of heels. I did my best to protect my head from rocks with my hands but it did nothing to help slow my speed. I knew I was going to be covered in bruises tomorrow, but as long as I didn't have brain damage I'd be okay with that. I finally came to a stop with the help of a tree, a groan passing my lips at the ache in my body.
I laid flat on my back, waiting to see if I felt any sharp pains. After I a moment I knew there was no serious damage done, minus a few minor cuts and bruises. I slowly rolled over onto my stomach, letting out another groan as the moment seemed to stress my aching body. I blinked against the darkness, trying to figure out exactly how far I had fallen from the trail that Alec and I had been on. I tilted my head but in the darkness it was hard to gauge the steepness of the slope and if it was even worth attempting to hike back up.
I dropped my face with a heavy sigh, at least Alec would probably notice my absence soon enough and come looking for me. When I lifted my head again, I felt my breath catch in my throat and my blood freeze in my veins.
I was staring into the wide-eyed face of man. His mouth was open as if frozen in a scream of horror. My breathing was coming in short pants as my eyes traveled down to the hole in his throat where something or someone had silenced him by removing his Trachea. My skin broke out into a cold sweat as the memories of the night I had found my parents resurged in my mind. My gaze wandered further, unable to look away from the gruesome sight before me. I dug my fingers in the damp ground, my breath clouding the space in front of my face. The man was missing the bottom half of his body. I could see tattered flesh and organs spilling out onto the Forest floor. A shiver of dread worked up from my toes to the top of my head, the fine hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.
A terrified scream tore from my mouth, all logical thought escaping me. I was simply a fear driven creature at the moment. I found myself screaming more as I scrambled back from the dead man. The need to run away burned in my muscles. All reason had fled from my mind, I was back in my family house and the Dead man was my father. Any moment now the beast would appear to finish what it had started.
Suddenly someone was grabbing onto the back of my coat, yanking me up off the ground. I opened my mouth to let out a scream of surprise but a large hand clamped down over my lips, silencing me. My body trembled in fear as muted sobs echoed into night. I could feel the tears burning in my eyes, I wanted to fight but the fear kept me paralyzed and a willing victim. I felt angry at my own weakness, shaking my head.
"Be quiet." A deep voice grumbled into my ear. I tried to break away, screaming for help into his hand as I started twisting my body one way then the other. I was yanked back against a hard chest, "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Be quiet and stop moving." The stranger growled at me.
I was ready to keep fighting but the sound of movement to our left had me stiffening. My eyes trailed the darkness as my heart beat like a tattoo in my chest. I couldn't see anything but I knew that we weren't alone, there was something moving through the haze of the night. The stranger was almost as stiff as I was, slowly pulling us backwards, "Listen to me carefully..." the tone of his voice had me willing to obey as I kept my eyes searching the darkness, "When I let go of you I want you to run West...the highway is less than a mile from us. Whatever you hear, don't look back. Just keep running."
As much as I didn't know this stranger the thought to of going on alone into the darkness terrified me. I knew what kind of evil moved around in our world, I had seen enough to know monsters were real. I had a good idea what had happened to the dead man, it looked too much like the nightmares in my head.
A chilling howl broke through the silence, pulling a whimper of distress from my chest as the fear threatened to pull me under its influence once more. The stranger gave me a firm shake, "Keep yourself together, Mary-Beth." How did he know my name? The thought brought my mind back from the brink of panic, "Remember what I told you. Don't look back. Run West." The words were clipped and guttural as I was thrown to the side. I stumbled over my own feet for a moment, catching myself on a nearby tree with outstretched hands.
I flipped a quick look over my shoulder to see the back of dark haired male, running in the direction the howl had come from. I stared after him for a moment. Another howl sounding into the night, this one much closer and deeper. That was all I needed to get my body moving. I pushed off the tree and ran West as the stranger had ordered I do. I ran until I could feel the burn in my lungs and the ache in my muscles, and then I ran more. All the while my mind flashed with gruesome images of sharp teeth and glowing eyes, tearing people apart.
"Mary-Beth! Mary-Beth, where are you?" I could hear someone calling my name frantically. Suddenly there were more voices calling out my name. I had completely forgotten about Alec in my fear, my stomach dropped at the thought that something could have happened to him. Something like what happened to the dead man I had found. I charged forward, moving through the trees, feeling the branches snap against my skin and snag my hair. I could feel tears spilling down my cheeks as I followed the sound of the voices, light growing brighter.
