Edward Foster,
I was beginning to see a pattern. I didn't ask how far Lauren's old house was, so rested my head against the window and kept my eyes on a wall of trees darkness peeking from behind and bricked side walk.
And I saw it a wooden bench, a trash can, and a street lamp flooding the area in yellow. It was only after sixth one that I began to notice that it was repeating, a every few minutes. I was weirdly mesmerized by it, feeling my mind go numb and a deep sleep around the corner.
It felt like we were on an endless reel looping around, going nowhere. Just a dusted walkway and a repeating pattern. Now that I think about it, the atmosphere felt similar to the time on the highway.
I couldn't recall if I had seen any other cars that night. Father was being too quite and didn't even bother to say anything anymore. In that moment of silence, a monumental thought came to my head.
"Hey, Father. Didn't you say, you didn't know how to drive?", I asked while keeping eyes fixated on the repeating pattern.
Nothing, there was no response, I quickly turned around and stared into the empty seat. "Huh?", I said, as I stared down at the accelerator paddle pressed down by an invisible force. I instantly squeezed the Red Cross in my hand.
I looked back at the road, only to see a telephone pole sticking out of the middle of the road. In the next moment, tried to open my side of the car and my hand failing to find the switch. I peeked at it, and it was just a smooth sheet. "Well, that's a bit much"
The car crashed into it and with that, I was ejected from seat and into windshield. It felt like paper against my arms. I hit the gravel and rolled on my shoulder, dragging an inch on it, before coming to stop at my side.
I flipped over onto my back and stared at the night sky for a few moments in shock. Was father real? I thought. Was the car real? I thought next. I sat up straight and looked behind me, to find an empty road.
I picked myself up steadily and got back on my feet. I looked around confused and irritated. I couldn't recognize the highway, on that hand, I wasn't even sure if this was earth anymore. "Hey!" I yelled, "Is anyone there!", I yelled again.
Only then did I receive a answer in form of a loud bang. Turning to it, I came face to face with winding path, going through the forest. I didn't move, instead kept looking around. Noticing too quickly no other possible way to go. Just an endless forest and moonlit sky.
So much was not right, it was like asking a child to draw a house and then comparing it with an actual picture of a house. The first difference you will notice will be the lack of details. Something so simple, yet here, right now, I felt it massively.
...
It was silence and more silence to top it off. The forest was dead, not a single living thing in sight. A few moments until I heard another bang. Now hearing it for the second time, I realized it was of a gunshot.
Finally at the end of the winding path, an ominous house came into view. The path eventually cut off on to the road, on the other side stood a single house in empty world and Mr. Taylor's car in the front.
It looked empty without any light in or outside of it. I stepped onto the lawn and stared at this fabled piece in time. Maybe it was because I was feeling nervous or anxious, I squeezed both of my hands together. Both of them feeling cold to the touch, however, the air was warm and humid. Just another addition to weirdness around me.
While I was taking a moment to contemplate, another loud gunshot went off and I understood the sign. I immediately started walking towards the door, going past "House for sale" sign hammered into the ground.
I walked up the steps and placed my hand on the door nob, twisting it open. I could her the stomping coming from up stairs. With nothing much to see in an empty and barren house, I made my way upstairs towards the noise of struggle.
While running up staircase, the noise became more familiar, for sure it was Mr. Taylor.
As I turned around for the second set of stairs, something flew and flopped in front of me. Looking at it properly, it was a severed arm still holding onto the Shotgun. "Oh...That's not good", I said to myself, as I came around the right corner.
There it was again, the mannequin looking woman, holding Mr. Taylor by the neck. With multiple holes in the wall, none on her. Just then it drove its other hand into his stomach.
He let out a painful scream which soon died, as the blood gushed out from the wrist deep wound. Taking a chance, I quit stepped on the floor and thank god it didn't creak. They were just couple of feet further, so I sticked to the wall and kept dragging along it.
While the mannequin dropped Mr. Taylor on floor and just stood there. She didn't have eyes, so couldn't tell where she was looking so it was an educated guess on my part.
In that moment, I held my breath and got enough close. Quickly I stabbed forward and slashed into it side with Red Cross's sharp blade. Her body recoiled to its side, fast enough to only leave a scratch.
"Shit", I exclaimed, if only that thing could make a face to tell whether I did something to it or not. But I did, because under moonlight from window, I could see it clear as a day. The trickling blood oozing out from the cut.
There was someone inside.
It lunged forward and swung its arm at me, trying to claw my face. I jumped back and fell on my ass, readying the Red Cross at her.
"Ha! made you do bleed?", I said, smiling as if I had done something brilliant. But then the mannequin paused for a moment then turned its oval face around.
It straight tackled the window and broke through it. "Wait, Come back here!", I yelled, but she didn't stop. I climbed back up and rushed to window. In time to see glimpse of her, retreating behind the trees.
I sighed knowing that I probably now chase after it. Mr. Taylor grunted in, "Oh, right you" I said turning around to hunch down to him.
There was a gaping hole where his stomach should be, by that point he had lost so much blood. His skin had gone pale and I was stepping in a pool of his blood.
