The Veil

Chapter Forty-Seven

I regained consciousness what must have been a few minutes later. 

The horn of the car was continuously blaring, I moved my head off the airbag and looked around me, the car had flipped and rolled off the road, into the ditch and hit a tree, the windscreen was smashed, all the windows seemed shattered. 

Thankfully the car was right side up now, I looked into the rearview mirror and before I could understand what I was seeing, the man that I had swerved to miss ran into the forest.

My eyes came to focus on the foreground and saw that my head and nose were bleeding, my wet hair plastered to my head, I could see a cut on my cheek.   

I started to panic. What had just happened, what the fuck had just happened? 

I started to hyperventilate, my breathing hurting my chest as it started to come faster and faster. 

I felt myself crying but my face felt numb and I couldn't feel the tears on my face. 

I needed my phone. 

I looked around for it, I'd put it somewhere when I'd spoken to Tom. 

"Shit!" I screamed out loud, Tom was going to kill me for wrecking his car! 

I found my phone in the centre console, the screen was as cracked as the window of the car.

I grabbed it and stuffed it into my jeans pocket, gasping when the movement hurt. 

I needed to get out of this car, I needed help, I needed to see if the man was ok.

I grabbed to unbuckle my seatbelt, and it took a few tries, my hands were slippy and as I looked down at them, I realised it was blood mixed with sleet coming in from the broken windscreen.

As I concentrated on the blood, the pain started to flood me again, my leg the most prominent, my head, my stomach, I looked at my forearms and they were covered in small cuts, small droplets of blood covering me.

I thought the sight of the blood would panic me more, but I was able to take a deep breath and slow my breathing down, it still wasn't calm and normal, but it was better than the panicked hyperventilation. 

I tried to push the car door out the way, it was stiff, and barely opened, clearly been pushed and twisted too much to function anymore. 

I managed to shove it open enough to squeeze out.

The sleet came down around me, it disorientated me more than I always was, it was like a sheet covering my eyes. 

I walked up the little bank the car was in, the car horn was still blaring, but it seemed distant, my ears were ringing. 

I tried to jog, but was stopped by a pain in my leg, I glanced down and saw that my jeans were sliced and blood was pouring out of a wound. 

I couldn't concentrate on that now, I needed to make sure the man was okay. 

I entered the trees where I thought I saw him go, going as fast as my leg would take me. 

The sleet lightened in there, but not by much, the floor was covered in fallen leaves and mud, making it spongy and slippy underfoot. 

"Hello?" I shouted into the trees in front of me, because I turned back and couldn't see the road anymore so I'd walked a fair distance into the forest and still couldn't see the man anywhere. 

"Are you okay?" I called again. 

There was no answer aside from a gust of wind that rustled the tree tops, making the rain seem a lot heavier for a second as rain drops caught in the trees few remaining leaves fell onto me.

I kept looking around, for any sign of the man I'd seen in the road.  

I grabbed my phone, I didn't know if it would work, but when I pressed the unlock button the screen came to life, it was distorted but worked. 

I found the call log and Tom's number, I held the phone to my ear, I could barely hear it ringing.

"Hello?" I assumed it was Tom that answered, I couldn't tell, my ears were still ringing, the sound of the sleet on the forest floor making everything quieter too.

"Tom, I crashed, I need help. I'm in the woods." I shouted, hoping he could hear me. 

I gave him the street name and then told him I was looking for the man. 

I quickly hung up, needing to make sure I found him. 

I just hoped Tom got all the information. I hadn't waited for his panicked response, there was no time.

"Hello" I shouted into the woods again, still getting further and further into them without realising how far I'd gone. 

I stopped dead in my tracks as a girl appeared right in front of me about ten steps away, I didn't see where she'd come from but there she was. 

And as I blinked away the raindrops from my eyes I noticed it was Lindsay. 

"Oh my god Lindsay what the hell are you doing here? And what are you doing in the forest? Are you with the man in the road?" I rushed to get my words out, moving closer towards in a panicked jog, ignoring the pain that was radiating through my whole body.   

The pain had been replaced with shock at seeing her there.

She didn't reply, just stared straight at me. 

No not at me, through me. 

I turned around to see what she could be looking at, there was nothing there but trees and mud. 

I turned back to Lindsay and I saw her nod, again at someone or something behind me. 

"What Lindsay?" I asked again as I checked behind me a second time, "There isn't anyone there?" I glanced back at her and this time she was staring right into my eyes, she seemed closer than she had been before. 

"Lindsay what the fuck is happening? How did you get here? Why are you here?" I rushed to get my words out once again. 

I was so confused at what was happening. 

I'd just almost hit a man with Tom's car, Lindsay was roaming around the woods near my old house. 

What was Lindsay doing here? 

"You need to follow me, quickly" She said, there was no arguing with her once I looked in her eyes. 

They were desperate and determined.

She started walking further into the woods, I limped after her as fast as I could. 

"Lindsay where are we going? The road is back that way?" I shouted, pointing behind me even though she wasn't looking in my direction. 

"Just trust me." She didn't need to shout over the rain like I did. 

I heard her voice like she was right next to me.

It was weird and sent a shiver down my spine that had nothing to do with the freezing temperatures. 

She came to a sudden stop, a clearing in front of her. 

I had been looking at her, and not where we'd been heading, and as I caught her up to stand beside her, I looked out into the clearing. 

My heart dropped, my breath caught in my throat and I felt like I was going to collapse. 

"Why?" Was all I was able to gasp at Lindsay. 

I felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach. 

She'd brought me to the clearing where my parents had been murdered. 

I knew my house was only a few minutes walk from there. 

Why would she do this to me? 

What was she here for?

Before I could do or say anything else, what little breath was left in my system was stolen from me, my eyes instantly started to water, my stomach clenched, I could feel myself shaking, my parents were stood right there! 

My parents, who I thought I'd never see again, were stood in front of me.