Ashes and Ghosts (Major Spoilers for Little Hope)

Chapter Six

Much to the trio's relief, they found themselves back on the main road upon exiting the Museum. "Looks like we lucked out here. Back on the road." Daniel observed a look of relief on his face for a brief moment. "The professor and the others can't be far." He added, the three of them wasting no time in rejoining the road.

Beverly certainly found herself hoping so and that they were ok. "I hope you're right. We've been shit out of luck so far tonight." Taylor echoed the teen's thoughts. Then the silence settled back in, Taylor walking next to Daniel, Beverly trailing behind them. The air of uneasiness still persisted, permeating the surrounding area along with that thick fog while they continued walking, hoping to reunite with the others soon.

Taylor had remained quiet for a moment before speaking up. "The woman who looks like me, what did she do to be taken like that?" She mused out loud, fishing for her classmates' opinions on the matter.

"Not a great omen to be sure." Daniel started, before continuing on. "But nothing's going to happen to you, either of you, I'll make sure of that." He finished, flashing her a reassuring smile. She'd broken away from the pair to take a gander at one of the ruined houses for a minute before returning to Daniel and Beverly. "What I saw back there was unreal..." Taylor trailed off as they went back to walking down the road.

"I get that, but..." He began to say, unable to finish his sentence when she cut in.

"But shit, this whole night has been messed up since we crashed." She interjected in a raised voice. Though she had managed to calm herself down before speaking up again. "Thanks for having my back." She thanked him. "This shitty night would be a lot tougher without you here." She then added, grateful for Daniel's presence.

"We've looked out for each other." He admitted softly. Beverly hadn't said a single word throughout the whole exchange, too concerned with staying alert in order to try and aleviate her fear, even if just for a little bit. "You doing ok back there, Beverly?" He asked, wanting to check on her now he had the opportunity. "Y...yeah... just a little worked up... I'll be fine..." She stammered anxiously.

She'd kept her eyes on the surrounding forest as she'd spoken, being on her guard made her feel just a little bit safer. She waited on the side of the road, deep in thought about the whole situation, while Daniel and Taylor went to take a look at the derelict tourist office building. The trio then continued on until they hit an abandoned blockade in the middle of the road, stopping to investigate the surrounding area when they started hearing a voice. "Where the hell is that coming from?" Daniel found himself questioning. 

Beverly, once again, had recognised Reverend Carver's voice, this time deciding to voice that recognition. "It sounds like the priest to me..." She trailed off, anxiously looking around for where it was coming from. When the possible source was nowhere to be seen, she wondered whether this would be a lead up to another flashback. "I don't know, but that definitely does sound like the priest." Taylor admitted.

Beverly continued keeping her guard up as they walked around the blockade cautiously. As they reached the other side, both girls noticed a tire swing hanging  from the tree in front of them. "That swing looks like the one in my backyard when I was a kid..." Taylor trailed off, looking at the tire cautiously. When they got close, the yellow stars that had been painted onto it started to become more visible. 

When Taylor noticed the stars, she seemed to get spooked out again all of a sudden. "No way..." She gasped in shock. "Get over here!" She called Daniel over while she kept her eyes on the tire swing.

"What's up?" Daniel asked as he approached the pair, his eyes settling on the swing in confusion. Beverly had seemed a little confused as well, waiting for Taylor to elaborate. "This isn't possible... I know those markings! This is my old tire swing. Look here... see?" She began, gesturing to the star markings. Daniel's initial response was to attempt to calm her down and convince her everything was ok. "It's not ok, you don't get it!" She began to say. "You see these stars!? I painted them onto this tire with my dad... when I was ten years old..." She explained.