The rustling of the tall grass put the other on edge as he followed the first back to he path that led through the woods. Both trained their flashlights on the ground ahead of them, though occasionally the first would flick the beam up, stopping, scanning the tree line.
The camcorder was running out of tape, but the other was trying to capture as much as he could in sweeping gestures. Just in case.
"What if this doesn't work?" he asked, raising his voice a little over the sound of their tromping. He had pulled his mask up over his head once they'd left the car, finding it easier to breathe this way.
The first stopped again, half-way turned and regarded the other. His flashlight came up, temporarily blinding the other and causing him to throw an arm up to cover his face... though the first didn't say a word. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, face still masked like that, but the other figured it'd be better not to question... if the first didn't want to explain himself, then prodding him for answers was probably just going to make him cranky. The other had learned that much since this had started.
They found the dirt and gravel trail soon afterwards, and began back to the car. The other nearly bounced into the first as the latter stopped short, only a few yards from the head of the parking lot. The other brought the camcorder up and scanned the area, looking for any kind of distortion even as he pulled the mask back into place. Nothing...
The first dug into the gravel and pitched forward, running hard to the car. The other realized what had set him off -- the man was no longer in the back seat, unconscious as they'd left him. He had just finished pulling himself into the front seat, and realized that a masked person was bolting out of the dark of the forest at him.
The man, arms free of binding tape, gawked for half a second before grabbing the car door and slamming it shut. The first slammed against that, dropping his flashlight in his haste to scramble the door open again. Doing his best to faithfully record the incident, the other hurried over to both of them.
Before the man could lock the door, the first pulled it open and grabbed the man by the arm. They struggled there, half in and half out of the car, until the first managed to get some leverage and heaved the both of them out onto the hard-packed gravel of the lot. The man, desperate and finding himself on top for once, found his hand on the flashlight and brought it up to smack the first in the head -- but the other was close enough now. He quickly freed up his hands and grabbed the man's arm as it came down, barely managing to keep the flashlight from making contact with the first's face.
From there it was somewhat easier -- the two of them wrestled the man into submission again... and only after he had gone limp, head smacking the ground as he fell unconscious again, did they ease up.
The other scrambled back to his flashlight and camcorder, scooping them up and catching the briefest glimpse of heavy distortion before the viewfinder settled out again. He was breathing hard, and this time he did give in to the urge to cough. Bent over for a few minutes with his hands on his knees, he felt the world swim in and out of focus as his lungs and throat burned. The pressure of a hand on his back didn't help much, but the other did his best to stop himself. He managed to get the urge under control, for the most part, and turned to look up at the first. "I need your help," the first said, voice flat but somewhat more subdued than usual.
"Can we go back now?" the other rasped. He needed water, if nothing else.
The first inclined his head, not quite nodding, but it was enough to settle any worries the other had for the moment. The thought of returning to the house was a great relief -- which was ironic, after everything that had happened.
Whatever the case, the other got to work, helping the first pile the unconscious man back into the car. Soon they'd be be back. Whether He would be there to greet them or not was the question.