Theo raised his hands in surrender. However, he didn't look particularly scared. Rebecca, however, with a pistol pressing painfully against her skull, was terrified. She tried to yank Connor's arm away from her neck so she could wriggle away, but he held fast. Her gut stirred slightly, but she forced herself to stay calm.
The moon above them made Theo's face look sinister, and him being the only one who could possibly help her wasn't reassuring. Especially since he didn't look like he believed Connor would actually shoot her, which was easy for him to say.
"Stay back," Connor repeated, even though Theo hadn't moved. "Just leave me alone."
"Let her go and I will," Theo promised. However the sureness in his voice made Connor become even more agitated. Rebecca let out an undignified strangled sound as Connor squeezed her neck even tighter. A slight breeze blew past them, causing hair to enter her mouth, but no oxygen went to her lungs.
"No," Connor bit back, readjusting his no doubt sweaty grip on the pistol digging into Rebecca's head. "You let me walk out of here with her."
"I can't let you do that," Theo argued, his voice lowered slightly as his gaze flickered to the madness in Connor's expression to Rebecca's bulging eyes, then back again. "Connor, let her go."
Rebecca didn't miss the way Theo took a microscopic shuffle closer, and apparently neither did Connor. He pushed the gun against her head so ferociously, he forced her to twist her neck at a very uncomfortable angle. He shrieked: "Stay back!"
"Okay," Theo said, lowering his hands so they came to rest at his chest, his fingers splaying to show that he had nothing to hide. "Alright, I won't come any closer."
"You let us walk out of here," Connor demanded, spit flying out of his mouth as he annunciated each word as if Theo was a stubborn child. "And you don't try and follow us for two hours."
Theo looked like he was going to argue, but shut his mouth quickly and Connor continued.
"If you don't follow us, I'll let her live," Connor said, his voice lilting as if he was providing a good bargain. "If you try and come too early again, I'll make sure you'll never be able to find her body."
Theo nodded, lowering his hands completely, so they fell to his sides limply. Connor relaxed his grip on Rebecca, and she tilted her chin upwards, allowing a deep breath of air to enter her lungs. Theo watched with furrowed eyebrows as Connor gruffly dragged Rebecca by the neck through a few bushes. He didn't move until the sight of the crazed Wendigo and his hostage were completely out of sight.
Theo Raeken cursed loudly, yanking out his phone and dialing Gus' number. The officer answered after three rings, and Theo felt himself deflate.
"You need to call back all of your men you sent to the road and get a search party ready," Theo said, looking back to where the sounds of Connor and Rebecca had long since disappeared. Damn Wendigos. "We have a serious problem."
Connor had adjusted their position, finding it too awkward to walk while simultaneously strangling her. Instead, he walked a half step behind her, knowing that she couldn't run because he was not only bigger than her, but faster as well.
He had her left arm in a vice like grip, his other hand holding one of the pistols to the small of her back. Rebecca's right hand twitched as she forced herself to just walk wherever he was leading her. She wanted more than anything to spin around and knock the pistol out of his hand, but she knew that there was another one lodged in his pocket and she would have a bullet in her body ten seconds after she tried anything.
"Connor," Rebecca said, her voice calm as if trying to disuade a little kid from throwing a temper tantrum. In response he poked her with the pistol, and where the cold metal touched her, she could feel a bruise forming.
"Shut up," Connor muttered. He sounded like Rebecca was the least of his worries. He probably was checking over his shoulder to try and hear sounds of pursuit.
"No," she replied. Rebecca could almost feel him stiffen, readjusting the grip on the pistol. For a millisecond he removed the pistol from her back. She tensed, prepared to retaliate. Yet in the next moment his hand was on her upper back, obviously still holding the pistol, as he shoved her from behind.
Rebecca flew forward, Connor's hand that had been holding her vanishing in a heartbeat. She landed on hard dirt, barely having time to reach out her hands to soften her fall. She omitted a loud, "Oof!" but wasted no time hauling herself up so she was standing as well.
Connor just watched as she back up to a clearing. He took a few steps to keep her in firing range, but allowed her to distance herself until he whistled mockingly.
"Watch your step," he called, his voice light.
Rebecca pivoted her waist, and much to her surprise, she discovered if she had taken another step, she would have died. She teetered on the edge of a cliff that dropped off down to a river.
Rebecca took a small step away, her eyes wide. The only light came from the moonlight struggling to make it through the numerous leaves. The entire clearing had a silver glow to it, and the shadows it casted made Connor's face unreadable. Rebecca knew exactly where she was now.
