A/N: Thank you so much for all your reviews ^__^ My computer is still
screwing up, so we're just going to get a new one. About time. Anyway, on
to chapter 6...
*
*
*
It was nearly nightfall and Jason was still following the tire tracks, which didn't seem to have an end. he was about to give up and try following them in the opposite direction when two pinpoints of light appeared on the horizon, through the many trunks of the trees. Reenergized by this new sign of human civilization, he grinned to himself and ran forward, as fast as his aching muscles would let him. As he grew closer, the shape of a small ranch-style house loomed out of the darkness. The two tiny specks of light could now be distinguished as the two flood lamps on the side of the building, illuminating the small clearing and chasing back the intimidating shadows of the black folage. From the nearest set of double-pane windows, a soft glow was being emitted from somewhere behind the translucent window shade, and a thin whisp of pale smoke was slowly curling its way upwards from the brick chimney.
He made his way over the gravel walkway and stumbled up the rickety wooden porch steps, panting with exersion. Gripping the small stitch that had begun to form in his side, he raised a weary finger and rang the doorbell. he laughed with exhilleration at the prominant sound of footsteps from inside, and at last the brass door knob turned and the door opened.
"Um...hello?" A young woman greeted him. She took one look at his bleached, spiked hair, baggy clothes, and multiple piercings and noticably stiffened, backing up a step and closing the door till there was just enough space for her to peek out of. "Can...Can I help you?" Her soft brown eyes shimmered with worry through the shadows that covered her face, looking him up and down distrustfully.
"I..." Jason was breathing so hard he could barely speak. His right hand still clamped over his throbbing side, he fell forward onto his left one against the door frame, leaning forward, desparately trying to regulate his ragged breathing.
The lady, no doubt mistaking his near collapsation for a diliberate lunge, gasped in surprise and shrunk back another step, yelling, "Travis! Travis, get over here now!"
Jason winced as her voice, painfully loud, rattled his eardrums like a crashing cymbal. As he was trying to beg her to stop, a young man, a full head taller than the girl, appeared in the doorway. "Who are you? What do you want?" he demanded, putting a protective arm around the woman.
Jason tried to look as innocent and non-threatening as he could. "Please...I know I don't look like the kind of guy you'd want just popping up at your doorstep in the middle of the night, but...i was on a plane...when it went down..." he smiled inwardly to himself as the look of fear on the lady's face quickly turned into pity. "I...I believe I'm the only survivor..."
The woman's hand shot up to cover her open mouth. "Oh, you poor thing!" She exclaimed. "A plane crash? How did you ever manage to survive?" She noticed his hand still gripping his side. "Are you hurt?"
"No, just a little tired. I've been walking who knows how many miles for nearly two days straight..."
"Oh! Do come in, then!"
"Well...Joy..." The man protested, but she only pushed him aside and opened the door wider.
"Don't be silly, Travis, he has to be telling the truth. You don't find people that look like that in town." She motioned for him to enter, and he did.
"So...there's a town out here?" Jason asked, looking around the room. It had dark wooden walls and a forest green carpet, but the things that really caught his eyes were the many animals, skinned and stuffed, that were mounted on the walls.
"Of course there's a town," the lady laughed slightly. "We wouldn't be living in the middle of nowhere. how would we get supplies? It's a small one, about four and a half miles down that gravel road."
"Gravel road?"
"Yes...you mean you didn't see it? My, how else did you stumble across our home?"
"I followed some faint tire tracks through the grass, led me right to your front door," he answered.
"Oh goodness! We haven't used that route since the river bridge collapsed almost a year ago! Speaking of rivers, you must be thirsty! Can I get you anything? Water? Tea? Coffee?
"Coffee's fine," Jason nodded his thanks, bending down to examine the ornate feathers of a fat phesant as the woman hurried off to the kitchen. "By the way, my name's Jason."
"I'm Travis," he introduced himself, "and she's my wife, Joy. We're game hunters, in case you didn't already figure that out."
"Cool," he smiled, or rather smirked. "Well, while the coffee's brewing, would you mind if I used your phone to call the police or someone? To tell them about what happened..."
"Oh, of course. it's in the bedroom, c'mon," Travis led him down the hall and into the nearest room on the right. "I don't know if the local cops would be able to do anything about it, but at least they'll be able to contact someone who can. And what about family? Do you have anyone else you want to call to let them know you're alright?"
