Chapter 3

Caleb, Hanna, Aria, Spencer and Emily were watching all this happen. They couldn't hear anything except once when Jenna raised her voice at Jason but even then, they couldn't make out what she said.

"That is definitely a girl, right?" Aria asked no one in particular.

"Either that or Jason's gay," Hanna giggled, drawing a not so amused glare from Spencer. Hanna's smiled dropped and she cleared her throat as she went back to looking at the three in the clearing.

"That's a girl," Emily finally spoke. Her eyes had been locked on the dark figure ever since she came into sight. There was something about the way she walked; the way she moved. Emily couldn't take her eyes off of her. There was something so familiar. The way the sweater hung on her shoulders; the way her black skinny jeans hugged the curves of her legs. She couldn't see anything much higher than mid-thigh because of how baggy the sweater was, but she could see enough.

"Really? How can you tell?" Hanna asked moving next to Emily so she could see from her angle. Emily shifted her eyes to her and raised an eyebrow. Hanna looked over at her as understanding hit her. "Never mind…" Hanna put her tongue in her cheek while shaking her head and laughing to herself. Emily smirked, rolled her eyes and shook her head as she went back to watching the dark figure.

They all watched as Jason set the dark figure back on her feet. They stood saying something to each other; Jason's smile never leaving his face. He nodded his head a couple of times before bending down and picking up the bag and the dark figured had dropped. He flung it over his shoulder and nodded one more time. He then motioned over to an area a few yards away. He turned slightly and lifted his hand to Jenna. She lifted hers back at him started walking toward them. Jason said something else, turned and started walking in the direction that he motioned toward earlier.

Jenna walked up and took Jason's place in front of the dark figure. With one hand, Jenna reached for her, grabbing the front of her sweater and pulling her close to her as her other hand reached up toward her face. It looked like she was pulling the dark figure's mask down. Jenna then leaned in kissed the dark figure passionately.

All four girls and Caleb gasped in unison with shocked expressions on their faces. "Jenna is kissing A," Spencer spoke first, still obviously in shock.

"Jenna is kissing a girl," Aria added with her eyes wide and mouth slightly opened.

Hanna watched in just as much shock as the other girls until suddenly, her shocked expression turned into a frown as she glared over at Emily who was oblivious to what the girls were saying. With her lips pressed together and her nose flaring, she reached over and landed her fist on Emily's upper shoulder; not so hard to leave a bruise but hard enough to get her attention.

"Ouch! What the heck was that for?" Emily frowned at her while rubbing her arm.

"Why didn't you know that Jenna was gay?" Hanna glared at her while crossing her arms.

"Why would I know that, Hanna? You guys didn't," Emily pointed out.

"Because. Aren't gay people supposed to have these antennas that can sense other gay people?" Hanna uncrossed her arms as she became more flustered.

"I think you mean gaydar," Spencer said stifling a laugh.

"Well, whatever," Hanna glanced frustratingly at Spencer. "So, what the hell is wrong with yours?" She raised her hand toward Emily.

Emily opened her mouth to say something in her defense and was quickly cut off by Caleb. "Emily's gaydar is shit," he said simply while shrugging his shoulders.

Emily frowned at all of them. "My gaydar is not shit. There's nothing wrong with it," she defended herself before continuing. "I just didn't know about Jenna…" she was saying until Spencer cut her off in mid-sentence.

"You didn't know about Paige either until she kissed you," Spencer pointed out, again trying to stifle a laugh.

"Shitty gaydar…" Aria chimed in while shaking her head disappointedly.

"Ha!" Spencer let out a small laugh and quickly covered her mouth while Emily frowned.

Hanna threw her hands up in the air totally annoyed now. "Great, we get the gay friend with shitty gaydar," she huffed, crossing her arms again with a scowl on her face.

Emily frowned hard at Hanna before turning away and going back to watching Jenna and the dark figure. The kiss had intensified and at some point, the dark figured had removed her black gloves. Her hands were now tangled in Jenna's hair, and Jenna's arms were around her waist, holding her tight against her. Emily tried to focus her eyes so that she could get a better view of the figure's hands when she suddenly felt gentle rubbing on the top of her shoulder where Hanna had punched her. She turned to see Aria's eyes staring back at her with a concerned look on her face.

