There's Something Out There

Ten kids packed into a tiny camper with nothing to do for four hours was none of their ideas of having a good time. Most didn’t even want to go on this “Senior Sneak Trip”, but they were there anyway. They all lounged around as the camper sped down the dark highway. Larry, the bus driver, turned up the radio as some old ‘80s rock song played. A few of the kids looked in annoyance, while one or two bobbed their head with the beat.

“Are we there yet?”Teal groaned as the vehicle bounced along.

“Another half an hour,”Larry called.

Teal groaned and smacked her friend on the leg. Kylee jerked her head up and paused her iPod. “What?”

“Talk to me. I’m bored.”

“No,” Kylee grumbled, without opening her eyes. She was giving Teal the silent treatment for dragging her along on this stupid trip anyway.

Teal groaned again, focusing on everyone else’s conversations. Clint seemed quieter than usual and he looked quite pale. “Clinty, you okay?”
Clint smiled apprehensively up at her. “Yeah, just motion sickness.” Teal nodded in understanding and said no more.

Larry’s tired eyes watched the road as the yellow lines darted by the headlights. A loud bang sounded through the camper as it jolted, followed by another one. Larry swore as the vehicle sped out of control, his hands whipping around the steering wheel as he tried to keep it on the old highway, but failed as it careened down the side of the road. Everyone screamed and tried to hang onto something solid as they bounded down the incline. Finally, the RV came to a slow stop before a line of trees.

Larry cut the engine and turned around in his seat. “Everyone okay?”

There were mutters of answer as the kids picked themselves up from their rumpled heaps. Satisfied with their answer, Larry got out to investigate the damage.

“Just our luck,”Jadon sighed and everyone gave a half-hearted laugh of agreement.

Larry came back around and opened the door. “Two flat tires. We’ll need to fix one, but I don’t know what we’re gonna do about the other.”

“I’ve got a cousin that lives about three miles back,”Clint spoke up.

Larry nodded and rubbed his stubbly chin, thinking if that was the best way to go. Finally, he said, “Alright, Clint, let’s go. Marissa, you’re in charge until we get back.”

Clint got out and the two headed down the highway. Everyone started talking at once, laughing or complaining about their predicament.

Kylee cautiously went over to the door and locked it. She noticed Teal’s look when she turned around. “Just in case.”

Teal rolled her eyes, but didn’t say anything.

Nearly and hour later, Larry and Clint still had not returned and everyone was bored.

“I’m bored,” Matt stated.

“Everyone is, moron,” Kylee said.

“So?”

“Is that your answer for everything?”Channa sighed.

“Yes,” answered Matt.

Kylee and Channa looked at each other and shook their heads, before Kylee went to sit in the driver’s seat, away from everyone else for a little while. She put in her ear buds and lost herself in her music for a little bit. Maybe she’d just dose off for a little bit. “Monster” by Skillet blared from her ear buds and she slowly opened her eyes to loud music before they drowsily shut again. Suddenly her eyes snapped open again. What was that?

Kylee leaned on the steering wheel, trying to see the thing on the outside. It was a big, dark
lump setting in the grass. And it moved

“Holy crap!” Kylee shouted, scrambling out of the seat. “Guys Guys There’s something out there ”

Everyone just stared at her. “Spazz attack,”Matt mumbled.

Kylee glared at him. “I am serious! Go look It was big and...just go look!”

The four boys–Cameron, Jadon, Matt, and Ryan–went to the front of the RV and peered out the windshield.

“Kylee...there’s nothing out there,” Cameron said.

“There was something there!”

“What was it?” Marissa asked.

“I don’t know!” Kylee growled. “That’s the point!” She stopped suddenly. “What’s that sound?”

“What sou–?” Teal started.

“Shhh!” Kylee held up her hand and listened.

Everyone was quiet, the only sound was a soft metal scraping that grew louder and louder as it neared the front of the vehicle.

“What is that?” Channa whispered.

No one answered her as it moved closer and closer to them a long side the camper.

“Its coming towards the window! Its coming towards the window!"” Kylee hissed, shrinking back, towards the couch.

Everyone stared at the window, waiting for something to pop up. When the scraping noise stopped, it was right by the window. Marissa, who had always been the leader type, moved slowly towards the window and peeked out. She looked back and forth out into the dark. Then, she screamed and jumped away. Everyone else let out a yell of surprise.

