Chapter 1: Throat Cut Valley
1
Mitchie turned up the radio in the car, neither she nor her mother saw the person in the woods staring at them drive by. Connie turned to Mitchie and rolled her eyes, "Does that have to be so loud Mitch?" She asked as she looked at her daughter dancing to the Connect Three album. Mitchie was really excited to be able to go with her mother to help fix up Camp Rock before it opened next week. She was really excited because she would be able to meet the entire band Connect Three who also volunteered their time to help fix up the camp. "Mitchie!" Connie leaned over and turned down the music.
"Mom! You can't just turned down the music like that? We are going to meet these guys! Are you going to tell them to keep it down when they are rocking out?" Mitchie said then started to laugh. Connie only smiled a bit then turned up the music again and it started to blare out loud. Connie even sang along this time with Mitchie. The stranger in the woods walked a few steps forward, and then released a deranged smile.
"Oooo! Girl, yeah!" Connie's mom sang along with the album, then a large POP sound came from outside. It sounded more like an explosion and the car started to move around. Mitchie and Connie both let out screamed as the car spun on the empty wood side road. Connie tried to slam on the breaks but nothing was happening. "Hold on!" Connie screamed, then she pushed the car into park and it stopped with a great jerk, Connie flung forward and slammed her head down on the steering wheel.
Neither of them spoke for a second as the car began to smoke up a little. "Mom." Mitchie said in a small moan, her voice still in shock over what had just happened. She knew what it was, both of them knew what it was, their tires, at least two, maybe three, popped. Must have hit some glass or nails on the road. "Mom?" Mitchie said again, a little louder, her eyes still squinting. She turned to look at her mother who was laying on top of the steering wheel on conscious. "Oh my god mom!" Mitchie screamed and leaned over and lifted her mother up slowly, her mom had blood coming down the side of her face from her forehead where she slammed it on the steering wheel.
"Mitchie..." Connie said in a tired voice. "You okay baby?" She asked, Mitchie let out a laugh of relief as well as tears that started to pour from her eyes.
"Oh thank god! I thought you were..."
"Come on baby, you know me better."
"Yeah, you have a head made of rock..." Mitchie said, then they both started to laugh again. Connie then opened the door to her car and stepped out. Mitchie got out too and they both stretched a little. Mitchie then bent down and massaged her leg a little. When the car jerked stop she put all the force onto that leg. She was surprised that she didn't break it.
"Oh my god, now how did this happen?" Connie said, leaning over and looking at the tires that were all messed up, all four of them. "Did i run over some police wire or something?" Connie said looking back at the road.
"This is too weird."
"Your telling me." Connie said, walking to the door to her car again, she reached in and grabbed her cell phone. She opened it up to dial the police, she was going to see if she could get an officer down here to help her out, then maybe as for a tow truck. "Damn." Connie said, closing her cell phone. "Mitchie, see if you have any bars on your phone."
"Nope, i just checked."
"Well this is just perfect."
"We can walk?" Mitchie shrugged.
"The town is ten miles, and the camp is fifteen, how about not?" Connie said, walking to the trunk of her car.
"Well what else are we going to do?" Connie looked around in her bag in the trunk for her other cell phone with the antenna. She pulled it out and switched it on, but it died as soon as she did. She didn't charge it. "So will we be walking?" Mitchie asked as Connie dropped the large cell phone back into her bag.
"So its seven in the morning, do you think more people will be coming down this road a little later?" Connie asked.
"Oh mom." As she said this another car came down the road, speeding a little. Connie started to wave her arms, Mitchie joined her, "Stop!" They called out as the car began to slow down. It was a nice corvette, and in the drivers seat was a girl with blonde hair. "Hey can you please give us a lift? Our car..."
"Are you Connie and Mitchie? I am Tess, one of the volunteers for Camp Rock Clean Up!"
"Yes that's us, you did look familiar. Saw you on the website." Connie said.
"Unfortunately my car only fits one other person, so one of you will have to stay behind." Tess said, "Sorry."
"It's okay, Mitchie you go on and go. When you get to town, tell the tow truck to come get the car on Witcham street."
"Mom, i am not going to leave you."
"Mitchie, go."
"So who is coming?" Tess asked. Mitchie turned around.
