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SUNDAY NIGHT -BACK AT THE CABIN
Blood oozes down Courtney's leg. That voice in the other line, who was it. She knows voice from somewhere, but where?
"The police says they'll be here in thirty minutes," Joseph says. "They want to know exactly what's going on."
Mrs. Whitaker hands the walkie-talkie to Joseph and grabs the phone from his hand. "Hello, I'm one of the chaperones of the fieldtrip."
"Evening m'am, what is the situation?"
"My husband went to the woods looking for a missing kid, he took a group with him. I called him a couple of minutes ago and he answered, then someone took the walkie-talkie from him and minutes before that a group of students came running to the cabin." Mrs. Whitaker says in an attempt to untangle the situation.
"Is anyone hurt?"
Mrs. Whitaker's eyes travel to Courtney. Bruises are beginning to appear on her face and arms and blood drips down her pants.
"One of the girls yes and also another kid, he's asthmatic but I think he's okay now."
"Could I speak to the girl?" The policeman asks.
Mrs. Whitaker motions for Courtney to come. Courtney gets up and limps to Mrs. Whitaker grabbing the receiver in her bloody hand. "Hello?"
"What happened?" The cop asks. His voice sounds young and fresh and concerned.
"There's a man out there. He has a knife and he was following me. He said he would kill me."
"Did he hurt you?"
"He cut my leg but I'm fine."
"Do you know why he's after you?"
"No, I don't know, but he seemed to… know me."
"Do you know from where?"
"No,"
"Okay, we'll be right there. Stay in the cabin, don't go out for any reason." The line goes dead.
Courtney hands the phone to Mrs. Whitaker who places it back on top of Mr. Whitaker's desk.
"So what? What did he say? What do we do?" Joseph asks.
Courtney shrugs. "We wait," She limps back to the sofa and sits.
Mrs. Whitaker nods. "Alright, that's what we'll do. The police will come and take care of it."
"knock, knock, knock." Three knocks come from the door.
Everyone's eyes turn to the door. Nobody moves.
"Should I go get it?" Joseph asks.
"You think it's the police?" Brooke asks.
"It can't be, they can't that fast." Courtney's gaze is fixated on the heavy wood door.
Mrs. Whitaker walks to the door in slowed measured steps. She places both hands on the door and peeps through the peak hole.
The night is too dark and she can see nothing but a dark shape.
"Who's there?" She asks firmly.
Knock, knock, knock. Another three knocks.
"Brandon? Kids? Is that you?"
The person outside initiates a knocking frenzy. The door shakes and rambles as it tries to hold the attack.
Mrs. Whitaker jumps back. At least she's got her answer now. Whomever's out there, it's not Mr. Whitaker or the others.
"Kids, quick run out the back door!" Mrs. Whitaker whispers pushing them out the other way with her hands.
Sebastian sucks at his inhaler not yet relieved from the previous attack and already starting off on another one.
Brooke grabs Sebastian's arm and pulls him out with her. Chris, Joseph and Courtney are right behind them. Their hearts drumming hard against their chests, eyes wide open and quiet feet as they quickly move out.
"Try to stay together." Mrs. Whitaker says.
A loud bang tells them, the man is in. He apparently broke through the door. He must be really strong.
Brooke muffles a squeal with her hand.
"Hurry up!" Courtney whispers.
Brooke grabs the doorknob of the back door in the kitchen and twists it to the left.
"Come out, come out wherever you are." A raspy male voice says from the living room.
Brooke pulls the door open and a high pitched squeak cuts through the silence.
"Ah ha!" The man in the living room says.
"Out! Get out!" Mrs. Whitaker whispers fiercely.
The kids burst out the door and take off running. Mrs. Whitaker closes the door and runs behind them glad she brought flats instead of heels.
"Where do we go?" Brooke screams.
"Be quiet! He'll hear us." Courtney says in a soft voice.
"Run, find a good hiding place and stay there." Mrs. Whitaker urges as they enter a thick forest patch.
Chris's reminded of the times he played flashlight tag with his friends at night in the woods. The rush of running from the person who's It, hiding in the dark, palms sweaty as It roams around saying, "Come out, come out wherever you are."
There is one difference though, if you got found by It he or she would just take you to jail. If the man following them right now found them… well, they were basically dead meat. Dead, killed, roasted, burnt meat.
Chris wonders if the combined noise of his heavy breathing and pounding heart will give them away.
