The former campers stayed in their hiding place for the rest of the night. None of them were willing to risk leaving to find somewhere else to stay. The horror had finally arrived, Gwen's vision had come true. And the campers realized that they may indeed need the help of the DuValls. None of them wanted to admit this truth, but they could no longer deny it. Verizzano was indeed far worse than Dorian had been and the more soldiers they had, the better their chances were to survive.
The following morning, Abigail woke the campers early. "Come on, time to get moving." she said, nudging D.J.'s shoulder.
"Ugh, what's going on? Where are we?" asked Lindsey, confused and sleepy.
"We're in the park." Abigail replied. "We were attacked last night by Victor Verizzano, the threat Gwen saw in her vision."
"Oh, yeah." said Lindsey, sitting up. "Is Heather okay?" she asked, remembering the poisoned needles Heather had been hit with the night before.
"Yes. She'll make a full recovery." Abigail answered, glancing over her shoulder at Heather's prone form.
By now the others were awake. "So, what's the plan?" Noah asked, looking at Abigail.
"We'll go into the forest. Head for my old cabin. We can hole up there for a few days." Abigail replied.
"And if Verizzano finds us, then what?" asked Courtney. "We can't run around the world forever. Eventually we're gonna have to fight."
"Yes." said Aneka. "We will. But for now, running is the best option. Until we know exactly what Verizzano can do, it is best not to confront him."
"I thought you knew him?" said Chris. "Or was what you told us last night all a lie?"
"No, it was the truth." said Brendan. "We do know him, but he has powers that we have never seen before. If we are to have any chance of beating him, we must study him first. Otherwise we're all dead."
"Alright, enough talking, we gotta go." said Abigail. "Justin can you carry Heather, she's not yet ready to walk on her own power."
Justin nodded and picked up Heather, who groaned, but did not protest. Abigail lead the former campers out of the city, heading for the woods. She had a cabin hidden deep in the forest, where she lived before Heather brought her back to her father, and she knew it would be safe, at least for the time being. As they moved towards the cabin, Izzy caught sight of something out of the corner of her eye. It was moving fast and was headed towards the group. She was not the only one who saw it, either as Abigail and Aneka both froze, sensing the danger.
"What the hell is it?" Izzy whispered, looking uncertainly at Abigail.
"I'm not sure." Abigail replied. She tilted her head, listening for any sound that might give the creature away. After a few seconds, horrified understanding crossed her face. "Oh, God." she breathed. "It can't be."
"Abigail, what is it?" Aneka asked, glancing at the others.
"A stalker." was Abigail's response. Aneka's eyes widened and Brendan drew his blade.
"What is it?" Duncan asked, noticing the sudden tension in the air.
"A stalker." Abigail repeated. "Cyborg hunters that Verizzano created when he was still in the Shadow Guild. They exist for one purpose, to hunt and kill whatever he tells them to."
"But that means-" Duncan said, stopping in mid sentence as understanding hit him. Abigail nodded, confirming his fear.
"Let's go!" Trent shouted, before Abigail could stop him. Suddenly the stalker came crashing through the trees.
"Run!" Chef shouted. He turned to face the monstrous creature charging towards them. The stalker swung one of its massive blade-like arms at Chef's head, but he managed to duck in time. Aneka, Abigail, Brendan, and Duncan were at his side, each of them trying to find a way to strike at the stalker's exposed underside. Duncan leapt onto the creature's back and Brendan tossed him his blade. With one swift slice, Duncan severed the stalker's head, dropping it to the ground. As he did so, six more emerged from the surrounding woods.
"Shit! How many of these things are there?" Duncan asked.
"No idea." Abigail shouted back. "Doesn't matter now though, we're out numbered, time to go. Follow the others."
They ran, finally catching up to the others at Abigail's cabin. "Everybody inside!" Abigail shouted as she arrived.
"The damn door's locked." said Cody. "How're we supposed to get in?"
"Break it, damn it." snapped Duncan. Cody obeyed and they shoved their way inside.
Several hours later there had been no action from the stalkers. Suddenly, Verizzano's deep, raspy voice boomed out, shattering the silence. "I am growing tired of this game of hide and seek." he bellowed. "Why don't you come out and play a different game?"
"Shit, he found us." muttered Duncan.
"Not yet he hasn't." said Aneka. No sooner had the words escaped her lips, when Verizzano burst through the door, followed by his stalkers.
"Head for the back door." Abigail commanded. The others obeyed, only to find more stalkers waiting outside. Abigail pushed through them and headed deeper into the woods. The others followed and the stalkers pursued. They had been running for several minutes when a sickening snap echoed through the forest like a gunshot. Geoff spun and saw Bridgette lying on the ground, clutching her right leg, which was obviously broken. Chef, who was a few paces behind, saw this too, and scooped Bridgette up without missing a beat.
Several minutes later, a stalker caught up to them. It swung out at the back of the group, the blunt side of its blade connecting with Courtney's head. "COURTNEY!" Duncan screamed. He charged the stalker, but was knocked back by the force of an explosion. By the time he regained his bearings, the stalker was gone and so was Courtney. As the others regrouped it became apparent Courtney was not the only one missing. Lindsey, Katie, and Beth were also nowhere to be found.
A/N: And that's chapter ten. How will the campers defeat Verizzano? What is his ultimate endgame? And will the others save Courtney, Beth, Lindsey and Katie before it's too late? Keep reading to find out. Oh yeah, I should mention, there's still more surprises to come.