tainted love [ xavier plympton ]

nine

They got out of there, running through the forest back towards the carpark. They ran into Ray, who was covered in blood, and looked quite out of it. Trevor placed a hand on his shoulder, and Ray spun around rapidly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down. It's just us." Trevor soothed, holding his hands out.

"Jesus! Oh, thank God." Ray muttered.

"Are you okay?" Xavier questioned, "You're bleeding. What happened?"

"W-Where's everyone else?" Laurie asked, worried for her other friends.

"We were attacked at the infirmary. Everyone scattered." Ray said quickly, "I got stabbed. Chet was with me, but I lost him. Had to cover myself with dirt and leaves to hide."

"What about Brooke?" Montana asked.

"Last time I saw her, she was with Rita."

"Oh no," Xavier muttered, and Laurie felt her stomach drop.

"What?"

"Rita is not Rita. We found the real one bound and gagged in the boathouse. She was wearing a nurse's uniform." Xavier explained.

"Jingles killed her." Laurie added.

"Wait wait, what? Then who the hell is with Brooke?" Ray demanded.

"I don't know, but we got to find her." Montana hissed.

"The plan was to go to the parking lot. That's where we should go." Ray said.

"I am not leaving here without Margaret and Bertie." Trevor said slowly.

"Me neither." Xavier added.

"If y'all want to be heroes, that's fine by me, but there is no way in hell that I'm going back. Not with two murderers lurking in the goddamn shadows." Ray snapped.

"Fine, fine. You ever ride a bike before?" Trevor asked.

"Once or twice." Ray responded, and Trevor threw him the keys.

"Okay. There's a call box down the road. Take my Ninja, call the cops, and meet us back at the lot. Montana, you go with him." Ray began to run off, "Hey, hey. The bike is a fickle mistress. Go easy on the throttle or she'll buck you like a wild stallion." Ray nodded, and Montana ran off with him.

Laurie followed Xavier and Trevor in the opposite direction, until Laurie stopped them,

"Do you guys hear that?" She whispered, and the other fells silent. They could hear distant groaning and cries. Slowly, they followed the sound, until they reached a pit. Inside, Chet was laying down with a bloody shoulder. "Chet?" Laurie hissed.

"Laurie?" Chet answered, "Oh, thank God."

"What the hell are you doing down there, man?" Xavier hissed.

"I'm dying! What does it look like I'm doing?" Chet groaned, "There's a stake through my shoulder, I can't move. You got to get me out of here."

"Okay, I'm coming down." Laurie answered, and crouched down.

"No, I'll go." Xavier said quickly.

"No, let Lauren go. She's smaller." Trevor held Xavier back by his shoulder.

"Be careful." He whispered to her, and Laurie smiled up at the blond before lowering herself down into the pit. How she didn't land on a stake was a mystery, and she zigzagged through them to get to Chet.

"It's okay, everything's gonna be okay." She soothed, and crouched in front of him. She instantly felt lightheaded as she saw the stake completely through his shoulder, and she sucked in air through her teeth, her stomach recoiling. "Damn, that looks gnarly."