[Hey, what's up, it's yo boy...

Uhhh

Gluteus maximus of pussland.

the third.

I struggled with this chapter a tad bit.

Please like it.

My existence relies solely on validation from others.

pls

Also, TRIGGER WARNING: this chapter does contain some hefty assault and allusions to r*pe. But everyone's okay!

Well, mostly everyone.

Anyway enjoy, you stinkies.

That's what you are now. Stinkies.]

Chapter 3

Over the past 8 years, I've had this recurring dream once every few months. Sometimes I experience only a moment of the full thing, or sometimes it'll all be a blur, but when I wake up I always recognize it in the end.

It always starts off with me hiding behind a tree. I sit there for a while, shifting in my spot, peeking out every so often with a smile on my face.

Then, a child's head pops up from the brush beside me and I scream out with surprise and glee. They laugh and chase after me and I wonder if they had found any other kids too. My heart pumps hard as I run and run past thickets of trees and shrubbery, hopefully to find another hiding spot. I wouldn't be caught, not this round!

Braving the thought of bugs, I shoved through some bushes and then—

Sometimes the dream ends there. And I experience those moments where I jolt in my bed after feeling as if I'm falling through space.

But I fall through the bushes this time, and I keep falling, and I don't know when I'll stop. I'm too startled to panic about it.

Frustratingly, this part of my dream is always a blur of shapes and colors, it never clears up despite all these years. My head starts to hurt a lot. The sunlight gets impossibly bright. Someone is calling my name but I can barely make it out. Warbled sounds reach my ears—they're speaking to me—but I still don't understand a single word.

Then, there's a change in the bright sun above me. A single black dot. It doesn't move or grow bigger, yet I have this feeling in my gut as if I don't like looking at it. Just one little black dot. It doesn't feel right. It shouldn't be there. It...needs to go away—

And it's over. The dream always ends there.

When I first told my parents, they attempted to take me to a child psychologist to see what it could mean. It didn't help much, unfortunately. The doctor had said it could be my subconscious manifesting my childhood anxiety in my dreams. The fall, the headache, the black dot; it all led to what could be my interpretation of anxiety. And what with kids at school beginning to ignore me or treat me differently, it probably triggered its mental growth—thus my recurring dreams.

But this wasn't news. My mental debilitation had always been present, even before my heart condition. Despite making efforts to work on it, the dream never went away. It always comes right back, as ambiguous as ever.

It happened again last night. Usually I would ignore it (I've grown used to when it happens), but for some reason I couldn't shake it this time. It bothered me so much that I couldn't go back to sleep for the rest of the night, and before I knew it, it was morning.

There was a knock on my door and then Mom stepped inside. She faltered for a moment, then said, "Oh, you're already awake."

"Um, yeah," I replied. "Just felt like getting up early, I guess."

She smiled, her blue eyes twinkling. "Care for chocolate chip pancakes? Hurry before they get cold!"

With that, she left to go downstairs again, and I sat there on my bed for a few more moments. I suppose after a rough night, I could do with some yummy breakfast and Mom's shining expression. I remember staring at her eyes for hours when I was much younger. They always lit up the room. Could never pull my gaze away. At times, it's easy to forget we practically share the same shade of blue, because my eyes come off as much duller without me even knowing. It...kinda sucks...

After a very filling breakfast (Mom sneaked me some extra chocolate chips in my pancakes), Dad took me to school, and suddenly I wasn't sure if I should've eaten at all this morning. The recurring dream had blinded my thoughts from what had happened yesterday with Maddy and her friends, and I could feel the worry churn in my nourished gut. Before I could turn around to catch the car and give Dad an excuse to stay home, he had already driven off for work. Oh, great.

Even if I was able to lie my way out of a school day today, I'd have to face the world eventually. So, it might be better to face it right off the bat. Right?

...

All day, I actually hadn't seen Maddy and her friends. Not even passing the hallways. There was talk of what happened to her car, but I didn't seem to be mentioned, nor Ian. He actually didn't talk to me at all during English and Algebra, which was a first since he's always blabbering to me every day. I could tell he was nervous being at school too.

