Surviving a Real Life Horror Story

Chapter Seventeen

Don’t move…don’t even breathe…I thought to myself as I clung to the tree.

I bent as close to it as I could, hoping to blend into the branch and become invisible to the figure far below me. Had he already noticed that we were here? I was so close to the branch that I could feel my heart pounding against the bark. I could hear my blood pumping in my ears…I prayed that the person below wouldn’t pick up on it.

The stumbling footsteps sounded loud as they crashed through the grass at the base of the tree. I stared towards the ground, wishing my eyes would adjust to the darkness. When they did, I could barely make out the figure of a huge man. Even though it was too dark to see details, I could see the shadowy outline of a long stick dragging against the ground.

I could hear the grass tearing at the contact. My heart sped up as I realized what it was- it was a machete. I knew that meant that it was the killer that was playing Jason. He was heading away from the heart of the arena-just as Milton had predicted. I swallowed heavily as I watched him.

I wondered if he had blood on that weapon. Was he the one that killed the first contestant? Or had it been another one of the other killers that waited in ambush closer to the heart of the arena? The thought that a killer lurked so close made me feel sick. I could hear a rugged stagger in Milton’s breathing, and I knew that he was feeling the same way.

We held our tongues, watching the figure shamble deeper into the darkness. I could feel a sharp pain in my fingers suddenly, and I realized that I had dug my nails into the bark. I could feel a bit of warmth running from under my nails. I didn’t have to see it to know that it was blood. I knew that it was just a person in a costume, but the thought of what they were capable of terrified me to the core. I wondered if this was how the actors in those cheesy horror movies really felt.

I shook the idea away almost instantly when I remembered that most of them didn’t even know about the killers until the very end. We were sent here, knowing the possible consequences to our mortality.

We waited, holding our silence even after the sound of Jason’s footsteps could no longer be heard. I wondered what other demons were lurking in the shadows. I wasn’t sure exactly what Milton thought we should wait for, but he seemed to have a plan that I didn’t. I kept track of the minutes that passed, grateful that only one contestant had lost their life so far. A grim voice in the back of my mind reminded me that there would be more before the game was over.

“I think it’s safe to move on,” Milton whispered suddenly.

I jumped at the sound of his voice. “Where are we going to go?”

“I don’t know,” Milton admitted, “but I think it’s safe to say that the killers are wandering out from the heart. Pretty soon it’ll be too dangerous to stay where we can’t see our surroundings.”

“Wouldn’t it be safer to stay in the dark?” I asked uncertainly. “I mean, if we can’t see, they can’t see, right?”

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” Milton said. “For all we know, the producers might’ve given them technology to see in the dark.”

“An unfair advantage would certainly make for an interesting show,” I said bitterly.

“Are you ready to move?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said uncertainly.

“I’ll climb down first,” he offered.

I listened to the sounds that he made as he shuffled slowly down the tree. I hoped to myself that Jason hadn’t seen us in the tree and was waiting for us to come down. In the back of my mind, I remembered that Bruno had been in the gate beside our own. He might be as close as Jason had been for all we knew. Finally, I heard the sound of Milton’s feet hitting the grass.

“Your turn, Alexis,” he said softly.

I took in a deep breath, relying on my sense to help me get down the tree. I winced at the feeling of the bark when it rubbed under my nails. I bit my lip and jumped the last foot to the ground.

“Ready?” Milton asked.

“Yeah,” I said softly.

I searched for his outline in the shadows. I used it as my guide to follow him. We walked with our usual air of silence. Eventually the darkness lifted to an average night. I could see a few details of Milton and my surroundings were a lot clearer. In the distance, a huge shadow loomed.

“What do you think it is?” I asked.

“Could be a cliff,” Milton said, squinting through the darkness uncertainly.

“Should we find out?”

“It might benefit us to know the arena,” he said. “We might be in here for days, it would be good to start scoping out some places that might have food.”

“Good point,” I said.

In my heart, I felt sick. I realized that I hadn’t thought about the competition being longer than a few hours. If the contest lasted days, I wondered how we were going to survive. Would we have to take turns sleeping, or would we not sleep at all? I frowned, hoping Milton had a plan. I was glad that he was at least thinking one step ahead of me.

Milton began to walk quietly through the foliage, and I followed behind him. It wasn’t long before we could make out the details of the looming shadow. Milton stopped in his tracks, and I was a moment behind him as I realized that we were standing face to face with a house.