It Lives In The Woods [BxB]

XI

Picture of Victoria Justice as Britney

Seven

Monday morning begins as a police officer drops me off at front of school, Cody's death still fresh in my mind.

"Thank you for the ride, sir," I thank him as he gives a firm nod before pulling off.

"Seven!" Lucas calls me. I turn to see him along with everyone waiting for me. I rush to him, he opens his arms welcoming as the emotions pour out of me. I break down as I crash into his hard chest, sobbing into his shoulder. He rubs circle patterns on my back and whisper sweet nothings in my ear; I slowly regain my composure. He wipes my tears away as I turn to the rest of my friends.

"Are you okay?" Lily asks, worry painted her face.

"What happened after the party," came from Andy.

"Is...is it true that they found Cody dead at your house?" Stacy asks. I shudder. My mind drifts to Saturday night, the sight of Cody's body hanging from the tree makes me weak in the knees.

"Yes, Lucas dropped me off home, but before I went to bed I looked outside my room window to see his body in the tree, dead," I explain. They're silent, taking in the information.

"Holy crap," Noah whispers. 

"Do your parents know?" Stacy asks. I nod.

"Yeah, they know, mi madre is freaked out. They're trying to catch the next flight back home but I guess it's bad weather over there," I shrug absently. 

"Are you a suspect? My dad won't tell me anything!" Ava asked, visibly shaken. I shake my head in answer.

"The cops said I wasn't. They said...based on his injuries that he fell on the tree," 

"How does someone just falls into a tree?" Noah's brows knit in disbelief.

"What was he, on your roof or something?!" Andy asks.

"The cops think that he was trying to break in..." I say.

"What do you think?" Lucas asks, frowning. I gulp.

"I...I think Redfield murdered him," I answer. Everyone exchanges nervous glances.

"Y-You guys know what this means, r-right?" Lily stutters out a response.

"It means things are getting out of hand, if Mr. Red is willing to kill for us, then there's no telling what he plans on doing next," Lucas explains. He rubs the beads of sweat glistening his forehead as he wraps a securing arm around me. 

"So, we put a stop to this, once and for all. We march into the woods, find Mr. Red's house, and-" 

"That's what started this whole mess in the first place! The more of us get close to him, the powerful he gets, and he's clearly too powerful for us!" Lily sulks, Stacy scoffs.

"Seriously, how are we supposed to fend ourselves against a creepy shadow demon who impales people on trees?!" 

"There's gotta be something we can do! We can't just sit by idly and watch as people die!" Andy exclaims in rage. 

"B-But if he's doing all of this for us...maybe he'll go away if we ignore him!" Lily argues.

"Sure, and maybe if we wish hard enough, the clouds'll turn into cotton candy," Ava scowls in sarcasm. "We can't ignore Mr. Red, we need to understand him. That's the only way we can control the situation in our favor," she offers.

"Great, after everything he's done you want to control him?!" Noah shouts in shock.

"You got a better idea?!" she combats. An idea pops in my head.