Chapter 2

Clare stomped into the woods on the opposite side of the lake after she had witnessed Alli kissing Jake. Overcome by betrayal and hurt, she kept walking angrily until she found herself lost in the foggy forest. She had no idea where she was anymore. Murky fog swirled all around her and suddenly she heard twigs snapping somewhere nearby. Someone was there; she was not alone.

A dark silhouette appeared, stepping out of the fog towards Clare. Her body grew cold, and she couldn't move. The wind rustled slowly as the figure stepped closer to her. It was then she noticed that the figure had an axe in hand, and he was less than 5 feet away from her. Her body lost all feeling, but she forced herself to bolt towards the lake anyway. The figure ran behind her, chasing her straight back to the cabin. She tripped and cut her arm. On the way there, she smashed into another body and screamed bloody murder.

"Clare? God, you scared the hell out of me!" Eli stumbled backwards, struggling to regain his balance.

Clare's hand flew to her mouth. "Eli, I'm sorry! There's something out there! We are going to die!" She began to panic, frantically searching for the person in the woods.

Eli softly reached out and grasped Clare's arm, pulling her towards him. "Clare, there's nothing out there."

"Yes, there is! H-he had an axe, and he was stepping towards me. It was dark, and I thought for sure I was going to die. I don't want to die tonight, Eli." She whimpered in a panic.

Eli spun her around and brought her into a tight hug. She melted in his embrace and began hysterically sobbing into his chest. "Shh, you're alright now. Calm down; I'm here." He whispered, kissing her forehead and bringing her closer.

She sobbed viciously. "He was there!"

Eli squeezed his green eyes shut and rested his cheek on top of her curly hair. "Come on, honey. Let's get you inside."

Clare allowed Eli to gently lead her inside the cabin out of the cold night. Once they stepped inside, everyone was gathered in the living room. A fire was roaring in the fireplace, and the smell of vanilla scented candles wafted in the air.

Jake stood in front of everyone, and they all turned to see a frightened looking Clare and Eli standing in the doorway.

Bianca wordlessly scooted over to make room for Clare and Eli. Eli sat down while Clare stood there, looking disoriented. He brought her down onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist and allowing her head to fall onto his shoulder. She entwined her fingers with both of his and snuggled close to him.

"Okay, guys, we're glad you're here." Jake started nervously, looking at everyone who was sitting on the couch before him. "We're all here because Bianca and Marisol have informed me that Alli is missing."

Clare replied meekly, "You were just with her."

Jake locked eyes with Clare apologetically. "Clare, I'm sorry. Alli ran off crying her eyes out after you stomped away, and I haven't seen her since. She seemed really upset that you were mad at her."

Clare's eyes watered up again, and Eli hugged her tighter. Clare squeezed his hands. "Yeah, I bet she feels really bad about sucking face with you when she told me she wouldn't."

Jake sighed, scratching the back of his head in annoyance. "That doesn't matter; the only thing that matters right now is that we find Alli."

Katie, who was perched on Drew's lap, sat up a little more. "Did you guys hear that?"

Drew softly stroked her honey blond hair. "What is it, Katie?"

Marisol stiffened. "I-I heard it to. I sounded like a…scream."

Suddenly, an ear piercing scream erupted from the woods, and everyone jumped, startled. "That must be Alli!" Clare cried, struggling to sit up from Eli's arms. He let her hop off his lap and stared at her with wide green eyes. The screaming continued, and Clare rushed toward the door. Eli jumped up and tried to stop her, no way was he going to let his baby get out of his sight again. "Clare! You can't go out there! You could get hurt!"

Eli's arms wrapped around her, not allowing her to leave and pulling her back. "Eli, let go! She's my best friend! That man from the woods probably got her!"

Eli tugged her towards him, refusing to lose her. Clare continued to struggle against him until her worry got the best of her. She began to cry, sinking to the floor in terror. Her best friend was probably going to die, and her last words to her had been "I can't believe we were ever friends." Eli picked her up off the floor and brought her towards the couch. He brought her back onto his lap and whispered to her comfortingly as she clutched his gray shirt in her hands and cried into his shoulder.

Suddenly, Jake leapt off the couch after he heard a loud bang on the door. He grabbed a baseball bat and slowly approached the door. He opened it a crack and what he saw before him was a dark towering figure. Everyone screamed as Jake swung the bat and smashed the figure in the head, knocking it out.

What Jake saw next, he couldn't believe. Alli Bhandari's body lay in a mangled heap on the ground, covering in blood and chopped in various places.

Jake gasped and shut the door, walking back over to his friends.

"You guys? Alli's dead; we're going to have to fight for survival now. There's a murderer in the woods."

Clare shrieked and sobbed hysterically into Eli's shoulder. He brought her as close as possible to him, tightening his arms around her waist and kissing her shoulder. "Oh, Clare, I'm so sorry," He whispered over her piercing cries.

Wordlessly, everyone came to gather around Clare and stroked her arms and hair, murmuring condolences and apologies as tears streamed down their faces as well.

Bianca laid her head on Marisol's shoulder, feeling terrible. The girl whom she had fought with was dead; she would feel forever guilty of stealing Drew from her.

Jake swallowed the lump that was in his throat, allowing a few tears to leak out of his eyes. Katie cried into Drew's shoulder, and Drew cried on Katie as well. Everyone huddled close together, feeling terrible for the loss of their friend Alli.

Eli kissed Clare's head over and over; draping a blanket over her shoulders and just letting her cry her eyes out in him. Clare had lost her best friend in the entire world, and she never got to say goodbye. They had parted on a bad note, and she would be forever anguished over Alli's departure. Eli knew how close Clare and Alli had been, and he wanted nothing more than to make her feel better, but he knew there was no comforting to be done when someone lost someone so special to them; he of all people knew that.

"A-Alli's gone," Clare cried, burying her face in Eli's shoulder not unlike the day she had run out of Friendship Club in tears during her parent's divorce.

After an hour of crying helplessly, Clare and the other stiffened when they heard a vicious bang on the cabin door.

Then, the light went out, and no one could see a thing.

Clare and Katie gasped, clinging onto their boyfriends. Jake lit a few candles to help lighten up the room, and the girls instantly felt better. Jake knew the figure was outside, and he couldn't imagine what would happen if it were to wake up and get inside.

"Okay, everyone, I knocked out the guy with the bat. I'm going to need your best efforts in survival here, people." Jake turned to the group, his shadows flicking off the walls. "Eli and Clare, I want you to hide in the downstairs bedroom with Katie and Drew. Marisol and Bianca, you're coming with me. Let's move it people!"

Clare couldn't move, so Eli picked her up and cradled her in his arms, heading down the stairs with Katie and Drew. Once they got downstairs, they walked into the cold room that Katie and drew were sharing.

"It's freezing in here," Katie whispered, feeling much better when Drew caringly hugged her to his warm body.

Eli sat on the rocking chair in the corner of the room with Clare in his arms, who shivered and shook in his arms. He wrapped the blanket around her more securely, and he kept his phone nearby should Jake call with further instructions. For now, they just had to wait. Katie lay cuddled up to Drew on the bed, warming up under the covers.

Clare whimpered, and Eli tucked her in further to his shoulder. "Shh," He whispered softly, kissing her nose. He rocked back and forth slowly, pushing the chair with his foot. Eventually, a very traumatized Clare fell asleep on Eli, and he didn't let her go once.