J A N E  pov

A blustery breeze blew up as Charlie pulled back from our embrace. The smell of rain saturated the humid air around us, his baby blues darkened as they searched my eyes for an explanation. "Are you sure? Are you sure that's what you saw?" he asked, his brows furrowed.

I nodded, feeling an aching tug on my heart. I didn't want to see him like this. I didn't want to see any of my friends like this; terrified and confused.

"Maybe ... Maybe it was just your imagination," he tried explaining, "You had a long and stressful couple of days, maybe you imagined it."

I stared at him, helpless. I shook my head, not meeting his desperate gaze. The sounds of the hospital wafted over to us on the breeze that ruffled my dark waves. "I know what I saw," I said, "It was definitely the same figure from the cabin and the woods."

He shook his head in disbelief, his widening eyes tearing up. "Who the hell is he? What the hell does he want?" He was shouting now, the wind blowing with him as he paced in front of me.

A few nurses leaving the hospital gazed in our direction, pausing only for a quick moment to judge the situation. They hesitated, but only for a split second before glancing up at the darkening sky and briskly continuing on their way.

My head began to pound but I reached out for him, catching him as he pivoted. He raised his watery eyes to mine and the look on his face iced my blood over.

A startled gasp escaped my lips as thunder rolled from the near distance, sounding just like an oversized bowling ball. He snatched my hand in his, roughly removing it from his shoulder and continued his rapid pacing. He stared at the ground, ignoring my feeble pleas to say something.

"This can't be happening, Jane. Stuff like this just doesn't happen!" he snapped, finally looking at me. His dark ringlets fluttered in his face as a sharp gust of air blew through the parking lot, the smell of antiseptics and cleaning supplies invading my nostrils.

His sudden outburst surprised me and I took a small step away from him. I hadn't noticed before, but his hands were balled into tight fists.

Noticing my composure he immediately heaved a heavy sigh, unclenching his hands. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm scared. For me. For you. For everyone ..." His gaze dropped and his anger seemed to dissipate simultaneously.

I reached for him again and this time he complied instantly, collapsing into my arms. "I don't know what's going on, but we'll figure it out," I whispered into his chest.

We stood in the parking lot, wrapped up in each other for a few minutes before a thought occurred to me. "Should we tell the others?" I asked looking up at him.

He clenched and unclenched his jaw before answering, "No, I don't think so."

I nodded, biting the inside of my cheek. Thunder rolled again, closer this time, the sun straining behind the angry-looking clouds to beat the oncoming storm.

"We need to figure out who this guy is first. I'm sick of him terrorizing us and having the upper hand." He paused, considering his words. "He seems to know us and we know absolutely nothing about him."

He pulled away and crossed his arms over his chest, watching a couple of passing visitors as their voices drifted to us on the continuous breeze. "It's bullshit and I'm not going to let him get away with it anymore."

I nodded in agreement but my stomach turned, feeling like a thousand butterflies swarmed my gut. "What if it's not a 'him'?" I said.

His head snapped back around, confusion blossoming onto his pale face. "Sorry?" His brows furrowed again.

I swallowed, tearing my gaze from his startled expression. "What if it's not a 'him'? Or even a 'who'? What if ... what if it's a 'what'?" I asked, twiddling a lock of hair around my index finger. My heartbeat quickened as the apprehension covered me like a suffocating blanket.

The sun dipped behind the clouds again, ultimately fading out as he tilted his head, inquiring.

I shrugged, squinting as my eyes adjusted. "I'm not saying for sure, but everything that happened those two days ... Just doesn't make sense. Like you said, stuff like that just doesn't happen."

He sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing his temples. His dark hair fell into his face as the first few raindrops hit the ground.

I bit my bottom lip but continued. "That boy ..." I said, fat drops splattering faster around us. "I think he was running from something instead of someone."

The bellies of the black clouds opened then, rain gushing from the violent sky above. One quick glance between Charlie and myself and we darted for the hospitals' front doors.

