Page 9 of Dead By Dusk

“We have to…to leave,” she repeats slowly while pinching her brows together in confusion. “But the others that are inside?”

“No.Weleave. Me and you, orIleave and you stay. But I was warned not to trust them, and I will not ignore that warning. I’m running into that forest. I’m not looking back. You can do as you wish.”

Her glazed eyes dance over at the scene around us. First to the tall and lean man who was ready for his revenge and ended up with a crushed windpipe instead. Then, her gaze drifts toward the stockier man, closer to my height. Next, they land on thewoman whose last actions were to try and save me. How she could tell I wasn’t a traitor or how she thought I was possibly worth saving, I’ll have to think on later. There’s no time now.

Still shaking, Carmen looks at me and nods once. Then nods a second time with a little more conviction. And then she’s walking, shaking out her hands like that will erase any nerves or unease, and we walk in silence for a moment. I’m well aware that we should pick up the pace. That the others in the house were bound to hear the screaming, and I’m sure will investigate here soon. Even if they didn’t hear it, it’s been too long since they’ve heard from us. I chance a look at the second story bathroom window, but it’s hard to say if there’s anyone in there for sure with Ol’ Bobby Kebab up there blocking the view, but just the thought that the wrong someone could see where we’re going gives me all the worst feelings imaginable. I lightly tap on Carmen’s shoulder, and when she angles her head to peer at me, her eyes are glistening. She fiercely rubs the unshed tears away, nods her head again, and starts jogging.

I quickly follow behind her, turning my head every which way as we go, ensuring that we’re not being followed while also getting a better look at our surroundings. It’s all so green. A monochromatic scene with shades of brown peeking through leaves and trees. As we approach the treeline, the fog is thicker closer to the ground and thins out the higher it gets, and I allow myself to briefly wonder how we got so lucky and ended up in the scene of a Silent Hill movie.

I leave that thought behind with each passing step and take one last look around as we leave the open field and house behind.

Stepping into the forest of evergreens, vines, fallen logs and, more importantly, the cover we need to stay hidden from whatever or whoever may still be out here, I move my eyes ahead and realize I need to stay aware of my steps if I want to stayunharmed and alive. Then, I turn my focus back to the mousy girl that’s running with me and how she’s slowing her steps. She’s panting heavily, using each passing tree for support until she finally stops about fifty feet into the forest. I stop alongside her, making sure to remain cautious of our surroundings. Possibly more so now that our long distance visibility has decreased so much, that I almost feel like I shouldn’t just keep my guard up at all times, but also keep at least one weapon on the ready as well.

“What now?” she asks in deep, panting breaths, forehead resting heavily on the thick trunk she’s using for support. In her day-to-day life, cardio definitely did not play a role if she’s already this exhausted from running no more than a quarter mile.

“Now…now we keep running. We don’t stop to look over our shoulders. We take turns to be on guard during breaks. We find a way out. And most importantly, we only trust each other until our memories start to return. But not a second before we have a better grasp on what got us here. Understood?”

I stop checking our surroundings long enough to mark her expression and the way that her chest is still rapidly rising and falling with each breath she takes. She’s holding onto the tree as if it’s a lifeline right now, knuckles and fingertips turning white in contrast to her deep tan complexion. Her mouth is still slightly open and eyes are squeezed tightly shut, and I decide to keep watching the area around us while she processes the information and breathes.

“We really just left them,” she says between breaths, and I just nod my head hoping that she can see me but decide to respond anyway just in case.

“Yeah. We did. And it’ll have to be something you’re okay with now. That woman gave her life to warn me, and I refuse to let it be for nothing. You can turn back at any point, but I’m not.I’ll keep going as long as I have to, but I won’t become someone else’s prey.”

Then I lightly tap her shoulder to get her attention, and once I have it, I just nod my head towards the thickening fog deeper into the forest before stepping in front of her and leading the way.

I will not die today.

5

Too Many Bodies: Ronan

*30 Minutes Earlier*

“Ronan, you have to get up,” the woman sitting on top of me says. I’m still laying in my bed, my hair is longer than it should be right now and is falling onto my forehead in black messy waves. I’m not wearing anything other than boxers and the blanket that is haphazardly covering me from the waist down.

I let my hands wander under my white button-down that the woman had put on before straddling me and decide that there are other things I’d rather be doing than leaving this bed, and the first thing is removing this shirt from the goddess on top of me. It seems, however, that she doesn’t agree with my idea when she lets out a loud, throaty laugh and throws her head back in amusement before grabbing hold of my wrists and pinning them above my head. She leans forward, bringing her nose to mine. Her long hair cascades around us in darkbrown waves, still slightly mussed from sleep, and her mossy green eyes bore into mine while a smile still graces her full lips.

“Ronan, you have to get up now. You can’t stay in bed forever. Boss man will kill you,” she says, amusement lacing her words as if she’s not even surprised. I just keep searching her face, looking for the answer to a question I’m not even sure of. I’m focusing on each and every one of her facial features as if I’ve never seen them before and never again will. I always look at her like this though, never able to understand how one woman could be so beautiful.

I lift my head and bring my lips to the tip of her nose, and she lets out a small chuckle.

“Ronan…” Then I bring my lips to her cheek.

“We have…” Her other cheek.

“You can’t just.” Then her jawline.

She just sighs, one that’s filled with contentment, and I can’t help but let my lips lift into a grin. I go for her lips, but she pulls back at the last second with another small smile on her face. She starts pulling me up with her, and I let myself rise too. Now that we’re sitting face to face, I rest my hands on her upper thighs, gliding them up and down the smooth expanse of her soft skin. She rests her hands on my shoulders before letting them explore up my neck and my cheeks, then up to my hair. The next thing I know, she’s pulling my face closer to hers and I raise my hands up to the dip of her waist and hold on tight, bringing our bodies as close as possible when our lips finally meet.

There’s nothing urgent about the kiss. In fact, it almost feels lazy, as if we have all the time in the world. I wish it could last forever. This closeness and intimacy as she lightly drags her tongue across my lower lip, and I grant her access only for her to gently bite down on it as she pulls away, still with a smile on her face. Only this time, it’s not one that’s content, it’s one thatalmost seems worried. She brings one of her hands back down to my cheek, cupping my face as her thumb rubs back and forth against my cheekbone, and I lean into her touch.

“Ronan, you have to get up,” she says again. Her eyebrows draw together as if pleading for me to understand. Then she’s off my lap, on her feet and walking away from me toward the bedroom door. I throw off the blankets still covering me, quickly trying to follow her but she’s through the door first and shutting it behind her.

I reach for the door knob, open it and—

“Silene,” I say in a gasp as my whole body shoots up in awareness.

It takes me a moment to realize that it hadn’t been anything more than a dream, and that instead of a soft bed inside my home, I’m laying in a bathtub. I’m alone, cold, covered in bruises, and I have absolutely no idea where I am at the moment. No idea how I got here. No idea who I am other than my name.

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