aphotic

Two

A gunshot. A loud, ringing gunshot that unmistakably came from inside the gray house filled with people who had all seemed content and relaxed a moment ago. Now the backdoor swung open and a few people hurriedly stumbled out in the rainy, cold night.

Audrina had never heard a gunshot before, except for in movies. It sounded much worse in real life. Terrifying. She would have imagined herself running if she ever experienced gunfire, but she wasn't running at all. She was slowly backing away from the house towards the car, as if she was scared any rushed movements would bring attention her way.

Not long after the first shot was fired, more of them echoed from inside the house. Maybe three.. five? She couldn't tell, it was like she was in a haze and before she had time to process anything or take in what was going on, someone had grabbed her arm and pushed her towards her car. Or well, Jack's car that he'd lent her so that she could come pick him up. Where the hell was Jack, and what kind of place was this?!

The push she'd gotten had brought her to action and before she knew it she had thrown herself into the car, fumbling for the car keys in her pocket and starting the engine.

"What are you doing?!" She exclaimed when the passenger door was thrown open and the dark haired guy from the porch appeared in the passenger seat beside her.

"Fucking drive!" Was the response she got, and although she now had a stranger in the car, she wasn't about to argue. Throwing a last glance at the door through which more people were hurrying out of the house, Audrina did as she was told and stepped on the accelerator, steering the car down the narrow, bumpy gravel road away from the house.

"Shit," she breathed, heart beating like crazy against her ribcage as she speeded through the neighborhood without any sense of direction. "Shit! How did- I'm.. was that a gun? Someone was shooting a freaking gun!"

"Stay on the damn road!" Her dark haired passenger said in frustration, his tattooed hand reaching over to grab the steering wheel momentarily, adjusting her driving to keep them from ending up in the ditch that Audrina had been way too close to.

"I don't know where I'm going!" She exclaimed in panic, even though their destination shouldn't be a very high priority at that moment, as long as they put distance between themselves and that house.

"Take the next left."

"What?"

"Left. Turn here, left."

Again, she didn't argue. She turned left, bringing them onto a much bigger, paved road, allowing her to speed up a bit more, even passing by a couple of slow paced cars. Her mind was racing, the sound of gunfire clear in her memory. She should've just stayed in bed tonight. She should've told Jack he could take a cab. That's what she had been wanting to tell him, but of course she'd let him convince her to set an alarm for 2am and go out in the rain to pick his ass up.

"Take a right here." The calm voice from next to her brought her out of her thoughts and she looked in the direction he was pointing.

"That's a rest stop. It's a dead end," she pointed out, stress and terror still lacing her voice.

"I know," he agreed, making her throw a questioning look at him under raised eyebrows, but for some reason she slowed the car down and turned onto the small rest stop at the edge of some trees just like he wanted.

"Why are we stopping here? I don't even know where we are, what is this place? What the hell was going on back there? They were shooting- oh my god, we need to call 911!" She was rambling, trying to locate her phone between their seats when suddenly a cold hand closed around her own.

"You need to calm down," he said from the passenger seat, squeezing her hand in his own as if to keep her steady, or something. "You're shaking. Take a breath."

"Calm down? What if someone is hurt? Where is my phone, I need to call the police."

"Look at me," the man beside her said with determination, his patience starting to run out, voice growing frustrated now. Her eyes obeyed, snapping up to meet his pale blue ones. "That was very likely the police storming the house back there, okay? And the last thing you want right now is them knowing you were there, so no, you're not going to call 911. What you need to do is take a deep fucking breath and calm your ass down so you can drive without swaying all over the damn road."

Audrina's head was spinning.

"I think I need some air."