“Sit down, Miss Tran, there are still five minutes left before high school is over and you all can take off to college” Mister Roberts says as a muscular started to pack up her things. “But until the bell rings you still have to do what I say. Now when the bell rings remember to empty out your lockers and hand in your last books. You may graduate today but we still expect you to respect the school and its property… Now take it easy. Slow down...”
The bell rings and ends the last day of high school. Every student in every classroom grabs their bags and shoves their way out. They are free and the faster they can get away the faster they can start their summer break. The halls are chaos, old papers are thrown everywhere. People are howling with joy. Jocks are roughhousing. Pictures are taking. Some are saying tearful goodbyes while others are yelling to finalize plans.
“Yo Richard, pick me up in an hour, we gonna get some booze” Tyler calls over the crowd to the blond quarterback who flexes his muscles for some freshman girls.
“Gonna be off the hook Tyler” Richard calls back and the girls seizes their chance to get away.
“Party in the Valley” Shang calls as he walks up to Richard and performs their jock handshake. “Wanna go do some reps before we take off dude?”
“Yo, Miss Tran, wanna do some reps with Shang and me?” Richard calls to Kelly a few lockers down the hall.
Kelly playfully puts Richard in a headlock “yo if gonna start calling me Miss Tran, I'll start calling you Dick” she lets him go to perform the jock handshake with both off them “But yeah dudes let's do some reps, my guns need more power” she laughs as she flexes her arms.
“Hi Kelly, are you driving with Steve and me to the Valley?” Stacey asks as she and Steve walk by.
"Yeah I'll come by your place after doing some reps with the boys. I'm not going to spend three hours in a car with Becky and Tyler" Kelly says before they disappear in the crowd.
“Uuuh Stacey, I’ll come by your place. Let’s ride together Stacey” they can hear Richard and Shang tease.
Stacey and Steve walk out of high school for the last time. This is their last summer together before they take off to opposite ends of the US. They have known each other their entire life; growing up as neighbors. They have spent so much time together they are practically siblings. And now this is their last time riding home from High school.
“Are you ready for a full week of partying in the Valley?” Steve asks conversationally as they walk to his car. He feels a little sad and weird about it.
“Yeah it's gonna be fine. But I hope to get some painting done as well. There so many beautiful views in the Valley” Stacey love their trips to the Valley with all their friends. But sometimes the partying and drinking can be a bit too much. “Hi Kyle” she says as she see the scrawny boy standing awkwardly at Steve’s car waiting for them. He often rides with them; not because he lives close to them, Steve just likes to give him a ride.
“I don’t think I can come to the Valley with you guys. My dad has arranged some job interviews the next couple of days. He really wants me to get a job over the summer. He says if I don't work I can't sleep in the house” Kyle explains as he gets in the backseat.
“Bro, you have to come. It’s our last summer. Know what? You can just borrow my car and drive to the interviews” Steve says carefree. He is always ready to help out a friend; this is one of the things Stacey likes best about him.
“Are you sure?” Kyle asks; he doesn’t want to be a burden. “You don’t have to. You can all go without me. Beside I sometimes feel like I don’t belong anyway” he mumbles the last part.
“Yeah no problem, don’t worry about it. That's what friends do. And you don’t want to miss out on this trip. I'll come by later and pick you up on the backside, I know how your dad is” Steve says to reassure Kyle.
“How was your last day of high school? Any tearful goodbyes? Did someone write in your yearbook?” Stacey asks to break the silence; she never really knows what to talk about with Kyle.
“It was what it was. I snuck out before the bell rang to avoid the crowd. I don’t think anyone noticed” Kyle says and silence follows.
After they have dropped Kyle off and they drive away Stacey turns to Steve “I know he is our friend and all but there is still something about him that gives me the chills”.
“I get it. But Kyle is cool. He just has a tough time being social because of how tough his parents are on him. You should really give him a chance and get to know him. He is really cool. He can paint anything from memory and he is a great gamer” Steve says. He has often heard people call Kyle weird or creepy. But they don't know him like he does. Two years ago Kyle tried to kill himself and would have succeeded if Steve hadn’t found him. No one knows about it but it made him think twice about how he treated people. And he really wants Kyle to have better high school memories than almost killing himself. “Call me when you are ready to leave. I’m gonna take a nap” he says as he parks the car in his driveway.
