Page 95 of Lust

25

LUKE

This sure asfuck isn’t how I expected to spend my first semester at St. Lawrence.

Cody and I are off in a sprint, Cody’s phone light shining our way as we dodge trees and jump over branches, rocks, and logs.

Seeing the Slasher catapult Brad into the air like he was weightless has helped me grasp how strong this thing is.

As it pursues us, I hear something like gurgling and dog growling. As far as I can tell, the Slasher is gaining on us—fast—and I fear looking back will only slow me down.

Even with my track past, I doubt I can outrun this thing, and Cody’s starting to fall behind, his intense panting suggesting he’s not gonna be able to keep on like this much longer.

I have no doubt what the Slasher will do if it catches us, and while I can’t stop it, maybe I can slow it down.

I listen carefully as that growling/gurgling sound nears, keeping my pace just behind Cody’s so that if it grabs for one of us, it’ll be me. Then I bring my bat in front of me, gripping the handle with both hands.

“Just keep running,” I tell Cody.

“What the…fuck…are you about to do?” he asks between breaths.

“Maybe kill myself, so don’t let it be for nothing.”

He’s about to say something—object or tell me what a dumbass I am—but I’m already spinning away from him, swinging. My timing’s just right because the bat slams against something, and as my eyes adjust to the moonlight, I see thecloaked monster. It snatches my bat, just like it did with Brad, but now that I’ve seen what it can do, I know to release. And as it discards the bat, I slip my hand in my pocket and retrieve the pepper spray, since I’d prefer not to have to get that close to the Slasher for an attack.

It takes a swipe at me, and I aim and fire, dispensing the stream straight into the hood of the cloak. The Slasher withdraws its hand, the gurgling sound intensifying as it claws at its face.

It worked! At least somewhat, so I take advantage of the opportunity, sprinting toward the light from Cody’s phone. He’s a decent way ahead of me, giving me confidence that even if that thing isn’t down for long, it’ll likely get me before him.

I sneak a glance over my shoulder, then scan my phone behind us. I can’t see it in the night-vision app. Maybe that pepper spray has bought us some time.

But what if it backtracks and goes for Brad and Seth?

Hopefully, now that they know what we’re dealing with, they’ll be smart enough to get the hell away from it.

Navigating through the foliage, I speed up a hill. I assume Cody must be on the other side, but I can’t see his light anymore. When I reach the top, I hear, “Luke, no!” before I lose my footing, sliding down some kind of trench.

As my momentum carries me over the edge, I manage to spin around and grip on to a sapling, which is rooted enough to stop my fall. Hanging from it, I reorient myself and grab at the sides of the trench. I start to climb the side when I hear, “Luke,” behind me.

Glancing over my shoulder, I search the trench and see Cody poke his head out from a shadow, into the moonlight.

“I didn’t see it either,” he says, clearly referring to this big-ass trench.

“Come here. I’ll help you out.”

He hisses. “I can’t. I sprained my ankle. Also, my phone’s busted from the fall. I’ll just hide here, but you keep running.”

“Not fucking happening.”

I use the ridges and roots in the trench to climb down—it must be at least eleven feet deep. I hurry to Cody and kneel beside him. He cringes as he removes his bookbag. “Can you get out the salt? If it gives us a few minutes, I can make a circle of protection.”

I’m tempted to say fuck magic and hide, but from what I’ve seen so far, it seems to fare well in the dark, so I doubt it’ll have any issue discovering our whereabouts.

I fetch the salt and pour it in a circle around us.

Cody uses the ground and my shoulder to get on his knees, and as he gets into position, I search overhead, waiting for the Slasher to discover us and jump down to finish us off. Fortunately, it seems my pepper-spray attack bought us more time than I expected.

Cody grabs hold of the cross on his necklace and whispers to himself…not loud enough for me to make out what he’s saying. Even with the extra time we’ve earned, I fear he’s not gonna have time to do this and we’re both gonna die.

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