"Emily, sweetie, are you even sure that that's a girl?" Aria asked pointing to the dark figured. Spencer lost it and covered her mouth tight as she exploded into laughter in her hands.

Emily looked at all of them, as they all seemed to be stifling their laughter. All except Hanna who looked genuinely annoyed, and Spencer who was doubled over laughing into her hands and practically on her knees. "Guys, can we forget about my gaydar and focus on finding out who that is," she motioned toward the dark figure. "And yes, Aria. I'm sure that's a girl," she glared at her friend, not at all convinced by her mock concern.

"Ha. 'I'm sure that's a girl' says the Lesbian with a broken gaydar," Hanna mocked bitterly.

"Okay sweetie, if you're sure…" Aria said with mockery in her voice as she backed away from Emily who was giving her a death stare. As soon as Aria got near Spencer, Spencer grabbed on to her and buried her face into her shoulder as laughter ripped through her body. Aria bit her lip, trying not to join her in her laughing fit.

Emily rolled her eyes and decided to ignore them from here on out. She refocused her attention onto Jenna and the dark figure. They had stopped making out and were now saying something to each other with their foreheads pressed together. Emily's eyes widened and her mouth fell open as she watched the dark figure raise her hand to Jenna's cheek and gently stroke it. Her heart started racing as she watched the slim gentle looking fingers trace Jenna's jaw line. She knew those hands!

Emily's head started spinning. It's not possible. It can't be. But, her hands, the skin tone, her figure, and the way she moves. Come on Emily, you're seeing things. You know that's not possible. She's gone. Just breath, breath, breath damn it! Emily thought frantically to herself, trying to keep from passing out.

Spencer's laughing fit abruptly ended when she saw Emily practically hyperventilating. She moved to her side quickly, putting her hand on her shoulder. "Emily, what's wrong?" she asked with genuine fear and concern in her voice. Now they were all watching Emily.

Emily's eyes darted back and forth between the dark figure and Spencer. She shook her head and let her eyes drop to the ground. When she looked back up into Spencer's now seriously concerned eyes, she spoke quickly. "I, I can't explain it but we have to know who that is. We can't let her get away," she said. She knew it wasn't Maya; it couldn't possibly be. Maya was dead and Emily had accepted that. But she had to know who this girl was. Her breathing was now back to normal and determination flashed in her eyes.

Spencer took a step back and looked at the other girls who were now glancing at each other. "Emily's right. If that's A, we can end this now. We may not get another shot at this," Spencer offered the girls.

Aria was the first to speak up, "I'm in," she said, moving over to Spencer's side.

Hanna was next, "well, you know I'm in," she announced, looking over at Caleb.

Caleb dropped his head and sighed. "Fine, but if we do this and things get ugly, let me handle Jason. Got it?" he looked at each girl until he got a nod of agreement from each one, especially Spencer.

"Guys, we got to go, now!" Emily pointed toward Jenna and the dark figure.

"I'll see you in three days," Jenna whispered into Maya's ear. She brushed her lips across her cheek before giving her one last kiss on the lips. She then pulled the mask back up over Maya's mouth and nose. She smiled at her as she let her go. Maya backed away slowly still holding Jenna's hand until their fingers parted. Jenna could see that Maya was smiling behind the mask just by the way her eyes twinkled. She blew her a kiss and waved goodbye.

Maya laughed and waved back. She then turned and made her way over to where Jason was waiting. She was half way there when she heard shuffling coming from across the small clearing. She stopped dead in her tracks as Caleb emerged brush with Emily and Spencer right behind him, followed by Hanna and Aria. They were coming at her fast.

"Jason!" Jenna screamed as she raced toward Maya.

Jason was fiddling with his phone when snapped around at the sound of Jenna's scream. He saw the five moving quickly toward Maya and Jenna running toward her as well. He dropped his phone and the bag and took off toward Maya.

Maya was backing away from them as fast as she could but she was trapped. If she went any further, she'd go tumbling down the steep slope. There is no way she'd make it down that in one piece. Her eyes locked on Emily. Emily was moving fast and staring straight at her with determination written all over her. "Shit," she whispered.

Caleb stopped a couple of feet away from Maya. "We just want to talk to you." He tried to sound reassuring, taking a step closer to her. Suddenly, he was knocked off his feet as Jason's body slammed into him. Spencer, Hanna and Aria gasped but Emily was not deterred. Emily went straight for Maya, locking her fingers around her arm.

