The Ghost of Him

4. Nightmares and Risky Behaviors

*Melanie's POV*

It was difficult to sleep that night. I just lied next to Zoe picking at my fingers for the majority of the night. I jumped at every little sound, scared that maybe he would come back for me and kill everyone. I hadn't told anyone what had happened, and when I arrived Zoe had just asked me why it had taken so long for me to get here. I told her that the police stopped me on the trail as I was walking and decided to interrogate me about if I had seen Gerard. It wasn't a complete lie, because the police did go through the area.

The feeling of his grimy hand covering my mouth still lingered and made me uncomfortable. I tried to take a shower to rid myself of the feeling, but when I got back Zoe was asleep and now here I was, lying in bed trying not to have a panic attack.

Zoe was about a year older than me and we were closer to sisters, really, than friends. We were extremely protective of each other, and I knew that if she found out about what had happened today she would freak out and never let me leave. I rolled over and pulled the covers up to my chin. I was freezing, and I didn't know if it was just from nerves or if I was actually shaking because of the cold.

Either way, I felt fucking helpless. He was a fucking serial killer, and he had touched me and spoke to me and even threatened me. And he let me go. Does that mean he was just waiting until we were all here so that he could kill all of us? More victims? Was that his goal? I don't see why it wouldn't be, I mean he's fucking psychotic.

I felt tears burning the back of my eyes and decided that it would be best not to think anymore. I snuggled closer to Zoe for comfort and drifted into a fitful sleep.
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My breath came out in short gasps as I sprinted through the woods, crashing through the underbrush and trying not to trip over tree roots and fallen branches every five seconds. I could hear my heart thumping in my chest but tried to ignore the pain coursing through my body as I ran as if my life depended on it. Which it did.

"Melanie, you can't hide anymore." His voice surrounded me in all directions, bouncing off of the trees and echoing in my ears as I ran.

Subconsciously, I knew he was behind me, but I was so disoriented at the time that I wasn't exactly registering what direction he was in, especially since his voice seemed to be coming from everywhere.

A few tears escaped my eyes as I ran, hoping that I was going in some direction away from his eerie voice. A low hanging tree branch scraped across my face and I could feel the warm blood trailing down my cheek. I ignored it, trying to focus on finding my way out of the woods and into a town where there were other people and I would be safer.