She was standing at gunpoint at the path where she watched Travis DeClair get murdered.
Connor watched as Rebecca swallowed, her throat dry. Even though she was obviously out of options, he didn't lower the gun.
"Seems kind of fitting, doesn't it?" Connor asked. "You dying where you let an innocent boy die?"
Rebecca didn't know whether to be shocked or scared. "But ... you told Theo that you'd let me live if no one followed you-"
"I changed my mind," Connor interrupted, his voice quiet and calm.
"Connor," Rebecca said, her hands raising in a pleading position, palms up. "Please, you don't need to kill me. You don't need to kill anyone."
"Neither did you," Connor spat, venom in his voice, but not his expression. He tilted his chin upwards so she could see the absolution in his eyes. "That's right. I was told exactly what happened to Travis DeClair, and not your pixie dust version either."
Connor was already scaring her, but after he spoke those words, she was downright horrified. "I never did anything, Connor, I swear."
"You," Connor yelled, ignoring her. He started to shake his head, his eyes wide. "You're just full of lie after lie. Lying to your mom about what you're doing, lying to Theo about who you are, and lying to the world about Travis DeClair!"
"I swear, Connor," Rebecca insisted. "I'm not lying."
"I have a better source than you!" Connor exclaimed, his voice shrill. "They told me that you helped them. You weakened him so that they could kill him. You're working with them!"
Rebecca froze, and her breath caught in her throat. Those doctors ... those Dread Doctors that she saw when Travis was murdered ... was that who Connor was talking about? Had they got to him somehow, first at the school, then now?
"Connor," Rebecca said, her voice low and steady. "Who told you this? Were they doctors?"
"I know you know who they are!" Connor shrieked, tears falling down his face. "I know you know the Dread Doctors! I know that you sold out my family to them so they could be murdered!"
"You think-" Rebecca faltered. She blinked, suddenly crushed. He thought that she had sold him out? "Connor, no. You're my friend, I would never do that to you."
"You know me too well," Connor said through gritted teeth. "You used me. You knew I had feelings for you and you manipulated me into being clueless about what you were doing. Who else visited my house enough to know when all of my family would be home? To know their schedules?"
Rebecca saw his bottom lip wobble. He was fighting to keep his emotions down, but the betrayal and the devastation were like neon signs in his eyes. They flashed his true thoughts.
He continued: "At first I thought that they were feeding me lies. You were my friend. Then, when you brought Theo Raeken with you, when you were 'comforting' me, who was ready to claw my eyes out without hesitation, might I add. I knew everything they said was right."
Rebecca opened her mouth, but Connor took three quick steps towards her, his voice rising as he did so.
"Don't you dare speak, you stupid bitch!" Connor screamed, pressing the pistol to her forehead, ready to blow her brains out. He lowered his voice, so he was calm once more. "I'm going to kill you, right here, right now. And then, you'll finally feel how I feel."
Rebecca was frozen on the spot, even as she watched Connor put his gun away. He looked down in order to properly tuck it into his pants, and when he looked back up his gaze was pure white. He opened his mouth to snarl at her, and his teeth and tongue were replaced by sharp daggers for teeth and a black void where his throat should be.
He extended his hands quickly towards her. She finally snapped out of her trance when she saw on the palm of his hands, the same daggers and void lashed out towards her. It was like little mouths just sprouted there on whim, ready to eat her flesh on contact.
Rebecca screamed, but it lasted only for a second. She cut herself off abruptly. The scream startled Connor, and in his hesitation, she raised her arm and punched him directly in the nose. He staggered backwards.
Rebecca ducked away from his flailing arms and scrambled away from the edge of the cliff. She knew that if she could just escape into the forest, he'd never be able to find her.
In her haste, she failed to realize he had swiped her feet from beneath her until her chest hit the ground, hard. The air was knocked out of her, but she forced herself to roll away from her current position. Sure enough, Connor's foot slammed down where her upper back was three seconds prior.
Rebecca arched her back, leaping to her feet using only her leg muscles. Connor was dazed at the maneuver, but sprung to life when Rebecca nearly hit the trees. In a desperate attempt to keep her from escaping he lunged forward. Connor managed to grab her left foot, dragging her off her feet and making her fall once again.
Rebecca could feet the teeth on Connor's hand ripping the fabric on her now ruined suede shoes. She shrieked, using her right foot to repeatedly kick his hand, his arm, even his face when he tried to drag himself closer. Rebecca finally got a solid hit at Connor's throat, and he released her.
