"dot it's been twelve hours, we're not any closer to finding them than the cops are." gabriel argued as he watched the girl lose her mind in her own steps, tracing the trail over and over til she'd find herself halfway into the forest. He wasn't wrong, they'd been there since six in the morning till six in the afternoon. He had only been able to convince her to sit in the car every few hours or so, trying to keep their hands from being frost-bitten. It was thirty minute intervals that she seemed to despise, her frozen fingers antsy to scavenge through bushes and kudzu crowded ditches.
Yet, she knew gabriel wasn't as dedicated as she had been. If anything he stalked behind her in a shifty manner, looking every which way, maybe shifting a few logs over. It was as if he was scared to step away from her in any which way, yet they were in broad daylight for the majority of the time.
Alex's disappearance had to have put him on edge as well, it was understandable, the scene was gruesome even without a body. Just remnants of blood and distant tracks in the mud. One's she stared down at now as he blabbered in the background.
"It's christmas eve - it's supposed to snow later, we can't keep on in the cold." his reasoning caused her to pause for a moment, casting a glance his way. Christmas eve?
When had the holiday been this close? How she didn't notice was a mystery to her, the whole trip had been gathered around the special occasion. She wondered that if they had stayed in chicago, that if she had listened to alex's wishes to do so, would they still be caught up in this mess? It wasn't likely. Now she was here, searching for them with someone that they were less than fond of. If it weren't for dot's guilt of ignoring the old friend, they could've been at home in their shitty apartment, ranting on about the stomping footsteps of the neighbors above them. Christmas was a sore subject anyway, disconnected from their families, they held each other dear to the holiday.
Them 'forcing' each other to watch their favorite movies, polar express and the nightmare before christmas on loop as they went crazy for the hot chocolate.
It was the idea that christmas was meant for them, to spend the time with each other and to cast away the pessimistic view they had before. dot had messed with the tradition, and it had fallen apart. Even if gabriel had been a part of it before, that was three years ago, he wasn't a part of the routine they had set for themselves now. She stepped out of line and disaster struck from the sides, caging her into a place void of cheer and warmth. Still, the shuddering from the man behind her did bring her out of her thoughts, was it right to push him into the same drive? Him and alex weren't as close, but he was still around, that was enough. It was best to listen to the voice of reason, the one beckoning her to get out of the cold, even for a little bit.
"okay." she uttered, folding the ripped fabric of alex's jacket into her bag. She had brought it along as a reference, to see if any stray pieces had landed elsewhere, to match them together. At least the fur around the hood was intact, surprisingly. Handing gabriel the car keys, she allowed him to lead the way back. The forest was hollow as they trudged along the trail, several boot tracks facing the other way as they passed, the cops had made a mess of it. How would they find anything in the muck? It was all she thought about as she ducked under the caution tape, even as she buckled herself in.
The sun was setting early again, it would be dark soon. The streetlamps had already turned on along the streets, just barely illuminating the sidewalks yet. Lights she used to bask in only blinded her now, leading her to sink into her seat until they arrived, though it wasn't the way back to gabriel's home. Instead they turned into the parking lot of a particular dining, the 'open' sign flashing above a '24 hour' one. slugs cafe, the larger sign sat atop the roof. It wasn't an unfamiliar place, in fact it had been one she spent hours in with the two she called friends. It was just one of those spots that they had found refuge in.
Though she was dressed sloppily, it wasn't the worst the workers had seen her in. besides, it was mostly other people flying in through town just to make a quick stop to eat. She would never see any of these people again, so why did it matter?
Zipping her jacket up, she got out of the car and shut the door with the bare minimum amount of force. She didn't have the energy to slam, but apparently gabriel did as he raced towards the entrance. following closely behind, she grabbed the handle before the door could close on her, gabriel's hunger overruled his manners. When she entered, she found him at a booth towards the back of the diner. One they had settled in several times before.
