The Mystery of Maple Creek

Chapter 6. The Gnawing Fear

Chapter 6

The Gnawing Fear

(Perspective: Hellen Mayweather)

My head was spinning hard. I felt dizzy. And I didn’t know where to hide.

From afar, I heard Joanna shouted out at me. As she finally caught me, she smiled in victory. But it wasn’t a good time to continue the game. This was a dangerous hour. We should get back to the car and tell everyone in town.

 As she walked closer toward me, I hurriedly warned her, “No! We should get out from here!”

Joanna was confused when I kept on behaving strangely. But I was so terrified, I didn’t know which part to explain first. Should I just tell her that Marion was murdered? Should I tell her first about the dead man awoke from an old antique coffin?

As we stood face to face, I quickly dragged her arm with me and said, “Come on, let’s go!”

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Joanna snapped and pushed me off.

I slightly glanced at the entrance door, which was a few meters away from us. There was just no time to argue. But then I had to spill it out, so she would listen to me.

“Marion is dead!” Finally, I told her.

Joanna stood still. Her eyes didn’t blink at all. She looked surprised at first, but then she laughed at me.

“I am not joking with you! There is this creepy looking guy, killed her inside the white house!” I snapped it out. But a part of me also felt frightened.

“You’re crazy, Hellen,” she muttered peevishly. “The Halloween day hasn’t officially started in town, so you don’t have to joke around.”

I shook my head agitatedly. For once I tried to tell her again, “You need to believe me. Whoever this man that killed Marion, he has a weapon!”

“Whatever. Just admit that you lose the game. I caught you already,” she reminded me.

I heavily sighed and muttered, “This is not about losing the game! For God’s sake—”

Before I could finish mumbling in front of her, we both saw the corpse got out from the entrance door.

“Oh, no—” The feeling of panic attacked my brain system again. My lips trembled in fear, just like my whole body did.

“Why is he dress like a colonial troop?” Joanna muttered dumbly. Then I slightly thought annoyed to myself; wasn’t this obviously the right time to run from the scene?

When he raised his blade in the air, Joanna finally realized the horror we were in. I immediately yelled at her, “JOANNA! RUN! NOW!”

“Oh, God, oh—” Joanna froze. Her dark eyes bulged astonishingly at his incoming.

I immediately dragged her arm and forced her to run with me. As our feet stepped roughly on the ground, we were so out of breath.

It was only a few meters away before we could leave the land, but Joanna suddenly brushed my grip off from her arm.

She stared at me with such a terror and said, “Ma-Marion, we can’t leave her—”

As I was panting hard, I looked back and told her again, “She’s dead.”

Then I stole a glance at the white house behind us. It was terrible, of what happened to that red hair girl. But this thrilling moment already gave me a headache.

My head was spinning again and again. I couldn’t believe that the terror kept coming back to haunt me. This was the matter of life and death. I literally lost in my way. I didn’t know what to do. But my head kept telling me to back off and just ran.

“Okay, whatever. Just let her body in the white house. We will tell anyone to pick her up once we get into town!” Joanna talked quickly.

And I just remembered about that conceited girl. So, I should ask, “What about Melissa? Where she is? I thought she was with you—”

“Oh, God. I don’t know!” Joanna said, panicking. “She was with me earlier. But I don’t know where she’s gone now!”

I terribly terrified, “No—”

She could be anywhere near this house. If we couldn’t find her, we were so doomed.

“He’s moving here!” As Joanna yelled, she brought back my senses.

I glanced again at him from afar. He tried to walk steady, but his movement seemed kind of broken. And the fresh bloodstain was still there on his sharp blade.

“We should find Bree and Bridgit! They are probably still hiding in the woods!” Joanna reminded me.

“What, but—” I stole a glance at the barn this time. What if Melissa was hiding in there?

This decision felt harder each time we didn’t move. We wasted a little bit of our time to run.

“HELLEN, PLEASE! COME ON!” Joanna yelled at my face. “Melissa probably already saves her own arse! Or she’s probably waiting for us in the car! Come on!”

I quickly nodded. But as we ran together, I stumbled my legs on the ground.

“Damn it—” I muttered as I tried to bring back my senses. It felt really hurt when I fell. I could feel both of my knees got so tensed.

I slightly stared up at Joanna. She looked terribly frightened.

“Hellen, get up!” Joanna yelled out. Subsequently, she glanced at what was coming toward us. She gawked. Her sweats were all over her forehead.

For a moment, I followed her stare. I found the corpse started walking fast toward us.

Joanna shook her head. There was a slight expression that I caught on her face. She felt guilty. And my heart immediately pounded hard.

When I saw Joanna hesitating. At that moment, I realized what she would do to me. I just hoped she wouldn’t do it. I was so terrified here. My whole body was so tensed.

“Wa-wait, don’t leave me!” I yelled out loud at her. “Please, Joanna! Help me!”

I tried to get up on my own, but both of my legs felt weary. It would be hard to run with this terrible condition. I needed her help.