Rebecca used her hands and legs to propel herself forward, away from Connor. She heard his screams of anguish, but she only got about five feet into her victory escape when two hands clamped themselves down on her arms.
Rebecca gasped, bringing her knee up to attack her captor, but stopped when she heard their voice.
"Rebecca! It's me, are you alright? Did he bite you?" Theo asked, desperation in his voice as he panted heavily. He sounded as if he had stopped running a few seconds ago. Relief flooded through her. Even though the forest was extremely dark, she nodded her head vigorously.
"I'm fine! I'm okay!" Rebecca insisted, and when she finally relaxed in his grip, he let go.
"Leave him, let's go," Theo urged, getting ready to turn and run. Yet before she could reply, Theo looked beyond her and stiffened. Even in the near-darkness, she knew that Theo was mentally preparing himself for a fight. Why couldn't Connor just have stayed down?
Rebecca turned just in time to see Connor jumping forward, his mouth opened to impossible sizes. His eyes glowed slightly, and even though they were blank, they were bloodthirsty. His hands were outstretched, ready to grab her. It was like a scene from a horror movie.
Theo none too gently shoved Rebecca out of the line of fire. She hit a tree and cried out in pain at the awkward angle she hit it. Theo, however, took on the full brunt of the attack. He went flying backwards and landed on his back with Connor on top of him. Theo's eyes began to glow as well as he growled out his discomfort.
Connor's palms were firmly lodged into Theo's shoulders, and Rebecca knew it must have hurt like hell. A Wendigo's teeth digging into your flesh as it ate you alive was no picnic. Theo, however, took it in stride. Rebecca recognized his tactic as he used his pain to trigger turning.
When Theo raised his lips to snarl in agony once more, his teeth were now long and jagged. His eyes resembled that of a canine, except yellow and angry - very angry. When he brought his hands up to yank Connor off of him, his fingernails had turned into long, sharp claws.
With inhumane strength Theo kicked Connor off of him and rose to his feet. Rebecca watched, holding her arm absently. Theo had not only used his pain to help him turn, but he brought out his feral instincts, and Rebecca hadn't seen that before. He reminded Rebecca of a cornered animal, and that was exactly what he was going for.
In the heat of the moment, Rebecca was actually impressed.
It wasn't long until Theo was attacking Connor again, pushing him until he was backed against a tree. Theo used his elbows to keep Connor's hands away from him. His claws made Connor screech in pain when they sliced him. Connor kicked Theo back and it looked as if they were caught in a heavy battle of, Don't-Touch-Me-With-Your-Hands.
Rebecca, however, knew that if this kept up, one of them would get seriously hurt, maybe even killed. Finally they separated, and Theo got a good scratch across Connor's chest. However, the bite marks on Theo were too numerous to count.
Rebecca picked up the largest wooden stick she could find, coming up behind Connor as he prepared to lunge at Theo. She braced herself, bringing it around her head, and swinging it like a baseball bat. Connor sensed the movement before she could do any serious damage, but he wasn't quick enough to evade her attack completely. The branch connected with his shoulder and it sent him flying.
Theo stopped mid snarl, lowering his hands to give Rebecca a surprised look. She cocked her head, breathing heavier than normal due to the effort it took. He started to change back, and in a few moments he was completely human looking once again. He jerked his head in the opposite direction of Connor. She nodded, dropping the stick and running. Theo waited until she was a good few paces in front of him before following.
Rebecca was prepared to disappear into the forest and leave a very out of his mind Connor in her dust. She tried so hard to do so as well.
The sound of a gunshot echoed in her ears and hit her almost like a physical blow. Out of instinct she immediately hit the dirt, scrabbling to make herself as small as possible.
A cry of horror and pain made Rebecca crane her head up. Her brains might have gottem blown out in the next second and she wouldn't have cared. Her vision, though not perfect, had grown used to the poor lighting. Enough to see what was happening. She looked up to see Theo falling to his knees, one arm shaking and trying to touch his own back while the other scraped the dirt to drag him away farther.
Connor, with gun raised in a proper stance and everything, emerged from behind a tree just long enough to aim another shot at Theo's leg. Another gut-wrenching howl came from the boy, and Rebecca leapt to her feet in seconds.
She jumped over a stump in her way. She sprinted the five paces it took to get herself between Theo and the gun. Or, more specifically, the boy holding the gun.
