October 31st, 11:47 p.m.
Allison, Hannah, and I all stared at each other in shock. "What the hell just happened?" I asked.
Hannah and Allison shook their heads, both too startled to answer. I turned, preparing to go find Georgia, and slammed into something. I looked up and met a pair of amber eyes.
He was taller than me, with sweeping coffee hair, a sharp jawline, and piercing amber eyes. Allison pulled me back from the stranger and we stared at him in awe.
"What do we have here?" he tilted his head, "A fairy, banana, and a gypsy?" His gleaming eyes flicked over each of us.
Hannah spoke first, "Our friend disappeared."
His eyes sliced to her. "People disappear," he shrugged.
Allison tried, "Our friend, Georgia, is missing. Have you seen her?"
"If I had, why would I tell you?" he replied coolly.
I had had enough. I poked him in the chest, "You listen here, buddy. Georgia is out there all alone, and she could be dead or close to it. Now if you're not going to help, get out of our way. We have a missing person to find!" He stepped out of our path.
As we were walking away, he spoke. "The only thing," he said, "you're going to find is an early grave."
I stomped back to him and jabbed my finger in his face, "Who are you?!"
He flashed a smile, "The name's Salem."
"Salem?" I questioned, "Like the Salem Witch Trials?"
"Yes," his eyes swept over me.
"I'm Karina." I offered absently.
"Your friend has been taken over by a shape shifting beast known as a skin-walker." Salem stated, not acknowledging my statement.
"Is that why it looked like her?" I asked.
He nodded, "This particular one is called Essex and I have been tracking it for awhile now. It is quite powerful and enjoys taking the form of teenage girls."
We all listened, transfixed as Salem explained the monster that had our friend like someone would tell a bedtime story.
"Is there a way to save her?" Hannah asked, determined to do whatever it took to save Georgia.
"We have to find Essex." he explained, "Once we do, the skin-walker will lead us to her." He pulled a small leather bag out of his pocket and tossed it to me. "We'll have to surround her in salt and then burn the skin-walker to kill it."
"Why salt?" I questioned.
He pulled two more bags out and handed them to Allison and Hannah. "The salt is to protect Georgia and keep Essex from ripping, or absorbing, her soul and killing her."
I examined the small bag of salt in my hands, thinking over how scared Georgia must be right now.
***
October 31st, 12:13 a.m.
"Salem!" I whispered from my hiding place. Hannah and I were on one side of the path that twisted through the forest, while Allison and Salem were on the other.
"Patience," he whispered back calmly.
I rolled my eyes, "Patience is not a virtue I posses." He stayed quiet. "What exactly are we doing?" I asked.
"Waiting," was his hushed reply.
"Allison, switch places with me." I was not in the mood to deal play these games. I was going to tell Salem what I thought, whether he listened or not.
"Hush," Salem held up his hand, "We have company." As if on cue, voices drifted down the dark path to my ears. They came into view not a moment later.
Me, being the amazing athlete I am, tried to shift my weight from one foot to the other and lost my balance. I fell headlong into the path, right in front of whoever was walking down it. Did I mention I wasn't an athlete?
The forest seemed dead silent as I got onto my knees. Chancing a glance up, I saw two people: Jake and... Georgia? Her face showed no signs of melting or becoming disfigured. She was just... herself. Then I remembered, that it wasn't Georgia. It was the skin-walker, Essex.
And it had Jake. Panic rushed through my veins. Was Skin Walker Georgia planning on stealing Jake's soul too? I stood, determined to save Jake from becoming Essex's need victim.
"Hey Jake," Allison greeted, crawling out of the bush. "Do you wanna come get a drink with me?" She was distracting him. Good call.
Jake looked at Georgia out of the corner of his eye. "Uh... sure." he begrudgingly agreed.
As soon as the words were past his lips, Allison grabbed his hand and pulled him back in the direction of the party. My stress level went down a little knowing that Jake was out of harm's way.
Skin-walker Georgia crossed her arms impatiently. "Is there a reason you cornered me in the woods Karina?" she asked, still acting as if she were the real Georgia.
I never got to answer. A loud smack bounced against the trees as what looked like a large tree branch smashed Georgia over the head. She slumped to the forest floor with a small cry.
Hannah, the silent attacking banana, stood behind her slumped form with the used weapon. Maybe her silence was good for something.
"Good job," I complimented, a little shocked. I didn't think she could do something like that.
Salem slung the skin-walker over his shoulder as if she were as light as a feather. "What now?" I called to his retreating back as Hannah and I tried to catch up.
