Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Day one
4:54 pm
Pain. That was what greeted Dillon as he began to open his eyes. What had happened? He couldn’t remember. He looked around, recognizing things. He was still inside Steven’s car. He could see that. All of the others where there, buckled tightly into place. Jessica’s long hair flowed into a messy little puddle on the roof.
It was here that Dillon realized he was upside-down. “Oh Jesus, oh CRAP.” He muttered, but talking hurt. The seat belt was cutting into his gut, and he was having trouble breathing. He reached down (or rather, up) and wrestled with the buckle until it came free and dumped him to onto the roof and then he rolled out of where the door should have been. He hadn’t noticed the door had gone. He dimly wondered where too. He stood shakily, his joints aching. He wondered just how long he’d been like that. He slipped and fell back into the bushes, scraping his arms along their stubby branches. He hoisted himself back up, and then started to become completely aware. It was at this moment he realized that he had been in a hideous car accident, and that all his friends could be dead.
He scurried over to the car, still having trouble maintaining his balance. The car had been pancaked against a large tree, which now leaded to one side, as if carrying the car on it’s back. What little of the hood and windshield was left was smeared in dark red, which looked almost black against the cool blue of Steven’s car in the stormy lighting. It was still raining, he could hear it. The trees where blocking most of the downpour, but rain still trickled through. “STEVEN!” Dillon screamed. He collapsed beside the driver’s side door and wrenched on the handle. “Come on, man! Jessy! Tim! Anybody!” There was a groan from within, and Dillon scrambled to the empty passenger doorway. It looked like Travis was coming to, and Alan seemed to be stirring as well. Travis opened his eyes, took in what he was seeing, and started panicking. “HOLY- WHAT THE- OH GOD-” Alan awoke with a start, and quickly began fighting with his seatbelt. “I’m stuck, man! Oh shit! I’m stuck!”
“My caaarrrr…” murmured the driver’s seat, and Dillon twisted his body around to get between the two front seats. “You okay, man?” he said quietly. Steven looked like hell. Actually, he looked like his nose was broken. Blood was streaming down his face, and trickling into a little pool beneath him, although it looked like the actual bleeding had stopped. “What happened?” Steve said, squinting through the blood. “We hit a tree.” Tim said, almost too matter-of-factly from the backseat. “I think we hit more than that.” Dillon said, turning back to Steven. “I think there’s blood all over the front over the front of the car. I think you might’ve hit something and killed it.” “Deer, maybe?” Alan said, giving up on unbuckling himself and now wrestling to slide out from under the strap (without much success). “Jessy? Where’s…” Steven looked around with one eye, seeing her. “Oh god! Jessy!” He called, and struggled to un-do the seat belt. “Here, man, let me-” “Wake Jessy up! Make sure she’s okay!” Dillon turned to Jessica and used his hand to move the hair out of her face. “She’s breathing!” “Jessy! Honey, wake up!” Steven’s belt finally relinquished its hold on him, and he tumbled down, hitting his head loudly against the steering wheel. He spat through gritted teeth, clenching his jaw. He recovered as best he could and reached up to stroke Jessica’s face. “Baby, come on, you’re okay. Just say something.” She flinched, and then started coughing. Her eyes fluttered open, and she stared down at Steven. “Steve? What are you doing… oh god, baby! Your FACE! It’s all bloody! What happened!?”
Soon they where all standing outside of the wrecked car, shivering in the cold. The car was clearly un-drivable now, and the wreckage it had made when it went off the road seemed to stretch for quite a ways. “I can’t believe we all survived that…” Jessica was saying, her teeth clattering. Other than Steven’s smashed nose, none of them where much worse off, with only cuts and bruises. But the blood across the hood and smearing along the side of the crumpled ruin was what was frightening Steven the most. He remembered the shadowy figure that had stepped out in front of him, that had practically jumped in front of the car. He MUST have hit him. There was no doubt in his mind. He must have hit him, and the impact threw the car off the road. There wasn’t any sign of a body, but the red spray that covered the car indicated that wherever the body was, there wasn’t much. He felt like being sick. He knew he shouldn’t have driven today. He knew it.
