Massacre
by Civil_Rebellion
I Will be uploading chapters to this thread as they become finished, I will bump the thread after every update. Every chapter will be added as a "spoiler" to prevent making the thread overly long.
Thank you so much to the community members who allowed me to use their names and descriptions as characters, Rena, Kona, Eve, Ari, Aiden, Red, Emma and Hazel. Also thank you to those that I didn't ask but included anyways c: Kyle, Seth, Mel and Tom.
Please Comment your thoughts if you read, constructive criticism and complements are equally appreciated.
Massacre is a story of 15 children, teens and young adults being stuck in a game of cat and mouse. 12 are Innocent players. 3, aren't so innocent. In this fast pace story, it's your job to find out who the murderers are and weed out the Innocents from the not-so-Innocents. You will follow the stories of many different characters, encountering first hand their raw emotions and experiences.
Trigger warnings:
-Death
-Gore
-Suicide
-Depression
General Guidelines to follow;
-If you are commenting on any chapter 3-9, please use the "spoiler" feature, so that other readers don't get upset if you ruin the plot line for them.
-Please don't spam the comments. I don't know why this is so tempting, but please only comment about the story. Don't have a conversation or spam asking me to upload the next chapter, its disrespectful.
-If you want to see another chapter comment or like my comment about the update. This shows me that people are still reading and enjoying my writing.
IF YOU'RE ENJOYING THE STORY PLEASE LEAVE A LIKE
Community members featured in this Chapter:
@Civil_Rebellion , @Fattycat , @Killerzombie75 , @Tommy and @Mel
Kya swept the green strands of hair out of her face and tucked the longer chunk behind her ear. She looked back, Tom and Mel chatted quietly to one another as they trailed behind, in front of them Kyle and Seth who were anxiously trying to keep up with the tri-color haired demon. The air had a frigid chill to it, with wind kissing Kya’s cheek every so often, the cold nipping at her. It was the end of fall, the trees had all set free their crisp leaves to fall to the ground, the once green grass was now turning to a brown and yellow sea of decaying sod and muck. A thin blanket of fog covered the ground softly, swallowing Kya’s boots with every step.
A small crack echoed through the ghost town, as if someone had misstepped and broken a stick. Kya swirled around, bringing up her shiv, eyes darting wildly. Seth stepped back, apologetically revealing a snapped piece of wood from under his shoe. Kya lowered her guard, relaxing slightly to find that her suspicions of being followed were false. “Please watch where you’re stepping Seth” She sighed in annoyance.
“I didn’t mean it, honestly I didn’t”, Seth defended, “I just-”
“My god Seth shut up, it’s like you want to give away our position”, Kya hissed, “The last thing we need is for-”, before she could finish a small makeshift hatchet came flying from the nearby brush, wedging into the wall of the building 2 inches from Kyle’s face. “No, please-” Kya turned to see a group emerging from the shadows behind them. “Please, we’re innocent” She cried, backing away slightly. She couldn't make out faces as they continued to advance.
“Split up”, Kyle cried. Without looking or thinking Kya began to run wildly, arms pumping as she ran past the rows of buildings. She hooked her arms over the side of a broken bridge, hoisting herself over the side. Her feet barely connected with the ground as she rolled under the bridge, heart racing. She slowed her breathing, tucking herself into a ball as she listened tentatively for the sound of footsteps, the only sound was the eerie sound of the bell tower ringing. How did this happen? Kya’s mind was now running on overdrive. Why? What was this? But the questions brought no answers. All she knew was that she was trapped, damned to this game of cat and mouse, and now she was alone. Murderers. Her brain was racing. They were murderers, killing us off one by one. And now the rest of us… running around in paranoia of each other. The thought made Kya sick. They were hunting us for sport.
Community members featured in this Chapter:
@AmazeAiden , @Farenhite - CCBT , @FlowerCrownn , @KonaGeo , @Fattycat and @Hazel
Aiden ran in perusal of the stranger, Red hot on his heals. The two of them chased after the pale skinned, pastel haired girl, following her around every crook and corner she tried to escape to. You’re not getting away that easily. Aiden focused his energy, channeling his breathing at a steady pace. The two watched as the girl disappeared around another corner, her pink hair strands like a flash of color, Aiden pulled his shiv from his pocket. Be brave. He turned the corner in dismay as there was no trace of the girl. Aiden scoffed, out of breath as Red caught up to him.
“Any sign of her?” Red huffed. Aiden shook his head, wiping red strands of hair from his face, arms locked braced on his knees “Man, I thought we might of had a lead”, he panted. Red kneeled down to rest herself, laying against the pale brick of the abandoned cafe. Her eyes rested cooly on Aiden, waiting for a sign of recognition or a response.
“Do you think she was one of them?” Aiden asked. Red shrugged, running her hands through her thick hair. “I mean… if she was, why would she have ran?”
“Out numbered?” Red answered uncertainly. “I don’t know man, there may have been too many of them”.
“No, maybe not all of them, maybe one was blending in…” Aiden found himself trailing off. “Like rats running through the walls of a house”. Aiden paused, standing himself back up and stretching his back. There had to be about 3 of them, he thought. 3 or 4 bad eggs in the mix. 3 or 4 murderers. Aiden glanced back at Red, giving her a small smile. At Least he had one person he knew he could trust. “Come on, the pack will be worried about us. Besides, it’ll be getting dark out soon. If she’s a rat we don’t want to be caught off guard alone out here”.
Red followed closely behind Aiden, ears perked as they carefully made their way back to the town center. Aiden could make out familiar faces of the pack as they approached. Ari and Kona sat coolly at the edge of the gryphon shaped water fountain, chatting to themselves. Charlie and Jason stood nearby, arms crossed as their eyes scanned over the empty town. Kona's face brightened at the sight of Red. Her arm shot up into the air, waving excitedly. “They’re back”, she yelled, standing up to greet them. “Did you catch her?”. Aiden shook his head, Flicking his long hair out of his face.
“How was your luck?” Red asked.
“Ari and I chased after one of them as far as the sandstone huts, lost him at the edge…” Kona sighed, as if disappointed with herself. “I would have followed if it wasn’t such a labyrinth”. Aiden nodded. “Hazel went after the boy and girl, lost them when they climbed up into a tree at the edge of the village”.
“So no luck at all?” Red inquired. Charlie smirked.
“I wouldn't say no luck”, Charlie said smugly. He stepped aside to reveal a young boy who looked to be about 13, sitting on the brick floor. His eyes wide and terrified as he curled into a ball. “Caught him before he could get away”. Aiden walked up to the boy. He flinched as Aiden approached him. Surely this boy wasn’t dangerous. Right?
“What's your name”, Aiden asked, hunching down on his knees to be eye level with the stranger.
“Seth”, he mumbled, putting on a brave face. “If you’re going to kill me just do it”. At his remark Aiden began to laugh.
“I don’t see a reason to”, He said. “You don’t seem too bad”. Seth gave a small smile. It quickly faded as Jason approached.
“Aiden”, Jason snapped. “We don’t know this kid. We can’t trust him”. Aiden scanned the rest of the group. Charlie nodded in agreement with Jason, Kona and Hazel wouldn’t make eye contact.
“Red?”, Aiden asked, looking towards his friend.
“I say we give him a trial run”, Red said evenly. “If he tries anything we don’t hesitate to kill him. But…” Red sat thoughtfully. “I don’t see him being a problem. Seth, was it?” Seth nodded. “I don’t see any harm in increasing our numbers by one”. Seth seemed leery of the idea, his face showed distrust and fear. He must miss his friends. "We should set up camp for the night, whoever is on guard will have to watch Seth as well". Seth frowned at Red. "It's for our own safety, you can't blame us for not trusting an outsider".
“What about the rest of my group”, Seth asked. “They’ll be looking for me”.
“They split up” Charlie replied. “Your group no longer exists”. Aiden thought carefully. It was possible one of the members of his group wasn't trustworthy. Aiden looked over his shoulder at Red. How would he feel if they got split up and Aiden was forced into another group?
“Not to mention we can’t trust them” Added Kona from afar. “I’d say you stick with us for now, it’s not safe to travel alone”.
“Then it’s settled”, Aiden said, standing up. “Welcome to the pack, Seth”.
Community members featured in this Chapter:
@AmazeAiden , @Farenhite - CCBT , @FlowerCrownn , @KonaGeo , @Fattycat and @Hazel
Red grumbled as she felt a small prod on her side. Her eyes opened slightly, taken aback by the bright sunlight that hit her face. It was early morning, the sun was just coming up over the wheat fields at the village border, hitting the large bird-like statue just right, its diamond eyes seemed to wink to her.
Red shifted, turning over to see Hazel’s bright eyes only centimeters from her own. “Morning sleeping beauty”, She giggled. Red gave a half hearted laugh, still trying to shake her tiredness as she sat up, crossing her legs. She stretched for a minute before scanning the group. Aiden was propped against a tree, sleeping with his arms folded, coddling his shiv like a teddy bear almost. Charlie and Jason slept close together, their backs turned to Seth who was curled up in a ball. His legs were tucked to his chest, arms wrapped around to secure them in a cat like manner. “I Just couldn’t stand being the only one awake for another second, Red, I just couldn’t” Hazel whispered harshly. “I tried to wake Kona, but you know how she gets when she’s tired, and Ari almost cut my hand off when I tried to wake her, not to mention I’m not at all brave enough to try waking Jason or Charlie, I just had to wake up someone though or I’d just go nuts, I-”
Red rested a finger on Hazel’s lips. She frowned at Red, sitting back. “For such a shy girl you do an awful lot of talking” Red huffed. Hazel pouted. “Another day, eh?”
“Yeah, guess so” Hazel breathed, swatting Red’s hand. “I'm feeling pretty good about this”. She said confidently. “I think we've really got a shot at surviving this whole mess”. Red smiled back, hiding her own concerns. How could they fight what they couldn't see? Red Stretched her legs before Laying out flat on her back, taking in the details of the large castle like structure that towered over them. The eagle-like skull at the top, beak opened as if screening. It somehow gave her peace. “Red?” Hazel’s voice was a soft whisper. Red grunted. “Do you think I'm annoying”
Red glanced at the girl sitting next to her, “No”.
“Honestly?”, Hazel pressed.
“Honestly, I don't find you annoying” Red chuckled lightheartedly. “You're my friend”. Hazel smiled. Red opened her mouth to say more but stopped short as she heard movement from behind her. She turned to see Aiden stretching. “Morning”, Red shouted. To respond Jason and Charlie also awoke.
“Thanks for waking everyone up” Jason snapped, turning over.
“Not everyone” Charlie groaned, turning his head towards Ari, Kona and Seth. “They could sleep through world war 3”. Hazel laughed at the remark.
It was another hour before the whole group had woken. The sun had just risen over the rooftops, the heat was close to unbearable as the group say under the shade of the nearby trees. Charlie was busy sharpening a makeshift axe with his small wet stone, Jason laid back cooly looking up at the trees, his eyes unblinking. Red shifted uncomfortably, running her hand across her forehead. Her head turned as Aiden came up to her, falling over, his head resting on her lap. He looked up at her, his heterochromia iridium eyes focused on her. “What do you want”, She scoffed, pushing him off onto the grass. “The last thing I need is to be smothered by your body heat”. Aiden pushed Red back playfully.
