*I'M GOING TO TRY UPDATING MORE FREQUENTLY WITH THIS BOOK SO HOPEFULLY I DO AND YOU GUYS WON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT FORGETTING EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS BECAUSE THAT'S BECOME A PROBLEM FOR SOME OF YOU, I KNOW. AND IF I END UP NOT TAKING MY WORD IT EITHER MEANS I'M NOT FEELING WELL, I'M VERY VERY BUSY OR I NEED TO TAKE A BREAK FOR AWHILE TO REFRESH MY MIND. SO IF THIS HAPPENS, TELL ME PLEASE, SO THAT WAY I WILL BE MOTIVATED TO AT LEAST TRY TO WORK ON THIS STORY, NO MATTER WHAT. THANK YOU AND ENJOY! :>*
Chapter 51
Jeff and I left the motel in the morning, and went back on the road again. I was well rested and ready to keep driving. Jeff seemed to be rested too, although he was slightly out of it. But I think if he had slept on that cushioned bench, he wouldn't even be awake right now. We kept driving and we eventually made it into Iowa. A couple of minutes in, we started spotting towns. The buildings were absolutely stunning. Tall, well-structured buildings with beautiful coats of paint in all sorts of nice shades. The place looked amazing and I knew we'd be seeing more towns much like this one.
I reached into my pocket and grabbed the map of the area that Ben had calculated where my grandmother was residing. I opened it and looked at it briefly. "We just need to pass through this town, drive a couple more miles into the woods and then we should find our destination," I announced to Jeff and he nodded. I put the little map aside and drove through the town. After thirty minutes we made it out and into the forest. I looked at the map again and could see that we were on the right path. I kept driving on the only road there was and checked the surroundings. The forest was thick with trees and I'm sure some wild animals live around here. Hopefully I don't run into any of them, literally.
As we drove deeper and deeper into the forest, I felt a strong feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was absolutely unnerving and I begged it to go away. I don't know what is causing me to feel like this. Maybe it's just the anticipation of seeing my grandmother for the very first time? Yeah, that must be it. But this feeling is way more stronger than any anxiety I've ever felt.
I turned up the radio, thinking that it would calm me down. It didn't help much but it did take away the eerie silence within the car. This feeling lasted for a while and I couldn't take it much longer. Just as I was about to have a panic attack, the radio signal scratched up and mostly turned into static. Jeff tried adjusting the knob but no matter which way he turned it, the signal wouldn't work. We both thought it strange and Jeff ended up turning the damn thing off. Now it was back to silence and I didn't like it very much. I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel and Jeff noticed my uneasiness.
"Are you feeling okay?" he asked me. I nodded and strained a smile. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me. We'll get there eventually."
"That's not what's troubling you," Jeff stated and I bit my lip.
I stifled a nervous chuckle and replied, "I'm telling you, I'm fine. Why are you so concerned about me anyways?"
Jeff frowned and said, "Because I'm your chaperone and it's my job to make sure you're fine."
"Well I've been saying that I am, and you won't listen," I muttered, agitated.
"Hey I'm only asking if you're okay. Don't get antsy with me," he growled and I scowled.
"I wouldn't get antsy if you just quit interrogating me!" I snapped and we got into a full blown argument.
"I'm not interrogating you! You want me to do that, I'll do it!"
"You better not ask anymore questions or else I'll-!"
"You'll what?! Huh? You'll kiss another guy right in front of me?!"
I hit my boiling point and yelled at him with all I had. "Don't you dare bring that up! That was one mistake and you had to go and kill him for it!"
I saw the pure rage in Jeff's eyes spark and he yelled louder than ever. "I didn't kill that son of a bitch!"
"Then who did huh?! It damn sure wasn't one of the guys back at the mansion!"
"I-I don't really have any proof but-!"
"Oh that makes me believe you all the more, doesn't it?!" I said with sarcasm.
"Don't be sarcastic with me! This is your fault in the first place!"
"Okay, sure I started it, but you didn't have to go and make it worse by killing someone!"
"I DIDN'T KILL HIM!!!" He raised his voice even louder.
"THEN WHY ARE YOU BEING SO DEFENSIVE OF YOURSELF?!" I matched his volume.
