Chapter 3
"Camping trip this weekend!!" Kate looked excited as she dropped this bombshell on the group at lunch on Friday.
"What?! Camping?" Jess immediately saw the image of Reid flying against a tree, and winced.
Misinterpreting the wince, Reid laughed saying, "No worries, I'll protect you from big foot," as he sat down next to her.
Desperately looking for an excuse Jess said, "But I don't even own a sleeping bag or tent. Maybe you guys should just go without me."
"Not a chance. Don't worry about it, we have extra sleeping bags" Sarah said.
The whole group looked at her expectantly. Reid, to her right, amused at her sudden panic started to cluck like a chicken. Laughing, Caleb and Pogue joined in as Tyler walked over.
"Hey who's the chicken?"
"Jess"
"Nervous about camping? Don't be. Reid always talks big but we all know he's a city boy."
"Shut up Tyler"
Tyler laughed as he sat down between Jess and Sarah. "You have to come Jess, there's always parties going on at the other campsites."
Seeing no way out of it, Jess could only smile and nod, determined that if Chase did make an appearance, she'd be able to stop him. It might mean her friends would learn more about her than she wanted, but she couldn't let Chase kill them because of her.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"What's with Jess today?" Reid asked Sarah as they walked to the last class of the day.
Keeping her voice neutral Sarah asked, "What do you mean?"
"She's been jumpy all day. The slightest noise sets her off."
"Oh. Well I don't know if she would want me to tell you"
"Fuck it, what is it?"
"Jess has been having nightmares."
"For how long?"
"Well, all week I think. Last night was the first time I was sure though. At first I thought she was just twitching in her sleep, but last night it looked like she was being choked in her dream. Actually, before she woke up, I swear I saw a hand print on her throat."
"Fuck. Does Caleb know? You know he'd freak out if he heard."
"Yea, I've been debating whether I should tell him or not."
"Don't tell him yet. I'll keep an eye on her this weekend."
"Woah, Reid what's going on? Do you think something is coming after the four of you again?"
"I don't know just yet, but I'm not risking Caleb flying off the handle at Jess just yet."
"I've never seen you like this. You like her don't you?"
"Yea, I do. I'm going out of my mind trying to come up with a way to get closer to her, but lately it's like her mind has been somewhere else. If anyone gets too close to her she stiffens, like she's going to be attacked."
"Yea, I've noticed that too. I think it might have something to do with the nightmares. It's like she's waiting for something. But, I can tell she likes you too. You should definitely go for it this weekend on the trip."
"Yea, maybe I will. Thanks Sarah."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The group left early the next morning in Tyler's SUV. Caleb had insisted on driving, and Sarah sat up front with him to help him navigate. Pogue and Kate sat in the middle row, leaving Jess squished between Tyler and Reid. The trip to the campsite would take about three hours, and even though it was early, everyone was excited.
About an hour and a half into the trip, the excitement had worn off. Tyler, pissed at Caleb for nearly running into another driver on the road and almost killing his car, was grumbling profanities while Pogue and Reid just laughed. Sarah had drifted off to sleep in the passenger seat, leaving Caleb to read the directions and drive at the same time. Looking at Sarah's peaceful face, Caleb didn't have the heart to wake her to ask her for help. Jess meanwhile, unable to sleep the night before, started to drift off.
Looking around, Jess realized she was back home. She quickly dashed up the stairs to her mother's room, only to find Chase standing over her.
"Get away from her jack ass!"
"Watch it missy, I have your mom's life in my hands."
"DON'T CALL ME MISSY!" With that Jess let out a jolt of power causing Chase to hit the wall.
Chase, laughing merely said, "You're going to regret that." He quickly threw back his own power at Jess, causing her to hit the opposite wall. Knowing the back of her head had taken the brunt of the blow, Jess wasn't surprised to find blood running down the back of her neck. She knew it was a matter of seconds before Chase attacked again, and she didn't know how much fight she had left in her.
When Jess had dozed off, her head had fallen on Reid's shoulder. Reid smiled and adjusted his neck to allow more room for Jess' head. He could feel her breath on his neck, and started to doze off as well when Jess started to twitch.
Watching Jess' hands clench into fists, Reid knew she was having a nightmare, and tried to wake her before anyone else noticed what was going on.
Jess gasped as she was pulled from her nightmare just before Chase had hit her with a deadly blow. Immediately sitting up, she reached around to touch the back of her head, but relaxed when she didn't feel blood.
"Bad dream?" Reid asked innocently as he watched her face intently.
"Yea I guess. Sorry about that." Jess started to shift away from Reid, aware that she was actually quite close to him.
Reid, noticing what Jess was doing, quickly put an arm around her shoulders and winked. "Don't worry about it. A lot of people find the woods intimidating."
Laughing, Jess whacked his stomach playfully and wiggled closer to him. Maybe this camping thing wasn't such a bad idea. I mean it's not like Chase is anywhere outside of my dreams at this point. What could it hurt to spend a few days with my friends?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, the group made it to the campsite and started to unload. As the boys got to work on the tent, the three girls went to gather wood and start the fire pit.
"So you and Reid looked pretty cozy for a while," Kate said innocently.
"I wouldn't respond to that Jess," Sarah said.
Playing along, Jess tried to muster an innocent expression saying, "What do you mean Kate?"
"Don't play dumb with me, you're not that good."
"Ha. Well Reid and I are just friends. I'm sure he doesn't see me in any other way."
"I doubt that," Sarah said cryptically, a small smile playing on her face.
"Whatever, it's not like I have that much experience with boys."
"Somehow, I think Reid might find that more attractive," Kate said.
"Yea, don't let the edgy style throw you off. We all know he's into you."
"We'll see," Jess said smiling as she bent down to pick up another log.
The girls made their way back to the campsite and started to build the fire pit. The boys had set up the tent, and were getting the remaining things out of the SUV. See, Nothing to worry about. It's just a normal camping trip.
3