"Hey." Mitchie said and smiled, she opened the door and got in. "I will tell them to speed here for you mom!" Mitchie said then started to laugh.
"Thanks, who knows I might get a tan." Connie said and giggled, she then leaned in the car and kissed Mitchie on the cheek. Tess then let out a gross sound when she saw the blood on Connie, she must have missed it before.
"What?" They asked.
"What happened to your head?" Tess asked horrified.
"Hit it when the car stopped." Connie said.
"Dude...here." Tess handed her a wad of napkins. "Clean yourself up, you never know who the tow truck guy might be. A hottie..." Tess said and started to laugh.
"True, thanks." Connie said, joking around. "Now get me that hottie, be safe girls."
"We will." Tess said, then started to drive off. Mitchie looked at her mother standing alone next to the car, she then looked in the side mirrors, her mother still watching the car drive off away from her. Mitchie felt bad. Mitchie then turned and looked straight at the road, if she knew that was the last time she was going to see her mother alive, she would have looked back one more time.
2
"Stop it!" Caitlyn said to Nate who was blowing his breath into her ear. "Seriously now Nate." Caitlyn said and laughed again. They were in a truck. There was Nate, Jason and Caitlyn. Nate and Jason were driving to Camp Rock late, their other band mate Shane went a day earlier to help his uncle with some of the supplies. They found Caitlyn stranded at the gas station, and decided to give her a lift. She was one of the volunteers, so it was perfect.
"You love it." Nate said, and did it again, Caitlyn pushing him off of her.
"Do what she says Nate, or she might slap ya." Jason said, he was the one driving. Caitlyn was sitting in the middle and Nate was on the other side next to the door. That was one thing that sucked about the truck, is it just had one row of seats.
"You heard him." Caitlyn said, and laughed again when Nate made a sad face. She couldn't believe that she was in the truck with two members of one her favorites bands, Connect Three. When she saw them at the gas station, she told them that she was one of the volunteers. Then she told them that the last ride she got, she was hitching all the way to the camp, dropped her off at the gas station.
"Are we close yet? This is like the longest trip ever. I can't believe Shane talked us into this dumb clean up." Nate said, and closed his eyes and leaned back against the seat.
"Oh, come on, your going to be helping a lot! There will be hundreds of kids at this camp this summer. You helping clean up will make their dreams come true! I mean what girl wouldn't want to sleep in a bed made by one of the members of Connect Three!" Caitlyn said, and nudged him on the side of his arm. Nate only fake laughed.
"I hate making beds. I will do the painting or something."
"Dude i called the painting." Jason said.
"Dude...dude...dude! Is that all you guy's say. Holy crow!" Caitlyn said.
"Holy crow? What are you?" Nate said and laughed again as Caitlyn gave him a dirty look. "And Jason, calm down dude," he looked at Caitlyn when he said that, "the cabins are pretty big, i'm sure we could all paint and wouldn't even be half way done by the end of the day." Nate said.
"Yeah, there are like, twenty seven cabins." Caitlyn said.
"Plus the cafeteria, and the stage center...and that one outside hut thing...and..."
"Okay I get it...we can all paint. Holy crow!" Jason said trying to keep a straight face. Jason then changed his smile, into a sinister grin, "You guy's heard it's haunted right?" He said, turning to them. Caitlyn only rolled her eyes. Nate looked a little interested.
"Yeah, he's right." Nate said, "Shane told us about it."
"And you believe him?" Caitlyn asked.
"Well his family has owned the land for years; it used to be Camp Valley, just a bunch of singing, roasting marshmallows and what not." Nate said.
"And, how is it haunted?" Caitlyn asked.
"Well about fifteen years ago, when the camp was last opened, a little girl drowned in the lake." Jason said, "That's what Shane said. Creepy…" Jason said then giggled.
"And where does the ghost come in?"
"Well, supposedly Shane and his family went there to clean up, and they saw the little girl that drowned, eating her own flesh! BALH!!!!" Jason screamed and scared Caitlyn and even Nate jumped in his seat, Jason started to laugh at them.
"Sounds like a stupid ghost story to me. Camp Rock is going to be awesome. I saw the forums." Caitlyn said. "Are you guys going to stay for the summer? I get to go for free since I am volunteering. Reason why I am." Caitlyn said.
