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Author's Chapter Notes:

Hey, thanks for reading!!! I'm excited that this is back and that you're on board. Well now, let's find out where these crazy folks are.

 

Enjoy, 




Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


“Ahh.”

Dehydrated, my throat pained against the movement and chapped lips cracked from the stretch. The first thing I heard was my own inhale, the second thing was the silence, identical to the dreams. Fear stopped me from opening my eyes. Instead, I stayed still, relied on my other senses for clues of where I was.

Already on my back, it was easy to sink deeper into whatever I laid on without much movement. I waited to see if the cold surface would support the weight like a rock, or give in like a mattress. Slowly, the shell caved under my weight and enveloped my form. A smell of leather emanated from beneath me, and I made the link.

I listened for sounds of others in the van, but all I heard were two heartbeats. Who else was with me? I thought. I breathed deeply, tried to catch a key scent, but it was my own that covered the entire vehicle. How long have I been in here? Alarmed, I jumped up immediately from my slumbered state, with hands high, ready to strike.

At first sight, I shrunk away for the bright, gray hue of winter’s day. I focused on the grey seats and silver carpet on the floor. Occasionally, I stole glances of the interior, noted how many rows, seats, even the dashboard. My predictions were right; I was truly alone.

Even as I analyzed every inch of the car, observed the abandonment, I could still hear that second heartbeat. What the hell, I thought. Maybe my senses were jumbled and what I heard came from something else, or maybe I was going crazy.

Where were the others?

I took a second look around the cabin, this time for clues. Why would they just leave me here, I thought. The trunk was empty, underneath the seats bare, even the ropes which held the bags on the roofs were missing. It was empty.  

As my eyes went to the window, I searched the dead remains of Winter’s chill, but it held no signs of a camp. Where was everyone…?

BAM.

A loud sound spread through the clearing and rocked the vehicle. I crawled closer to the window and watched as trees shook and branches swung like frantic victims. I turned my eyes to the sky, where a dark fog from higher ground spread its greedy fingers open and encompassed any threats of snow. Series of small burst echoed in the distance, sprouting more darkness. Shadows played on the ground, hid nature’s most basic shapes and played with one’s own fear. What I knew to be dried up branches, were now the limbs of the undead. Before long, I found myself reaching for an invisible weapon. Anything, I thought, as my heart raced and my eyes frantically looked for a sharp object. I climbed into the front row and pulled on the glove department with a glimmer caught my eye. Like an alarmed deer, I stopped all movement and looked in its direction. Hidden in the tree line to the left of the driver’s side, the angry sky reflected off a piece of metal, held in the gloved hands of a hooded figure.

Suddenly, images of past nightmares came forward; a particular one happened this morning. From the shadows, the figure stared, neither moving, nor acknowledging the dark ashes which begun to fall. Quickly, I looked for any recognition through the darkness. I surveyed his clothes, and while they looked familiar, it was nothing but a black multi-pocket military coat, and black cargo pants. His feet were hidden in the brush, but I would bet he wore combat boots. Actually, the more I looked at him, the more I became convinced that Norris had somehow survived, or worse, his minions.

“Move,” I whispered, challenged him with my eyes, as my fingers scanned contents of the glove box. Papers were everywhere and nothing of substance.  As he continued to watch, I snuck a glance at the door knob and noticed it was gone. I looked behind me at the opposite door, but that too was missing. Quickly, I hopped through the opening and looked toward the rear doors.. “Fuck you!” I hissed. This was a set up. Something’s wrong and…

He moved; took a step forward and continued on. My mind went into over drive as I moved back toward the truck. Being in a small clearing, probably made by off-road driving, the trees shrunk back and offered no canopy. Once the figure cleared the trees, he glowed, along with his weapon.  It was the blunt and weathered, but there was no mistaking the machete. “Jasper,” I crooked out, frozen in confusion.

A gloved hand moved to his hood and unsheathed his face; hazel eyes observed me cautiously. “Jasper,” I repeated and brought my empty hands up to the glass. “What the fuck?” I snapped.

He stood still on the other side and watched me. His suspicions were not hidden, neither was the tight grip on his weapon. Something happened, I thought. I looked down at my own hands for a clue.  

So they were alive, and yet I was the one trapped inside, I thought. At that moment, I caught the orange tinge of a prescription pill bottle on the floor. I bent over and picked it up; it was empty.

Did they drug me? I looked back up at the man, my fear and anger rose. “What the fuck!” I yelled and threw the bottle at him, but the glass stood up to the test. “Let me out!” I went to kick my foot next, but a loud click echoed through the car. The locks were unengaged, and the front passenger door swung open. “We need her vitals. I need to check her…”

I spun from Jasper to catch another hooded figure enter quickly and slam the door shut. “Lock it,” he shouted toward someone outside the vehicle and by voice alone I exhaled.

“Michael, why the fuck am I in here?” I snapped and climbed over the middle seat. However his response was frightening.

Click.

As soon as I sat up right, I was face to face with the end of his black double barrel hunting rifle. “Don’t fucking move, or I will blow your shit,” Michael hissed. Shakily, I nodded through racing heartbeats; my eyes never left the two chambers.

Through the glass, another voice spoke, “Celeste, can you hear me?” I nodded. “Okay, good. Are you in any pain?” I shook my head ‘no.’ “Do you remember anything?” I paused, and the man yelled to Jasper. “Go get Miriam, now!”