Two hours later the car is packed and they are on the way. Gabriella sits in the front seat with her feet on the dash coating her nails. She usually drove with Becky and Jennifer in Richard’s car but then Becky started dating Tyler and Gabriella started dating Steve. Now Gabriella acts like the queen of the car and if it was up to her Kelly and Stacey could find another ride. Steve parks on the forest road behind Kyle’s house like he normally does. They are slightly hidden behind some trees. Steve steps out of the car and walks up to Kyle’s bedroom window. Kyle hands him a small easel and a bag before he jumps out of it himself.
“Eugh, do we really have to bring him. He’s so weird. And there is no room for his stuff” Gabriella says looking at the Kyle.
“Yes we have to bring him. He is part of our group” Kelly and Stacey says simultaneously. They may feel the same way about Kyle but they would rather hang out with him than with Gabriella and her stock up bitchy attitude. “Besides there would have been plenty of room if you didn’t bring two large suitcases for a week at the lake”.
“I need those suitcases. I got to look great for my Steve baby. What does he need that thing for anyway” Gabriella sneers seconds before Kyle opens the door.
“Hi Kyle, cool easel you got there, must be really handy to travel with. I wish I had one as handy as that” Stacey says in an extra nice tone to piss off Gabriella.
“Thanks, maybe we can do some painting together at the lake. And sorry I’m taking up so much space” Kyle says as he gets inside the car and closes the door.
The three are squished tight together in the backseat. But Stacey doesn't mind, she likes sitting close to Kelly.
“No problem dude. There is plenty of room for us all” Kelly says and twists a little in the seat to give more space to the others.
Gabriella turns up for the radio to block out the others from the backseat.
The sun is slowly setting as Richard greets them with beers in his hand “welcome to Casa Del Hughes. It’s party tiiime! Steve and Gabi, you got a room on second floor. There are condoms in the bed table for you. Kyle, there is a mattress for you in the basement. Kelly you won the master bedroom on third floor. And Stacey you got the maid’s room or you can sleep with me if you get bored” the last part he whispers into Stacey’s ear.
“That’s never gonna happen. I’m still a lesbian and you got too much dick over you” Stacey dismisses Richard and pads him on the shoulder. This isn’t the first time he has made a pass on her. “Kyle, you can have the maid’s room. It’s probably better than a mattress in the basement. I’m gonna bunk with Kelly, if it’s alright”.
“Whatever” Richard shrugs and starts walking inside “there’s pizza and beer in the kitchen”.
Tyler and Shang are having a beer-pizza slap contest. The one who finishes his beer first is allowed to slap the other with a piece of pizza. Becky and Jennifer are sitting on the table gossiping. Gabriella walks straight to them to join in on the gossip. Stacey is sure she heard her say her name. William, Richard’s brother, is having a heavy make out session with his girlfriend who none of them has seen or met before. William is only slightly younger than Richard, if he had been born a month earlier they would have been on same school year. Steve carries his and Gabriella’s stuff up to their room and Kelly and Stacey walk up to the room on the third floor.
Kelly throws herself on the king sized bed as they get up to their room. “I love this house. Richard might be a dick but damn his parents got style. The only problem is that Tyler and Becky have the room next to us and they never stop fucking”.
“How did you get us the room with balcony and Jacuzzi?” Stacey asks and starts unpacking her things “I smell like car, I’m gonna change real quick and then we can go down to the others”.
“I whooped their asses in the beer Athlon. And it’s our last summer up here so I thought we should have the good room this year. You deserve it” Kelly she says as she watches Stacey change.
“Thanks, that’s so sweet. I’m gonna enjoy drawing this view. Now let’s get down and get some pizza before it all has been in Tyler’s face” Stacey says and opens the door.
As soon as they get down stairs Shang, Tyler, Richard and Steve stops Kelly on the stairs, gives her a beer in each hand and then they run outside howling. Kelly follows them as if she knows exactly what they are doing.
Stacey walks into the living room “what are they doing?” she asks.
“They are going to start a bonfire. Grab a beer and come sit with us. We are playing spin the bottle but we share something embarrassing” Jennifer says and points to a spot on the floor between Becky and Gabriella.
Stacey sits down “why is this fun?”
“This is like, our last summer together and then who knows when we’ll all be together again. It will build a stronger bond between us. My sister did it before she left for college and she said it totally worked” Becky explains.
