Chapter Text
The sky was Red.
That was the first sign that something was wrong.
The second sign?
The monster currently chasing Ashlyn Banner and her classmates through the forest.
Twigs and leaves snapped and crunched beneath her feet as she ran, her heart thundering in beat with her steps. The cold, wispy fog broke away as they stampeded through. Since when did this forest have fog?
She whipped her head back desperately, yelling to Logan as a stray branch slapped her and cut through her cheek. Great, add it to the list of scars she was going to have after this.
“Time?!”
The boy hefted the sniper on his shoulder, sweat making it hard to hold on as they sprinted. “Eight minutes!” He yelled, looking like he was ready to cry right into his watch.
Ashlyn quickly turned around, focusing all her energy on running once again. Just a bit longer, she thought. Her stomach dropped further as the sound of footsteps tat, tat, tatting closed in faster with each passing second.
Her head rang painfully as the unsettling ringing of the phantom drew nearer. Shit, it’s so close! She could feel the cold sweat dripping down her forehead before flying and hitting the grass behind her.
She couldn’t see it. She couldn’t see it but she could hear it.
Were they going to make it? Were they really going to die after all that planning to make it here safely? Ashlyn was going to die with people she didn’t even know and she was never going to see her parents again, never dance, never cough hysterically after trying her dad's disgusting pickled eggs–
There.
The familiar walls of the Graveyard rose in the distance, the daunting red light from the sky emitting it in an eerie glow, but it still rekindled her hope nonetheless.
“The Graveyard!”
Ashlyn didn’t have to look behind her to know that everyone felt the relief washing over them, too. They were going to make it after all.
They could make it, it was just beyond the treeline! So close. So close.
Her father’s voice rang in her mind as they broke through the trees. When you’re making that final homestretch, give it your all, every ounce of energy you have left– but if you feel like throwing up after– do it in the grass.
She had punched him in the arm after that.
Her whole body ached, her muscles were on fire, and her lungs burned similarly, ready to burst. And she was convinced if this were a cartoon– her shoes would be smoking. Her legs, God, don’t get her started on her legs. With each step they took, they almost buckled and gave in beneath her. She could feel herself slowing down. But she couldn’t find it in her to move faster.
She snuck another glance behind her to see how the others were doing, surely she wasn’t the only one ready to give up.
Bleached blond hair and red eyes met her halfway like he knew she was about to look. Him– Aiden. He was right behind her, getting closer in her peripheral. And somehow, that ticked her off.
She could feel her chest constricting as she began to run faster, faster. Her legs buzzed like static, and she was compensating for her height by taking longer strides. But it was working, Ashlyn was speeding up again.
And so was the phantom.
The ringing got louder in her ears, she resisted the urge to cover them as she swung her arms, reaching out for the stone door. The moment her body made it past the door, she swung herself and skid to a heavy stop, her hand shaking over the comically large red button.
Everyone else ran in right behind her, bruised and battered.
Ashlyn could see it now.
Goopy black skin and bright white eyes shone at her, flat teeth grinning at her in a broken-too-big smile. She was sure if the creature had been human, the skin around its mouth would be ripped and bleeding. Could it bleed?
“Close the gate,” Tyler yelled, his voice rough and scratchy from their run through the forest. “Close the damn gate!”
Ashlyn obeyed, slamming her palm into the button.
She backed up, rejoining the rest of the group as the door began to close agonizingly slow. The metal screeched and groaned in protest as everyone waited with bated breath, clutching whatever makeshift weapon they had as they prepared for the worst.
It closed in, smiling like a smug cat who’d run their prey into a corner. A shiver ran down her spine as its jaw unhinged, ready to scream.
One single glowing white eye stared right into Ashlyn’s soul as it let out a blood-curdling scream, then–
SLAM!
The door closed, and not a second later, bangs began to echo throughout the graveyard. Bang. Bang. Bang.
Ashlyn blinked before she realized they had made it.
“We’re safe,” She whispered. “We did it.”
Everyone immediately slumped, the adrenaline in their systems finally able to take a break. That didn’t stop her body from being racked with shivers though.
Grabbing the cut on her cheek, she sighed tiredly.
“Alright, let’s head to the bus.”
—
Tyler let his body collapse into the bus seat next to his sister, Taylor, as he groaned in exhaustion.
“Augh,” He threw his head back into the seat, squeezing his eyes shut. “That sucked ass.” He announced.
Ashlyn heard mumbles of collective agreement as everyone sat back in their own seats, trying desperately to catch their breath. She hissed as she took her own seat alone, the pain of sitting down was momentarily far worse than standing up– like her body was punishing her for daring to fight for her survival.
The bangs from the door had turned into background noise as Ashlyn leaned her head against the seat in front of her, slipping her combat boots off.
After a few moments of messaging her sore feet, she realized the banging stopped. Finally, some peace.
“The banging stopped,” She said quietly, staring down at her torn-up socks and dirty bus floor.
Tyler opened his eyes and looked toward the ginger, scowling. “It probably gave up or–...something…” His voice wandered off, leaving his sentence unfinished.
Ashlyn was about to spare him the faintest of glances, uncaring and too tired to fully turn her body to see what was up with the boy. But that was until she heard it.
Her ears rang almost painfully in her ears, and Ashlyn’s gut dropped through the ground as her body tensed up. Only one thing made that sound, and fuck, couldn’t they just get a moment of peace?
Everyone followed Tyler’s blank stare to the bus door– why hadn’t they thought to close that– and long, sharp, black talons that would’ve made Wolverine whistle in appreciation, stabbed through the metal of the bus. Slowly, a black head appeared over the seats, and then all too soon, it snapped and smiled right at them.
The ringing got louder, and now it was definitely painful. It almost sounded like static when Ashlyn listened for too long, like it wasn’t meant to be heard. Like it wasn’t supposed to be there.… or maybe they weren’t supposed to be here.
Everyone stared right back at it, varying faces of terror, confusion, and dumbfounded.
“How?!”
Everyone scrambled out of their torn-up, dusty seats, bunching together. Each step the phantom took, they took another back. It felt like some sick game, and soon enough, they were going to run out of moves.
Ashlyn forced herself out of her terror as she tried to think of a plan.
Their weapons!
Her eyes snapped to the box of their DIY weapons just as the phantom blocked it from her view tauntingly. Her mind fleetingly reminded her of her shoes, just to remember that she had taken them off earlier and set them beside…the box...of all their possible weapons.
That’s fine. It’s fine. They had time, she could get them out of this. They were going to get out of this–
Ashlyn’s train of thought was broken as her back ran into someone– Ben. Why wasn’t he moving? Why was everyone just standing there? Why weren’t they–
A warm, tanned hand gripped her forearm harshly. When Ashlyn realized it was Aiden, she was about ready to forget the phantom and elbow him in the face for touching her when she met his eyes.
And somehow, the terrified grin and eyes darting back and forth from her to the door were enough to tell her why they weren’t moving anymore.
The phantom had won its game of cat and mouse. They had moved back until they couldn’t go any further.
They were trapped.