"We get to a safe spot before it wakes up." He said down to me when I came up beside him.
"And after that?" I questioned.
He picked up his pace, his long legs pushing him further. "We find your friend," he said with determination.
***
November 1st, 12:38 a.m.
Dust and the smell of old wood filled the old warehouse where Salem and I now held the skin-walker. It was currently tied to an old support beam in the middle of the building. A rat scurried across the floor in the distance.
A muffled groan came from Essex. The skin-walker lifted its head and blinked its stolen brown eyes a few times in the dim lighting. A cough escaped its lips.
"Stay back," Salem whispered before slipping into its line of sight. I was hidden in the shadows, alone. Hannah had stayed behind at Jake's party with Allison. Together, they were supposed to find Rubi and go to my house. We would meet there when this was all over.
Essex's mouth twisted up into a wry smile as Salem deliberately circled it. It was... amused by him. Not worried or threatened in the least.
Salem abruptly came to a halt in front of the skin-walker. In a low voice he demanded, "Show your true form."
The skin-walker didn't answer, but simply coughed again before letting its head fall loosely forward. Before I could blink, Salem had its long stolen blonde hair wrapped tightly around his fist. He brutally yanked back on the golden tresses, forcing its head back. Getting close to Essex's face, he hissed, "Don't make me say it again. Show your true form."
The skin-walker spat in Salem's face.
Everything went deathly still, even the crumbling building seemed to be holding its breath. Salem quietly wiped the spit off of his cheek. For a minute, nobody moved and then Salem slammed his fist into Essex's stomach.
A gasp of air left its lungs as the force of the punch pushed the skin-walker further against the beam. Another groan of pain swept past its lips. Its mouth curled up at one end so that it was a half smile-half grimace. A laugh left it, but it lacked humor.
The harsh sound echoed around the empty space before settling heavily in my ears. A cold chill slithered down my spine and I shivered. Maybe I should've stayed behind with Allison and Hannah.
It released another spine-chilling laugh before it finally spoke. "You may not want to be so rough, venator," it jeered in Georgia's familiar voice, "I may just have to swallow a tasty looking soul that has been taunting me all night." To emphasize its point, Essex licked its lips.
Salem's fists stayed clenched at his sides, but he didn't make an attempt to hit the skin-walker again. Instead, he outstretched his hand in my direction. He said one word, "Salt."
I scrambled to pull the small leather bag out of my pocket. I stepped out to briefly hand the bag to him before slipping back into the comfort of the shadows. With the salt in hand, Salem spread it in a circle that surrounded Essex, blocking it inside. He ended where he started, in front of the skin-walker once again. When he was finished, he took a step back and smiled an evil grin when he saw the terror reflected in its eyes.
"I'm only going to ask this once," he started in an eerily calm voice, "Where is the girl?"
Again, Essex denied an answer.
The scrapping of a match was heard before the small piece of wood burst into flames. The fire threw dancing shadows across Salem's face as he held the burning stick up for the skin-walker to see.
The tiny flame reflected off of Essex's eyes as they widened then narrowed dangerously. "You wouldn't," it dared in a hiss from between its teeth.
This time Salem was the one who didn't reply. But he didn't need to, the answer was clear enough in the triumphant gleam that shined in his eyes. He wouldn't hesitate to ignite the skin-walker.
Suddenly, a deafening crash of breaking glass signaled a large black bag exploding through one of the warehouse's many windows. It landed with a sickly wet thud at my feet. The smell of copper filled the air as a thick red liquid seeped out of the bag and pooled on the concrete floor. I stumbled back away from the horrifying sight.
Blood.
A body.
Georgia.
Panic filled my veins. "Salem..." I whimpered. He stayed quiet and took slow clam steps toward me. My breathing turned shallow and nausea rose in my stomach. I was going to be sick.
Salem reached down to the black bag and pulled the zipper open. The stench of decay and death filled my nose as my eyes took in the sight of long knotted blonde hair stained with blood. The dark blood lazily crept toward my sneakers as the world tipped sideways. I didn't see anything after that as the world was cloaked in black.
I passed out.
**************
A/N
OHHHHHHH!!!!!!! CLIFF HANGGGGEERRRRR!!!!!! XD
This chappy was a little longer than normal so... uh, I hope you enjoyed? Yeah... just laugh at the gif :)
Have a good day!!
SONG: Little Game by Benny (Allison's character song)
Bye,
~Alexis :3