Stacey can see Kyle sitting alone at the table with a piece of pizza watching them. He looks so lonely. She doesn’t understand why he didn’t go outside with the others. She thinks about it for a moment and decides to take a chance on him. “Come play with us Kyle. It’s no fun just sitting there alone”.
“Why did you do that?” Gabriella whispers while Becky and Jennifer give her confused looks.
“We should try and give him a chance. Steve says he is cool” Stacey whispers back and makes room on the floor.
“He still gives me total creeps” Jennifer whispers just before Kyle sits down and immediately starts explaining the game “so the one the bottle lands on has to tell something embarrassing about themselves”.
The bottle spins a few rounds before landing on Becky “so like last year I auditioned for America's Talent. I walked out on stage and just totally sang the best I could. Like I really gave it my all. But I was so nervous and didn't watch where I walked so I like fell off the stage and landed right in front of the judges. Really embarrassing. So they came to help me up and I was really ugly crying. And as they took my arms to pull me up I accidentally let out this totally huge fart that just lasted like ten seconds. But the worst part is that I apparently totally can't sing at all. Like I’m really bad and if my parents had just told me the truth it could all have been avoided. But now it is all recorded on tape in the hands of some producer who might use it as a blooper” she says and spins the bottle.
They all mumble their condolences to Becky while following the spinning bottle slightly dreading it will land on them. Now that Becky has shared such an embarrassing situation it would be really bad style to back out of the game.
The bottle spins another round before stopping at Kyle. He opens his beer and drinks it all before talking. “I don't have that many stories to tell. But as you might remember I used to be a really big dinosaur fan…”
“Oh yeah you had that dino backpack and people called you dino kid” Jennifer blurts out without thinking.
Kyle takes a deep breath before he continues. He is shaking. It is only very few that know of this story. “Yes, I was Dino kid. And I got bullied a lot for it. People kept taking my stuff, pushed me around and called me names. Nobody wanted to be my friend. I tried to tell my parents that I didn't fit in at high school but they just told me to try harder and to stop whining. A little bullying will toughen you up son, they said. But one day it just became too much for me. It had been a really bad day with being pushed around, yelled at, thrown into the girls’ bathroom, getting detention, thrown in the dumpster and I couldn’t go home for my parents would just tell me to toughen up. So I rode my bike down to the harbor where I filled my dino backpack with rocks and tightened the straps. Then I jumped into the water and got pulled down fast. I wanted to get away from everything; I wanted it all to stop. But I had barely hit the bottom before I got cut loose and pulled up. Steve had seen me jump into the water and jumped after me. He pulled me out and saved me from drowning. We just sat at the harbor for an hour where I cried into his shirt and he held med. My parents pulled me out of school for two months and then got the principal to introduce me as a new kid. And since then my parents haven't let me hang out after school. They want me to come home right away where they can keep track on me. They are sure that you all are gonna bully me again. I had to sneak out just to come here” he finishes with tears in his eyes.
The others look at him horrified and regretful. None of them knows how to react to this story. An uncomfortable silence spreads in the room as no one can find something to say. For there is nothing they can say now to make it better. They were all part of the reason why he tried to kill himself.
After what feels like an eternity Kyle breaks the silence “I… I said too much. I'm sorry I ruined your game” he says and gets up “I think I'm going outside for a bit”.
Stacey is just about to stop him but Jennifer is faster "I'm coming with you. I could use a bit of fresh air myself" she says and follows Kyle outside.
“Wow, that was a real buzzkill. Couldn’t he just have told a story about that time where he stared at my tits so much that he had a huge boner and the teacher called him to the board” Gabriella scuffs annoyed “like why did he tell is this story. Is he planning on getting revenge on us?”
“Shut up Gabi. He just told a deeply personal story because he considers us his friends and felt comfortable enough to share his pain and you mock it. You can be such a bitch sometimes” Stacey snaps at her.
“I didn’t ask to be his friend. He is creepy and weird. And I think he did the right thing trying to kill himself and I wish he hadn’t come here” Gabriella retorts.
“That’s a horrible thing to say. Kyle has more right to be here than you have and he is a way better person. He thinks of others where you only think of yourself” Stacey is shocked by how mean Gabriella can be. She always thought that she might be good enough deep down and that was why Steve would date her but not anymore.
