Blackout • NH

Chapter 23

3:30am

I'm jolted awake by the sound of something brushing in the leaves outside of the tent. Almost as if something is lurking in the forest near the rocks we were staying under. Maybe it's just a family of deer or raccoons roaming about.

I look over to Niall to see he is sleeping peacefully next to me. His arm is wrapped around my waist, laying limp over my bare stomach. I run my fingers through his hair gently and lean down and press a kiss to his cheek and then his lips. The images of what happened a couple hours ago flashing through my mind making me smile.

I lay back down and turn towards Niall so I'm facing him. I wrap my arm around him and bring my bare body closer to his to warm up a bit. The temperature had fallen quite a bit so it was kind of chilly out tonight.

I begin to drift off to sleep again when I hear more rustling, even closer than what I heard before. I sit up and carefully move Niall's arm off of me and put on my clothes and grab a handgun from my backpack. I look back and Niall again, watching him sleep peacefully and unzip the tent slowly, but quietly.

I crawl out silently and zip the tent back up. I look out to the valley below to see the moon shining down on the earth. The clouds that were there before are no longer existent. I suddenly hear more rustling, even closer this time.

I slowly peek around the corner of our tent to the others, the coast was clear. When I saw that it was clear I began to stealth my way close to the sound, hiding behind Liam, Louis and Harry's tent. I peek around the edge and look into the forest.

Nothing was there. I quietly snuck behind a large tree growing in the crack of a giant rock, shielding me from whatever could be lurking out in this dark forest.

Suddenly, the horses began to get anxious, one began to neigh and the others began to huff and beat their hooves into the forest floor. As if something was disturbing them. I quickly make my way to the horses and hide behind them, making sure they know my presence is there so they don't kick me. I run my hand down the back of my horse and to her hindquarters and back legs making sure she knows it's me and I hide next to her hips.

I slowly duck down and look under her to see what could be disturbing the horses. It's a glazer. It was close, too close.

What looks to be what used to be an adult male. His clothes were torn, blood was all over his body. His eyes were gouged out and bleeding still. The dark shadow around him very prominent. Suddenly, he vanishes into thin air.

I quickly stand up and look over my horses back, nothing. I slowly move towards the tree I had her mounted to, and hide behind it, cocking my handgun making sure it was ready for use. I hear the rustling again.

I slowly peek out from behind the tree and point my gun in the direction I heard the sound. I am faced with nothing but miles of the thick dark forest and what looks to be a pine tree, dropping pine cones onto the leafy floor.

I sigh in relief and turn around and gasp to be face to face with a glazer. He made a screeching sound, like a clicker from a zombie movie. He suddenly grabbed me and started to pull me towards him. I began to kick and fight back to avoid being bitten or touched with the 3 tentacle like things growing from his body. I struggle to grab my handgun that had fallen a few feet away when I ran into him.

Suddenly, the glazer begins to tighten his grip, like a snake slowly strangling its prey to death when suddenly he is pushed off of me and lies dead on the forest floor. An arrow, clearly stuck in the side of his head.

I look in the direction from where the arrow was shot and look up and gasp. This time out of fear... It was Elliot. Pointing a rifle right at me.