The Silent Forest
Summary: A field trip becomes a nightmare when the gang is separated from the rest of the group in the middle of a vast forest. Things go from bad to worse when they discover that they are not alone.
Pairings: Chaylor, Troyella and some mild Zekepay. Ryan will also feature but with no pairing.
Disclaimer: Yep, I own it. *Keeps dreaming*
Warnings: Possible character death(s). Rated T for some language and quite a bit of violence/blood. Probable spelling and grammar mistakes due to my lack of beta.
17. Honey, I'm Home
It was a terrible hiding place. Behind a door. Who in the world hides behind a door? Except, of course, for cartoon characters and idiots in comic books. Ryan knew it was only a matter of time before he was found. And then... killed?
None of them could see anything very clearly.
Through a tiny crack in the door and from the shadows that the man cast on the floor, Ryan saw that the man had stopped briefly in the doorway. He dropped the bag that had been slung over his shoulder and it landed on the floor with a loud thud. Whatever it was must have been very heavy.
Through the material that was draped over her face, Sharpay could see the dark shape of the man as he stepped slowly into his home. She could see how huge he was. She could see him looking around at the small room he was in. She could see his shoulders tense as he realised something was wrong.
From under the table, Troy and Gabriella only had a view of the man's feet. They were grimy and blistered and caked in mud. They stepped heavily towards the wardrobe where its contents of shoes had been carelessly left on the floor.
Inside the wardrobe, Chad and Taylor simultaneously realised their mistake of leaving the shoes and knew instantly that their hiding place had been given away. There was a creak as a hand landed on the door of the wardrobe and slowly began to pry it open. Chad took Taylor by the waist and pushed her to the back of the wardrobe. He stood in front of her to guard her from the man who was opening the door.
Ryan now had the man in full view. He could see that Chad and Taylor were about to be discovered and couldn't allow that to happen. If they were found, they might get killed. Chad had never wanted to come here but Ryan had made him. If Chad was then killed, it would be Ryan's fault.
He looked at the small log in his hands. It didn't seem at all ample for the man it was meant to knock out. But it would have to do. Ryan didn't stop to think twice. He charged forward and struck the man on the back of the head with his most forceful blow.
The wood snapped in his hand. The man barely seemed to be affected. He stroked the back of his head gingerly then turned his fearsome gaze towards Ryan.
Sharpay watched as her brother attempted to run but was snatched up by the collar of his shirt. The man threw him with ease. Ryan collided with a wall so forcefully that the whole cabin shook. Then he collapsed into a heap on the floor. Sharpay saw Ryan try to get to his feet, only to be kicked down by the giant man who placed an enormous foot on his back and pinned him to the floor. Ryan's head twisted around and his gaze fell on the heap of clothes that made up Sharpay's hiding place. She saw the plea in his eyes and knew it was time for her to make a stand. She wasn't about to watch her brother being murdered.
Troy tightened his grip on Gabriella as they both saw Sharpay's feet add themselves to the equation. They had already seen Ryan's attempt at subduing the man. They didn't want to see Sharpay being brought down too. Clearly, hiding wasn't working out. Now, it was time to fight. Gabriella looked at the wardrobe opposite her, its door open a crack.
Inside, Chad caught Gabriella's eye. Neither he nor Taylor knew what was happening. They could see nothing, only hear grunts and gasps and thuds. Gabriella nodded to signal to Chad that it was time to stop hiding. He nodded back to tell her he understood. He nudged Taylor and without any explanation, she too understood what had to be done.
There was a silent count to three and then all four of them sprang out of their respective hiding places. They caught the man off guard and he removed his foot momentarily from Ryan's back. Ryan took the opportunity and started to crawl away but the man saw this and pummelled Ryan's head into the floor with his foot. Blood ran from Ryan's nose as he lay unconscious on the floor.
Sharpay screamed and ran to her brother, completely ignoring the man that stood between them. Before she could reach Ryan, the man's large, meaty hand flew at her face. He hit her with such a force that she went flying to the floor. She impacted the wood with a dull thump. She could taste blood and as her tongue traced the inside of her mouth, she found that one of her teeth was hanging to her gum by a thread. She grimaced at the pain.
