SOMEWHERE IN THE FOREST 5:01 AM
Lake Wawanakwa began to stir to life as dawn approached. The midnight blue sky faded to a grey blue color, signaling that sunrise was just over the horizon. Despite the promise of a new day, the old rundown camp was filled with despair and devastation. Only a handful of the twelve campers endured through the long and frightful night. Those who survived the masked killer's onslaught could only hope now to see the light of day.
Within the maze of trees, said killer scrupulously hunted for the remaining teenagers. He'd originally been stalking three of them, but the tall and awkward red head separated from the trio and presented himself as an easy target. The stalker gave eager chase to the youth, but had lost the trail in mere minutes. Though it couldn't be seen past his jovial painted mask, the man was quite irritated that the boy managed to elude him.
He grumbled aloud to himself, looking around another tree, still unable to locate his target. The killer could have never guessed that while he hunted, a pair of green tinted eyes was stalking him. High above in the trees, Harold hugged a large tree limb, smiling down as the killer passed him by, "Suckers."
"That's right psycho, I've got your number," he gloated as he sat up straight. Satisfied that he'd dodged his pursuer, Harold leaned comfortably against the base of the tree. His limbs stretched out to ease his stiffness and he yawned silently, his eyes heavy. Before he could fall asleep, he noticed a flickering light in the distance. Scrutinizing the golden glow, he identified it as someone's flashlight scanning the forest.
With dawn near, the bespectacled teen had a much easier time discerning the shapes in the distance. A feminine figure walked atop the same mass of earth that had detoured the Bass team earlier. She pushed her long raven hair out of her face, and immediately Harold recognized her as Heather. Harold's interests peeked on the girl, curious about what the girl was doing alone and why she was so deeply focused.
"What's Heather up to?" he wondered, noting that she was looking in the same direction that Duncan and Courtney had fled. In addition, he saw a map in her fist and the glint of a knife tucked in her belt. Abruptly her form disappeared from sight behind the trees, leaving Harold to ponder her activities.
THE NORTH DOCK 5:04 AM
The lakeshore was quite serene in retrospect of the night's horrific events. Tied to the peer, the tiny Boat of Losers rocked gently with lake's waves, soothing its two passengers. Both Gwen and Trent rested on the deck of the craft, passing the time with stories. The Gopher duo was fortunate because for the most part, they had remained unscathed throughout the night. They had only met with the killer once during the night, and managed a hasty retreat to safety. The rest of their peers were not so fortunate, and they had no way to know when or if any one else would arrive to the docks.
"And than what happened?" Gwen inquired, gladly distracted by Trent's voice. She lay on her stomach, her head propped up in her hands as she listened. Her companion laughed before waving exuberantly to emphasize the tale he told, "Well, our teacher is standing in the door way, just livid at the mess. There's paper and chalk and nails and well any thing you can think of on the floor and walls. My two friends are standing on the table with a staple gun in each hand and I'm holding a stool up for a shield. The whole class is sure we're dead."
"So, what did he do to you guys?"
"The man… the man pulls out a Mega Soaker from behind his back and goes all Rambo on us. The whole class scattered, jumping behind chairs and tables and he is laughing like a mad man. We hide behind our friend and let him take the brunt of the spray. Anyway, we all had to stay after to clean up, but you can guess after that, shop class was really… interesting."
"Wow," Gwen chuckled, "I've never had a teacher that… playful."
"Oh, he was fun, but serious about learning too," Trent sits back down on the deck, closely watching his female companion. Her smile slowly faded as she noted that the night sky has lightened another shade.
"So, how long do we wait for them?" Gwen questioned in regards to the campers they suspected were heading this way.
"I'm not sure, sunrise?"
"Sunrise isn't long away."
"Than we wait as long as we have to," he scooted next to Gwen, smiling coyly, "Besides, this means I get to watch the sunrise with you."
Gwen smiled shyly, allowing Trent to put an arm around her shoulder. The pair cuddled closely together, anticipating the steadily approaching sun.
THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE FOREST 5:12 AM
With the shadow of night gone, Duncan and Courtney found it much easier to navigate the forest. They had found a gentler incline in the barrier to climb up, until Duncan spotted a clear route cutting through the forest. Weaving through the woods, the two teens were quickly able to reestablish themselves on the path to the dock. Occasionally, the brunette would glance back, expecting to see the killer, or maybe even a fellow camper.
Duncan held Courtney's hand tightly again as he hurried them up the rise of the hill. From the peak, the northern shoreline and lake were in clear view. It was still a kilometer or more away, but Duncan spoke enthusiastically, "Look Princess! I think I see our boat out of here."
