Into the Light

113

I hit the gas pedal hard, pushing it all the way to the floor. My car sped backwards, then I hit the break and turned it 360 degrees, a full circle. I hit the gas again and sped out onto the road. No one said anything for a while, as we sped down the highway. I tried to keep my eyes peeled for cops, but my brain was only concentrating on what had just happened. Apparently, the same was true for the rest of them. "She was watching the house," Sam replied, quietly, almost whispering it. "She knew we had to come back eventually. She was ready for us. But why didn't she attack immediately? Why wait?" It didn't sound like he was talking to us, so I didn't answer. I couldn't, even if I wanted too. I didn't know. "Maybe she had someone else watching it, so when they let her know that we were there, it took her a few minutes to get there," Katrina suggested. I glanced in my rearview to see how they were holding up. They were holding hands, for comfort. Kat was leaning forwards, her head next to Sam's shoulder, while Anna just sat silently and looked out the window. "Maybe," I replied quietly, as I checked the rearview. Was she following us? Should we still head to the funeral? What if we led her straight to the rest of them? "Shit," I groaned and hit the steering wheel. I had to tell Ash. "Hey Siri, call Ash," I said. The ringing started and I waited for him to pick up. "Hey man," he answered. "Are you guys headed this way? It's still a little early but you might need time to find the place. "Hey bro, listen," I replied. "I'm not sure we should come now. We had to go grab some clothes for the funeral at our house and Lil- shit, the Darkness showed up, while we were there. We almost didn't make it out. I don't know if she's following us, but I thought it wouldn't be a good idea to lead her to you guys, ya know?" He was quiet for a minute, before he replied. It was like all of us, inside the car, were holding our breaths waiting for his answer. "She's probably not following you. It's not her style, but just in case, I'm going to send you different directions," he said, finally. "You'll go through an area that is spelled to cause misdirection. The High Priestess cast it, while drawing power from the rest of the Coven. That should work, even on the Darkness. It specifically enhanced to ward off any evil. It'll take a little longer to find us, but this is the safest way. You need to be here tonight." I glanced at Sam for confirmation and he nodded. I sighed. "Okay, I'll be waiting for them. See you soon." I disconnected and waited for the text. When it came in, Sam picked up my phone and opened it. He pressed his finger to the screen a few times, then set it back in the stand. The new directions were set. Sam kept looking behind us, to be sure that no one was following us. I guessed that, if she decided to follow us, we weren't going to know about it, but we were paranoid. "Do you think she's out there," Anna whispered after we had driven in the dark for a while. We were now on an old, pothole ridden, back road that was lined with trees on either side. It felt like we were already driving in the middle of a forest. I glanced in my rearview to meet her fearful gaze. "I don't know," I replied, honestly. "But, I gotta trust that Ash knows what he's talking about. He hasn't steered us wrong yet." She bit her lower lip and nodded, then went back to staring out the window. We didn't even have any music on, so the ride was eerily silent, except for the bumps from the road. "Turn right in 1 mile." When the directions came through my car speakers, we all visibly jerked in surprise. We had been riding straight down our current road for so long, I had almost forgotten what we were doing. Sam and I kept our eyes peeled, as the Maps app indicated we were coming closer. "Is that it?" Sam asked, squinting his eyes. "That can't be it." I slowed the car and looked to where he was pointing. "Turn in 500 feet," the robotic female voice said. "That is it," I said, quietly. "There's nothing else around." It was more of a dirt path, than a road. "This looks like the beginning of a horror movie," Kat whispered, staring at the path with wide, fearful eyes. "My life has been a horror movie, since she took me," Anna whispered. I was now stopped in the middle of the road, trying to decide on whether or not I actually wanted to turn down this so-called road. I knew that I had too. It led into the thick forest, with trees blanketing it. "Here we go," I whispered, then made the turn. The air turned thick, almost suffocating, as we passed the threshold. I tried to speak, but no words would form. I let go of the wheel and grabbed my throat, in a panic. I glanced over to Sam and noticed he was trying to gasp for air. Katrina and Anna were doing the same thing. My lungs burned, desperately needing oxygen. My heart was racing and panic was starting to overtake me. Black dots swam in front of my eyes, letting me know that I was about to pass out. The car kept moving, since I hadn't hit the brakes. Just as I was about to do that, I was able to suck in a deep breath. My ribs ached with the force of the air entering my deprived lungs and I started to cough. The others did the same. "What the fuck was that?" Sam coughed out, his voice hoarse. I shook my head and grabbed my water bottle. After I took a few swallows, I cleared my throat. That felt a little better. "Maybe it was the barrier that Ash was talking about," I replied, hearing the gravel in my own voice. "He could've fucking warned us," Sam grumbled. "You guys okay back there?" He turned around to look at the girls. Katrina had her hand on her chest, taking deep breaths. Anna was gripping the bottom of her seat with both hands, doing the same. The looked up and nodded. "Yeah. That was scary though," Kat replied, rubbing the heel of her hand over her sternum. "You really think it was the spell?" I shrugged with one shoulder, as I navigated the dark dirt road.