She didn't notice that the man was still towering above her, ready to strike again. He reached behind him and pulled a sharp, rusted iron hook from where it had been tucked in the back of the waist of his pants. Then he pounced so his entire body was on top of her, smothering her tiny, trembling form. The weight of him was suffocating her as he lifted the hook, ready to maim her with its sharp point.
The others, who had been watching defencelessly, sprang into action. All four of them grabbed him by the arms and tried desperately to pull him off Sharpay. He was strong and resisted but they managed to roll him onto his back. He didn't stay down for long. In fact, he jumped to his feet in inhuman speed. He stood at almost double their height, gazing down at them with pure fury.
On the floor, Sharpay whimpered and slowly got onto her hands and knees. She'd never been hit in her life. The whole side of her face was burning.
From the madness in the man's manic eyes, they could all tell that he was about to strike back. And he was armed with a dangerous weapon. One wrong move and they would face undeniable, instant death. Out of the corner of his eye, Troy noticed the man's fists tighten. It was happening. He had snapped. Troy knew he had to think fast.
"Stop!" He begged. He put his hands out in front of him in defensive surrender. He gazed into the man's light grey eyes. "You don't have to do this…" He said.
The others looked at him as if to say 'What the hell are you doing?' and even the man seemed bemused. He was momentarily deterred, then his hook-wielding hand flew up and came flying point-first, straight at Troy's head.
Troy ducked just in time for it to whiz dangerously close past his ear. He didn't have time to recover before the man was readying himself for another attempt.
"Stop!" Troy said again. A random thought came to mind and he decided to roll with it. It was their last chance. "Joseph…" He said, thinking back to the legend that Zeke had told him on their first day. "Joseph Jameson… Joe?"
The man, Joe, narrowed his eyes with recognition. He grunted and his wild expression softened.
Troy shrugged Zeke's story off when he'd first heard it. Things like that didn't happen in the real world. There weren't mutants or crazypyscho killers in the middle of the forest. Funny to think that Zeke had actually been right all along.
Troy half sighed- half laughed. "It is you, isn't it?" He asked breathlessly with disbelief. "JJ Jr. You're the scientist's grandson…"
By now, he was just ranting to keep Joseph's attention. Sharpay had carefully and silently crawled to Ryan and shaken him awake. His eyes were open but he was groggy and disorientated. She was gradually leading him to the door.
Meanwhile, Chad was slowly herding Taylor and Gabriella to the door as well. They had been stood behind Troy but the man hadn't seemed to notice their disappearance from view.
Joe opened his mouth as if to answer. All that came out was a deep incomprehensible babble of jumbled words.
Troy's gaze flickered over to the door behind Joe. His friends were just about reaching it. Now, he just had to figure out how he was going to get himself out of there.
Taylor was out. Ryan managed to stagger out after her. Sharpay was halfway through the threshold when her foot caught on the sack the Joe had discarded there. She managed to regain her balance but not before having a look inside the now open bag.
A familiar face stared back at her from within the folds of the dark fabric. A face she never thought she'd see again. She'd never thought about it before, but the bag was just the right size for a body. It was almost like a make-shift body bag. An open body bag. With Zeke inside.
She couldn't suppress the gasp that passed her lips.
Joe's head turned to the sound instantly. He let out a long and enraged howl and charged towards the door.
Chad just about managed to push Sharpay out onto the porch. Gabriella was almost through the door. Before she could make it out to safety, Joe had blocked their exit with his large body. She, Chad and Troy were trapped. And Joe was angrier now than ever before. He was bright red with rage. Gabriella and Chad cowered away from his height. His fury was intensified further when he caught sight of Chad and remembered his face.
"You…" He snarled, using understandable words for the first time.
Now, Chad thought, would be a perfect time for his life to flash before his eyes. Joe's free hand snapped out and closed around his neck. He squeezed tightly for a second before flinging Chad effortlessly through the air.