"Oh, are you okay?", I asked gently pulling his head back. His eyes met mine, It was a sorrowful expression. His voice came out raspy, barely above a whisper "What...who...". As he pushed himself to speak, he coughed up a small amount of blood.
Then he took a painful breath and grabbed onto my sleeve, "Don't...it, she...is". His eyes rolled back and he lost his strength in his arm all at once, going complete still. I quickly touched the hilt of the Red Cross, on his shoulder. "Alright do your work", I said wanting to save him.
I stared at it in silence as the Red Gem didn't shine and nothing happened. "Oh...I guess it doesn't work like that", now only holding a dead man in front of me. "Well, sorry about this, but I need to go".
I patted both of his front two coat pockets, feeling something in the left one, I reached into it to find four buckshot's. After picking up the Shotgun from floor and rushed out the door.
Outside nothing had really changed, the world was still empty as it had been. I pushed one shell from the side and I cocked the gun, "I am sure I can use it".
...
I could only hear my breathing and the crunching of the dead leaves underneath me. While I was holding the Red Cross in my left hand underneath barrel. Other than the absolute silence, was no smell of wet soil or leaves.
And this wasn't my first time inside a forest. All the normal smells were replaced by the smell of fresh calming breeze blowing against my face. This was not right.
Good thing I didn't need to look for too long, soon enough two pair of foot steps were added to mine. I turned towards it on my right and I quickly pulled up the shotgun up. It swiftly turned and stared running to my right. A low figure running on all fours.
It closed in immediately and I aimed my shot at its oval face and fired. The blast came out without any recoil and more powerful than unexpected. Not like dynamite, it simply went off and the blast swallowed the part of trunk whole, leaving the burnt wood.
Yes the tree, not the mannequin. She rolled her about body out of the way.
Panicking, I pushed another shot in and pulled back the barrel. She lunge at me and I quickly brought up the shotgun to block it. The strike connected with it, but the brute force shot my arms down.
Keeping myself up on my feet, the mannequin kicked me straight into my abdomen. While I fell no pain and their was no damage, physics were still relevant. It blew the air out of me and my eyes bulged out, but I was still fine.
I fell back on my feet and looked back up. Saw it coming back at me, brought up the shotgun at it, and fired. At the right moment, it shifted to its side, causing the blast to shave off its left arm completely.
But the mannequin didn't care, it still charged at me. There was no time to put another shot in, she swung at me with its only arm. I tired to hit its arm way with the shotgun, but she blew it and Red Cross out of my hand.
"Dame it", She didn't waste time and grabbed me by my right shoulder. Her fingers were not clawed, but dug into my skin all the same. The pain, oh glorious pain was back and much more potent then I remember.
She lifted me and crashed me against a tree, everything internally getting tossed around and something definitely broke evident by the searing pain in my back. In that moment the fear of death loomed over me and I broke into cold and fearful sweat.
It than grabbed me by my neck and It lifted me up until my feet were off the ground. I stared at its face, with blood still oozing out from its severed arm. Slowly it started to tighten its grip around my neck and in a second, it was going to crush my neck.
Then came the feeling of suffocation and my eyes rolled to the side, coming at the Red Cross. I still hadn't understood it and still haven't found Lauren. I raised my hand towards, it was far but it didn't stop me from reaching out to it.
I think, therefore it is. The Red Gem lit up in response. The spaced itself began to shrunk between my hand and the Red Cross, and causing it to break out of the ground and into my hand.
As soon it touched my hand, the pain went numb. The Mannequin quickly released me and kicked me further into the tree. However, I was still on my feet. I looked up it, as it was about to kick me again. But this time I twisted my body.
Her leg went into the tree and I jabbed it to its thigh. Next her whole leg blew up into a mess of blood and flesh and it fell on its back. I didn't want to give it a single ounce of chance, so I jumped on her, and pushed her back on ground.
I raised the Red Cross over me had and with a grin, I jab it straight into its chest. Then pulled it out and stabbed it again. Then pulled it out and stabbed it again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
And again. While the blood kept pooling out of its wound.
"How is that. Are you enjoying it!", I yelled at it, while repeatedly stabbing it again and again. Until it unexpecting started happening, its skin started cracking.
Confused, I pulled out the Red Cross and paused for a moment. The cracks reached all around its body. Turing from pieces to dust, reviling naked body inside.
As the Mannequin shell disappeared, tears rolled down her cheeks, while she gurgled blood up out her mouth. The anger subsided, as I started at Lauren's face. "Lauren?", I asked...
She coughed up blood, "Ed...Edwar...d?", she said barely could speak. The moment kept still and I stood still on her. The Red Cross escaped from my hand and onto the ground.
"What", I blinked once. "No, this can't be happening", I blinked twice. I felt the strength leaving my stomach and my hands trembling.
I wanted to call out to her, but couldn't. My tears came rolling down. I couldn't do shit, excepting watch the fading light in her eyes. Her head tilted to the side. I reached out my hand and placed it against her face. It felt cold, as she stared back at me with dull eyes.
Suddenly I felt something snap and my body froze. I fell on the ground beside her, convulsing uncontrollably until the darkness took over. In the final moment, I saw the body of Lauren beside me and undoubtedly a pair of footsteps approaching us.