I broke through the tree line to see that the highway was lined with several local cop cars. One of the nearby officers taking notice of me, "We got her! She's here!" He called out as he moved towards me with quick steps. I could see the others coming out of the woods, Alec running out ahead of them the moment he saw me.
"Mary-Beth, are you hurt at all?" The officer asked in a calm voice, eyes scanning over me. I shook my head as I took a staggering step forward my legs feeling like Jello.
Alec moved past the Officer assessing me and pulled me into his arms, holding onto me tightly, "I was so worried when I couldn't find you. I called the sheriffs department...We heard your screams and I thought..." His words cut off but I didn't need him to finish because I knew what he thought, "It doesn't really matter. I'm just glad you're okay. I'm so sorry, Mary-Beth. I shouldn't have brought you out here...this is my fault..."
"We're going to have to borrow her from you, son. Make sure she is alright." A firm voice spoke, different from the first officer. Alec let out a low growl that sent a shiver up my spine.
I pulled back from him, turning my face toward to see the sheriff with two Officers flanking him, "I'm alright but there was a man..."
Alec tensed beside me, and the sheriff narrowed his eyes, "A man? Did this man hurt you? Touch you inappropriately?"
I shook my head, "He saved me, I think...there was something else out there, in the woods. It had already killed one man..." I could see it all in my mind all over again, an involuntary tremble moving through me.
The sheriff looked alerted at my words, he turned quickly to the officer on his right, "Go tell the men that we've got a situation on our hands. Looks like it may be another attack...Call the Doc, then call Samson up at the preserve, Bradford is going to want him on this..." I didn't know everything that was happening but I did know that the man that helped me was still out there with that thing.
"You've got to send someone in there with a gun or something..." I pleaded, feeling the panic surge again, "The guy that helped me is still in there."
The sheriff turned towards me with a stern expression, "We'll handle it from here, Mary-Beth. What I want is for you and Mr. Vanderville to talk with my deputy. Tell him everything that happened tonight, even if it seems unimportant." He motioned his head toward the officer on his left. I didn't like the thought of them simply handling in their way, it seemed to lack the urgency something like this should require, "Deputy Durren, why don't you get them a little more comfortable? Let them call their families. I'm sure they're worried..."
************
I stood near the back of Alec's car as the sheriff and deputy, along with the coroner moved about the crime scene. News must have traveled fast by the small crowd that had begun to gather, along the blocked off highway.
I noticed Avery cutting to the front of the crowd. Her eyes scanned the scene with frantic interest before landing on her brother. She ducked under the yellow tape the officers had put up as a barrier, rushing to Alec's side and pulling him into a hug. She didn't seem to care that he was in the middle of a conversation with the deputy who was taking down his side of what had happened. Our eyes met momentarily over his sister's shoulder but I broke the contact as he pushed her away.
I wrapped my arms tighter around myself, as the chill of winter moved through the trees. I should have stayed home with Lucinda. Now, I had one more face to count in my nightmares. I was still worried about the stranger who had saved me, no one had found him. They had only grabbed the dead man, though the search for his lower half was still ongoing.
"Mary-Beth!" I tensed at the sound of my sister's voice, turning to see her pushing through the crowd and moving underneath the caution tape. She pushed at the Officer that tried to stop her, "That's my sister. I'm her legal guardian now get the hell out of my way." She snapped as he stepped out of the way looking slightly alarmed by her forcefulness.
She pulled me into a tight hug, squeezing me hard, "Oh my god, I was so worried when I got the call." Her voice shook. I knew that she must have be reliving her own nightmares of the night our father had died. I found my anger at her was nowhere to be found at the moment. I simply sunk into the warmth and security of her hug, wrapping my own arms around her. I had been so angry and hurt with how our relationship had changed over time. A lot had happened in the years when she was absent. I didn't know if I could forgive her for abandoning me, but I knew that she was the only family I had left.
I didn't want to know what life would be like if she were gone too. The thought of being completely alone pulled a sob from my mouth. I couldn't hold them back. I dug my fingers into the fluffy fabric of her winter coat, burrowing my face into her chest as I let go.
Lucinda held me tighter, "It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay." Her whispered words, were meant to comfort but they did very little. I knew that nothing was ever going to be okay again. I had lost too much, seen too much. It felt like there was something dark growing inside of me, something that had been festering inside of me just waiting for the opportunity to be freed. I was afraid. I was afraid of myself. I was afraid for Lucinda. I was afraid of the monsters that seemed to have followed me to this town, "We're going to take you home. Get you safe."