Chapter 3: Chapter 17- I wanna show you something
''Hey'' Easton greets us as we reach the tents.
''Hey'' Kate and I say at the same time.
By the time we make it back to the tent my hair is fully dried so I tie it back into a ponytail. We both place our bags into the tent and make our way outside to hang out with Easton. We spend the rest of the evening looking around for any clues on these 'masked men' but came back with nothing and so did the other groups. These men really are good if it wasn't for Alfonso no one would've known of their existence, they're so swift in their tracks. After everyone is gathered around the fire and we join in, we roast marshmallows, play I spy with my little eye, charades and tell really funny jokes most of them were about our most embarrassing moments in high school.
I laughed so hard when Mr. Brown told us this one time he had a crush on a girl and during lunch he couldn't stop staring at her from his table and when he tried to stick the straw in the juice pack it burst and the juice spilled all over his pants making everyone think that he peed himself and it caused the girl to run away when he told her it was juice, not pee.
I can't remember the last time I laughed like that mostly all I do now is cry especially ever since I got here. It's now 8 as everyone heads into their tents and tell each other goodnight. I text my mom and tell her that I'm really tired and I will call her in the morning and I do the same with Nelson. Erin, April and I text for about an hour, I tell him how great and interesting my internship is, leaving out everything to do with the 'masked men', they tell me how happy they are for me and how much they are missing me. They go on to tell me that they went to the beach yesterday and that they're thinking of going bowling on Friday. They update me on their lives and I do the same after we all end in goodnight and I love you texts. During my conversation with Erin and April, Kate was having her own conversation on the phone with Elliot.
''Goodnight'' she tells me.
''Don't think you can get out of this young lady, I wanna hear all about that conversation in the morning'' I raise my finger at her. Something about that conversation was a bit different, the way she was smiling and blushing on this end, I can tell something's was going on.
''Okay'' she smiles and pulls the covers over her head.
''Goodnight'' she repeats.
''Goodnight''
I lie in bed with my eyes wide open staring at the tent above. It's almost 9 now and he told me to meet him there at 10, why do I care about what time he told me to meet him? it's not like I'm going to anyway.
Maybe I should go, I should go and tell him to leave me alone and never come around me again. If I don't meet him there tonight he will continue to keep following me and keep demanding that I meet him somewhere. I change into a dark blue sleeveless loose dress that hits the middle of my thighs and a white pair of shoes and grab a dark blue jacket from my bag. I slowly rise from my spot on the ground looking back once more at Kate and she's asleep facing the opposite direction of me with the covers pulled over her head.
I carry my phone and I think about carrying a weapon with me in case he tries anything. I put the pepper spray in my jacket pocket along with my phone, everyone is asleep as I make my way outside and their tents are dark and silent. I have no flashlight with me and the place is nothing but darkness, the cold breeze of the night hits my legs making me shudder a bit. I fold my arms across my chest and continue walking.
The howling becomes louder and louder, all the crickets of the forest are chirping at the same time, all the owls are hooting at the same time and this familiar owl looking at me and it gives me the total creeps and stares directly at me as I walk by, it flies from one tree to the other over my head making me scream and my pace begins to pick up. I finally see the cliff and head left as he told me too. After walking for almost 10 minutes I don't see a cave, there's no sign of one anywhere.
Just as I'm about to turn around and head back I see high grass in the distance forming a shape that looks like the top of a sphere. I begin to walk closer and I see enormous boulders and as I walk closer I see an entrance to a cave. I stand before it and gulp and slowly as I make my way inside. The cave is spooky looking from the inside even more than it is on the outside. Droplets of water are falling from the stalactites of the cave, the stalactites are very long and so pointy, some of them are so long that I practically have to duck my head down and try to walk past them. As I finally think I've reached the normal ground in the cave my thoughts are wrong, the stalactites become smaller but there are large, sharp, pointy stalagmites on the ground.
It's so hard to walk in here, god why would he ask her to come here? to kill me that's why maybe it is a trap? maybe they're all here waiting for me in here? but yet here I am trying my best to take one step at a time and try my best to walk over the stalagmites without getting cut. I finally see some broken pillars of a building to the right. I hope these are the pillars he was talking about, I stand here with my arms folded across my chest and patiently await his arrival. It's now 10 minutes past 10, where is he? maybe he just stood me up to just humiliate me even more.