"Nah," Jason shrugged. "I'll call 'em later. Wouldn't want to stick you with the long distance charges." He picked up the white phone off the plastic cradle. Perfect, the lever was on the reciever instead of the base. As inconspicuously as he could, he kept it held down with his thumb while he dialed nine-one-one. Casually glancing over at Travis, he saw that the dark haired guy was watching him warily, but he didn't think he noticed he wasn't actually calling anyone. "Erm...hello? Police?" he spoke to the droning dial tone. "Uh, yeah, my name's Jason Rendleman, and...I was on American Airlines flight...0320, I think, to Hawaii when it crashed..." He faked the entire conversation, pausing every now and then and answering with an occcasional "no" or "uh-huh." Finally he hung up and turned back to Travis. "They're goign to contact the airlines and take care of it. I'm supposed to go up to the station, and they're going to find me a way home."
"Okay." All traces of doubt had left his eyes. "You should at least stay for the coffee, though. you look like you could use it."
Jason laughed and agreed. The bedroom he was in was a lot more cheerful than the livingroom seemed, with its pale blue walls and white carpeting, but like the other room, this one had a flock of six or seven water fowl, cleverly posed, huddling in corver, and at the foot of the queen-sized bed was a shaggy bear skin rug. Also, on the right side of the large wardrobe, there was a magnificent maple display case. "Nice," Jason commented, walking towards it. Inside, three ebony rifles were nestled in their racks, their shiny, black metal surfaces gleaming under the built-in light.
"Oh yeah," Travis seemed eager for a chance to show off. ".45, top of the line, muffled shot, most precise aim you can get. They're what we hunt with."
"Wow, may I?" He asked, extending an expectant arm towards the polished handle.
"Of course," Travis quickly agreed, beaming with pride.
Jason had to fight not to burst into laughter. Travis had played right into his trap. He opened the door of the display case and gingerly lifted the top gun off its shelf. "Holy cow, I've always wanted to see one of these things up close," he lied. Really, he didn't know jack shit about guns, nor did he really care. A gun was a gun, right? They all worked basically the same way. "Do they really load as fast as they claim they do?"
"You bet!" He took the rifle from him, opened the two barrels, grabbed a shell from the bottom shelf of the cabinet, popped it in, and snapped the wooden butt back into place. "Easiest thing in the world."
"Amazing," Jason forced his eyebrows up. "I'm impressed." he took the gun back and looked it over again. There was a soft click as he pulled back the hammer.
Just then, Joy returned, her shoulder length blrown hair pulled back in a pony tail, carrying a tray with two steaming mugs. "Okay, your coffee's re- "
She didn't even get a chance to finish the sentence.
* * * * * * * *
"What happened to you?" Val asked Caitie, who was still getting a piggy- back ride from Jamie.
"Oh, I just twisted my ankle," she rolled her eyes. "How contrived. You get lost in the woods, you twist your ankle. They just...go together."
Meanwhile, Tyler was still puzzling over the Jason mystery. "So he just ran away? Without saying anything?"
"Yes!" Val said exasperatedly. "We've been over this a dozen times!"
"I just don't understand why he would want to run away. Wouldn't it be smarter to stay together?"
Jamie snorted. "Well, if there's one thing that guy lacked, it's intellegence." Though really he knewe that wasn't entirely true. Maybe the thing he really lacked was manners, but Jason certainly wasn't stupid. That's what bothered him.
"Do you remember which way he went?"
"Oh, yeah," she nodded confidently, "Just back that way."
"Okay then, let's go."
"Woah, woah, woah, wait a sec," Hank looked at him incredulusly. "You don't expect us to follow him, do you?"
"Why not?" Tyler looked quite serious.
"Come on, man, the guy's obviously insane. We're better off without him. We got Val back. She's alive! Can't you be happy with that? Can't we just keep going our own way?"
But Tyler calmly refused. "Afraid not. I'm sorry, hank, but I don't trust Jason at all. He's up to something and I want to find out what."
Hank didn't say anything more.
"Come on," Tyler motioned. "What else have we got to lose?"
* * * * * * * *
Val leaned up against one of the sycamores Jason had disappeared behind. "I lost him right around here."
"Are you sure?" Tyler asked.
"Positive. I couldn't forget the shape of these trees. But I don't know where he went from here..."
