Nightmare Within - Vance Hopper

chapter six: Black Van

AMANDA wasn't allowed out. Now that her mother had caught her with Vance, she had an excuse to keep her safe and keep her away from him.

But, being as relentless as she is, Amanda didn't take no for an answer. After her intense argument with her mother, she stomped off to her room and immediately opened the window. Without looking back, she jumped into the yard below.

When Amanda finally got to the Grab N' Go, she was confused to see that Vance wasn't at his usual spot in front of the pinball machine. She looked around the store, but he was nowhere to be seen.

At first, she thought he had just blown her off- It's Vance Hopper for fucks sake. But, after some consideration, she realized that he wouldn't do that to her. He cared for her.

So where the hell was he?

***

Vance Hopper walked down the street to the Grab N' Go, his good mood unable to be diminished. Amanda was on his mind the entire day. He wanted to tell the girl how he felt (even if he absolutely hated talking about his feelings).

After rounding the corner and stepping foot onto a new street, Vance laid eyes on a black van a few blocks ahead. He looked at it a minute before continuing his walk.

When he finally reached the van, however, a man in a cape stepped out and blocked Vance's path.

"Do you want to see a magic trick?" he asked, swishing his cape.

Vance held back a snort and shook his head, trying his best to be polite.

"Yeah, no," he denied. "I have somewhere to be,"

Vance started to walk again, trying to make his away around the man but within a second, the man's arms wrapped around his neck, leaving him immobile.

"Get the fuck off of me, you old cunt!"

Vance elbowed the man in the face before pushing him down and sprinting down the sidewalk. There was no way in hell that he was letting this freak take him.

But, he seemingly had no choice when something hard collided with the back of his head, knocking him out cold. The Grabber looked down at the boy for a second before picking him up and throwing him in the back of the van.

He had successfully caught another victim.

***

"Sorry, honey," the cashier at the Grab N' Go shrugged. "He hasn't been in all day,"

Amanda bit her lip in worry and muttered a small thanks to the woman. Something was wrong. There was no way Vance wouldn't go to his favourite hangout spot. Especially when he had told Amanda to meet him there earlier that day.

The girl left the shop and hopped on her bike, her forehead creased in worry. There was no way that Vance had been taken, right? Finney had only gone missing the day before. The Grabber usually left more of a gap in between his victims.

The roar of an engine sounded behind Amanda and she glanced over her shoulder and immediately noticed the black van driving up the street behind her. She moved off to the side to allow the van to pass, but it never did.

When Amanda glanced over her shoulder again, she was shocked to see that the van had gained on her. It was driving right behind her, not passing. She stood on the pedals of her bike and sped up, not wanting to know what the van wanted with her.

Her front tire hit a small rock wrong and soon, Amanda had spun out and fell to the ground. Before she could get up and bike away, a hand was on her arm, helping her up.