"BECAUSE YOU'RE ACCUSING ME LIKE SOME PSYCHO BITCH!!!"
"YOU FUCKER!!!" I screamed and slapped him. He growled and swatted my hand away. I punched him and he yelled at me, "Quit it!"
"Not until I see your lying ass out of this car and rolling down the road!" I growled and punched him again. He gripped my hand and pushed it back but I kept persisting. He covered his face with his arms and I kept trying to maneuver past them. Just as I was about to hit him again, Jeff yelled, "Watch out!" and I felt the car hit something. I gasped and hit the brakes. The car skidded to a stop and I panted. "What did I hit?!" I shrieked.
"I don't know," Jeff said, still a little freaked out about it. I quickly exited the car and ran to the back to see what I had hit. I stopped in my tracks and covered my mouth. I had hit a wolf, and already had done so much damage.
The rib cage was protruding out of its sides and its legs were bent at odd angles. I retched and looked away. Jeff came around and gave the corpse a disgusted look. He cursed under his breath and muttered, "You need to pay more attention to the road."
"Now's not the time, Jeff!" I snapped and looked back down at the dead animal. What do we do with it? Do we just leave it out here to rot? God, it's so messy! I didn't want to leave it here in this state, but what more can I do? I sighed and rubbed my temples. Just then, that unnerving feeling kicked in and I felt like I was about to throw up. I still don't know why I'm feeling this way but it's annoying and nerve racking. I looked down at the corpse and watched as black blood pooled around it.
Wait.
Black blood...?
My knees nearly buckled as I realized something.
The wolf wasn't dead...
It's empty, now blood leaking eyes opened and it pounced. I screamed as it tackled me down and snapped its black ooze stained teeth at me. I quickly manifested my bracers and stabbed my blade into its chest. It whimpered and I threw it off. I got up and so did the wolf. I then noticed the black markings trailing along the areas of fur-less skin. I could clearly see the rest of its organs through the openings under the protruding ribcages and saw a half black heart beating and pulsing. It was corrupted.
The wolf came charging towards me and I jumped out of the way. I backed away from the wolf as it snarled and barked at me. I suddenly heard more growling accompany the noises and I turned to see another wolf....and another...
It was a whole pack. And they seemed pretty ravenous. One wolf was larger than the rest, it must be the alpha, and it howled a distorted cry. I turned around and yelled at Jeff, "Get back in the car!" I made a run for it but only managed to get so far, when a wolf came up and bit my pant leg, dragging me away from the car. I screamed and kicked it right in its face, causing it to whimper and growl. I got up and saw two more wolves come my way. I was preparing to attack them too, but they completely avoided me and went for something else. Jeff!
I turned around and already caught him stabbing the first one in the head. It fell as the second one took its partner's place. It pounced on Jeff and snapped at his face. He quickly pushed it off and swiped at its throat. Black and red blood spurt out of the wound and Jeff sneered as some sprayed on him. It seemed like he could handle them so I said, "Aim for the heart!" and went to fight my own wolves.
As soon as I turned around, a wolf jumped up at me but I quickly sent some spearheads at it and it flew back. It got pinned to the ground and the spearheads retracted, taking some flesh with them. Another wolf came charging at me and I kicked it across the face. It flew back and hit another wolf, sending it toppling down. A third wolf came charging, and it tried to bite my legs. I stabbed at it and the wolf whimpered but kept persisting. I grew annoyed by this one and grabbed it by the fur. I shoved it away stabbed it in the chest.
A fourth wolf came along and leaped onto my back. It nearly bit me but I quickly flipped it over my head and snapped its neck. It fell limp, and I thought that I had killed it, but then it got up, keeping the head in the odd angle I snapped it in. I retched and punched it away.
I managed to stab through most of the wolves' chest, puncturing their hearts and killing them. Jeff had killed some too, though he had more trouble with it. The last one that was left for me was the alpha. This one had seemed more corrupted than the others as it was more distorted. It bared its sharp teeth at me and I scowled. I came in to attack it and it suddenly leaped out of the way. I then felt a sharp pain course through my body and I had realized that it bit my leg. I grew worried, fear that what had happened to Jeff will happen to me, but no black marks appeared on my skin. Why am I not getting corrupted?
