Kris wished desperately that her life was like any other. That maybe she'd be walking on her way home with her hand full of simple groceries. That her mind was alight with anticipation of her friends coming over to her place and she still had to finish the overflowing pile of laundry that possessed her basket. That her and those said friends could, maybe, grab a drink, go party, or just flat out have fun playing videogames. Instead, what was she doing? Simple.

She was running for her life.

In Kris' world, there were no parties. There were no friends, no house, no normalcy. All of her clothes were stuffed in the backpack that was strapped to her back. What little groceries she had consisted of milk and sandwich stuff. And now those were lost in the woods that she had unwillingly been transported to. She had appeared right in front of a monster.

Anyone would scream and freeze in that moment, right? They'd be paralyzed with fear so bad, they wouldn't be able to move their legs.

Not Kris. No see, as soon as she noticed something inhuman running her way, she threw her milk and sandwiches at the creature and took off running in the opposite direction. It didn't matter if she had no idea where she was going. It didn't matter if she was now here instead of there. It sure as hell didn't matter if her body ached with tiredness and her stormy eyes were hidden behind sunglasses to shield the unsightly bags from sight. All that mattered was getting away. With every step she took, the same clear-minded thought raced through her head.

That bastard lied.

"Why are we out here again," Evan asked, trampling through the foliage with Jeff and Vincent. Vinny, as per usual, has the camera.

"Someone gave us info that a clue relating to Jessa might be out here," Jeff responded, having been the one in front.

"Did that someone happen to tell us what to look out for? Because, from what I've seen so far, these clues can be anything."

"No." Jeff frowned. "It'd be nice if they did though."

Yeah, if they did. Whoever it was that sent the intel was obviously an asshole. They didn't even send their name.

Vinny walked quietly behind the duo. Well, as quietly as he could because this walk required quite a bit of exertion. His breathing came out a little heavy and he was glad to see that he wasn't the only one. His palms were also starting to sweat on the camer—

Snap!

Jeff and Evan froze as the sound broke across the near-silence with surprising loudness. Vinny jolted in surprise, turning to the source. He cried out and stumbled backwards as something collided into him. It was only by him reaching out and grabbing the nearest tree that he stood upright. His grip on the camera had tightened when it threatened to slip from his grasp. Quickly, he looked to see what had happened.

A girl was sprawled out on the grassy floor. Vin suspected that she was the one who ran into him. A ebony backpack hugged her back, along with a black leather jacket and white T-shirt with jeans and boots. She was up on her feet in seconds, her eyes darting between the three quickly. Her sunglasses had landed next to her but she didn't seem to care.

"Human," she hissed, gripping a knife tightly in her hand. Hold on, where the hell did she get a knife? "Are you guys human or not?"

"Well, yeah," Jeff began hesitantly, looking between his friends. "Yeah, we are."

"Then get the hell moving or you're gonna die."

"Wha—" Vinny had begun, only to cry out as the girl whirled towards him and began to push.

"Get a move on! We're all going to die if you don't!"

Evan was the first one to take her seriously. He grabbed Jeff by the arm and was prepared to drag him back in the direction of their car. It was only their shitty luck that made Jeff wrench his arm away, eyeing the girl with suspicion. Until a familiar screech filled the air.

"Oh shit," Evan said, sprinting in the direction they came. Jeff and Vinny waited not a moment longer, springing into action as they navigated their way over roots and various other objects that threatened to trip them. The girl, they noted as she ran with them, made her way through the woods like she did this every day. Maybe she did, who knows. Right now, all everyone wanted to do was survive.

There it is. Vinny nearly cried with relief as his familiar vehicle appeared before them. Evan was the one to reach it first, pulling the passenger door open. The girl was a few seconds behind him, opening the back door.

"You're not coming with us," Jeff said, barely catching up. Vinny went around the car to the drivers' side.

"You're going to leave me for dead," the girl demanded, her expression becoming pissed.

