Chapter 4…
The frightened teens had arrived at a local hotel about 5 miles away from the cabin. After escaping the cabin, the teens had frantically sprinted down the dirt road leading away from the cabin to the main road in a desperate attempt to escape the man that had killed Alli Bhandari.
Clare yawned slightly, growing very tired from the night's chaotic events. "Eli? Can we please lie down?"
Eli nuzzled her cheek with his nose. "Yeah, baby," he whispered once they had entered their private hotel room. He gently laid Clare under the covers of the bed and tucked her in. "Try to sleep, okay sweetie?"
Clare sniffled. "I don't think I can."
Eli turned around after he had taken his shirt off. Clare blushed. "Hey," he murmured, resting his forehead on hers. "I'll be here with you all night. We can talk for as long as you want, and I'm here to protect you. Nothing's going to happen."
Clare's breath hitched at their close proximity and smiled up at him weakly. "Thank you,"
Eli nodded, placing a light kiss on her lips. He straightened himself up and changed into a faded black Dead Hand shirt before turning to face her. "Do you need anything, Clare?"
She shook her head. "Please, will you just hold me?"
Eli nodded and crawled under the covers with her, turning the light off. He spooned up behind Clare, interlocking his arms around her stomach sweetly. She sighed peacefully for the first time that evening. By this time, it was almost 2AM, and Clare was beyond exhausted.
When he felt her tense, Eli tightened his arms around Clare. "Relax, Clare. I'm here. If you need anything, I'm right here, and I'll be watching over you all night. You're safe."
She relaxed into his warm embrace. "Okay," she eventually let the sleepiness overtake her and drifted off to sleep in Eli's arms.
Katie Matlin turned to her boyfriend Drew with a terrified expression. "What if that man finds us? We're done for!" she exclaimed, snuggling closer to Drew.
Drew pressed his lips against hers to silence her. "Katie, I'm right here. I am not going to let some psycho get to you. He'll have to get through me first."
Katie started crying. "That's just it, Drew! I don't want you to get hurt! A girl was killed tonight. If that had been you, I don't know what I would do."
Drew swallowed a lump in his throat. "Katie, what do you mean?"
She turned to face him, her blue eyes widening in response. "Drew, you saved me from another bulimia relapse. Marisol was being such a bitch to me, and if you hadn't shown so much support, I doubt I would have been strong enough to say no to that part of myself."
Drew sighed, remembering his girlfriend's complicated past. "Katie, you saved me too. I was being a violent ass after Vince's gang beat me up; you showed me a different way besides violence. Hell, you practically saved my life after I made a complete ass out of myself at that wrestling match last year!"
Katie grimaced, remembering the angry, scary guy Drew had once been. "Well, we've saved each other. Thank you for everything, Drew." Her tears dried as she buried her face in his chest, feeling his arms protectively wrap around her in the darkness.
"Marisol! Can we please keep the lights on?" Bianca begged in the room between Katie's and Eli's.
"Look, we need to get some sleep! I can't sleep with the lights on!" Marisol exclaimed frustrated, punching her pillow.
Bianca yanked off her sweatshirt and slid under her covers. "Um, hello? Bhandari was killed tonight, and anyone of us could be next! Have you forgotten the shit that had happened tonight?"
"Stop it. You're being so negative! None of us are going to die tonight! We're safe as of right now, so quit it and chill out!" Marisol growled, snapping off the light and stomping over to her bed.
Jake sat up in bed, frustrated. "Okay, you two are really pissing me off. Bianca, in order the sleep, we need the lights off. Marisol, stop being so insensitive and aggressive. Everyone is scared, so shut up, both of you!"
Both girls huffed indignantly and lay in bed, drifting off to a dreamless slumber.
Meanwhile, outside the hotel….
The man with the axe was waiting patiently in the woods, watching Clare sleeping peacefully with Eli spooned up behind her. He saw Katie curled into Drew's chest, and Marisol, Jake, and Bianca sleeping blankly. He smiled to himself. Perfect. He had these teenagers right where he wanted them, and they were going to die tonight.
Clare sat up in bed with tears streaming down her face. She coughed up a sob that was struggling to escape her chest. "Alli!" she shrieked, gripping her head in her hands to try and get her friend's screams out of her mind. They kept on echoing. "ALLI!"
Eli sat up alarmed. He noticed Clare sobbing in the darkness and immediately flipped the lamp on. "Shhhh, baby, its okay. Come here, sweetie, shhh." He cooed, picking Clare up and placing her in his lap.
Clare sobbed into his chest, feeling the surreal pounding in her head. The screams; the blood; the mangled body; the killer; the closet. The darkness. Her sobs came quicker after the other, and she choked on about three of them.
Eli rocked her back and forth, remembering what his mother had done for him after he had lost Julia. "Shhh, Clare, you're okay." He repeated in her ear, kissing her hair.
Once she finally managed to calm down, Eli took her into a warm embrace as he lay them both down under the thick blankets. "Clare," he soothed, running his hands up and down her arms.
"Eli, Alli's gone." She whispered emotionlessly, voice thick with tears.
"Oh, Clare, I know, I know." He hugged her tightly.
For the rest of the night, Clare lay painfully awake, recalling terrible memories even though Eli was murmuring sweet things in her ears all night long.
The man smiled vindictively, knowing exactly where the teens were. With that, he slowly entered the bottom entrance of the building by smashing open the door.
The teens were on the top floor. There was truly nowhere to run at this point.