Later at lunch, I met with Johanna and decided I would tell her what had happened so she could maybe give me some advice.

"H-Hey, could I share something with you?" I began, twiddling with my plastic spork.

"Of course. What's up?"

"Uh, well," I murmured, "you know about how Maddy's car windshield got smashed, right?"

"Yeah, I heard she was livid! Props to whoever wrecked it. Trust fund brat deserves it, really."

"Eh, well, about that—."

"Excuse me," a voice piped up.

We both turned to see Addie, the girl who had helped me during the altercation with "trust fund brat". I immediately sat up straighter, meanwhile Johanna looked obviously annoyed about her presence.

Addie cleared her throat and said, "Would you mind if I sit for a moment? I need to talk with you."

Just as I was about to speak, Johanna stepped in and responded, "I'm sorry, but we were just chatting. Maybe you should go back to your lady führer in the making and try some other time."

Addie frowned and gave herself a seat, much to Johanna's irritation. The tension was more obvious than a giant fly on a bare wall. It didn't seem there was a history behind their glares, but maybe Johanna got defensive since Addie is—was—friends with the girl she despises the most in this school.

Placing her attention on the brunette, Addie said, "First of all, Maddy isn't even here today. Neither are the others—."

"A godsend," Johanna remarked bitterly.

"Secondly, I'm here to talk with your friend here about what happened between her and Maddy."

Johanna furrowed her brow and glanced at me. "Ellie, what happened?"

I scratched the back of my neck. "Well, I was about to tell you..."

She had pieced everything together before I could continue. "Were you the one who busted Maddy's windshield?"

I shook my head vigorously and said, "No! It was all an accident and misunderstanding!"

"Maddy didn't seem to think so," the curly-haired girl retorted.

Johanna visibly sneered. "If you've come to send some stupid warning message from that bitch, then I'll kindly ask you to screw off and leave Ellie alone."

"I'm here on my own. Also, I don't think you should be so rude when I barely even know you. It's uncalled for."

"You're friends with Maddy, who's fucked people over, including me. That's plenty of reason for my words to be 'called for'. Anyone who's friends with her doesn't deserve any respect."

"I'm not her friend!" Addie harrumphed with more emotion than earlier. "Not anymore."

"You've stood by and defended her bullshit for years. I'm not about to listen to some push-over and neither should Elizabeth—."

"This isn't about me!" Addie hissed as she shot up from her seat suddenly. In retaliation, Johanna stood up too, eyeing the shorter girl with a look that reminded me of a peeved mama bear.

"Ellie hasn't done anything wrong," the brunette said. "She's new and doesn't need to get involved in any stupid shit, okay? So piss off."

"I came here because I was worried for her well-being, so no, I'm not pissing off any time soon...!"

"Um," I started, "you two?"

"What sort of 'obligation' would you have to her well-being?" Johanna fired back.

"G-Guys," I spoke up a bit, but they still couldn't hear me.

"I kept her from getting her ass beat by Maddy. I think it's perfectly fine to be concerned for her!"

"P-Please," I said even louder, "don't fight."

"Oh, sweet," Johanna snorted. "Do you want a medal? It'll be the first you'll ever get for sticking up for anyone in your entire life!"

Addie clenched her jaw. "You ignorant—!"

And then, a head of tussled, chestnut-brown hair poked out between them and I inwardly groaned at Ian's sudden appearance. This is gonna be bad.

With an awkward smile, he chimed, "Hate to break up this little cat fight here, but could I steal Ellie for a quick minute?"

"Who the fuck are you?" the girls hissed in unison, and the gawky boy flinched away.

Addie dropped her scowl for a second to remark, "Hey, wait a minute, you're the guy that did bust Maddy's windshield."

Johanna's stinging eyes landed on him instead of Addie, and she growled, "It was you?"

He raised his hands and stammered, "Wh-What? Me? I think you're mistaking me for some other, uh, reckless vagrant!"