Before I had any more time to figure things out, the alpha came charging towards me and tackled me down. I fell hard onto my back and held back the urge to scream. The alpha started snapping at my head but I kept it away. It was bigger than the rest, so it was heavier and stronger, meaning that I was starting to lose my strength. Just as the alpha came close to biting into my face, there was a loud, deep roar. The alpha stopped and its ears perked up. Its tail went between its legs and it let out a few whimpers. The alpha suddenly ran away, along with what was left of its pack, and Jeff and I were left puzzled yet relieved. But then we heard the loud roar again and it sounded closer this time. We turned around and my heart nearly stopped. A large, burly, half-corrupted grizzly bear came stomping towards us and Jeff and I said in unison, "Shit."
Jeff's POV
"Shit," Ellie and I said and I could tell this wasn't going to end easily. The bear was big and burly and could easily take me down if I wasn't careful. As if grizzly bears weren't powerful enough, now we have a corrupted, pissed-off, bloodthirsty one. Nature can be a bitch sometimes...
"Look out!" Elizabeth shouted and we jumped out of the way as the bear came charging towards us. I rolled to the side and quickly got up. How the hell am I going to hit this thing? It's big and ferocious. It's going to be hard to maneuver past this fella. As I was in thought, the grizzly bear came at me and I dodged it. It let out a loud roar and tried again. I kept dodging it but I knew this couldn't keep on forever. I suddenly heard barking and looked to see more half-corrupted wolves. God dammit!
Elizabeth told me to switch her and so I took on the wolves while she had her turn with the bear. There was about three of the wolves and all of them were vicious. I slashed my knife at ones snout and it whimpered. The second one pounced but I punched it in mid-air. The third one came in to bite my leg but I jumped up and stomped on its back. I heard something crack and it howled in pain. I leaped off of it to attack the rest. After a while I had managed to weaken all three of them. They circled me, building up their strength and learning what they could about me. I anticipated for them to attack but they never did. I looked over at Ellie and saw her holding back the bear as it reared up on its back legs. She was struggling but looked like she could actually push it away. Then, one of the wolves came rushing towards her and bit her. She screamed and I tried to help her but the other two wolves blocked me. I looked back at Elizabeth and saw her stabbing the wolf in the chest and it started to rot. Ellie could barely walk but she still tried to fight. Every time I tried to run to her, the wolves would snap at me and lead me away. The bear noticed that I was still standing and it came charging towards me.
"Jeff!" Elizabeth called, "Hold still!"
"Hell no!"
"Just do it!" She growled and raised a hand towards me. I did as she said and stayed still. The wolves were about ready to bite me and the bear was coming closer and closer by the second. What is Ellie thinking?! Is she trying to get me killed?! I know we're on bad terms right now but god damn!
"Elizabeth!" I called.
"Just a few more seconds!"
"Hurry up! I'm going to die!"
"Hold on!"
"Ellie!!!"
"Now!" she shouted but it wasn't an order directed to me. Something rushed passed me and ran into the charging bear, pushing it back with as much strength it could muster. As I looked closer I saw that it was a shadow, my shadow. It had the same shape as me, same height, same weapons. It was a dark copy of me. I would've totally fangirled over this but a wolf had leaped onto me, stopping my train of thought. It snapped at me but I slit its throat and stabbed it in the chest. It started withering away and all that was left was one.
I raised my knife to stab it, but it used a new feature on me. Its tongue elongated and whipped the knife out of my hand. I retched and backed away. I tried reaching for my knife but the wolf tackled me down and started to snap its teeth at my face. I screamed and kept trying to reach for my knife as I held it back. It was no use and I was losing my grip on the wolf. Just as it was about to sink its teeth into my skull, something kicked it off of me and stabbed it in the chest. It started to wither away and I looked up to see Elizabeth's.....shadow.
I remember the first time I saw this thing and I frowned, but now's not the time to think about that. I got up and picked up my knife. Shadow Ellie ran towards the bear and started fighting along side mine. I watched as both of them slashed, stabbed, kicked, punched. It was like a dance and I couldn't help but watch it flow. My shadow boosted Ellie's up and her shadow jumped up to land on the bear. She stabbed a blade into its head and leaped off before the bear could attack.