“Oh shut up” He chuckled. “I’m not that fat”. Red raised an eyebrow challengingly as Aiden cuffed her over the head. “You suck”.
“Then why’d you come to talk to me” She asked.
Aiden leaned in, pulling out a cloth lump from his pocket. “I finished making you a weapon last night on my night shift, it’s not the best but if you get in a tight spot it's better than your fragile little hands” He said in a mocking tone, unwrapping the bundle. The small Dagger consisted of a few twined sticks and a green ore sharpened at one end.
“Thanks” Red answered, taking the small weapon and tossing it in her hands a few times over. “Now that I actually have a weapon you and me should go on a scouting mission”, She said excitedly. “To the lake and back, we could dip our feet in the water for awhile and come back” she continued, “we’ll be back in a hour or two, come on” She got up, about as ungracefully as humanly possible, tripping over her own feet before extending a hand to Aiden. “Come on”. Aiden rolled his eyes reluctantly before joining her, alerting the group of their absence and heading down the red brick trail. Red listened carefully for any sounds that would seem unfamiliar as they came to the small meadow just before the beach. They stopped before entering, Aiden crouched as they paused for a second to scope the area.
"All clear" Aiden sighed in relief. At that, Red took off running, kicking her shoes off into the long grass and splashing into the water. Aiden followed more slowly, taking his shoes off one at a time and setting them on the nearby bench.
They took their time, messing around and slashing water for a while before heading back to camp. It was now high noon. The wind had picked up, giving off a nice breeze as the sun scorched down on them. When they finally returned they were greeted by Charlie.
"Kona was missing you an awful lot Red", Charlie said light heartedly. "Glad you're finally back so I'm not the one having to listen to her". Kona pushed past Charlie, squeezing Red into a bear hug.
Aiden scanned the clearing, catching Ari’s eye.
“Hold on”, Aiden said, “Wheres Jason… and Hazel-”
“And Seth”, Red added, looking around.
“They went to take a drink from the river, Jason didn’t trust Seth alone with Hazel so he went along as an extra precaution”. Charlie replied. “They should be back any minute, they left around the same time as you two”. Red sat thoughtfully. How long did it take to grab a drink and come back? We were gone for quite a few hours… Red subdued her uneasiness. They will be back shortly. She assured herself. Any minute.
Community members featured in this Chapter:
@AmazeAiden , @Farenhite - CCBT , @FlowerCrownn , @KonaGeo , @Fattycat and @Hazel
Charlie paced anxiously along the edge of the elevated brick. The rest of the group sat silently, motionless. Where were they? Charlie looked towards the sky. The sun was going down just behind the sandstone huts, fading away to a full moon. The birds had subsided, the gusts of wind had been subdued to whispers of the wind. Not a single candle light shown through any of the building or shop windows. It was quiet. Jason. Charlie’s mind was far from quiet, streaming possible scenarios through his head rapidly. Something had to have happened. He thought, and someone had to find them. He stopped pacing for a moment, looking towards the group. No laughter came from Kona. Not a word from Aiden or Red. Ari’s eyes were dull, motionless as she stared towards the ground. “That's it”, Charlie could no longer take the silence. “I’m going to find the others, I’ll be back before sundown”.
“It’s too dangerous, it's almost night”, Kona fretted. “They’ll be back” Her voice was shaky and uncertain. “They’re going to be back. Any minute now they’ll come”. Charlie shook his head. “Please, we don’t need to lose you too”.
“You won’t” Charlie insisted. “I’ll be back. If i haven’t found them before the sun hits the tops of those trees I’ll head back”. His voice quivered slightly. What if he didn’t make it back? “I’m sure they just took a wrong turn or something, I’ll have them back here in no time”. No one else from the pack tried to object, knowing how close Charlie was to Jason and Hazel. Jason was like a brother to him. And Hazel… Charlie felt his heart leap. Hazel was special.
Aiden gave Charlie a pat on the back before he left, handing him the shiv he’d been working at. “You can have it” He said. “You’ll need it more than me”. Charlie nodded.
“Look after them”, Charlie whispered. Aiden looked over his shoulder, back at the remaining group. He nodded in understatement, giving Charlie a small smile before he left to sit back with the others.
Charlie traveled lightly, only bringing Aiden’s shiv and an energy bar he stuffed in his pocket. His movements were fast without being sloppy as he twisted in between buildings, his black converse gliding quietly over the red bricks. He moved like a shadow, ears perked as he began to hear the sound of the running water. He was close. Charlie slipped in between two buildings, squeezing himself through the narrow alleyway and popping out the other end, rolling onto the soft grass of the riverbank.
He scanned the area around him, seeing no sign of any of his friends. Charlie paused to listen, hearing a faint groan from the left.
He advanced cautiously, staying low. His legs trembled as he rounded the corner. He was terrified of what could await him. Be brave. Charlie peered around the edge of the building. There was something laying in the grass making the awful noises. Not something, Charlie thought, someone. He stood up slowly, inching toward what lay in the grass in front of him. As he began to come closer he was able to make out a familiar face. “Hazel”, Charlie’s lip quivered as he spoke. Her eyes gazed up at him. His mind went into shock as he looked down at her. Blood was dripping from her mouth, rolling down her cheek and onto the grass. Her eyes were dull and faded, opened only ever so slightly. Her hands clutched her right side, covering a large maroon stain that bled through her shirt. Charlie’s mouth trembled for words but none came to mind. None that could sum up the situation that lay in front of him. Hazel’s hands moved, reaching out for him, her fingertips glistening with red. He swallowed his breath. “What- What happened”, Charlie choked.
“Murderer”, Hazel whispered, coughing up blood as she tried to speak. “He can’t be trusted” Her breath was raspy and shallow. “Charlie…” Her eyes began to water, lips trembling and wet as she began choking back sobs. Charlie leaned over, embarrassing her. “Charlie I’m scared”, her voice was faint. He held her harder, closing his eyes tightly as tears began to form.
“You’ll be fine”, He sniffed, pulling away. “I’m going to carry you back, I’ll get help. Kona can look after you and everything will be just fine”, he said softly, his voice vibrating. “You’ll be okay” He whispered. “You’ll be okay”.
Hazel shook her head slowly. “You need to get out of here before he comes back” she rasped. “Charlie you have to go”. He shook his head. “Charlie please” she cried, “you have to go back, now”.
“I can't leave without you” Charlie defended. "I still need you".
"Charlie you have to protect the others, you need to tell them who one of them are" she said faintly, "you can no longer trust him"
"Him?" Charlie repeated. "Who's him? Seth? Hazel- was it Seth?" Charlie's heart beat quickened. "Did he do this to you?". Hazel opened her mouth to answer but her lips no longer moved. The color in her eyes faded and her body relaxed. The hand Charlie had been holding was now limp. Charlie's emotion quickly switched from sorrowful to angry. He could feel his blood begin to boil. Seth. His mind was racing a mile a minute. Seth would pay for this.
Community members featured in this Chapter:
@Fattycat
Jason paced his breathing, keeping his endurance up. His lungs burned inside him. His body was on fire with every step. Every inch of his body was telling him to stop, to slow down. He couldn't. He didn't have a choice. Run.
His arms pumped furiously at his sides as he ran in perusal of Seth. He was getting closer with every stride. His nostrils flared as he furiously inhaled oxygen. Do not let him get back to the group. Do not let him get back to the group. Jason repeated this in his head. It gave him the motivation to keep going. Keep running. Keep chasing. Seth looked back at Jason as he ran, his eyes wide and full of terror. Good.
Seth turned another corner. Jason followed. Now only a few feet away. Jason reached an arm out, his hand barely skimming the hood of Seth's sweatshirt. Almost. Jason felt his legs fly beneath him, as if they didn't even touch the ground. He had to catch him. Jason watched as Seth turned another corner sharply, throwing himself off balance. Now I’ve got you. Jason followed, reaching out for him and tackling Seth to the ground. End of the line. Jason twisted his right arm back, grabbing his stone ax from his rear pocket. “You better hope you have nine lives kitty boy”, Jason snarled. He raised the blade above his head.
Seth acted quickly, grabbing Jason’s arm and filling him over so that he was the one pinned to the ground. Jason screamed in anger, lunging his hand forward to drive the sharp rock into Seth’s chest. Seth blocked the attack, grabbing Jason by the wrist and banging it against the stone bricks. Jason yelped in pain as his hand began to bleed. Seth used all the strength he could muster to keep his attacker pinned down, struggling for control over the ax. Jason screeched in frustration, trying to overpower Seth. No. No. No. Jason thought, this was not how it was supposed to happen. Jason struggled under Seth but to no avail. He was trapped. His heartbeat quickened.
“Just do it” Jason hissed, dropping the axe. “Do it, Seth” he said smugly. Seth scrambled for the axe, clutching it securely. He raised the axe, glaring down at Jason. “Go ahead” Jason laughed, “Do your worst”. Seth hesitated a moment too long, looking down at the boy. Jason took his chance, flipping Seth onto his back and pinning him back down. The two struggled for control of the weapon, clawing at each other relentlessly. “I killed Hazel and I’ll be damned if I don’t kill you too” Jason screeched, knocking the axe from Seth’s hand. The stone weapon skid across the bricks out of reach from either of them.
“She was your friend”, Seth yelled. “How could you do this to them”. His voice was shaking with anger and fear. “You killed your own friend. How crazy are you”.
Jason smirked, laughing as he attempted to choke Seth. “Crazy enough to kill you”.
Community members featured in this Chapter:
@Fattycat and @IMysticallPanda/Llama
Charlie ran past every building, double taking at every alley. He had to have run somewhere, He thought, he couldn't have run far. His mind ran along with him. What about Jason? Was he safe? Had Seth killed him too? His eyes flashed from left to right frantically. There had to be something, someone. Anything.
Charlie rounded a corner, seeing a glimpse of two people fighting before tripping, falling face first into the stone bricks, scratching his cheek. Blood trickled from his face as he braced himself, shaking his head. A pair of hands grabbed him, pulling him back behind a stack of crates. Charlie let out a scream, only to have it muffled by a pair of hands clasping over his mouth. “Shut up”, a female voice whispered harshly, “you're going to give us away”. Charlie look around frantically, his eyes resting on a soft pale face. “Are you going to be quiet now?” She hissed. Charlie nodded as her hands slid away. “The names Emma”, she whispered. “You're lucky I stopped you when I did”.
“What do you mean”, Charlie mumbled, wiping his cheek. “What the hell was that for”. Charlie stumbled to stand up but Emma pulled him back down.
“Are you crazy?” She spat in a hushed tone. “Unless you want to become dog meat too you should stay put”. Charlie gave the blonde girl a quizzical stare before she motioned for him to come closer. “Someone's being attacked over there” she whispered. “I'd help if I was so scared honestly” She blushed, rubbing the back of her neck. “Cold feet”. Charlie looked over the wooden bins, catching a glimpse of the tussle. He watched as the two scrambled over each other, struggling for power. Then it hit him. That was Jason. His fists clenched at his sides. And Seth. Charlie grabbed his weapon, standing up. Emma tried to pull him back once more but he shrugged her off.
“What are you doing” she hissed.
