Haunted in the Night

Chapter Eight- Part One

Chapter Eight.
Dinner had been great, one of the best takeaway places she had been too, they each had one piece of fish, two potato scallops and some chips, they had eaten in a comfortable silence which Claire had enjoyed, she didn’t need to think of anything to talk about, she didn’t need to watch every word that she chose.
“You all done?” he asked when the bag was paper was nearly empty and he noticed that she had stopped eating.
“Yeah, I’m full, thank you, it was great" she smiled at him which he returned happily, proud to have taken her to get food that she enjoyed.
“I’ll be right back" he said as he scrunched up the paper, hopped out of the car, closing the door behind him and started heading to the bins that were in the middle of the park by the barbecue.
It was only when he had reached it that she realized just how far away he actually was and she was suddenly fully aware of how alone in the car she was and she quickly turned to check out behind the car and to the left out her side window to see if anyone was there, her hairs sticking up and a chill going down her spine despite of how warm the truck was.
Someone or something was watching her, she could feel it, she could feel it’s eyes upon her, but she couldn’t see anything and she quickly looked to see if Chad was on his way back over yet.
Thankfully he was and it only took him a couple of seconds before he got back in the car and he went to turn to say something to her but froze when he saw her freaked out expression.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked worried, his body tensing in response.
“Can we get going?” she practically pleaded and he nodded slightly confused before they both buckled their seatbelts and he started the truck and drove off out of the park, back towards town.
But she hadn’t calmed down much, he noticed her looking out the windows nearly every which way, checking for something.
“Claire what’s the matter? Did I upset you?” he asked concerned and she looked at him before realising he thought her behaviour was aimed towards him.
“What? No of course not, I just.... I felt like I was being watched" she admitted and he quickly checked his rear view mirror.
“I’ll drop you home, where are you staying?” he asked as they re-entered the town.
“Cabin 34, just down the road from Bob" she told him and he nodded before heading that way.
“I’m hoping we can do this again sometime" Chad told her as he began looking a little nervous.
“Me too, I’ll buy next time remember?” she replied, referring to his comment earlier about next time, nervous building in her too, for some reason this was feeling like it had been a date but she was sure that he wasn’t feeling the same way, that she was just reading it wrong.
“I look forward to it" he commented as he pulled up out the front of her cabin.
She was about to open the door and hop out when she looked up at the cabin and froze, remembering last night, the shadow outside her window, the tracks out the front in the dirt that morning and how she was there all alone.
Chad noticed her hesitation and looked at her worriedly.
“Are you alright?” he asked concerned and she leaned back in her seat and took a deep breath.
“I just need a minute" she replied but he continued to watch her as she tried to calm and relax herself.
“Claire what’s scaring you?” he asked, turning to look at her better.
“I just.... there was someone outside my window last night" she told him and instantly he tensed, fear appearing on his own face.
“What? Who?” he asked urgently.
“I don’t know" she replied, her breath catching in her chest as the fear was building.
It truth was becoming all too apparent, she was there alone, someone was out there, someone could easily break in if they wanted too and she wouldn’t be safe.
“Do you want me to call Bob? Ask if you can stay with him?” Chad suggested and Claire considered it for a moment but then remembered her suspicions, how she couldn’t trust anyone, not Bob, probably not even Chad, even though he had done nothing to hurt her, neither had Bob but there was still to many questions surrounding him.
“No I’ll be alright" she said and he looked confused at her sudden change in tone, her voice sounding a bit too tense.
“Claire I really don’t feel comfortable leaving you here alone" he told her, as she sighed, not sure on what to do.
“How about I stay on your couch? That way you won’t be alone at least" he offered but she blushed shyly.
“Um I’ve been sleeping on the couch, I don’t feel comfortable in the bedroom" she admitted looking down at her hands as she was fidgeting with her fingers.
“No wonder you look so tired" he sighed.
“I’ll be alright, but you really don’t need to stay, I prefer to be on my own anyway, it’s the only time I can truly think" she told him and he hesitated, looking at her worriedly.
“Are you sure? It’s no bother" he asked, making sure she is certain.
“I’ll be fine" she insisted, even though she wasn’t certain if it would be true.
“But how can you know that?” he asked unsure.
“Well I haven’t received a letter, before someone is taken they always receive a letter, so because I haven’t I shouldn’t be kidnapped" she reasoned, whether it was for her own benefit or for his she did not yet know.
“Alright, but if something does happen I want you to call me right away, here’s my phone number, be sure to save it into your phone" he told her as he reached over to the compartment under the dashboard on her side and pulled out a pen and sticky notes, he quickly scribbled his number on one before taking it off and handing it to her, watching her intently.
“I will, thank you for the lovely time" she blushed as she looked up at him shyly, he had scooted closer to her on the seat when he had grabbed the sticky notes out.
She could smell his body wash, she wasn’t sure what it was exactly but it smelled very nice and manly on him, it was rather intoxicating, especially with his natural scent and the smell of wood from the hardware store.
“See you for the next time but that one I will class as a date" he winked at her and she gasped as she quickly opened the door and climbed out, trying to hide her embarrassment, closing the door behind her.
He waited until she opened her front door before he waved and drove off and she watched as the car disappeared around a corner before she headed inside and closed the door, locking it instantly.
She leaned her back against the door and sighed as she blushed deeply at remembering heaps of the things he had said that night, the slight flirting, the way he looked at her, the way butterflies instantly started flapping around in her stomach when she got nervous, it had been a long time since she had felt this way, in a matter of fact she had never felt this way before.
She had been on very few dates in her life and what ones she had been on were very disappointing, mostly it were guys looking to impress her to get into her pants, she hadn’t let them so then they would show their true colours, they never laid on a hand on her or anything but one had gotten so mad that he flipped their table at the nice restaurant they had been at, yelled at her before storming out, leaving the mess for her to deal with, thankfully the staff had understood what had happened and said not to worry about the bill, it wasn’t her fault after all.
Chad however made her feel comfortable, he made her feel safe and it wasn’t very often she felt that way in her life, sure there had been a few moments of doubt and fear, especially when she felt like they were being watched but having him there with her had helped with that, she almost regretted turning him down here to stay with her but that was a huge step, sure it was purely innocent but it still felt awkward to her.
Slowly she made her way over to the couch where she sat down, sighing heavily as she looked at her phone before grabbing it and saved his number in it.
When she glanced at the time she was shocked, she had planned to call her grandparents before they went to bed but there would be no chance of that now, she had been out with Chad longer than she had realised, it was already 10 o'clock at night.
So instead she placed her phone down and picked up the case files instead, pulling out the copies of the blood written notes, reading each one carefully.