"I know it's you," Addie said. "I was the only one who saw what happened."

"Again, I don't know what you're talking about," Ian lied. He leaned towards me and added, "These ladies here got the wrong idea, right Ellie?"

"It was him," I stated calmly.

"Ack! B-Betrayer!" he whined, as the two girls rounded on him. Before they created a scene, I mustered up the voice and courage to stand up, slam my hands on the table, and snap, "Quit it, all of you! Right now!"

Instantly, they all dropped their riled up expressions and turned to me. As quickly as I had spoken up, I reeled back and fidgeted with my fingers. "L-Let's just sit down and talk about this. P-Properly."

Thankfully, that was all it took for them to settle down.

Finally, I was able to explain everything that  had happened yesterday, without interruption. Ian was pretty flustered when I talked about how he fled, and Johanna had fake-coughed "coward". Addie helped talk when I kept choking up about Maddy handling me so roughly and yelling in my face. Then, it was all done. Thank god...

With her arms crossed, Johanna commented to Ian, "So a giant book and your butterfingers caused all this?"

"It was an accident, damn," Ian groaned.

"You still had the audacity to run away. Ellie got harassed for your screw-up. You're lucky Maddy isn't trying to fuck with you, too."

"I could've told her, you know," Addie stated nonchalantly. Ian pursed his lips and nearly broke into a cold sweat. The curly-haired girl rolled her eyes and said, "But of course I won't. I'm not about to rat anyone out."

Johanna rested her head in her hand and muttered, "But, why stay silent? It wouldn't affect you if you did. Why are you even doing this, talking with us?"

Addie's mien steeled. "As I said before, I'm not going to defend my old friends anymore. Besides...I couldn't let Ellie get hurt."

She turned to me and said, "I know I've barely met you, but I couldn't be idle while Maddy did those things to you. Your face just...I had never seen anyone so scared before, and I couldn't take it. I hope it's cool with you that I still want to make sure you're okay."

Gently, I nodded and replied, "I appreciate your concern. Th-Thank you."

A slight blush colored her cheeks and she said, "You still don't need to thank me. I'm only trying to do what's right. For once..."

Beside me, Johanna huffed and rolled her eyes. "I guess I should be grateful that you stuck up for her too."

Ian smiled and added, "I'm pretty happy you're not mashed potatoes either. Speaking of, I'm really hungry..."

"Ian," I deadpanned.

"Sorry."

After a couple moments of silence, Johanna spoke up and said, "So, what now?"

"As much as I'd love if that was the end of it," Addie began, "Maddy and her toxic pride are pretty much relentless. She, Stephanie and Clare might try to do something later on."

"You'd think with all the attention they get that they'd have a life," Johanna chided.

"They're all ridiculous," Addie sighed tiredly.

Johanna straightened in her seat and said, "It's settled then. We keep what actually happened a secret between all of us. If those three bimbos try anything....we'll defend each other, look out for one another. We especially look out for Ellie. It's only fair."

Addie smiled after having kept a stern face this whole time. "That sounds good."

"Wait," Ian muttered, "I didn't agree to anything—."

"It's settled, butterfingers," Johanna hissed at him and he immediately relented under her piercing gaze.

A playful light twinkled in his eyes as he said, "Well, if this is going to be legit, we should shake on it! Ooh, or blood pact! I think I've got a switchblade in my backpack! For...reasons."

Addie grimaced. "No blood, thank you."

"Okay, then we can totally do a spit handshake! I'll start!"

Ian began accumulating saliva in his mouth, but was stopped when Johanna raised her hand and grumbled, "How about we don't exchange any bodily fluids?"

The chestnut-haired boy pouted. "I mean, I guess..."

He was the first to put his hand out, then Johanna covered it with her hand, and next came Addie. Then, they all looked at me, expectantly. With the kind smile that's always reserved for me, Johanna said, "C'mon, Ellie."

