Underground

14

Estelle
"Mom?" I ask, seeing the back of her hair, thick with dark hair.
We were in a kitchen and she was sitting in a barstool, facing away from me. 
"Mom?" I say, touching her head, which falls off, landing on the floor. 
Her head, usually pale and worn, was nothing but a skull. 
I scream, feeling a hand on my shoulder. 
"Wow, so spooky." Luca says from behind me. 
I turn around quickly. "It worked." 
"It did." He says. "So what should we do for the 2+ hours we're stuck in Hell?" 
Just then, the door swings open. We both look over and see August, bloody and wounded. 
I run over, automatically helping him to the couch. "Are you okay?" 
"No!" He says. "I got jumped, and my head hurts." 
"Who's this?" Luca asks. 
"This is the August I was talking about." I say. 
"Who's he?" August asks. 
"This is Luca." I say. 
Luca looks at August's injured leg. "I'll get bandages." 
I crouch next to August, taking his hand. "If in any way, the real August Jones can hear this, I'll be home soon." 
"I am the real August Jones." He says. 
"Aug, this is a sim, you're a computerized program from my brain, you're not real." I say. 
He looks just to the left of my head. "Who's that?" 
I whirl around, my eyes landing on a tall guy holding a chainsaw, glaring towards us. "I have no idea." 
Luca comes out of the kitchen, holding paper towels. "This is all I could find." 
"Luca, who's that?" I ask. 
He shrugs. "That's the guy that tries to kill me."
"What?" August asks.
"Give him a couple minutes, he usually stares roguishly for a few minutes then comes at you." Luca says, bending down and applying paper towels to August's bleeding leg.
"How are they gonna stay on?" August asks.
Luca smirks and leans over to the coffee table, picking up the electrical tape. "Oh yeah, welcome to my childhood home."
"Thanks." I say, keeping my eye on the man, who looked about ready to tear out our spines.
August grunts in pain. "I don't think I can put pressure on it."
"I don't think I can let you just stay here." I counter.
"Estelle, this isn't re-"
"Shut up, Luca." I say, glaring at him.
Luca nods, starting to help August up.  
The guy from the door starts walking forward, glaring at Luca instead of me and August. 
Luca turns to me. "Take him upstairs, to the farthest room, that's the safest." 
I nod, helping August stand up. 
Together, we limp up the stairs and into the room suggested by Luca. 
It was a bedroom, with a small bathroom branching off of it. 
I help August to the bed, setting him on the soft mattress. 
All we could hear downstairs was silence, until Luca screamed in pain, and we heard footsteps coming upstairs. 
I push August behind me, staring at the door.
Which opens after a few minutes, revealing the guy. 
"Estelle, what are we gonna do?" August asks. 
"Go into the bathroom, now." I order. 
He clings to my shirt. "I'm not leaving you." 
"Well then we're both gonna die." I mumble. 
The guy starts walking over. 
"Not if I do this." August throws himself into the arms of the killer, which kills him easily. 
Needless to say, I was screaming. I grab a candle holder from the dresser and hurl it at his head, which hits him dead in the nose. 
He falls backwards, blood pouring out of his nose, which was probably broken. 
I crouch in front of August, closing his eyes, before closing my eyes.
***
I wake up, shooting up, breathing heavily.
I was in a car, Luca and Felicity in the front seats.
"Good Morning Estelle!" Felicity says, passing me back a wrapped burrito, obviously from some gas station.
"Where are we?" I ask, unwrapping the poorly made, greasy burrito.
Luca shrugs. "We're going home though."
"How was your guys' last sim?" Felicity asks.
"Normal." Luca answers.
"Pretty insane." I follow it with.
She smiles. "Good, it should have been."
I take a bite out of the burrito, only now realizing how hungry I am.
"According to Fizz, my mother is still alive." Luca says.
"Good." I say, through a mouth full of burrito.
"Oh yeah, Luca, open the glove box and hand Estelle her phone please." Felicity asks.
Luca does as she says, handing me back my elephant phone.
"I made sure to charge it so you could call all of your friends." Felicity says.
I look up at her. "Thanks."
"I suggest you call August." Luca says.
I nod. "Will do."
I type in my password and tap on August's contact.
One ring...
Two rings...
"Hello?" August's voice asks.
I was so happy, I almost dropped my phone. "Hi."
"Estelle?" He asks.
I nod. "Yeah, it's me."
"Oh my god..." He says. "Really?"
"Yes, Auggie, it's me." I clarify.
"Where are you? Are you okay? Who are you with?" August asks what seems like a million questions.
"I'm not sure where I am, but I'm safe, though a bit traumatized, and I'm with Felicity Poppins and Luca Abernathy." I explain.
"Felicity Poppins? I used to know her." August says.
I look over at her, talking to Luca, who was laughing hysterically. "She's kind of occupied."
"That's okay, we weren't ever really close, she was more friends with Rebecca." August explains.
I hear a few girls shriek in the background.
"Who was that?" I ask.
August laughs. "My sisters came into town to make sure I didn't die of alcohol poisoning."
"That's cool, tell them I said hi." I say.
"I will, I promise." He says. "But they may freak out because you kinda put my life on pause for a second."
"I freaked out too." I say. "But I did make a friend."
"Great." He says. "My sisters are now angrily glaring at me because I paused their dramatic reality show."
"Nice one August." I hear in the background.
"I'm on the phone Rebecca, I don't think this random caller cares how much Audrey love Jakob." He says to the voice.
"I'll guess I'll leave you to them, I'll see you soon August, but face to face." I say.
"Bye, Estelle." He says.
"Goodbye Auggie."