“What’s that red stuff all over the car? Did we hit a paint can or something?” Jessy questioned, pointing. “Jessy, I…” Steven paused. If he really HAD hit and killed a person, then that was it for his future. His license would be revoked, and he would probably be charged with vehicular manslaughter. His heart started to beat faster. Jessy stared at him with wide, confused eyes. “What? What is it, baby? Huh? What’s going on?” Steven was in a world his own, a world of panic and fear. He tried to second-guess the shadow that he hit, tried to come up with a reasonable explanation for the red smears… but he couldn’t think of anything. When it came right down to it… he had just taken someone’s life. And there was nothing he could do about it.
“STEVEN.” He snapped back at the sound of her voice, and turned to look into her eyes. “What’s wrong?” She said softly. “I… I think I’ve done something…” But before he could utter another word, there was a yelp from behind a tree to the left. “Guys, come over here!” It was Alan, and he was standing transfixed, staring at something below him, obscured by the foliage. Steven rushed over, hoping against hope that it might be the figure from the road, that he might be okay. But wishful thinking got him nowhere. Jessica screamed, covering her mouth, and Steven pulled her in close to himself.
Upon the ground, mashed into the mud, was a mangled mess of a man. His features where shredded against the tree’s bark, and what few limbs where left twisted around him at obtuse angles, and the man’s blood was soaking the tree and earth, mixing with the rain and the mud to create a thick, soupy concoction. “Holy damn, man.” Travis said. Alan became violently sick where he stood, collapsing beside the body, and then reflexively trying to pull himself away. They stood silently and stared at the twisted mess beneath the tree. The rainfall became almost defining, and a rumbling signaled thunder nearby.
“What do we do?” Jessica said quietly, almost a whisper. “I don’t know.” “Should we call the police?” “I guess.” “Oh god, Steven. He’s so… so awful.” “I know.” A loud crack of thunder made Jessica jump a little. Alan groaned, looking up into the trees, letting the rain wash his face. A fine mist was rolling in, settling down over the body. Only it’s twisted face poked out from above the incandescent flow of white. It was then that Steven noticed that the face was twitching, the mouth moving ever so slightly. A tremendous crash pounded the sky above them, and the scene became brilliantly lit for an instant. The eyes. The man’s eyes where staring right at him. The face was slashed into ribbons, but the white spheres buried deep into his head where unscathed. The eyes seemed sightless, but the intensity of the gaze felt mind numbing. “
“Oh Jesus!” He shouted, taking a step back, pointing. “WHAT?” “HE MOVED!” “What!? No he didn’t, Steve, it’s just the light playing tricks on you!” Jessica said, rushing to take his hand, trying to calm him. Steven’s eyes where wide with horror. The dead man’s eyes where LOCKED on him, following his movement. “HE’S FUCKING MOVING, CANT YOU SEE IT?!” Jessica turned to look back at the corpse, and seemed like she was about to say something just as a soft growl emanated from behind the man’s torn lips. Now it was Jessica’s turn to shriek “OH MY GOD!” They all took a step back, Alan scuttling like an insect in the mud. The mangled mess groaned louder, it’s face splitting as it’s mouth opened wider. The arms wriggled uselessly around it, disturbing the sheet of mist that had curled around the creature. Tim approached it, kneeling for a better look. “I think he’s still alive, man. He’s messed up pretty bad, but alive. Steven, do you still have your cell?” Steven stood rigid, the rain coming down on him in sheets. “STEVEN.” Tim demanded. He snapped to, and reached it his pocket, pulling his phone out. The screen was cracked, and the power button wouldn’t work. “Must’ve been the crash.” He mumbled. “What about you, Alan? Dillon?” Tim called, shouting now over the increasingly torrential rain. “No? I didn’t bring mine. I guess we need to find a pay phone.”