"Hey look at this," Jamie, who was struggling to bend down with Caitie on his back, spoke up. "That is a foot print, right?"
"Sure is," Hank closely inspected it, "but is it Jason's?"
Tyler shrugged. "Who else's could it be? And look, here's another. And another. The dirt here is littered with them, and they're all heading in that direction. Let's go."
Jamie didn't object, but something in the back of his mind was stirring up bad vibes. Something just didn't seem right...
Without warning, Val suddenly burst into tears.
"What? What is it?" Everyone asked her, startled and frightened by her unexpected outburst.
"Look at us! We're lost in the middle of NOWHERE! We've been wondering around for two days! We haven't had anything to eat for that logn either! Face it, we're dead! Just stop with the optomistic act already and face it! We're! Dead!"
"Val..." Tyler gently touched a hand to her shoulder, mentally willing his strength into her. "Don't think this way...we'll find a way out of this, don't worry..."
Her slender fingers clung tightly to the fabric of his flannel shirt like a scared child's as she sobbed into his chest. "I don't know, Tyler. I just don't know how much longer I can hold out. i just can't keep trying to fool myself into believing that everything's going to work out perfectly. It's not working..."
Tyler didn't say anything more as placed a consoling arm around her. The thought that they might starve to death had crossed his mind more than once, and now more than ever he regretted not stopping at that bush...but he couldn't remember for the life of him whether his biology teacher had told him those berries were poisonous or not. So, deciding that old saying, "better safe than sorry," was true, he hadn't mentioned it to anyone else and left it far behind them. No doubt no one would want to trek back for it. "don't worry. If we don't find food soon, we'll...kill a rabbit or something."
"I am NOT eating a rabbit," Caitie curled her lip in disgust. "Not only do I not eat meat, but I am not going to kill some poor innocent rabbit..."
"Does malnutrition sound better to you?" he snapped, and she fell silent. "come on, let's find out where Jason went."
Needless to say, Val's sudden break down did fairly little to hearten the rest of them, but without complaint, they followed him and the rest of Jason's footprints through the soil and undergrowth.
* * * * * * * *
"I don't believe this," Tyler stared down at the ground. "Are those tire tracks? Jason found tire tracks! He found tracks and he didn't even tell us! What the hell is his problem?!"
"I KNEW the guy was bad news," Jamie complained, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Well, we found them too, now can we hurry up and see where they lead? The light's almost gone, and Caitie's getting awfully heavy..."
"I TOLD you, I can limp."
"Not if we want to get there anytime soon," he refused.
* * * * * * * *
The sun finally set, taking with it the last of their visibility as it disappeared behind the tops of the trees.
"We'll get lost if we try to continue like this," Tyler reluctantly admitted. "We can't risk losing the trail-"
"Look!" Val interrupted. A faint glow was coming from somewhere ahead, and above them, a single cloud of smoke was the only thing blocking the stairs in the otherwise clear night.
Tyler couldn't help but laugh with relief. "That's chimney smoke. That's chimney smoke! Ha ha, we're close!"
Suddenly, their stiff, sore muscles didn't matter anymore. Their empty, growling stomachs didn't matter anymore. Their weary, ragged breaths didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore. The fact that they were so close to being saved was enough to send their morals shooting through the roof, restoring every ounce of strength in them as though they had just woken up from a full night's sleep in a comfortable bed with everything to look forward to the next morning.
They eagerly quickened their pace as the warm, inviting glow grew ever closer, sharpening into a pinpoint that could soon be distinguished as a light bulb. Ignoring the sharp branches that snatched at her hair and the roots and vines that tangled dangerously around her feet, threatening to trip her, Val rushed forward, breaking into the clearing and cheering with delight. "It's a house!' She yelled, her mouth almost too excited to form words. "Thank you God! It's a house!"
The others soon joined her on the rickety old porch, Jamie leaning against the banister to give his back a rest, and she quickly rang the door bell once, twice, and then waited. No sounds could be heard from within. Her face fell slightly as she tried again. Still nothing. "Don't tell me no one's home! Someone HAS to be home! There's a care in the driveway, lights on both inside and out, and a fire in the fireplace! How could no one be home?"