In his whole life, Chris's never had to run. Life waited on him not the other way around. His legs were giving out and though his mind pushed them to move they seemed to have a mind of their own.
Finally, one of Chris's clumsy legs gives out and he trips over his own feet. Chris falls to the floor breathing heavily. Painful hot fire burning his lungs. He grasps his own chest with one hand as if trying to massage his overworked heart which feels like it's about to burst.
Courtney runs back and takes Chris's arms in her hand. "Come on rich boy, don't give up now." She yanks him hard and almost drags him behind her. Once again, the muscles from her drunk-Aunt-carrying workout coming out to show their true value.
"Courtney I can't…"
"Shut up idiot, you're gonna get us killed."
"Over there!" Mrs. Whitaker points out a land depression under a thicket of trees and bushes. The perfect hiding place.
Brooke pulls Sebastian, they both jump to the hole and gasp. Courtney and Chris get next to them and Mrs. Whitaker sits up front.
For a minute they work hard on catching up to their breath. Their legs feel shaky and their body drained.
"The police won't find us if we're here." Joseph says.
"Yeah, but neither will the killer." Courtney answers. She tries to quiet down her gasps and listen for sounds from the forest.
They probably lost the man in the forest, but it won't take him long to figure out were they are.
"We have to go back to the cabin." She says.
Brooke looks at Courtney like she's crazy. "Are you mad? he'll find us there."
"He thinks we're in the forest. We can't stay here forever. Besides, if Mr. Whitaker and the others are okay, they'll eventually go back to the cabin too."
"What tells you he didn't kill them already?" Brooke asks in tears.
"He couldn't have," Courtney breathes hard. "he didn't have time. He was after us remember and we didn't see anyone on our way back to the cabin."
"But he had the walkie-talkie,"
"He had that, not them."
"How do you know that?"
"I don't, I'm just hoping to be right."
"She's right, we can't stay here." Mrs. Whitaker says taking Courtney's side.
"Sebastian can't run anymore, it'll kill him." Brooke whispers.
Sebastian sits with his back rested on a rock. He's breathing heavily holding his inhaler to his mouth. His eyes are closed and he seems to be in pain.
Brooke's right, Courtney realizes, they can't keep running like that. Not just Sebastian, but the others too.
"He needs a doctor." Mrs. Whitaker says worriedly.
Courtney eyes Sebastian's sweaty face through the dark night. The can't keep going with him like that, but if he stays here the killer will eventually find him and kill him and if he keeps going he dies.
Courtney bites her lower lip wishing she had her knife with her. "Anybody have a knife? Or any weapon?" She asks.
All heads shake. Courtney nods, I'll just do without it, she says to herself. She gets up dusting her butt.
"Where are you going?" Chris asks.
"I have to distract him," She says.
"Distract him? You're gonna get yourself killed!"Chris whisperes as hard as he can afraid to raise his voice and give away their position.
"And what do you suggest? We stay here waiting for him to come and kill us all?"
Chris sighs, "What's your plan?"
She shrugs, "I don't have a plan, I'm just gonna, you know, wing it."
"Wing it?"
"Wing it."
"Be serious!"
"I am being serious. If I don't do something he's going to kill us, don't you understand that?" She closes her eyes thinking for a second. "You guys stay here, I'll try to keep him away and get you help."
Chris's hands shake. He digs his fingernails deep in his clammy palm. "Courtney wait!" He says.
Courtney turns around, "What?"
"I'll go with you,"
"No you won't,"
"You can't stop me,"
Courtney rolls her eyes. She is willing to fight to death with the man, but now that Chris wants to come she'll have to be more careful. After all, she doesn't want to get him killed.
"Mrs. W, you still have that walkie-talkie?"
"I left it in the cabin," Mrs. Whitaker answers.
Courtney nods, "Okay, we should get that."
Mrs. Whitaker knows she can't just let two of her students go and try to fight a monster. "Get back here you two, I'm not about to let you do this."
"Mrs. Whitaker you really have no choice." Courtney answers.
"Yes I do, I'm you chaperone and I'm telling you to get back here!"
"Or what? You'll give me detention." Courtney answers already trotting away. Chris right behind her.
Chris takes every step carefully. He trots next to Courtney who looks focused and determinded, like a lioness protecting her cubs.
She suddenly stops and pulls Chris behind a tree. "There he is," She whispers pointing to a tall dark figure a couple of feet in front of them.
Chris stands flabbergasted and frozen by fear. The man's a monster. He's a 300 pounds man of pure muscle packed in a six feet five body.