"No, I—"

"Jeff, just let her in the fucking car," Evan shouted, his voice having a edge of hysteria to it. That's all the girl needed to dive in and scoot as far away as she could from Jeff. He hurried in and shut the door. Then the girl grabbed Jeff by the arm and pulled him down.

"What the hell—" he began.

Crash!

Glass fell on Jeff followed by the growling of whatever monster they were being chased by. a shout left his lips as he saw it's black eyes. Then the girl released what he would think was an equivalence to a war cry and slammed her boot into it's face. Claws sank into her leg as she connected, making her scream in a mixture of pain and rage before she used her other foot to kick it out the window.

"Go already," she snapped, pulling herself back into sitting position.

Vinny didn't need to be told twice, practically jamming the key into the ignition. He slammed on the reverse, not giving the creature any mercy as he turned the wheel and backed up into it, only to turn the wheel again, shift gears, and go propelling forwards. Jeff was freaking out. Had the girl not pulled him down, those thing's claws would have gotten him.

"There went my week's worth of food," he could hear the girl grumble in annoyance. Looking over, he blinked when he noticed that she had pulled out some bandages and was currently cutting her pant's leg, a boot already off. Her jeans were beginning to get soaked with blood. "All that food..."

She wrapped bandages around her leg. Evan, in the passenger seat, frowned as he looked over at their plus one. "Those need stitches."

"I know." Her tone wasn't in the least condescending. "I can't stitch too well in a moving vehicle though."

The guy who was driving tried helping Kris out of the car when they stopped.

"I'm fine," she growled, giving him a death glare. Even pale, thin, and having a set of dark circles around her eyes, she managed to look threatening. He raised his hands up in surrender and watched as she got out of the car. Kris pulled her backpack on and tried taking a step.

Kris grunted lightly as the deep scratched on her leg burned. She rested a hand on the vehicle for balance before clenching her jaw and trying again. She limped her way into the house after the male with curly brown hair went in. The male with the beard and the other one stood by her side like anxious chickens, eyeing her to make sure she didn't fall. At least, that's what Kris was hoping that they were staring at her for. Please don't let them be that fucking cult and have them attack her. She wasn't exactly her usual 75%. With no food and deep injuries, she's looking at probably 40% or less of fighting power. One, she could more than likely take out. Two? That's a no-go.

"Where are we going," she asked, meeting their gaze.

"Jeff probably went down into the basement," the driver had said. "Evan will show you the way. Do you want something to eat or drink?"

"I am hungry," Kris admitted, her eyes now falling to the floor. "Just a sandwich and some water, please."

The male nodded and diverged paths. Kris ended up alone with Evan, who was just staring at her. "So you're the clue we're suppose to find?"

"Huh?"

"Nothing." Evan shook his head and moved past her. "C'mon. The basement is this way."

"O...kay." Kris followed after him, gritting her teeth as he leg throbbed. Clue, he had said. What clue could she possibly be?

The stairs were harder to walk on. It was only thanks to the wall and Evan's back that she managed not to hurl herself down the stairs. Annoyance flashed through her as she pushed herself away from the male, who had turned to her in surprise. Then he looked at her leg and understanding flashed through his face. "We should take a look at that."

"I will take a look at it," Kris snapped, letting her irritation show. "You will stay ten feet away from me while I do so."

"But—"

"No buts! For all I know, you three are serial killers waiting for the right moment to attack me. I want you ten feet away while I stitch my wounds."

"She's crazy," the other male, Jeff, had said, glaring at Kris from the bar.

"Really?" She smirked meanly. "I guess that means that I'm just a little saner than the rest of you then, doesn't it?"

Jeff opened his mouth to say more but when he couldn't, he settled for intensifying his glower.

"A little thank you might be nice, y'know." She sat on the couch and rifled through her back. Pausing, she looked up and widened her smirk. "I did save your life after all."

Jeff opted for turning away. Kris bit back a laugh and instead focused on pulling out her stitching kit. After searching for the right curved hook and the thread, she pulled off her bandages, grit her teeth and began to start.