Warm rainwater splashed up, greeting my bare legs as we ran; shallow pools already forming in the cracked pavement. Thunder rumbled, sounding like falling and crashing trees.

Safe under the canopied rooftop, I stared out at the rain. It came down sideways, from seemingly every direction. The water meeting the scorching pavement lifted steam into the air, creating a fog-like blanket over the entire parking lot.

The sky had turned a dark and stormy grey and lightning shot across the sky, a dazzling beam of light that left me momentarily blind. I blinked away bright stars in my vision, dragging my fingers through my drenched hair.

"That was close," Charlie said, his voice sounding strained.

Thunder boomed and another strike of lightning lit up the sky. An ear piercing crack resonated and seconds later a large oak tree that sat off to the side in the parking lot came crashing down onto the car that sat below it.

"Holy shit," I exclaimed, grasping Charlies' arm as the wind whipped up.

The car alarm blared, loud and obnoxious. The roof had caved in, almost touching the tires; I couldn't even tell what kind of car it used to be. Glass littered the ground, sparkling in the raindrops like freshly cut diamonds.

"Damn," I said as my grip tightened, another streak of lightning flashing above us in the murky sky.

The ruckus had caused enough commotion inside and people were beginning to spill out of the hospitals' doors and into the parking lot. Murmured questions filled the small space around us until finally, someone screamed.

"My car!" A thirty-something-year-old man darted into the downpour, his burgundy shirt billowing out behind him.

I watched him as he scurried around his car in clear disbelief, throwing his arms into the air and stomping through the puddles like a madman. Occasional thunder cracked throughout the sky, startling the man as he attempted to remove some of the debris.

"He's never gonna get it," A voice scoffed from behind us.

The crowd that swarmed around us had begun buzzing with noise.

"Should we help him?" asked a females' voice.

"Someone call 911," said another.

"911? He needs tree removal." A male voice laughed.

"He's never gonna get it," repeated the same voice from before.

I watched the frantic man for only a moment longer before wiping my soaking hair from my face and turning to Charlie. "Let's go see Lucas," I said with a knot in my stomach. I turned my back on the unfortunate situation and walked through the automatic doors into the bleach and antiseptic world. "We have problems of our own."

**********

Nurses and doctors bustled around—anxiety etched into their faces.

Murmured voices and continuous beeps greeted us as we stepped off the elevator. I made a beeline for Lucas' room, the smell of cleaning supplies trying to mask death strong in my nose.

I gently tapped on the already cracked door.

"Come in," Lucas called.

Charlie pulled opened the door the rest of the way, allowing me to step into the dimly lit hospital room. I smiled when I saw him sitting up in the bed and reading an ancient Spiderman comic book. 

Flower bouquets surrounded him, the different scents clashing like stripes and cheetah print. I noticed his index finger pressed to his lips and he pointed across the room from him.

I looked next to me. Lucy sat curled up in a ball in an ugly puke green cushioned hospital chair, a thin white blanket was thrown over her small body. I grinned.

"She hasn't left all day," Lucas said, the sound of appreciation and respect in his voice pulling my attention back to him.

I smirked, catching sight of the comic book again as I sat on the end of the bed.

"Mom brought me a couple things." He chuckled as Charlie made himself comfortable in a metal chair beside him.

I looked him over; he looked sickly in the matching puke green hospital gown.

The bruises that peppered his arms and legs were more of a pale purple than indigo now, and the cuts and scrapes on his face were starting to scab over. I felt my eyes tearing up as the past days' events replayed in my mind.

"Hey, none of that." Lucas attempted a smile, an odd vibe overtaking the room as he reached for my hand.

Something was wrong.

I glanced at Charlie who was narrowing his eyes at Lucas. He felt it too.

"Lucas-"

"What's wrong?" I whispered, cutting Charlie off as I reached for Lucas' outstretched hand.

Lucas paled and his eyes flashed. He broke eye contact, staring into his lap.