“What? What was it?” Channa asked.

“Something moved right by the window,” said Marissa shakily.

“Guys, its probably just Larry and Clint trying to scare us,” Jadon said indifferently.

“I don’t know...They’ve been gone forever...” Kylee’s voice was worried as she spoke.

“Because they’re trying to scare us,”Jadon repeated.

“Voegler! Go look for them!” Channa demanded. No one ever called Ryan, “Ryan”, always Voegler. No one really cared for him either.

The eight looked at him expectantly. He looked back at them before shrugging with a smirk and going outside.

“He’s gonna get scared and come running back,” Cameron said and everyone nodded in agreement.

But Ryan never came back...

Over an hour later and there was no sign of Larry, Clint, or Ryan. The remaining kids were fine with Ryan being gone, they didn’t have to listen to his remarks. Kylee sat on the edge of the couch, her fingers drumming on her knee as she tried to relax. Cameron, Jadon, and Matt were sharing perverted jokes while Marissa and Channa glared at them. Andi sat in the corner reading a book as usual. Teal was listening to her own iPod. Everything seemed normal and relaxed, but Kylee could sense the uneasiness in the camper. The one thing she noticed was no one was going outside. The guys would usually been running around out there by now. They were scared.

Maybe she was just being paranoid like usual. Her imagination had problems with freaking her out in the dark.

“Let’s go look for Larry and Clint,” Cameron said, getting up from the floor. Matt and Jadon shrugged and followed his lead.

“Be careful, guys ” Kylee called. They all just smiled at her like it was a stupid comment and left.

“Finally! They’re gone!” Channa sighed, plopping her small frame on the couch beside Kylee.

“Thank goodness,” Andi said from behind her book.

“Dudes, I’m seriously freaking out,” Kylee admitted, peeking through the blind behind her. There was no sign of the boys.

The three teenage boys stomped through the trees, calling the missing persons’ names. Cameron had grabbed a tire iron from the back of the camper and was holding it casually in one hand. He was in the lead, the shortest one, but also the one with the packed muscle. Matt was thicker than the other two and Jadon out did both of them in height by a lot.

There was a sharp snap and he stopped. “What was that?”

“What was what?” Matt asked.

Cameron shrugged, but he knew there was something out there. Before they could continue on, twigs cracked as though under heavy weight. Something very large moved slowly through the branches.

The boys waited in silence as a...thing walked slowly from the trees. It was tall, but hunched over its bony, human-like frame. Its legs were bowed at the knees and its arms were long so that it could walk on its knuckles like an ape. The head resembled an ugly canine's with a short, drooling snout and leathery ears pressed against its skull. The whole body was covered in thin, black, brisley hairs.

The three boys stared at it in shock. What was it? None of them moved, too afraid--or too smart--to. It seemed the creature would not seem them as it slowly made its way across the small clearing. But, suddenly, its head jerked up and stared at them with bright red eyes. Its lips pulled back in a snarl, warning them. Jadon, Matt, and Cameron still did not move.

With a roar, the beast charged them. When it was in reach, Cameron swung the tire iron, nailing it clean in the skull. It yelped and jumped aside, shook its head, and advanced with another roar. Cameron, who had never backed down from a fight, attempted to beat it down; until, the creature finally outsmarted him and launched at his throat. Its teeth sunk into Cameron's flesh, blood spurting from the wounds and from the boy's mouth. The thing latched on harder and shook his body like a rag doll, giving the other two boys a head start.

Somewhere, they got seperated, but Jadon knew where the R.V. was and continued straight. He couldn't get the image of his friend being killed out of his head as he ran. It was the worst thing he'd ever seen. It made his stomach lurch and his breathing hitch. There was the approach of something big crashing through the trees and Jadon had no choice, but to try and move faster.

The first yells, the girls took as jokes, but as the sounds grew closer, they began to wonder.

“GUYS! HELP! OPEN THE DOOR!” Jadon's voice was muffled, but easily made out through the walls of the camper. “GUYS!”

Teal was the first to act and dashed for the door. Jadon was there, pounding on the door and screaming at them. “OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR HURRY!”

Teal reached for the lock, but Jadon's face suddenly disappeared, and a horrible squishing sound was heard. Jadon's agonized scream cut through them all as blood splattered over the door's window. There was a long, bone-chilling howl, then nothing.

