Author: Selene Romanov


Title: Twilight

Rating: PG-13

Summary: A continuation of Chapter Six. Haley is caught by the stalker and given a choice to make!! Nathan realizes something.


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4:14 am

Breathing impatiently, the shadow waited for her to make a noise. I know she's close, I can sense her fear, it's coming off her in waves, almost like a radio signal. Black covered him from head to foot.

Yards away, Haley cowered in fear under a log. What am I going to do? Harsh moonlight filtered through the treetops, almost mockingly.

4:17 am

On the opposite side of the woods, Luke called for Haley. Brooke called her name almost whiningly. "I bet you she's doing this for the attention." Crossing her arms, Brooke pouted. "I'm cold, can't I go back to the tents, and wait, what if Haley comes back and sees there's no one there."

Sick and tired of Brooke's whining, although it'd only been ten minutes, Luke nodded his head and walked off in the shadows without a word to Brooke.

Hundreds of feet away, "Damn it Peyton, can't you walk faster? I'm really worried about her, what if something bad happened?" Nathan rambled worriedly, not even listening to what he was saying.

"I thought you had it bad over me, when we were going out, but I think you're in love with her. You don't even realize it." Peyton stormed off down the path back to camp.

Nathan stopped in the middle of the trail. Could I be in love with Haley? When I find her, I'm going to shake her so hard and then hug her so tight and never let her go. As he turned to go further down the trail, his foot hit something. His gaze slid down, a glint of pink caught his eye. Haley's flashlight. Deep down in his gut, Nathan knew something bad had happened. It was up to him to find Haley.

4:24 am

Haley crept along the trees, trying to keep to the shadows. Something grabbed her hair, a glove covered her mouth and dragged her through the woods to a clearing. Haley fought with all her strength. A knock to the head, and she was out like a light. Like a wildcat, I can see why Nathan likes her.

A deserted wooden cabin loomed in the distance. The shadow carried his load up the stairs and inside. Closing the door quietly. The forest was eerily silent.

4:26 am

Nathan stumbled back into camp, he'd searched high and low, Haley was nowhere to be found, clutching her pink flashlight in his hand. He saw Brooke and Peyton sitting in front of the fire, huddled together in a blanket. Luke stood across the fire from him. Nathan signaled him to come over.

"Did you find anything?" Luke asked him. His eyes full of worry.

"I found her flashlight, down the East trail about three minutes away. I think she dropped it, I tried to track her, but…………………..she ran off the trail Something was chasing her……….I don't what it was." Nathan closed his eyes, willing away all the bad thoughts consuming his mind.

"Damn it, who would want to hurt her?" Nathan cursed. If anything happens to her, I don't what I'll do.

"Look we've got to do something," Luke said.

"Well obviously, we can't just leave her in the woods, all alone," Nathan felt a tear trickle down his cheek. Wiping it away, he took a deep breath, mentally reasserting his control.

"Are there any cabins or shelters around here?" Luke asked.


"There's the Rawlings cabin which isn't far from here, and the Sperling cabin that's on the opposite side of the woods, it borders Silver Lake." Nathan looked at the moon, which was slowly descending towards the mountains. Dawn wasn't far away.

"I'll take the Sperling and you take the Rawlings, the girls can stay here, in case Haley comes back on her own." Luke decided.

Nathan set back out on the East Trail, which would lead him to the Rawlings cabin. Haley, I'm coming for you.

4:45 am

Sliding her eyes open slowly, Haley looked around. She was in a cabin of some kind. All I remember is running from something, something grabbed me and then………… He got me. Where is he? A creaking floorboard alerted her to a dark presence.

A dark figure covered in black from head to foot, moved towards her. Haley moved to sit up and was pushed back down to the bed violently.

"Don't move, unless I tell you too. I want you to listen very carefully, because I'm only going to say this once." Haley listened to see if she'd recognize the person's voice. Low and gravelly, not familiar at all.

"From the moment you walk out this door, you are to stay away from Nathan Scott. If you go near him at all, I will kill you. It would be my pleasure to torture you to death. You don't know who I am. You never will. But know this, I hate you and would love nothing less than to kill you. But that wouldn't be fun."

"Why do I have to stay away from Nathan?" Haley asked, curiosity colored her tone.

"Because I say so." the person repeated to her vehemently.

"Well we sort of have a history project to do………." Haley's head slammed against the wall from the slap that her attacker delivered.

"Do you want to die now?" the person asked, venom colored their tone. Pulling out a knife, lightly slicing Haley's arm. Blood rushed to the open surface, a ribbon flowing down her arm to her wrist. Haley screamed in pain.

Outside the cabin, Nathan heard her scream. "Haley, I'm coming in." He yelled.

"Remember, if you want to live, stay away from Nathan, or you can die. The choice is yours." The figure slipped out the back door, leaving it open.

Nathan kicked in the door. He saw Haley crouched on the bed. Relief hit him in the gut, she was okay. His gaze lit on her arm, which was covered in blood. Wrapping his arms around her, he hugged her. I love her. The thought drifted through his head, not ready to be acknowledged yet.

Haley sat numbly in Nathan's arms. Closing her eyes………..What am I going to do? Risk my life to be with him…………….. Loosely linking her arms around his shoulders. I just don't know………. Haley stared blankly into space.

*****

The person behind the mask will not be revealed yet…………..soon!!! What choice will Haley make, to be with Nathan or not?

Who do you think is behind the mask? Peyton, Brooke, Luke, Dan or someone else?

**Look for my next update on the 30th or 31st at the latest. Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to all.