Chapter Fifteen

He wouldn't have woken up any earlier if it wasn't for the constant pounding in his head caused by that maniac who was wearing a pillowcase over his head to conceal his identity. It was a pillowcase, wasn't it? Paul asked himself as he slowly climbed to his feet, thanks to the wall he was lying next to. The thought soon left his mind when he remembered that Ginny was still out there, and that he needed to get to her before that psycho did, if he hasn't already. Paul hoped against hope that he hadn't.

Heading toward the only light in the next room, Paul found himself in the kitchen, his eyes noticed that the small window over the sink was wide open and that a knife lay on the floor nearest the door. However, what disturbed him the most was Sandra's body, skin as pale as snow, a gaping hole in her back and covered in her blood. She was lying face-down, a good thing for Paul because he didn't want to look into those lifeless eyes of hers and feel the guilt about her unfortunate demise, but he felt it anyway. If he hadn't had organized this counselling course, then Sandra would still be alive.

He covered his mouth with his hand, fighting the urge to not vomit right there and then, instead making his way over to the sink, just in case he did. After taking a few deep breaths from the fresh air coming in through the wide-open window, the sight of poor Sandra's body made him suddenly think about the others. Were they dead too? It would've explained the awful quietness that filled the entire lodge, magnifying the sounds of the floorboards as they creaked, the rustling of the trees outside as they swayed with the breeze of the wind.

No time to think about it now, Paul told himself, passing Sandra's body as he exited the kitchen and headed straight for the door, Gotta find Ginny! Make sure that she's okay! Not in any way hurt by that...psychopath!

Now a man on the mission, Paul dashed across the porch, his mind half on the urge to find Ginny, the other half in making sure not to bump into that maniac again! Leaping over the small set of wooden steps with ease, he looked up the small hill that led up to the pebbled road to see that Ginny's car was still parked where she'd left it when they'd returned from the bar. The Volkswagen beetle's red exterior acting like a beacon, guiding him toward it, clambering up the hill on his hands and feet, reaching the top in no time at all.

"Ginny! Ginny!" Paul called in a hushed tone once he reached the passenger's side, but was only greeted by the sight of the smashed window on the driver's side and glass shards of all shapes and sizes scattered on the seat and floor of the car.

Spinning around slowly three-hundred-and-sixty degrees, Paul looked in all directions to see where Ginny could've run to; the cabins, the lake but his answer came in the form of a shriek coming in the direction of his office. He knew who that belonged to in a heartbeat...Ginny's!

"Ginny," he gasped, running immediately in the office's direction, intent in saving her from whatever that psychopath was going to do to her. He dread to think as he ran as fast as he could, still a little woozy from his fight earlier on. When he saw his office's exterior, he saw that the lights were out and showed no sign of anyone inside. As he approached from the side, he pressed his back up against the wall, ready to pounce on whoever was going to occur around the corner and jumped out when his gut told him to. No-one there. What greeted him though was what was left of the front door, chunks of wood and glass shards in shapes similar to what he'd found back at Ginny's car.

Poking his head through the archway without a door, Paul called out in a hushed tone, "Ginny?" Just to make sure. Inside he could see that the phone was out of commission, dismantled on the floor, bits lay everywhere. Ginny must have fought him off with it, Paul thought as he heard her voice again, screaming out somewhere behind him, "Help! Someone help me!"

With his heart feeling a little lighter at the fact that he knew Ginny was still alive, it didn't however stop it from pounding so hard at the thought that the guy was still following her, intent on ending her like Sandra and probably the others. He didn't know of their fate but he gathered as much seeing as he hadn't seen any of them since he'd arrived back from the bar with Ginny, Ted and Chantelle.

Looking around the office for anything he can use offensively, he found it in the shape of the axe that was left embedded in his desk, his mind fathoming what the killer had intended to do with it. Gripping it with both hands Paul easily pulled it out, hearing the wood crack as he did, and stormed out of the hut, rescuing his 'damsel in distress' from the evil villain the only thing now on his mind...

