The girl's hand was trembling in Drew's grasp as he led her down the empty, dimly lit path. Her grip was so tight it felt like she was clinging to him as the last anchor keeping her from drowning in the shadows of Crover Lane. The quiet was unnerving—no dogs barking, no hum of a vehicle's engine, not even the faint chatter of late-night pedestrians. Only the crunch of their hurried steps echoed through the night air, swallowed now and again by the distant creak of swaying power lines.
After a few tense minutes, Drew pulled her into the crook of a slightly dark corner. His eyes darted across the street, then settled back on her. She looked pale under the unsteady light, her chest rising and falling in panicked bursts.
"What are you doing out here at this time of night?" Drew asked, his voice low, sharp.
The girl pressed her lips together as if she was ashamed to even answer. Finally, she let out a small breath, words stumbling out. "I… I got in a taxi. I needed to get home, but the driver said the car was running low on gas. He told me to stay inside while he went to fetch some. He promised it'd only take a few minutes."
Drew stared at her blankly, then blinked once in disbelief. "You let him drop you here? On Crover Lane?" He almost laughed, but the edge in his tone made it sound more like anger. "Do you have any idea of this place?"
Her eyes widened at the sudden heat in his words, and she shook her head quickly. "I didn't know. I've never been here before."
"That explains it," Drew muttered, running a hand over his face. "Crover Lane dies after nine. Everyone here knows that, and that driver sure should've known."
Her breathing quickened, shallow gasps fogging the cold air between them. Strands of her hair had come loose from her tied-up bun, falling against the sides of her face in wild strands. She hugged herself tightly, as if it would shield her from the memory of what she had just escaped.
"I just wanted to get home," she whispered, almost to herself. "I promised my brother I'd be back on time way before curfew." Her voice cracked on the last word, betraying the fear beneath her effort to stay composed.
Drew studied her, his expression unreadable, though his jaw tightened slightly. She's more worried about curfew than the fact she almost got killed.
He let the silence stretch, the oppressive weight of the lane pressing down on them, until her small, trembling voice rose again.
"Is there… is there a way out of here? To Hillbrook?"
Her round, pleading eyes fixed on him, and for a moment Drew simply stared back, unimpressed. A bitter chuckle slipped past his lips. "You really don't get it, do you?" His voice was flat, but the look he gave her said it all. You nearly got torn apart by a machine and you're worried about a shortcut home?
He finally answered, his words heavy. "Even if there was a way, it isn't possible now. Not tonight."
The girl's breath hitched, her body stiffening as if his words alone crushed what little hope she was holding onto. "Wh-what do you mean?" Her eyes seemed to glisten faintly "I need to get home… My brother and I will get into serious trouble if I'm not home"
"" Drew reasoned that this was likely one of those rebellious kids that sneaked out of the house without their parent's consent. Judging by her outfit, he assumed she had went out to one of those teens night party, like the reckless ones who lived nearby the restaurant and threw loud parties every Friday evening.
He pointed a finger towards the street in front of them. "It's not safe to move around here now. "
Her lips trembled as she pressed her hands together tightly, a silent prayer etched in her posture. "Please," she begged, voice trembling. "I don't know this place. But you… you look like you do. You know where to go, don't you? Please take me out of here. I have to get home before curfew. Please."
Drew sighed heavily, irritation flickering across his face. Another resident who doesn't know the real danger lurking on Heldale streets… A naive girl who thinks curfew is the worst thing waiting for her tonight.
He shook his head and opened his mouth to dismiss her again, but then—she stepped closer.
The faint glow from the backyard light of a distant building illuminated her face just enough for him to see her features clearly for the first time. Her chestnut brown hair caught the dull shimmer of the night, framing a face carved in delicate contours. Her large, round eyes glistened, framed by long lashes that trembled with every blink. Her thin pink lips parted slightly, quivering as though every word that left them was stitched with desperation.
Drew froze, startled by the sudden reveal of the moment. For a few seconds, he found himself staring, stunned in silence. Then he blinked rapidly and shook his head harshly, as if ridding himself of a thought he shouldn't be having.
