The Woods (GxG)

Chapter VI

   We ran out into the rain as Noah laid in the mud, still clutching his neck tightly, still calling out for Ashley.

   She knelt next to him, tears in her eyes. "What happened..?"

   "I saw it... In the woods... I couldn't stop it..." He choked out.

   My eyes traveled to the knife in his other hand. "Where did that come from..?" I asked.

   "It used it to cut my throat... I took it... Tried to stab it... I must've scared it off..." He continued, his breathing becoming labored, blood leaking past his lips now.

   "What did it look like..?" I found myself asking. I had to know. I had to know if it was the girl.

   "It was tall... seven feet at least... Black eyes... no shape... no features..." He choked harder, his face becoming strained, blood gurgling in his throat. "I'm... I'm so sorry, Ashley... Please forgive me... Forgive me, Ashley..."

   She rested her head on his chest. "I love you, Noah... I'll always love you..."

   With one last look at her, he went limp, signaling his demise. Ashley grabbed me then, yelling into my chest. "No! Goddamnit, why!?"

   I wrapped my arms around her absentmindedly. Noah was dead... There was nothing we could do to change that... But, what he saw. What he described. It wasn't the girl. It wasn't the figure Elsa and I saw. It was something else. Something worse.

   What did the girl want then? Was she trying to warn us? Trying to help us? Memories of the first night flashed back into my head. I thought she was pointing at me. But, maybe she wasn't. Maybe she woke me up to tell me. To warn me about Elsa. If I hadn't woken up in time, would she be dead alongside everyone else?

   Was the other thing there? Is that what carved those words into her wrist? My eyes traveled to the knife then. The blade was jagged and dull. Well used. Did Noah really scare it off? Or was it that knife..?

Elsa and I laid Noah out on a bed in one of the rooms while Ashley sat in the corner of the living room, her knees hugged to her chest, her cries never slowing. I felt bad for her. I felt bad for Amy and Luke. We had to find a way to get out of here. Or, at the very least, kill whatever that thing is.

I sat at the kitchen table with Elsa, inspecting the knife. The handle was made of black pearl that was old and cracked. The hilt lined with some sort of black stone, obsidian maybe. And the blade. Chipped, the edges dull and useless. Maybe that's why the cuts on Elsa and Amy were so imperfect. Hell, even Noah's throat wound looked more like a tear then a cut.

"What are you thinking..?" Elsa asked.

I picked at the dried blood on the blade of the knife. "I think this is what that thing used to cut you... And, I think whatever it is fears this knife... Noah said he scared it away, but I don't think he did. I think the knife did..."

She took my hand from across the table then. "Do you... Do you think we can kill it with this..?"

I still looked down at the knife, the whispers growing once again. "Yes..."

Suddenly, Ashley reached between us, snatching the knife. "If that's the case, then what're we waiting for?"

We shared a scared look and bolted up as Ashley opened the front door, charging out into the rain.

I held Elsa back on the porch as Ashley yelled out.

"Show yourself, you coward! Come on! Come get me, motherfucker!" She challenged, looking around the woods.