Wayde Woods Massacre

Megan, Ben, Manny and Nichole tried their best to be silent as they wondered through the woods looking for their friend. They weren't entirely sure what to do, they couldn't call out to her as someone else might here. All they could do was continue walking and looking. Looking for any signs of Suzette. All of them knew on some level that Tony was right, but Suzette was their friend and no one was willing to admit it out loud.

They had been wondering around for a couple hours now and were completely lost. It was so hard to navigate through the woods. All they could see was trees and raindrops. The clouds had become an even darker shade of grey, successfully fucking them out of precious light.

They marched through liquid mud, the nasty water slopping into their shoes, making their journey even more difficult. The weeds were tall so walking through them was no easy victory either. Though they weeds were simpler to navigate through than the low hanging branches that assault them from up top.

The worst part was in their minds. No one in this group had even seen the killer. However they combined the knowledge of what they had gotten from Tony and what the killer had done to Fat Bill and Michael to create the image of an unstoppable force.

Everyone there had to face the fact that if they were taken back in time to make the decision over again, they may have gone with Jenny and Tony. Even Megan, Suzette's most passionate advocator, was having serious doubts.

Even if they found Suzette alive there was no guarentee that they would all make it out of the woods. They were completely lost.
For all they knew they were traveling back toward the cabin. And what if Suzette had escaped, and this whole mission that put them at risk was all to rescue someone who wasn't even there?

"Wait..." Nichole hissed at the group. She had stopped and was listening. "Did anyone hear that?"

"Hear what?" Manny asked her.

"Shh!" Nichole hissed again.

The stood there for a few more moments until Nichole relaxed a little.

"Sorry guys," she said, "guess it was just my imagination."

Manny leaned his back against a tree, closing his eyes, "Probably just the storm, hun."

A quiet whistle broke the sound of the rain. THUD! Megan, Nichole and Ben all gasped. Manny opened his eyes to see an arrow stuck into the tree next to him.

"What the..." was all Manny could mutter before a second arrow struck him in the shoulder. He fell to the ground, moaning in pain.

"MANNY! MANNY!" Nichole screamed, running over and dropping down by her fiancé.

Manny acted quickly, he ripped the arrow out of his shoulder and staggered to his feet.

"RUN!" he yelled just as a third arrow went wooshing right by Megan's head, causing her to yelp in fear.

Once again they were running through the woods. No one looking back for even a second. They sprinted as much as they could, ducking under branches and leaping over falled trees.

Ben was never atheletic, but he was in decent shape and now ran like an Olympic athlete. At first he kept looking over to check on Megan, but this was slowing him down and he knew if he didn't stop checking on her he wouldnt make it himself. Megan was tough and fast, she had a better chance at this than he did.

Eventually Ben realized that he had not noticed any arrows or any sign of threat for awhile. He thought they should keep running, but he suddenly became aware of how tired and out of breath he was. His body ached all over and he slowed to a stop.

"Hold on everyone!" He called out, bending over in attempt to catch his breath. "I think we lost him."

Ben straightened back up and looked around to check on everybody, but he saw nobody else...

* * *

"Is everyone alright?" Megan asked, catching her breath.

"We're fine," Manny answered for him and Nichole.

"And you, Ben?" Megan turned her head to the right.

"Ben?" She repeated.

This alarmed Manny and Nichole, who walked over next to Megan.
"Ben? Where are you?!" Manny asked allowed as he figured he could risk.

"Oh no..." Nichole muttered through forming tears.

"Manny," Megan said with a quivering voice, "do you think..."

"No," Manny replied boldly, "I never heard anyone call out in pain except myself." He motioned toward the bit of arrow still sticking out of his shoulder.

"So he must have just gotten seperated from us," Nichole voiced.

"Fuck everything," Megan shook her head, "now Ben is missing too."

Manny put an arm around her, "He'll be fine, he just needs to catch up is all."

Manny felt this would be an awkward thing to say, but for some reason he felt it was necessary that Megan knew so he added, "Megan, Ben really likes you."

Megan leaned against Manny's chest, "I kinda thought he had a crush on me."

"No," Manny said, moving looking Megan directly in the eyes, "Ben really, really likes you. Like, you know, really."