“Saving my teammate” He whispered, stepping out from behind his cover cooly. He watched as Jason punched Seth in the stomach, hearing the uff from Seth as he lost his breath. Jason scrambled away, grabbing a weapon from a few feet away. Charlie took a deep breath in. This was it. A blurred image of Hazel’s fading body crept across his mind. The vision of her soft hair in the grass, her hands relaxed. As if she were napping. Charlie felt a sharp tug in his chest. This is for you.
Seth had pinned Jason, reaching for his axe. Charlie took a deep breath, running into the open street. He shoved Seth off of Jason, screaming as he easily pinned him down. “you filthy stinking rat” Charlie spat, “How could you, we trusted you!!” Seth wriggled under Charlie's grasp helplessly. “This is for Hazel” He whispered. Seth struggled for words as Charlie held him by the neck.
Charlie felt a sharp prod on either side of him. He looked over his shoulder to see Emma pulling him back. “Stop” She cried. “What are you doing”. Charlie shook her off easily, turning back to Seth. “Stop, please” she cried. Charlie ignored her, raising his dagger and plunging it into Seth’s chest. He felt the smaller boy gasp from under him. His eyes were wide with panic. “He's not the one you have to worry about” Emma screamed, her hands clasped over her mouth, “what have you done”.
Charlie looked at her, his eyes wild. “He was innocent” She sobbed. Charlie opened his mouth to challenge her but cut short as Jason leapt at her, his eyes hazed and his weapon raised. Emma let out a horrid cry of terror. Charlie looked down at the small boy below him. Seth’s eyes had relaxed, his face in a small smile as he looked up at Charlie, almost in a mocking manner. “Hope you can sleep at night knowing you killed me for no damn reason” he laughed, clutching his chest. Charlie turned to Emma again, watching as Jason struggled over her.
“Jason, no” Charlie yelled for his friend to stop but he didn't listen. “Jason, she's not a threat, please just trust me” he yelled once more. Jason didn't even turn to acknowledge him as he grew closer and closer to slitting the defenseless girl’s throat. Charlie panicked for a moment, hesitant to interfere. Was Emma telling the truth? Was Seth not to blame? He watched as Emma continued to lose ground. He didn't have time to be thinking. Charlie took one last glance at Seth's body. I'm sorry.
Charlie got up running at Jason and tackling him to the ground. Jason snarled, clawing at Charlie as he lost his grip on his weapon, letting it fall to the ground. Emma scrambled from where she lay, grabbing Jason’s weapon and standing back. “Charlie let me go” He screamed, kicking with all of his might. “Charlie, she's the murderer, she's been conspiring with Seth. Please, you're my friend” He sobbed. Charlie looked away, unable to see his friend in this state.
“I want to help you Jason, I really do” Charlie choked.
“Then let me go, I can change” Jason pleaded. Charlie looked over at Emma as she shook her head. He looked back at Jason, his entire face crazed and frantic. Charlie swelled hard. He knew what he had to do.
“You killed Hazel” Charlie retorted. “You can change what you do in the future but you can never take back the past”. He looked away. “Goodbye, Jason”, Charlie whispered, raising his sharp weapon. Jason gave out a blood curdling scream, using every last ounce of his energy to struggle from Charlie's grasp. The shiv stuck into Jason easily, like a butter knife to butter.
Jason chuckled, mustering his last words from his throat. “You'll never be safe” he laughed, his head sinking. “one down”, he croaked. “Two more to go”.
Community members featured in this Chapter:
@Civil_Rebellion , @HelloColdWorld , @AmazeAiden , @Farenhite - CCBT , @FlowerCrownn , @KonaGeo and @IMysticallPanda/Llama
Kya ran blindly through the night air, hopping through windows and balancing on balcony railings, keeping herself above the ground. Her new found companion, Eve, followed swiftly behind. They were quick and silent, slipping through the night. Undetected. Unseen. Unheard. Kya leached her arms out, grabbing a horizontal flagpole that stuck out from the shop building. Her hands grasped the pole firmly as she propelled herself forward, landing on the roof of the neighboring building. She slumped down, sitting on the steep orange shingles as Eve caught up to her. They sat in silence, listening to the desperate chirping of the crickets at night. In a sense it was soothing. Although Kya would never pass up complete silence, she enjoyed the comfort of the noise. Nothing was too quiet. Too quiet was too suspicious.
Eve motioned to Kya, pulling her closely. “Do we stay here for the night?” She whispered. “Or do we keep going?”. Kya sat thoughtfully. She glanced at their surroundings. Though she doubted anyone would fine them up here in the first place. “Well?”. Kya nodded to Eve slightly, laying back and shivering as the cool material of the roof chilled her. Eve sank back as well, laying on her side to face Kya. She preferred to be alone. But Eve couldn’t fight the obvious logic of having someone to cover your back in a tight spot.
It was a reluctant alliance, both preferring to be independent and untrusting but none the less they followed one another day by day. Watching. Listening.
It had been two days since Charlie returned with Emma. He had explained the situation, then tried convincing the group to accept Emma as one of their own. It took convincing now that the pack was leery of one another. Jason’s unknown betrayal of the group struck hard, leaving a non vanishing wound in the trust of the pack, a never healing wound that would scar for the remainder of their journey through the lost city. Red could tell that the Jason incident impacted Charlie the most. She felt a pang of sympathy for the older boy who now sat alone where he and Jason had once sat together, sharing jokes and laughter. Oh and Hazel. Red bit her lip to hold back any tears that tried slipping past. Poor Charlie.
Everyone in the Pack other than Hazel herself had seen the way Charlie acted around her. The way his head would tilt, eyes focused as he would intently sit and listen to her every word. The urgency that you could see in his face as he hung onto everything she told him, straining himself to remember word for word everything the pretty brunette shared with him. She smiled faintly as she remembered the way Charlie would look as Hazel walked away to go chat with Kona and Ari, the shade of red in his face as Jason would slide over and whisper unknown things into his ear.
But now it was different. He sat, legs folded to his chest. His eyes connected with a brick he had picked out. His eyes trailed along the edges of the stone, taking in every grain of sand stuck in between the cracks. Red sighed knowing he would no longer be the same Charlie they once knew. Red felt chills creep along her spine as a hand slid along her back. She turned to see Ari, her face was still and quiet as she rubbed Red’s back comfortingly.
“Aiden has promised to try talking to him tomorrow”, Ari spoke softly. “He said Charlie won’t be able to keep his strength up if he continues to refuse his share of the rations”. Red felt as though a small demon-like creature were toying with her heart, running around and causing a muck. Trying different strings and cutting out parts that she needed.It was a truly sickening feeling.
She turned to Ari, grateful for the company. “Hazel would know what to do”, Red grumbled, leaning on Ari. “This isn’t fair”. She looked up at Ari, snuggling into her. “Do you think there's someone still out there” She asked, more hushed. Ari looked up at the sky, tracing the stars that hung above them.
“Yes”. She replied softly, “There are others as strong as us that must still be alive”. Her answer calmed Red. “Can’t stand to see Charlie like this”, She murmured, changing the topic. “I hate seeing him in such pain. It’s almost painful to watch him”, She whispered, “I hope he finds peace tonight”.
Community members featured in this Chapter:
@AmazeAiden , @Farenhite - CCBT , @FlowerCrownn , @KonaGeo and @IMysticallPanda/Llama
Red awoke abruptly, flailing her arms and taking a deep, gasping breath of air as she snapped out of her nightmare. Her eyes shifted around the camp accusingly. A dream. She assured herself, it was only a dream. Images of the vivid reality replayed through her head. The Shadow, the knife… the body. It all had felt so real. She rested her hand on the back of her neck, breathing in. It's not real. Red blinked twice, adjusting to the light. It was barely even sunrise. The sun hadn’t yet hit the head of the Griffin fountain. She rubbed her eyes. Can’t try to sleep again after that.
Red looked around sheepishly for whoever was on guard. Her eyes landed on Ari who was sitting on top of a ledge, looking out into the nearby field. Red yawned and stretched before getting up to join her friend. Red pulled herself up on the ledge just as Ari turned to see her.
"Good morning", she rasped, her eyes tired and soft. "Sleep well?"
“No… not exactly”, Red trailed off. Ari rested her eyes on Red understandingly. “It was the dream again…”
“The one you had last night? The same one?”, Red nodded. “Man”, Ari sighed, “Red, I’m sorry”. Red smiled, resting her head on Ari’s shoulder.
They sat like this in silence. As they did often. Silence was a luxury. A peaceful era .An omen .One by one the rest of the Pack awoke. Emma and Kona were the first to rise. They were easily detectable, the way they tried their best to whisper. Their muffled, whispering shouts at one another. They’d grow very fond of one another, Red thought. Emma was fitting into the group perfectly.
Shortly after Red noticed Aiden getting up as well. She frowned momentarily. She began counting the Pack. One, two, three... Someone was missing. Charlie. Red counted again, feeling an uneasiness build up in her throat. “Guys has anyone seen Charlie”. Red scanned the area frantically. “Who saw him last, does anyone know where he’d go?” She asked hopefully. Everyone glanced at one another, then looking towards the ground, shifting uncomfortably.
Ari gave a loud sigh, looking towards Red. “I think we all know what happened…” Ari murmured, trailing off. Red shook her head vigorously.
“No, we have to go find him, what if he got lost or something happened to him? What if someone grabbed him during the night and just hauled him away” Red’s voice cracked as she rambled defensively. Red looked back down at the others. Aiden gave her a doubtful look, shaking his head. “You guys can’t just give up on him like this, he would never-” Her voice hitched, unable to finish the sentence.
“Red”, Ari whispered comfortingly, “sometimes you just- you’ve gotta accept the facts. He wouldn’t want us to find him. And if we did… think about what you’d see”. Ari’s voice was firm. “He wouldn’t want you to have to see him like that”. She grabbed Red, pulling her into a hug. “It’s for the best if we don’t go looking”.
Red nodded, feeling the tears beginning to well up in her eyes.
The afternoon was painstakingly quiet. No one said much. There was nothing to be said. Red laid across the brim of the fountain, her hair falling over the ledge. She felt chills tingle up her spine as Kona brushed her fingers through her hair. She sat. Thinking. Everything was running through her mind. Like a hurricane of thought. Yet it never quite seemed to connect to anything logical. Only outstretched theories and curiosity surrounding Charlie. Something had to have happened to him. She thought, he wouldn’t leave them like this. Not after he felt what it was like to lose a teammate. He wouldn’t put the rest of the Pack through that again.
Red shifted, sitting up and combing her hair behind her ear with her fingers. She had to know. Red gave a small smile of acknowledgement to Kona before walking out towards the beach.
Before she even made it to the outskirts of the town square Ari caught her. “Red, I’m telling you now so that you don’t come whining later, whatever is out there that you think you’ll find… you won’t. You and I both know what you’re going to find if you go out there”. In a more hushed tone she whispered, “remember what happened when Charlie went looking for Hazel…”. Red choked back tears as she tried pushing past Ari. “please don’t do this to yourself”, Ari begged. She took a firm grasp on Red’s hand as she tried to push past. Red stopped shortly. She gazed at her friend who was watching her hopelessly.
Before Ari could object anymore Red pulled away, running. Just running. She didn't know where she was going. Or what she was looking for but she was determined to find it.
But when she did find it. She regretted her decision.
