The Hunt

Part 12

A.N. I felt the last chapter was a bit short, so here we are! I was wondering that if anyone would like to make a trailer and send it to me, just inbox me and I'll give you my email and next chappie dedication:) thankyou, I'm estatic about the feedback! Thankyou every one out there reading this:) you're the best!

-Meg, x

THE HUNT

PART TWELVE

"What was it like?" I asked Jess while I drove down the road. I was so glad that I had my baby back. The roof was down and we were cruising down a deserted road.

"Syd had gone back home, apparently," Jess said.

I glanced over at Jess; she was taking every detail about the road ahead. I hated to admit it, but I sort of missed the old Jess that checked if her lipgloss was misplaced every time she got into the car - which was a lot.

"So he'll be there," Jess babbled on but I just nodded. I had put up The Wall so Jess couldn't find out about Tom, but I was already feeling exhaused. I felt like a phone thst was left on all day, which is what The Wall is like. It takes up your energy to guard your thoughts.

I don't know why I was trying to keep Tom a secret, either. I was never like that around guys, but I guess it was the whole 'life-saving' thing. I hope so because I really didn't need him to worry about.

I.had bigger problems than that.

"Lauren? Are you listening?" Jess asked, staring right at me. I stared at the long road ahead of me. I was too aware of Lucy unconscious in the back seat. That's why we were taking the back route.

"Sure." I so wasn't listening.

Jessica sighed and said, "I said that I'm pretty sure a female is behind this. In Syd's thoughts, he kept thinking about this woman, someone bigger than him..."

Blah, blah, blah. Boooring!

"What do you think?"

"Um, I think...we're lost," I said looking around the road with fields on either side. There was no sign of any other car, or any sign of life for that matter.

"What?" Jess gasped. "We have to be at the office at the house in ten minutes! You must have a clue where we are."

I stopped the car by the side of the road, and I killed the engine. I got out of the car and Jess went to follow.

"You stay and make sure Lucy doesn't do a runner," I said. I tossed the keys towards her. "Put down the roof if need be. If any cars come by just say you're lost. Oh, and the blanket's in the boot."

She nodded and started the engine again, but she also popped the boot open.

"Alright. Be no more than five minutes," she said, getting the blanket and dropping it over Lucy. I made my way down the darkened road, but the car's headlights guided me.

That was until I walked around the corner. Now I had to trust my senses to guide me around. Ahead I could see nothing but a stretched out road ahead. It wad like that for a mile or so.

I was about to turn back when something in the corner of my eye caught my attention. I turned to face the trees and I saw the faint silhouette of a gap in the trees. I walked to it, and I found a rusty, old gate.

I inched towards it and I pushed it open. It sqeaked a loud, high-pitched scream, so I let go of it. It stopped the screaming and I was so grateful. It hurt my ears to listen to it.

My eyes followed the mossy path up to a house. Well, it was more like a huge shack. The white paint was peeling off the walls and the windows were shattered. The house looked so...demeaning? Was that the word? I guess so.

It towered over me, but it was just an average sized house. I bit my lip and walked across the path causiously. The path was surrounded by two patches of grass. I could imagine there was green grass, in a special striped pattern where a family would play and hold barbeques.

But now it was just a jungle of thorns and thistles.

I reached the door and I tried the handle. It was wedged shut, but I gave the door a push and the lock gave in. The door swung open slowly and I poked my head in. A strong smell of damp filled my nostrils and it made me feel a slight bit dizzy.

It reminded me of when I had gotten a minor nosebleed earlier today, and Tom had gotten really worried.

I took a step into the house, and the scene around me adjusted to my eyes. I saw coats on the hooks by the door, and shoes underneath. It disturbed me when I saw a small red shoe with the rest.

There was a small rat nesting inside, too.

I carried on and looked in the first room I came across. I peeped in but I just saw an ordinary living room. The room was a state, but there was one thing in the room that wasn't ripped apart by rats.

A book.

I walked over to it and picked it up. It was a child's book with stains all over it. I opened it and a page fell out. I looked at it and saw it was a child's drawing.

Of Jess.

I stared at the page. Surely, it wasn't possible, but there it was. A brunette girl was in the middle of the page, with dark clouds over her head. A figure was to the side of a girl crying.

Me.

It was the most disturbing drawing I had ever seen. I turned over the page and I gasped. There was scwarny handwritting reading, 'fly away angal'.

The spelling mistake confirmed a child wrote this. I looked around the house, feeling spooked. The family left in a hurry, but I wonder why. I left the room, trying to get out of the house when I heard a noise.

Was that a thud?

I stopped in my tracks and goosebumps raised on my arms and legs. What the hell? I stopped breathing and turned around stiffly. The kitchen. It came from the kitchen.

I took slow steps toward the kitchen, but I felt a chill go down my spine as the stench of death filled my nostrils. I knew what was behind that door. Death.

"Run, angel, run," a whisper echoed through the house.

My feet ran on their own accord, darting out if the house and down the road. Even when the car was in sight I didn't slow down. I ran faster.

Run, angel.

Jess looked up and raised her eyebrows at me. I jumped into the driver's seat and realised the engine was still running.

"Crap!" I swore, glancing at the petrol meter, and it was running low. "You left the car running?" I yelled at Jess. I swerved onto the road and sped away. I checked the time. "We're late! Why didnt you call?" I looked at Jess.

She looked pale.

"We have company." In the backseat, Lucy started to stir.