"Connor!" Rebecca screamed, her voice shrill with hysteria. The intensity of the situation made her eyes water and her knees weak. She raised a hand to keep back the gun, as the other arm was protectively outstretched to ensure Theo was still there. Her fingertips found his back, and she could feel him trembling in pain. "I won't say it again; drop the gun. Or you'll regret it."
Connor, although half hidden behind the trees, hesitated. Rebecca hoped that it was because he still trusted her, that he believed that she was just trying to help. Either way, the Wendigo started to lower the gun.
Rebecca didn't relax, not even for a millisecond. Theo, although he was panting and groaning in pain, managed to raise his head. His hairline glistened with sweat and he could feel the silver bullets inside him making his flesh scream in agony. However, he still had the strength, and the willpower, to be thoroughly confused about the scene behind him. Moments ago Connor MonHeim was a death machine, but now he was backing down?
Did the boy care for Rebecca that much?
No.
Connor swore he saw Rebecca tilt her head, looking back to check on Theo. In that second, he swung the gun around again, aimed right at her head.
Rebecca spun around so fast she was practically a blur. Using the hand that had been resting on Theo, she whacked the barrel of the pistol away from her. Instead of lodging in her skull, the bullet buried itself into the log.
Theo could hear the breath catch in Connor's throat. MonHeim was staring at Rebecca's face, the gun now looking awkward in his hands. Although Theo couldn't see her face, he could smell Rebecca's change of mood.
The buzzing in her gut that had been nagging her for the last few hours intensified. Connor had just tried to murder her without hesitation. She couldn't afford to hold back because of their past, for her and Theo's sakes.
The hand that had hit the pistol curved until it looked as if she was holding an imaginary rock. The sight of it was just out of Theo's eyesight. Rebecca furrowed her eyebrows and gave Connor the most poisonous glare she could muster.
The feeling in her gut started to grow into a near tangible feeling in her throat, bubbling out of her very core. Connor took a step back. Theo practically lurched forward. He couldn't see what was going on and it maddened him.
Before Rebecca could react, however, a loud whir of a machine silenced the trio. Rebecca watched Connor's face morph from muted fear to horror. He dropped the gun in his hand, stumbling away from the source of the sound. He tripped over his own two feet in his haste to distance himself. The clicks of machines and the strange glitching electrical sound instantly made Rebecca identify the noise. It was the sound of the Dread Doctors.
Rebecca, although the swirling in her torso hesitated, roared back to life as she faced where she thought the sound was coming from. She wouldn't let Theo die ... and she would try her best to save Connor. Before she could order the MonHeim boy to stay behind her, Rebecca heard a loud snap of a tree branch. She turned just in time to see him sprint into the forest, abandoning Theo and Rebecca.
Rebecca felt anger bubble, but it was eased when she realized the sound was fading. Or, to be exact, the sound was moving away. It seemed to follow Connor as he loudly and ungracefully crashed through the trees.
Rebecca was relieved, but soon after she felt guilty. Connor was her friend, she still cared if he died. However, friends don't normally attempt to eat and shoot each other, so she allowed herself to relax.
Rebecca knelt down next to Theo, placing a firm hand on his far shoulder. She rested her other one on the arm that had been supporting him. It was trembling, and concern panged through her. Though she focused most of her attention on her hearing, straining to catch even the slightest hint of the Dread Doctors.
Despite her vision playing tricks on her from time to time, the sounds passed without incident, and the Dread Doctors - along with Connor - were gone. After releasing a long breath, Rebecca turned to Theo and began to properly panic.
Rebecca didn't know exactly what to say. Instead, she help Theo slowly lower to the ground, his cheek resting on the hard earth. His breathing was ragged and it causing worry to course through her.
The blood that oozed out of his wounds wasn't promising. There wasn't much she could do for him. She didn't feel like ripping the bullets out of his body and sanitizing the wound right after. Before she was contained with Turtle Shell, the police officer that had drove her to the station confiscated her phone. She couldn't even call anyone for help. Instead she looked to Theo with an etched expression of worry.
He had been staring straight at her. At first she thought he was grimacing in pain, but she realized he was smiling.
"This must be really weird for you," Theo breathed. Oh yes, he still thought she didn't know about the supernatural. He must have thought she had taken all of what had happened in stride, and now he was impressed. How sweet.
"Well, I've dealt with murderers, but not with glowing eyes. Gotta keep the game fresh somehow, I suppose," Rebecca said. She mentally slapped herself despite Theo's snort of amusement. Now was not the time for jokes. "But for now you've been shot, and at least you're not trying to eat me. Where's your phone?"