I couldn't bring myself to move just yet. I was so baffled by the entire exchange, and their eyes being all on me felt so surreal. Somewhere in me, I feared this kind of thing. But this thing has been what I've craved for so many years. I endured all the ridicule, the teasing, the outcasting, the whispers and snickers, the funny looks and side-eyeing. Those nights spent lying awake in bed, wondering what was wrong with me, what I could be doing better, what I was doing that just wasn't enough. Those same nights crying myself to sleep wishing I could be myself again and not this other girl. And now, here it is, right in front of me.

Companionship.

It took everything in me not to burst into tears as my hand shakily rested on top of everyone else's. I looked into their eyes again and felt that their auras were genuine. Maybe I'm right, or maybe I've just been waiting forever for a chance like this and I'll take anything, like a starving stray. Either way, this doesn't feel wrong in the slightest.

My smile squinted my teary eyes once again, and I beamed, "Thank you...!"

...

Today, I have to walk home. Dad called me and lamented about the "piss-poor" traffic near work, and figured it be better if I went walking to get to the house sooner. And of course, Mom works a lot of hours at the hospital, so she won't be coming home until much, much later. I didn't mind the change of plans, so once I was out of the school building, I went on my way.

While strolling past the nearby neighborhood, a white car passed by me, but then abruptly stopped ahead. At first, I didn't think much of it, until it nearly reversed onto the sidewalk to meet up with me. Startled, I backed away and watched as the passenger's side window rolled down to reveal Maddy's snarky expression. Wh...What is this?

"Hey there, rat," she greeted condescendingly. "What are you doing all alone?"

Hesitantly, I responded, "I-I'm just going home."

"Ah, need a lift? My boyfriend here would be happy to let you ride in his car," she chimed with an eerie flare to her eyes. She pointed her thumb behind her, gesturing to the boy at the driver's seat—I remembered his name is Cyrus. There was a shifty air about him, I could tell even from my spot.

"C'mon," Maddy beckoned. "We can even take a lil' joyride around the city. Stephanie and Clare are in the back too!"

The back-window rolled down to reveal her two other friends. They each gave me sarcastic little waves.

"Ya know," Maddy remarked, "I'd much prefer to joyride in my car, but we can't do that since, well, you broke it and all."

"I-I didn't break it," I corrected her.

Her sharp eyes narrowed. "Oh yeah? Then who was it?"

Nervously, I pursed my lips and looked away. There's no way I can tell her it was Ian. The way she treats me is already bad enough, I wouldn't want him to be harassed too. Even though I tried to be the "good Samaritan" that day when the incident happened, I really should've ran with him too. Besides, he, Addie and Johanna...we all shook hands to look out for one another. I can't tell on him.

"I don't know who it was," I answered finally. "Y-Your windshield was already broken when I got there, and it was a misunderstanding—."

"Drop the act, little rat," Maddy hissed, stepping out of the car. With her hands in her jacket pockets, she sauntered up to me and said, "Someone else happened to witness what actually went down. I know it was that other new kid, the freak-nerd Ian, or whatever his name."

My eyes widened, and that little gesture made the smirk on her face grow. With a nonchalant hair-toss, she added, "How about we make a deal?"

Backing away more, I murmured, "W-What are you talking about?"

Stepping closer, she said, "Get in the car, and my boyfriend there won't hurt your loser friend, yeah?"

"Hurt?"

"Yes," she sighed wistfully. "Ian doesn't look like he could hold his own. With the right amount of...'persuasion'...he won't be coming back to the school anymore. Unless you come along with us."

My eyes were watering already from all the tension building up in my chest. What do I do? I can't let Ian get hurt. I can't let her harass him too.

"I'll confess to doing it," I countered. She tilted her head, curious. I went on, "I'll take the blame for the damages to your car, and my family and I will compensate. All of this...we can get it over with. W-We can settle this responsibly!"

"Then get in the car," she muttered. "If you really want to take the blame, get in and we'll go settle things."

My grip on my backpack straps tightened due to my nerves, and I stole a glance at the car behind her, at the two other girls looking expectantly—no...they looked hungrily—at me. With a hard gulp, I shifted in my place and said, "And you won't hurt Ian?"

