12:01 (Sequel to Midnight Man)

chapter one/saved our asses

we lco me ba ck

i pant heavily, leaning back on the mossy bark of a tall tree to center myself. catching my breath seems dangerous, but my lungs are burning and collapsing won't help us out here.

stupid zack. i can't tell if he messes things up on purpose just to get back at me for his brother, or if he genuinely is the worst serial killer in the world. either way, this is his fault.

my pounding heart drowns out the ominous noise of the forest threatening to lurch out of my chest. i close my eyes, craning my head back. something i learned in gym class strikes, and i stretch my arms above my head to open up my lungs.

my heart rate slows down significantly, back to normal. i breathe out in relief, prepared to keep trudging back to the car. i only have ten minutes left before jenna and zack, should they have made it to the car first, drive off without me.

my neck snaps in the direction of a rustling noise to my left, sending my heart back to its erratic beats. i quickly equip my dagger, popping it out and stepping to the side. a figure approaches me and i lurch forward.

then the figure starts laughing.

i sigh, pocketing my knife once again.

"fuck off zack, i would've gutted you," i scowl, continuing my walk out of the woods. we've got 8 minutes.

"you gutted my brother," zack shrugs, falling into quick step beside me.

"he gutted my friends," i point out, feeling my heart drop at the mention of tyler.

he doesn't get a chance to argue because jenna comes strutting up to us.

"no need to worry about the half-dead guy," she hisses. "i fixed it."

"how'd you manage to do that? his family was in the room," zack's eyebrows shoot up.

"imagine what being a girl pretending to be a girlfriend will do," jenna smirks, leading the way.

"imagine what being a slut is like, you mean," i roll my eyes.

"you know for someone who killed our best man and only joined this group because we covered his ass, you're not acting very kind," she narrows her eyes.

"oh come on. if you were a brunette girl with an average body, that family would not have believed you were his girlfriend. you're just lucky you had your tits out for an attractive guy," i retort.

"saved our asses didn't it? don't complain, you would be dead without me," she flips her annoying blonde hair.

i fall quiet, cursing her in my mind. i trudge gently next to zack, who often bumps my shoulder. i don't know if he's being annoying or just trying to give me something else to think about. i don't reciprocate.

"jenna you're leading us straight past the car," zack pipes up suddenly, redirecting our path once we reach the deserted parking lot.

"i was going around to the drivers side, idiot," she spits, continuing her way.

"someone's defensive tonight," zack whistles, opening his passenger door.