“The cove…”I rasped out, but the only one that heard me was behind the gun. “Michael, what’s…”

“Shut up,” he snapped, and looked toward the window. “Let’s get this over with doctor.”

“Okay, okay. I need you to check her vitals. Is she shaking?” Doctor Marab asked.

“No,” Michael answered.

“That’s impossible; it’s thirty degrees out, and she’s not wearing a coat. Check her pulse; two fingers…”

“…I know what I’m doing.” Once again, Michael was aggressive, and a little frightening. At one point, I thought he would always protect, and now he wanted my head.  

“Michael,” I whispered and tried to move out of the gun’s way, but instead he pushed it forward and pointed it at my abdomen.

“I told you not to move!” He yelled as if he was talking to an enemy, and I saw red.

The fear he brought upon me morphed into a pulse and my adrenaline spiked. Before I could control myself, I smacked the tip of the rifle away from, resulted in it falling from his hands. The locks unlocked and fast movement approached the car, and stole my attention. In that time, Michael gained the upper hand and lunged for me, right at my throat. Callous fingers wrapped around tightly in a deadly gripped.

I clawed at his arm, tried to impact some damage to loosen his hold, but his grip tightened and madness took over him. I looked into blue eyes, which at first were so familiar, but now they stared back as a stranger would, as I would to an undead.

Commotion stared outside as ashes covered the windows.  The front doors were thrown open and voices called for Michael to let go, but he didn’t. “You killed her!” he screamed, over and over, as his eyes watched, recorded every second of my demise.

He was close now. Fingers balled up tightly, and I swung, connected with his left eye. “Ahh!” he gasped and let go. Quickly, I kicked him square in the chest and immediately, crawled back over to the last row. Michael fell back on the others, before he recovered and lunged for me.  

I punched the rear glass, but it resisted. I went to punch again, when an arm grabbed my hair and pulled me backwards. “Michael, please,” I screamed. For a moment he paused, his eyes squinted, but my body fought back. No, I thought, my reflex acted on its own.

“You will kill her,” he whispered and replaced his hand across my throat. Instantly, my vision blurred and everything went red. The power inside consumed me. My arms moved, punched, scratched, pulled, but nothing affected him. His fingers tightly significantly and all the air left me.

Darkness, colder than the air and darker than any shadows, appeared before me.  It became a tunnel which grew larger and larger; it swallowed the images of reality. My abdomen exploded in pain, as if it too had someone’s death grip around it. Please, I begged internally until I heard a scream.

“Get off of her!”

What consciousness I lost, momentarily came back as I recognized that light, high pitched voice. “Violet,” I mouthed and at the same time, Michael’s grip had vanished.

“Violet, stay back!” Someone yelled over the demands of the doctor.

I took a deep inhale, which brought life back to me and immense pain. My lungs expanded greedily, as sharp pains attacked from all the activity.

“I need to get in,” Marab said, with his hands on the rifle. He gave it away before he pulled Michael back. “You almost killed her,” he shouted.

“I…I…” Michael stuttered and the van filled with such grief. “Shit…she’s not, no, it wasn’t her.”

“Go take a walk,” the doctor yelled and looked at Miriam. She exchanged a knowing look and whispered something in his ear. Michael didn’t move, ignored her at first, but then I smelt his immense pain. It held bitterness that strongly resembled sulfur. “Go after him!” Marab ordered, before his attention was me.

“Will she live?” Violet’s voice was surprisingly close and before I knew it, platinum hair popped over my face. “I knew you were tough,” were the last words I heard before blacking out.

+++++

This time when I woke, it was to the pita patter of a rain fall. The smell of leather filled my nostrils, as I lay on my back like I did before. This time I wasn’t hesitant about opening my eyes. I did so with haste only to watch the water hit the glass windows.

They gave me a winter coat to shield from the cold, while plush gloves caressed my fingers. I made to move, but found that restraints were placed around my wrists. I was able to sit up, move along the back row, but that was all. “Fuck,” I whispered.

I looked up in time to see someone approach. Their high hood shielded their face from the downpour, while the bag they carried was weighed down by its contents. I watched as they moved for the driver’s side and listen for the car to unlock. Seconds later, the door quickly opened and the person climbed in. I would have never feared another human being, but after the last time I woke, I shivered in my seat, and pulled hard against the ropes; he was back to finish the fight.

“Michael…?” I whispered. Goosebumps spread along my flesh like wildfire, as the person threw the bag onto the middle row. They had yet to lift their hood, and the rain masked their scent. “Who are you?” I asked when he didn’t acknowledge my first words.

“Your only friend.” The hood came off and hazel eyes looked back at me. They revealed warmth that contradicted the coldness around us. “How are your wrists?”

“They’re tied up.”

“Well, you haven’t been the kindest person lately,” he said and took off his gloves.

“Well, I can say the same about someone else.”

“You almost killed everyone, Celeste.” Suddenly, Jasper was still and his words hit me like a bullet. In his eyes, I felt the memory come back, could smell the anger, confusion, and fear. His heart beat spiked, but slowed down almost immediately.

 

“Jasper,” I snapped him out of his thoughts, but his eyes held on to the story. “I don’t remember anything. Tell me.”






Chapter End Notes:

Ahhh....! What happened? 

Next chapter up soon.







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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.