Godzilla183: Uh-huh.
Matt: Indeed she did.
A/N: Before I continue, just want to clarify: yes, Denise really is dead. No "coming back to life" for this poor kid.
We didn't know how long we ran, nor which direction we were going. The only thing on our minds was survival.
We fled through the woods, hoping to outpace our Mud Monster pursuers. Kevin, Vic and Gregory were in the lead, running like they were in a marathon. They didn't even look back to see if we were keeping up with them. Hat was holding Charlene by the wrist, running while half-dragging her with him. Molly and Courtney were behind us, but their heavy panting and footsteps let me know they were still going.
As repulsive a thought as it was, I almost entertained the idea that Denise could keep the monsters occupied long enough for us to make our escape. It was a disgusting thing to hope for and I knew it; I may not have liked Denise, but her falling prey to the Mud Monsters was the last outcome I would've wished upon the girl. But at the moment, our survival was my main priority.
By now, the Mud Monsters were far out of sight. With the immediate threat gone for the time being, we finally stopped to catch out breaths. The Mud Monsters may have been numerous, but they weren't omnipresent, and it would surely take a while for their lumbering forms to catch up with us.
Gregory slumped against a tree, wheezing heavily after having to over-exert himself. His hand was on his stomach, which rose and fell with each ragged breath. Nearby, Kevin and Vic were leaning forward, their hands on their knees. Hat, Charlene and Molly were huddled close to each other, resting on a log.
"Guys?" Gregory asked, still gulping in breaths. "What do we do now?"
For a few moments, nobody responded. Finally, Molly said, "We have to get back to the cabin."
"Go back to the cabin?" Vic retorted incredulously. "Are you serious? We have to get the heck out of here! Go back to the town!"
"Our classmates are in danger!" Hat argued. "We have to warn them, before the Mud Monsters get them!"
Kevin strode up to my three friends. "Do any of you have a phone on ya?" He asked. The three shook their heads, and Kevin let out an exasperated groan.
"I think some of the kids at the cabin do," Charlene suggested, her hand on Hat's shoulder.
Kevin sighed. "I guess we have no choice," He grumbled. "We have to go back for the little brats."
I nodded. "We better hurry up, then," I said. "Those Mud Monsters could be closing in on us right now. Or worse, the cabin."
As we prepared to head off towards the cabin, my eyes landed on Courtney. The girl was facing away from us, standing still as a statue. Her head hung low, and I could barely make out a small choking sound emitting from her lips.
"C-Courtney?" I whispered, feeling a modicum of concern for my arch-rival. "Are you. . . alright?"
The moment the words left my lips, I realized the sheer stupidity of my question. Not too long ago, she had been forced to abandon her best friend to the Mud Monsters; of course she wouldn't be "alright".
As I silently admonished myself for my stupidity, Courtney whispered, "We shouldn't have left her."
Before I could reply, Vic stated, "It was her or us, kid! If we stayed, we'd have all been dead! Would you have preferred that?"
Courtney whirled around to face him, her eyes filled with rage. "I'd have preferred it if it had been one of you idiots left behind instead of her!" She shouted with a venom she had never used on me.
"Oh yeah?!" Gregory shouted, standing by Vic. "Maybe we should leave you behind to face those Mud Monsters by yourself!"
"Hey!" Kevin bellowed, causing his friends to shrink down. "Knock it off! We have to get going before those Mud Monsters catch up! Move it!" With that, he stormed off in the direction of the cabin.
Courtney strode by me, sticking her tongue out at Vic and Gregory as she walked by. I exchanged glances with the two teens before following the rest of the group towards the cabin.
We had lost Denise. I just hoped we weren't too late to save the others.
At Butcher's Cabin, the kids invited to Courtney's slumber party had slowly grown restless as Courtney failed to return. Some of the children had started eating the candy Courtney had left despite her requests not to, while others simply wandered around in the living room, bored.
"Where is she?" Megan, a girl dressed as a ghost, asked. "Courtney can't have been outside for that long."
"Do you think she ditched us to go trick or treating?" Paul, a boy dressed as a zombie, replied. "Because that'd be a real dick move if she did."
In the corner, Devin let out a gasp. "Do you think that maybe a Mud Monster got her or something?" He asked.
The other kids turned towards Devin, baffled. "A Mud Monster?" A girl dressed as a fairy said in shock. "That's crazy talk, Devin. Courtney wouldn't let herself get caught by a Mud Monster. She's too cool."
"Well it sure isn't cool to just abandon us," Mary said, putting her hands on her hips. "That's it, I'm leaving. I've wasted too much time as it is." She prepared to head for the door, but stopped when the kids heard a knocking on the door.
"That must be Courtney!" Paul said hopefully.
"Good," Mary said. "She better have an explanation for keeping us waiting." She stormed up to the door and swung it open, prepared to give Courtney a piece of her mind.
However, when she opened the door, it wasn't Courtney standing outside, facing her. Instead, Mary found herself staring into a pair of empty, soulless eyes.
The eyes of a Mud Monster.
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