"No, it's part of our helping Shane through his ruff time phase. He's been in the medias bad spotlight for awhile."
"Yeah, I noticed."
"So if he helps at the camp, we get good publicity. He's going to be teaching uhh…a uhh…" Jason began.
"A dancing course…." Nate finished for him.
"Yeah!"
"Well I wish you guys would stay."
"Camp…nawh. But I am sure we will visit a few times." Nate said.
"For sure." Jason finished.
"Hey look." Caitlyn said, and they saw a car broken down at the side of the road, and a women sitting on the hood of the car. They slowly stopped next to the car. "You okay?"
"Yeah, thanks. I am just waiting on my daughter to call a tow truck…are you?"
"Yes! Connie? You're the chef right?"
"Proudly." Connie said and bowed down.
"Dude your tires are like all…flat!" Jason said.
"Yeah, there must have been some kind of police tape on the road." Connie said, looking back at the flat tires of her car.
"That's weird, my tires are fine, might have just been old tires?" Jason said.
"Actually they are new…" Connie said, offended about the comment Jason made. "Thank you."
"No offence, well I guess we will see you at the camp later?" Caitlyn said.
"Yeah, will do! I will cook you guys a great dinner tonight!" Connie said.
"Sweet deal." Nate finished.
"Bye." They then drove off.
"That's kind of sad." Caitlyn said.
"Yeah, well, I would hate to be out in this heat." Jason turned and looked at the women who sat on her car again.
"Alone…for that matter. Hope that tow truck gets there quick for her." Caitlyn said, she felt pretty bad for Connie.
3
Tess looked in the mirror in her car while Mitchie was in the station calling for the tow truck. She fixed her lip gloss that was smeared a little, "Girl you are so, HOT!" She said, and then shook a little. Mitchie then walked out of the station and back into Tess's air conditioned car. "So?"
"They said they got a guy to go on over. Thanks again for the ride, you have a great car by the way!" Mitchie said.
"Thanks, my mommy's gift for her princess. What do you drive?" Tess asked.
"Oh, I don't have a car." Mitchie said.
"Oh…too bad, not everyone is fortunate like I am." Tess said. Mitchie bit down on her lip and turned the other way. "I mean, your mom's the chef of a camp. My mom owns a couple of recording studios and what not." Tess said.
"Okay, can we drive back to my mom now please." Mitchie asked.
"Oh, I am not driving back there, I am going to Camp, your mom can just meet us there. It will be cool." Tess said, and started to reverse the side.
"Just leave me here then. I want to help my mom." Mitchie said.
"Girl, take it easy. You will see her at the camp. She will be fine, trust me!" Tess said and started to drive down the road. Mitchie didn't want to go to the camp without her mom, but she really had no choice. Not at the moment anyways. "So you doing this so you don't have to pay to go to the camp, right?" Tess asked.
"That…" Mitchie said. "And, I wanted to spend some time with my mom." Mitchie finished.
"Oh, that's very…sweet."
"What about you?"
"Oh, well my mom paid anyways. I am doing this so I can meet Connect Three! Oh my god! They are the hottest bunch of boys ever. Especially that Nate guy!" Tess said.
"Yeah, they are cute." Mitchie said.
"In fact, I once went to one of their concerts. I got back stage passes." She then looked up, "Thanks to my mom of course." Mitchie rolled her eyes, then Tess looked at her and she smiled at her. "I think they will remember me. I mean I only got a picture and a hug, but I mean, hello?" She said, pointing out her body. "I am pretty smokein'."
Mitchie let out a little laugh, "Your something all right."
"What do you mean?" She looked serious.
"Oh just that you seem like…well different, Rich." Mitchie said, smiling and batting her eyelashes. She was being sarcastic of course. She wanted to say bitch…but that would have been very rude.
"Oh, well that makes sense I guess. Your mom seems like a sweet person." Tess randomly commented.
"She is."
"So which one do you like?"
"What?"
"Connect Three? Which one do you think you want to bang? I mean I want all three of them, and probably can get all three of them in the sack this week…but if you wanted to have one, I would totally let you."
"Oh, I don't do that."
"Don't do that? What are you mother Theresa?" She said laughing.