The blood was splattered across the window in a red, grotesque pattern. Everyone in the camper just stared, unable to believe what they had just saw. One of their friend’s had been mutilated right in front of their very eyes. He had been the funny guy, the carefree one.

“Jadon,” Marissa whispered.

“W–what happened?” Kylee asked. “Teal, what's it look like?”

Teal stared at the blood splattered over the window and said nothing. It was impossible to see past all of it. After several moments, she gained the courage, and with shaking hands, unlocked the door and peeked out.

Blood was smeared all over the side of the vehicle and a trail of it led into the trees, like something had been drug. To Teal's horror, not far off lay a human arm. Slowly, she closed the door and locked it. She didn't dare say anything to the rest of them. It would only scare them more.

“He's gone, isn't he?” Channa asked and Teal nodded.

Everyone looked on the verge of tears. Marissa stuck out her chin defiantly, swallowing the sorrow. “Listen, guys. If we want to get out of this alive we need to stay strong and think.”

“Think of what?” Teal demanded. “Did you just see what happened? There's like a wild, rabid animal out there and its probably killed all the guys already!”

“I know,” Marissa growled. “Just wait, okay. No one goes outside. Maybe at dawn we can get help.”

Kylee was peeking out the blinds, staring up at the clouds that were shutting out the full moon. “Maybe its a werewolf.”

Everyone stared at her, at first in confusion, and some even turned to anger.

“That's not funny,” Andi whimpered.

“Does it look like I'm kidding?” Kylee demanded.

“Werewolves don't exist, Kylee,” was Marissa's tight lipped response. Indeed, she did look serious. Maybe the blonde spazz had finally cracked.

“What was it then? It didn't sound like any wolf I've ever heard before.”

“It was rabid or maybe it was a cannibal, axe-murderer dude,”Teal said calmly.

Her tone made Kylee's teeth grind together in frustration. “This isn't funny, Teal! Don't act like its not a big deal!”

“I'm not!” Teal defended. “I'm just saying!”

"Yeah, well quit it! We just saw Jadon get killed and you're--!"

There was a sudden knock on the door, making everyone scream.

"Kylee? Teal? Channa?" Clint's weak voice came from outside.

Before anyone could stop her, Teal had flung open the door and wrapped her friend in a hug. Clint You're alive She quickly pulled him in and locked the door again. Everyone was there to greet him with a hug, despite the blood that was all over him.

"Is that...?" Kylee started, staring at the mess.

"Its Larry's. I tried to save him, but...It just happened so fast." Clint shook his head and sat down on the couch.

No one knew exactly what to say, all felt incredibly lost. This was a big deal, a horrible thing. Whatever was out there was killing them off and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

"Hey, why don't you go into the bed room and get some rest," Kylee suggested. "You look exhausted."

Clint managed a small smile and a nod, then headed to the back room. As soon as he was gone, Kylee's calm compusure was gone.

"Holy shit! What do we do? What do we do?" she exclaimed, falling back into the counch and putting her face in her hands. "I can't do this! I can't do this!"

"Kylee, calm. Panicking isn't going to get us anywhere," Channa said.

"If you haven't noticed, I am not a calm person! I never have been! That's why I suck under pressure!" Kylee snapped. "Our friends are dead! And, face it, we're next!"

"Don't say that!" Marissa snapped back. "We're going to be okay! Just give me--"

There was a crash of glass from the back room and Clint screamed. The camper began to shake and a horrible tearing sound was heard.

"Oh, God! Its in here!" Channa screamed.

The bed room door splintered and a massive, hairy, hand broke through the cheap wood.

Marissa threw open the door. "Everyone out! Now!"

Teal, Kylee, and Channa rocketed out, but as Andi reached the door, the massive hand grabbed her by her jacket and pulled her back in. She screamed and screamed for help, but the other girls, deaf and blind with panic, never stopped in their run.

Soon, the four girls were seperated, Channa with Kylee and Marrissa with Teal. The woods were thick, the large, full moon sending its cold light under the branches. Channa finally stopped to catch her breath.

"Fuck," she gasped, doubling over. "What do we do now?"

When there was no answer, she turned to see Kylee doubled over as well beside a tree. Before, she could ask, Kylee vomitted. Channa turned away, disgusted, and looked out into the forest.

"I'm sorry," Kylee mumbled from behind her. She sat back on her heels, trying to regain her breath. "I told you I sucked under pressure."