The body let out another pitiful sigh as Tim stood, surveying the scene. “Come on, we have to get going.” Steven didn’t like being told what to do, but he had to agree with Tim on this one. If the man really was alive, they needed to get help. Fast. “We aren’t seriously going to just leave him out here?” Tim took step back, looking up at the rain as it poured down on his face. “Of course not. Who wants to stay here with him, though? That’s the question.” “Not me. Hell no, not me! I’m not going anywhere NEAR that thing!” Alan spat from his position in the mud. Tim pursed his lips. “How can you stay so god damned CALM, man?” Dillon said, addressing Tim without looking at him. Tim said nothing, and then nodded. “I’ll stay, then. You all go ahead and find a phone. I’ll be here. We can’t have gone all that far off the road. Just follow the tire tracks back and walk back into town. It shouldn’t be to long. Just meet up with me here.” Steven didn’t see anything wrong with that plan. The longer it was before they had to talk to the authorities was more time for him to think of some way of talking himself out of some serious jail time. He couldn’t believe that his punishment was seriously at the forefront of his mind as he stared down at the tangled mess of arms and legs. “Come on, Steven. We have to go.” Jessica said as she tugged on his arm. He looked around and saw that the others where already leaving. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep a good eye on him. I’m not going anywhere. Just hurry.” Tim said, and then added, “He is kind of creeping me out.”
After following the tire tracks for a minute or to, Travis stopped, bewildered. The rain had washed them away from the point he was at onwards. “Uh, guys, I think we have a problem.” The tree branches parted here for a ways, and the rain was hammering down, turning the ground into a stuttering muddy vibration. “Shit, what do we do?” “I can’t believe the car went all this way. We must have been unconscious for a long time.” “That’s assuming that these ARE indeed the tracks from our car. The rain’s been coming down like this for a while. I find it hard to believe that there where ANY tracks left.” “Aw, well that’s great. That’s just great. Now we don’t even know if we’re going the right WAY!” They stood, watching the rain carry mud and earth away down the path. “I guess all that’s left is to turn back and meet back up with Tim and try again.” Steven said, more to himself than to the others. Travis raised an eyebrow. “After we’ve come all this way? The road could be just on the other side of this clearing! Come on man!” Steven looked down, his thick brown hair streaming down his face with the rain. “Alright. Let’s keep going. But if we don’t reach a road soon, we have to head back.” “Sounds like a plan, man!” Travis said, grinning, and then turned to start crossing the clearing.
It was quiet, save for the rain and thunder. They hadn’t heard any cars passing, which was a good sign. The rain was certainly loud enough to shelter any on coming noise, but Travis doubted it. After another minute’s walk, he started to seriously doubt his decision. “Hold up, Hold up.” He said, stopping and raising his arm. “You hear something?” Steven said, clutching on to Jessica. “No, that’s why I’m asking you all to stop. I don’t think we’re any closer to the road than we where before. We should head back, like Steven suggested.” “Great. Now it’s gonna be an even LONGER walk back. Christ, this is getting tedious.” Alan said, hands on hips. “Hey, a man’s life is at stake here!” Steven said angrily. “I know that, and I’m saying we’re wasting a butt load of time, man! The guy could be GONE by now for all we know.” “Don’t say that, Alan.” Jessica said quietly. They where in deep shit. They all knew that. They HAD to find a phone soon.
But turning back yielded even worse results. It wasn’t long before they realized they should have entered the clearing again, and then the prospect of being totally lost dawned on them. “Sorry, man. How the heck was I supposed to know?” Travis said as Steven jabbed him with his finger. The rain only seemed to be getting heavier, and any chance of making it back to Tim without a GPS or something was nil. “Well, brainiac, what’s the plan NOW?” Travis gave Alan a sideways glance, and then looked around. “Well, its not like we wont reach a road EVENTUALLY if we just keep walking. The next road really can’t be all that far away.” “The next road could be an HOUR’S walk from here if we don’t know where we’re going!” Dillon shouted, waving his arms.