She didn't know how long she'd been running for...maybe only minutes. Possibly hours even. She must've been running for quite some time as her lungs were burning fit to burst, breathing in carbon dioxide instead of oxygen and her skin felt hot, flushed. Ginny had called out for help but judging by the obvious fact that she was the only one left and the only neighbours close enough were the ones who lived 8 miles away, no help was coming.

Pushing through branches only persisted in having their sharp points scratch at her face and anywhere else that exposed skin, leaving behind lines of red where they attacked her, as well as tear at her clothes as Ginny fought with every breath she had left to keep a good distance away from that psychopath. She felt sorry for what happened to Sandra, to Ted, to the others but she was determined to not end up like them.

Completely fatigued now, heart pounding so hard she couldn't think straight, Ginny saw a tree that had a wide trunk, wide enough for her to hide behind and enough cover from the branches and bushes to conceal her from sight, pushing her way through more foliage to get around it.

Leaning up against it and letting out a long sigh, Ginny took the opportunity to take in a couple of deep breaths, filling her lungs with delicious oxygen. Not being able to hold it in much longer, she covered her face with her hands and starting sobbing into them, for the unfortunate death of her friends and her wonderful lover, Paul. Her eyes burned with the tears she was shedding, tasting the salty fluid on her lips, her mind replaying how Paul so valiantly fought the killer but sadly ended up like the rest of his victims.

What was that? She immediately stopped crying once her ears had picked up the noise, the sound of hurried feet. His feet! She thought as she stood up from her sitting position, looking around to find anything to use against the killer she couldn't seem to elude. Luckily, a thick branch the size and width of a baseball bat lay in front of her feet, finding it very sturdy as she held it within her palms. Gripping it with both hands at one end, Ginny edged herself to the edge of the trunk, but not too much to blow her cover, she waited for the footsteps to come closer before she'd unleash her attack.

1...2...3! The killer was right beside her, she took her chance and swung the branch so hard that it struck him in the stomach, causing him to keel over. She was about to whack him hard again, this time around the back of his head when she saw that it was actually –

"Paul!? Is that you?" She immediately dropped the branch, kneeling down beside him to help him to his feet, apologizing countless times, "God, I'm so sorry. Are you hurt?"

Paul smiled, in a time like this he smiled, nodding his head, "No, I'm alright...thankfully. You know you pack quite a wallop!" He said, rubbing his mid-section which he knew would turn into a whopping great bruise later. He didn't mind though. At least he was with Ginny now and knew that she was safe and unharmed.

"Oh Paul, I thought you were dead...I thought he'd killed you..."

"Hey, hey. Now let's have none of that, okay? Apart from the wallop you gave my abs, I'm perfectly alright. I'm still here, see?" His voice was soothing, the back of his hand barely touching her cheek as he caressed it. Ginny leaned in against his touch, eyes closed as a lonely tear trickled down, quickly wiped away with the flat of his thumb.

Once he'd pulled his hand away, Ginny's eyes were fixed on the axe gripped tightly inside one of his fists, Ted's blood still caked on its blade, images flashing before her eyes of his violent death and her recent bout with the killer back in Paul's office. She winced, shook them away and looked in the opposite direction, knowing that they should get going if they wanted to elude the killer.

"Ginny?" Paul noticed her grimace, grabbing her shoulder softly with one hand, keeping the axe down by his side, turning her so she was facing him. She could see the concern on his face as he asked softly, "Ginny? Are you okay?"

Not wanting to get into it now, Ginny nodded her head, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine but we really need to get going," she said, taking Paul by the hand and pulling him in the direction of where she was originally going, along the dirt path that was swallowed up by the surrounding darkness the further away it got. The Moon's light barely shining through the heavily-leaved trees, giving the hulking killer the perfect cover to pursue his prey without being seen...