"Excuse me, I think this is an emergency," Jamie brushed past her, grunting with exertion. It was obvious Caitie's weight was killing him. He turned the door knob and pushed. Sure enough, the door was unlocked, and it slowly swung forward, its hinges creaking as it moved.
"Jamie! That's breaking and entering!" Val scolded, but the brown-haired rebel paid her no mind as he stepped into the dimply lit room.
"Oh, thank God," he moaned, gently dropping Caitie into the red arm chair by the crackling fire and flinging himself onto the nearby couch, sighing with relief as he stretched his aching muscles.
"Hello!" Val called, but like the door bell, there was no answer. Finally giving the house up to empty, she nodded to Caitie, "I'm going to check the bathroom for a first aid kit, see if I can find an Ace bandage for you."
"Oh, warmth!" Hank nearly collapsed onto the rug by the hearth, while Tyler ran into the kitchen to check for food. Suddenly, hank sat up, sniffing the air. "What's that smell?"
"I don't smell anything," Tyler answered from inside the refridgerator, as he stuffed a slice of bread into his mouth. "But they have EVERYTHING here! And it's SO good!"
Hank's forehead creased with concentration as he followe dhis nose down the hall, muttering an "excuse me" as he nearly ran into Val, who was returning with Caitie's bandage.
"Here you go," Val smiled cheerfully, unwrapping her friend's belt from around her partically swollen ankle and redressing her injury with the bandage.
"Dude! They have coffee!" Tyler yelled from the kitchen.
"Tyler! Don't go through all their stuff! I don't think they'd appreciate it..."
"Oh...Really...I don't think they'd mind," Hank returned, looking fairly stiff and fairly pale.
"What do you mean?" Val asked.
But Hank only closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and called for Tyler. The blonde jock peeked out from behind the swinging door, still munching on his third slice of bread and tossing the bag containing the rest of the loaf to his girlfriend. Hank wordlessly motioned for him to follow him back down the hall, and he did as he instructed.
Val reluctantly picked up the bread, hesitant to eat someone else's food without their consent, but Caitie, who didn't worry herself with such morals, quickly snatched it from her friend and eagerly dove into it.
"Holy...Holy shit!"
Suddenly, Tyler's should could be heard so loud and so unexpected that it made Val jump.
"What was that about?" Caitie looked scared. Jamie seemed to have fallen asleep on the sofa and didn't hear it.
"I...I don't know," Val admitted, feeling her heartbeat quicken. "But I'm going to go find out." She got up and made her way toward the end of the hallway. "Tyler, what is it?" She found the two guys standing in the doorway with their backs to her, blocking the room's contents from her view. "What is it?" she repeated, shoving past them into the blue and white bedroom.
Val was instantly glad she hadn't eaten any of that bread Tyler had given her. Or she would have lost it by now. Lying on the floor in front of her were two people, a man and a woman. The woman looked to be about twenty- five, maybe younger, with her chestnut hair pulled back in a pony tail. A neat, round bullet hole in the center of her chest could plainly be seen through the many layers of clothes she was wearing, where blood seeped through, staining the white carpet underneath her a brilliat red, and the soldier-blue shirt she was wearing, a spreading black. A look of surprise was still frozen on her face.
The man seemed equally as young as the girl. He was lying on his stomach, his head tilted in their direction. Many purplish-black bruises on his head and face, some of them leaking a thin trickle of blood, suggested he had been bludgeoned to death.
Of course, it was a fairly gruesome sight indeed, but the thing that made it all worse was that their eyes were open. With their eyes closed, they would look (at least partially) like they were sleeping, or at least like they were at peace. But with them open in wide-eyed surprise like that...they were simply and unmistakably dead. They had been simply and unmistakably murdered. Reciently.
"Oh my God," Val let out a shocked, little gasp, one hand covering her open mouth, the other over her queasy stomach.
The putrid stench of decomposition filled the room, combining with the strong smell of coffee which permiated from the two spilled mugs which lied overturned next to them on the floor, mixing to form a scent so strong, it made her eyes water and her stomach do loop-de-loops inside of her. "I...I...I think I'm going to be sick," she managed to croak out.
Somewhere from behind them, a soft click could be heard.
*
*
*
A/N: Sorry parts of this chapter were a little forced...it's rather obvious where I'm talking about...But still, I left you with a nice cliffhanger and an interesting plot twist, no? Review if you'd like me to continue, I'm half way done writing the 7th chapter, 47 reviews and I'll write quicker ^_^ Thanks a bunch!
