Slawter Woods

Loveless

Vanoss sat quietly in the hall, listening for any sounds that didn't belong to Delirious, but he couldn't hear anything apart from the rough weather. This worried him greatly. The murderous nutcase from the forest should definitely have reached the house by now, but there were no signs of him anywhere. No footsteps, no yelling or crazed giggling, no windows being shattered. Vanoss wasn't sure if that was good or bad. He wasn't even sure if the psycho had really followed them into the field or not. Had he stopped at the treeline? Did he not like open areas? Or had he changed his tactics and was sneaking up on them through an entrance that they didn't know of? Would he hear Delirious scream in terror, only to find him lying on the dusty floor with a cleaver stuck in his body? No, he would not let that happen. He would rather die than see someone he loved being hurt. He struggled to get up, but abruptly stopped himself. Loved? Did he love Delirious? The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. What he and Delirious had was more than just friendship. Even their friends were constantly teasing them about it, but Vanoss had never really given it a second thought. And now he was sitting on the floor of an abandoned farmhouse in the middle of who-the-fuck-knows-where, slowly bleeding out, and the only thing he could currently think of was the one other person that was there with him in this nightmare. He was filled with a sudden feeling of longing. He knew that Delirious wasn't that far away, but he missed him. He needed to see him, to tell him. He mustered his strength and forced himself up on his feet. Dizziness hit him like a freight train and he felt sick to his stomach, but he pushed through it and wandered towards the shuffling sound in the back of the house.

Meanwhile, Delirious had risked a search in what seemed to be the remains of a storage room. It was located in the part of the house that hung over the edge of the ravine. The floor had creaked and nearly given way beneath him, but he had been rewarded with some old cloth and a rusted iron pipe. It wasn't much, but it would have to do. Now he needed to get back to Vanoss. He turned a corner and came face to face with a tall, dark figure. His heart jumped and his instincts kicked in. He raised the pipe just in time to block a swing, causing his attacker to recoil. Delirious swiftly delivered a kick that sent his foe backwards into a wall. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to keep him down, so Delirious took off through the house to find Vanoss, calling his name as he ran down the halls.

Vanoss had found an open window in one of the rooms and was investigating it when he heard the clinking and slamming, and now he heard Delirious' voice calling out for him. His adrenaline started pumping, and he answered the calls.

"Delirious! This way!" Vanoss moved with newfound speed to meet him, and they almost crashed into each other in the doorway.

"Run!" Delirious shoved Vanoss ahead of him through the room. He had barely enough time to help Vanoss climb through the window before the madman showed up, a crooked smile plastered on his ugly mug. He screamed loudly as he sprinted forward, rapidly closing the gap between himself and his prey. Delirious panicked, losing his footing on the wet wood of the window for a split second. That was all the time the lunatic needed. As Delirious jumped out he felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder. He cried out, his left hand automatically reaching up to clutch the fresh wound.

"Delirious!" Vanoss' voice was shaking as he pulled Delirious close in a desperate attempt to comfort him. The rain was mercilessly pouring from the sky, soaking everything it touched. The bloodthirsty maniac was laughing wildly as he climbed through the window, seemingly very pleased with his achievement.

"Delirious, we need to move," Vanoss said, gently grabbing Delirious by the arm, trying to get him to follow.

"No," Delirious answered, and Vanoss wasn't sure he had ever heard him speak in such a dark voice before. It was horrifying, yet oddly enticing at the same time.