The Mask Man In The Woods

33.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

I couldn't stop pacing as the day finally ended and the cold, chilly night took its place. I rubbed my neck, looking out the window and then going back to pacing when there was no sign of Tristian.

Drakon had fallen asleep on Tristian's bed, an opened book lying across his chest. I didn't move it out of fear he'll wake up and stay up for the rest of the night. This was the first time he slept two times in a row since Tristian and I rescued him. I didn't want to ruin it.

I stepped out of the room, slowly closing the door behind me. I walked up to the window, hoping I would see him, but there was nothing. I blew out of a breath and ran my fingers through my hair.

I needed to talk to him. I needed to know if I was right. I needed to know the whole story. And only Tristian could tell me.

I couldn't read his entries. I had to hear it from him. I was going to make him talk to me and I was going to listen to everything he had to say—even if it made me question the logic behind it.

I plopped down on the wooden chair and rubbed my face. I leaned back, letting out a muffled groan. I stood up, checking the window for the hundredth time in the past five minutes.

I ran my teeth along my bottom lip, a sense of worriedness sinking into my stomach. Why wasn't he appearing? Did something happen? Did Javon get to him before he could make it here?

That thought made my breath hitch and I lightly shook my head to get that out of my head. Tristian was strong and smart. Surely he would've at least escaped if he couldn't defeat Javon. He helped me escape plenty of times and during those times, I was holding him back. With just him alone, I was positive he was on his way.

To assure myself, I looked out the window. There was nothing. I sighed and was about to back away when there was a rustle among the bushes. I held my breath and inched closer to the window, trying to catch glimpse of what it was.

I was about to brush it off as another squirrel or rat hunting at night when someone pushed past the bushes and paused, resting their hands on their knees as they panted. From the moonlight, I was able to see it was a man and recognized the mask he held in his hand.

I gasped and rushed out of Tristian's home. The front door banged opened and closed itself behind me. I climbed up the steps, pushing the low branches Tristian had placed to hide the entrance.

"Tristian! Oh my god, are you okay? What happened? You had me worried—" I stopped myself when I rounded the corner and came face to face with Javon.

He stood up, his bloody lips twisting until a grin. His white button-down shirt torn and bloody and his pants were caked with dirt and dust. His curly hair was dripping with sweat despite the chill in the air. He reached up and wiped the blood from of his chin, his eyes shifting to black.

"Oh, I'm more than fine, baby!" He exclaimed and held up the mask to his face, his head tilting to the side, "I'm more than fine now that I got you right where I want."

Fear had me rooted in place and I couldn't help my vision blurring as I stared at the bloody mask. I sucked in a sharp breath as Javon dropped the mask from his face.

"Wh...Where's Tristian?" The words came tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop them. Javon's grin grew wider as he headed towards me. Right when the shadow of a branch blocked his face, the shadow monster, the one who attacked me and my son, revealed itself. Its white eyes were wider than usual and its teeth-revealing smile snapped me out of my frozen state.

I turned to run when I bumped into a chest. Before I was to fall, Javon grabbed my wrist in an iron-grip and tsked. My eyes grew wide at his appearance and I looked behind me. There was nothing there.

Javon chuckled at my baffled face and pushed me closer to him. I winced and turned my head away from him.

"You know, it was easy to get rid of your husband. I just had to lure him in the janitor's closet when I was wearing his secretary's body and snapped his neck. He didn't even know it was coming." Javon breathed in my ear.

I stopped my struggling, my blood turning cold. My eyes involuntarily looked at Javon's neck and I was able to see the bruise on his neck. A sob escaped my lips before I could stop it and I pursed my lips, my chin wobbling. Javon pulled back and ran his fingers down my cheek.

"Don't cry, my dear. Javon had it coming. Do you want to know how many times he cheated on you? How many times he slept with your friends back even before you married him? Oh, darling, he wasn't meant for you and you weren't meant for him. I did you a favor killing him. And that secretary." He added as if it was going to make me feel better.

I cupped my mouth with my free hand and shook my head. I pushed at his chest, digging my heels into the dirt to get away from him. Even if before me wasn't Javon, I wanted to get away from him. This couldn't be real. Javon was alive. He was in his body, just trapped—possessed by that Harry monster.

"You're lying!" I shouted, trying to breathe as more sobs raked through my body. Javon circled his arms around my waist and pinned me between a tree and his body. I groaned, arching my back as the sudden pain of being slammed into something hard momentarily replaced my grieving process.

Javon's eye shifted back to normal for a split second before returning to black and he pushed himself against me. He started to breathe harder and he grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking my head back painfully.

"You know, it's been a while since I held you like this. Since I first killed you, I didn't bother touching you. But now... Am I crazy to want to feel your skin against mine?" He asked in a hushed voice. I mustered enough strength and spat in his face, watching it slide down his right eye to his lips. He didn't even flinch as his eyes seemed to roam my face.

"Yes, I'm crazy." He answered himself and slammed his lips against mine.

I muffled out a scream as his teeth bit hard on my lips to draw blood. His tongue disgustingly licked the blood away and my tears that continued to pour from the pain he was causing. His hands slid under my shirt and almost undid my bra when I finally got into the right position. With a newfound strength to escape from him, I sharply brought my knee up between his legs.

He yelped like a puppy and fell to his knees, his hands flying to cup between his legs. My body shook as I grabbed his head and brought my knee up to meet his face. A sickening crack rang through the woods as he fell back, blood pouring out of his nose. I quickly jumped over him and ran towards the entrance of Tristian's home when something caught onto my ankle and tore me down.

I groaned as my body hit the ground and the twigs scraped my bare arms. The pain was quickly replaced with fear as I was being dragged back. Looking over my shoulder, I noticed it was the shadow monster, its teeth snapping at me as it almost lifted me off the ground. I panted hard as I tried to crawl forward, my hands ripping out grass and roots as I tried to find something strong to hold onto.

"You're not going to get away that easily! You're coming with me whether you want to or not!" Javon shouted, his voice distorted and demon-like as he sat on his knees. The air suddenly shifted and the wind picked up as the leaves started to circle around us like the start of a tornado.

I screamed as I was lifted from the ground and hung in midair for a split-second before I fell back down. The wind suddenly stopped and I pushed myself up, brushing my hair back to stare at Javon. His eyes were wide and his mouth was wide open as he fell to his side. A blue glowing arrow was sticking out his chest and the color from his face drained until it was pale.

I looked behind me, a sense of huge relief washing over me as Tristian lowered his crossbow, breathing hard before he noticed me. He dropped his bow and rushed over to me, dropping to his knees as he held my cheeks with his hands.

Before he could ask, I shook my head. My eyes started to burn with tears and I held my hands over his, finally letting out the breath I didn't realize I was holding in. Tristian's one opened eye softened and he leaned his forehead against mine. Without a word being spoken, we both started crying.