*
*
*
It was nearly nightfall and Jason was still following the tire tracks, which didn't seem to have an end. he was about to give up and try following them in the opposite direction when two pinpoints of light appeared on the horizon, through the many trunks of the trees. Reenergized by this new sign of human civilization, he grinned to himself and ran forward, as fast as his aching muscles would let him. As he grew closer, the shape of a small ranch-style house loomed out of the darkness. The two tiny specks of light could now be distinguished as the two flood lamps on the side of the building, illuminating the small clearing and chasing back the intimidating shadows of the black folage. From the nearest set of double-pane windows, a soft glow was being emitted from somewhere behind the translucent window shade, and a thin whisp of pale smoke was slowly curling its way upwards from the brick chimney.
He made his way over the gravel walkway and stumbled up the rickety wooden porch steps, panting with exersion. Gripping the small stitch that had begun to form in his side, he raised a weary finger and rang the doorbell. he laughed with exhilleration at the prominant sound of footsteps from inside, and at last the brass door knob turned and the door opened.
"Um...hello?" A young woman greeted him. She took one look at his bleached, spiked hair, baggy clothes, and multiple piercings and noticably stiffened, backing up a step and closing the door till there was just enough space for her to peek out of. "Can...Can I help you?" Her soft brown eyes shimmered with worry through the shadows that covered her face, looking him up and down distrustfully.
"I..." Jason was breathing so hard he could barely speak. His right hand still clamped over his throbbing side, he fell forward onto his left one against the door frame, leaning forward, desparately trying to regulate his ragged breathing.
The lady, no doubt mistaking his near collapsation for a diliberate lunge, gasped in surprise and shrunk back another step, yelling, "Travis! Travis, get over here now!"
Jason winced as her voice, painfully loud, rattled his eardrums like a crashing cymbal. As he was trying to beg her to stop, a young man, a full head taller than the girl, appeared in the doorway. "Who are you? What do you want?" he demanded, putting a protective arm around the woman.
Jason tried to look as innocent and non-threatening as he could. "Please...I know I don't look like the kind of guy you'd want just popping up at your doorstep in the middle of the night, but...i was on a plane...when it went down..." he smiled inwardly to himself as the look of fear on the lady's face quickly turned into pity. "I...I believe I'm the only survivor..."
The woman's hand shot up to cover her open mouth. "Oh, you poor thing!" She exclaimed. "A plane crash? How did you ever manage to survive?" She noticed his hand still gripping his side. "Are you hurt?"
"No, just a little tired. I've been walking who knows how many miles for nearly two days straight..."
"Oh! Do come in, then!"
"Well...Joy..." The man protested, but she only pushed him aside and opened the door wider.
"Don't be silly, Travis, he has to be telling the truth. You don't find people that look like that in town." She motioned for him to enter, and he did.
"So...there's a town out here?" Jason asked, looking around the room. It had dark wooden walls and a forest green carpet, but the things that really caught his eyes were the many animals, skinned and stuffed, that were mounted on the walls.
"Of course there's a town," the lady laughed slightly. "We wouldn't be living in the middle of nowhere. how would we get supplies? It's a small one, about four and a half miles down that gravel road."
"Gravel road?"
"Yes...you mean you didn't see it? My, how else did you stumble across our home?"
"I followed some faint tire tracks through the grass, led me right to your front door," he answered.
"Oh goodness! We haven't used that route since the river bridge collapsed almost a year ago! Speaking of rivers, you must be thirsty! Can I get you anything? Water? Tea? Coffee?
"Coffee's fine," Jason nodded his thanks, bending down to examine the ornate feathers of a fat phesant as the woman hurried off to the kitchen. "By the way, my name's Jason."
"I'm Travis," he introduced himself, "and she's my wife, Joy. We're game hunters, in case you didn't already figure that out."
"Cool," he smiled, or rather smirked. "Well, while the coffee's brewing, would you mind if I used your phone to call the police or someone? To tell them about what happened..."
"Oh, of course. it's in the bedroom, c'mon," Travis led him down the hall and into the nearest room on the right. "I don't know if the local cops would be able to do anything about it, but at least they'll be able to contact someone who can. And what about family? Do you have anyone else you want to call to let them know you're alright?"
