Escape {COMPLETE}

~Chapter Three~

The scared tears were running down my cheeks and softly plopping upon my clothes, swiftly and silently. I could see the outline of the creature below me. It was like any regular man, only different, somehow. He certainly didn't sound like any normal man. He suddenly froze. I couldn't even hear him breath anymore. He slowly looked up, straight at me. I caught my breath, covering my mouth again, and grabbed onto the branch for dear life.

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Erin's P.O.V.

I kept looking down at my phone, eagerly awaiting a text. I had asked Deanna, Connor, and Sean to come, and the first two had already agreed. Sean and I had already been texting me, as usual, and I was anxiously tapping my fingers onto the pavement in waiting. Hurry up, dude, we won't stay out here forever...

Nick had hung up on Hannah and gave me my phone back. He started saying something, but I zoned out. I caught a glimpse of what he was saying, near the end. "...so stupid, thinking we'll actually believe her!" I cocked my head sideways, confused. "Huh? I wasn't listening, what's going on?" Nick huffed and explained again. "Hannah said that whenever she was out there, something was coming after her and she was up a tree. Yeah, right! I bet she's just trying to mess with us!" Patrick shook his head defiantly. "No, I still don't think she'd do that!"

"Me, neither," I responded. "Sh-should we go looking for her?" Nick snorted. "Fat chance at that happening. I'm sure she's gonna pop out from behind a tree and scare us! And besides, she said, 'Don't make any noise at all, you have to get out of here and get help!'" He mocked her in a crude high-pitched voice. "Ha!" He scoffed. Patrick still looked unconvinced, and I felt the same. "But what if she really is in trouble? We can't just leave her out there!" I cried. "Yeah, seriously, we should go look for her!" Patrick insisted. I thought for a second. "Wait, how did she sound over the phone?" I could always tell her intentions by her voice.

"She sounded...well, she was whispering. She sounded like she was trying to keep from laughing. Or, keep from crying...." Nick paused, and thought. "Wait...she kind of did sound like she was about to cry..."

"Oh, God, we have to do something!" I squeeled. I could feel my heart racing at the thought of Hannah, my best friend, the only one who never gave up on me for anything, hanging from a tree, bloody and lifeless. I shivered and tears came to my eyes. "Oh, Erin, don't cry, it's ok..." Nick instantly murmured in a soft voice. He came over and hugged me. Nick was a complete sweetheart on the inside, despite his love of teasing his "sisters". I didn't really like hugs, but oh, well, it made me feel at least a little better that someone cared.

Patrick awkwardly looked at us, but then glanced towards the trees. "Maybe we should listen and see if we hear anything..." He muttered quietly. I nodded my head in agreement and walked over to the edge of the treeline. Leaning close, I listened intently. All I heard was a slight rustle a little ways off, like someone calmly walking in the leaves. I huffed out a breath. That had to be her! Nick was right, she lied!

"Ugh! All I hear is walking, guys! She totally lied to us!" I crossed my arms in anger. She promised she'd never lie to me! What nerve!

"Are you sure?" Patrick asked incredulously. He leaned in and listened as well. "Believe me now?" I harshly spat. When I got mad, I got mad. "I heard walking, too...I can't believe she'd do that!" Nick crossed his arms. "I told you! Let's just wait for her to get back here, I'm not gonna go out there and let her scare me." I nodded confidently. "Yeah, me, too!" I hated being lied to. Serves her right!

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Hannah's P.O.V.

I tried my best not to sob aloud. My brain, on the other hand, was screaming so loud it rang in my ears. I didn't want to die! I had always talked tough, but I never thought I'd actually have to fight someone, much less a grown man! He was still just sitting there, staring at me. I took a closer look, twisting my head around a few leaves to see. Those were the same red eyes I saw in the corn! I shivered even more and hit my head softly on the tree trunk, closing my eyes tight. I could tell my make-up must've been running by now. I'll admit, I'm certainly not a girly girl, but every one of my girl friends had instisted upon it.

Wait, why am I thinking of that at a time like this?! I'm about to die! I'm about to die....

I was strangely reminded of how Harry walked into the Forbidden Forest, Voldemort awaiting, ready to die if it would save the rest of the wizarding world. Of course, it was like me to think of Harry Potter. I shook my head. Get focused, here, dammit! I calmly breathed through my nose, as to make less noise, and peered over the branch again. It was still staring up into my tree. I cocked my head sideways, confused. But...if he's still looking...that means he hasn't seen me! Yet...

