Skinwalker

Chapter 3

Kody walked down the winding halls of the upper floor of his home. The lack of breeze or draft in this secluded area made it a perfect environment for the flame of a candle to thrive. The screams of both Corin and Summer echoed in his head, making him shiver. Maybe this had been a horrible idea; he had only done it to see if his friend from last year's summer program would come. 

He sighed, causing the flame to dance around on the wick. He guessed that she had meant it when she said that she didn't want to see him again.

"Kody?" came a voice. "Is that you?"

Kody stopped in his tracks and turned around slowly so as to keep the flame from going out. There stood Kaiden, surrounded by the yellow light that his candle gave out. "Kody, why?" he asked.

"Cause," said Kody as he closed his eyes, "Don't worry about it. We have to keep moving or he will catch us. He already got Summer and Corin. Allison or Alvarez is next."

As soon as Alvarez's name was called, the sound of a loud thud found itself to the pair.

"Well, one is left now," said Kody as he turned around and began to walk. "There is no way he would survive down there. My house down there is too drafty."

"How much time until sun rise?" asked Kaiden.

"I lied about that piece," replied Kody, "We have to stay alive until the clock strikes three. I was hoping that they would try extra careful to stay alive seeing as they would think that the game runs for a long time."

Kaiden looked at his watch by using the candle to illuminate the face, "It's 2:56."

"We're almost done," sighed Kody.

Meanwhile, Allison's feet pounded on the hardwood floor as he made a mad dash away from the thud that resonated inside of the house. His candle light flickered as the breeze from his running, pounded on the flame. He had just watched the Skin walker take Alvarez after he ran into a wall, his candle breaking in half and his matches scattering on the floor. However, what was worse, was the fact that Alvarez had knocked himself unconscious and couldn't help himself. It had seemed that he was running from something he did... Was it possible that he had killed Summer? Allison shook his head. It wasn't time to dwell on that, no, he had to survive.

While Allison walked, Kody and Kaiden sauntered through His attic.

"You did it to see if she would come huh?" asked Kaiden, breaking the silence.

"Can't you just mind your own business?" snapped Kody as he turned red even in the yellow glow of the candle light.

"This is my business! My life is on the line!" snapped back Kaiden. "Why is it that I have to go along in your silly plans? You... You crybaby!"

"Take that back!" screamed Kody as he clenched his fists. Tears were already gathering at the back of his eyes, pricking them and threatening to fall. He already put the lives of his friends in danger for this one person and she didn't even show up. Now Kaiden is rubbing it in his face.

"No!" refuted Kaiden, "You always crying! You cry when you lose uno, you cry when you can't get your own way, when you feel as if life ain't fair to you and I have to be the one to compromise for you. Look at you now, crying cause you failed at even this! Cry baby!"

It suddenly went silent between the two. However, this kind of silence that preceded death. Kody, red like a ripe tomato, slowly walked up to Kaiden and drew in a deep breath then... he let it go, leaving Kaiden in darkness. 10...

"KODY!" shouted Kaiden as he pushed his hands in his pockets to try to retrieve the matches. 9...Kody simply walked off, leaving his cousin behind to be caught by the skin walker. 8...

"Not this time!" shouted Kaiden as he abandoned the rules and the matches. 7... "You're not gonna have your way this time." With a burst of energy, Kaiden made a mad dash to Kody 6... and tackled him, knocking the salt, candle and matches out of his hand. 5...

"Kaiden!" shouted Kody, "Stop, we'll die!" 4...

"So, isn't this what you wanted?" asked Kaiden. 3... "If I go down, you'll go down too!" 2...

"Kaiden..." whispered Kody as he felt the air go cold...1... "Game over..." 0

Allison's candle flickered as a double scream pierced his ears from overhead. In his head, he counted all the people that came into the game and the amount of screams he heard.

Corin was the first, then it was Summer, then it was Alvarez, after that was those two screams which were undoubtedly Kaiden and Kody's. Allison began sweating the sweat of death when he had realized that he was the last one. Taking a deep breath, he gained some courage. He walked until he found a bend in the hall.

Slowly, Allison followed his candle light into the pitch-black abyss that was a hall in the day time, and peed himself yet again at the sight. 10...

Standing at the end of the hall was the skin walker with all of his friends gathered on his back. 9... He stood on two hoofed legs with patches of fur littering his tall, curved, mooselike body... 8... his wide nostrils flared as his mouth opened to bare razor sharp teeth 7... Allison got his salt ready as the skin walker put a black, razor sharp claw on the white, cemented wall 6... The skin walker took a step forward... 5... Allison took a step back... 4... the candle flickered as a smooth draft swept through the hall... 3... but it withstood it... 2... The skin walker took another step forward... 1 Allison took yet another step back, and stumbled a bit. The candle light dipped and disappeared, only to leave a small speck of red embers burning on the wick... 0 Allison knew that his time was up. Even if he threw salt on the skin walker, he wouldn't have time to draw a circle and relight the match.

However, in a twist of fate, the little ember grew. It grew and grew and grew some more until it was a bright, burning flame again. Allison looked up from the flame to see then skin walker standing right in front of him.

"Game over," it said as the candle went out.

Allison's heart raced as darkness surrounded him, but the scratching of a match calmed him a bit, only to cause it to speed up again when he realized that it couldn't have come from any of the other players.

Slowly, Allison turned around and in the light of a newly lit candle, stood all of the players who lost the game.

"Allison," said Corin with a smile, "Ine know how you did it, but you won and we got our lives back. I guess you're good for something after all."

Allison just nodded his head and mumbled a, "Yeaaahhhhh," then promptly passed out.

The end.