“Of course you say that, because just like Kyle, you are only here because you are Steve’s pet and he feels sorry for you” Gabriella laughs knowing that feels insecure about her place in the group.
Becky, clearly torn by this discussion, just looks at the two. On one hand she agrees with Gabriella; she has quite often felt creeped out when Kyle was silently staring at her and she wouldn’t have chosen to hang out with him under normal circumstances. But on the other hand, she now feels sorry for him too; she could have done more to get to know him and give him a chance. And he is part of their friend group, she has hung out with him quite a lot. He considers her a friend; someone he can trust and feels comfortable with.
“I don’t know Gabi. You are kind of a bitch right now. Yes, he is totally weird but like he did tell an embarrassing story and I do feel like I sort of understand him better now. And maybe we should make a better effort” Becky says pensively.
Gabriella is stunned. She didn’t expect Becky to side against her. They have so often bonded over and laughed about how much of a creep he is. And now she is suddenly taking his side. Before she can say something the others comes back inside.
“Woo yeah, that’s a fucking awesome fire” Richard laughs “now ladies stop your gossiping and join us outside”.
“Why did Kyle and Jennifer go for a walk?” Steve asks but is stopped by Gabriella kissing him.
Gabriella pulls on Steve’s arm and gives Stacey a victorious smile “let’s go have sex” she says and disappears upstairs with him.
“Yeah bro, go fuck that bitch” Richard calls after Steve. He grabs a cooler with beers “let’s get fucking wasted!!”
William and his girlfriend get up from the chair they have been sitting in the whole time “cool bro, I’ll bring my guitar so we can sing some songs”.
Stacey is awoken by the sun. She doesn’t remember going to bed last night. The party turned quite wild. She can hear Tyler and Becky having sex in the next room. Richard, Shang and Jennifer are swimming in the lake. And Gabriella is having a loud discussion with Steve.
“Good morning sleepyhead” Kelly says as she steps out of the bathroom in her bikini showing off her muscular body “I got you some food on the bed table. See you downstairs”.
Stacey eats her breakfast on the balcony watching the others play before getting herself ready. She puts on her best swimsuit and grabs her sketchbook and goes downstairs.
“Take me home now! I’m not gonna waste my time staying here” Gabriella yells.
“Sorry Gabi, I let Kyle borrow my car. I can’t drive you home until later” Steve retorts.
“What do you mean you let Kyle borrow your car? He is a super creep. People like us don’t hang out with creeps like him” Gabriella scuffs.
This time Steve sounds louder and clearer “that’s it Gabi. It’s over between us. I really liked you but I don’t want to be with anyone who doesn't show my friends respect. You can find another way to get home”.
Gabriella storms out of the room just as Stacey passes by “this is all your fault” she looks like she would have slapped Stacey if it weren’t because Steve was right behind her. “Can anyone give me a lift away from here?”
William pops his head out of his room “yo I’m just about to head into town to buy more food and beer. I’ll give you a ride” he grabs his keys and walks down to the car with his girlfriend right behind him.
“Don’t ever call me” Gabriella does her best to hold back the tears and not let Steve see her cry as she walks away.
Stacey waits until Gabriella is well out of hearing distance “I’m sorry. What happened and are you okay?”
“At breakfast Becky told me everything that happened last night. But I’m fine; this is probably for the best anyway. Let's just enjoy our week here” Steve grabs his towel and runs downstairs and into the lake.
Stacey finds a sunbed next to Jennifer where she can sit and look at the others play in the water and draw in her book. “Jen… do you know if Kyle is okay?” she didn’t get the chance to check up with him last night.
“Oh my God yes. We just walked down the lake. He said he was just so happy to have friends like us and he wanted us to know what he had gone through. But he didn’t know how to tell us. And he feels like it is hard to really connect with us because he is scared of overstepping. That’s why he’s always silent and staring, he is trying to figure out how to talk with us. That is just so sweet. But I told him that he is our friend and if he really needs to talk about something he can just come and say he needs to talk. Then we just walked around for some time and when we came back the party was going wild” Jennifer eagerly shares “I heard you got into it with Gabi”.
“She started complaining about Kyle and said really mean things. So I told her to shut it and that he is our friend and he told us that story because he trusted us. And when Becky agreed with me Gabi got really pissed…” Stacey starts but is interrupted by Becky joining them.
