Kiss Of Death (Are You Afraid Of The Dark)

13

The car hurtled forward, trying to gain distance between them and Argento as fast as possible. Reds and oranges painted the sky as the sun peeked above the horizon, bathing Rachel in warm light. She shielded her eyes from the intense sun, wishing she could enjoy the beauty of the new day dawning. Instead, she was constantly looking out from her window to make sure that they weren't being followed by Hideo or whoever was hunting them.

Everyone was silent in the van as Gabby drove on and on along the highway. The only sound that penetrated the silence was the music softly playing from the radio, murmuring to them about the joys of love and the loneliness of the heart. Rachel could relate to the latter. In a group of people, she always felt like she was the loneliest creature on earth. Maybe it was her dark tendencies that made her think that way. Whatever the reason was, she had been lonely for a long time and was used to it by now.

A crick in her neck flared up when she glanced back out the window. They were on a four-lane highway, heading somewhere other than Shadow Bay and Argento. A large semi was trying to overtake them on the right side, and Rachel stared at the trailer of the semi. The white of the cargo allowed the sun to reflect off of it, and for a second there, she was completly blinded. A dark thought crossed her mind, asking her what would happen if the semi rolled on them. 

Would it be better to be dead than alive? Rachel knew the correct answer to that, but in the darkness of her mind, she thought that dying would save her from what was tormenting her in her life. She would be away from the nightmares of Mr. Tophat. She would be away from the loneliness she felt. She would be away from anything dark and scary that was associated with growing up. Death was her easy way out from everything that went bump in the night. 

And then reality crashed down on top of her head. She wasn't ready to die yet. She had her whole life ahead of her, and it was hopefully brighter than what she was going through right now. She deflated in her seat, her eyes fluttering shut. She had never thought like that before. It wasn't normal for Rachel, and that scared her. There was something dark wrapping itself around her heart, bringing her lower and lower into her fears and unnatural thoughts. 

She was afraid of who she was becoming. Rachel could see herself in her mind's eye drowning in the depths of an ocean of lies, terrors, and hatred. No one would save her from herself, and maybe it was better that way. She was used to be alone; she was used to saving herself. But what about when her friends helped her defeat Mr. Tophat? What was that if she was always saving herself? Or was she just lying to herself about being her own savior to get her to still claim that she was lonely?

Rachel knew that she should tell someone about these intrusive thoughts. Though, she could blame them on the situation that they were in. Yeah, that seemed like a good choice, she thought. She was only feeling this way because of her friends going missing and the worry that she might go missing, too. That was it. That was the reason why. Hopefully.

"I need to get gas," Gabby announced. Rachel opened her eyes and was assaulted by the bright sunlight breaking through the early morning clouds. Gabby was already merging in the exit, and a small town rose up from the ground in front of them. "Connor, do you know where we are?"

"Let me look." 

"Did anyone go to sleep?" Graham asked, shifting in his seat. He had another grimace on his face, mirroring the grimace he had in Quinton's car. Rachel couldn't help but smile slightly at him. "Because I was nearly sleep when the biggest urge to pee hit me."

"You didn't go, did you?" Gabby asked, sounding terrified. 

"Of course not. Gosh, do you even know me?"

"Actually, I don't know you very well."

"Oh, right," he said, laughing slightly. "Well, I'd never do that because that's gross."