THE TRIP

CHAPTER ONE: IT ALL BEGINS WITH A TRIP

They didn't slow down to observe their environment as they were sunk in beers. Dan, Dave, Steve, Joe and Frank were the fast five driving way beyond the speed limit they had seen miles behind them. Suddenly a girl ran out from the bushes and stopped right in front of the car, before they could catch a full glimpse of her they had knocked her over. The force of the impact slammed her hard against the front glass, she rolled over the car and landed at the rear.

"Did that just happen?" Dan asked, panicking and shivering all over. "I told you to slow down but you didn't list..."

"Shut up Dan!" Steve roared. The fear that came after realizing that he had really knocked someone over was getting the best of him and Dan just made things worse. "You didn't say a word!"

"Oh.. didn't I, huh? Didn't I?" He stammered.

"No you didn't?" The rest chorused angrily.

"Drunk piece of crap." Frank added. Dave peered out the rear glass, straining to see the ground. "Do you think she's okay?" He asked.

"She?" Steve asked. "How are you sure it's a girl?"

"This ain't some Greek tribunal, Steve! You don't expect guys to be dressed in gowns, do you?" Dave asked.

"Well, I'll go see!" Steve opened the door to step out, but he was held back by Dan who had a scary look on his face.

"I've seen this before," He said, "you step out of the car to go take a look at her, she grabs you and eats you up."

"Shut..up.." Frank scolded, still hung up in the effect of the beers. "This isn't.. hyper reality."

"Think of it, we're in the middle of nowhere, we've not seen a single vehicle for miles." Dan insisted.

Frank observed that no one was willing to go. "You bunch of cowards, I'll do it myself!" He stormed out of the car. Dan shrugged.

As he was approaching the rear of the car he thought he heard something in the bushes across the road, He turned sharply but there was nobody there. He returned his eyes to the problem before him. He heard another sound, he turned again, but there was no one there. He freaked out. "Hello!" He called, but there was no response. He returned his focus to the rear of the car as he approached with more caution. When he got to the rear, he saw her on the ground, but before he could say anything he felt someone's presence behind him. He jumped.

Though the others could see what was going on they didn't hear what he heard, neither could they understand why he turned around so sharply.

Startled, Frank turned around but didn't see anyone. He returned his gaze to the ground and to his surprise she wasn't there.

"Hello!" This time it sounded so close like it was in his head. When he looked up, standing before him was a teenage girl, her face was brightly powdered and her lips were pink glittering from gloss, her eyes we're blue like the ocean and her hair was dark like they we're painted that way. Her cloth was dirty and she appeared hurt. His mouth fell apart. Others in the vehicle also seemed amazed but Steve didn't understand how she could still stand after such strong impact.

"Are you okay?" Frank had to ask.

"You need to help us. They're everywhere." She replied, in such a manner that made him evaluate his bravery.

"Who's they?" He managed to ask.

Suddenly, the earth began to tremble the same way one might suggest it would if a huge dinosaur was coming. It was strange to him that despite all these the trees stood still. "We have to hurry!" She cried. They ran into the vehicle and slammed the door.

"What's going on?" Steve asked, almost trembling as a result of their scary entrance.

"We need to get out of here now!" She ordered.

Steve tried to turn the keys but the car won't start. He turned it over and over again stepping on the accelerator, but it still didn't pick up.

She heard a voice in her head, "they're coming." She quickly placed her hand on her seat and kept her eyes focused in space. They stared at her with curious eyes, it seemed whatever she did was making the air stuffy. They looked away from her when from the bushes strange creatures began to appear. They had moderate sized eyes, their skins were slimy or they appeared so, and they also observed that they had just four fingers. The creatures were looking left and right like they were searching for something (or someone). A few of them headed towards the car and the guys began to panic. They turned to the girl in confusion yet afraid to say a word.
They turned to the creatures again and saw that they had backed away from the vehicle, rather they headed back into the bushes. There was something strange about the bushes. As the creatures walked into them it was as if they walked into something glassy or liquid-like. They turned to her again.

"What just happened?" Dan asked, curiously and fearfully.

"Invisibility." She replied with a smile.

"What were those things?" Steve asked, just turning away from the window (he wanted to be sure the creatures weren't coming again). "Invisi-what?" He just realized what she said. "How?" He asked, still trying to start the car.

"I have abilities... that pertain to presence." She explained with a little fear. She couldn't tell if their stare was that of disbelief or criticism. "I can make objects invisible and I can make illusions." They seemed like they didn't understand. "Like I did with the accident."
Frank's face brightened up. "You mean you weren't there at all?!" He thundered. "How will you explain the sound we heard?" He asked in total disbelief.

"I created the pictures, you created the sound. The mind is a powerful place." She replied in panic.

Dan still doubted. "I believe in many things you wouldn't but that, I do not believe."

She sighed and suddenly the beautiful girl they had seen before them turned into a girl who might have spent half of her years in the jungle. She was bruised, her clothes we're a bit torn. She had no lipstick on. Definitely not as beautiful as the girl they let into the car. Their jaws fell apart. Dan poked her face to verify if she was really there. He almost passed out. "How's that even possible?"

Frank was about to stomp the yard before he observed that she had sat still and wasn't blinking, or even breathing. Steve waved a hand across her face but he didn't get any reaction, not even a blink.

"We should just drop her off gently and run away." Frank suggested.

"That will be so wrong. She saved us." Dave objected firmly.

"Look, we don't know her, she tricked us, those things are after her or she won't be running away. Rolling around with her will definitely get us killed!" Frank dropped as she gasped like she just resurfaced from near drowning. "Move! Move!" She cried.

Before Steve could turn the keys the car zoomed off and all he and to do was steer. "What was that!" He exclaimed.

Just as the car zommed off, Joe jerked up from unconsciousness. He had slammed his head against the seat before him and passed out when Steve applied the brakes during the accident. He saw the girl. "Whoa guys!.. What's going on?.. Who's this?" He asked the rest. They didn't answer. He saw the look on their faces. They seemed terrified.

"I'm Vivica." She replied, turning to him.

"Guys! What's going on?" He insisted. As she turned to to reply, her face lit up. "Divert into the bushes!" She yelled.

"No one orders me around, miss!" Steve yelled back, keeping his hands firm on the steering.

"Just do it Steve! There's a big fat ugly looking grumpy behind us!" Dan who had observed her face (and turned to see what she saw) yelled out. The other guys turned to see it too. They screamed.

Steve turned to see what they were ranting about. This monster was slimy like the others they had seen earlier but it was bigger, had razor sharp teeth that glittered in the sun and had talon-like claws. As soon as he set his eyes on the monster, terrified, he steered into the bushes without looking.

They rolled down the slope, the monster was still in pursuit till they drifted off the edge of a cliff into the sea. The last glimpse they had of the surface was the fury in the eyes of the monster as it watched them go out of its reach.