Courtney bends over and picks a rock up. She shoves it as hard as she can in the direction opposite of where the Mrs. W and the others are. The rock falls on the ground with a soft thump.
The man jerks around. "I gotcha bitch," He whispers falling for Courtney's trick. He carefully lifts his heavy feet and walks to the rock.
"Good dog," Courtney whispers smiling pleased. She grabs Chris's arm, "come on."
Chris follows wondering if she's enjoying this. They walk hidden behind a curtain of trees. Tip toeing over the dead leaves and twigs.
The moon gives off enough light to see and yet not enough to give them away. The perfect amount to make the forest glow dark blue and eerie. The perfect setting for a horror movie.
The man looks around the bushes poking them with his huge hands. "Where are you little mouse?"
Courtney grabs a twig in her hands, "Prepare to run," She whispers in Chris's ear.
Before Chris can even react. Courtney breaks the twigs.
The man turns around immediately. Hands ready to choke, eyes bulging crazily, and mouth open in a wicked grin.
Courtney already has a rock in her hand and throws it right to his face. The man screams angrily and heads to them stumbling like a mad bull.
"Run!" Courtney commands.
She starts off in the direcion of the cabin. Her hand tight around Chris's arm. He runs after her wishing she wasn't so insane.
The man doesn't see them and runs wildly in the direction from where he hears the noises.
Somehow, Courtney picks up yet another rock and throws it right in front of them. She stops running yanking Chris's arms and pulling him behind a couple of thick bushes.
The rock falls where they would have been and the man runs up to there.
The whole forest goes quiet in a matter of seconds. The man trips and falls to the ground. He screams loudly.
Courtney cuts through the clearing behind the killer running to his right side to another set of lined-up trees. The man turns around when he hears the noises.
"I'm gonna kill you!" He screams.
Chris bites his tongue trying not to scream. Up till now he hadn't realized it, but they were in on some deep, deep shit.
A thunder goes off. It's about to rain. A blast of lighting lights up the forest for an instant and then rain starts pouring over them.
"Let's go," Courtney whispers urgently.
Chris runs behind her almost blinded by the heavy rainfall. The killer hears their footsteps and follows behind them.
Courtney sees him coming and shoves a rock at him. She misses.
Another flash of lightening goes off. The photographical instant of light allows the killer to see them.
"There you are!" He screams.
"Run!" Courtney yells pulling harder at Chris's arm.
"You're not getting away this time," The man screams when he's two feet from them.
He grabs Chris's arms and yanks him away. Courtney loses her grip on Chris and fall to the muddy ground.
"Let him go!" She screams.
The killer's got a strong grip on Chris neck. Chris coughts and tries to fight the man, but he isn't nearly as strong as him.
He pushes the man's shoulders in a desperate attempt to get him off.
Courtney jumps on the man's back and wraps her arms around his neck. "Let him go you idiot!"
"Get off me bitch!"
He lets go Chris's neck, grabs Courtney's arms trying to get her loose.
Courtney holds on tighter locking her fingers together.
"So that's how you gonna play lil' girl?" He backs up to a tree and crashes onto it.
The breath is puffed out of Courtney's lungs and she yelps. Her fingers loosen up.
The killer takes her by the arms and shoves her to the floor. "Hello little leg slasher," He says in a tarrying voice.
Chris is starting to get up. Coughing and trying to open up his constricted throat. He gasps but the air doesn't seem to come in. Instead, gallons of rain water go in his nose and mouth almost drowning him.
The man laughs, he bends over Courtney and presses a cool knife's blade against her cheek. He draws her closer with his other hand, his warm breath on Courtney's neck. He whispers, "I'm gonna kill you bitch,"
His words, the way he whispered, his breath, it all reminded Courtney of something and something clicks on her mind. Finally, a spark goes off in her head and she recognizes the voice. The man leaning over her right now is the same guy she had left bleeding in a fast food joint's bathroom years ago.
She gasps and water comes in to her mouth. "You're…," She struggles for words, "you're the pervert in the bathroom."
He laughs, "So you remember me. And I made you a promise."
"Get off me freak!" She punches him as hard as she can panicking and punching him like there was no tomorrow.
Chris comes to the rescue with a dead tree limb. He hits the back of the man's head as hard as he can.
He bellows angrily. "I'm gonna rip your eyes out bastard!"
"Run Courtney!" He screams. Courtney gets up from the muddy floor. Chris runs away as hard as he can. The killer follows him waving the knife.
