WhiteScratch

A Journey

After one last tight hug, we walk back toward Grayson, hand in hand, and sit down. He looks at us disgusted before he speaks. 
"So where are we headed?"
"Don't know. All we know is that we just gotta keep walking North." Jake says.
"Yes, North. I don't know why or how but it feels like there is something in that direction, pulling me toward it." I say, backing Jake up. 
"A feeling, huh? We're following a feeling?!" Grayson says as he starts to raise his voice.
"Chill out, man! We have nothing else to go off and I trust Rachel with my life!" I smile and nudge him slightly. 
"Yeah well, what if I don't?" 
"With your behavior toward her, I don't believe that for a second." He starts to open his mouth to speak again but pauses. He grunts and falls his gaze to the ground.
"That's what I thought. Now get up and start walking." He follows Jake's instructions quietly and starts to walk on as Jake gets up, pulls me up, and starts to walk too. 
"Just keep walking till you see something." Jake shouts ahead. Grayson holds a thumbs up out and continues walking, keeping his eyes on the ground. 
"Something is off about him. Like he knows a lot more than he's letting on." Jake whispers to me. 
"I know, I think the same thing. Did you see the look he had on his face before we walked into that that hell hole?"
"What? No, I didn't. What look did he have?"
"Should I tell you? I don't want you to loose your cool or something."
"Rachel, I lost my cool the second he laid his eyes on you. Just tell me." I sigh and say, "Now, I'm not sure about the meaning or intent he had behind his eyes with this look but he looked...evil. A wide grin with squinted eyes. Almost like he knew what was gonna happen and he was just, ok with it.". He looks to the ground with his puzzled expression on before his eyes widen and he turns back to me in an instant.
"I just now realized!!"
"Realized what?" 
"When we were in there, not one person, or creature, or thing even touched him. The only time was when he was kicking them away from you and that was because he initiated the contact."
My own eyes widen at the realization as millions of questions run through my head. "Oh my gosh, you're right! But why?" 
"I don't know but I have a feeling we're gonna find out soon enough. That scares me." His grip on my hand tightens as he says this and I close in to hug his arm.
"Don't be scared. Whatever comes our way, I know we can beat it. I mean, we've gotten this far, right? With everything we've been through, we're still here. We're still together."
"I know but what if something too big comes along? You're already hurt badly as it is. What if something comes along and I just can't do anything about it? I can't protect you and save you. What then Rachel?" I pause in my tracks and holler out to Grayson to wait a minute. I turn Jake toward me, take both of his hands, and look deep into his eyes as I speak in a serious tone.
"You can't think like that Jake. Doubt and fears are what will get you killed out here and you know that. Its a miracle we haven't gotten WhiteScratch yet so instead of focusing on all the "what-ifs", focus on the positives, ok? I know there aren't many and I know the joy you can find in them is limited but please." I notice that I am squeezing his hands pretty tightly so I let go and take a step back. "Sorry." He takes a step toward me. 
"You're right. I have been focusing on everything that could go wrong instead of everything I know is right, haven't I?" I nod before we wraps me in his arms. 
"Don't be sorry. I'm the one who should be sorry and I promise, I'll try to focus on more of the good things for you." 
"Thank you, Jake." He kisses the top of my head as I hear Grayson shout, "You two love birds done yet?" in an annoyed tone. 
"What if we're not?" Again, he starts to open his mouth but shuts it and turns around. Jake laughs slightly which in turn, makes me as well. 
"Not so tough now, is he?" He says as he smiles.
"He's just intimidated by you at this point."
"Good. That's how it should be." I roll my eyes and tug Jake forward as I shout to Grayson to keep moving. We walk for miles beneath the scorching sun with little being said between any of us until we come upon a shadow of a village in the distance. My spirits raise a little as I hope that they have some water to spare. We walk to the village in no hurry and the closer and closer we get, the more desolate it appears. I can see at least two figures walking around as we come upon the border. 
"C'mon!" Grayson shouts as he starts to run in there, completely blind to the dangers lurking. 
"Grayson wait!" I shout as I run in after him as best as I can, with Jake on my heel. He finally stops across from a building that's made of wood with what looks like some kind of red liquid seeping out of the cracks in the wood. Grayson walks toward it like everything is normal and opens the door. I take Jake's hand again as he steps in front of me. 
"Huh, that's odd." Grayson says as he stands outside the door, scratching his head. 
"What is it?" I squeak out, trying to stay brave. Jake motions for me to stay back as he goes to look inside. His eyes widen and he takes a step back as he too, scratches his head in confusion. He motions for me to come forward, so I do so. I look inside hesitantly and to my surprise, I see what appears to be a butcher house. Blood is splattered all over the walls and you can see the body parts of a pig in all four corners with an extensive butcher knife collection hanging on the wall. I take a step back toward Jake. 
"How? There are no animals on WhiteScratch, I thought." I say confused as well. 
"I thought so too but if that was the case, where did this come from?" 
"Unless its not an animal." Grayson says ominously. Jake takes a step toward him. 
"What are you suggesting?" 
"Human victims." 
"Victims of what?" Grayson ignores Jake and walks into the house toward the knifes. He picks up a fairly sized one and starts twirling it around in his hands, running his fingers down the blade. He takes it by the handle and slowly starts to walk toward me. I panic and let go of Jake's hand as I start to back up as Grayson comes toward me. As he gets closer I freeze completely out of pure fear, almost like I'm paralyzed. He gets right up in my face, looks at the blade, and runs it across my cheek slowly. I feel it slice through my skin and the blood start dripping down my face. After he's made a clean cut he slams the blade into the ground on my left and whispers to me, "Who knows."