Into The Forest

Chapter 8: The Killer Among Us

        “Hey you creep, what’s that?” Ryker snatched the note out of my hands, glaring at Rinji. “What goes into the forest stays in the…well what’s that supposed to mean? Where did you even get this?” His glaring didn’t stop and neither did Rinji’s plain expressions. “While the boys and I were getting ready to kill that old bastard, I found this note on the ladder. I never saw it before so, I picked it up, looked on the back and it was addressed to you, Kassidy.” How is that even possible? These guys never even knew about me till Cayden brought us here. Maybe one of them does know me…if that was the case then why try and scare me? I haven’t wronged anyone as far as I’m concerned, so what’s this person’s deal with me?! Jack came running back to us, “The tunnel leads back into the outer city and it opens up in the middle of a street. There ain’t no cover, so it’s risky.” Cayden’s face scrunched up and I could see the wheels turning as he formulated the plan for escape. “We’ll go.” This dude insane?! “It’s a public place, sure there’s no cover from any potential crazies, but at least we won’t be killed without any witnesses, right?” Well that’s one way to think about it. Snap. A tree branch broke off from behind us. Rinji held up his gun like a pro and called, “Who’s there? If you want to live, step into the light!” It was three more guys from the Lost Boys, completely out of breath. One of them looked like he saw a ghost and managed to say, “She’s crazy…she killed the rest…” Looks like Mother joined the hunt. Cayden and Jack looked pained and petrified. I guess it’s not every day you lose the only family you have in an entire night…all because he wanted to help me get away from them. I’m so sorry Cayden, I’ll make it up to you one day… Jack pointed to the tube and grief filled his voice, “Then we need to move, if we want to get out alive as well.” “Agreed” said Cayden, who moved to lead the way. The only light we had was from Jack’s lantern which was barely on, since we didn’t want to draw attention or even have the slightest chance of catching someone’s.

        The smells and chemicals came from all sides, burning the inside of my nose, throat, and chest. Every breath you took was like a needle poking at your lungs. Some of the boys started to cough and immediately put their shirts over their mouths to muffle the echoing sound. More gun shots rang throughout the tunnel. Father and Mother are getting closer. I can feel it. “Wait here.” Cayden held out his arm to signal us to stop and be silent. He grabbed Jack’s light and headed towards a ladder leading up to a hole in a street above our heads. He reached for the ladder but flinched at the sound of heavy trucks driving over him. “It’s a busy cross section; we’ll try another one further down.” Ha ha he got scared by those cars. Jack led the way and the sewer waters seemed to become deeper and deeper by the minute. Splash. “What was that?” I called out. One of the Lost Boys behind us, had fallen into the waters and he wasn’t getting back up. Cayden got closer to him and saw a knife plunged into the center of the boy’s back. Next thing I know, it seemed as if gallons of blood was filling the waters around us. “Bloody he…” One of the boys said, but his words became muffled by the yells of Ryker. “What happened here?! Who did this? If I’m walking in here with a freaking killer, I want to know about it!” Idiot. Like a good killer would ever reveal himself. “Maybe it was a trap set up by them crazies.” Jack said, still looking down at the poor boy. “Maybe” replied Cayden, “And if this was them, we are going to make them pay with every fiber in their bodies!” His voice was full of rage and sadness. I feel bad for him; he’s lost so much already. And now one more of the Boys are gone… I looked over towards Rinji who had a dark look in his eye as he stared at the fallen boy. What if this wasn’t a trap by my parents. What if this was one of us? “Here, help me get him.” Cayden called out to Jack who swiftly replied, “No, we leave him here. We need to escape now.” The sternness in his eyes asked not to be argued with. “Alright, let’s head out. Hope there’s no more traps up there.” In the front were Cayden and Jack, followed by two more Lost Boys. Then there was Ryker and I and in the back was Rinji with the gun.