Right afterward, I heard Joanna whispered to me, “Sorry, Hellen. I have to leave you—”

As I saw her ran fast toward the woods, I screamed out, “No, please! Joanna!”

When I was trying to run with my wounded legs, he was already a meter away behind me.

And suddenly, his rough hand reached out for my shoulder. He grabbed me with such a strong grip. I was pushed against his cold body. I felt strangled when he dragged up my tartan collar shirt easily, as if my weight was like a light air.

“Please, don’t hurt me,” I begged him. Although it was stupid to ask, since he won’t listen. Just like what happened to Marion.

If this was my last minute before I would die, I hoped I had a chance to say goodbye to my dad. He would be sad and lonely without me. Mom already left him. So, how could I leave him too?

At the moment, I clearly saw he wore a dark leather mask, which looked weird. It was like a type of Victorian gas mask. He dressed up all dark from head to toe. His clothes looked like an army uniform from a colonial era. What kind of creature he was?

And then he suddenly threw me harshly on the ground. I screamed out in pain.

But he had not yet felt satisfied. This time he grabbed me again to stand against his tall and strong body. I was also considered a tall woman in this town. But I just stood as high as his nose.

I heard him growling low. And he breathed heavily behind that thick mask. If he was a corpse, how could he breathe like a human?

But my curiosity had to end once he swayed his blade against me. The tip sharp of that blade wounded my neck. He was pissed off when he realized it was just a little scratch.

This time, he was about to land the blade into my chest. But he missed it. The blade went into my right shoulder. This was the first time I felt so much of physical pain. I writhed out and cried.

But I couldn’t endure it any longer. Soon after, I quickly fell down on the ground.

The blade went too deep into my skin. I could feel the warm blood splattering out from my shoulder. Followed by my sight that started to blur.

As I was gazing at the stars in the night sky, I heard his footstep came closer to me. I stared up to see him observing me. And then he raised his blade in the air. But as he was about to stab me, he paused. He glanced cautiously at his left side.

I heard vaguely; the sound of some people yelled out near the woods. I didn’t know if they came to save me here. Even if they would save me, I didn’t know if I still breathed.

My whole body already felt numb. My eyes started to feel heavier. I just wanted to lie down here on the ground. I wanted to feel the peace before I went to sleep forever.

Until finally, I had to close my eyes.

***

I heard a machine monitor beeping beside me. And then I heard my dad’s voice talking to me, “Hellen? Can you hear my voice, darling? Are you awake yet?”

He sounded so anxious. I felt really bad for him. He was waiting for me to open my eyes, but I was not ready.

A female voice then tried to calm him, “Please, Mister Mayweather. We have your daughter now. Everything is going to be alright.”

“But she’s been out for two days. How could I not worry about her?” My dad muttered.

I was surprised. I didn’t know I fainted for more than a day. The last time, I only remembered the living corpse wanted to kill me. But what happened after that?

“Hellen, please, if you hear me—” his voice was breaking. The desperation in his voice suffered me. I couldn’t live to see my dad crying like this. And then he whispered, “please, just open your eyes.”

I forced myself to move my fingers. It still felt a little bit numb, but it was time to wake up.

As I opened my eyes, he looked shocked.

“Oh, My God, Hellen!” He raised from his chair and shouted in a huge surprise. “Oh, God. I thought I would lose you forever.”

He held my hand so tightly. He won’t let go for a moment. And my voice went hoarse when I tried to talk, “Dad—”

My dad suddenly yelled out. He looked excited, “Nurse! My daughter just wakes up!”

I observed my surrounding. I certainly believed this was a hospital. I was in a VIP room.

As the headache came throbbing, I touched my forehead. Then I asked him wonderingly, “How did I get here? I was—”

“Oh, God, Hellen… you have no idea,” my dad sounded so worried. The look in his eyes told me something terrible had happened.

I immediately remembered of that red hair girl. I grasped the air. My lips started trembling.

I looked at him terrifyingly and asked, “Dad, how about Marion? And what about Melissa and other girls in the woods? They were—”

“The girls are safe now. But Marion—” right at that second, he stared down. He clearly looked grieving for the poor girl.

I paused from breathing. Then it was not a dream. That night in the hills was real. I saw him murdered Marion with his sharp blade.

“There was a man. He killed her,” I told my dad. He glanced at me. “He wanted to kill me too. But then, I don’t know… I can’t remember much.”

My dad then told me, “The night you were in the accident, some people were in the hills. They found you. And immediately brought you to the hospital.”

I was still processing every word he said to me. It was still surreal that night. It was like a nightmare for me.

“Sheriff Clarke was also there that night. He would want to talk to you once you get home,” my dad told me.

“Did he see him? The dead man?” I asked curiously.

My dad went still for a second. He looked at me cautiously, as if he wanted to anticipate my reaction. And then he let out a heavy sigh as he talked, “Hellen, let’s just focus on your health first. Don’t worry about the case. The sheriff will take care of it.”

The nurse came at the right time after he said that. They wanted me to rest for a while. And I just had to wait for the doctor to discharge me from the hospital.