There he was. Almost as if he were flying. Charlie’s ragdoll body weighed down the branch of the oak tree. His feet only inches from the ground. Red clasped her hands around her mouth as she let out a sobbing scream.
She looked on in shock and terror at what lay before her. She swallowed her feelings, grasping the rope and hacking the line from the tree. There was a thud as the heap fell to the ground. She took a deep breath, covering her mouth, her fingers trembling as she gazed at Charlie's rumpled body. Ari had been right. Red felt hot tears roll down her face as she let out heaving sobs.
Her fingers trailed over his cold face. Charlie. Red had never been good with death, and losing someone like this hit hard. What do I tell the others... Red's thoughts were jumbled. Nothing. She thought, I tell them nothing. They already had assumed the worst, and they weren't wrong. They didn't need to go through this.
How had it come to this?
Community members featured in this Chapter:
@Tommy and @Mel
Charlie walked along the uneven path above the beach, stopping to sit at a bench. The moon was covered with a thick haze of fog and the crickets were quiet tonight. He had come to think, unable to sleep. He looked out at the water, the moon's reflection cast over the center. It was beautiful. Charlie inhaled and exhaled long breaths of the cold night air. Chills ran across his spine as images of Jason turned through his brain. Everyone was dangerous. Nothing was safe. Charlie shifted uncomfortably, laying on the bench. The cold wood rubbing against his bare arms. He couldn’t escape the paranoia. He lay quietly, motionless.
His senses were on high alert as he heard movement from behind him. Someone was walking towards him. He slowly pat his right pocket, checking for a weapon. Jason’s ax was still tucked in his belt. Quietly and calmly he reached back for it, pulling it out of confinement. The grass crinkled under their boots as they neared him. Charlie prepared himself for the attack, his muscles ready.
A hand landed on his shoulder as he twisted over, using all his strength to pull the attacker over the bench, their back snapping on impact as they hit the ground. Charlie’s eyes were mad with fear and rage as he lept on top of them. Images of Jason’s smug face riddled his mind as he landed a killing blow, the axe striking strait through his attackers skull. Jason’s dying face appeared in his thoughts. Charlie laughed. Dead. That's how he belonged.
He looked up, pausing in shock. Hazel stood in front of him, her eyes soft and sympathetic. She looked at him with pity. Charlie’s jaw quivered as he stared in awe. “Hazel…” She smiled at him, bending down so they were face to face. Her hand rested on his chin gingerly. Charlie reached for her in a desperate frenzy. His hand passed through her soft face, causing a ripple in her face. She turned away from him, her eyes no longer meeting his. “Hazel-”
He paused mid-sentence as a shooting pain shivered through his body. He turned to see a larger and older boy strangling him and forcing his face into the cold dirt. “You killed her”, he screamed. “You killed her!” His hands pressed more firmly into Charlie’s neck. Charlie gasped for air, turning to Hazel.
“Hazel run,” he spat. But as he searched for her he found the space she once occupied now empty.
Charlie struggled frantically, clawing at his attacker but to no avail. He felt his breath hitch inside of his throat as the pair of hands tightened around his neck. He gasped helplessly, looking towards Jason’s dead body, but no black haired boy lay there. Only a small girl. Her red-like hair sprawled over the grass as blood trickled from her face. Charlie gasped in astonishment his eyes rolling to the back of his skull as he began to lose his vision. Everything became a large fading blur as Charlie felt his breathing become more shallow.
Tom choked the last breaths out of the attacker, his uneven breathing began to shallow as he choked his last breath. His body became limp as Tom stood up, wiping the cold sweat from his face. He turned to Mel’s crumpled body.
She lay motionless, her eyes open in terror. Tom looked back at the strange broot who attacked her. He recognized this boy, from the night his group got split up. Tom scoffed, throwing his backpack off of his shoulders and rummaging through it. The rest of his group would come looking for him. Tom thought, and they’d find his trail. He had to clean his hands. He grabbed the length of rope from the bag, looking toward the tree only yards away.
Tom worked quickly, stringing the boy’s body into the tree.and grabbing Mel, carrying her fragile body. She deserved better, he thought. He have to bury her next to their camp. He shifted, grabbing his bag and looking back at the kid he had killed one last time. His body swayed in the wind. Tom look a deep breath in, turning to walk back to his camp.
A small figure emerged from the shadows. Tom grabbed his knife, clenching his teeth. “Relax” the stranger soothed. “I just wanted to say thank you”. Tom raised an eyebrow. “He was unstable”, she murmured. “And you were able to do what I couldn’t find the strength to do”. Tom stared at the girl in confusion, lost for words. He pocketed his weapon, nodding to her and continuing on his way. Before turning a corner to the path he looked back. The girl made her way through the grass towards the boy’s body slowly. Her voice was a whisper, faint and soft as she sang.
“Are you, are you
Coming to the tree,
They strung up a man
They say who murdered three.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree.
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
Where dead man called out
For his love to flee.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree.”
Community members featured in this Chapter:
@Civil_Rebellion , @HelloColdWorld , @Tommy , @Killerzombie75 , @AngryRena
She cried. She didn’t know what caused this to happen, why the stream of tears started or why they continued. She just knew they came and she let them. Eve rubbed her back soothingly, hushing her. “Kya, are you alright?” She shook her head, sobbing harder. “Kya I can’t help you unless I know what’s wrong.” Kya continued to cry, rubbing her eyes violently, trying her hardest to stop. She hated when she cried. Kya clenched her jaw, her chin resting on her knees. Her eyes were red, dark circles clung to her face just under her eyes. Her face paler than usual. Eve was looking no better. Her clothing was torn and scuffed, hair blown wildly in every direction. Kya grumbled, leaning into Eve. She gave a small smile as Eve’s arms wrapped around her. “Are you ready to talk?”
“Everything hurts,” Kya croaked, “Physically and mentally, I can’t handle this day in and day out.” She turned to Eve, “I miss Tom, and Mel, and Seth,” The tears began to form again, “And Kyle, I miss sleeping and laughing,” She sniffed. “I want to go home.” The tears began to fall again as Eve hushed the small girl.
“We all have people we miss, and I think we all want to go home”, Eve comforted, “but first we have to beat the game, we need to survive”. Eve hugged her newly found friend helplessly, unsure of what else to do. “If it makes you feel better, you could nap right now. The sun is out, it's warm. I can sit on guard while you get your strength back”. Kya shook her head violently in refusal.
“”I can’t sleep”, her eyes looked haunted, “someone is coming for us, I can’t afford to sleep”.
Rena crawled through the thicket quietly, stalking the two boys ahead of her. She pulled out her well crafted dagger, inching forward, listening as they spoke.
“Well I’m honestly glad I bumped into you”, the one said, “I was afraid everyone from the group had… well… you know. Haven’t seen Kya or Seth since that night. But I'm glad to see you're still here, wheres Mel at?”
“She’s gone”, the other rasped, “We were walking at night, and we were going to collect water. Next to the beach there was this boy, I told Mel to just leave him but she insisted on checking on him, to make sure he was okay. The damn ******* attacked her, by the time I got over to her it was too late”.
“I-I’m sorry Tom, I know how much she meant to you”
“Don’t be Kyle, it wasn’t your fault. Infact I killed him, only to find out he was past of that bigger group, you know, the one that split us up”
“Yeah, yeah- so then what? Did they come looking for you?” Kyle asked.
“No, I made it look like a suicide. I didn’t know what else to do. One of his friends confronted me, they’d seen me. But they weren’t mad. Strange group I’ll tell ya that” Tom sneered, his face towards the ground he watched his feet as he walked.
Rena listened intently, Mel? An innocent no doubt. But the boy? Couldn’t have been Jason, he died much earlier. She grinned, they were doing the dirty work for her. She held back a small fit of giggles, they didn’t even need me, she thought, they could all just kill each other on their own. This was just too easy. She crawled forward to the edge of the red brick path. Just one more step. One… Rena rolled out from under the leaves, knocking both of the boys off their feet. One let out a high pitched yelp as they fell to the ground.
Tom had whipped around just before Rena lept at him, holding his arm out in front of himself. Uff, Rena’s breath was knocked out of her body as she collided with his forearm. She let out an angry snarl, reaching her arms out towards Tom’s face, dagger in one hand and clawing with her other.
She was caught by surprise as the second boy came up behind her, grabbing her by the arm and throwing her off of her prey. Rena rolled, landing on her feet and turning to them. She was outnumbered, but they were outarmed. Neither of them seemed to be carrying a weapon. How careless. Rena grabbed out her second dagger, holding one in each hand as she charged at the duo. Tom’s hands caught her wrists, holding her inches away from slicing his cheek. “Takes more than a little brute strength to stop me”, Rena laughed, using her fingers to spin the blades around, plunging them into the british boy’s wrists. Tom screamed, letting go of Rena. She lunged at him once more, daggers shed. A large weight crashed into her left side as she realised Kyle had tackled her to the floor. He yanked his arm back, hand clenching into a fist. Before Rena even saw it coming, Kyle’s knuckles had connected with her face. She felt hot blood well into her right cheek as she struggled from underneath him.
Rena let out a blood curdling cry as Kyle’s fist came crashing down onto her again, hitting her square in the face, A loud crack erupted from her nose as blood began to ooze. Get back in control. Rena wriggled out of Kyle's grasp, kicking at his face. She heard a muffled ugh as her shoe smacked under his chin. She took the chance to spring to her feet, giving Kyle a roundhouse kick as he struggled to stand. He was forced back to the ground on impact.
Rena blossomed, releasing her full potential. She pounced on to Kyle, wheeling her dagger around in her fingers and burying it into his back. He let out a cry of pain. Rena smirked smugly, ready to go in for the death blow with her second dagger.
No sooner than the blade was lifted above her head, a powerful blow knocked the weapon out of her grasp. Her head spun, catching sight of Tom who had fallen, now scrambling to his feet in pursuit of the fallen weapon. “I’ll be back for you”, she spat, pushing Kyle back to the ground, running after Tom. She dove for his feet, clutching his ankles firmly and knocking him off balance, only a few feet away from the unclaimed blade that lay on the smooth brick.
Using only her bare hands, Rena clawed at Tom’s face furiously in an attempt to blind him while she made a run for the dagger. Tom blocked her flailing hands effortlessly, blocking his face with his forearms. Rena thought fast, grabbing Tom by the wrists and grinning as he winced. She dug her thumbs into his wounds. His face showed pure agony. His face scrunched as he pulled away from her. She took her chance, reclaiming her weapon.
She loomed over Tom, casting a dark shadow over his doubled over body. He struggled to look up at her, eyes twitching. “Night night, Tommy”, She laughed, delivering a deadly blow to the chest. She stood over him, watching the life drain from his eyes with enjoyment. She pulled up her communication device, sending a quick message to her only living teammate.
One down.
Rena turned to Kyle, his body drug about a foot or two from where she’d left him, leaving a smeared blood trail. He was crawling, using his upper body strength to pull his body forward. It amused her. She stuck a muddy boot to the back of his head, pinning him to the ground. He let out a soft groan, unable to fight. Rena bent down, pulling the blade from the boy’s back, whispering to him, “Tell Seth and Mel I say hi, okay?”, HIs eyes widened in fear at her words. She raised her dagger once more, embedding it into the back of his neck.