“Look!” Jessica said, pointing. Travis followed her aim to a long, rusted fence, hidden behind a large patch of shrubbery. “I don’t think there’s going to be any phones there, Jessy. It’s probably for one of the old steel mills.” “No, LOOK. There’s someone there!”
She was right, a man in a long yellow brakeman’s raincoat stood just beyond the gate. He seemed to be working on some machinery Travis couldn’t quite make out. “Its some old homeless person, probably. Probably try to rape us or something.” Alan said, peering over Travis’ shoulder. “Oh, shut up, Alan. It looks like he’s working on one of the machines there. We should go talk to him, see if he knows where we can find a phone.” Jessica said, and she broke away from Steve’s embrace and made her way over to the fence. “Jessy, wait!” Steven called, moving after her. She reached the fence and pushed open the gate, a teeth-grating shriek resounding from its rusty hinges. The man in the rain coat must have been seriously engrossed in his work. He didn’t turn, or even flinch for that matter. “Excuse me, sir? Can you help us?” She said, approaching him. Travis slipped through the opening after Dillon, and then let Alan through. The man still hadn’t turned around. “Excuse me, SIR?” Jessica called again, louder. Perhaps he was an old man, and hard of hearing. “Excuse me-” She said, placing her hand on the man’s shoulder, and then immediately drew back, uttering a loud gasp.
The man turned then, slowly, drunkenly, pivoting on one foot, keeping one hand firmly on the machine while the other swung loosely, as if it where a cloth sleeve. The man was indeed old, his brazen-toned skin dark against a scraggy white beard. But it was his eyes that where the most startling. Empty, white spheres, exactly the same as the twisted man they’d found after the crash. He opened his mouth, and black, foamy liquid gurgled out onto his beard, splashing down his coat with the rain. A wet choking sound issued forth, and then Travis saw the most horrifying thing of all. The man’s hand. It wasn’t resting on the machinery. It was caught and crushed between two gears. Splintering chunks of white and red where oozing out of the space where the man’s hand was caught.
Jessica screamed.
Day one
4:54 pm
Pain. That was what greeted Dillon as he began to open his eyes. What had happened? He couldn’t remember. He looked around, recognizing things. He was still inside Steven’s car. He could see that. All of the others where there, buckled tightly into place. Jessica’s long hair flowed into a messy little puddle on the roof.
It was here that Dillon realized he was upside-down. “Oh Jesus, oh CRAP.” He muttered, but talking hurt. The seat belt was cutting into his gut, and he was having trouble breathing. He reached down (or rather, up) and wrestled with the buckle until it came free and dumped him to onto the roof and then he rolled out of where the door should have been. He hadn’t noticed the door had gone. He dimly wondered where too. He stood shakily, his joints aching. He wondered just how long he’d been like that. He slipped and fell back into the bushes, scraping his arms along their stubby branches. He hoisted himself back up, and then started to become completely aware. It was at this moment he realized that he had been in a hideous car accident, and that all his friends could be dead.
He scurried over to the car, still having trouble maintaining his balance. The car had been pancaked against a large tree, which now leaded to one side, as if carrying the car on it’s back. What little of the hood and windshield was left was smeared in dark red, which looked almost black against the cool blue of Steven’s car in the stormy lighting. It was still raining, he could hear it. The trees where blocking most of the downpour, but rain still trickled through. “STEVEN!” Dillon screamed. He collapsed beside the driver’s side door and wrenched on the handle. “Come on, man! Jessy! Tim! Anybody!” There was a groan from within, and Dillon scrambled to the empty passenger doorway. It looked like Travis was coming to, and Alan seemed to be stirring as well. Travis opened his eyes, took in what he was seeing, and started panicking. “HOLY- WHAT THE- OH GOD-” Alan awoke with a start, and quickly began fighting with his seatbelt. “I’m stuck, man! Oh shit! I’m stuck!”
