Max knew it had been five hours, because he'd tried, and subsequently failed, five times now, to keep the demon and its lackeys from beating Ross, like they had promised Shelby they would, and taking pictures of the nineteen year old who was steadily getting in worse and worse condition, already almost as battered as Max himself.
Ross was shaking, laying in Max's arms, pressed up against the older man for the small amount of comfort that he could offer. Max knew that Ross was probably close to passing out, as exhausted and hurt as he was, so, feeling guilty, he forced himself to keep pinching Ross, shaking him, doing what he could to keep his friend from falling asleep, and become vulnerable to Sky's power.
There was something making a small scraping sound, coming from above them. He paid it no mind at first, figuring it was a mouse that was wandering around in the air vents. But, when a figure suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, the grate hanging open behind them, he jumped back, pulling Ross with him, making sure he was between the younger man and any potential danger.
"Shit!" The figure coughed out, in a quiet, but high-pitched voice. They shoved themselves to their feet, looking around until their eyes landed on Max and Ross, and they gasped, flinching.
It was a girl, probably somewhere around Max's age, with long, dark brown hair, the ends of which had been dyed a bright red. She was wearing a light grey shirt, a white sweater, and a short black skirt, all of which were covered with dust, probably from crawling throughout the vents.
"Ross!" She whispered, glancing towards the door nervously. "I'm here to save you!"
Ross was gaping at her, blinking dumbfoundedly. "Shelby?" He asked, voice hoarse.
She nodded. "Yeah, it's me! C'mon, we aren't gonna die." She slipped something out of her pocket and stuck it in the lock, fidgeting with it for a minute or so, until it clicked, and swung open. "I'll boost you guys up into the vent, then you can lift me back up, okay?"
Ross nodded, clearly dazed. "Okay." He muttered, blinking a few times at his cousin, as though expecting her to vanish as soon as he reopened his eyes.
Max helped him to his feet, eyeing Shelby with thinly veiled suspicion. "Careful, Ross." He murmured, when the younger man stumbled, though he didn't take his wary gaze off of Shelby as he said it. He helped Ross walk towards the middle of the room, where the vent was. Then, reluctantly, he helped her lift Ross up into the ceiling. Then, fetching a chair from the other end of the room, he used that, and her help, to climb up himself, reaching back down to lift her up.
The vent was an extremely tight fit, and they had to stay single file, with Ross in front, which worried Max. If anything tried to attack them from the front, Ross would take the brunt of the damage. And Shelby was behind him, which made him nervous, because he couldn't keep his eye on her if he couldn't see her.
"Okay, keep going straight, then, when you come across an open grate, to your left, go out that one." Shelby instructed them, as they started to crawl along the vent. "My friend is waiting outside, to help us. She'll make sure you're okay." As much as he didn't want to, Max followed her instructions, since Ross was doing as she said, and he wasn't willing to leave the younger man behind.
Sure enough, when Max tumbled out of the vent, from the grate that led to the outside world, he saw a strange woman doing her best to help support Ross, though it was hard since she was much shorter than him. She had black hair, tied back in a ponytail, and was wearing a loose purple sweater and white shorts.
Shelby clambered out behind him. "This is Jess. She's helping us." Jess gave them a nervous, but friendly smile, as Max went over to help her support Ross.
"Where are we?" Max asked, glancing around. In his few days that he'd spent in the town, he hadn't really gone exploring.
"An alley behind the sheriff's office. Right now, everyone's at mass. C'mon, we only have about twenty minutes left to get out of here."
Shelby went to help Max carry Ross, but he shook her off. "I've got him." He insisted, slinging Ross' arm around his shoulder. Ross leaned heavily on him.
"You sure?" Shelby bit her lip, but didn't stop him when he nodded. "Well, okay. Let's go, then."
They were, technically, taking the longer path out of town, since Shelby and Jess had left their car outside of the border's of Sky's influence, and had walked the rest of the way, avoiding the chapel. But neither Max nor Ross objected, since Max understood why they were doing it, and Ross would too, if he hadn't been so dazed from his torture.
They were just reaching the edge of town when there were footsteps pounding behind them, more sets of footsteps than Max could count. Without asking or even looking behind them, Shelby and Jess each grabbed one of the two men, pulling them along faster than they could walk by themselves. "We need to run now." Shelby explained, as though it wasn't obvious.
"Stop them!" They heard Sky screech from behind them, as the footsteps grew louder. "They mustn't leave the town!"