Make that two.
by Civil_Rebellion
I Will be uploading chapters to this thread as they become finished, I will bump the thread after every update. Every chapter will be added as a "spoiler" to prevent making the thread overly long.
Thank you so much to the community members who allowed me to use their names and descriptions as characters, Rena, Kona, Eve, Ari, Aiden, Red, Emma and Hazel. Also thank you to those that I didn't ask but included anyways c: Kyle, Seth, Mel and Tom.
Please Comment your thoughts if you read, constructive criticism and complements are equally appreciated.
Massacre is a story of 15 children, teens and young adults being stuck in a game of cat and mouse. 12 are Innocent players. 3, aren't so innocent. In this fast pace story, it's your job to find out who the murderers are and weed out the Innocents from the not-so-Innocents. You will follow the stories of many different characters, encountering first hand their raw emotions and experiences.
Trigger warnings:
-Death
-Gore
-Suicide
-Depression
General Guidelines to follow;
-If you are commenting on any chapter 3-9, please use the "spoiler" feature, so that other readers don't get upset if you ruin the plot line for them.
-Please don't spam the comments. I don't know why this is so tempting, but please only comment about the story. Don't have a conversation or spam asking me to upload the next chapter, its disrespectful.
-If you want to see another chapter comment or like my comment about the update. This shows me that people are still reading and enjoying my writing.
IF YOU'RE ENJOYING THE STORY PLEASE LEAVE A LIKE
Community members featured in this Chapter:
@Civil_Rebellion , @Fattycat , @Killerzombie75 , @Tommy and @Mel
Kya swept the green strands of hair out of her face and tucked the longer chunk behind her ear. She looked back, Tom and Mel chatted quietly to one another as they trailed behind, in front of them Kyle and Seth who were anxiously trying to keep up with the tri-color haired demon. The air had a frigid chill to it, with wind kissing Kya’s cheek every so often, the cold nipping at her. It was the end of fall, the trees had all set free their crisp leaves to fall to the ground, the once green grass was now turning to a brown and yellow sea of decaying sod and muck. A thin blanket of fog covered the ground softly, swallowing Kya’s boots with every step.
A small crack echoed through the ghost town, as if someone had misstepped and broken a stick. Kya swirled around, bringing up her shiv, eyes darting wildly. Seth stepped back, apologetically revealing a snapped piece of wood from under his shoe. Kya lowered her guard, relaxing slightly to find that her suspicions of being followed were false. “Please watch where you’re stepping Seth” She sighed in annoyance.
“I didn’t mean it, honestly I didn’t”, Seth defended, “I just-”
“My god Seth shut up, it’s like you want to give away our position”, Kya hissed, “The last thing we need is for-”, before she could finish a small makeshift hatchet came flying from the nearby brush, wedging into the wall of the building 2 inches from Kyle’s face. “No, please-” Kya turned to see a group emerging from the shadows behind them. “Please, we’re innocent” She cried, backing away slightly. She couldn't make out faces as they continued to advance.
“Split up”, Kyle cried. Without looking or thinking Kya began to run wildly, arms pumping as she ran past the rows of buildings. She hooked her arms over the side of a broken bridge, hoisting herself over the side. Her feet barely connected with the ground as she rolled under the bridge, heart racing. She slowed her breathing, tucking herself into a ball as she listened tentatively for the sound of footsteps, the only sound was the eerie sound of the bell tower ringing. How did this happen? Kya’s mind was now running on overdrive. Why? What was this? But the questions brought no answers. All she knew was that she was trapped, damned to this game of cat and mouse, and now she was alone. Murderers. Her brain was racing. They were murderers, killing us off one by one. And now the rest of us… running around in paranoia of each other. The thought made Kya sick. They were hunting us for sport.
Community members featured in this Chapter:
@AmazeAiden , @Farenhite - CCBT , @FlowerCrownn , @KonaGeo , @Fattycat and @Hazel
Aiden ran in perusal of the stranger, Red hot on his heals. The two of them chased after the pale skinned, pastel haired girl, following her around every crook and corner she tried to escape to. You’re not getting away that easily. Aiden focused his energy, channeling his breathing at a steady pace. The two watched as the girl disappeared around another corner, her pink hair strands like a flash of color, Aiden pulled his shiv from his pocket. Be brave. He turned the corner in dismay as there was no trace of the girl. Aiden scoffed, out of breath as Red caught up to him.
“Any sign of her?” Red huffed. Aiden shook his head, wiping red strands of hair from his face, arms locked braced on his knees “Man, I thought we might of had a lead”, he panted. Red kneeled down to rest herself, laying against the pale brick of the abandoned cafe. Her eyes rested cooly on Aiden, waiting for a sign of recognition or a response.
“Do you think she was one of them?” Aiden asked. Red shrugged, running her hands through her thick hair. “I mean… if she was, why would she have ran?”
“Out numbered?” Red answered uncertainly. “I don’t know man, there may have been too many of them”.
“No, maybe not all of them, maybe one was blending in…” Aiden found himself trailing off. “Like rats running through the walls of a house”. Aiden paused, standing himself back up and stretching his back. There had to be about 3 of them, he thought. 3 or 4 bad eggs in the mix. 3 or 4 murderers. Aiden glanced back at Red, giving her a small smile. At Least he had one person he knew he could trust. “Come on, the pack will be worried about us. Besides, it’ll be getting dark out soon. If she’s a rat we don’t want to be caught off guard alone out here”.
Red followed closely behind Aiden, ears perked as they carefully made their way back to the town center. Aiden could make out familiar faces of the pack as they approached. Ari and Kona sat coolly at the edge of the gryphon shaped water fountain, chatting to themselves. Charlie and Jason stood nearby, arms crossed as their eyes scanned over the empty town. Kona's face brightened at the sight of Red. Her arm shot up into the air, waving excitedly. “They’re back”, she yelled, standing up to greet them. “Did you catch her?”. Aiden shook his head, Flicking his long hair out of his face.
“How was your luck?” Red asked.
“Ari and I chased after one of them as far as the sandstone huts, lost him at the edge…” Kona sighed, as if disappointed with herself. “I would have followed if it wasn’t such a labyrinth”. Aiden nodded. “Hazel went after the boy and girl, lost them when they climbed up into a tree at the edge of the village”.
“So no luck at all?” Red inquired. Charlie smirked.
“I wouldn't say no luck”, Charlie said smugly. He stepped aside to reveal a young boy who looked to be about 13, sitting on the brick floor. His eyes wide and terrified as he curled into a ball. “Caught him before he could get away”. Aiden walked up to the boy. He flinched as Aiden approached him. Surely this boy wasn’t dangerous. Right?
“What's your name”, Aiden asked, hunching down on his knees to be eye level with the stranger.
“Seth”, he mumbled, putting on a brave face. “If you’re going to kill me just do it”. At his remark Aiden began to laugh.
“I don’t see a reason to”, He said. “You don’t seem too bad”. Seth gave a small smile. It quickly faded as Jason approached.
“Aiden”, Jason snapped. “We don’t know this kid. We can’t trust him”. Aiden scanned the rest of the group. Charlie nodded in agreement with Jason, Kona and Hazel wouldn’t make eye contact.
“Red?”, Aiden asked, looking towards his friend.
“I say we give him a trial run”, Red said evenly. “If he tries anything we don’t hesitate to kill him. But…” Red sat thoughtfully. “I don’t see him being a problem. Seth, was it?” Seth nodded. “I don’t see any harm in increasing our numbers by one”. Seth seemed leery of the idea, his face showed distrust and fear. He must miss his friends. "We should set up camp for the night, whoever is on guard will have to watch Seth as well". Seth frowned at Red. "It's for our own safety, you can't blame us for not trusting an outsider".
“What about the rest of my group”, Seth asked. “They’ll be looking for me”.
“They split up” Charlie replied. “Your group no longer exists”. Aiden thought carefully. It was possible one of the members of his group wasn't trustworthy. Aiden looked over his shoulder at Red. How would he feel if they got split up and Aiden was forced into another group?
“Not to mention we can’t trust them” Added Kona from afar. “I’d say you stick with us for now, it’s not safe to travel alone”.
“Then it’s settled”, Aiden said, standing up. “Welcome to the pack, Seth”.
Community members featured in this Chapter:
@AmazeAiden , @Farenhite - CCBT , @FlowerCrownn , @KonaGeo , @Fattycat and @Hazel
Red grumbled as she felt a small prod on her side. Her eyes opened slightly, taken aback by the bright sunlight that hit her face. It was early morning, the sun was just coming up over the wheat fields at the village border, hitting the large bird-like statue just right, its diamond eyes seemed to wink to her.
Red shifted, turning over to see Hazel’s bright eyes only centimeters from her own. “Morning sleeping beauty”, She giggled. Red gave a half hearted laugh, still trying to shake her tiredness as she sat up, crossing her legs. She stretched for a minute before scanning the group. Aiden was propped against a tree, sleeping with his arms folded, coddling his shiv like a teddy bear almost. Charlie and Jason slept close together, their backs turned to Seth who was curled up in a ball. His legs were tucked to his chest, arms wrapped around to secure them in a cat like manner. “I Just couldn’t stand being the only one awake for another second, Red, I just couldn’t” Hazel whispered harshly. “I tried to wake Kona, but you know how she gets when she’s tired, and Ari almost cut my hand off when I tried to wake her, not to mention I’m not at all brave enough to try waking Jason or Charlie, I just had to wake up someone though or I’d just go nuts, I-”
Red rested a finger on Hazel’s lips. She frowned at Red, sitting back. “For such a shy girl you do an awful lot of talking” Red huffed. Hazel pouted. “Another day, eh?”
“Yeah, guess so” Hazel breathed, swatting Red’s hand. “I'm feeling pretty good about this”. She said confidently. “I think we've really got a shot at surviving this whole mess”. Red smiled back, hiding her own concerns. How could they fight what they couldn't see? Red Stretched her legs before Laying out flat on her back, taking in the details of the large castle like structure that towered over them. The eagle-like skull at the top, beak opened as if screening. It somehow gave her peace. “Red?” Hazel’s voice was a soft whisper. Red grunted. “Do you think I'm annoying”
Red glanced at the girl sitting next to her, “No”.
“Honestly?”, Hazel pressed.
“Honestly, I don't find you annoying” Red chuckled lightheartedly. “You're my friend”. Hazel smiled. Red opened her mouth to say more but stopped short as she heard movement from behind her. She turned to see Aiden stretching. “Morning”, Red shouted. To respond Jason and Charlie also awoke.
“Thanks for waking everyone up” Jason snapped, turning over.
“Not everyone” Charlie groaned, turning his head towards Ari, Kona and Seth. “They could sleep through world war 3”. Hazel laughed at the remark.
It was another hour before the whole group had woken. The sun had just risen over the rooftops, the heat was close to unbearable as the group say under the shade of the nearby trees. Charlie was busy sharpening a makeshift axe with his small wet stone, Jason laid back cooly looking up at the trees, his eyes unblinking. Red shifted uncomfortably, running her hand across her forehead. Her head turned as Aiden came up to her, falling over, his head resting on her lap. He looked up at her, his heterochromia iridium eyes focused on her. “What do you want”, She scoffed, pushing him off onto the grass. “The last thing I need is to be smothered by your body heat”. Aiden pushed Red back playfully.