“Are we talking about Gabi? I could hardly hear myself moan over her yelling. What’s the situation?” Becky says and starts applying lotion; first on herself and then offering to apply on Stacey and Jennifer.
“Steve broke up with her. He told me that you had told him about last night and that must have started their fight. I only heard the last part of the fight. She wanted Steve to drive her home but he told her that Kyle is borrowing his car. Then she flipped and said that they shouldn’t be friends with people like Kyle. Steve just broke up with her right on the spot and he told her that he didn’t want to date people who didn’t treat his friends with respect. And then she took off, telling him never to call her again. William and his girlfriend gave her a lift” Stacey gossips. She doesn’t normally have much to talk about with Becky and Jennifer. It often felt like they merely accepted each other because of them having mutual friends. But now it actually feels like they are bonding and that she’s going to miss them next year.
They barely get to lie in the sun and talk before they get grabbed and lifted into the water. The cool clear water of the lake matches perfectly the bright crispy sun. It's like everything else in the world has disappeared; there is only this paradise left.
“Hey you two, we are going for a walk in the forest while William and his girlfriend are making dinner” Kelly calls two Kyle and Stacey.
After Kyle came back from his job interview the two found a spot with a good view over the lake and their friends to paint. Steve was right when he said Kyle was a good painter. He really got a good eye for color use. And he is actually quite a cool guy to hang out with. They quickly pack up their paint equipment and join the others.
“Yo, are you all ready?” Richard says as he steps out of the house wearing only Bermuda shorts and sunglasses.
“Are Becky and Tyler coming?” Jennifer asks after taking a quick look around for her best friend.
“I know Tyler is” Richard jokes and high fives Shang.
“Should we wait for them?” Kyle asks not wanting to be one excluding them.
“Fuck that. They fuck, they lose. Everybody grab a beer and let’s go” Richard leads the way.
“Yeah more beer” Shang and Steve cheers and makes a chest bump. They have been maintaining a low buzz all day. Shang is doing his best to cheer Steve up and keep his mind off Gabriella and the breakup. “Yo let’s climb some trees” they agrees as they follow Richard.
“Do you want to walk with me?” Jennifer asks Kyle.
The forest is nice and cozy with squirrels and deer to be seen in the distance. Steve and Shang are running around challenging each other to climb different rocks and trees having lots of fun. Jennifer and Kyle falls a bit behind talking. Stacey has never seen Kyle look this happy.
Richard puts his arm around Stacey “look at Kyle getting a girlfriend. Seeing a creep like him and a girl like her makes me believe anything can happen. Like you, you don’t have to be alone, I would totally hook up with you”.
Kelly pokes Richard on the shoulder “don’t worry dude, she’s not alone, she’s with me” she says and Richard let’s go off Stacey with a soft apology. “Sorry about that. When he is drunk he turns into a more obnoxious dick than normal. The truth is that he acts like a dick to compensate for his crushing loneliness. His parents aren’t that loving towards him or William and he is afraid that we all only hang out with him because of his money. Plus he has been in love with you for the last five years. It doesn’t excuse this toxic behavior but that is why he acts like he does” she explains as Richard opens a beer with Steve.
Stacey laughs “well if he wasn’t such a dick and didn’t have one either, then I could maybe have been into him”.
“So if he had been a big buff beautiful female jock with a good personality you would be into him? So you would date him if he was me?” Kelly teases.
“Yeah if you had been a lesbian I would have dated you so hard” Stacey looks lovingly into Kelly’s eyes “but you aren’t and that’s okay. I’ll still be your best friend”.
Kelly takes Stacey’s hands “I may not be a lesbian but I’m really into you. I’m attracted to the person and not their gender”.
Kelly puts a hand on Stacey’s cheek. Without another word she slowly moves closer. She has been wanting to tell her how she feels for some time. It just was never the right moment. And with the end of high school approaching so fast she didn’t want it to end like a generic teen movie where the girl has to choose between her future and her heart. But now they are here and she wants to kiss her so much and she can feel Stacey moving closer too. They both lean in for the kiss… A scream followed by a soft bump is heard. Stacey and Kelly turn around to find Shang lying on the ground. He had fallen out of a tree and interrupted the moment just a second before their lips touched.
“Wooooo” Shang jumps back up on his feet “did you see that fall. That was so crazy. Give me a beer”.