"No, I just don't have sex with guy's I don't know."
"They are connect three! Hello!"
"Well I heard they don't do that stuff either."
"Are you kidding, when I went back stage, they picked some girls to go back to their dressing room."
"So?"
"So they could probably break um."
"Oh and you weren't picked?" Mitchie said, sarcastically. Tess's face turned from calm to furious. But in her voice it sounded very controlled.
"Well I was, but my mom told me we had to catch our…helicopter. They never wait! Not that you would know or anything." Tess started to giggle at the end.
"Yeah." Mitchie really wanted to get out of that car. She wished that she would have just waited back at the gas station with that strange old man. She would have been better off there then in the car with Tess who was really starting to piss her off.
"So which one?"
"I told you I don't do that."
"Okay…well still, which one makes you…hot." Tess asked.
"Personal much?"
"Hey I told you mine."
"I didn't ask though."
"Come on, I'm not going to tell them."
"Shane is pretty cute."
"Oh girl he is fine. I might go for him second, after Nate. I mean since you don't want any of them." Mitchie turned away and just looked at the passing shrubbery and thought about her mom.
4
Connie closed her eyes and leaned back against the windshield of her car. Her sunglasses were on and she was enjoying the hot June sun. She started to think about how fun the summer was going to be. She loved to cook so much, and to get this job was a great opportunity to express herself with people who won't judge her to harsh, kids.
The sun was starting to sizzle on her skin and she lifted up again. She looked down the road praying that the tow truck would be coming down the road. She didn't see it. She got off the top of the car and started to look around the car. She kneeled down and looked at the tires. She started to inspect them, maybe she would see something that was on them.
The tires were all popped, so it was hard to tell, all the pieces were everywhere, lying ont eh side of the road, and pieces stuck under the tire. It was pretty much a big mess. Connie grabbed her keys out of her pocket and went into her car. She took a seat and turned it on, putting the air on full blast. She sat there and let out a deep breath. She than leaned over and grabbed her water bottle and took a sip of the water. It was so refreshing.
"This is the—" She was interrupted by the glass next to her shattering and someone pulling her out of her car. She screamed and screamed but it was doing no good. The tuff hands gripped at her soft skin and she was cutting herself on the glass that had broken. "What are you doing! What do you want!" Connie screamed and cried, the pain from the grip of this strong person was so intense. She looked at them, they were wearing a sack over their head with one hole on the left side. Connie kicked them between their legs and started to run into the woods.
She turned around a few times and saw the person running after her. She screamed a few more times, hoping that someone would hear her. The sounds of the leafs on the ground crackling, and the twigs snapping as she ran over them echoed around. Connie's heart beat was all she heard though, nothing of nature.
She heard her heart, and her breathing in her ear. She felt the blood on her legs rolling down and mixing with the sweat. "help!" She managed to scream out. "PLEASE!" She screamed. She turned and saw nobody behind her. Someone then jumped in front of her, it was the person that pulled her out of her car. Connie screamed and turned around.
She started to run back towards her car now, she saw it in the distance. She heard something now, it was a truck, the tow truck! Connie thought, she saw it coming down the road. Connie sped up running and was getting closer. She saw the tow truck stopping slowly.
A smile came over her face, she was going to be okay if she could just…she tripped over something and went rolling onto the ground. She heard the crackling of the leafs next to her as she slowly got up. She saw the person standing in front of her with a large butchers knife.
"No…please…no." That was all she could whimper out of her mouth, her voice was clogged up with fear. The person grabbed her shoulder, and with no struggle pushed her up against the tree behind her and then slit her throat. The knife swished through it as if it was a rotting apple. The blood poured out quickly, and to Connie it burned. The feeling of the burning blood was to much for her, she grabbed at the tree behind her, trying to hold herself up. Your dead… Connie thought, and she knew it. She saw all the blood, she felt all the blood.
She fought hard to inhale one last time, but the pain was too great. The burning sensation of the blood spraying out of her. It was as if the blood had been boiling inside her and came out on fire. Her eyes watered and saw slowly slid to the ground. Two of her finger nails ripped off in a piece of bark on the tree. That had no feeling now, she saw the guy getting out of the tow truck, and then she just blacked out.