“My caaarrrr…” murmured the driver’s seat, and Dillon twisted his body around to get between the two front seats. “You okay, man?” he said quietly. Steven looked like hell. Actually, he looked like his nose was broken. Blood was streaming down his face, and trickling into a little pool beneath him, although it looked like the actual bleeding had stopped. “What happened?” Steve said, squinting through the blood. “We hit a tree.” Tim said, almost too matter-of-factly from the backseat. “I think we hit more than that.” Dillon said, turning back to Steven. “I think there’s blood all over the front over the front of the car. I think you might’ve hit something and killed it.” “Deer, maybe?” Alan said, giving up on unbuckling himself and now wrestling to slide out from under the strap (without much success). “Jessy? Where’s…” Steven looked around with one eye, seeing her. “Oh god! Jessy!” He called, and struggled to un-do the seat belt. “Here, man, let me-” “Wake Jessy up! Make sure she’s okay!” Dillon turned to Jessica and used his hand to move the hair out of her face. “She’s breathing!” “Jessy! Honey, wake up!” Steven’s belt finally relinquished its hold on him, and he tumbled down, hitting his head loudly against the steering wheel. He spat through gritted teeth, clenching his jaw. He recovered as best he could and reached up to stroke Jessica’s face. “Baby, come on, you’re okay. Just say something.” She flinched, and then started coughing. Her eyes fluttered open, and she stared down at Steven. “Steve? What are you doing… oh god, baby! Your FACE! It’s all bloody! What happened!?”
Soon they where all standing outside of the wrecked car, shivering in the cold. The car was clearly un-drivable now, and the wreckage it had made when it went off the road seemed to stretch for quite a ways. “I can’t believe we all survived that…” Jessica was saying, her teeth clattering. Other than Steven’s smashed nose, none of them where much worse off, with only cuts and bruises. But the blood across the hood and smearing along the side of the crumpled ruin was what was frightening Steven the most. He remembered the shadowy figure that had stepped out in front of him, that had practically jumped in front of the car. He MUST have hit him. There was no doubt in his mind. He must have hit him, and the impact threw the car off the road. There wasn’t any sign of a body, but the red spray that covered the car indicated that wherever the body was, there wasn’t much. He felt like being sick. He knew he shouldn’t have driven today. He knew it.
“What’s that red stuff all over the car? Did we hit a paint can or something?” Jessy questioned, pointing. “Jessy, I…” Steven paused. If he really HAD hit and killed a person, then that was it for his future. His license would be revoked, and he would probably be charged with vehicular manslaughter. His heart started to beat faster. Jessy stared at him with wide, confused eyes. “What? What is it, baby? Huh? What’s going on?” Steven was in a world his own, a world of panic and fear. He tried to second-guess the shadow that he hit, tried to come up with a reasonable explanation for the red smears… but he couldn’t think of anything. When it came right down to it… he had just taken someone’s life. And there was nothing he could do about it.
“STEVEN.” He snapped back at the sound of her voice, and turned to look into her eyes. “What’s wrong?” She said softly. “I… I think I’ve done something…” But before he could utter another word, there was a yelp from behind a tree to the left. “Guys, come over here!” It was Alan, and he was standing transfixed, staring at something below him, obscured by the foliage. Steven rushed over, hoping against hope that it might be the figure from the road, that he might be okay. But wishful thinking got him nowhere. Jessica screamed, covering her mouth, and Steven pulled her in close to himself.
Upon the ground, mashed into the mud, was a mangled mess of a man. His features where shredded against the tree’s bark, and what few limbs where left twisted around him at obtuse angles, and the man’s blood was soaking the tree and earth, mixing with the rain and the mud to create a thick, soupy concoction. “Holy damn, man.” Travis said. Alan became violently sick where he stood, collapsing beside the body, and then reflexively trying to pull himself away. They stood silently and stared at the twisted mess beneath the tree. The rainfall became almost defining, and a rumbling signaled thunder nearby.