Him across from her, while the other two - or usually the other two - sat on the other side. The vacant space beside her felt dismal, begging for presence.
"got you a coke, that's what you like, right?" he asked, fiddling with the edge of the table, she only nodded. It didn't take long for the waitress to come back anyway, settling the drinks down on the table along with two plastic straws. dot moved to unwrap hers as gabriel settled on his order. Despite having not been to the diner in forever, she had her order memorized. Even then, she stammered for a moment to gather her thoughts into her mind, the waitress grimacing at the faltering, yet she still wrote it down.
"You act like ordering is the hardest thing in the world." gabriel commented with a snort before he took a sip of his tea.
"Well, sometimes it is, i know what im ordering - it's just difficult to collect myself, guess." dot replied with the shrug of her shoulders, though the words stung just a bit.
"I was just messin' with you man, all jokes." he raised his hand in a playful manner, yet she only raised her eyebrow, putting her attention onto her own drink.
The clinging of plates and the bustling rush from the kitchen overtook their
conversation. Gabriel avoiding her presence for the time being as he typed out a message, to who, she didn't know. It only made her realize how she neglected the little flip phone in her jacket pocket. It wasn't as if she really used it outside of calling a about three people, she didn't even upgrade just as gabriel apparently had. It was supposed to be the year of smartphones, and she was battling a student salary just to keep her minutes updated. Though it came with some quirks, she tended to drop it a lot
- and those things were indestructible when closed.
For the moment her thoughts hadn't circled around the grotesque situation, it was almost calming to focus on the obsolete wonders of the tech world. At least until her mouth watered at the smell of their food being placed before them.
The peculiar burger and a side of fries sat before her, she would've grinned if she hadn't been so hungry. picking up the slug burger she quickly took a bite, she couldn't remember the last time she had actually had one.
"What even is in a slug burger?" gabriel snorted, watching as she seemed to have devoured the thing.
"uhh, I think pork, chicken?," she paused, holding a fry as she thought,"yeah i don't remember, but it's good."
a lot of people seemed to think so, the whole diner was centered around the special. A meal you'd only find in the southern regions of the states, cheap and odd, but good. It was something decent to keep her going for the next search.
"I wouldn't eat anything with the word slug in it." he answered, shaking his head in disapproval.
"It's only called that 'cause they used to only cost a nickel, and ya' know - nickels are called slugs."
"You're filled with useless information." she only shrugged.
The next hour would pass before they were satisfied, empty dishes settled on the table as they sat back. She would be the one to leave their tip at the table, though gabriel would hand over the money for the bill itself, saying he'd be in the car. She almost rolled her eyes at him, but he was paying for the meal, so she couldn't bring herself to actually be annoyed. It didn't take long anyway, after she was handed the change she would be on her way. If it weren't for the man that nudged her as she neared the entrance, it having shoved her over just a bit.
"My fault, miss." a milked southern accent spoke out at her, she looked up to meet the gaze of the tall figure. Hazel eyes shot back at her mismatched ones, hollow seeming, like the little smile he had didn't reflect the apologetic tone, even despite the gap between his two front teeth. It would've given the factor of a kind person, but the swarming in her stomach was enough to deem it as a bad first impression. Though, she tried to brush it off. She was on edge, and she often knew what it was like to put on a little facade to the public eye, customer service was not a job for the weak.
Raising her hands, she waved them in a calm manner, "not your fault, i should've watched where i was going."
it was a short exchange, him nodding in her direction as she walked out, and her returning it. Walking towards the toyota, she glanced back at the diner, meeting the gaze of the man again, he didn't break eye contact even as he sat down in a booth. The swarm would rise once again, and she'd no longer play off the behavior. little shivers crept up her back, urging her to make it back to the car.
The passenger seat leather cold against her back, the buckle all too tightening. The little moment of peace within the diner had passed, and it was back to the grind and the worry. Gabriel grimaced at the wide eyed state she was in, watching as she tried to sink into her own jacket, itching to get out of the 'open'.