I have been watching you.
You will pay for you’re part.
You will know of the suffering of which I have endured.
You’re blood will pay for the blood I have lost.
You’re souls will feed the emptiness of my life essence.

All first 3 letters to Mary Scather had read the same thing, as well as the single letters to all the other victims.
Claire quickly grabbed her notebook to scribble down some curious questions.

Why all the same 3 letters to Mary Scather?
Why not write something different?
Why send the same thing to other victims?
Significant to all victims? If so how?

Her questions were piling up, just like these case files and every single one of them didn’t have an answer yet.
She sighed heavily as she plonked the case files down, leaned forward so her elbows were on her knees and rubbed her forehead gently with the tips of her fingers, a frustration, tension headache building.
She was exhausted, not enough sleep, nowhere near enough caffeine, she hadn’t even started a fire before she curled up on the couch, pulling the blanket over her and drifted off into an overly exhausted sleep.

That night the nightmares came, she was out in the forest, searching for her parents, calling out their names while crying, she stumbled over big tree stumps and roots, her feet leaving tracks all over the place.
It was dark, it was cold and the trees provided little to no moonlight in between them, she would grab onto each one to help steady herself as she slowly got further and further into the woods.
She had no idea where she was going, she just was and she had no idea what she would find or what would be waiting for her.
Suddenly a twig snapped somewhere off in the distance and she froze, looking straight ahead where the noise had come from.
She shivered, the temperature dropping drastically, she wrapped her arms around herself trying to keep warm but it was no use, she was only in a black tank top with long black track pants and combat boots.
She squinted to try to see into the distance where she had heard the noise, all she could see was darkness and trees, she couldn’t make anything out.
Then suddenly another twig snapped, this time louder and from behind her, she quickly spun around, gasping in fear as her chest heaved, her heart beating a million beats per minute.
Again she could see nothing, just creepy shadows that she had no idea if anything was hiding inside.
She took a few slow steps backwards, being extra careful not to trip until her back met with a tree and she pushed herself as close to it as she could, as if trying to blend herself into it.
The twigs continued snapping, one to the left, the next to the right, something was whooshing around her, circling her, hunting it’s prey.