Escape {COMPLETE}

~Chapter Four~

I sighed heavily. After the wave of hysteria ebbed away, I was relatively calm. I looked up, my make-up probably all over my face, and I felt my hair falling in its usual messy curls around my head and down past my shoulders. I was sure it was a mess, and smoothed down the top. It gets so frizzy in humidity! I shrugged that thought off my shoulders. I glanced out the window with only an ounce of bravado, staring at the full moon.

Nick's P.O.V.

I felt so stupid for not listening to her.

I wondered if she'd ever forgive me.

She could've gotten seriously hurt! Maybe had to go to the hospital if that sicko got ahold of her! And I just laughed in her face. Well....she looked ok now.....she's just staring out the window, surely daydreaming. I sighed and flicked my hair from my eyes, out of habit. I glanced at Erin, worried about how everyone else felt about this. I tried to ignore the cynical arsehole sitting in the driver's seat, with actual great success. I swept the room, raking my gaze past everyone to try and figure out their emotions. Deanna looked concerned; Hannah looked...oddly calm; Sean looked concerned, as well; Connor looked anxious; and Erin looked upset, worried...I couldn't really tell.

I closed my eyes, leaning my head back against the van wall. I was tired, but I didn't want to fall asleep. The actual reality that some sort of crazy red-eyed man was wandering through the forest so close to where we are? It sent shivers up and down my spine. There was no possible way this could be true. It just couldn't! A killer? Stalker? Whatever it was, there had hardly been anything like that in our town. It just seemed so unreal! Like a horrible nightmare...

Maybe it was just a nightmare. God, I hoped so.

I wondered what that man looked like...she said she could only see his outline in the dark, but still....I wonder if he had some sort of normal life back home, and they didn't know about him stalking teenagers in the fucking woods, for chrissake.

Suddenly, a huge bump made the car lurch into the air, sending us with it. I was bounced up above my seat and landed back down, hard. "Ow, my ass!" I screeched. "Sean, watch the fucking road and don't kill us!"

"I think I just ran over something..." His face was a pale white, his usual cocky smirk gone, replaced with his lips pressed tight together. We instantly sobered up, looking at one another anxiously. "We should go see, sh-shouldn't we?" Erin asked, her voice trembling. "Don't worry, Erin, we can send a few people out to look and keep an eye out for them." I smiled as comfortingly as I could. Hannah nodded. "Yeah, great idea, Nick!" Patrick nervously tapped his fingers on the van's floor. "But, who's gonna go out there?"

Deanna's P.O.V.

I was really scared. I hadn't ever seen Hannah like this before. I always pictured her to be strong, so strong, but only minutes before, she had been crying beside me. She seemed so frail, all of a sudden, so...breakable. I had looked at her, watching her watch the trees outside, when the car suddenly jumped. I thought it was a giant pothole. "What the hell?!" I landed on my ass and it hurt. "Ow, my ass!" Nick yelled. "Sean, watch the fucking road and don't kill us!"

"I think I just ran over something..." He looked really pale, his features showing concern and fear. I felt goosebumps crawling all over my arms and legs, like tiny spiders inching their way up. I shivered. "We should go see, sh-shouldn't we?" Erin asked, sounding as if she might cry. "Don't worry, Erin, we can send a few people out to look and keep an eye out for them." Nick smiled, kind of awkwardly, though I could tell his intentions were sweet. Erin was still unconvinced, however. "Yeah, great idea, Nick!" Hannah added. I heard someone's fingertips drumming against the van's floor, and looked over, to pinpoint the sound. It was Patrick. "But, who's gonna go out there?" He muttered nervously.

