Eden Lake

Chapter 18

"I- I don't know!!" My eyes lock with Brett's, before he turns his head to the side and I can see him bite his lip in both frustration and annoyance. I continue to stare him down and I can see everyone watching in silence from out of the corners of my eyes. He turns and faces me again and raises his fist. By the time I realize what's happening, it's too late. His fist connects with my temple and I feel my body fall and slump against the wall, a throbbing pain in my head. I try to keep myself from losing consciousness, but before I can make another move, he kicks me in the stomach. I roll onto my side, clutching onto my stomach as I groan and hiss in pain, trying not to scream out in agony. Tears start to form in my eyes as I bite my tongue to prevent myself from crying. My eyes crack open slowly and I mentally prepare myself as I see Brett getting ready to kick me once again, but before he is able to, Harry jumps in front of me.

"No!" He shouts, surprising me and probably himself as well, yet he doesn't back down. "She said she doesn't know where they are. Instead of wasting time here, you could go out there and try to find them!"

Harry is standing with his back turned to me, and I cannot help but to feel a certain amount of pride. Though at the same time, my fear for what Brett's going to do to Harry is almost worse than the physical pain I'm currently feeling. There is not a chance that he will accept Harry defending me, or even speaking up against him. Brett glances down at me, before focusing his gaze on Harry, slighty squinting his eyes. "Come on, guys, let's split up. Find these fuckers. And you," his eyes lock with mine, "you'll watch them die."

My eyes widen and I turn my head away, not able to look at him, not without feeling like I'm going to throw up all over the place.  Brett then turns back to Harry once again, "and you, little shit, you need to show me where your loyalty lies. You take her." He pauses for a bit, "we'll meet back up when we find the fuckers, if you let her escape, I'll kill you. Or better, I'll let you kill her and then I'll kill you."
My head snaps up upon hearing this and I see Harry gulp in fear, a look of terror on his face. The others stay silent, but I can tell that some of them are shocked at what they've just heard.

"Move!" Brett shouts agressively and instantly everyone runs into different directions, Brett being the last to leave, leaving Harry and I alone. Harry bents down a bit and helps me back up. My legs feel weak and I am simply exhausted. I almost fall down again, but grab onto Harry, slightly leaning against him for support.

"It's alright." I hear his voice next to me as he allows me to lean on him. I take a few deep breaths, trying to keep it together, before letting go of him and standing on my own. Remembering Jenny and Steve are still hidden in the water beneath the hut, I quickly stumble towards the door, staggering outside. Harry follows and grabs a hold of me, probably to make sure that I will not be running away. But to be fair, running away didn't even cross my mind. If I do, I know now what Brett will do to Harry and he's not bluffing from what I can tell. We trudge through the woods in silence and I limp a bit, feeling a dull pain in my stomach as well. I stare at the ground as I try to find my voice, tears threatening to fall, "why.. Why are you still letting this happen?"

He stops walking and I look him in the eyes, "I know that you're afraid of Brett, but I also know that you don't want to be a part of this. You have to make up your mind. You either help us get out of here or you help your so called friends hunting us down. There's no in between. It is entirely up to you, but stop fooling yourself and everyone else around you!" I raise my voice in both anger and frustration.

"I never wanted for any of this to happen." He admits quietly, so quiet I can barely hear it.

"But you're letting it happen anyway!"

There is a moment of silence, before he speaks quietly. "I saw them.."

"What?" Confusion takes over me as I try to figure out what he is talking about.

"Back in the hut, I saw them.. Through a gap in between the floorboards."

I don't say anything at all, not really sure how to respond. I just look at him, dumbfounded.

"I didn't say anything, because I don't want to kill them," he continues on, raising his voice a little, "I don't want anyone to die!"

I stare at the boy in front of me who's now on the verge of crying. He sits down onto the ground and I'm not going to lie, it's tempting, I want to run. But just like him, I don't want anyone to die either. A sigh escapes from between my lips as I plop down next to him. "Then do what is right." I swallow to keep myself from crying as I look up at him. "I know that you're scared, but believe me, so are we. And if you don't do what you think is right, you'll have to live with it for the rest of your life if we get out of this and believe me, you do not want that. The guilt will kill you."

"If?" He questions, a hint of fear in his voice, "if we get out of this?"

"When. I meant, when we get out of this." I tell him, "you know what I mean."

He doesn't say anything, completely avoiding eyecontact as he focuses all his attention on the ground, as if that's the most interesting thing on the planet. "Go. Just... go."

I stand up, ready to bolt, but not before turning back around, "come, we can leave together."

"No, I deserve whatever's gonna happen to me."

"He'll kill you!"

"He won't, he's my friend."

I stare at him, dumbfounded, at a loss for words. "How can you still think he's your friend after all he has done to you? What else has to happen in order for you to see the truth!"
I walk up to him, wanting desperately to convince him to go with me, but before I can take another step, he pulls out a knife. My eyes widen a bit as he points the knife at me, "I said, go!"

I let out a chuckle, "you won't hurt me."

He slashes at me and I automatically jumb back, barely dodging it. Which makes me realize he would actually go that far to get me to safety. I waste no more time and run, panting heavily. I keep on running until my legs give in. I collapse onto the ground, barely even able to breath and start to cry, feeling as if there is no more hope. I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself down to the best of my abilities. Standing back up, I convince myself to go and search for Jenny and Steve. I won't leave this place without them. I won't go down without a fight, not this time.