"I keep my promises," Maddy said. Over the years of being so observant of others, I've learned how to read people well enough. Yet, somehow, I couldn't tell if she was lying or telling the truth. And that alone felt terrifying.

Much to my dismay, I went ahead and got in the backseat of the white car, trying my best to squeeze against the door so I wouldn't be touching Stephanie, who was now in the middle. While the two girls beside me kept throwing glances at me, Maddy was happily humming in the front seat, while the boy Cyrus remained quiet the entire time. This wasn't right. I shouldn't have done this. I know I can be pretty stupid sometimes, but this is by far the most brainless decision I've ever made.

I need to text my parents in case things go awry.

Carefully, I took out my phone and tried to turn it away so that Stephanie wouldn't peek at it. I guess my efforts didn't matter anyway, because she grabbed it and took a look.

"Oh my god," she snickered. "You only have three contacts on here? What are you, a shut-in?"

From the front, Maddy yanked my phone away from her friend and said, "Now now, no fighting. We're just taking a joyride after all."

She didn't give the phone back.

After a while of sitting there cramped, wondering what I was going to do now, the car suddenly stopped. I was too occupied with my thoughts to notice that we had gone a bit off road and parked by an irrigation canal. Maddy and everyone else got out, while I couldn't help but remain inside, to which the blonde-haired girl opened the door for me.

"Don't be shy," she chimed almost nicely. "Come and join us."

"W-What are we doing here?" I asked.

"What, you've never had a dip in these kinds of canals before? People around here do it all the time."

"I don't have proper clothes to go into water," I said.

"That won't be a problem," she added, before grabbing me by my wrist and pulling me out. I tripped and fell to my knees onto the grass. Maddy took this time to take my backpack from me and toss it far away. My first instinct was to scramble towards it, but she and Clare suddenly grabbed me by my hands and feet—Maddy clutching my ankles, Clare at my wrists. I twisted in their hold, but it was no use, and they lifted me up off the ground with ease. While this happened, I glanced over at Stephanie and Cyrus who only watched and waited, with Stephanie holding her phone as if recording.

"Consider this your proper welcome to Portlow, Illinois, newbie," Maddy sang, while she and Clare carried me towards the canal. My mind was racing as we got closer and closer to the shining surface of the water. I can't let this happen. I need to run! I need to run!!!

As panic shot through my veins, I continuously struggled in the girls' grip. Then, even shocking to me, I was able to get my leg loose from Maddy and kicked it up in my haste, accidentally hitting her right on her nose. She screamed out and let go of me to cover her face, then Clare followed suit to tend to her friend. I caught the glimpse of blood on Maddy's chin before I got up and fled.

I ran and ran and ran, past the car, not even worrying about my stuff or my phone that I would leave behind. And then, I felt a large weight tackle into my back that knocked me down flat into the ground, and it felt as if I couldn't breathe from the force. Craning my head just enough, I saw Cyrus on top of me, grabbing my hands. Somewhere in my head, I remembered overhearing he was a football linebacker. The pain in my much smaller body could attest to that.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?" he growled with a smile. It was the first words he ever uttered and I could already sense all the malice in him from that alone.

He picked me up and dragged me away into some nearby brush, while I struggled and kicked helplessly at the ground for some anchorage. Because of everything that was going on, I hadn't even noticed there was an abandoned little shack of a house by the canal, until I was shoved through the rotting front door and fell to the ground with it. Cyrus loomed above me, while the rest of the girls strolled in.

Suddenly, this scene became much more different than earlier. This place was so cramped, and there was nowhere else to run to compared to the open space outside. As far as I knew, this old house had no back door because of its size. My only exit is now blocked by Maddy and her friends. Four against a measly me. If Maddy could single-handedly overtake me that day she found me by her car, I can't imagine what all of them can do to me together.

My body was trembling ferociously as I crawled backwards to get away from them all. With Maddy standing beside her boyfriend, she glowered down at me with such hate, and wiped the remaining blood that dripped from her red, splotchy nose.