Stitches suck. Without any anesthesia, it was hell to put the needle through skin over and over again. She also had three large gashes going down her calf which made it a ton worse. She could sense that even Jeff's eyes were on her as he watched her knit her skin back together. The third guy came down the stairs paled and went back up.

Be grateful that you have leather couches, she thought as she continued. And that I chose not to bleed on the carpet.

When she was done, Kris moved her leg to observe her work. Not too bad. She'll definitely need new jeans though. Frowning, she set the suture kit back into her backpack.

"I'm going to clean up," she said, getting to her feet. Her face scrunched a little when she took note of how light-headed she was. Blood loss, right. Can't forget that. She grabbed the old bandages and began to make her way to the stairs.

"There's a bathroom right there," Evan said, pointing at a door at the foot of the stairs when she looked. She murmured her "thanks" and slipped in.

She's a clue? Hah! Like hell. Kris is going to eat the food and water offered then bail. All she needed these guys for was to get the hell away from that monster. Now that's over and done with, there's nothing else she needs from them. Their little puzzles and whatever can do without her. Oh yeah, she had a pretty good idea that this trio was involved with monsters much like she was. They were shaken up but not questioning it, which means this must be somewhat of an occurrence for them. She wants nothing to do with it.

She washed the blood off her leg before wrapping her leg with fresh bandages from her backpack. She went everywherewith that thing. It had everything she needed and wasn't going to risk losing it. When she exited, she paused, finding all three men standing there. Going by how two, Evan and Jeff, were red in the face and the last one was in between them, they were having an escalated argument.

"She is not staying," Jeff hissed, obviously not liking Kris one bit. "She's a danger!"

"She's in danger," Evan snapped back. "That monster will be after her now just like it is us!"

"If you hadn't noticed, she seems like she knows enough to keep herself alive!"

"Probably but did you forget that we went out there in the first place for a clue!? She just might be it!"

Jeff faltered. Kris took that as a sign that he was debating it. Oh hell no. Forget the food.

"Sorry guys, but I'm no clue and I'm not staying."

"There's safety in numbers," Evan told her.

"Not in this game. Thanks for the ride and everything but I must be leaving." Kris paused as she made her way to the stairs, as if remembering something. She glanced back at the three. "And—er—good luck. Don't fall into any obvious traps."

"Do you even have any money," the male whose name she's never got had asked. "A place to sleep? Food?"

"...No," she admitted, albeit sourly as she recalled tossing her groceries. "Not any more."

"Then you can stay with one of us."

"Not me," Jeff had offered oh-so gentlemanly.

"Except for Jeff," the man had corrected.

"Look, not that I appreciate the offer or anything, but I don't even know you." Kris gave each of them a pointed look.

"Right, well I'm Vinny." The man motioned over to his friends. "This is Evan and Jeff."

"That's...not what I meant."

"Just stay with us for a little while." Vinny had chosen to ignore her comment and continued pleading. She really hated how he had the camera in his hands with the lens facing her direction. "You'll have food, a place to sleep—" A place to die, she bit back. "We can protect each other. You can barely stand as it is!"

That was...pretty true. Kris was dead-tired and at a disadvantage without food. But flocking with people invited a huge target to show up on her back. She was also very aware of the deceitful calm that extended from days to months, inviting a full storm. Ah, she could always leave then. Get a goodnight's sleep then have this place at her back as she headed to a populated area to lift some cash.

"Fine...then you three have to rock-paper-scissors for who I'm going to stay with." Kris eyes the device in Vinny's hands rather warily. "And I don't want cameras pointing my way. Continue and you'll watch me break it."

Vinny, smartly, decided to shift so the camera as facing his friends. She relaxed slightly.

"Better."

So...I've decided to post a revised story of S.E.C.R.E.T.S. that I had on a different writing site. Juggling three books now plus some behind the scenes. Ugh, why am I doing this to myself? T_T Anyways, enjoy.