“Let’s go back. I’m hungry” Jennifer calls and they all just nod in agreement.
But just as they started walking back a large swoosh and branches cracking sounds behind them. A thick branch with long spikes going through it is hanging in the air where Richard was just standing. If it had swung just a second earlier it would have hit him in the chest and impaled him.
“I think we should get out of here very fast and very careful” Richard whispers. His face has turned white as snow for he could feel how it just missed him. His body shakes as he starts leading the way back. He has been playing in this forest his entire life and never knew that there were dangerous traps.
For the first few meters they walked carefully but with every step they moved faster and faster. The thought that they could, at any moment, step on a deadly trap took deeper and deeper hold until they were running. They ran as fast they could towards the house and didn’t stop until they were back at the lake. Gasping for air they all fall down on the ground.
“Who. the fuck. have built traps. in my forest” Richard curses angry that he almost died.
With a tight grasp on Kelly’s hand Stacey counts the others “are we all here?”
“Where’s Steve?” Shang asks as he realizes that he is missing.
Steve is missing. How didn’t she see that her best friend was missing? Did something happen to him? What if he got hit by a trap? Stacey grasps tighter onto Kelly’s hand as the thoughts floods her mind.
“Right here” Steve walks with a small limp “my foot got stuck in a root and I felt and sprained it”.
Richard grabs Steve in a tight hug “when I find out who put up those traps, I’m gonna suit them. I’m gonna get you a lot of money. I’m so glad you’re alive”.
William pops out of the door “good you are back. Dinner is ready. Did you have a nice walk?”
“Some fucking jerkward has placed deadly traps in our forest. We almost died” Richard angrily complains as they walk inside and take place around the table.
William and his girlfriend have made a delicious four course dinner. They have really outdone any expectations. Normally they just eat pizza and easy cooked meals for these party trips to the lake. But now there is an appetizer, a salad, steak and pie with ice cream. At the end they have eaten so much they can barely move. And it has a kind of calming drowsing effect on them all. On William’s suggestion the conversation turned into a scary story contest to try and calm everybody down about the traps and near death experience. Tyler turned out to have real skills for storytelling and entertainment. He told a scary story about witches in the modern world brutally killing teenagers. They all took a turn trying to tell stories. William is the last to tell a story.
“Have you heard about the Uncanny Valley effect?” William asks as he clears the plates of the table. “The Uncanny Valley effect is a feeling of unease when something becomes too human looking. We often anthropomorphize objects and animals with human-like characteristics. But when something becomes too human-like it gives people an uncanny feeling of unease. Like when wax figures or robots look like humans they get a creepy vibe over them. Or how you feel Kyle is creepy because he isn’t human enough. It’s like an innate instinct. Some people believe that there once was a creature with an ability to look like humans. They believe this creature was hunting and brutally killing us. And this instinct was our evolutionary way to survive it. Others believe it comes from humans' own cruelty. They say that there once were nine human species living at the same time that all went extinct over a short period as the Homo sapiens evolved and took control. And this instinct is a byproduct to remind us of how dangerous our specie and any specie like us can be. But the really scary thing is that even with this instinct to sense danger in human-like things it doesn’t protect us at all. Some dangers have become so good at adapting and simulating that they can easily fool this instinct. We will never know if the person in front of us is really a psychopathic murder before it’s too late”. As he said the last line he drew a knife and quickly slashed Richard’s throat sending blood cascading over the table.
Stacey found it hard focusing on the story. It was like the whole world had slowed down and everything seemed fuzzy. She didn’t even react to the blood until Becky started screaming Kyle fell backwards on his chair. She could see the confusion in some of the others. Was this real or a joke or maybe even a dream. It feels like it could be a dream.
“Why did you do that?” Steve yells shocked though his voice sounds slowed down and distorted.
William smirks “they say that humans are the most exciting prey to hunt and you are all perfect specimens. But my dear brother who has always taken care of me and protected me when our parents didn’t, he deserved to be spared for all of this. You get one minute before the hunt will commence. Honey, bring me my gun” he says and his girlfriend leaves the kitchen on his command.
“You killed Richard! Let’s get him” Shang says and throws himself towards William but stumbles forward like his body didn’t really work like it used to and crashes into the cupboard. He turns around swinging his arms around trying to make a punch hit.
