Chapter 2
Ilene felt like a piece of her heart was chipping away, second by second, as she stared at the crimson bodies spread on the ground.
The vampires had easily swept inside their campsite, drank from anyone in sight, and then left to who knows where. They had had stolen so many innocent lives. These people—they were so excited to come on the trip--and now it was like the world had just betrayed them.
Right then she didn’t only feel sadness and hurt—but intense anger too. She wanted carve her own wooden stake and plunge it deep inside the vampire’s hearts. How could they do this? How could this be happening to her—to them?
She wanted to beat her fists on the ground and rip her hair out. God, she wanted to die right then. She didn’t know how she could go on with that burning ache in her chest. It was so consuming—so full of hate.
A hand touched her shoulder, and she spun around to meet Grant. As soon as she saw him, she felt the emotions bubbling inside her, and she allowed her tears to slip out. They were the only ones left! How would they get out when neither of them knew where the roads and highways were?
“Stop crying—“
“I can’t!” Ilene yelled, frustrated. She wiped her hands on her face, wiping the tears off, but more replaced them. “We’re going to die out here. We’re going to starve.” She wanted to stop crying—badly. She didn’t want to look like a weak, damsel in distress. The last thing she wanted to do was have a meltdown in front of him. But the tears kept flowing.
She raised her eyes to look at him. He was staring down at her with a frown on his beautiful face. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she lunged at him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Grant became ridged and shocked, but she didn’t care. Hugging him was the best source of comfort, and she really needed some right now. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, reveling in his touch. Slowly, he brought his hands up to rest on her back. He pulled, bringing her flush against his body.
“We’re not going to die,” He spoke, his husky voice echoing in her ears and causing the hair on her arms to rise. “I’m going to get us out of here.”
She let go of his neck, coming to stand in front of him. He didn’t look fazed as she was, not even a little bit. His cheeks weren’t red like hers were. Mostly… he looked emotionless, blank. Of course, Ilene didn’t have a huge ego and didn’t expect every man to fall at her knees, but it confused her as to why he wasn’t affected, even a little bit. But forget all that, she thought. There's more important things on hand.
“Do you know how to get us home?” she asked. Ilene had somewhat of an idea, but it was bearly formed. Ilene doubted either of them knew real survival skills, so she hoped they could work together.
"I guess we have to go back to where we came from and retrace our steps."
"Sounds good. It's a long trip back, though. And I think it’s going to start raining soon,” she glanced at the clouds, “we should definitely pack some necessities.” He agreed, saying there were some things he needed to take back to the real world with him.
None of them had a definite plan. Ilene thought they would talk about it while walking. Right now all she knew was that she had to get things packed and ready. The stench of blood and decay was assaulting her nose by the second, and she could stand being in the camping grounds anymore.
Ilene noticed that nothing was out of place once she entered her tent. No vampire had rummaged through her things. She stood at the entrance and gazed at Ally’s sleeping bag. Tears brimmed in her eyes and she furiously wiped them away.
She kneeled over Ally’s sleeping bag and gently touched the silk pillow. She stared, an emotionless expression on her face when her heart was feeling the exact opposite. It was so twisted, Ilene thought. Her death was savage and cruel.
She ignored the taunting whispers in her mind that told her to turn around and start crying for her friend. But Ilene couldn’t do that now, not when she had a task at hand. Getting out of this nightmare was her number one priority. When she was safe in the confines of her home, then she would allow herself to mourn.
One bag was enough, right? If they were going to be travelling she knew she couldn’t carry a ton of things because of the weight. Besides, she'd be home soon. Yes, yes she would. Ilene grabbed her backpack and dumped all the contents on the ground. She repacked, only this time it only had the things she’d need for the long walk to the road.
Ilene changed out of her filthy clothing and ran a comb on her hair. Dirt and blood clots flew out and landed on the ground.
Grant came inside the tent after a while, startling her. Ilene’s nerves hadn’t calmed down yet, and her brain had mistakenly thought Grant was a vampire. “Oh my God,” she panted, putting a hand on her chest. “You scared me.”
He ignored her comment, “Ready to go?”
“Yes. Did you pack everything you need?”
“Yeah,” he said, pausing for two seconds. “Where’s your jacket?”
Ilene looked around for her jacket, and saw that it was nowhere to be seen. “It’s not in here. Let me check outside.” Maybe somehow it had gotten out there. She came out of her tent and searched around the area, looking for a black waterproof jacket. But it wasn’t anywhere to be seen.
“I can’t find it anywhere,” she sighed. “I’ll have to borrow one from—“
Grant held out a dark purple jacket, and Ilene took it from him. It was in good shape, little to no blood on it, and not a rip in sight. Though she suspected he took it off a corpse, she didn't care. The rules had changed now, she had to do anything she could to survive.
And then they set out to find the road.
Grant took the lead and started to walk towards a dirt pathway that they had come from. It was a very long route, with lots of different paths going left and right, so Ilene didn't think Grant knew the whole way. There was no way he could remember every twist and turn. Oh well, she thought. They'd have to figure it out and get out of the Azealis Mountains by sundown.
A large flock of birds cawed, causing Ilene to jump. She practically ran to Grant, almost bumping into him. Calm down, it's just birds. They are harmless compared to what else is out there.
Ilene thought back to when they were walking to the camping spot. So far she could tell they were retracing their steps correctly, although Grant didn't look to sure. His jaw was clenched and his hands were in fists.
"The river, right?" she asked.
"What?"
"We can look for the river since it's pretty huge, and we basically started from there anyways."
"Right. Look for the river." His lips were in a thin line. She felt like comforting him, holding his hand, telling him everything was going to be alright even though she didn't know it for sure. He just looked so frustrated.
They walked in silence, not speaking, and not hearing any more sounds from nature except the occasional tree branch snapping underneath their feet. The storm clouds were moving away, thank God, and the sun was setting soon. They had to find a way to get out of here, and fast. Maybe go out into the roads where people are driving? Stick their thumbs out so people would pick up a pair of hitchhikers? Or no--they could find the counselors office and call the police from there. But would it be worth waiting there in danger for the cops to pick them up?
And now she was frustrated too. Ilene raked a hand over her face and hair. Grant glanced at her from the corner of his eye and said, "it got to you too, didn't it?"
She sighed. "It's just--I don't know what we should do. I was thinking we can go out into the roads and hope some people will pick us up, or call the police from the counselors office, but both ideas are really dangerous. I mean, if some random couple picks us up, how do we know their not serial killers? I mean, I'm sure you've seen the movies right--" Oh God. She was babbling. It always happened when she got nervous. "--I, uh, they could be as dangerous as the vampires."
He nodded. "You're right. And as for calling the police--" He paused. In the distance, something behind Ilene, caught his eye. She turned around, and there it was. A large lake with bright glistening water. But that wasn't what caught Grant's eye.
Fences.
Electric to the touch, barbed wired, standing 15 feet tall, and surrounding the whole perimeter of the Azealis Mountains. They were never there before.
Ilene realized they were inescapably trapped.
Comment, vote, and fan :) Love hearing from you guys. And I really apologize for not updating for the longest time ever. I know it's so damn annoying waiting and waiting and... waiting. Hah, now I'm super mad at myself. Anyways, I'll try hard not to take this long next time. Promise! The story's just getting started and I have a LOOOOOOTTTT to tell! :)