Hide and Go Seek

22. Max

"Are you absolutely positive we can't put it anywhere else?" Jacob asks, knife in hand.

"Stop being a baby and just do it!" I reply exasperated.

"I'm just saying; we could hide it in your clothes."

"Indeed we could, but then there is always a possibility of my clothes being ripped or lost, and we have no idea how long it will take to convince the police. If it takes a few days, the cut will be scabbed up and no one will be the wiser. Plus, if it's in my clothes it will be damaged easier. Less protection around it."

"I feel sick. We have been going about this whole, stupid game all wrong. We should've never stayed away from each other, we should never have tried to outrun It, we should have stayed in one place with back up and faced it head on. I also think, we should not cut open your leg and shove a tracking device in there!" Jacob spews. To be fair, he does kind of have a point, but I'd much rather be in a little pain than be untraceable because the moment I see Thing it smashes a bat into my side breaking the tracker in my shirt.

"Speaking of the police; did they ever check in on you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Alan and I called in a tip the same day you texted your coordinates. They said they would watch you and make sure there was no real threat."

Jacob leans back against the wall of the ally we are in. "Was that who the car was? There was a car that would drive around the apartment building and park in the lot for a while. They left after a week though."

"Wait, you mean to tell me you saw them watching but didn't think anything of it? What kind of runaway are you?"

"Hey now! It didn't seem It's style to stalk before attacking and how was I to know they were the police! It was a normal car! I guess they decided I was fine after watching for a week though because I never saw them again."

And now we are going to be relying on the police again. Great. "Just cut me open now Jacob." I say with a sigh. He groans but positions the tip of the knife over my thigh like I asked. I grab a handful of my hair, twist it up and bite down on it. I look at Jacob and nod.

Quick as a flash he drives the knife into my leg and down, leaving a big enough slit to shove the small device in. I bite back a cry of pain and grab a fistful of Jacob's shirt. I start seeing spots cloud my vision. Then he actually pushes the tracker in. That almost hurt more than the knife. This time I do let out a small cry of pain but I stifle it the best I can.

After what seems like ages I feel Jacob finally stitch up and wrap the wound. I spit out my hair.

"Thanks." I say looking down at the bandage as I see a spot of red growing bigger.

"No problem..." Jacob says, looking like he's ready to puke. "Just don't ask me to cut it out afterwards."

I let out a chuckle. "Alright. Now we just need to get the police. When It gets me. I will put up a fight and stay alive as long as I can. Thing will want to draw out my death as much as possible so we have a bit of time. Get ready with the call." I'm supposed to meet up with 'Alan' in just a few minutes. "Make the call as soon as I leave, okay?"

"Max, this is a terrible plan. You are gonna die!!" Jacob looks less sure with every passing minute.

"Yeah, well, you know me; normally I have great plans." I say with a small smirk. Jacob ignores my sarcasm.

"I'm serious Max. You shouldn't do this. There has to be another way."

"You know as well as I do the police won't respond unless there is an actual emergency. They won't go on a goose chase. They will however react quickly when they get a call of a kidnapping. One they don't need to know is planned and related to three murder cases that have us calling in every so often with a tip. They probably think we're pranksters with all our calls." Jacob sighs in defeat. "Good, it's settled then."

I pull out my phone and open my messages app.

Max! I'm fine! Where did you go? Are you back in the states? I was able to get away from Grim and fly out! I assume you came back to America right? Please tell me I am!-Alan

Oh my gosh! I can't believe you escaped! I am back in America. What state are you in? I'm in Texas. We should meet somewhere in the middle. -Max

Thank goodness! I'm not too far! I'm in Colorado. How does Amarillo sound? -Alan

Sounds good. I'll text when I get there.-Max

..........

I'm here Max. What is your ETA?-Alan

Not too much farther out-Max

"That reminds me; Why Texas, Jacob?" I ask out of curiosity as I reread through my texts.

"Huh? Oh, you can carry a machete here and no one bats an eye. Sadly you can't buy guns at 17 still though."

"Ah, that makes sense. Smart."

"How come y'all never got guns? You turned 18 a while ago."

"In Australia the guns are more controlled. You can get one at 18 but you have to get a license for it, complete a gun training course, and have a background check. Me and Alan didn't pass the background check because of all the trouble around Grim and what happened on That Night."

"Oh. Rough."

"No kidding" I reply standing up. My thigh ached as I put pressure on my leg. Nothing I couldn't handle though. I fire off a text letting the thing know I arrived. I also sent the address to the deserted street in front of me. "I guess I'm off now." I say, my gut suddenly twisting in fear. It's finally happening. I'm going to come face to face with It again.

"Be careful." Jacob says standing up as well and pulling out his phone, getting ready to call the police. I nod as I walk out of the alley, limping slightly.

"I will walk into the lion's den carefully, don't worry." I say with a small smile. Jacob just shakes his head sadly, watching me walk out into the open.