"What time is it?" he asked abruptly, his voice curt.
The girl startled at the sudden question and quickly glanced at her wristwatch. Her hands shook as she lifted it closer to the light. "It's… it's 9:35."
Drew let out a deep, resigned sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly. His eyes scanned their surroundings again, sharp and calculating. The houses nearby were dark, windows sealed, doors bolted tight. No one would open their doors for strangers at this hour. Not here.
Finally, he gestured with his hand, his tone gruff but tinged with resolve. "Fine. Follow me."
Her relief was immediate—visible in the way her shoulders sagged, in the slight hitch of her breath. She nodded quickly and hurried to keep up as he led the way.
Drew took her down an alley through a tight bend that finally opened up to a darker stretch, their footsteps resounding in their ears. After the run, they came upon a massive wooden signboard looming before them on the edge of the road. The letters, though faded, were still legible: Ridgeton Grove.
Behind the signboard were multiple clusters of trees, like scattered figures of woods, arranged in uneven patches as if nature itself had stitched them together without care for symmetry.
The girl tilted her head up to read it, then looked back at him in confusion. "A… grove?"
"It's a shortcut," Drew muttered, though his voice was wary. He wasn't particularly new to Heldale as he could still recollect some of the routes he and his late father used to take when he was younger. Life had a cruel way of bringing those fragments of memories back.
While in the few weeks since he'd returned to Heldale, he had taken every chance to re-familiarize himself with the town. He often accompanied the old restaurant owner, on his weekend grocery drives. Most of the stores around Crover Lane were small,bare and underdeveloped, unlike the multi-sized supermarkets outside it.
Besides that, the man was frail, and could no longer haul heavy bags the way he used to, so Drew's presence was convenient. But he had an ulterior motive for tagging along.
That's how he discovered the shortcut, a little detour most people ignored. From Hillbrook's main road, there was a sliver of a path cutting through the back of the grove, behind a set of iron railings. The old man took the path everytime and Drew noticed how the narrow lane bled out into Crover Lane like an unmarked scar on the map, a way in and out that not many people cared to use.
They trudged into the dark grove, the air immediately colder beneath the looming canopy of trees. The faint moonlight struggled to pierce through the thick branches, casting jagged, shifting shadows across the path. Each step crackled against dried leaves, sounding almost deafening in the suffocating silence.
The girl clutched her chest with one hand, her breathing ragged. Drew noticed the way she glanced behind her shoulders constantly, as though expecting the metallic monster to burst out from the shadows at any moment.
Through his peripheral vision, he caught the way her shoulders relaxed slightly when the streetlights ahead of them revealed a stretch of road just beyond the last row of trees.
They both hurried, the grove thinning out until the open road became much closer. But an iron fence stood between them. Its black frame loomed menacingly, separating them from the safety they desperately craved.
The girl's heart seemed to drop at the sight, her lips parting in dismay. But Drew stepped forward without hesitation.
He approached the fence first, running his hand along the cold, rusted bars. Then he turned back to her. "You'll need to climb. I'll help you up."
She blinked at him, startled. "Wh-what?"
"Climb the fence." He placed a firm hand on the cold iron, testing it. It rattled faintly but held strong. "It's the only way."
She hesitated, but when his eyes locked onto hers, she swallowed her fear and obeyed with trembling hands. Drew cupped his hands, boosting her as she dug her fingers into the small gaps of the iron lattice, her shoes scraping against the metal as she hoisted herself upward. Her breath came in harsh gasps, but slowly, painstakingly, she pulled herself higher until she swung one leg over and finally dropped to the other side with a graceless thud.
Drew followed, scaling the fence with practiced ease. His boots hit the ground with a dull thump, and he landed beside her.
"This road," he said, brushing dirt off his palms, "leads straight to Hillbrook Lane's bus stop. From there, it's not far from the residential area."
The girl looked at him and nodded quickly. She hugged herself tightly as though bracing against a cold only she could feel.
Without another word, the two set off down the gravel road, their hurried footsteps echoing into the night.