"We don't need to go back right now, its fixin' to snow, and we should really leave it to the cops." she reeled her head in his direction, eyebrows furrowed with an expression of disbelief. If it was christmas eve, and it was going to snow, did he think the cops would be up and about to work on such a case? They were barely doing anything now, if she wasn't out there, then who would be?
"Then just drop me off then." she argued, for once being so stubborn. It was his turn to look at her in skepticism. Still, he knew there was no arguing this time, no reasoning. He had played every other card just to get her to go to the diner. If she had the motivation to do so, she would've played her own set, trying to convince him to just leave her be.
What was the point in celebrating the holiday, it wasn't easy to just pretend things were fine and dandy. It wasn't the hallmark channel, much to her dismay. A little snow would not put her off, he'd recognize that as he turned out of the parking lot. He combatted that they'd at least go prepared, zip up jackets wouldn't protect them for much longer.
The trip home was quick. They bundled up, her layered in her cardigan and at least two jackets. Gabriel had an actual puffer jacket, it looked ridiculous to say the least, but there was a noticeable difference in their start of the day to the end. Warmth hugged her as she held the flashlight in her hands, traipsing down the trail once more. Gabriel sluggishly shuffled behind her, a bit less enthusiastic to get a move on. It was nearing midnight, maybe an hour or so till it'd actually be. their tracks had by then blended into the other sets, the mud sticking to their sneakers.
The trees bended above them, swaying ever so slightly. The sky was pitch black, but the stars weren't as visible through the branches. It was calm, not a single sound could be heard besides their own steps crunching over the dry, dull grass. In spite of the quiet, it felt anything but peaceful. More so the kind of quiet you heard in movies as the horror crept behind it's victims, preparing to construct utter demise. It was the same gut wrenching sense from the diner, the image of the man flashed across her mind. She had to call herself crazy, that she'd spiraled so far just to accuse a man trying to get a meal. Everyone was a suspect, gabriel too. Hell, herself included, but to play the blame game so soon would be a match ultimately lost. She could ground herself usually, if she hadn't been in such an area destined for tragedy.
The whole break could've been some cheesy christmas thriller itself, something you'd see late at night on the tv guide. Only on the sixth day of christmas, she'd wonder what the seventh would bring her. If she would get what she really wanted, she wouldn't have to worry about finding alex out in the woods, they'd simply be under the tree. Thoughts were interrupted by the snapping of a twig, dot and gabriel both whipped around to face their flashlights at whatever it was. A deer, caught in the brights of their lights. It stood so still, staring at them. She imagined it's heart was beating just as fast as there's was, both giving each other a fright.
"Just a deer." gabriel breathed, shutting his eyes and shaking his head. That's all it was, just some animal creeping about the forest.
"Yea-" she didn't even get the chance to answer completely before the deer hit the ground. A yell ripped from her throat as she jumped back, gabriel gripping her shoulder to drag her as well. Red coated the grass, the splintered skull faced them, though not much could be seen through the hatchet sticking out from it. Rusted with similar shades, as if many stains had been painted across them.
Axe throwing wasn't the typical hunting technique, but the hunter would make themselves known as they stepped from the shadows. They reached down to tear the hatchet from the poor doe.
He stood fully at an average height, his gloved hands grazing over the blade in an idle manner, as if inspecting the weapon. He'd turn towards the onlookers a few moments later, staring behind the thick, orange goggles that sat on his face. The smiling-esque mask covered his bottom half of the face, just anonymous enough to terrorize the two. A blue hood was pulled over the brown tufts of hair he had, it didn't match the brown fabric that lead to the rest of his jacket. He stared for only a few more seconds before raising the hatchet, slowly waving it back and forth, as if saying hello. At least it was nonverbal before his gaze settled on gabriel, he'd perk up just a bit, as if he were seeing someone he knew whilst out in public.
"long time no see!"