"We were just trying to have a little harmless fun, rat," she hissed. "But now you've really fucked up."

"Please," I whimpered, "let me go! Stop this! This is too far!"

Her eye twitched again, just like that other day, and the air shifted considerably. Something about her screamed dangerous now, whereas before it felt like things were merely discomforting. Her heavy footfalls echoed in my ears as she stormed up to me and screamed, "You don't tell me what to do, you fucking rat!"

Hot pain shot across the side of my face as she slapped me, and I could even feel her acrylic nails scratched my skin. Tears immediately escaped my eyes from the sudden attack, and I instinctively attempted to scramble away. Unfortunately, Maddy still caught me by my hair and yanked me forward. My scalp was searing with pain from her pulling so hard and I cried out, "Stop it! Please!"

"Shut up!" she bellowed and proceeded to slam her knee into my mouth. I felt my lip split open against my teeth and held my mouth once she had dropped me onto the floor.

"Look at you," she hissed. "Absolutely pathetic. A pathetic little bitch with no one to help you. You're alone. As I'm sure you've always been alone, because, I mean, look at you! You're a fucking mess! You look dead and dull! Why would anyone want to be around you? A disgusting little rat with nowhere to run. You know, maybe you're supposed to be dead, but of course rats never know when to quit. You should die. You dead bitch!"

With a growl, she stomped on my head so hard, I felt the floorboard crackle beneath my cheek from the force. I didn't say anything as I laid there, curled up, cowering, silently weeping. Maddy retched and walked away. As she did, she tapped on Cyrus's shoulder and ordered, "Go ahead and strip her. Take all of her clothes. Let her run for help naked and useless."

He blinked at her. "Uh, are you sure you want me to do that?"

"Why not? Wouldn't be the first time you undressed another bitch," she shot back, glaring coldly at Stephanie, who shrunk away.

Cyrus shrugged his shoulders and pulled a vile grin on his face. "If you say so, Mads."

Before I knew it, he was on top of me in an instant. I tried my best to crawl away from him, but he just kept grabbing at me and holding me down. He was much stronger than I could ever be. In a matter of seconds, he had taken my jacket away and torn my shirt open at the front. I screamed and cried, begging him to stop and let me go. I couldn't even bear to keep my eyes open as the sight of his malicious, lewd expression sent chills through me. I've never seen a person more appalling.

To my disgust and fear, he grabbed at my chest and teased, "For someone so small, you've got a nice pair of tits."

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" I shrieked and managed to smack him across the face. He seemed unbothered by my hit and returned the favor by punching me in the head over and over, holding me down by my neck. His knuckles were like fiery metal branding my skin with swollen, splotchy marks again and again. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I wondered how anyone could be this horrible, this awful, this obscene. And I wondered how somewhere in the grand scheme of things, I was unfortunate enough to be the one under so many fists.

Cyrus stopped beating me to look at Maddy and say, "Hey, I can think of another way to humiliate her even more."

Stephanie remarked, "Christ, Cyrus, you're a pig...! Maddy?"

With her arms crossed, the blonde ringleader shrugged and said, "Whatever, do what you want. If she even says a word about this, I'm sure my parents can buy out. Money solves everything."

Even Clare gasped. "Maddy—!"

"Sounds good to me," Cyrus hissed as he began to pull at my pants. Despite feeling incapacitated from his barrage of punches, the thought of him doing something so heinous to me snapped me back to reality. I began to struggle and scream again while he started to grab at sensitive areas.

Then, over our skirmish, Maddy's gaze was focused above us and she smirked. "Well, I'll be damned. We've got a squatter here."

Everyone looked to the back of the house, even Cyrus. He was still too heavy for me to crawl out under, so I took this chance to look at what everyone placed their attention at.

There was a man by one of the old doorways of the house. He had an old, tattered white hoodie and dark pants and sneakers. It was difficult to see his face under the hood, especially in the dim light in here, but his skin seemed incredibly pale. Hints of black hair peeked out by his neck. He had his hands cozily settled into his hoodie pockets. He just stood there, and I could feel an icy aura off of him. Something about him felt off. Very off. But he was someone else who could possibly help me...!

