Chapter 4 - The Figure in the Shadows

When Samantha was back in her SUV, she quickly pull out of there just before there were any cops were in sight. She could hear the sirens in the distance getting closer and began to grow nervous. At first she couldn't tell if the were behind her or in front. Samantha pressed harder on the gas pedal. At this moment, she was very thankful for have a vehicle that could handle the bumpy dirt road at a higher speed than Sarah's car. Hopefully, both girls and Chase would have enough time to escape.

Suddenly there was a fork in the road.

Oh, FUCK.

Without pausing, Samantha went right. 'God, I hope I'm right. I can't remember which way I came from,' she thought frantically. After about ten minutes, the road never ended or merged on Old Dell's Road. Or any other paved road. She stopped in the middle of the dirt road and nervously glanced around. There was no place for her to turn her vehicle around.

So, she would have to keep driving.

Samantha didn't move though. Something felt off again. And then the ringing in her ears came back. Turning off the RAV4 and headlights, she let her head fall back against the headrest. How far had she actually driven into the woods? She let herself breathe deeply couple times to regain her sanity. At this point she knew it wasn't the alcohol. She started to feel better when all them were walking back to the cars. Now the feelings just suddenly came back.

Samantha felt hot and uncomfortable and quickly threw her seat belt off to get out of the SUV. The cold air hit her flushed skin. She audibly sighed in relief as she leaned back against a nearby tree. The ringing began to dissipate, but the feeling of uneasiness still bubbled in the back of her throat. It felt uncomfortable to swallow and there was a heaviness in her chest, making it hard to breathe. Sweat glistened on her skin and made the clothes lightly stick to her.

Maybe she having a panic attack because of all the new social interactions. After everything that's happened, day to day activities were becoming harder to deal with. Samantha knew it was just something she was going to have to push through. Her nails dug into the bar of a pine tree as she cursed at the feelings. Glancing back at her SUV, she saw a figure in her passenger seat.

"Wha-?" She blinked in confusion and tried to clear her head.

It was a boy around her age. He had natural red hair and paler than normal skin. Then she saw his eyes. The were cloudy and white. He opened his mouth to scream, but there was no sound. His face then began to morph into something horrible. His mouth got bigger and bigger as the skin begin to tear around his lips and grew whiter.

Samantha let out a scream through the hand that covered her mouth.

His body began to disappear as if the wind was blowing him away.

She didn't know if he was completely gone by the time she had turned around to run.

Samantha was running the fastest she had ever ran. She had no idea where she was going, but she didn't care. All she wanted to do is get away from whatever was in her SUV. A burning sensation, like poison oak on the skin, stung her lungs and tears streamed down her cheeks.

'Run. Just run.'

A shadow suddenly caught her eyes through the dimly lit trees and, somehow, she pumped her legs faster. Panic was boiling her blood and the sound of her heart beat was all she could hear. She scanned the woods around her, watching out for trees and the shadow that was following her.

Then, there it was again - the fleeting shadow that only seemed to show itself in her peripheral vision.

And then, beneath her feet there was nothing but air.

For a split second, the world froze. Just below her was a steep slope. Rocks that covered the slope had large exposed roots intertwined within themselves. The air got caught in her throat and then gravity over took her body.

Samantha's body toppled over the rocks and roots. In a violent tumble, her head slammed into one of the rocks and she then continued to cartwheel down until she hit flat ground. Warm liquid stained the side of her head and oozed down over her right ear. The world was spinning and a throb pulsated through her head. A rustle of leaves made her snap her head up. She saw nothing but black. She stumbled to a shaky stance as she listened to someone walk around not too far from her. Samantha was groggy and suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Stretching her arms out, she felt her way to a large rock where she sat. Her breathing was short and fast. It was almost like she couldn't breathe.

"Please, don't hurt me," she whispered.

Someone was watching her and she was sure of that.

Samantha could feel the eyes on her.

She quietly cried as she began to hear the footsteps walk in the opposite direction.

It was leaving.

Then there was silence

It wasn't long after the silence settled that she felt the nausea come back ten times worst.

In a millisecond, she was rushing off the rock to regurgitate beer and whatever she had eaten before the party. If there was anything she hated, it was throwing up. It burned her nose, made her eyes water and left the worst taste in her mouth. Especially alcohol.

She heaved deeply to throw up again. When she was done, she wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her sweater. She let her back fall against a tree and tried to slow down her breathing. What the actual fuck? What was going on? Samantha collapsed to ground as she began to see bright spots in her vision.

Then, there was nothing but darkness.


Author's Note: Woohoo! Two chapters in one day! Please leave feedback to let me know what you think so far! It would be greatly appreciated! Thank you! Love you guys!