Chad felt as if he was flying in slow-motion. He was soaring uncontrollably across the room with no way of stopping himself. He heard Gabriella shout behind him and realised he was heading straight for the desk. Its hard wooden corner. This could only end badly. As the sharp corner of the table neared, he shut his eyes, not wanting to see his own demise. The bend caught him right on the side of his head. It tore through his skin. It sliced through layers of flesh. There was a crack as it impacted his skull. He lay motionless and bleeding on the floor.
Then, it was as if time just froze.
Gabriella knew that Chad was dead. She could see it. She had heard that mind-numbing crack that was undoubtedly his skull fracturing. He had hit the table with such a force that his brain had probably haemorrhaged. And the way he was lying now; his body bent and deathly still, was so unnatural. If not dead, he was certainly dying.
She was numb. She knew she would soon be joining Chad. She knew that Troy would probably end up the same. But she wasn't afraid. She was strangely acceptant of it. After all that had happened, dying didn't seem like such a huge deal any more. Rather than being afraid for her own life, she was just glad that at least three of them had gotten out safely.
Troy was standing in the centre of the room. His gaze darted from Gabriella to Chad. And, like Gabriella, he could tell that the end was near for all of them. He remembered the promise he had made to Gabriella; "I won't let anything happen to you." And he knew, even if it meant risking his own life, he was not going to allow this man to hurt her. She may have been acceptant of the idea, but he wasn't ready to watch her die.
Over the past few days in the forest, they had all grown as people. They'd all matured far beyond their years. And their relationships with each other had been strengthened beyond anything any outsider could even imagine. They were stronger now than they had ever been. They were fighters. They were survivors. And Troy wasn't about to give all of that up. He wasn't going to give in until the very end.
Joe snapped out of his frozen state and turned back to Gabriella. She faced him head on with a fierceness in her eyes that said; 'Go for it, I dare you'. It was like a show down in an old western movie. Neither one of them made a move. Not even a twitch. Not even a blink. Joe tightened his hold on his hook. Gabriella clenched her fists.
Then suddenly, Joe was staggering backwards, clutching his head. Troy's log fell to the ground.
All this time, Troy had forgotten about his wooden weapon. He had been watching Joe and Gabriella's silent exchange from a distance when he remembered that he was armed. He didn't hesitate to throw the heavy log. He aimed for the head. He was right on target.
Joe roared; a deep, monstrous sound from the very pit of his stomach. He rounded on Troy like a bull seeing red with eyes wide with savagery. Troy managed to shout three final words before a gigantic fist pounded into his gut.
"Gabriella, get out!"
She wouldn't have left if it wasn't for the desperation in his voice. But she could tell that, if she didn't go, his attempts at saving her would be deemed pointless and they'd both end up dead anyway. So she pounced out the door just as Joe turned to see her go.
Troy collapsed onto the floor, completely breathless. His middle was tight and he couldn't breathe. A dull pain was thumping in his stomach and he could feel his headache returning. He lay on his side with his arms clutched tightly around himself. He saw Gabriella make it out the door but, to his dismay, she was closely followed to the threshold by Joe.
At first, Troy thought the man was going to leave him and follow Gabriella instead. However, rather then exit the cabin, Joe simply slammed the door shut, trapping Troy and a presumably dead Chad inside.
A shadow fell upon Troy as Joe stood high above him. The point of his hook was raised and ready; aimed right at Troy's head. Troy averted his eyes away from the object that would soon kill him. He looked to his side where Chad lay, an arms length away from him.
Chad too was on his side, his head facing Troy. His eyes were shut and a pool of blood was quickly forming around his head. He wasn't moving at all.
In the back of his mind, Troy had the slightest of hopes that by some miracle, Chad would suddenly wake up and disarm their foe. However, it was becoming increasingly clear that Chad would never wake up. There were no happy endings. Not for Troy at least. Maybe the others…
He could no longer look at his best-friend; so uncharacteristically still, so his gaze returned to the man above him. Just in time to see the hook come soaring down towards him. He could do nothing to save himself this time.
It was over.
A/N: Thanks for reviewing! I'll name reviewers indiviudally in the last chapter. What did you think of that one? Scary stuff? I'm not too keen on it but the next chappie is looking promising and the one after..... Boxing day; we should be done. It depends what I get up to on xmas!