"Nah," Jason shrugged. "I'll call 'em later. Wouldn't want to stick you with the long distance charges." He picked up the white phone off the plastic cradle. Perfect, the lever was on the reciever instead of the base. As inconspicuously as he could, he kept it held down with his thumb while he dialed nine-one-one. Casually glancing over at Travis, he saw that the dark haired guy was watching him warily, but he didn't think he noticed he wasn't actually calling anyone. "Erm...hello? Police?" he spoke to the droning dial tone. "Uh, yeah, my name's Jason Rendleman, and...I was on American Airlines flight...0320, I think, to Hawaii when it crashed..." He faked the entire conversation, pausing every now and then and answering with an occcasional "no" or "uh-huh." Finally he hung up and turned back to Travis. "They're goign to contact the airlines and take care of it. I'm supposed to go up to the station, and they're going to find me a way home."
"Okay." All traces of doubt had left his eyes. "You should at least stay for the coffee, though. you look like you could use it."
Jason laughed and agreed. The bedroom he was in was a lot more cheerful than the livingroom seemed, with its pale blue walls and white carpeting, but like the other room, this one had a flock of six or seven water fowl, cleverly posed, huddling in corver, and at the foot of the queen-sized bed was a shaggy bear skin rug. Also, on the right side of the large wardrobe, there was a magnificent maple display case. "Nice," Jason commented, walking towards it. Inside, three ebony rifles were nestled in their racks, their shiny, black metal surfaces gleaming under the built-in light.
"Oh yeah," Travis seemed eager for a chance to show off. ".45, top of the line, muffled shot, most precise aim you can get. They're what we hunt with."
"Wow, may I?" He asked, extending an expectant arm towards the polished handle.
"Of course," Travis quickly agreed, beaming with pride.
Jason had to fight not to burst into laughter. Travis had played right into his trap. He opened the door of the display case and gingerly lifted the top gun off its shelf. "Holy cow, I've always wanted to see one of these things up close," he lied. Really, he didn't know jack shit about guns, nor did he really care. A gun was a gun, right? They all worked basically the same way. "Do they really load as fast as they claim they do?"
"You bet!" He took the rifle from him, opened the two barrels, grabbed a shell from the bottom shelf of the cabinet, popped it in, and snapped the wooden butt back into place. "Easiest thing in the world."
"Amazing," Jason forced his eyebrows up. "I'm impressed." he took the gun back and looked it over again. There was a soft click as he pulled back the hammer.
Just then, Joy returned, her shoulder length blrown hair pulled back in a pony tail, carrying a tray with two steaming mugs. "Okay, your coffee's re- "
She didn't even get a chance to finish the sentence.
* * * * * * * *
"What happened to you?" Val asked Caitie, who was still getting a piggy- back ride from Jamie.
"Oh, I just twisted my ankle," she rolled her eyes. "How contrived. You get lost in the woods, you twist your ankle. They just...go together."
Meanwhile, Tyler was still puzzling over the Jason mystery. "So he just ran away? Without saying anything?"
"Yes!" Val said exasperatedly. "We've been over this a dozen times!"
"I just don't understand why he would want to run away. Wouldn't it be smarter to stay together?"
Jamie snorted. "Well, if there's one thing that guy lacked, it's intellegence." Though really he knewe that wasn't entirely true. Maybe the thing he really lacked was manners, but Jason certainly wasn't stupid. That's what bothered him.
"Do you remember which way he went?"
"Oh, yeah," she nodded confidently, "Just back that way."
"Okay then, let's go."
"Woah, woah, woah, wait a sec," Hank looked at him incredulusly. "You don't expect us to follow him, do you?"
"Why not?" Tyler looked quite serious.
"Come on, man, the guy's obviously insane. We're better off without him. We got Val back. She's alive! Can't you be happy with that? Can't we just keep going our own way?"
But Tyler calmly refused. "Afraid not. I'm sorry, hank, but I don't trust Jason at all. He's up to something and I want to find out what."
Hank didn't say anything more.
"Come on," Tyler motioned. "What else have we got to lose?"
* * * * * * * *
Val leaned up against one of the sycamores Jason had disappeared behind. "I lost him right around here."
"Are you sure?" Tyler asked.
"Positive. I couldn't forget the shape of these trees. But I don't know where he went from here..."
