Playing with Fire

24

Lee runs out of the bush, stopping us in our tracks and he grasps hold of Toboni's shoulders and rapidly shakes them. "RUBEN AND DANIEL ARE GONE!!!!! I CANNOT SENSE THEM!!!"

If Lee can't see them then I don't blame him but if he cannot sense them then that's terrible.

"YOU GOTTA HELP ME LAWRENCE!!!!" he cries whilst shaking Toboni.

"... I'm not Lawrence. I'm Toboni." she smiles awkwardly.

Lee suddenly ends up blubbering as I cannot see his tears - I can only hear his moaning - whilst hugging Toboni. "Please. Whoever... Please help."

I storm ahead, away from everyone, shoving my apples in my bag and I walk off to find Daniel and Ruben. Ignoring everyone.

"Lawrence! Where are you going?!" Adam shouts from behind me.

I stop and turn around. "Doing what Lee wants me to do: find Daniel and Ruben." I swivel on my two heels and I continue to walk away from everyone. 

I hear footsteps behind me and I realise it's Toboni and Lee. And Adam.

Toboni is guiding Lee by pushing him in the right directions but every few minutes, you can hear a SLAP! and an "OW!", Adam is beside me as usual (shut up.), staying as silent as me as we follow the concrete road down the forest.

I throw an apple behind me for Lee to catch and surprisingly, he caught it successfully and munched on it along the way.

As we head further, I can smell something sweet but... so irritant. I look behind me and I cannot see anything but grey. Thick grey clouds-

Smoke.

"Guys?" I cough. "GUYS!" 

No response.

I cover my mouth and nose and I creep through the smoke and I instantly see three silhouettes, shouting "Lawrence?!" and constantly coughing.

I haven't set fire to this forest now, have I?

I grab one's wrist and make it link to another person's, then their's to the other's and I grab one warm one and I pull them out of it with all my strength. I realise I held Adam's wrist and he was holding Toboni and she was holding Lee.

I was holding Adam's wrist.

The horizon is much clearer and we can see someone standing up there with two people laying down. One is wearing clad black, other is wearing nothing but their boxers-

"Oh crap," I see who they are. It's Daniel and Ruben.

"What?" Lee asks.

"It's them." I feel my chin crumple. I think they're dead. They aren't moving. "No..." 

I storm towards them and I also see the man. He has a bandage across his chest, his face is specked with red, his white clothing is stained, his black greasy hair is coated in crimson. He wears a psychopathic smile upon his battered face, his teeth looking more whiter than ever-

"It's Steven." Toboni slowly backs away and I can sense that she is scared.

To be honest, I am scared to yet so confused by how he is still alive by how Toboni shot him with my pistol.

I barge past Adam and Lee to get to them but Adam pulls me back. 

"I need to go-"

"You don't!" Adam tells me whilst I keep pulling away from him but his grip is increasingly strong and I cannot leave.

"Let GO!" I snarl at him.

"I am not losing you!" Adam keeps tugging at me.

"If you don't want to lose me than COME ALONG!" I manage to make him release me. My breathing is heavy with anger and frustration. "Anyone else coming?" 

Lee nods and walks towards me. Toboni's hand shakes as she is symbolising that she is coming with me. Adam stares back at Toboni and ahead where Lee and I stand. 

He sighs.

"Fine." he steps towards us and stands beside us. 

Where Steven is standing is out of the forest, on a green terrain, bordered by a river like in Ranch.

We stop by it and we see a boat there on the shore. "Use that to get away from Steven." I inform everyone.

I lead everyone to the terrain where the psychopath stances with a hammer in his hand. 

"Hey!" I yell.

Toboni hits me with the back of her hand on my hand by my act of stupidity. 

Steven turns around and shouts, "LAWRENCE HOLLOWAY!!!!" followed by a blood-curdling grin.

I flinch by his words and he just stands still-

Staring at me-

Menacingly.

"Yeah, that's me!" I trek towards him. "Now, let them go." 

He smiles at me. "Sure. Pick one." 

"One?!" I begin to get annoyed by his actions. "Why not both?"

"PICK ONE!!" he yells.

I look down to see Daniel and Ruben, unconscious. I pick Daniel and grab his wrist to pull him up. 

"Now the other one." I demand.

He shakes his head.

"You picked one. Now I have to kill you. Or you have to kill me!" 

I strike a punch at his nose, hearing a SNAP! as I break it. Steven stumbles back but catches himself. I quickly grab Ruben as well and I run, calling for the others to go too.

I pass Ruben to Toboni and I slap Daniel across the cheek and he instantly wakes up. 

"Wha-wha? WHAT'S GOING ON?!" he asks.

"We need to go. Now!" I warn him. 

He nods and we start to sprint away from Steven.

"THE BOAT!" Adam yells and we to it. Adam, Daniel and I push it into the river and we hop in one at a time, starting with Lee, Daniel, Toboni and I-

"GOTCHA!" Steven grasps hold of Adam as he steps in. He has Ruben in his other arm, now wide awake. He doesn't have Willow-

Oh God.

Steven must have killed her!

I grab Adam and begin to pull. "GUYS, HELP ME HERE!!" 

Daniel grabs my torso and begins to pull, Toboni grabs his arm and Lee grasps hold of Toboni's shoulder and they begin to pull. 

"Ow... owowowowowow!!!" Adam winces in pain as we constantly tug at him until I yank at him and he topples into the boat.

Steven growls. "Okay Lawrence," he stops the boat and punches me in the jaw, throwing me onto the base of the boat, pistol scattering onto it. He grabs it and aims it at Adam. "You save the black haired, the ginger will die. If you pick the ginger, then the black will get shot right in the eyes. Their lives depend on you Lawrence."

I exchange a glance at Adam who is mouthing, "Pick Rue..." 

I then look at Ruben. 

"Ruben. I'll save him." I tell him.

Ruben stands there, shocked. "Lawrence?" then gasps and collapses into the river, staining the water red. Steven is holding a blood-coated hammer, smiling sadistically.

"NOOOOOO!!!!!" Adam cries as he sees Ruben bob up and down in the water with his neck dislocated. His tears run down his eyes and I start sobbing too. 

"Lawrence?" circulates my head as we depart from the murderer, down the river on the wooden boat.