He slashes Chris's arm, takes him by the hairs and knocks him over a tree.
Chris hits his forehead hard against the tree and feel his own blood mixing with the rain as it falls over his eyes.
The forest goes round and round. He feels dizzy and disoriented and he can't see a thing through the blood and rain.
The killer laughs, he turns back to Courtney. "I'll leave him for later, you get to go first."
Courtney backs away scared. Is Chris dead? She wonders. Her heart beats fast, rain washes over her aching body and into her mouth.
The killer laughs pleased by her fear. "Say your prayers," He raises the knife's blade. It's shiny blade flashes light in the dark night.
Courtney steps back. She stumbles over a twig and falls to the mud. The killer laughs, he aims the blade at her and throws himself on her.
Courtney rolls away from the knife. Her attempt to escape fails by a couple of inches and the sharp knife slashes her side. She screams painfully.
Another flash of lightening goes off in the sky. Through the dark night, Courtney sees a pair of shining eyes standing over the killer's back.
Chris is starting to come about, but he's still laying on the floor motionlessly. Courtney knows that, it's someone else up there. Whomever it is, he's holding a knife.
Another streak of lightening lights up the forest and Courtney sees who it is. It's Adrian.
He plunges the knife in the killers back. The killer screams in pain.
"Run!" Adrian commands to Courtney.
"Get Chris!" She says back.
Adrian turns to Chris. He grabs his arms and shoves him over his shoulder. Jerry groans but doesn't say anything.
The killer lays on the floor screaming. Courtney grabs a rock and hits him hard in the head.
"Come on, this way!" Adrian screams already running.
Courtney follows behind him wishing for the safety of the cabin. "The cabin's not that far away." Adrian screams in consolation to Courtney.
She nods tiredly and follows. Her whole body shaky, thriving with pain and wet with sticky blood and rain. It hurts all over. Her mind races barely processing all the pain she should really feel. Her heart beats so fast it's hard to know if it's even there and it hurts as hell as it beats holes through Courtney's chest.
True, her life has been no piece of cake, but Courtney's never felt this scared, tears of fear threaten to come out her eyes and mix with the cold rain.
The killer groans behind them and she doesn't dare to look back regretting that she didn't take the knife from him. Now he has two knives in his power and who knows what other kinds of weapons.
Courtney sights the cabin in front of her. Just a few more feet and she'd be safe inside. The police has not yet gotten there, Courtney notices disappointed. Her leg and side burn hotly as warm blood oozes down leaving a sticky trail behind.
Adrian pushes the back door open and walks to the living room. Once there he hauls Chriss limp body over the couch.
Courtney comes in through the back door and barricades it with chairs, a table, and even pots. Once she's done, she goes to the living room where the other door has already been barricaded with chairs and one of the large dining tables.
Chris lays moaning on the couch.
"Is he okay?" Courtney asks Adrian.
"Go get a wet cloth from the kitchen,"
Courtney runs to the kitchen and brings back a yellow Christmas kitchen rag soaked in cold water.
Adrian gently swabs the blood away with the rag. Courtney stands over them shaking nervously.
"When are the police getting here? They were supposed to be ages ago." She complains pacing the room.
Adrian looks to her. "I called them when I got here, they said rain might delay them a bit 'cause the usual road floods. It might be a while."
She nods, walks to a chair and rolls up into a ball.
"Courtney," Adrian says.
She looks up at him. "What?"
"You alright? You're bleeding."
Courtney hides her face in her legs again. "I'm fine, the cuts aren't deep." she lies.
Chris groans opening his eyes.
"Welcome back," Adrian says. "Where are the others?" He asks turning to Courtney.
Courtney jumps from her chair. "Oh my God! The others. I- I forgot they're still out there."
"Are they coming?"
"No, they can't. Sebastian's really sick. I'm supposed to be getting help."
"So what are we gonna do?"
Courtney sees the walkie-talkie from the corner of her eye. It's laying on top of a table right where Mrs. Whitaker left it.
A plan formulates in her brains like a light bulb coming on. "We're gonna lure him here." She says almost to herself.
"Here? He'll kill us."
"We have to Adrian, otherwise he's gonna roam around outside with the rest of the group, and they're defenseless."
Chris sits up on the couch holding the bloody Christmas rag to his forehead.
"What do you want to do?" Adrian asks Courtney.
