Chapter 7
It Won't Let Us Leave
Ash was shocked. He had opened the door when he heard the knocking, not knowing what to expect. It might have been Scotty doing another prank, or possibly Shelly, having locked herself out. He never expected his sister, on her hands and knees, wearing torn-apart clothes and white as a ghost. She forced her way inside and slammed the door shut. Cheryl looked as though she had been attacked by a wild animal, covered in cuts and bruises, her clothing was barely hanging on and acting as though she had seen a monster. The others ran in and Linda grabbed a coat, handing it to Cheryl, who wrapped it around herself in between sobs.
Scotty, as usual, was the first to speak. "What happened to you?"
Ash continued that thought. "Cheryl what happened? What's the matter? Did something in the woods do this to you?"
"No!" Cheryl gasped, "It was the woods themselves!" This made no sense to Ash, but that just made him worry about his sister more.
"They're alive Ashley!" She sobbed, burying her self in his arms. Ash knew that whatever had happened was serious, if she was calling him by his full name in front of his friends. He knew his sister, she didn't scare easily. Whatever happened out there had to have been something serious.
Linda spoke up, trying to be the voice of reason. "Ash, why don't I take her in the back room, so she can lie down and-"
"I'm not lying down!" Cheryl screamed. The girl was hysterical. "I wanna get out of here!" she turned back to her brother, gripping him by the collar. "I need to leave this place right now! Right now Ashley!"
"Wait a minute" Scotty broke in "I'm sure as hell not leavin' any place tonight"
Shelly and Linda both tried to say something
"Cheryl…"
"Cheryl"
Ash one more time to subdue his sister. "Cheryl, there's nothing out there! Trees do not attack people!"
"Ashley!" Cheryl yelled, more forcefully this time. "Will you drive me into town or not?"
"Right now?" Ash winced. He stared into his sister's eyes. He saw little else but panic and desperation. "Sure, sure, I'll take you into town but just, listen to what your saying, feeling a little hysterical and desperate himself.
"I don't care how it sounds!" Cheryl said through gritted teeth. "I wanna get out of this place right now!" She started shoving her arms through the sleeves of her jacket.
"Ok, okay" Ashley finally gave up; he never could win a fight with his sister. "You can stay somewhere in town tonight" He grabbed his own jacket, pulling it on as he stepped out the door.
The two Williams siblings stepped outside and into the moist night air. Cheryl made a beeline for the car as Ash was still trudging down the steps.
The other three watched from the door as Cherylin and Ashley got in. Everyone had been unnerved by Cheryl's desperation and panic. What could have done that to her? Why was she ranting about the trees?
"C'mon" Ash muttered as his ancient cars engine struggled to work. After the third try, he slumped forward, staring out the window at his friends with a tired look on his face.
"I know it's not going to start" Cheryl said after the sixth try, panic rising in her voice again. "It's not gonna let us leave."
Finally, it caught on the seventh try. The headlights flared as the car lurched into gear. Ashley managed a small smile at his sister as they backed up and drove off down the forest road. Scotty and the others sighed, watched them go, turned around and reentered the cabin.
The two drove down the road in silence, Cheryl not caring what happened, as long as she and Ash got out of there and Ash wondering what had happened to his sister and if there would be any cherry pie left when he got back. Suddenly he noticed something. The car ground to a halt as he stared out the windshield. The headlights couldn't pierce this unnatural gloom.
Cheryl turned "Why are we stopping?"
Ashley got out to inspect the road leading to the bridge. As he got closer, he rubbed his eyes to make sure he was looking at what he thought he was. What the hell? Ash trudged forward for a closer look.
Cheryl leaned out the window of her brother's car. "Do you see something?" she shouted into the darkness Ash had walked into. Foggy silence greeted her, punctuated by the creaking and groans of wood. "Where are you going?" He didn't answer. "Ashley?" She prayed that her brother hadn't fallen victim to the trees. If he had, what then? Should she continue without him? Should she go back and warn the others? Maybe he needed her help?
Cheryl opened the car door, stepping onto the cold earth. She walked forward, warily hunched over in case something decided to leap out at her. She gasped as a tree branch swung down low. It didn't move after that. Cheryl ducked underneath it and continued towards the bridge, in search of her brother. The headlights illuminated the bridge as she stepped forward, taking in the whole, horrific scene. Cheryl turned. No, she thought, no no no. It was too much to take in. She dashed back to the car and yelped as Ash grabbed her. She started to cry again. "It's not going to let us go!" she screamed. It won't let us go!"
Ash tried to say something, anything to calm down Cheryl but she couldn't hear any of it.
"Why won't you listen to me!" she yelled, "It won't let us leave!"
Ash stared at his sister as she collapsed to the ground, crying. He honestly couldn't help her, mostly because he was also freaked out. He moved his gaze over to the bridge. The bridge that had been warped by some incredible force. The bridge that had been torn apart so that no one could cross it. He could do nothing but stare at it; the planks and beams used to support it had been curled up, distorted into the shape of, a hand. A hand that seemed grasp at them, a hand that seemed to consciously both want to stop them and also was reaching out at them. Like the road was an arm, leading up to this hand that wouldn't let them leave.
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Yikes! What is this? The bridge is out in the most horrible way possible and the others are starting to believe what Cheryl be preaching. Will our heroes survive the night? Will the tree that got Cheryl ever call back? And why, oh why did I cut this chapter short just to create phony dramatic tension? Stay Tuned!
