Through the Trees [DEMO]

3 - Who Are You, Really?

Sunlight slowly but surely made its way into the forest, illuminating the area in a golden glow. It had now been about half an hour or so since Jeff had first gotten away from his crime scene. Half an hour since he encountered that... thing. Boy. Person. Fuck, he didn't even know what he was. But whoever he was, he was weird and useless to him and Jeff hoped he never had to seen him again. He didn't need any more distractions. He just had to focus on loosing the cops for good.

Speaking of, Jeff swore he could still hear voices from behind him. He hadn't glanced back since he saw the red-eyed freak and he didn't want to jinx himself, so he kept pressing forward despite being absolutely exhausted. Yes, he was a night owl and was used to spending most of his time up late at night, but whenever he did that he had the help of caffeinated drinks such as Monster Energy. Now he didn't have anything, and the killer's energy level was quickly crashing down to nothing. Damn those cops. Damn that kid. Damn him for deciding that going out and not at least bringing Smile with him was a good idea. He'd gone out without the dog before, he didn't need him or anything like that, but he was pretty damn useful in situations like this.

He also kept him company when he got lonely.

No, no, shut the fuck up. He told his brain. You are not lonely right now. You need to be alone anyway. Just focus on getting the fuck out of here.

Jeff pressed on. His legs were beginning to ache from all the walking he was doing and his entire body felt like it had been stomped on by a bunch of people wearing Docs. He was beyond exhausted and he knew there was no chance of him finding and opening the portal home in this state. The stupid things only showed up at night unless you were part of a higher being's alliance, which Jeff conveniently was not. Staying in the Over Realm was his best - and really his only - option for now.

As he continued his trek through the woods, Jeff realized he didn't have a plan. He couldn't just wander around in the woods for the next several hours, but he couldn't return to the Under Realm either. He didn't know the area that well and he didn't know how far from the cops he was, so if he didn't come up with something soon, he was fucked.

He was startled out of his barely functioning train of thought by a bunch of twigs snapping close by. Jeff caved and turned around to see what it was that made the noise. He cursed when he saw that it was a group of cops, their flashlights off due to the sun coming out. They hadn't seen him yet, thank fuck, but if he continued to stand around like an idiot they definitely would. He didn't think he could run from them anymore at this point, unless he wanted to collapse from exhaustion and get a one-way ticket to prison.

Alright, c'mon Jeff, think, think! He looked around the area, trying to formulate some kind of plan with his sleep deprived brain. He was in a forest, surrounded by trees. Maybe he could his behind one of them until they left? No, that was only effective in the dark, and even then the cops had flashlights. Maybe he could stand his ground and fight? Oh yeah, one serial killer with a couple of knives versus a group of police officers with guns and tasers and years worth of training would go so well. No way in hell he would do that one... at least not alone. That'd be a fun thing to do with someone else though. A cop murder spree. He'd have to talk to EJ and see who else in the Under Realm would be down for that. He could already think of a couple of people who would probably wanna do it.

Focus, Jeff! FOCUS! He mentally screamed. He let out a deep, irritated sigh. He was far too tired to be in this situation. He wanted nothing more than to lay down and go to sleep. Heh, that was kind of ironic. The guy who told other people to "go to sleep" now wanted to do it himself. But he wouldn't do it forever, unlike everyone else. It would only be for a few hours or so.

Dammit, I'm not getting anywhere thinking like this! He thought. He lifted his hands up and slapped his face a couple of times, hoping to wake himself up a little.