☾THE MECHANIC☽

16. Disaster

"Was that the rest of the backup supplies?" Ashlyn questions Aiden, who just closed the trunk of the jeep. "Yep!" Aiden confirms. "Good then we're ready to go," Ashlyn says before turning to you, "Ready?". "Yeah," You nod. Everyone gets in the Jeep except Aiden. He has to press the button to close the gate. You have to drive to the gate and honk to signal him to get in.

"Everyone has their lights ready?" Ashlyn asks,  looking back from the passenger seat. "Y-yeah" Taylor answers. You look out the window, "You know what to do right? Close the gate after we're out and then run to—". "The other door. Wait for you to honk and then bolt for the jeep" Aiden finishes. "I got it, don't worry" He smiles waving his knife around. "You're sitting in the back with Logan. Now, be careful..." You sigh. "Yep!" Aiden presses the button. As the gate opens, you slam on the gas pedal. You swerve around the corner as the others shine their light out of the windows. You make it to the back door and honk the horn. You see the door open, revealing Aiden, who bolts for the trunk of the jeep.

When the trunk door closes, you slam on the gas pedal again, heading for the road. "Are they following?!" You shout. "Y-yeah! But they aren't keeping up!" Logan answers. That wasn't as bad as you thought it would be. You keep your eyes on the road, keeping an eye out for anything up ahead. "Okay Logan, we're driving about two hours out, right? To the next town?" Ashlyn questions. "Yes, my grandparents and I go there often to the antique shops, so I'm familiar with the location and how to get there" Logan answers. "I'm not sure if it'll be far enough but I think it's a good place to start" Logan informs.

It becomes silent after a while, so you check the rearview mirror. Your eyes scan over each of your friends. Each of them looking out a window of the jeep. "Ashlyn, it's been thirty minutes of silence. Can we please play some music or something?" You hear Aiden in the back. "No," Ashlyn answers, "We need to stay focused". "Once you pass the school, you'll take a right" Logan informs you. "Okay," You nod. An uneasy feeling pools in your stomach. The phantom started to thin out five minutes ago and now you can't spot a single one.

A few minutes go by and you spot the school. 'Okay, I just take a right at the end of this road...' You take the turn. You notice there are cars on the road but it'll be easy to move around them. You notice a steep cliff on the right of the jeep, so you need to be careful of that. 'Whoever said driving was fun is a liar' You huff. "Shit!-" You swerve, barely missing a tree root. You hear your friends being tossed around. "What was that for?" Tyler questions. "There was a giant tree root in the road..?" You answer, eyeing the driver's side mirror. "That's strange... This road is usually well-maintained-" Logan is cut off by you swerving again. "Are you sure this is the right road?" Ashlyn asks. "I'm positive but there were never roots in the way" Logan informs before peaking out the window.

"Ah! Yeah, there's the gas station we usually... Pass?" Your eyes spot the gas station Logan's mentioning. It's outgrown, covered in vines. "That's... Not a good sign" Tyler mutters. "This is getting uncomfortable" You admit, "Maybe we should find a different road-". "[Y/N], speed up," Ashlyn says. "Why?" You glance at her and notice her eyes are wide. "Just do it!" Ashlyn shouts. You speed up, accidentally hitting a root. "Why are we speeding up?" Tyler questions. "Ashlyn..." Aiden trails off, "What's up?". "Something... There was something in the trees" She informs. You notice the road ends and you're now driving in the grass. "What happened to the road?" Taylor questions, looking back. "[Y/N], we should turn back! Something obviously isn't right," Tyler says. "We can't" Ashlyn's breathing becomes heavy. "Why not?!" Tyler's anger rises.

"Because... It's right behind us" Ashlyn informs. You feel the ground start to shake so you glance in the rearview mirror. Your eyes widen, "What the hell is that?!". Everyone turns around to look at the creature as you keep your eyes on the road. "There's no way any of our lights are strong enough to do any real damage to that thing" Tyler mutters. He's right, you doubt even the Jeep headlights would be more than an annoyance to something that large. "S-should I try shooting it?!" Logan grips his gun. "Not yet! We could end up attracting more!" You shout. Your eyes widen at the sudden change of biome. "[Y/N], we need to turn around! We're going to end up lost and run into one of these things!" Tyler eyes you in the rearview mirror. He can tell you're worried, it's written all over your face. "I know, I know!" You glance in the rearview mirror, eyes falling onto Tyler first before going to the creature following you. Your eyes go to the giant pillar ahead and you grit your teeth. "It's getting closer!".