Little Red

On The Road Again

     The image of your parents flashed in your mind. Their bodies were beaten until they were beyond recognition. The only way you could tell it was them was by the jewelry they wore. They sat upright in their seats.

     You sit up abruptly, looking around. You sighed as you remembered the events of earlier. It had gotten late, so everyone went to bed. You lay back down, relaxing once more. As you closed your eyes, starting to drift back to sleep, a blood-curdling scream echoed through the house.

     You sat up. From beside you, Kye also sat up. Kye went to grab his phone as you stood up. You heard him calling the police, as you walked over to the door, trying to listen for any other sound. Another scream echoed through the house before it abruptly stopped. You and Kye sat in silence for what felt like hours before you heard sirens in the distance.

     You stand outside with Ace, Kye, Maria, Onyx and Val. Paramedics wheeled Jamie out with a sheet covering him.

     "I want to see him," Val said, walking to the paramedics. Everyone follows Val, surrounding the stretcher. Before the paramedics could protest, Val tore the sheet off of Jamie. Everyone gasped.

     Jamie's eyes were gouged out. Blood streamed out from his eye sockets, down his cheeks. His shirt was torn open. A long cut stretched from his chest to the hem of his pants. Some of his organs spilled out from the cut.

     Onyx gagged at the site before turning around and throwing up in the bushes. Ace's eyes widened as they backed up. Val backed away, a look of pure shock on her face. Kye looked away. You turned your gaze away out of respect more than disgust. After what you had seen since you moved to the town, seeing Jamie didn't bother you as much as it should.

     The paramedic stared at Val with an empty look for a moment before covering Jamie back up. They wheeled Jamie to the ambulance. The police walked over to the group, while everyone stood in place, in shock. They took everyone to the station for questioning once again.

     The police had finished questioning you first. You waited for everyone else, tapping your fingers against your leg, needing to do something. Closing your eyes, you lean your head back against the wall. Feeling a hand on your shoulder, you jumped.

     "Sorry," Maria said softly.

     "It's fine," you muttered. You paused for a moment before continuing, "We were thinking of leaving." Maria nods slowly. You looked at her.

     "We were planning to tell everyone in the morning," you said, trailing off before looking away.

     "Oh," Maria said. Silence filled the room once again. You both glance around awkwardly, unsure of what to say.

     "We should," Maria paused, looking out the window for a long moment, lost in though before continuing, "go. I mean we should go."

     "Yeah. That's probably best," you said, glancing at Maria.

     "I agree," Onyx said, appearing next to Maria. You and Maria jumped at the sudden sound. You chuckled as you turned towards Onyx.

     "So. Now we just need to ask Val, Ace and Kye," Maria said.

     "Yup. I have a feeling they're going to agree though," Onyx replied, sitting down next to Maria.

     "If they do, agree, I mean. We should leave tonight," you said, looking between Maria and Onyx.

     "For sure," Onyx replied, leaning back in her seat. Maria nodded in agreement. You glance towards the door and see Val walking over in the reflection. You turn towards Maria and Onyx as Val speaks.

     "Have you told Maria yet?" she asked.

     "Yeah," you responded. Val sat next to Onyx. After a few more minutes, Ace came out. They silently sat next to you. You wrapped an arm around them, figuring they were still shaken up from seeing Jamie.

     "Thanks," they muttered, leaning their head on your shoulder. Val looked at Ace with a concerned look, before turning back to talk with Onyx.

     After a few more minutes, Kye walked over, stopping in front of you.

     "We're leaving. Tonight," he said.

     "About damn time," Val said, standing. With that, everyone exited the police station. You walked out first. Since all of you were taken in police cars, you now had to walk home.

     Everyone was on edge as you walked. You noticed Kye jumping at every little sound. Every time he passed an alley, he would look into the darkness for a while, then speed walk to catch back up to the group. His actions were strange, but you didn't question him. You thought back to the faceless being he saw. You couldn't help but wonder if he still sees it. The more you thought about it, the more the feeling of dread increased. You shook your head as if to clear the thought from your mind.

     You soon arrived back into the house. There was caution tape all around it. Disregarding it, Kye opened the door that was left unlocked. Everyone went to their own rooms, gathering their items. Within an hour everyone had their belongings packed into the car. Unfortunately, it took nearly another hour to figure out how to get everything and everyone in the car.

     Soon enough, Ace was driving down the road, out of the small town. You sat in the back seat, next to the left door. You looked out the window, watching the trees blur as you went by.