"In my left jacket pocket," Theo grunted, shifting to give her easier access. Rebecca awkwardly leaned across him, fishing into his pocket while trying not to touch his wounded back. She prayed his cellphone wasn't broken. She yanked it out and held it up to her face. When she turned it on the light blinded her, but at least it was working.
"Thank goodness," Rebecca muttered, squinting at the phone extended a few feet away from her face. She was calling 911 in an instant, tapping her fingernail on the ground impatiently for the phone to register the call.
After a few seconds Rebecca, beyond the voice of the man who was answering on the other end, frowned. Something changed. She told the officer to wait and looked at Theo. He was lying still, eyes rolled back into his head, and quiet. Very quiet. She nearly dropped the phone in panic. He wasn't breathing.
"Theo!" Rebecca exclaimed, her voice hoarse as she reached out and checked his pulse. Nothing "Oh my god, Theo! If you die, I swear to god I'll kill you..."
"Miss, stay on the phone, we're using a satellite to track your location as we speak," the cop on the other end explained. Rebecca wasn't listening, too busy yanking off her jacket. She laid it down beside Theo and rolled him onto it in a matter of moments. She flinched, because it would have hurt if he wasn't so close to death. Even a werewolf could only take so much pain. Maybe she should have ripped out the bullets...
She positioned her hands over his heart area and began to press down on his ribs. Finally the bone broke, and she was able to properly pump his heart. After a few seconds she shifted, plugging his nose and forcing his mouth open.
"C'mon, Raeken," Rebecca muttered after blowing air into his mouth. She went back to pumping his heart. "Don't die. You save my life, I save yours. Deal?"
Many hours later, it was a hassle to escape from her mother's hawk like gaze. Yet even the Deputy had to sleep sometime, and although Rebecca was exhausted as well, she snuck out of her own house and hopped into her car as quickly as possible. Using a small, messy, sheet with directions, she drove to the East end of town.
She parked her car down the street from the house she had her sights set on. She tried to be as quiet as possible while walking down the sidewalk under the streetlamps at about four in the morning. It felt more awkward than it looked.
Finally reaching the house, she dove into the driveway and tried her best to stealthily sneak around to the backyard. Luckily, there weren't many people out to gawk at her at this time of day. She bent down next to a window that obviously dropped down to a basement, and positioned herself to open it. In a stroke of luck, it was already open, and she peered down to ensure a safe landing.
Rebecca wriggled through the open window and dropped down to the carpeted floor without a sound. She really hoped they didn't have any pets.
Using the minimal light that poured in from the window, she slowly turned in a circle to adjust her eyes to the dark room, and to find what she was looking for. Rebecca's sights settled on a door with a large sign that spelt something in upercase, wriggly letters. It was something about a band, Rebecca vaguely remembered the name, but it was irrelevant. She walked up to the door and used her sleeve to open it, to try and minimize fingerprints.
There was police tape across the doorway that she ducked under, and some more across the few windows. There was two strips making an 'X' across his four poster bed. Rebecca quietly shut the door and tried not to step over anything as she made her way across the room.
For such a small place it certainly was ridiculously messy, with candy bars strewn everywhere and the odd pencil abandoned on the floor. Not to mention the heaps of books that took up a quarter of the room's surface, spilling over the bookcase and every available table.
Rebecca never knew Travis DeClair was such a book lover. Though, she supposed she didn't really know anything about him, other than he was Mieko's boyfriend.
She bent down to the nearest book stack, rifling through it and much to her dismay, not finding what she was searching for. There were so many books, though, so she knew it would take a while.
She searched through a few more piles before standing and stretching her legs. She yawned and raised her arms above her head. She lazily glanced around the room before her eyes snapped back to his bed.
Laying right near the pillow, was the book she was looking for. With its cover up and exposing the picture of the Dread Doctors with their names written in bold lettering. Rebecca stepped awkwardly over another pile of books, picking up the one she wanted gingerly, as if it was made of glass. It wasn't very big, she guessed it was about one hundred and fifty pages or so.
Rebecca opened it to the very first page, skimming the first line. She frowned as she finished the page, flipping to the next. Then the next. After a few minutes of standing there in the middle of Travis' room and reading, however, she snapped out of her trance. She needed to get out of there, before someone came down to investigate why there was suddenly an open window letting in cold air.
She retraced her steps, closing his bedroom door then using a nearby desk to haul herself out of the window. She closed that as well, and practically ran to her car. She threw the book into the passenger seat, the red glass eyes of the Dread Doctors staring into her soul as she pulled away into the street and towards her house.