With a big grin on his face William plunges his knife into Shang’s stomach “you simple fool. Do you think I would be so stupid as to let you overpower me? You have all been heavily drugged” he pulls the knife out and repeatedly stabs Shang multiple times before dumping his body on the floor. “I suggest you all start running because this is getting boring”.
Stacey gets knocked out of the chair as they all start panicking and scrambling to get out of the house. “Come on. We gotta go” Kelly grabs her by the arms and does her best to keep her balance and pull her up.
“To the cars” Steve says and leads the way out of the house and up to where they parked.
Stacey notices a small grin on William’s face as Kelly drags her out. He seems amused. They all stumble their way up to the cars. Becky, Tyler, Jennifer and Kyle are squished together on the backseat. Stacey and Kelly sit up front. Steve fumbles a bit before he puts the key in the hole and turns the ignition. But nothing happens. No start up. No sound at all. He tries again and again. And the panic grows in all of them.
“Come on drive already” Kelly screams. Her voice trembles with fear.
“It doesn’t work. He must have done something to it” Steve says and jumps out of the car again. The others slowly follow and then his face explodes. A bullet hits him right in the head spraying blood and brain all over the driver window.
Stacey screams. Jennifer bends over and vomits.
“RUN!” Tyler yells. He runs up the road with the others right behind him. They keep slipping and falling. The road has been soaked and they could hardly walk in the first place. He falls face first and can now really smell it “GET OFF THE ROAD. IT’S GAS!” he yells to the others.
The road lights up in flames. Kelly throws herself at Becky, Stacey, Kyle and Jennifer and pushes everyone off the road where they slide down the hillside. Tyler screams in pain as he lights on fire, still trying to get up. They can hear him scream as they roll back down into the Valley. Becky cries his name all the way down.
“What the fuck is happening?” Stacey gasps still trying to figure out if this is a horrible nightmare or not. She can barely comprehend what is happening.
“There’s no time for that” Kelly screams “we got to go”.
Falling back down into the valley has brought them closer to the house and William. And with the sun setting and the fire behind them it’s easy to see them.
“We got to go into the woods. Just keep running until we find help. If we are lucky we can survive till it gets dark” Kyle grabs Jennifer’s hand and leads the way.
They stumble as fast as they can through the forest. Knowing that there might be traps all over the place. But they just have to get away. They run and they run. And the sun is slowly setting, painting the world in an orange light. The forest gets denser the further in the come. Gunshots are hitting the trees behind them. And then thump! A trap goes off and a large branch swings around impaling Jennifer with at least five pointy sticks. It happened so fast she didn’t even make a sound as it hit her. Kyle is still holding her hand as she is hanging there on the branch.
Becky falls to the ground at Jennifer’s side. She vomits and cries. “I can’t anymore. I can’t” she gasps “five minutes”.
Stacey feels lightheaded. She can barely feel her body. She also wants to just stop and fall asleep. Unwillingly she sits down. They should keep on moving but she sits down. She can hardly breathe.
Kelly is about to disagree but has to cling to a tree to stay standing “five minutes”.
Every little crack or rustling makes them all turn their heads and scout through the trees. The fear is growing every second and the drugs amplify and twist every sound and movement. Another thump sounds out in the forest. They look for the sound.
“Well, well, well, what have we here?” William says as he comes up behind them “another one dead, who will be the next?”
One by one he points his rifle at them as if he is trying to decide who to kill. He finally decides on Kelly and takes aim even though she is just two meters from him. Becky screeches and jumps him. They fall to the ground and scratches on him with her nails. The others slowly get back up slightly relieved that Becky is taking down William. Bang. Becky stops moving and they can see William’s girlfriend come closer with a gun.
Kelly throws a branch at her. “Run” she yells and they stumbles further into the forest.
They run until the sun goes down and only the moonlight shines dimly through the treetops. They keep running until they can’t run anymore. Hoping they have gotten away, the three bundle up together under a large bush to try and keep some warmth during the night.
Less than an hour later they are woken up by William calling “run, run as fast as you can. You can’t escape us, you’re not a gingerbread man”.
“You are dead. You are all dead” William’s girlfriend laughs maniacally. It sounds like she enjoys the hunt even more than William does and they still don’t know who she is. They have barely said a word to her.
“How did they find us?” Stacey whispers as they are running again.
“They have to be tracking us with GPS. It’s too dark for them to just follow us. We have to throw our phones away” Kyle gasps. His head hurts when he thinks.