"Hey look at this," Jamie, who was struggling to bend down with Caitie on his back, spoke up. "That is a foot print, right?"
"Sure is," Hank closely inspected it, "but is it Jason's?"
Tyler shrugged. "Who else's could it be? And look, here's another. And another. The dirt here is littered with them, and they're all heading in that direction. Let's go."
Jamie didn't object, but something in the back of his mind was stirring up bad vibes. Something just didn't seem right...
Without warning, Val suddenly burst into tears.
"What? What is it?" Everyone asked her, startled and frightened by her unexpected outburst.
"Look at us! We're lost in the middle of NOWHERE! We've been wondering around for two days! We haven't had anything to eat for that logn either! Face it, we're dead! Just stop with the optomistic act already and face it! We're! Dead!"
"Val..." Tyler gently touched a hand to her shoulder, mentally willing his strength into her. "Don't think this way...we'll find a way out of this, don't worry..."
Her slender fingers clung tightly to the fabric of his flannel shirt like a scared child's as she sobbed into his chest. "I don't know, Tyler. I just don't know how much longer I can hold out. i just can't keep trying to fool myself into believing that everything's going to work out perfectly. It's not working..."
Tyler didn't say anything more as placed a consoling arm around her. The thought that they might starve to death had crossed his mind more than once, and now more than ever he regretted not stopping at that bush...but he couldn't remember for the life of him whether his biology teacher had told him those berries were poisonous or not. So, deciding that old saying, "better safe than sorry," was true, he hadn't mentioned it to anyone else and left it far behind them. No doubt no one would want to trek back for it. "don't worry. If we don't find food soon, we'll...kill a rabbit or something."
"I am NOT eating a rabbit," Caitie curled her lip in disgust. "Not only do I not eat meat, but I am not going to kill some poor innocent rabbit..."
"Does malnutrition sound better to you?" he snapped, and she fell silent. "come on, let's find out where Jason went."
Needless to say, Val's sudden break down did fairly little to hearten the rest of them, but without complaint, they followed him and the rest of Jason's footprints through the soil and undergrowth.
* * * * * * * *
"I don't believe this," Tyler stared down at the ground. "Are those tire tracks? Jason found tire tracks! He found tracks and he didn't even tell us! What the hell is his problem?!"
"I KNEW the guy was bad news," Jamie complained, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "Well, we found them too, now can we hurry up and see where they lead? The light's almost gone, and Caitie's getting awfully heavy..."
"I TOLD you, I can limp."
"Not if we want to get there anytime soon," he refused.
* * * * * * * *
The sun finally set, taking with it the last of their visibility as it disappeared behind the tops of the trees.
"We'll get lost if we try to continue like this," Tyler reluctantly admitted. "We can't risk losing the trail-"
"Look!" Val interrupted. A faint glow was coming from somewhere ahead, and above them, a single cloud of smoke was the only thing blocking the stairs in the otherwise clear night.
Tyler couldn't help but laugh with relief. "That's chimney smoke. That's chimney smoke! Ha ha, we're close!"
Suddenly, their stiff, sore muscles didn't matter anymore. Their empty, growling stomachs didn't matter anymore. Their weary, ragged breaths didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore. The fact that they were so close to being saved was enough to send their morals shooting through the roof, restoring every ounce of strength in them as though they had just woken up from a full night's sleep in a comfortable bed with everything to look forward to the next morning.
They eagerly quickened their pace as the warm, inviting glow grew ever closer, sharpening into a pinpoint that could soon be distinguished as a light bulb. Ignoring the sharp branches that snatched at her hair and the roots and vines that tangled dangerously around her feet, threatening to trip her, Val rushed forward, breaking into the clearing and cheering with delight. "It's a house!' She yelled, her mouth almost too excited to form words. "Thank you God! It's a house!"
The others soon joined her on the rickety old porch, Jamie leaning against the banister to give his back a rest, and she quickly rang the door bell once, twice, and then waited. No sounds could be heard from within. Her face fell slightly as she tried again. Still nothing. "Don't tell me no one's home! Someone HAS to be home! There's a care in the driveway, lights on both inside and out, and a fire in the fireplace! How could no one be home?"
"Excuse me, I think this is an emergency," Jamie brushed past her, grunting with exertion. It was obvious Caitie's weight was killing him. He turned the door knob and pushed. Sure enough, the door was unlocked, and it slowly swung forward, its hinges creaking as it moved.