“Oh shut up” He chuckled. “I’m not that fat”. Red raised an eyebrow challengingly as Aiden cuffed her over the head. “You suck”.
“Then why’d you come to talk to me” She asked.
Aiden leaned in, pulling out a cloth lump from his pocket. “I finished making you a weapon last night on my night shift, it’s not the best but if you get in a tight spot it's better than your fragile little hands” He said in a mocking tone, unwrapping the bundle. The small Dagger consisted of a few twined sticks and a green ore sharpened at one end.
“Thanks” Red answered, taking the small weapon and tossing it in her hands a few times over. “Now that I actually have a weapon you and me should go on a scouting mission”, She said excitedly. “To the lake and back, we could dip our feet in the water for awhile and come back” she continued, “we’ll be back in a hour or two, come on” She got up, about as ungracefully as humanly possible, tripping over her own feet before extending a hand to Aiden. “Come on”. Aiden rolled his eyes reluctantly before joining her, alerting the group of their absence and heading down the red brick trail. Red listened carefully for any sounds that would seem unfamiliar as they came to the small meadow just before the beach. They stopped before entering, Aiden crouched as they paused for a second to scope the area.
"All clear" Aiden sighed in relief. At that, Red took off running, kicking her shoes off into the long grass and splashing into the water. Aiden followed more slowly, taking his shoes off one at a time and setting them on the nearby bench.
They took their time, messing around and slashing water for a while before heading back to camp. It was now high noon. The wind had picked up, giving off a nice breeze as the sun scorched down on them. When they finally returned they were greeted by Charlie.
"Kona was missing you an awful lot Red", Charlie said light heartedly. "Glad you're finally back so I'm not the one having to listen to her". Kona pushed past Charlie, squeezing Red into a bear hug.
Aiden scanned the clearing, catching Ari’s eye.
“Hold on”, Aiden said, “Wheres Jason… and Hazel-”
“And Seth”, Red added, looking around.
“They went to take a drink from the river, Jason didn’t trust Seth alone with Hazel so he went along as an extra precaution”. Charlie replied. “They should be back any minute, they left around the same time as you two”. Red sat thoughtfully. How long did it take to grab a drink and come back? We were gone for quite a few hours… Red subdued her uneasiness. They will be back shortly. She assured herself. Any minute.
Community members featured in this Chapter:
@AmazeAiden , @Farenhite - CCBT , @FlowerCrownn , @KonaGeo , @Fattycat and @Hazel
Charlie paced anxiously along the edge of the elevated brick. The rest of the group sat silently, motionless. Where were they? Charlie looked towards the sky. The sun was going down just behind the sandstone huts, fading away to a full moon. The birds had subsided, the gusts of wind had been subdued to whispers of the wind. Not a single candle light shown through any of the building or shop windows. It was quiet. Jason. Charlie’s mind was far from quiet, streaming possible scenarios through his head rapidly. Something had to have happened. He thought, and someone had to find them. He stopped pacing for a moment, looking towards the group. No laughter came from Kona. Not a word from Aiden or Red. Ari’s eyes were dull, motionless as she stared towards the ground. “That's it”, Charlie could no longer take the silence. “I’m going to find the others, I’ll be back before sundown”.
“It’s too dangerous, it's almost night”, Kona fretted. “They’ll be back” Her voice was shaky and uncertain. “They’re going to be back. Any minute now they’ll come”. Charlie shook his head. “Please, we don’t need to lose you too”.
“You won’t” Charlie insisted. “I’ll be back. If i haven’t found them before the sun hits the tops of those trees I’ll head back”. His voice quivered slightly. What if he didn’t make it back? “I’m sure they just took a wrong turn or something, I’ll have them back here in no time”. No one else from the pack tried to object, knowing how close Charlie was to Jason and Hazel. Jason was like a brother to him. And Hazel… Charlie felt his heart leap. Hazel was special.
Aiden gave Charlie a pat on the back before he left, handing him the shiv he’d been working at. “You can have it” He said. “You’ll need it more than me”. Charlie nodded.
“Look after them”, Charlie whispered. Aiden looked over his shoulder, back at the remaining group. He nodded in understatement, giving Charlie a small smile before he left to sit back with the others.
Charlie traveled lightly, only bringing Aiden’s shiv and an energy bar he stuffed in his pocket. His movements were fast without being sloppy as he twisted in between buildings, his black converse gliding quietly over the red bricks. He moved like a shadow, ears perked as he began to hear the sound of the running water. He was close. Charlie slipped in between two buildings, squeezing himself through the narrow alleyway and popping out the other end, rolling onto the soft grass of the riverbank.
He scanned the area around him, seeing no sign of any of his friends. Charlie paused to listen, hearing a faint groan from the left.
He advanced cautiously, staying low. His legs trembled as he rounded the corner. He was terrified of what could await him. Be brave. Charlie peered around the edge of the building. There was something laying in the grass making the awful noises. Not something, Charlie thought, someone. He stood up slowly, inching toward what lay in the grass in front of him. As he began to come closer he was able to make out a familiar face. “Hazel”, Charlie’s lip quivered as he spoke. Her eyes gazed up at him. His mind went into shock as he looked down at her. Blood was dripping from her mouth, rolling down her cheek and onto the grass. Her eyes were dull and faded, opened only ever so slightly. Her hands clutched her right side, covering a large maroon stain that bled through her shirt. Charlie’s mouth trembled for words but none came to mind. None that could sum up the situation that lay in front of him. Hazel’s hands moved, reaching out for him, her fingertips glistening with red. He swallowed his breath. “What- What happened”, Charlie choked.
“Murderer”, Hazel whispered, coughing up blood as she tried to speak. “He can’t be trusted” Her breath was raspy and shallow. “Charlie…” Her eyes began to water, lips trembling and wet as she began choking back sobs. Charlie leaned over, embarrassing her. “Charlie I’m scared”, her voice was faint. He held her harder, closing his eyes tightly as tears began to form.
“You’ll be fine”, He sniffed, pulling away. “I’m going to carry you back, I’ll get help. Kona can look after you and everything will be just fine”, he said softly, his voice vibrating. “You’ll be okay” He whispered. “You’ll be okay”.
Hazel shook her head slowly. “You need to get out of here before he comes back” she rasped. “Charlie you have to go”. He shook his head. “Charlie please” she cried, “you have to go back, now”.
“I can't leave without you” Charlie defended. "I still need you".
"Charlie you have to protect the others, you need to tell them who one of them are" she said faintly, "you can no longer trust him"
"Him?" Charlie repeated. "Who's him? Seth? Hazel- was it Seth?" Charlie's heart beat quickened. "Did he do this to you?". Hazel opened her mouth to answer but her lips no longer moved. The color in her eyes faded and her body relaxed. The hand Charlie had been holding was now limp. Charlie's emotion quickly switched from sorrowful to angry. He could feel his blood begin to boil. Seth. His mind was racing a mile a minute. Seth would pay for this.
Community members featured in this Chapter:
@Fattycat
Jason paced his breathing, keeping his endurance up. His lungs burned inside him. His body was on fire with every step. Every inch of his body was telling him to stop, to slow down. He couldn't. He didn't have a choice. Run.
His arms pumped furiously at his sides as he ran in perusal of Seth. He was getting closer with every stride. His nostrils flared as he furiously inhaled oxygen. Do not let him get back to the group. Do not let him get back to the group. Jason repeated this in his head. It gave him the motivation to keep going. Keep running. Keep chasing. Seth looked back at Jason as he ran, his eyes wide and full of terror. Good.
Seth turned another corner. Jason followed. Now only a few feet away. Jason reached an arm out, his hand barely skimming the hood of Seth's sweatshirt. Almost. Jason felt his legs fly beneath him, as if they didn't even touch the ground. He had to catch him. Jason watched as Seth turned another corner sharply, throwing himself off balance. Now I’ve got you. Jason followed, reaching out for him and tackling Seth to the ground. End of the line. Jason twisted his right arm back, grabbing his stone ax from his rear pocket. “You better hope you have nine lives kitty boy”, Jason snarled. He raised the blade above his head.
Seth acted quickly, grabbing Jason’s arm and filling him over so that he was the one pinned to the ground. Jason screamed in anger, lunging his hand forward to drive the sharp rock into Seth’s chest. Seth blocked the attack, grabbing Jason by the wrist and banging it against the stone bricks. Jason yelped in pain as his hand began to bleed. Seth used all the strength he could muster to keep his attacker pinned down, struggling for control over the ax. Jason screeched in frustration, trying to overpower Seth. No. No. No. Jason thought, this was not how it was supposed to happen. Jason struggled under Seth but to no avail. He was trapped. His heartbeat quickened.
“Just do it” Jason hissed, dropping the axe. “Do it, Seth” he said smugly. Seth scrambled for the axe, clutching it securely. He raised the axe, glaring down at Jason. “Go ahead” Jason laughed, “Do your worst”. Seth hesitated a moment too long, looking down at the boy. Jason took his chance, flipping Seth onto his back and pinning him back down. The two struggled for control of the weapon, clawing at each other relentlessly. “I killed Hazel and I’ll be damned if I don’t kill you too” Jason screeched, knocking the axe from Seth’s hand. The stone weapon skid across the bricks out of reach from either of them.
“She was your friend”, Seth yelled. “How could you do this to them”. His voice was shaking with anger and fear. “You killed your own friend. How crazy are you”.
Jason smirked, laughing as he attempted to choke Seth. “Crazy enough to kill you”.
Community members featured in this Chapter:
@Fattycat and @IMysticallPanda/Llama
Charlie ran past every building, double taking at every alley. He had to have run somewhere, He thought, he couldn't have run far. His mind ran along with him. What about Jason? Was he safe? Had Seth killed him too? His eyes flashed from left to right frantically. There had to be something, someone. Anything.
Charlie rounded a corner, seeing a glimpse of two people fighting before tripping, falling face first into the stone bricks, scratching his cheek. Blood trickled from his face as he braced himself, shaking his head. A pair of hands grabbed him, pulling him back behind a stack of crates. Charlie let out a scream, only to have it muffled by a pair of hands clasping over his mouth. “Shut up”, a female voice whispered harshly, “you're going to give us away”. Charlie look around frantically, his eyes resting on a soft pale face. “Are you going to be quiet now?” She hissed. Charlie nodded as her hands slid away. “The names Emma”, she whispered. “You're lucky I stopped you when I did”.
“What do you mean”, Charlie mumbled, wiping his cheek. “What the hell was that for”. Charlie stumbled to stand up but Emma pulled him back down.
“Are you crazy?” She spat in a hushed tone. “Unless you want to become dog meat too you should stay put”. Charlie gave the blonde girl a quizzical stare before she motioned for him to come closer. “Someone's being attacked over there” she whispered. “I'd help if I was so scared honestly” She blushed, rubbing the back of her neck. “Cold feet”. Charlie looked over the wooden bins, catching a glimpse of the tussle. He watched as the two scrambled over each other, struggling for power. Then it hit him. That was Jason. His fists clenched at his sides. And Seth. Charlie grabbed his weapon, standing up. Emma tried to pull him back once more but he shrugged her off.
“What are you doing” she hissed.