"Why are you telling me this now?" Megan asked, moving out of his embrace.

"I just...thought you should know. Incase we all make it out of here, there are other options besides Tony."

Megan shook her head, "I know Tony's being a dick right now, but he really isn't a bad guy."

"Megan," Manny responed, "Tony is my best friend. He's a good friend, but he's a shitty boyfriend."

"What do you mean?" Megan responded.

"He cheated on you, Megan. I know I should have told you a long time ago, I just didn't know how. I know you loved him, and I think he loved you. It's just who he is, that's all."

A tear streamed down Megan's cheek, but she quickly wiped it away.

"I guess I always kind of knew," she confessed.

"Well from now on I get to sign off on all relationships involving you," Manny joked, smiling at her.

She worked up a half-smile, "Deal."

"And I sign off on Ben, just for future reference."

"Noted," Megan joked.

"Hey, um...guys?" Nichole said. They didn't notice that she had moved a little farther away from them. "I see a house."

"Shit! We're right back at the cabin," Manny spat.

"No, this isn't the cabin," Nichole responded.

Manny and Megan walked over by Nichole and looked through the brush at the house. It was in what likely was once a clearing, but foliage had made its way back in. Weeds and new trees were growing around the place and it was decorated with vines. It was an old farm-style house in terrible condition. Boards were missing from the outer walls and shingles were missing from the roof. A second story window was busted. There were only traces of faded green paint left.

"Do you think Suzette might be in there?" Megan asked her friends.

"I don't know," Manny replied.

"Do you think...he lives there?" Megan asked.

"Maybe," Manny responded.

"I hope the answer isn't yes to both of those questions," Nichole said with shutter going down her spine.

"Well, only one way to find out," Manny said, taking a step toward the house.

Nichole put out a hand to stop him. "What are you doing?"
"Going to have a look," Manny replied.

"No, what if the bad guy is there and he sees you?" Nichole pleaded.

"Look Nichole, the whole point of not leaving this damn place was to find Suzette. She might be in this place and she might be in danger. I have to help her if I can. I'm just going to sneak up to the window and have a quick peak inside. I'll be careful." With that he kissed her quickly and turned back toward the house.

Manny crouched low to the ground and quickly scurried over to the window. Carefully he raised himself up and looked inside. It was dark and dirty inside. The place was almost completely empty, only a torn up old sofa and a wooden rocking chair occupied the space. Manny did his best to look all around for any signs of danger but found none.

Manny lowered back down and moved to another set of windows. Again he looked into them. This was the kitchen, or at least that was what it was supposed to be. There was a fridge but the door was missing and an overturned table that was missing a leg. He saw a mouse scurry out from beneath the table and disappear again under the stove. Still no signs of danger.

Manny lowered once more and hurried back to the girls. Once there he stood straight and accepted Nichole's eager embrace.

"There was no danger that I could see," Manny informed them.

"But no sign of Suzette either," Megan sighed.

"It's a big house," Manny observed, "she could be in there. But then so could he."

"Well I'm going in," Megan decided out loud.

"We'll come too," Nichole affirmed.

* * *

Jenny now wished she would have gone with the others. Tony hadn't even spoken to her since they left the group. Megan showed her affection and made her feel better and safer. At least Nichole and Manny would have asked if she was okay. But Tony made no such gestures, just kept hiking along on his mission to escape.

Finally Jenny couldn't take it anymore. "Do you even know where the fuck we are?!"

Tony spun around, anger covering his face. "Oh I'm sorry Miss goddamn navigation expert! Do YOU know where we are?!"

"Well you like to think you're the leader of us big shot, why don't you fucking lead!" she was yelling at him now.

"You know what, what's your goddamn problem?" Tony hollered at her.

"What's my fucking problem? WHAT'S MY FUCKING PROBLEM?! MY DEAD HALF A BOYFRIEND WENT FLYING THROUGH THE GODDAMN WINDOW, THAT'S MY FUCKING PROBLEM!"

"I meant your problem with ME!" Tony yelled, "you've never liked me!"

"Hard to like a piece of shit!"

"Wait..." Tony said interupting their fight, "did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" she rolled her eyes.

"A car!" Tony said with a huge smile, "we're close to the road!"

"TONY!" Nichole screamed.