"Please, help!" I pleaded to him, reaching a hand out. Suddenly, Cyrus forced me into my stomach and shoved my head against the dirt-covered floor, shutting me up real quick.

I saw the hint of a snarl on the hooded man's lips as he spoke, "What the fuck are you all doing here?"

Maddy chimed, "Oh, we're just messing around! We didn't know someone else was here."

"Okay, well, get the fuck out. I'm trying to get some sleep and all I hear is screaming! Fuck off!"

Maddy raised her hands and said, "Alright, alright, no need to be so hasty! We'll be on our way soon. I can even spare you some cash for your troubles, as long as you don't tell anyone what happened here..."

"No," I whimpered, "please, help me...!"

Cyrus nodded down at me and said, "Or maybe you'd like some other type of reward, huh? Bet you haven't had any, looking like you do."

The man was quiet as he seemingly analyzed all of us. Even though it was hard to tell, it almost felt like he was looking at me the longest. Although I couldn't say anything aloud, I tried my best to plead with him with my gaze. Please! Please help me somehow!

Then, to my dread, the man only sighed and muttered, "Do whatever the fuck you want. I don't care. Just don't be so fucking loud."

"Of course," Maddy chirped.

"No, don't leave me—!" I screamed, only to be interrupted by Cyrus slamming my head into the floor again, then unhooking my bra from the back.

"Ey," the man suddenly piped up. "You, big guy. Just a heads up, you've got something on your upper lip."

Cyrus faltered for a moment. "I do?"

From being quiet all this time, Stephanie looked over and commented, "I don't see anything strange."

"Yeah, there's definitely something there," the hooded man assured, pointing at his own mouth.

Cyrus furrowed his brow. "Where?"

"Right here."

It was a matter of seconds that the man had sprinted towards us and shoved a blade towards Cyrus's head. I turned over just in time to see a combat knife being driven right into Cyrus's mouth. The blade lodged itself between his two front teeth and dug into the gums, blood spurting and bubbling up to the surface. Cyrus's guttural, desperate cries were muffled by all of the blood flowing from his mouth and the blade wiggling further and further between his teeth. Immediately, the other girls screamed aloud at the sudden attack, while I only laid on the floor in complete shock.

The hooded man yanked the blade out of Cyrus's disfigured mouth, and with an aggressive growl, he jammed it right into the side of the teen's head. His screams were muted, and he was dead within seconds as the entire length of blade was buried into his skull.

"Ey, blondie," the hooded man huffed as he looked to Maddy. Gesturing to Cyrus's lifeless body, he chuckled and hissed, "Can money solve this too?"

With no remorse, he kicked Cyrus away from him, causing the blade to burst out from his face. The teen's eyes and nose were a bloody pulp of viscera. Disfigured. Mutilated. All in a matter of seconds.

As the man flipped his knife in his hands, he said to Maddy, "Let me give you a taste of this too."

Maddy was in such a state of shock that she couldn't respond or even move away as the man charged at her. To her luck, Stephanie and Clare still had the mind to grab her and drag her out of the house. Just before they escaped through the front door, the hooded man managed to get a slash into Stephanie's arm, yet she persisted in the end. The girls fled and the man didn't set foot outside of the old house to go after them. Instead, he leaned against the doorway, holding his side (as if he was injured), and merely spat at the ground.

"Those little cunts," he huffed under his breath. "Now I've gotta find a new spot to crash at..."

It took him a couple of seconds to notice that I was still there on the floor. When he fully turned towards me, I instantly started to crawl away. Juxtaposed to my terror, he casually sauntered up to me with his blooded knife still in hand. Eventually, all my scrambling away pinned me against the back wall, leaving me nowhere to go. The hooded man crouched in front of me while I was on the verge of hyperventilating. Being this close, I was able to see his face more clearly now.