Ross tripped, and Max and Shelby both leaned down to pick him up, losing five feet of their head start, at least. Jess slowed down, glancing behind to make sure they were still coming, but didn't stop. "Hurry!" She insisted, taking hold of Max's arm and dragging him along behind her. "We're almost there!" He grabbed Ross' hand, shoving the younger man in front of him.
Max and Ross were both stumbling, trying as best as they could to go fast. THey could see the car that Jess was pointing to, right past the sign that announced that passers-by were leaving Redstone Town, and they were trying their hardest to reach it.
They were only a few steps from the border. Jess crossed, then Shelby, then Ross. Max was about to follow them, to freedom, when something latched onto his leg, and he shrieked, kicking out, losing his footing and falling forward, flat on his face.
"Max!" Ross cried out, not letting go of Max's arm. He was on the other side of the border, and was pulling at Max, who was also being pulled by the deputy on the town's side. Shelby and Jess grabbed onto Max's arm as well, frantically tugging. At the same time, the sheriff joined the deputy in yanking on Max's leg. The rest of the townspeople seemed unable to leave the town, apparently having hit the border that had made Max go back the first time that he'd tried to leave. They pooled around the edge of the border, unable to pass it. Shelby, Jess, and Ross seemed unaffected by the border, but Max felt like it was quite literally ripping him in half, trying to both keep him inside, and shove him out. He wondered how much of that was the magic from Sky's powers, and how much was just the genuine physical sensation that came from having five people trying to drag him to either side of it.
Shelby let out a furious roar, and gave a huge tug, making Max feel like his arm was being pulled out of it's socket. But, even as the pain increased tenfold, he felt his leg slipping out of the grasp of the sheriff and deputy, who let out enraged shrieks as Shelby, Ross, and Jess pulled Max to the other side of the border.
Max didn't have any time to get his bearings, as the two women immediately pulled him into the car, Jess leaping into the driver's seat and starting it before the doors were even fully shut. She slammed on the gas pedal, ignoring the speed limit, and the car raced away, as far away from the crazed townspeople as possible. Just before they got out of sight, they heard an enraged, hellish roar, like a monster was behind them. It faded into the distance the further they drove, all silent except for their panicked breathing.
Max, Ross, and Shelby were all in the backseat, since it had been the closest entrance to the car from where they were. Ross was trembling fiercely, looking like he was going to pass out. Max knew he looked the same. He leaned against the window, panting, waiting for the pain to at least partially leave his limbs.
He must've fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew, Ross was shaking his arm, a terrified expression on his face.
"Wha'?" Max shoved himself upright, glancing around. Jess was still driving, looking like she, at least, knew what destination they were headed for. Shelby had moved to sit in shotgun, and was also asleep, curled in on herself like she was trying to ward off an attack.
Ross didn't say anything, just pointed out the window, horrified.
Max frowned, glancing out and seeing the night sky, speckled with stars. It took him a minute to realize what had Ross so spooked. "Oh! Yeah, it's night. The sun went down." He carefully wrapped an arm around Ross, pulling the other man up against his side. "Don't worry, it's fine. Completely normal."
Ross bit his lip, but nodded. He leaned his head on Max's shoulder, eyes drooping. He forced them open.
"You can sleep now." Max added, taking hold of Ross' hand and running his thumb soothingly over the back of it. "They can't reach you, here. Most people sleep every single night." He added, glancing Ross up and down. "In fact, I think, now that you're out of that town, you'll die if you don't sleep. It's really important. The only reason you didn't need to before was because of that weird, uh, 'Red Sun' of yours, I think." Ross gave him a dubious look, but let his eyes slip shut, as he shifted so that Max made a better pillow. Max gave him a concerned look, and ran a hand through Ross' hair, the messy light brown locks untangling between his fingers.
Jess glanced back at them for a second, before focusing back on the road. "Are you two dating?" She asked softly, curious.
Max's eyes widened, then he let out a tired sigh, not really wanting to deal with this. "No. We've known each other for, like, three days. And he was possessed for part of that. So, no, we're not dating."
"Do you want to be?" She questioned, eyes shining in the rearview mirror.
Max sighed again. "Hell if I know." He muttered, shifting uncomfortably. He turned away, looking pointedly out the window.
Jess seemed to get that he didn't want to talk. She was silent for a few minutes. Then, quietly, she spoke up from the front again. "Sorry, you just looked really sweet back there. I shouldn't have pried, especially after what's happened to you guys."
Max just shrugged, not really paying attention to her anymore. He let his head rest against the window, and watched the countryside as it passed by, hills and trees and plains, all silent, underneath only the light of the moon.