"Its fine. You're okay right?"

"As okay as I can be right now," Kylee answered and got up slowly.

"So what do we do?"

Kylee shrugged. "Stay alive until dawn, I guess."

"How's that going to help?" Channa asked, rubbing her arms to ward off the cold.

"Well, if its a werewolf and its like most werewolves then it'll hopefully be a human when dawn approaches." At Channa's quizical look, Kylee sighed. "I don't know, okay? You got any bright ideas!"

"No, I don't , actually. Sorry! But at least I don't think this this is a 'werewolf'. I mean, come on, Kylee! Really?"

Kylee's jaw clenched. "Figure out something then!" Channa groaned and shook her head, indicating she couldn't. Fine, Kylee sighed. My ideas the only one available apparently. Honestly, her idea seemed stupid even her own mind, but the way its hand looked and the way it sounded, seemed so...unreal.

Her eyes searched around the dark forest floor until she spotted what she needed. She walked over and picked up a thick stick, about three feet long. When she noticed Channa's questioning look, she said, "We may need to fend off that...thing sometime."

The other girl nodded, found her own weapon, and the two headed off. Everyone soft crack or rustle brought the sticks over their heads, but there was never anything there. Other than the occasional soft disturbance, the forest was unnaturally quiet. The moon began tp get higher up, signifying dawn was near.

Kylee suddenly stopped and touched the top of her head. Channa turned to her. "What?"

"Is it raining?" Kylee removed her hand and scrunched her eyes up. Her hand was covered in something dark, warm, and sticky. Kylee threw Channa a scared look and the two looked up.

Kylee let out a scream and Channa slapped her hand over the other girl's mouth to shut her up. They stared up at what once had been their friend Teal. She was hanging over the branch, her dead eyes staring back down at them. Most of her neck was gone and what was left of her body was covered in lacerations.

Channa could feel Kylee's body shaking. "Kylee, I'm so sorry."

"She...she was my best friend!" Kylee sobbed as Channa moved her away from the dripping blood. "I--I can't believe..." Sobs broke off the rest of her sentence and she nearly went down on her knees, but Channa held her up.

"We have to keep going," Channa said firmly, spotting Marissa's Roxy shoes a few feet away, under a tree. She didn't care to see the rest of the body. "We have to do this for Teal and Marissa, Cameron, Jadon, and Clint. Its almost dawn. We can make it. You're better at directions. Which direction to the camper?"

Kylee silently pointed to their right and Channa led her in that direction. They trudged through the forest, hearts heavy, minds clouded with sleep, the sun rising behind them. Finally, the broke through the trees, the R.V. in sight. Beyond that was the highway. The girls looked at each other and with one last burst of energy, they sprinted past the vehicle and up the steep incline.

When they reached the top, they gladly fell on the cool asphalt. The sun was coming over the trees now, but it provided no warmth for the two of them. Both were forever scarred by what they'd seen, the images would never leave their heads.

To Channa's surprise, Kylee was the first to stand. "We need to go get help. Maybe we can hitch hike into town."

Channa nodded and took Kylee's offered hand to get up. Hitch hiking with a complete stranger sounded less terrifying then the long night they'd just had. Slowly, they began their way along the road, when a voice called out to them.

"Kylee! Channa!"

The two girls turned, their faces lit up. "Clint!" they exclaimed together and ran to their friend. His clothes were torn and even more blood seemed to cover him. Both ignored it and Channa hugged him. Then, Kylee.

When she pulled away, she noticed an odd tick in his eye, and pulled away. "You okay, Clint?"

"Yeah," he replied and Kylee noticed the tick in his eye.

"I can't believe you're okay!" Channa exclaimed, a sad smile coming to her face.

"Yeah," Clint said again.

"Did you find anybody...alive?" Kylee asked, afraid to hope.

"No," Clint answered, a muscle in his arm twitching. Kylee's hopes crashed down.

This time Channa noticed the tick. and she glanced at Kylee. She was giving her the same look. Clint had clearly seen enough for one night.

"This is horrible," Kylee said, brushing her dirty blonde hair back from her face, her eyes overwhelming with tears.

Channa nodded and seemed about to cry as well. "I can't believe we're the last one's alive."

Clint chuckled, making both girls look at him. A unsettling grin had spread across his blood-covered face.

"Who said anything about staying alive?" he grinned, his eyes flashing red.

The End