Monroe House

Julia's Encounter

Julia ran until her legs burned. She slid to a halt and ducked behind a large tree. Her lungs and ribs ached as she struggled to stabilize her breathing. Once it finally slowed, the ambience of the forest filled her ears.
       She strained to listen for her friends or the trio of brothers. She heard nothing.
'What the hell is going on'? She thought to herself. She raked her brain for any plausible reason. She was missing something, she knew it. Finally, it clicked.
"Wait. One of them said the same thing that Monroe kid said.... oh shit"!
      Now it all made sense. Anyone who ever dared to enter the woods didn't usually stay for very long, let alone travel this far. Now that Julia and her friends made it this far, God only knows what would happen.
'Come on, Julia! I think you know"! She yelled to herself. She let out a shaky breath and slid lower behind the tree. She shivered as all kinds of outcomes to her current situation bombarded her mind: the now possessed brothers finding her. The wolves would surround her. One of, if not all, the ghosts would appear. She would be the only one to walk out of these woods.
        She shook her head vigorously. "No I won't! We're ALL going to get out"!
The teen sunk down lower and wrapped her arms around herself. All she could hear was the wind in the trees and her own rapid heartbeat. Suddenly, a voice ripped through the natural sounds.
"Come out, come out wherever you are", the voice sang, mockingly. Julia wanted to look, but kept still instead. Instead she listened to the person's movements, judging where he was going next.
"I know your around here, darlin'. I'll find you eventually. Then me an' my boys will take you an' the rest of your little friends to meet the missus".
       Julia swallowed the lump in her throat. The person's footsteps were getting closer. Plucking up enough courage, she started to scoot around the tree to her left. She stopped once the tree was between her and the unknown stalker again. She decided to peek her head out to see who she was up against. Tentatively, she poked her head out just an inch.
       There stood the oldest of the brothers, Tanner. He luckily wasn't facing Julia. He was scanning the neighboring tree line instead, growing more and more agitated.
"This is getting tiresome, girl! I was gonna go easy on ya! But my patience just reached its' end"! He yelled into the darkness. Julia made herself as small as she possibly could.
       Every instinct told her to either sit as still as possible or to take a chance and run. Every muscle in her body tensed and froze. She couldn't run even if she had the chance. She sat there and shivered, listening to the footfalls circle her tree.
       Suddenly a loud crash came from somewhere deeper in the woods. The teen froze and listened as Tanner- Jameson Monroe tore off in pursuit, yelling the while way. Julia turned and watched his figure disappear into the blackness. She let out a quiet sigh of relief and began to crawl out of her hiding spot, keeping her sight just behind her.
       When she turned back around, she was met with a pair of legs just inches from her face. The girl froze and slowly looked up, fully expecting one of the other brothers to be grinning down at her. Instead she was met with the blank, grey-eyed stare of Justin Andrews.
        Julia jumped back in shock and stared up at him. His skin was pale and his clothes were torn and dirty. His hair was disheveled as well. Julia struggled to find her voice, but each word got caught in her throat. The ghostly teenager spoke instead.
"Go now while he's distracted". His voice was gravely and weak. He stiffly lifted his arm and pointed behind him.
"Get to the house. Put an end to the Charlotte and her family. They'll only keep luring more more and people into these woods and there's no telling what they'll do next. We couldn't do it. Maybe you can".
        Before Julia could even think of a response, Justin faded away. The girl looked around wildly, lingering in the direction Tanner disappeared in. Not wanting to be there any longer, she jumped up and dashed into the direction of Monroe House.