Kiss Of Death (Are You Afraid Of The Dark)

26

The edge of the forest came into view just as Rachel finished explaining to the new friends that just joined their group about everything that they had done without them. Gabby and Connor already knew that Sardo found them because they had been there for that, but they didn't know that there was a special spell that Rachel and the rest of her remaining friends had tried to use but didn't work right. As they were walking together, Connor kept glancing around while wringing his hands, a terrified look on his pale face. Rachel felt bad for him, but she didn't say anything to him about it. She continued on with her story instead, allowing Gabby to take care of him by holding his hand and softly whispering to him.

Every few minutes, Seth interrupted Rachel to ask her questions about everything that had happened since he went missing. She was starting to get annoyed with him since he technically heard some parts of the story while he was possessed by the spirit of the Ghastly Grinner, but she wasn't going to tell him to stop. He didn't look like he was afraid, but she didn't want to yell at him and draw bad people toward them. Besides, she didn't want to accidentally get Seth and Hanna on her bad side when they were just becoming friends.

She stumbled over some twigs as she finally exited the forest, heading into a small opening that looked like it extended farther than what her eyes could see. Looking above her, the sky was dotted with buzzing stars and a strange shaped moon that kept blinking in and out, flickering like there was something flying around it. At least they could see each other. That was the thing Rachel was most grateful for right now, and she didn't even care that it was not exactly as bright as she had wanted. 

Rachel fell to the ground, running a hand over her face. She heard her friends do the same thing, but she knew that she shouldn't rest for a very long time. The last time that happened, something bad happened to her. She couldn't remember what had happened since the days were blending together, but still. It wasn't safe for any of them here in the Land of Scary Stories. They needed to find their friends and figure out how to get out before something worse happened to them.

Her eyes fluttered shut, almost like she was going to go to sleep. That would be the first time in such a long time that she would be able to fall asleep, and it was probably because she was surrounded by the warmth of her friends who were all laying so close to each other so they wouldn't get lost. Her breathing slowed down, and for once, she fell asleep without any nightmares haunting her.

---

"What's our plan?" Rachel asked after she woke up from her little nap. She wasn't sure how long she had been sleeping, but she felt so rested that she was ready to travel through this realm until she found the rest of their friends. All of them sat in a circle on the ground as they figured out their game plan. "We need to find Gavin, Luke, Graham, and Jai, and then figure out how to get out of here."

"We aren't sure if those four have found each other or not," Louise said with a quick shake of her head. Her damp hair fell into her face, and she pushed it out of the way so she could see the rest of her friends. "Does that mean we need to look for each of them separately? Or hope they found each other and are looking for us, too?"

"I think we just have to assume that they are alone," Hanna said to them. She shrugged like she didn't believe that the four boys could find their way to each other. She was probably right because it seemed like all of them would get stuck in a paper bag. "What if they're trapped in the forest, though? That place seems like it goes on forever, and we barely made it out without getting hurt."

"This doesn't sound good at all," Adam said softly. He had his head resting on his knees with his arms wrapped around his shins. "We have nothing. We know nothing about this place. Creatures from people's nightmares live here and haunt us. What else are we supposed to do besides survive?"