Hunted - The past that kills [COMPLETE]

6 - Paranoia and Prime Suspects

After researching extensive information detailing the killing spree of the Alton Point Slayer, saying that Clara was paranoid was a severe understatement. The poor girl had terrified herself to the point where she had troubling sleeping, her mind becoming over-active and creating hallucinations as soon as she turned off her bedroom light. Considering that she was already on edge as she could receive another letter or that we would be attacked again anytime, every little thing that she didn't expect frightened her. Her friends had noticed, and they all could see the distinct change in her personality.

Indiana, being the only one who didn't know about the overshadowing inevitable doom hanging over the teens, wouldn't stop talking about the attack when lunch rolled around, saying that they - or more importantly, she - could've died. Her shallowness and egotistical streak made it seemingly impossible to show sympathy and make people feel better, and eventually, she had gotten bored and left the four to go find people who cared about her problems.

"Uh, Clara? Are you okay?" Hayley brushed her friend's shoulder gently, meaning to comfort the brunette. Instead, she ended up on the receiving end of a nasty glare after Clara just about jumped out of her own skin. "Sorry! Gosh... I didn't think you'd be this paranoid about- I mean, you were taking things better when I left yesterday-"

"I can't help it if I'm paranoid. We could be attacked any day now, don't you understand that?" she said, sounding slightly pissed off. She paused for a moment, then sighed and rested her head gently on the redhead's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I just... After yesterday's attack, after reading some of the awful comments on social media, I wanted to dig deeper into what kind of threat we were dealing with. That first murder spree happened when we were toddlers, so I went back and looked at a LOT of stuff. It was 2 am by the time I realized how late it was, but I felt and my mind was swimming and I-I don't know why I..." she stopped, gasping and trembling a little.

"Hey hey, it's okay. You don't need to explain yourself, we get it" Nate said. "I've looked into the details myself before, and I get that you're on edge right now. But don't you think you're a little too afraid? The Alton Point Slayer would be trying to lay low to avoid being apprehended again".

"That didn't stop them from doing it yesterday" Clara mumbled, looking down at her feet.

"Yeah, but there are people absolutely everywhere today. In case you haven't noticed, the teachers are watching us like hawks" Devon argued. "Besides, there are four of us who know now. It means that that psycho has three more potential threats to their plan, and I doubt one person could take care of four teens, even if that one person is a mass murderer".

Clara took a deep breath and nodded, looking up so her blue-grey eyes met Devon's hazel ones. "I... Yeah, I guess you're right" she replied, giving the group a half-hearted smile.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Shortly after that conversation, Devon had spoken to Clara about heading to her house after school so Clara could help her study. Since Hayley had met up with her friend Lauren to chat about who knows what and Nate had been pounced on be Indiana again, they were free to organize the plans straight away. After a quick phone call, all plans were sorted. The drive to Devon's house was unsettling, the lull inside of the vehicle being painfully evident.

As soon as the two teens got inside, Devon headed straight into her room, which confused Clara as every previous study session had taken place in the living room usually do homework in the lounge room.

"Umm, what happened to our 'study session'? Y'know, the reason I came over in the first place...?" she asked as Devon got her laptop out.

"That was the original plan, but your silence in the car said enough to change our plans. Plus, now is not really the time for studying, wouldn't you agree" Devon replied, beginning to type away.