As she drove she found that most of her attention was clouded by what she had read. She nearly ran through a stop sign as images of the book raced past her minds eye. Her breathing became unnaturally deep and in desperation her right hand left the wheel and reached towards the book, fingers trembling.
It was the best lead she had, and she would be damned to let it slip past her fingers. Something always seemed to happen right before she could properly look into these Dread Doctors, and she was paranoid it would happen again. So she wasted no time pulling over onto a grassy break in the line of houses, and parking her car so she could read.
Rebecca lost track of time, but she was so invested in the story, she couldn't stop even if she tried.
A while later she was nearing the end, and she swore that her exhaustion was finally catching up to her. Her focus wavered and she seemed to read entire pages without absorbing anything. Her eyelids felt like they weighed a tonne. As if she was suddenly hit, Rebecca slumped forward, her head hitting the top of her steering wheel. The book fell to the ground, but she was already unconscious.
There seemed to be something artificial about the way she dreamed. First of all, her dream started as soon as her eyes closed, and she could remember every second of it. Even when the scenery was just coming into focus, looking like a fog was lifting, exposing the trees around her
It didn't take her long to figure out where she was. It seemed she would never escape that place.
The part of the forest near the stream, where she watched Travis get murdered. Except, this time she wasn't just plagued by the awful memory of that day. The dream suddenly became dizzyingly vivid. Right in front of her, just as she had remembered, Travis lurched towards her sickeningly. His movements were primal.
Even though Rebecca remembered exactly how the fight had happened, there was something surreal about watching it happen again. She felt herself reach into her pocket and yank out her phone. She looked down and saw that it was covered in waves of static. Rebecca found that she couldn't bring herself to move. The only time she could do something, it was to fulfill an action she had done exactly the same the day she did it. She was reliving the entire experience.
Rebecca knew, then, what was coming next.
The Dread Doctors emerged from the forest, taking ahold of Travis. Rebecca tried to attack them, but they grabbed her and threw her to the ground. Except, instead of being dazed and barely conscious like she was that day, Rebecca watched what was happening with startling alertness.
She watched as the Dread Doctors crowded around her, their glitching movements making her want to recoil. Yet she couldn't move due to the large hand holding her down. Rebecca didn't remember this happening.
Travis fell down next to her, but she was more interested in the Doctors, who pulled out a drill of some kind. As two of them held down her arms and legs, the one holding the drill bent down and positioned it beside her head.
Rebecca watched in her half dream state, horrified as the Doctors prepared to drill into her ear. She could hear the drill beginning to whir right beside the opening.
How had she not remembered this happening? Rebecca wanted to struggle, to scream, to get free, but all she could do was watch in mute horror. She was a prisoner in her own body.
She could feel the drill reach her ear, and pain flared from that spot. She felt something spark inside her. Rebecca heard the whirring of the drill fade to a dull hum. What was happening? Her vision was stuck on the Dread Doctors still pinning her to the ground.
She watched as suddenly they all drew back from her. She felt a burning behind her eyes. Rebecca finally understood what was happening. Much to her confusion, however, the Doctors, who normally twitched and buzzed as if they were holograms, became suddenly extremely unsteady.
It looked as if the very particles that kept them together were being separated. The feeling in Rebecca's gut intensified. She watched as the Doctors faded in and out of focus, momentarily disappearing completely before sharpening into focus once more. Even as she was barely conscious, her self defense mechanism was defending her. The Dread Doctors retreated, the whirring and clicking sounds they made growing faint. The wind that had irritated Rebecca had increased to an almost impossible rate.
The farther away the Dread Doctors got, the less intense the spinning in her stomach became. Finally, when the Doctors disappeared, it evaporated all together.
Rebecca was left lying there, the torrent of wind steadily dying down, but not disappearing completely. Her eyelids were half closed, oblivious to everything that had just happened.
The Dread Doctors had left no trace of what had just happened, leaving nothing but a dead body, and a numb buzzing in Rebecca's ears. She lay beside Travis DeClair helplessly as red and silver liquid dripped out of his body and slowly dissolved into the soil.
Rebecca jolted awake in her car, alarmed. Her heart was in her mouth as her hand instinctively covered her ear. She felt around the opening, and felt no trace that a drill had nearly entered through there. Still, for some reason she had been able to remember it happening. It was as if the memory had been at the back of her mind, but only now was the veil lifted.
And as Rebecca watched the sun rise through her rearview mirror, she feared for her life more than she ever had before.