The excitement he felt quickly vanished when he saw the vacant stare in his princess's chocolate eyes. She was mentally and physically exhausted, and the grueling night had finally caught up with her. Courtney limply crashed to her knees and sobbed uncontrollably into her hands.
"This is all so pointless!" she screamed, her heart aching painfully within her chest. Duncan hesitated to comfort her as she continued to bawl incoherently, "I hate this place! I hate this stupid show! I wish I'd never come here! What's the point? Everyone is gone but me! So what's the point?"
Like a helpless child, Courtney continued to sob and Duncan felt just as helpless too. His heart stung watching his princess and carefully he knelt beside her, slowly moving her hands from her face. She refused to look at him as she strangled on the waterfall of tears pouring down her cheeks. Gently the tough delinquent pulled her into a strong embrace, and she responded by crying mercilessly into his chest.
"You're not useless, because…" Duncan moved back to look at his princess, "because I need you. Not to sound cheesy, but you're the only reason I've got to move forward. If you weren't here, I've had gotten myself killed hours ago."
Rubbing tears from her eyes, Courtney glanced sideways into his steel blue eyes. She coughed once more on her tears and sniffled, "That was really cheesy."
"I know," he grinned teasingly, "I'm glad the camera crew took off…"
"But you meant well," she hushed him, placing a finger over his lips, "Thank you."
"So, that mean you're ready to jump that boat out of here?" Duncan stood, offering his hand.
"Yeah," she nodded a little more confidently accepting his hand.
Duncan stared intensely into her brown eyes, causing her already flushed cheeks to brighten. His touch and manner was so gentle to her and she felt her heart flutter nervously. Courtney started to say his name, not really knowing what she wanted to express when an interloper caught her attention.
They both gasped as they saw Heather stumbling out from behind the cover of trees. She looked like hell, her fair skin and expensive clothing covered in dirt. Her hair was in shambles, twisted all in knots, and her left arm caked in dried blood. Tightly, her hand gripped on the blade tucked in her belt loop, but she had no other possessions on her.
"Heather?" Courtney started, partially in sympathy, but mostly in shock of the fact that she was still alive. The sound of her name alerted her to the other two's presence and she turned her exhausted, puffy red eyes towards them. Instantly, the tears flowed down the girl's fair skin and she raced towards the two Bass team members, "Duncan! Courtney!"
Rejoicing, Heather threw her arms around Duncan, muffling her cries of thanks and relief in his shirt. The distressed damsel's actions left the punk speechless, and the C.I.T incensed. He wasn't sure if he should comfort her or not, especially seeing the jealously flaring in Courtney's eyes.
Shrugging, Duncan gently pushed the distraught teen back, sternly questioning, "What happened to you? Where are Owen and Lindsay?"
"I… I don't know!" Heather wailed again so loudly that she'd surely draw attention.
"Whoa! Whoa," Duncan motioned for her to lower the decibels, "you need to calm down. We were just trying to find out what happened."
"I'm sorry, I've been alone and so scared. I didn't think I'd ever find anyone," she whimpered overdramatically. Her lips quivered and her eyes were filled with sadness as she glanced over at Courtney pouring it on a little thicker. Overwhelming guilt filled up in the brunette's throat for thinking poorly of the distressed teen. Although it could have been bile because of how she was overacting for sympathy.
Taking a breath to sturdy herself, Heather adamantly explained, "Before Lindsay, Owen and I headed for the dock of shame we thought maybe we could find our cell phones, and anything else they took away from us. We tried Chris' cabin first, but the killer was waiting for us there. He got Lindsay and Owen, and there was nothing I could do," she paused a moment to whip the tears away, "I just ran out of there until I ran into Leshawna, but the killer got her too. It was horrible! I was sure I was good as dead!"
"Yet, you escaped," Courtney crossed her arms tightly, watching Heather watch her. Her stare remained leery, especially when the Asian's innocent stare shifted to a glare, "I wonder now if the killer was following me the whole time."
The raven-haired girl frowned unknowingly, turning to Duncan and ready to cry another waterfall. Anticipating the waterworks, the delinquent quickly put an assuring hand on the girl's shoulder.
"Well don't worry, you're safe now," Duncan guaranteed and Courtney bitterly forced a smile, "Yes, we're glad you're safe now Heather."
"And we're all getting off this rock together."
"You have a plan?" Heather perked up with interest.
A/N: I am so sad... well not really, I have a chocolate brownie, but anywho, I'm sad because this story is coming near an end. Which means I'll be pulling my hair out to make it perfect. Because all of you who have read and reviewed my story are wonderful. Thanks for all the comments!!!
Well stay tuned everyone for the final chapter (and than a follow up chapter probably) hopefully by Friday.