Maya tried to pull away but Emily's grip just got tighter. With her free hand, Emily reached for the hood. Next thing Maya knew she was tumbling to the ground with Emily and Jenna. Jenna ran right into Emily with such force that all three of them fell. Maya scrambled to her feet as she saw Jenna straddle Emily trying to hold her down. Emily was trying to catch her breath after having the wind knocked out of her. Maya hesitated as she looked down at Emily.

"Go!" Jenna screamed at Maya. Maya knew that Jenna wouldn't hurt Emily, so she turned to run and ran right into Aria and Hanna who were reaching for her. They grabbed a hold of her but she, with a lot of effort, was able to twist and maneuver out of their grasps. Once free of them, Maya took off running. She looked over her shoulder to see that Spencer had locked her arm around Jenna's neck and was pulling her off of Emily.

Maya saw Spencer drag Jenna to the ground and straddle her, holding her down. She stopped and was starting to head back when Jenna turned her head toward her and screamed again, "Go!" Jenna turned her head upward and Maya followed her gaze. Hanna and Aria were helping Emily to her feet and Emily was staring directly at Maya. Emily broke into a mad dash heading straight at her. She quickly turned in her tracks and bolted toward the heavily wooded area on the other side of the clearing.

Jason was finally able to position himself just right to flip Caleb over his head and onto his back. He scrambled to his feet and grabbed the back of Spencer's shirt, pulling her off of Jenna. Once Jenna was free, she jumped to her feet and took off after Emily.

"Jason!" Spencer yelled angrily at him, trying to pull herself away. Just then, Hanna leaped onto to Jason's back and started slapping him on the head and face. Jason was trying to swat her hands away with one hand but she was swinging fast. He finally lost his grip on Spencer's shirt as Spencer started pounding on his hand with her fist. As Spencer jumped to her feet to follow Jenna, Jason yelled to her, "Spencer, please don't!" Spencer looked back at him and then took off after Jenna.

Hanna was still going at Jason with her hands. He reached up, trying to grab them. He finally caught a hold of them and pulled her forward over his head. He caught her just before she hit the ground so that she would land too hard. He stumbled back and tripped over Aria's foot that she had purposely put in his way. He hit the ground hard and immediately felt the pressure of Caleb's body on top of him, pinning him to the ground. Caleb looked up at Aria and Hanna and yelled, "Go, don't let her get away!"

Jason looked up and caught Aria's eyes. "Please, don't. You'll get her killed and the rest of us," he managed to breathe out. Aria stood frozen looking into his eyes. She knew he was serious. Hanna pulled on her arm to get her to move. Aria snapped out of her intense gaze with Jason and followed Hanna as she ran in the direction that the others had gone in.

Jason struggled with all his might under the weight of Caleb's body but he was exhausted. His mind went back to Maya. They came too far to let it end like this. As he thought about her and everything that she had sacrificed, he knew he couldn't fail her. He found strength somewhere deep inside and wrapped his legs around Caleb's torso, flipping him over.

Maya made it to the heavily wooded area. She knew she would have the advantage because she was at least three inches shorter than Emily. Emily would have a harder time dealing with the low hanging branches, which she hoped would slow her down. She really needed to slow her down because she didn't know how long she could keep this pace up. Emily was an athlete and had a lot more stamina than her. Maya was fast for a short distance but long distance? Emily would surely catch without much effort.

Maya felt herself slowing down. She tried desperately to control her breathing as she glanced over her shoulder. Emily had fallen back a little which meant the low hanging branch theory was working but she hadn't fallen far enough behind to make Maya feel comfortable. Damn it! Of all the people that could have came after me, it had to be Emily. If she doesn't fall back some more, I'm done. There's no way I'll make it to the car. Maya was getting frustrated because she knew that she could only stay in the wooded area for another few hundred yards. She had to cross another clearing to get to the car. If Emily didn't fall back more, she would surely catch her once they hit the clearing.

Maya glanced over her shoulder one more time to see that Emily had picked up speed. Maya looked around and realized that the branches weren't as low anymore, which could only mean the clearing was coming up and Emily was speeding up. Focus Maya! Run damn it, run!

This was a fun chapter to write. Please review.