“Saving my teammate” He whispered, stepping out from behind his cover cooly. He watched as Jason punched Seth in the stomach, hearing the uff from Seth as he lost his breath. Jason scrambled away, grabbing a weapon from a few feet away. Charlie took a deep breath in. This was it. A blurred image of Hazel’s fading body crept across his mind. The vision of her soft hair in the grass, her hands relaxed. As if she were napping. Charlie felt a sharp tug in his chest. This is for you.
Seth had pinned Jason, reaching for his axe. Charlie took a deep breath, running into the open street. He shoved Seth off of Jason, screaming as he easily pinned him down. “you filthy stinking rat” Charlie spat, “How could you, we trusted you!!” Seth wriggled under Charlie's grasp helplessly. “This is for Hazel” He whispered. Seth struggled for words as Charlie held him by the neck.
Charlie felt a sharp prod on either side of him. He looked over his shoulder to see Emma pulling him back. “Stop” She cried. “What are you doing”. Charlie shook her off easily, turning back to Seth. “Stop, please” she cried. Charlie ignored her, raising his dagger and plunging it into Seth’s chest. He felt the smaller boy gasp from under him. His eyes were wide with panic. “He's not the one you have to worry about” Emma screamed, her hands clasped over her mouth, “what have you done”.
Charlie looked at her, his eyes wild. “He was innocent” She sobbed. Charlie opened his mouth to challenge her but cut short as Jason leapt at her, his eyes hazed and his weapon raised. Emma let out a horrid cry of terror. Charlie looked down at the small boy below him. Seth’s eyes had relaxed, his face in a small smile as he looked up at Charlie, almost in a mocking manner. “Hope you can sleep at night knowing you killed me for no damn reason” he laughed, clutching his chest. Charlie turned to Emma again, watching as Jason struggled over her.
“Jason, no” Charlie yelled for his friend to stop but he didn't listen. “Jason, she's not a threat, please just trust me” he yelled once more. Jason didn't even turn to acknowledge him as he grew closer and closer to slitting the defenseless girl’s throat. Charlie panicked for a moment, hesitant to interfere. Was Emma telling the truth? Was Seth not to blame? He watched as Emma continued to lose ground. He didn't have time to be thinking. Charlie took one last glance at Seth's body. I'm sorry.
Charlie got up running at Jason and tackling him to the ground. Jason snarled, clawing at Charlie as he lost his grip on his weapon, letting it fall to the ground. Emma scrambled from where she lay, grabbing Jason’s weapon and standing back. “Charlie let me go” He screamed, kicking with all of his might. “Charlie, she's the murderer, she's been conspiring with Seth. Please, you're my friend” He sobbed. Charlie looked away, unable to see his friend in this state.
“I want to help you Jason, I really do” Charlie choked.
“Then let me go, I can change” Jason pleaded. Charlie looked over at Emma as she shook her head. He looked back at Jason, his entire face crazed and frantic. Charlie swelled hard. He knew what he had to do.
“You killed Hazel” Charlie retorted. “You can change what you do in the future but you can never take back the past”. He looked away. “Goodbye, Jason”, Charlie whispered, raising his sharp weapon. Jason gave out a blood curdling scream, using every last ounce of his energy to struggle from Charlie's grasp. The shiv stuck into Jason easily, like a butter knife to butter.
Jason chuckled, mustering his last words from his throat. “You'll never be safe” he laughed, his head sinking. “one down”, he croaked. “Two more to go”.
Community members featured in this Chapter:
@Civil_Rebellion , @HelloColdWorld , @AmazeAiden , @Farenhite - CCBT , @FlowerCrownn , @KonaGeo and @IMysticallPanda/Llama
Kya ran blindly through the night air, hopping through windows and balancing on balcony railings, keeping herself above the ground. Her new found companion, Eve, followed swiftly behind. They were quick and silent, slipping through the night. Undetected. Unseen. Unheard. Kya leached her arms out, grabbing a horizontal flagpole that stuck out from the shop building. Her hands grasped the pole firmly as she propelled herself forward, landing on the roof of the neighboring building. She slumped down, sitting on the steep orange shingles as Eve caught up to her. They sat in silence, listening to the desperate chirping of the crickets at night. In a sense it was soothing. Although Kya would never pass up complete silence, she enjoyed the comfort of the noise. Nothing was too quiet. Too quiet was too suspicious.
Eve motioned to Kya, pulling her closely. “Do we stay here for the night?” She whispered. “Or do we keep going?”. Kya sat thoughtfully. She glanced at their surroundings. Though she doubted anyone would fine them up here in the first place. “Well?”. Kya nodded to Eve slightly, laying back and shivering as the cool material of the roof chilled her. Eve sank back as well, laying on her side to face Kya. She preferred to be alone. But Eve couldn’t fight the obvious logic of having someone to cover your back in a tight spot.
It was a reluctant alliance, both preferring to be independent and untrusting but none the less they followed one another day by day. Watching. Listening.
---
It had been two days since Charlie returned with Emma. He had explained the situation, then tried convincing the group to accept Emma as one of their own. It took convincing now that the pack was leery of one another. Jason’s unknown betrayal of the group struck hard, leaving a non vanishing wound in the trust of the pack, a never healing wound that would scar for the remainder of their journey through the lost city. Red could tell that the Jason incident impacted Charlie the most. She felt a pang of sympathy for the older boy who now sat alone where he and Jason had once sat together, sharing jokes and laughter. Oh and Hazel. Red bit her lip to hold back any tears that tried slipping past. Poor Charlie.
Everyone in the Pack other than Hazel herself had seen the way Charlie acted around her. The way his head would tilt, eyes focused as he would intently sit and listen to her every word. The urgency that you could see in his face as he hung onto everything she told him, straining himself to remember word for word everything the pretty brunette shared with him. She smiled faintly as she remembered the way Charlie would look as Hazel walked away to go chat with Kona and Ari, the shade of red in his face as Jason would slide over and whisper unknown things into his ear.
But now it was different. He sat, legs folded to his chest. His eyes connected with a brick he had picked out. His eyes trailed along the edges of the stone, taking in every grain of sand stuck in between the cracks. Red sighed knowing he would no longer be the same Charlie they once knew. Red felt chills creep along her spine as a hand slid along her back. She turned to see Ari, her face was still and quiet as she rubbed Red’s back comfortingly.
“Aiden has promised to try talking to him tomorrow”, Ari spoke softly. “He said Charlie won’t be able to keep his strength up if he continues to refuse his share of the rations”. Red felt as though a small demon-like creature were toying with her heart, running around and causing a muck. Trying different strings and cutting out parts that she needed.It was a truly sickening feeling.
She turned to Ari, grateful for the company. “Hazel would know what to do”, Red grumbled, leaning on Ari. “This isn’t fair”. She looked up at Ari, snuggling into her. “Do you think there's someone still out there” She asked, more hushed. Ari looked up at the sky, tracing the stars that hung above them.
“Yes”. She replied softly, “There are others as strong as us that must still be alive”. Her answer calmed Red. “Can’t stand to see Charlie like this”, She murmured, changing the topic. “I hate seeing him in such pain. It’s almost painful to watch him”, She whispered, “I hope he finds peace tonight”.
Community members featured in this Chapter:
@AmazeAiden , @Farenhite - CCBT , @FlowerCrownn , @KonaGeo and @IMysticallPanda/Llama
Red awoke abruptly, flailing her arms and taking a deep, gasping breath of air as she snapped out of her nightmare. Her eyes shifted around the camp accusingly. A dream. She assured herself, it was only a dream. Images of the vivid reality replayed through her head. The Shadow, the knife… the body. It all had felt so real. She rested her hand on the back of her neck, breathing in. It's not real. Red blinked twice, adjusting to the light. It was barely even sunrise. The sun hadn’t yet hit the head of the Griffin fountain. She rubbed her eyes. Can’t try to sleep again after that.
Red looked around sheepishly for whoever was on guard. Her eyes landed on Ari who was sitting on top of a ledge, looking out into the nearby field. Red yawned and stretched before getting up to join her friend. Red pulled herself up on the ledge just as Ari turned to see her.
"Good morning", she rasped, her eyes tired and soft. "Sleep well?"
“No… not exactly”, Red trailed off. Ari rested her eyes on Red understandingly. “It was the dream again…”
“The one you had last night? The same one?”, Red nodded. “Man”, Ari sighed, “Red, I’m sorry”. Red smiled, resting her head on Ari’s shoulder.
They sat like this in silence. As they did often. Silence was a luxury. A peaceful era .An omen .One by one the rest of the Pack awoke. Emma and Kona were the first to rise. They were easily detectable, the way they tried their best to whisper. Their muffled, whispering shouts at one another. They’d grow very fond of one another, Red thought. Emma was fitting into the group perfectly.
Shortly after Red noticed Aiden getting up as well. She frowned momentarily. She began counting the Pack. One, two, three... Someone was missing. Charlie. Red counted again, feeling an uneasiness build up in her throat. “Guys has anyone seen Charlie”. Red scanned the area frantically. “Who saw him last, does anyone know where he’d go?” She asked hopefully. Everyone glanced at one another, then looking towards the ground, shifting uncomfortably.
Ari gave a loud sigh, looking towards Red. “I think we all know what happened…” Ari murmured, trailing off. Red shook her head vigorously.
“No, we have to go find him, what if he got lost or something happened to him? What if someone grabbed him during the night and just hauled him away” Red’s voice cracked as she rambled defensively. Red looked back down at the others. Aiden gave her a doubtful look, shaking his head. “You guys can’t just give up on him like this, he would never-” Her voice hitched, unable to finish the sentence.
“Red”, Ari whispered comfortingly, “sometimes you just- you’ve gotta accept the facts. He wouldn’t want us to find him. And if we did… think about what you’d see”. Ari’s voice was firm. “He wouldn’t want you to have to see him like that”. She grabbed Red, pulling her into a hug. “It’s for the best if we don’t go looking”.
Red nodded, feeling the tears beginning to well up in her eyes.
The afternoon was painstakingly quiet. No one said much. There was nothing to be said. Red laid across the brim of the fountain, her hair falling over the ledge. She felt chills tingle up her spine as Kona brushed her fingers through her hair. She sat. Thinking. Everything was running through her mind. Like a hurricane of thought. Yet it never quite seemed to connect to anything logical. Only outstretched theories and curiosity surrounding Charlie. Something had to have happened to him. She thought, he wouldn’t leave them like this. Not after he felt what it was like to lose a teammate. He wouldn’t put the rest of the Pack through that again.
Red shifted, sitting up and combing her hair behind her ear with her fingers. She had to know. Red gave a small smile of acknowledgement to Kona before walking out towards the beach.
Before she even made it to the outskirts of the town square Ari caught her. “Red, I’m telling you now so that you don’t come whining later, whatever is out there that you think you’ll find… you won’t. You and I both know what you’re going to find if you go out there”. In a more hushed tone she whispered, “remember what happened when Charlie went looking for Hazel…”. Red choked back tears as she tried pushing past Ari. “please don’t do this to yourself”, Ari begged. She took a firm grasp on Red’s hand as she tried to push past. Red stopped shortly. She gazed at her friend who was watching her hopelessly.
Before Ari could object anymore Red pulled away, running. Just running. She didn't know where she was going. Or what she was looking for but she was determined to find it.
But when she did find it. She regretted her decision.
There he was. Almost as if he were flying. Charlie’s ragdoll body weighed down the branch of the oak tree. His feet only inches from the ground. Red clasped her hands around her mouth as she let out a sobbing scream.