His skin wasn't just pale but practically white. His irises were black, which I had never seen before (and it was quite unnerving). It seemed as if he had permanent dark circles, shadowing his face even more. But the most defining feature of all, were the scars across his cheeks stemming from the corners of his mouth. Judging by the coloration of them, they were somewhat old, but their size and length was telling of their initial severity. I can't imagine what his face must have looked like when they weren't healed and still fresh. How could that even happen?

"Hey," he grumbled, "are you going to keep sitting there or are you going to get the fuck out of this house?"

Clutching at what remained of my shirt, I only uttered feeble, quiet, unintelligible murmurs.

He frowned and retorted, "Did you hear me? I said get out. I'll give you the count of three to leave, unless you wanna be like shit-lips over there."

He pointed his knife at Cyrus's bloodied corpse a few feet away, and I couldn't stand to look at the sight. While I turned away and closed my eyes, I sniveled, "Please, don't hurt me, too..."

There was a couple moments of silence as I felt his eyes glare into me. A growl resonated in his throat, then he grumbled, "You're an annoying little thing, aren't you?"

I felt his cold fingers touch my skin and instantly flinched. Despite this, he grabbed my chin and his grip was surprisingly gentle. For a moment, I opened my eyes again, blinking away the tears that blurred my sight. All I saw was him, staring back at me with an expression I couldn't quite read. In my head, I couldn't get over how he could be so gentle when he effortlessly murdered someone in less than a minute with these same hands. The reminder of the killing made me shut my eyes once again.

The hooded man nearly chuckled and let go of my bruised face. Then, he drew closer and whispered lowly, "One..."

He's counting down...

I felt something cold, sharp, and wet graze my chin, and strangely enough I'd rather I felt his hands instead. I began to tremble even more than before.

"Two..."

I knew I had to run. I knew I had to escape and leave this house like he said. Yet my overwhelming fear rendered me crippled in place. Despite my mind screaming at me to move, my limbs weren't responding. I've felt this sensation before. It was nearly the same as that time at Samantha Turner's slumber party, when all hell had broken loose, when I realized that deep down, I wasn't normal. I needed to move—now, get up now!—not for my own safety, but because I was afraid that something I couldn't control might happen.

Finally, the man muttered as he grabbed my wrist, "Three..."

I opened my eyes to look at him once more, and whimpered, "I'm sorry..."

Confusion was apparent on his face, but he didn't have time to figure things out before a bright, blinding, white light engulfed us.

The house disappeared around me. I couldn't see anything but just pure white. My body felt weightless, almost non-existent, like I was never made of matter from the very beginning. I couldn't feel anything but the sensation of someone's hand firmly holding my wrist. Maybe it's what grounded me and kept me from floating away into the white, into this state devoid of matter, into the unknown.

A circle. Two lines.

One.

Two.

With a gasp, I opened my eyes again to see the hooded man covering his face. He had dropped his knife in the shock of the light, yet still held my wrist. But something was different. One look at both of my wrists gave me my answer.

There were bright red symbols on my skin, a circle with two lines crossed over it, one on each wrist. They actually glowed, as powerful as a floodlight. What...What is this? What happened to me?!

I snapped out of my bafflement when the hooded man groaned and shifted away from me. Finally uncovering his face, he glared at me, then noticed the markings too.

"Huh," he grumbled, "well, what are the odds..."

A sudden spike of adrenaline punched me in the gut once I came to my senses and recalled the horror that just happened not even a few minutes ago. With a cry, I kicked into the hooded man's chest, sending him falling backward, then scrambled to my feet and ran. This time I was determined not to be caught.

I sprinted with all my might out of the house and into the open. The white car was gone as Maddy and her friends must have fled in it. Sirens wailed in the distance, surely heading to the old house. I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but the sun was setting, and it would be dark soon. I have to get home. I have to keep running!

And I did. No matter how badly my chest hurt or how breathless I felt, my legs kept carrying me forward. At least until a cop car stopped in front of me with its headlights blinding my vision. I heard someone call out to me, but wasn't able to respond in time before I finally collapsed on the street, and was met with quiet, peaceful darkness.