Cold + Dark

Chapter Five : Autumn's View

I woke up to notice he's gone! I grabbed Kai by the shirt and we rushed out of the house onto the front deck. Cooper was standing, stunned, starstruck! at Justin sitting at his own grave.

Then I noticed all of it. Justin WASN'T dead. A decoy was put in his place! So, Justin dug the "Satan" sign and dug up "his" grave. But who's grave really was it? And second off, we CAN'T be by someone who does those kinds of things, AND faked their death.

"Cooper!" I whisper, "Come inside! We need to talk! I know how to piece this!!"

Cooper slides inside the house and shuts the door very quietly and quaint. It seemed like he was waiting for an ambush.

"If Justin or ANYONE knocks on the door, I want you to hide, not answer it. Justin left and put a decoy under that rubble. He escaped before it came down. He wanted to kill you," I point at Kai, "And he was hoping that Cooper would go in to try and save you. Justin came back last night to pack his things to leave. Cooper, you thought it was yours since you have quite similar things. Then, Justin went outside and dug the grave back up, emptying it. He then carved the devil sign in the tree and, what I'm suspecting, he hid in the woods, presumably at some camp, and waited for you to go into the cabin to get ready for bed. Then when you woke up, he noticed, and went to "pray," so to say, at the decoy's grave. You noticed and thought it was something bad, when all along it was..." I stopped, panting.

I looked to where Cooper was standing and where he was pointing; when my mouth opened, gaping, seeing that Justin wasn't there anymore as I looked out the window. THEN, someone or something, knocked on our heavy, spruce door.

"QUICKLY! HIDE!" Kai yelled.

We followed him into a hidden room with a hidden trap door in the acacia planks. He lifted it up, we piled in, he shut the hidden door, the trapdoor, and then barricaded it. The room was surprisingly light, though the small room was a little damp. I could hear footsteps going all through the house, just one person; thank goodness. But I just thought, is there an exit out of here? Besides the trapdoor, obviously.

I tried to signal the "Another Exit?" sign but it didn't work. He shook his head and made the "I don't know" signal.

I had a feeling we're going to have a problem if we couldn't manage to find another way out. Or if Justin, or whatever that is; finds us. The sounds quiet and fade, but none of us move. Whatever it is wanted us to think it was gone. Then I heard a scream. It was nowhere near us.

I asked Kai, "Is there another exit?"

He said, "I'm not sure," in a sore whisper.

My voice faded. I heard the door open and shut. I scrambled to a small hole in the wall I had just noticed. Looking through it, I found out I could see the whole way to the door. Whatever it was, or is, isn't leaving.

"We are going to have to sleep here for tonight. The enemy keeps swerving in and out," my voice quivered apologetically, "I'm sorry for earlier, it was none of my business unless you say anything to me about it."

"Don't be sorry," Kai said and pulled me into a hug that I couldn't resist.