She looked on in shock and terror at what lay before her. She swallowed her feelings, grasping the rope and hacking the line from the tree. There was a thud as the heap fell to the ground. She took a deep breath, covering her mouth, her fingers trembling as she gazed at Charlie's rumpled body. Ari had been right. Red felt hot tears roll down her face as she let out heaving sobs.
Her fingers trailed over his cold face. Charlie. Red had never been good with death, and losing someone like this hit hard. What do I tell the others... Red's thoughts were jumbled. Nothing. She thought, I tell them nothing. They already had assumed the worst, and they weren't wrong. They didn't need to go through this.
How had it come to this?
Community members featured in this Chapter:
@Tommy and @Mel
Charlie walked along the uneven path above the beach, stopping to sit at a bench. The moon was covered with a thick haze of fog and the crickets were quiet tonight. He had come to think, unable to sleep. He looked out at the water, the moon's reflection cast over the center. It was beautiful. Charlie inhaled and exhaled long breaths of the cold night air. Chills ran across his spine as images of Jason turned through his brain. Everyone was dangerous. Nothing was safe. Charlie shifted uncomfortably, laying on the bench. The cold wood rubbing against his bare arms. He couldn’t escape the paranoia. He lay quietly, motionless.
His senses were on high alert as he heard movement from behind him. Someone was walking towards him. He slowly pat his right pocket, checking for a weapon. Jason’s ax was still tucked in his belt. Quietly and calmly he reached back for it, pulling it out of confinement. The grass crinkled under their boots as they neared him. Charlie prepared himself for the attack, his muscles ready.
A hand landed on his shoulder as he twisted over, using all his strength to pull the attacker over the bench, their back snapping on impact as they hit the ground. Charlie’s eyes were mad with fear and rage as he lept on top of them. Images of Jason’s smug face riddled his mind as he landed a killing blow, the axe striking strait through his attackers skull. Jason’s dying face appeared in his thoughts. Charlie laughed. Dead. That's how he belonged.
He looked up, pausing in shock. Hazel stood in front of him, her eyes soft and sympathetic. She looked at him with pity. Charlie’s jaw quivered as he stared in awe. “Hazel…” She smiled at him, bending down so they were face to face. Her hand rested on his chin gingerly. Charlie reached for her in a desperate frenzy. His hand passed through her soft face, causing a ripple in her face. She turned away from him, her eyes no longer meeting his. “Hazel-”
He paused mid-sentence as a shooting pain shivered through his body. He turned to see a larger and older boy strangling him and forcing his face into the cold dirt. “You killed her”, he screamed. “You killed her!” His hands pressed more firmly into Charlie’s neck. Charlie gasped for air, turning to Hazel.
“Hazel run,” he spat. But as he searched for her he found the space she once occupied now empty.
Charlie struggled frantically, clawing at his attacker but to no avail. He felt his breath hitch inside of his throat as the pair of hands tightened around his neck. He gasped helplessly, looking towards Jason’s dead body, but no black haired boy lay there. Only a small girl. Her red-like hair sprawled over the grass as blood trickled from her face. Charlie gasped in astonishment his eyes rolling to the back of his skull as he began to lose his vision. Everything became a large fading blur as Charlie felt his breathing become more shallow.
---
Tom choked the last breaths out of the attacker, his uneven breathing began to shallow as he choked his last breath. His body became limp as Tom stood up, wiping the cold sweat from his face. He turned to Mel’s crumpled body.
She lay motionless, her eyes open in terror. Tom looked back at the strange broot who attacked her. He recognized this boy, from the night his group got split up. Tom scoffed, throwing his backpack off of his shoulders and rummaging through it. The rest of his group would come looking for him. Tom thought, and they’d find his trail. He had to clean his hands. He grabbed the length of rope from the bag, looking toward the tree only yards away.
Tom worked quickly, stringing the boy’s body into the tree.and grabbing Mel, carrying her fragile body. She deserved better, he thought. He have to bury her next to their camp. He shifted, grabbing his bag and looking back at the kid he had killed one last time. His body swayed in the wind. Tom look a deep breath in, turning to walk back to his camp.
A small figure emerged from the shadows. Tom grabbed his knife, clenching his teeth. “Relax” the stranger soothed. “I just wanted to say thank you”. Tom raised an eyebrow. “He was unstable”, she murmured. “And you were able to do what I couldn’t find the strength to do”. Tom stared at the girl in confusion, lost for words. He pocketed his weapon, nodding to her and continuing on his way. Before turning a corner to the path he looked back. The girl made her way through the grass towards the boy’s body slowly. Her voice was a whisper, faint and soft as she sang.
“Are you, are you
Coming to the tree,
They strung up a man
They say who murdered three.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree.
Are you, are you
Coming to the tree?
Where dead man called out
For his love to flee.
Strange things did happen here
No stranger would it be
If we met at midnight
In the hanging tree.”
Community members featured in this Chapter:
@Civil_Rebellion , @HelloColdWorld , @Tommy , @Killerzombie75 , @AngryRena
She cried. She didn’t know what caused this to happen, why the stream of tears started or why they continued. She just knew they came and she let them. Eve rubbed her back soothingly, hushing her. “Kya, are you alright?” She shook her head, sobbing harder. “Kya I can’t help you unless I know what’s wrong.” Kya continued to cry, rubbing her eyes violently, trying her hardest to stop. She hated when she cried. Kya clenched her jaw, her chin resting on her knees. Her eyes were red, dark circles clung to her face just under her eyes. Her face paler than usual. Eve was looking no better. Her clothing was torn and scuffed, hair blown wildly in every direction. Kya grumbled, leaning into Eve. She gave a small smile as Eve’s arms wrapped around her. “Are you ready to talk?”
“Everything hurts,” Kya croaked, “Physically and mentally, I can’t handle this day in and day out.” She turned to Eve, “I miss Tom, and Mel, and Seth,” The tears began to form again, “And Kyle, I miss sleeping and laughing,” She sniffed. “I want to go home.” The tears began to fall again as Eve hushed the small girl.
“We all have people we miss, and I think we all want to go home”, Eve comforted, “but first we have to beat the game, we need to survive”. Eve hugged her newly found friend helplessly, unsure of what else to do. “If it makes you feel better, you could nap right now. The sun is out, it's warm. I can sit on guard while you get your strength back”. Kya shook her head violently in refusal.
“”I can’t sleep”, her eyes looked haunted, “someone is coming for us, I can’t afford to sleep”.
---
Rena crawled through the thicket quietly, stalking the two boys ahead of her. She pulled out her well crafted dagger, inching forward, listening as they spoke.
“Well I’m honestly glad I bumped into you”, the one said, “I was afraid everyone from the group had… well… you know. Haven’t seen Kya or Seth since that night. But I'm glad to see you're still here, wheres Mel at?”
“She’s gone”, the other rasped, “We were walking at night, and we were going to collect water. Next to the beach there was this boy, I told Mel to just leave him but she insisted on checking on him, to make sure he was okay. The damn ******* attacked her, by the time I got over to her it was too late”.
“I-I’m sorry Tom, I know how much she meant to you”
“Don’t be Kyle, it wasn’t your fault. Infact I killed him, only to find out he was past of that bigger group, you know, the one that split us up”
“Yeah, yeah- so then what? Did they come looking for you?” Kyle asked.
“No, I made it look like a suicide. I didn’t know what else to do. One of his friends confronted me, they’d seen me. But they weren’t mad. Strange group I’ll tell ya that” Tom sneered, his face towards the ground he watched his feet as he walked.
Rena listened intently, Mel? An innocent no doubt. But the boy? Couldn’t have been Jason, he died much earlier. She grinned, they were doing the dirty work for her. She held back a small fit of giggles, they didn’t even need me, she thought, they could all just kill each other on their own. This was just too easy. She crawled forward to the edge of the red brick path. Just one more step. One… Rena rolled out from under the leaves, knocking both of the boys off their feet. One let out a high pitched yelp as they fell to the ground.
Tom had whipped around just before Rena lept at him, holding his arm out in front of himself. Uff, Rena’s breath was knocked out of her body as she collided with his forearm. She let out an angry snarl, reaching her arms out towards Tom’s face, dagger in one hand and clawing with her other.
She was caught by surprise as the second boy came up behind her, grabbing her by the arm and throwing her off of her prey. Rena rolled, landing on her feet and turning to them. She was outnumbered, but they were outarmed. Neither of them seemed to be carrying a weapon. How careless. Rena grabbed out her second dagger, holding one in each hand as she charged at the duo. Tom’s hands caught her wrists, holding her inches away from slicing his cheek. “Takes more than a little brute strength to stop me”, Rena laughed, using her fingers to spin the blades around, plunging them into the british boy’s wrists. Tom screamed, letting go of Rena. She lunged at him once more, daggers shed. A large weight crashed into her left side as she realised Kyle had tackled her to the floor. He yanked his arm back, hand clenching into a fist. Before Rena even saw it coming, Kyle’s knuckles had connected with her face. She felt hot blood well into her right cheek as she struggled from underneath him.
Rena let out a blood curdling cry as Kyle’s fist came crashing down onto her again, hitting her square in the face, A loud crack erupted from her nose as blood began to ooze. Get back in control. Rena wriggled out of Kyle's grasp, kicking at his face. She heard a muffled ugh as her shoe smacked under his chin. She took the chance to spring to her feet, giving Kyle a roundhouse kick as he struggled to stand. He was forced back to the ground on impact.
Rena blossomed, releasing her full potential. She pounced on to Kyle, wheeling her dagger around in her fingers and burying it into his back. He let out a cry of pain. Rena smirked smugly, ready to go in for the death blow with her second dagger.
No sooner than the blade was lifted above her head, a powerful blow knocked the weapon out of her grasp. Her head spun, catching sight of Tom who had fallen, now scrambling to his feet in pursuit of the fallen weapon. “I’ll be back for you”, she spat, pushing Kyle back to the ground, running after Tom. She dove for his feet, clutching his ankles firmly and knocking him off balance, only a few feet away from the unclaimed blade that lay on the smooth brick.
Using only her bare hands, Rena clawed at Tom’s face furiously in an attempt to blind him while she made a run for the dagger. Tom blocked her flailing hands effortlessly, blocking his face with his forearms. Rena thought fast, grabbing Tom by the wrists and grinning as he winced. She dug her thumbs into his wounds. His face showed pure agony. His face scrunched as he pulled away from her. She took her chance, reclaiming her weapon.
She loomed over Tom, casting a dark shadow over his doubled over body. He struggled to look up at her, eyes twitching. “Night night, Tommy”, She laughed, delivering a deadly blow to the chest. She stood over him, watching the life drain from his eyes with enjoyment. She pulled up her communication device, sending a quick message to her only living teammate.
One down.
Rena turned to Kyle, his body drug about a foot or two from where she’d left him, leaving a smeared blood trail. He was crawling, using his upper body strength to pull his body forward. It amused her. She stuck a muddy boot to the back of his head, pinning him to the ground. He let out a soft groan, unable to fight. Rena bent down, pulling the blade from the boy’s back, whispering to him, “Tell Seth and Mel I say hi, okay?”, HIs eyes widened in fear at her words. She raised her dagger once more, embedding it into the back of his neck.
Make that two.
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Keep up the great work!