"Uh..." I stammered. "Not me!" Erin called. "Erin, if you're staying here, I'll stay with you. I know you hate being alone." Nick murmured sweetly. Erin smiled nervously, somewhat shocked. "I thought you'd be interested in looking..." Nick shook his head. "If I wanna know what it is, I can wait til they tell me when they get back. Besides, you're more important." She sort of looked like she didn't believe him. "Oh, come on, I know you're curious. Just go!" She looked...annoyed. "No, Erin, I'm staying with you! Because you're my friend! I'm trying to be nice!" He seemed hurt. She sighed. "Really? You mean it?" He nodded vigorously, hugging her. "Yes!" She shoved at him. "Oh, get off! You know I hate hugs!" But she was still laughing. 

Hannah had leaned into Patrick for comfort, and he protectively hugged her. They were quietly whispering to each other. Sean twisted his head around and asked, "Well, if we're gonna go search, is anyone even willing to come with me?" Connor and I were the last ones in the van. I had texted Sunshine and asked if he could come, but to no avail. Sunshine was my boyfriend, and had been so since eighth grade. His real name was Chase, but we just called him Sunshine.

"Uh," I stammered. "So, I guess we have to go out there?" After seeing how Hannah was, and hearing her story, I wasn't really up to it. But, I really had no choice. Sean nodded, and I followed Connor out of the side door, Sean walking around from the driver's seat to the front of the car. I nervously tiptoed around the black-and-silver-van, not knowing what I would see.

There was blood. Lots of blood. I hadn't ever seen so much in my whole life! I was really scared now, shivering violently. There was no other way to describe it than gruesome. Horribly, terribly gruesome.

There was a man, sprawled upon the ground. His limbs were splayed out in every direction, leaking blood. I gagged and instinctively backed away. "I'm gettin' back in the damn car, I am NOT staying out here with...that!" I ran to the door of the van, and actually heard footsteps behind me. I thought it was the crazy dude Hannah saw and slammed the door in his face, but Connor's voice came through, faintly muffled by the car walls. "Let me in! God, it's just me!"

I opened the door and he climbed in, looking at me like I was crazy. "Who'd you think it was?" I nervously closed the door. "A killer?" He laughed. "Do I look like I could kill someone?" Everyone in the van echoed what I said, "No!" He looked kind of hurt. "Well, maybe I could hurt someone if I needed to!" This time, I laughed. "Oh, Connor...you've got much to learn." We sat down in our spots, Connor up against the back of the passenger seat and me beside Hannah, against the back wall. Nick and Erin were talking about sports. Random, much...? I thought.

Sean's P.O.V.

I watched as they climbed back in the car, leaving me out here for dead. "Well," I murmured to no one in particular, "glad to see they care if I'm safe or not," Hannah's words rang through my ears, "The first sign of insanity is talking to yourself. The second is answering back!" I sighed. Hannah looked so innocent when she came into the van, crying. I listened to her story and watched the road, and I thought I saw something through the misty night...

I saw two bloodred eyes glaring through the mist, and I don't know if anyone else heard it, but I heard a faint growl. A faint, evil-sounding growl. I sped up towards the eyes. I don't know what I was thinking. Well, yeah I do: I thought, This is what you get for making Hannah cry, you son of a bitch! and I ran over it. I looked down at the ground below me and saw its mangled corpse half-way under the hood. I sighed again and climbed back in the car, wordlessly. Then, to my horror, I heard the crunching of bones and saw a face begin to rise from the front of the hood. All the chattering in the back stopped and we watched in mingled terror.

It slowly stood back up, its red eyes glowing, and cracked its bones back into place. The blood rose up around him, surrounding him, engulfing him in a wave of red. It seeped back into him, yet his face remained pale. "Nice try," it growled. I heard a soft whimper from the back of the van, and looked through the rear view mirror. Hannah had leaned into Patrick and I saw the silent sobs rack her small body.

I felt so bad for her.

The monster leaped onto the hood of the car, hissing like a snake, and I nearly pissed myself. It crawled onto the roof and punched the top, making a fist-shaped dent in the ceiling. I stepped on the gas, revving the engine, and took off. I heard him roll onto the road again, and it hissed in frustration. I didn't quit driving until we got to town again. Hannah's soft sobs echoed through the hollow walls of the van.