RUN

SCENE THIRTEEN (MEG)

Revelation - Burden - Attack

Propelled into a frenzied run, my legs outpaced my thoughts, the reality of my severed ear still eluding my comprehension. My trembling hand, touched the blood at my neck, a desperate need for tangible proof. My fingers shook before my eyes, crimson glistening beneath the throbbing neon flashes. 

My ears rang, tears flowed, and I screamed into the night, fists connecting with an unyielding tree.

"FUCK ALL OF THIS!" I screamed so loud I felt my lung might pop. I saw no exit in sight, no end to this nightmare.

"Meg... Meg, is that you?" Whispers, familiar yet unwelcome, reached my ears. Through the ringing, I yearned for silence, for the noise and pain to fade away.

The ceaseless run halted; ugly tears streaked with dirt and blood stained my cheeks as I clutched my head, groaning and screaming until arms encircled me.

"Meg, you're alive!" His voice, bloodied and stained, reached me. He turned me around, and when I saw Hunter's face, I recoiled.

"Stay away from me, you fuck!" Feeble punches landed on his chest as he held his hands up, as if he was attempting to pacify a rabid animal.

"We found a way out." Amidst the jumbled words, those few penetrated my haze. 

"We found a way out... look." He pointed ahead, and two trees down, I saw Jessica crouched. Tinkering with an old generator, it sputtered to life, each click illuminating a new light.

"I found an amulet... said the way out was to find a door. And we did. But it's powered by these generators, and they're all dead. Jess and I... we've found a couple already, this is the second." Hunter spoke with an eerie calm, but comprehension eluded me.
"Where's Tyler?" My own voice sounded distant, drowned in the chaos. Hunter shook his head, and a chilling realization dawned — had he sacrificed Tyler to the Huntress as he had me?

I jogged toward Jessica, her weakened state apparent. She managed a weak smile as she looked up.

"Hey, you look like shit," she chuckled.

"You look even worse," I laughed, crouching beside her. She showed me the wires, and I began to work on them, while Hunter kept watch.

RESOLUTION
I tinkered with the generator, coaxing the last flickering light to life, but the frizzled wires betrayed my efforts. Jessica swayed by my side, teetering on the edge of unconsciousness. As I turned to catch her, the wires slipped from my grasp, and the generator protested with a loud sputter.

"What did you do?!" Hunter's roar filled the air as I cradled Jessica's limp form. Panic etched his face, colors draining as the haunting hum drew near.

"We've got to go; she's coming!" Hunter's frantic scream echoed.

"Jessica's unconscious!" I screamed back, attempting to rouse her with a gentle shake. It was futile; she was now nothing more than a target for the impending Huntress.

Hunter, had been ready to sacrifice me before, would he do the same for Jessica now?

He knelt beside her, shaking her in a desperate attempt to bring her back. For a fleeting moment, light flickered in her eyes, a red glow painted her face and we both gazed up to see the Huntress. We held onto our breath, onto the scream building into our chests. We watched as an axe sliced through Hunter's back.

My gaze locked with the weapon's rusted point piercing through Hunter's chest. Jessica's scream tore through the air, and I acted swiftly, pulling her up to her feet.

"COME ON!" I cried, gripping her as we stumbled back into the forest's dark curtain, leaving behind Hunter as the killer plucked his body.