He is hanging onto the side of the truck as it is still moving. “It’s dangerous to be here, little girl, watch out!” He cackles as he lets go and stares at us until we are out of sight.
“What the hell! Do they all do that? I mean to just jump out and—”
“Hey!” A guy with bolts sticking out of his neck appears.
“SHIT!” He laughs and moves to touch my hair. “Jake!” I shrink down trying to escape this crazy person. I hear laughing. I look up, and my knight in shining armor is in stitches. I smack his chest. “Don’t worry I’ll protect you,” I say in a mocking voice. “Asshat.” I sit up straight, needing to have full range of vision. “It’s okay; they’re not real. They’re not real. They’re not—”
“I’m real!”
“Ahhhhhh!” A damn zombie snuck up on me when I was trying to fucking meditate. Is nothing sacred?! “I am too much of a wuss for this shit.” I sit up on my knees trying to see the end. “I just want to be home in my leggings, on the couch, drinking a pumpkin spice latte.”
All of a sudden there are loud clanging noises and the wagon comes to an abrupt stop. I fly forward landing face first into the hay. “What the hell is going on now?!”
“Sorry, y’all, seems my tractor done broke down.” The driver is standing and facing us.
“No the fuck it didn’t! Fix this shit now!” Everyone around me is laughing, but I fail to see what’s funny. Then I remember what Sam said in the car. They all knew this shit was going to break down. “Screw all of you bastards. I’m not getting out of this damn wagon.”
Jake touches my arm. “If we don’t move soon they’ll get us.” He points behind me.
I turn around squinting in the dim light and see a shitload of demons, murderers, and just crazy ass people coming toward us.
“I hate you guys!”
I scream before jumping out of the damn wagon and running away.
Chapter Thirteen
Nina
Fuck this shit! I am running trying to ignore every damn sound until I hear crying. A girl is sitting on the side of the trail in the fetal position. I can’t see what she is wearing but she has blood dripping down her leg.
“Oh my God. Are you okay?” I approach her slowly. She doesn’t answer and I make a move to touch her arm and let her know I’m here to help. Just then she grabs my wrist tightly and looks up at me. She’s one of them! Blood is dripping from a bullet wound in her head. She crooks her head at me and stares.
“Oh shit!” I start to pull my hand free, once I do, I lose my balance and land ass first in the mud. Of course! Jake has caught up to me and grabs my hand to help me up, he’s still laughing. “I hate you.” I start to walk away from him when someone jumps out of a bush. “Holy crap!” I take cover behind Jake and now everyone is laughing. “Can we just get through this shit? I can see the damn end of the woods right there.” I try to take solace in the fact that this is almost over. Then I hear it, the sound of a chainsaw. I slowly turn around. It’s Jason!
I sprint. I’m done. I need a safe haven, a base, a timeout. My legs are burning from my workout earlier and I really don’t know how much farther they will carry me. I run until my legs collapse on the grass field outside of the woods. I’m panting and I swear to God I will never do this shit again. It’s good though. It’s over. Everyone else catches up.
“You ready for the last one, girl?” Sam winks at me as she and Hunter walk by me. Last one? Last one what?
Jake picks me up once more and wraps one of his arms around me. “Almost over.” He places a kiss on my forehead. Almost? I look at where everyone is heading and there is a creepy barn ahead. You have got to be shitting me. When we get to the doors, everyone insists Jake and I go first. I start to protest but he walks forward. I follow not wanting to do this shit alone. The barn opens up to a narrow, dimly lit hallway with strobe lights flashing. At least Jake is in front of me, maybe they will focus on him.
We turn a corner and someone jumps out. “Jesus! Stop! Just stop it!” I scream at them and Jakes laughter sounds once more. Glad he is enjoying this shit so much.
Sam and Jules keep yelling to me and seeing if I’m okay. All of a sudden, a creepy voice is right next to my ear. “Stay here, Nina, stay with us.
I scream and slam myself against the opposite wall. It said my name! It must have heard Sam and Jules. Those bitches. “Jake, please go faster.” My arms are wrapped around his waist and my head buried in his back. They are jumping out and even though I can’t see them I hear them, they still elicit a scream from me.
We finally reach the exit and I see the parking lot. I collapse on the cement wanting to kiss the damn ground. My breathing is heavy as I try to regain some composure.
“Hello!” A voice screams in my ear.
I let out a screech and fall back on to the ground. Holy shit, I just peed myself. Oh my God! I don’t think I could be anymore embarrassed. I look over at the guy doing a crab walk toward me. Jumping up, I sprint to the car and don’t relax until I’m leaning against the cold exterior.
Never. Fucking. Again.
I can’t believe I peed myself! I look down examining that there is no evidence visible. At least it wasn’t enough to go through my pants. I need a bottle of wine, STAT. Sleeping tonight is out of the question. Sam comes toward me. “You get away from me, you evil whore! We are not friends.”
“Aw! You made it though, everything is good now.” She hugs me.
“You all suck.” I hear the locks click and I open the door and sit down. Jake gets in and looks over at me trying to hold back his huge smile. “You just drive, buddy. You threw me to the damn wolves.”
He reaches over and hugs me, placing a kiss on my lips, I respond by biting his bottom lip.
“Shit. You turning into a damn vampire? I might be into that.” He laughs before starting the car and driving out of the lot.
We drop off Hunter and Sam, then go in the opposite way of my apartment. “Where are we going?”
“I thought we could grab a bite to eat.”
“I’m not hungry.” That and I need a shower.
“Well, I am.” He takes my hand and I decide that arguing with him would be pointless. Although all I really want to do is go home, there is no way I am telling him that I peed myself. We pull up to a diner, go inside, and seat ourselves. I look over the menu and decide to get chocolate chip pancakes. Chocolate and carbs make even the worst night better. We order from the waitress and then Jake looks over at me. “So tell me your story.”
His question makes me uneasy. I’m not ready to tell him my story, at least any of my story before six years ago. “I moved to LA for a change of scenery. I had a cosmetology license and I had gotten my license to be a massage therapist. I found a job as a hairdresser for celebrities, and that’s how I met Sam. We worked together almost every day for a year, and when she decided to move away from LA, she asked if I wanted to come. I got a job at the spa, and here we are. See? Completely boring.”
“Nina, there isn’t a damn thing about you that’s boring.” His gaze is fixed on me, and it begins to heat my body. “I want to know what makes you tick.”
His question makes me squirm. “You’re moving way too fast, Flash, slow it down.” Did I just call him that out loud?
He raises an eyebrow at me. “Flash? Did you give me a nickname, Sparky? I have to know how you came up with it.”
“Um, that first night at the bar Tina asked me if you were the flasher, so I started calling you Flash.” His face reddens.
The waitress drops off the food, giving us an excuse to end this awkward conversation. We eat in almost silence. When we get up to leave, he throws some cash on the table and we get in the car to go home.