Scarlett

Chapter 20

!TW!

Willow isn't that close, but she's a good fighter and at school I heard stories on how even though she had just made friends with someone, she always helped them out. And even though she failed, she really pulled her weight in the fights with Isha. And I know she's been training since then, so I think she'd be able to handle him.
"So where are we actually going?" Willow asks.
Coco coughs nervously.
"Funny story," She says, "We don't actually know yet."
Willow gives her a confused stare.
"We're just following the blood trail and hoping it leads us to Aries and James." Lars tells her.
She nods slowly, "Ohhh I get it!"
The van drifts silently through the roads, the only light in the dark abyss of the night.
We slow to a stop.
"Why are we stopping?" Gale asks,
"Look." Lars points ahead.
I climb over people to look out of the front window.
The blood is leading us into a forest.

We're off the road.

"Keep going." I breathe.

I feel a slight jolt of movement as we begin to slowly go forth into the night trees.
The leaves are darkened, a torch creates a faint blue hue. The air is moist, warm and wet from the rain.
Aries's trail begins to thicken, more visible. The path is rocky, getting thinner.
We keep going.
But we know we're not alone.
Somewhere nearby is Aries and James.
We hear a crunch from under the wheel.
Brendons head snaps up, eyes alert.
We halt.
There is a silent pause.
"Any volunteers to check what that was?" Gale smiles nervously.
Brendon gets out to look.
"Everyone okay?" Coco checks.
We nod.
I feel an arm wrap securely around me.
Brendon returns, horrified.
"What was it?" Willow asks.
I wish she didn't.
I wish we had just continued driving and ignored it.
Brendon holds up a hand.
A single hand, with bits of flesh bitten out of it.
"Those bites aren't from an animal..." Lars trails off.
"Look." Gale points at one of the few remaining fingers, "That ring."
"James's wedding ring." Coco confirms.
"How did he lose... a hand?" I question,
"Do you think maybe... that's what Aries did?" Willow exhales slowly, "Maybe Aries ate someone..."
"Not just anyone," Lars whispers, "He might have eaten Sam and Honey's mother."
"They only saw her body once," Coco realises, "Then it disappeared and they never found it."
"Brendon please get rid of it," Willow covers her mouth, "Let's just keep moving in case it wasn't Aries and something is watching us."
She has a good point.
Red flag number one.

We abandon the hand and keep moving.

The forest moves behind us as we reach a road next to an abandoned beach.
DO NOT ENTER says a sign next to the entry.
Red flag number two.
"There's more blood. Not just Aries's." Coco points out, "James was definitely bleeding too."
"Well you'd expect that after your hand gets ripped off." Gale snaps.

A cave.
Covered in blood. Rocks splattered and bones thrown around.
Dead rabbits, fur ruined with mixed insides. A large clock is placed next to the entry.
And Aries is sat, panting and wounded.
"Aries!!" Coco jumps out and hugs him.
"Coco! Careful!" Aries bursts into pain, but hugs her back carefully.
"Sorry," She cries, "Get in the car, we have medicines and bandages for you."
"Where's James?" Lars asks.
Brendon stares at them, hanging onto the words.
"In there..." Aries points to the cave where two people are standing.
James... and a stranger.
"Aries..." James begins, "I'm so sorry. I'll try help you get better, I promise. And I'll be better to Sam and Honey, I'll make it up with them! If they want to see me that is..."
"What do you mean?" Coco stands in front of Aries.
"When I was younger, my parents were homophobic. I realised this and decided I had to marry the perfect woman to stop abandonment." He explains, "So I met Sam and Honey's mother, and married her. We both had the same situation, and neither of us were happy in our marriage. I went insane trapped in that idolised world, and their mother became suicidal. Our parents all died, my wife's mother was the only survivor and yet we still stayed together. But I knew that she had given up all hope. I couldn't kill her, so I made Sam do it. That was the biggest regret of my life. I became so deranged that I forced my own son to kill his mother and grandma. I was free to be myself, but I went through so much torture as I watched Sam grow up and gradually realise what I had made him do, watch him become terrified of me, that I considered hiding was my punishment."
Willow comes a little closer to me.
"But then I did all this." He gestures to where Aries is lying, "And I'm sorry. I promise I will become a better person. I have Clockface to thank for teaching me what to do."
The stranger rolls a rock in front of their cave.
Their entire face is hidden behind a clock mask, pointing at seven o'clock. They are wearing a black dungaree dress and black boots with a pair of crimson gloves.
"You'd better get back." Clockface says, "Isha is planning an attack for in two days."
"How do you know?" I call after her.
She stops briefly.
"I have a friend in the right place." She says, "I'm no enemy to you, but I'm not an enemy for Isha either."
"Who are you?" Gale asks quietly.
She pauses, and I spot a smile under her mask.
"I'm Clockface." She says, "And I'm the strongest card you have, if you tread carefully."

Bit of a short chapter but hope you like Clockface!!