"It was nothing," he mumbled, our fingers lacing together. "They've got me on a lot of drugs. I thought ... I just thought I saw someone in here earlier. It was ... probably just a nurse."

I glanced at Charlie. His clenched jaw told me more than his words could. He stared at Lucas, gathering his thoughts and finally said, "What did they look like?"

Lucas looked up and turned to Charlie, taking a deep breath and sighing. "I woke up because I was cold," he said, pausing to organize his words. "No, not cold. Freezing. I was agitated. I sat up and there he was. He was huge. He towered in the corner." He glanced at the corner opposite from Lucy, the corner behind the door. "I swear it looked like he was touching the ceiling." He closed his eyes, trying to remember. "He was wearing all black—except on his face, he wore a bright white mask."

I felt my eyes widen and tried to swallow the cottonmouth that was as dry as the Atacama Desert.

Charlie shifted uncomfortably in his seat, sneaking a glance in my direction as he ran a hand through his dark waves.

"At least ... I think it was a mask." He dropped his head into his hands and mumbled, "I'm sorry, my brain is so fuzzy right now. Feels like I'm underwater."

I squeezed his hand. "Don't apologize. Please." I sighed, looking at Charlie. "We have to tell him."

"Tell me what?" Lucas asked.

Charlie shrugged, leaning back in his chair to stretch.

"Jane, what do you have to tell me?" Lucas asked again, pulling gingerly on my arm.

I squeezed my eyes shut and sighed again, blowing my bangs out of my face. I opened my eyes, staring into Lucas' brown doe eyes, inhaling and holding my breath. "I saw him earlier too, during my interview," I said, my breath escaping me in a flood of words.

"Are you serious?" Lucas shouted.

"Shh!" Charlie and I replied in unison.

He shrank back, startled by our outbursts, pieces of his sandy colored hair falling into his eyes. "Are you serious?" he whispered this time.

"Yes," I said.

"But you can't tell the others, Lucas. Not until we know what's really going on here," Charlie finished for me.

Lucas looked down, lost in his own thoughts. The only sound was the beeps that came from the machine he was hooked up to and a chorus of soft snores coming from Lucy, still dozing in the corner.

"Okay," he said as he looked back up at us, nodding. "Any theories then?"

"Well ..." I started, twisting a lock of my hair around my index finger. I took a quick peek at Lucy, who hadn't stirred. "We aren't sure this person is ... actually a person."

Lucas tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "What the fuck does that mean?" He laughed, but it sounded nervous and forced.

I locked my hair behind my ears, flyaway hairs peeping out through the tunnels I wore in my ears. Feeling the same sickening butterflies in my stomach from earlier, I groaned and said, "We don't even know. I just ... had doubts."

He stared at me dumbfounded, looking back at Charlie for some type of reassurance.

"This is all her, man." Charlie shrugged. "She told me the same thing not even half an hour ago."

Lucas turned back to me. "So ... what then? You think it's a ghost?" He snorted and crossed his arms. "Ghosts aren't real, Jane."

"No, not a ghost." I rolled my eyes. "I was just considering something more along the lines of ... a demon, per se."

He looked at me like I was the stupidest person he knew. 

"What?" I snapped, a shiver dancing up my spine.

"Demons, ghosts, whatever. They're not real, Jane."

"Then what the fuck is following us?" I demanded, the butterflies in my stomach awakening again.

He stared deep into my eyes for a long moment, searching for something.

He broke his gaze. "I don't know," he mumbled.

We were silent for a few minutes before Lucas asked, "What should we do?"

Charlie leaned forward in his seat, and whispered, "One of us needs to do a little research."

***

Authors Note:

Thank you so very much if you have read this far or even just this chapter. It really means so much to me that you took the time out of your day. I do hope you enjoyed the chapter. Keep a lookout for chapter 11-- soon to come! If you have any feedback or CC, all is welcome! (: 

I love you all so much<3