“What do we do?” Jessica said quietly, almost a whisper. “I don’t know.” “Should we call the police?” “I guess.” “Oh god, Steven. He’s so… so awful.” “I know.” A loud crack of thunder made Jessica jump a little. Alan groaned, looking up into the trees, letting the rain wash his face. A fine mist was rolling in, settling down over the body. Only it’s twisted face poked out from above the incandescent flow of white. It was then that Steven noticed that the face was twitching, the mouth moving ever so slightly. A tremendous crash pounded the sky above them, and the scene became brilliantly lit for an instant. The eyes. The man’s eyes where staring right at him. The face was slashed into ribbons, but the white spheres buried deep into his head where unscathed. The eyes seemed sightless, but the intensity of the gaze felt mind numbing. “
“Oh Jesus!” He shouted, taking a step back, pointing. “WHAT?” “HE MOVED!” “What!? No he didn’t, Steve, it’s just the light playing tricks on you!” Jessica said, rushing to take his hand, trying to calm him. Steven’s eyes where wide with horror. The dead man’s eyes where LOCKED on him, following his movement. “HE’S FUCKING MOVING, CANT YOU SEE IT?!” Jessica turned to look back at the corpse, and seemed like she was about to say something just as a soft growl emanated from behind the man’s torn lips. Now it was Jessica’s turn to shriek “OH MY GOD!” They all took a step back, Alan scuttling like an insect in the mud. The mangled mess groaned louder, it’s face splitting as it’s mouth opened wider. The arms wriggled uselessly around it, disturbing the sheet of mist that had curled around the creature. Tim approached it, kneeling for a better look. “I think he’s still alive, man. He’s messed up pretty bad, but alive. Steven, do you still have your cell?” Steven stood rigid, the rain coming down on him in sheets. “STEVEN.” Tim demanded. He snapped to, and reached it his pocket, pulling his phone out. The screen was cracked, and the power button wouldn’t work. “Must’ve been the crash.” He mumbled. “What about you, Alan? Dillon?” Tim called, shouting now over the increasingly torrential rain. “No? I didn’t bring mine. I guess we need to find a pay phone.”
The body let out another pitiful sigh as Tim stood, surveying the scene. “Come on, we have to get going.” Steven didn’t like being told what to do, but he had to agree with Tim on this one. If the man really was alive, they needed to get help. Fast. “We aren’t seriously going to just leave him out here?” Tim took step back, looking up at the rain as it poured down on his face. “Of course not. Who wants to stay here with him, though? That’s the question.” “Not me. Hell no, not me! I’m not going anywhere NEAR that thing!” Alan spat from his position in the mud. Tim pursed his lips. “How can you stay so god damned CALM, man?” Dillon said, addressing Tim without looking at him. Tim said nothing, and then nodded. “I’ll stay, then. You all go ahead and find a phone. I’ll be here. We can’t have gone all that far off the road. Just follow the tire tracks back and walk back into town. It shouldn’t be to long. Just meet up with me here.” Steven didn’t see anything wrong with that plan. The longer it was before they had to talk to the authorities was more time for him to think of some way of talking himself out of some serious jail time. He couldn’t believe that his punishment was seriously at the forefront of his mind as he stared down at the tangled mess of arms and legs. “Come on, Steven. We have to go.” Jessica said as she tugged on his arm. He looked around and saw that the others where already leaving. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep a good eye on him. I’m not going anywhere. Just hurry.” Tim said, and then added, “He is kind of creeping me out.”
After following the tire tracks for a minute or to, Travis stopped, bewildered. The rain had washed them away from the point he was at onwards. “Uh, guys, I think we have a problem.” The tree branches parted here for a ways, and the rain was hammering down, turning the ground into a stuttering muddy vibration. “Shit, what do we do?” “I can’t believe the car went all this way. We must have been unconscious for a long time.” “That’s assuming that these ARE indeed the tracks from our car. The rain’s been coming down like this for a while. I find it hard to believe that there where ANY tracks left.” “Aw, well that’s great. That’s just great. Now we don’t even know if we’re going the right WAY!” They stood, watching the rain carry mud and earth away down the path. “I guess all that’s left is to turn back and meet back up with Tim and try again.” Steven said, more to himself than to the others. Travis raised an eyebrow. “After we’ve come all this way? The road could be just on the other side of this clearing! Come on man!” Steven looked down, his thick brown hair streaming down his face with the rain. “Alright. Let’s keep going. But if we don’t reach a road soon, we have to head back.” “Sounds like a plan, man!” Travis said, grinning, and then turned to start crossing the clearing.