Courtney bites her lower lip as the plan clarifies in her head. "Okay, we've got to figure out a way to trap him in one room and hold him off till the police comes."
"How are we going to do that? Bribe him with a chunk of cheese?"
Courtney nods. A faraway look on her eyes as she visualizes how it all falls together. The killer is big and muscular. She is petite, thin and agile. She can use that in her advantage.
Courtney thinks of all the places in the house and then the roof in front of her room comes to mind.
She could run to the room with the killer behind her and escape through the window. No way a huge guy like the killer would ever fit into that tiny window, it's perfect.
"Not with a chunk of cheese," She says to Adrian, "with me."
"What?"
"He wants to kill me,"
"Why?" Chris asks. "Why does he want to kill you? It's like he knows you and you know him."
Courtney looks away. "We just have some history, okay? It's nothing."
"It has to be something for you to mingle with a guy like that."
"We don't have time for this, it really doesn't make a difference right now. Are you guys with me?"
Adrian and Chris looks at each other and then back at Courtney. They nod.
"Okay, this is the plan. I am going to call him on the walkie-talkie and get him here. Once he comes I'll be in the cabin by myself and make him follow me up the stairs to my room. From there I'll run in first and he'll be after me.
"When we're both in, you guys bang pots on his head or something till he's kind of slap silly. Then you close the door and barricade it."
"What about you? Won't you be inside?"
"I can get out through the window while you guys are knocking him out."
"What tells you everything'll go that way?" Chris asks.
"Hope,"
"What if it doesn't,"
Courtney sighs, "Then just wing it guys, for once your rich mommy with her monkey servants isn't here to protect you so you have to do it for yourselves, get it? 'cause there's no other way around it."
She allows her face to crack a smile. "But if everything doesn't go well then we all have to promise each other something."
"What's that?" Chris asks.
She smiles more widely. "That we'll make sure the deceased one gets a nice obituary."
SUNDAY 10:01PM -AT THE BRIDGE LAKE RIVER
Mr. Whitaker sights the Lake river. "Oh, thank God. I know our way back from here."
"Yeah, just a lil' problem Mr. W. We haven't found Adrian yet." Lennox says.
Mr. Whitaker nods. "I know, and I don't think we will. Best thing right now is to go back to the cabin and check if he's there. If he's not then we call the police and let them handle this messy mess."
"You know, we could have just called Mrs. W and asked her if Adrian got back. Couldn't you just hold on to the lousy little thing? What good's a walkie-talkie if you're just gonna drop it?" Lennox again.
Mr. Whitaker sighs. "I've done told you that it slipped from my hands. It slipped as in 'by accident' it's not my fault."
Lennox huffs, "Then I guess we should go back. How long will that take?"
Mr. Whitaker shrugs, "'bout half an hour and a half if we really hurry."
"Let's go then," Carlos says leading the way with his flashlight.
They follow after him doing the late-to-class walk, not quite running but definetly not just walking.
SUNDAY 10:11 -AT THE CABIN
Courtey fumbles throught the kitchen's first aid kit. She takes out some bandages and wraps them around Chris's head. He's still bleeding but not as much.
Chris chooses a frying pan as his weapon and Adrian gets a knife. Courtney picks up a hammer in one hand and the walkie-talkie in the other.
"Ready?" She asks both boys, they nod.
"Take your places then." She says. The boys take off to Brooke and Courtney's room.
Courtney grabs the walkie-talkie and punches the button on the side. Static and then the killer's raspy voice answers. "Hello?"
"Hi," Courtney says wishing she had prepared some kind of dialongue.
"Who's there?"
"It's me, or don't you recognize my voice?"
"Oh, little miss leg-slasher, slashed anyone lately bitch?!"
"Yeah, you."
"I'm gonna kill you as soon as I find you, you hear me! I'm gonna kill you!"
"Oh yeah? I've heard that loads of times before and yet… I'm still alive. Still living my merry little life. And you can't get me now 'cause I'm safe in the cabin." Courtney says and immediately regrets it. She had been so obvious.
Courtney trips over her tongue trying to fix her mistake, "I - I mean safe at the cave in the - the forest." she cracks her knuckles nervously wondering if it worked.
The voice on the other line goes quiet and she can't hear anything. Courtney puts the walkie-talkie down hoping that he went quiet because he's on his way, that or he was eaten by a huge hungry bear. The second option seemed too perfect and unreal so Courtney decides to prepare for the first one. A live face-to-face confrontation with Frankenstein.
Chris...
PAUSE