"Jamie! That's breaking and entering!" Val scolded, but the brown-haired rebel paid her no mind as he stepped into the dimply lit room.
"Oh, thank God," he moaned, gently dropping Caitie into the red arm chair by the crackling fire and flinging himself onto the nearby couch, sighing with relief as he stretched his aching muscles.
"Hello!" Val called, but like the door bell, there was no answer. Finally giving the house up to empty, she nodded to Caitie, "I'm going to check the bathroom for a first aid kit, see if I can find an Ace bandage for you."
"Oh, warmth!" Hank nearly collapsed onto the rug by the hearth, while Tyler ran into the kitchen to check for food. Suddenly, hank sat up, sniffing the air. "What's that smell?"
"I don't smell anything," Tyler answered from inside the refridgerator, as he stuffed a slice of bread into his mouth. "But they have EVERYTHING here! And it's SO good!"
Hank's forehead creased with concentration as he followe dhis nose down the hall, muttering an "excuse me" as he nearly ran into Val, who was returning with Caitie's bandage.
"Here you go," Val smiled cheerfully, unwrapping her friend's belt from around her partically swollen ankle and redressing her injury with the bandage.
"Dude! They have coffee!" Tyler yelled from the kitchen.
"Tyler! Don't go through all their stuff! I don't think they'd appreciate it..."
"Oh...Really...I don't think they'd mind," Hank returned, looking fairly stiff and fairly pale.
"What do you mean?" Val asked.
But Hank only closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and called for Tyler. The blonde jock peeked out from behind the swinging door, still munching on his third slice of bread and tossing the bag containing the rest of the loaf to his girlfriend. Hank wordlessly motioned for him to follow him back down the hall, and he did as he instructed.
Val reluctantly picked up the bread, hesitant to eat someone else's food without their consent, but Caitie, who didn't worry herself with such morals, quickly snatched it from her friend and eagerly dove into it.
"Holy...Holy shit!"
Suddenly, Tyler's should could be heard so loud and so unexpected that it made Val jump.
"What was that about?" Caitie looked scared. Jamie seemed to have fallen asleep on the sofa and didn't hear it.
"I...I don't know," Val admitted, feeling her heartbeat quicken. "But I'm going to go find out." She got up and made her way toward the end of the hallway. "Tyler, what is it?" She found the two guys standing in the doorway with their backs to her, blocking the room's contents from her view. "What is it?" she repeated, shoving past them into the blue and white bedroom.
Val was instantly glad she hadn't eaten any of that bread Tyler had given her. Or she would have lost it by now. Lying on the floor in front of her were two people, a man and a woman. The woman looked to be about twenty- five, maybe younger, with her chestnut hair pulled back in a pony tail. A neat, round bullet hole in the center of her chest could plainly be seen through the many layers of clothes she was wearing, where blood seeped through, staining the white carpet underneath her a brilliat red, and the soldier-blue shirt she was wearing, a spreading black. A look of surprise was still frozen on her face.
The man seemed equally as young as the girl. He was lying on his stomach, his head tilted in their direction. Many purplish-black bruises on his head and face, some of them leaking a thin trickle of blood, suggested he had been bludgeoned to death.
Of course, it was a fairly gruesome sight indeed, but the thing that made it all worse was that their eyes were open. With their eyes closed, they would look (at least partially) like they were sleeping, or at least like they were at peace. But with them open in wide-eyed surprise like that...they were simply and unmistakably dead. They had been simply and unmistakably murdered. Reciently.
"Oh my God," Val let out a shocked, little gasp, one hand covering her open mouth, the other over her queasy stomach.
The putrid stench of decomposition filled the room, combining with the strong smell of coffee which permiated from the two spilled mugs which lied overturned next to them on the floor, mixing to form a scent so strong, it made her eyes water and her stomach do loop-de-loops inside of her. "I...I...I think I'm going to be sick," she managed to croak out.
Somewhere from behind them, a soft click could be heard.
*
*
*
A/N: Sorry parts of this chapter were a little forced...it's rather obvious where I'm talking about...But still, I left you with a nice cliffhanger and an interesting plot twist, no? Review if you'd like me to continue, I'm half way done writing the 7th chapter, 47 reviews and I'll write quicker ^_^ Thanks a bunch!