I might not die after all. And even so, I will NOT go down without a fight. I glared at him, though he couldn't see. I guess those eyes weren't red to see in the dark. I grinned evilly at him. He wouldn't see me. The deep black in the middle, which I assumed to be pupils, narrowed into slits. Uh...maybe he wouldn't see me....I cautiously watched, my eyes alert, even though they were still fogged with tears.

He suddenly huffed, like an angry bull in the arena, and stomped off farther into the forest. Away from the Cafe, and my friends. I heaved an inward sigh of relief. Thank God, they'd be safe! I listened until the footsteps had completely faded. Then, cautiously and quietly, I made my way back down to the ground. I took off at a run towards the parking lot, actually very quiet, my footsteps light yet brisk.

I emerged from the treeline excitedly, seeing all my friends intact. I ran to all of them, falling to my knees in front of them. "We've got to get out of here!" I hissed. They all looked bewildered by my appearance. "Hannah, you've been crying! Are you ok?" Erin came over to me and looked watchfully at my face. We could always somehow talk without using words. She gasped when she saw my eyes light up with an intense fear, and I felt the water works building up again. She hesitated, at first, hugged me comfortingly. "It's ok, Hannah, it's ok..." She murmured. I stammered as I choked out, "It saw me, I swear it did! It was some sort of man, but he sounded like a monster!!" I sobbed into her shoulder and hugged her tight, finding comfort in a caring friend like her.

Nick and Patrick walked around us, patting my back. Yeah, very reassuring. I let go of Erin and latched onto Patrick. "Please," I cried, "We've got to get the hell out of here!" I sobbed into his chest and clutched his shirt in my fingers. He hugged me and murmured reassuring words in my ear. In that moment, a car pulled up with what I was sure to be our buddies we invited. I was still crying into Patrick's shirt when I heard car doors slamming shut. "What's wrong with her??" Deanna's frightened question beat against my ears. She came and rubbed my back, asking me what was wrong. I didn't want to talk about it.

"Let's go, NOW!" I screamed. "We have to get out of here right now, I'll explain later, just get in the damn car and GO!!!" I grabbed Patrick's hand and Erin's as well, dragging them to the car. Deanna followed, Nick close behind her. We all crammed ourselves into the car and I yelled at the driver to, "STEP ON THE GAS AND GET US THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" I buried my head in my hands, sitting in the trunk of the SVU, sobbing. Deanna instantly sat beside me and asked what happened. "Do I need to kick someone's ass for you?" She asked.

"No, no, I just...I saw something out in the woods and it freaked me out..." I sniffed, trying to stop looking so weak. I hated looking weak, and it took a lot to make me cry, trust me. "What did you see?" She asked, still confused. "I was in a tree, and I heard footsteps, and I saw a man creeping under the tree. It looked up at me and it had bloodred eyes, and it roared like a fucking demon!" I heard my voice crack on that last word. Demon. I shivered and wiped my eyes. "And now my damn mascara's running, I'm sure I got some on Patrick's shirt..." He looked down and wiped at a little black mark on the bottom of his tee. "No, it's fine..." He murmured. He scooted over to sit on my other side, and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders, whispering words of attempted comfort.

Nick and Erin looked nervously out the window. I honestly hadn't even noticed the other two in the van, at first; Connor and, the driver, Sean. No one said another word as I quietly sniffed the rest of the ride, until Sean timidly asked, "Where should we go now, instead of the Cafe?" I looked up slowly, wiping at my eyes. "M-maybe we should just stay in here and hang out..." I didn't even want to look outside. I know that it wasn't really that big of a deal but, like I said, I have way too much of an overactive imagination.

"Ok," Sean replied quietly. It was awkwardly silent and all I could do was keep from bursting into tears again. "Hey," I shakily blurted out. "How about we continue that game of truth or dare?" I smiled sheepishly and the rest of the gang grinned. "Ok!" They each agreed. We started off with a bunch of truths, then we got adventurous and made some dares. I had a lot of fun, forgetting all about the unknown man from the forest. Dammit, just reminded myself of it...

Little did I know, that wouldn't be the first time we encountered the unknown guy....