“I don’t have mine on me. Actually I haven’t seen mine all day” Kelly says and the same realization dawns on the other. “They must have taken them to prevent us from calling for help if we got away”.
Stacey screams in pain as her foot gets caught in an improvised bear trap. Laughter can be heard not far behind them.
“Fuck they are still right behind us” Kelly whispers and fumbles to try and open the trap.
“Our clothes. They must have put trackers on our clothes” Kyle says and starts taking it all off.
“But Stacey is caught. We can’t run or hide anymore. They are gonna find us” Kelly starts to panic.
“You can still get away. Just leave me and save yourself” Stacey whispers trying not to scream any more.
“No, take off your clothes now. I will draw them away while Kelly gets you free. Let me save you. I can’t let you die too. Not when you have been so good to me” Kyle’s voice breaks as he starts crying.
They want to protest but they can hear footsteps getting closer. They have no time to argue and quickly undresses.
“Hide and survive” Kyle whispers as he bundles the clothes up in his arms and starts running. This is his chance to save the last people he cares about. This has to work. This must be why he was saved two years ago when he tried to commit suicide. The world needed him one last time.
Kelly and Stacey presses themselves as far up the nearest tree, the trap allows it. They can hear the footsteps getting closer. Kelly puts her hand over Stacey’s mouth to prevent her from screaming as she pushes their bodies a little closer to the tree. A cone of light passes them and stops. William is standing just a single meter from them looking at his phone.
“Damn with that scream I thought they hit a trap. But now they run even faster than before” William says and slowly turns on the spot.
Both the bark and the bear trap is hurting Stacey and it feels like she is about to slip and fall at any second. To make it worse, if William keeps turning he will soon be able to see their naked bodies pressed against a tree.
“Then let’s go. It’s this way” William’s girlfriend says impatiently “they are getting away!”
William sighs “you are starting to bore me Nancy” and then he plunges his knife into the back of his girlfriend.
Stacey and Kelly let out a small gasp which William would have heard if it wasn’t for Nancy twitching her legs and kicking up the forest floor. He drops her body and sets into a sprint following the GPS signal from the clothes. Stacey and Kelly slides down the tree, holding their breaths while they watch the gasping silhouette of Nancy die out.
Kelly grabs a hold of the bear trap “this will hurt” she whispers before forcing it open to free Stacey.
“I hope Kyle makes it” Stacey whispers as Kelly undresses Nancy so they have something to wear. She rips up some cloth and bandages the leg.
“This is just in. The two teenagers Stacey Jones and Kelly Tran have just been found walking out of a forest making them the only survivors of last week’s Valley massacre. According to official sources they have been wandering for five days trying to find help. They have been escorted to a hospital under full police protection and an official statement of the events is still waiting to be released. But apparently it was the young William Hughes and his girlfriend Nancy Cunnings who orchestrated it all. William was the one reporting the crime in the first place and hasn’t been seen since. The police have reported that there are no tracks of William Hughes anywhere and that he might have fled the state already...”
Stacey turns off the TV and looks at Kelly in the bed next to her. She would never have made it out without Kelly. She carried her a good part of the way. They barely had anything to drink or eat for the last five days and still Kelly had the strength to carry her when the wound started to get infected. The doctors say they were very lucky and if they hadn’t been found when they did, they would have died. But how can you call this lucky. All their friends are dead. They were brutally murdered in front of them. She almost lost her foot. And the psychopath who did it, is still out there; free to plan his next murders. How are they supposed to go back and live a normal life with friends and family? Are they supposed to just start college at the end of summer like nothing happened? There is nothing lucky about this. She closes her eyes and soon falls asleep again.
A terrifying scream rips through the night. Stacey falls out of her bed trying to grab for anything. But there are nothing but tubes and wires. A foul odor makes her vomit on the floor. Out of the corner of her eye she notices something. She turns around crying to see what it is. And there in the middle of the room. Hanging from the ceiling is a body. She is suddenly ice cold. Scared that it might be Kelly she stands up screaming. Kelly is sitting on her bed screaming too. Two police officers storm into the room with guns drawn. The first trips and falls as he sees the floating body. The lights get turned on. And there is Gabriella’s slightly decomposed body hanging in the middle of their secured hospital room. A knife is pinning a note to the corpse with just two words on it “You win”.
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