I put my phone back in my jacket pocket and as I turn around to head back my heart almost leaps out of my chest. He's standing a couple of feet behind me. He's wearing his usual outfit, white creepy sheep mask, dressed in nothing but black and no sign of him being human is recognizable, he just stares at me calmly and I stare back at him unsure of what to do. He just stares at me for a moment and just as I think he's about to walk up to me he walks to the side of me than behind me. He looks down at some long stalagmites and picks at the point of them for a while then pulls his phone out from his pocket. I'm just standing here looking like an idiot while he's on the other side of the cave a couple of feet away from me on his phone and I'm just standing to stare at him waiting for him to break the silence.
Maybe I should just leave? he mightn't even notice and I do just that.
''Where are you going?'' he asks making me stop in my tracks, his voice is deep and his accent is thick.
''Back to the tent''
''Why?''
''Because you're just standing there on your phone and aren't talking to me or anything'' I say and as the words leave my mouth I realize how desperate it makes me sound.
''I was waiting for you to talk first'' he admits.
''You said that the walk from the cliff to the cave was 10 minutes, it took me almost 20 minutes to get to the cave''
''That's because you walk really slow''
''No I don't'' I defend. How dare he says that I walk slow? he has never even seen me walk before, or maybe he has but still I walk very briskly especially when I'm determined to find something.
''Here'' he tosses me the flashlight. I catch it and hold it in my hand. I knew he found it and he knew I was there last night that's why he asked me to meet him here.
''What happened to your knee?'' he asks.
''I fell''
''Where?''
''I tripped on one of the rocks over there'' I point behind me.
He walks up to me and bends down then rubs his thumb gently over the bruise, all I can feel is his thick glove rubbing over the bruise on my knee, through the glove I can feel how warm his hand is as he slowly rubs his hand over my knee making goosebumps rise on my legs and my legs are literally on fire from that simple touch, he continues to rub the spot for about a minute and the burning that I was feeling from the bruise has eased from his touch.
He now stands up and his body is inches from mine, gosh he's so tall, my head reaches him just below his shoulders and he looks down at me while I look up at him. How can he see anything through that mask? I can't see his eyes so I'm just staring at a black patch or something covering the eye-opening of the mask. I can't see him but I know he can see me. We stare at each other for a moment before he finally speaks.
''What did you see last night?'' he asks the question I've been waiting for him to ask although I don't wanna answer.
My body is on fire right now as his body is inches from mine and from his gesture a minute ago with him rubbing my knee, I still haven't recovered from that yet, my body is still tingling from sensation and mind is blank and all I can think about is his hand over my knee.
''What did you see last night?'' he repeats as I don't answer the first time.
Images of last night's events replay in my head and I'm officially terrified and seeing him standing in front of me right now after what I saw him doing last night is just too much, I need to get out of here. I look away from his stare and I try to talk but my mouth refuses to cooperate with me.
''I...I'' I stutter.
I feel the tears coming and I begin to head for the exit but he pulls me back by my hand, his hand is now in mine and I'm facing the opposite direction, his grip is tight on my hand but I refuse to turn around and let him see me cry again. He slowly pulls me back to face him and I don't fight it, his hand is still in mine as he looks down at me trying to get me to look up at him but I keep looking down at the ground. He takes his other hand and places it under my chin gently pulling my chin up forcing me to look at him. As my head lifts up to face him a tear falls straight down my face and he captures it with his finger when it hits my jaw and suddenly my breathing becomes heavy.
''Do you always cry when you're out here at night?'' he whispers and as soon as the words leave his lips I feel his hot breath on my lips, I wish I could close my eyes and enjoy that feeling for a bit.
''No, you make me cry all the time'' I admit. He totally ignores my answer and repeats his question.
''What did you see last night?'' he asks, his hand still in mine and the other under my chin as I look up at him, we are still inches apart from each other and he smells so good, although I smell alcohol on his breath and a little smoke it's not a bad as last time, he doesn't seem drunk but I know that he was drinking.
Does he drink and smoke every night?
''Nothing really'' I lie, I refuse to repeat last night's events with him or with anyone.
''Tell me'' he demands.
''Just the chanting, the sacrifices with the dead animals and then I left when the screeching started''
''That's it?''
