SURVIVORS

Ch. 2~ Chase

 Second official update!! Since the Chase and King Creature chapter's tend to be a little shorter and "less plot-juicy", I will update the next two chapters instead of just one.

Last time... We met Lana, one of our main characters, and her friends (AJ, Mort, Marissa, Sam, and Leila [indirectly]). There was plenty of gossip about an alleged animal attack where a girl from school (Aubrey) and a man named Phil died. Lana's mother is MIA, who knows where she might be...??

Okay. Chase chapter time.

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Upper Frankford High School is not where I want to be. It's not that I hate being here, I just really hate a lot of the kids at school. I don't know why the other, more popular guys find happiness in ruining my day, it's just always been that way. I don't know if it's because I'm good at hockey or because I play guitar or because I don't talk much or what... I don't think I'll ever get it. I never feel like I belong anywhere, really, except for when I'm here. Alone with the trees.

I try to stop thinking about all those negative things and just not think at all, just stare up at the trees. They're weird trees. They twist and turn in all directions, creating a masterpiece of nature any way you look at it. At night, their flowers bloom; tiny twinkling sunbursts that glow like a fire, their intense light coming in waves like a candle. They almost completely cover the branches so the tree looks like it is ultra-decorated with Christmas lights. The trees lean over into each other, creating a sort of tunnel for me to walk through. At the end of the trail is an old willow tree. The lightning bugs are attracted to it, so when I leave my house at night, I sit there and watch them. I have never brought anyone here- it is the only place I can escape to.

The leaves and twigs snap and crunch beneath my feet as I make my way toward the willow tree. My head throbs, making it harder for me to become lost in the wonders of the tunnel and easier to remember the beer glass thrown at my head. Dad is a drunk, and likes to take his physical anger out on everyone around him. But I love my dad, abusive or not. And the truth is, I don't know what I would do if anyone reported the physicality of my father. I touch the bloodied cut on my temple from the broken glass. I cover it with my fingers and try to prevent the blood from coming in contact with my scruffy blonde hair. It hasn't been brushed in so long I can barely run my fingers through it. I sink down the trunk of the willow tree and hug my knees. I imagine that Mom is here, stroking my back like she did when I was little to help me sleep. In a normal place, sitting in the middle of the woods wouldn't be such a great idea, but I know I'm safe. No one comes here but me. My eyelids grow heavy. I curl up on the leaves and grass and dirt and fall asleep, dreading the time when I would have to wake up and face my problems. Little did I know that as of tomorrow, there would be something to be afraid of.

I wake to someone shouting my name over and over in desperation. It wasn't so close that the sound jerked me awake, but enough to cut off my sleep.

"Chase! Chase where are you!" It cries. I recognize the voice-- my mom. She is an incredibly nervous person, always fearing the worst, and that isn't really a good thing. I don't want to go home, or stay here and have Mom be wandering around all day trying to find me. I sit up groggily and brush the leaves out of my hair with my hand. Even for a nervous person like her, I am surprised that she hasn't gotten used to me leaving in the middle of the night. I do it all the time.

But then again, there was that time when I was twelve and I thought I didn't have a way to get away from my dad besides to end my own life... My mom still doesn't know, I don't think anyone knows. It was late at night, totally dark in the house, and I put everything back right where I'd gotten it. I was so stupid thinking that was my only way out... I never think of doing it again. Ever.