The bear roared in pain and got more aggressive. As my shadow came in to attack it, the bear bit onto his shoulder and started mauling. I froze, wondering how painful that must be. Before the bear could rip off my shadow's arm, Shadow Ellie came to the rescue and stabbed it in the eye. The bear let my shadow go, and he fell to the ground, holding his wounded arm. Shadow Ellie came around and helped him get back up. She fixed him up, as a black ribbon-like object wrapped around his wounded arm, and faded within him, covering the injury. They nodded to each other and high fived, before running back into battle. I watched them fight again, and they practically seemed to fight as one. When one went to attack, the other attacked after it. They moved around each other swiftly, aided each other and protected each other from harm. Once, my shadow had taken a hit for Ellie's and nearly dissipated into black smoke. But he still held onto his solid form and fought. I wondered if that was what Elizabeth and I would look like, fighting along side each other.
As they fought, I ran to the real Elizabeth's side and helped her up. Her leg was bleeding from having that wolf bite her, and she was weak. She panted and held onto me as I picked her up and headed for the car. We made it to the vehicle, which was left undamaged, and I helped her into the driver's seat. I looked back at the shadows and they did a pretty good job. One of the bear's arms was cut right off and couldn't regenerate properly as it was only half-corrupted. And it was blinded in one eye from Shadow Ellie stabbing it there. The bear looked weak and unable to fight anymore, yet it still persisted. It seemed like we could leave it here, it will eventually die anyways.
I told Elizabeth this, and she called off the shadows. They stopped abruptly and sunk into the ground, slithering back to us to take on their previous occupation. I actually missed watching them run about but I knew that we wasted far too much time on fighting. I got into the car and Elizabeth started driving, leaving the bear out in the road to roar in pain and die.
She drove as far away from it as possible and when we felt better she went at a regular speed. We rested and took in the tranquility of the forest and of the car. I was relieved to have stopped fighting and enjoyed the relaxation. Thirty minutes passed and I was feeling a little better. I checked on Elizabeth and she seemed a little better too, but her leg was still bleeding. I told her to stop the car and to pullover. She was hesitant about it at first but she did as I told her. The car was pulled over and I rummaged around my duffle bag to grab a first aid kit. I got out of the car and went to Elizabeth's side to open her door. I kneeled down and grabbed her injured leg. She winced and I shushed her so she could calm down. I lifted up her pant leg and examined the wound. It wasn't too critical but I still need to patch it up. I grabbed some gauze, rubbing alcohol and a rag. I wiped away all the blood then doused the wound in the alcohol. Ellie screamed and bit her lip to hold back her cries. I waited for a bit, until she seemed okay, and then I cleaned the wound again. I tightly wrapped it with some gauze and then pulled her pant leg down. She quietly thanked me and I nodded. I grabbed the first aid kit, went to my side of the car and got in. I put the kit away as Ellie started driving again and then relaxed in my chair. After a few seconds I asked, "Does it feel better now?" Elizabeth nodded slowly and said, "I think I'll manage."
I nodded and rested again. There was silence again, but a good silence. No monsters, no arguing, no rowdy noises. It was solemn. But as I looked out the window I quickly took that back.
Before I could yell out a warning, the same bear from before came charging towards the car, and the world slowed down for a moment. My heart stopped beating, my blood ran freezing cold and I watched in horror as the disfigured bear kept coming. This little time freeze lasted for what seemed like forever, but like everything that freezes, time thawed out. Everything went back to regular time and the bear ran into the car, sending us off the road and tumbling down hill. All I heard was a high pitched ringing as everything around me spinned and whirled. Glass shards flew, and so did pieces of metal and sparks. I felt something hit my side and I couldn't tell what. I felt and saw blood splatter and I wasn't sure if it was Elizabeth's or mine. I was thrown about in my seat and I caught a peak of a large tree trunk. The car was tumbling right towards it and I knew I probably wouldn't survive the hit. And right on impact, for a split second, everything stopped whirling, everything stopped breaking, everything stopped moving and I was sent into a world of darkness.
*~STAY CREEPY, MY FRIENDS!*