BROWN EYES

Fear

"What do you think is going on there." Tara asked as Yolanda continued pounding on the door.

"I really don't care." She said as she began to use both hands on the door. "Cordelia!" She shouted just as another crash was heard. "Cordelia! Come on, open the damn door!"

"I have a key y'know." Tara said quietly, amused at Yolanda's antics,"in the store room, I can get it for you but you seem to like beating this door down."

"And you made me pound at the door? What the heck is wrong with you?" Yolanda shrieked.

Tara dropped the snacks she was carrying and went back to the store room, on a rack just beside the ancient refrigerator was a bunch of keys. She took the one with a capital "T" on it and met Yolanda still outside the toilet door, fuming.

She twisted the key into the hole and opened the door to reveal Cordelia, her head twisted on the floor, blood pooling around her hair, her eye sockets open to nothingness. No eyeballs.

There was a barely audible gasp from Tara as she sucked in a breath and put a hand on her chest as she started heaving. She turned away from the sight only to see Cordelia, a hand in her mouth, her eyes bursting with tears.

Immediately, Tara went to her, wrapping her arms around Yolanda.

Another crash was heard from the front of the store and a very audible "Tara!" from Josh.

"We have to get back there. We have to tell the boys Yolanda! Come on!" Tara said as she dragged Yolanda from the terrible sight.

They ran from there, only to hear an ear splitting scream and then a thump.

"What do you think that was?" Yolanda asked as she shivered uncontrollably in Tara's arms.

"I have no idea, but we have to get Josh and get out of here." Tara said as pounding footsteps filled the store.

Tara held Yolanda closely, afraid the girl would sink to the floor in despair. They rushed to the front of the store, where moments before, they'd been laughing, only to find Duke and Esmeralda on the floor, Esmeralda's eye sockets wide and empty. Blood on the floor.

Tara walked tentatively towards her, kneeling beside her to check her pulse. Outside, the snow continued to fall. The whole town blanketed in white.

"She's dead." Tara sobbed out, her fist in her mouth to stop the scream that was itching to burst out of her throat.

Behind her, Yolanda sank to the floor and threw up her lunch of Bibimbap.

"Duke isn't dead, he's just out cold, we have to find the boys Yolanda, we have to, we have to find them fast." Tara said, her fingers moving uncoordinated as she rambled. "I have to find Josh, I have to make sure he's alright!"

"We need to hide first, we don't know where the killer is, hiding is our first priority!" Yolanda thundered, her mouth feeling like sand paper from the incredible retching she'd done.

"No! No!" Tara said as she ran back the way she'd come, bumping into someone. She let out a shriek as the person gripped her shoulders and then she was staring into the familiar brown eyes of Josh.

"Oh gosh! You're okay," he said, as he hugged her, letting her familiar scent calm him.

"Why is this happening?" Tara gasped out. "Why us Josh?"

"I don't know, but he just snapped and started doing this." He said as Yolanda came towards them. Her chest rising and falling heavily.

"Look we don't have time for all this, we have to leave and call the police. We can't stay here anymore." Cody said, his forehead and clothes stained with blood.

"Do you guys know where he is?" Yolanda asked as they made their way back to the front of the store.

"No, after h-he k-kk-killed her and knocked Duke out, we ran and he followed us. I haven't heard his footsteps since." Cody said as he held a hand up to his head.

The front of the store was in complete disarray. Duke was by his wife, his arms around her lifeless body, his tears mixed with her blood.

Cody went to him, bending down and offering support to Duke, his eyes also stained with tears.

"The doors locked!" Tara exclaimed, her hands around the padlock. Josh fumbled for the rack where the front keys where kept and searched frantically.

"Looking for this." He said as he walked towards them bare foot, holding up the keys to the store.

Right at that moment, they knew, there was no escaping this.