''Yeah''
''Are you sure?''
''Yes''
''Are you gonna do the same thing you did with Alfonso? You know erase my memory of you?'' I ask the question I've been longing to ask for a while now.
''Should I? Did you tell anyone what you saw? Not just about last night but the other times before that, you know like the first night I talked to you?''
''No, I never told anyone''
''Why?'' he asks. What does he mean why? Does he want me to tell someone?
''Do you want me to tell someone?''
''No, I just thought you would've. Because you know everyone is just so obsessed with us ever since that fucking stupid Alfonso guy followed us that night and I thought that the first time you saw me or when I talked to you, you would've bragged about it to everyone that you saw me or whatever''
''I didn't tell anyone. Obviously you guys don't want anyone to know about your existence in here that's why you cover your tracks so well and erase people's memory if they ever find out anything about you so I'll respect your privacy and not tell anyone about what I saw as long as you don't hurt me or something then I'll spill but your secrets are not mine to tell'' I tell him.
He doesn't say anything he just stares at me. Neither one of us has moved from our position, his hand still in mine, the other under my chin and our bodies are inches apart.
''I wanna show you something'' he says and moves away from me.
''Okay show me'' I say and for some reason I feel a bit scared.
He walks behind me and heads for the exit and I have no idea whether I should follow him or not so I just stand there.
''You coming?'' he asks and I nod. I nod, seriously for all I know he could be leading me into a death trap but here I am following him.
He leads the way and tells me to watch my step a few times as I try my best to avoid getting cut by some of the really sharp stalagmites that rise from the ground. The walk from the pillars to the exit is spent in complete silence and he walks so fast I try my best to keep up with his pace but I find myself almost running behind him to keep up.
''Take your jacket off'' he insists as he walks up to me.
''What? why?'' I question. What is wrong with him? I'm not gonna take my jacket off.
''Why do you always ask so many questions? just do it'' he demands again. I'm not taking my jacket off because I know he is up to something, why else would he ask me to take it off.
''No, for starters I don't know you at all, you're just some creepy masked guy in the forest who keeps following me around all the time and I don't know why. In fact I don't wanna see whatever it is anymore''
''Why do you have to be so difficult?'' he asks calmly.
''I'm not, you are, just tell me why do you want me to take it off''
''Because I want to show you something and you won't enjoy it with the jacket on''
''What do you want to show me?''
''Oh my god why the bloody hell are you so damn stubborn!'' he shouts in my face causing me to jump a bit and step back from his sudden change of voice.
I walk away from him and head to the exit, I can't believe for a second there I actually thought he was being nice like when he was rubbing my knee and when he captured the tear from my face and when he placed his hand on my chin making me look at him.
''Wait!'' he shouts and I turn around.
''I'm sorry okay? you can take your jacket off when we get there but you wouldn't have anywhere to put it. So just take it off and leave it down here and you'll get it back when we come back before you go back to the tents'' he says and his tone is much calmer than before.
Did he really just apologize? and the way he looked down quickly after he did, it tells me that he hadn't ever done that before. He walks over to me and I take my jacket off. The can of pepper spray falls to the ground and makes a loud noise that echoes throughout the cave. He picks it up and stands back up so that our bodies are mere inches from each other.
''You were gonna pepper spray me?'' he smirks.
''No I just brought in case you tried to attack me or something'' I admit.
He takes my jacket from my hand and puts the can of pepper spray in the pockets and rests my jacket on a large rock. I move to where my jacket is to get my phone but he stops me.
''Leave your phone too'' he commands.
He is so demanding oh my gosh. He takes the phone from my hand and puts it back in the jacket pocket. He must be used to people always listening to his every command but it's not gonna work with me. He doesn't want me to carry my phone either, where is he taking me? I literally have nothing on me but a dress on and white shoes on my feet. I'm not prepared for whatever he's taking me too, I keep thinking that he's leading me to a death trap and the entire group is waiting there for me to erase my memory or worse yet involve me in their evil rituals.
Where is he taking me? I don't know if I should trust him because of what I know of him so far?
Should I?
*Author's note: Hey guys are you ready to see where he's taking her? I'm so excited to find out. See you guys in the next chapter, bye. Don't forget to comment, vote and follow me only if you want to bye.*
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