It was quiet, save for the rain and thunder. They hadn’t heard any cars passing, which was a good sign. The rain was certainly loud enough to shelter any on coming noise, but Travis doubted it. After another minute’s walk, he started to seriously doubt his decision. “Hold up, Hold up.” He said, stopping and raising his arm. “You hear something?” Steven said, clutching on to Jessica. “No, that’s why I’m asking you all to stop. I don’t think we’re any closer to the road than we where before. We should head back, like Steven suggested.” “Great. Now it’s gonna be an even LONGER walk back. Christ, this is getting tedious.” Alan said, hands on hips. “Hey, a man’s life is at stake here!” Steven said angrily. “I know that, and I’m saying we’re wasting a butt load of time, man! The guy could be GONE by now for all we know.” “Don’t say that, Alan.” Jessica said quietly. They where in deep shit. They all knew that. They HAD to find a phone soon.
But turning back yielded even worse results. It wasn’t long before they realized they should have entered the clearing again, and then the prospect of being totally lost dawned on them. “Sorry, man. How the heck was I supposed to know?” Travis said as Steven jabbed him with his finger. The rain only seemed to be getting heavier, and any chance of making it back to Tim without a GPS or something was nil. “Well, brainiac, what’s the plan NOW?” Travis gave Alan a sideways glance, and then looked around. “Well, its not like we wont reach a road EVENTUALLY if we just keep walking. The next road really can’t be all that far away.” “The next road could be an HOUR’S walk from here if we don’t know where we’re going!” Dillon shouted, waving his arms.
“Look!” Jessica said, pointing. Travis followed her aim to a long, rusted fence, hidden behind a large patch of shrubbery. “I don’t think there’s going to be any phones there, Jessy. It’s probably for one of the old steel mills.” “No, LOOK. There’s someone there!”
She was right, a man in a long yellow brakeman’s raincoat stood just beyond the gate. He seemed to be working on some machinery Travis couldn’t quite make out. “Its some old homeless person, probably. Probably try to rape us or something.” Alan said, peering over Travis’ shoulder. “Oh, shut up, Alan. It looks like he’s working on one of the machines there. We should go talk to him, see if he knows where we can find a phone.” Jessica said, and she broke away from Steve’s embrace and made her way over to the fence. “Jessy, wait!” Steven called, moving after her. She reached the fence and pushed open the gate, a teeth-grating shriek resounding from its rusty hinges. The man in the rain coat must have been seriously engrossed in his work. He didn’t turn, or even flinch for that matter. “Excuse me, sir? Can you help us?” She said, approaching him. Travis slipped through the opening after Dillon, and then let Alan through. The man still hadn’t turned around. “Excuse me, SIR?” Jessica called again, louder. Perhaps he was an old man, and hard of hearing. “Excuse me-” She said, placing her hand on the man’s shoulder, and then immediately drew back, uttering a loud gasp.
The man turned then, slowly, drunkenly, pivoting on one foot, keeping one hand firmly on the machine while the other swung loosely, as if it where a cloth sleeve. The man was indeed old, his brazen-toned skin dark against a scraggy white beard. But it was his eyes that where the most startling. Empty, white spheres, exactly the same as the twisted man they’d found after the crash. He opened his mouth, and black, foamy liquid gurgled out onto his beard, splashing down his coat with the rain. A wet choking sound issued forth, and then Travis saw the most horrifying thing of all. The man’s hand. It wasn’t resting on the machinery. It was caught and crushed between two gears. Splintering chunks of white and red where oozing out of the space where the man’s hand was caught.
Jessica screamed.