Free Candy: Part 2
READ PART ONE FIRST HERE
Emma and Cassie were walking a good distance ahead of Tony and Rosa as the four left the mill and headed towards the dirt utility road that led back to the roadside diner that sat at the edge of the forest. Cassie glanced at Emma, and saw her again in stoic thought. She knew something was always internally eating away at her, and just wanted to know what. Cassie had been hesitant to ask, but she could no longer bite her tongue.
"Emma?" She asked gently.
"Yeah? Emma replied, almost as if snapping out of a vivid daydream.
Cassie didn't say anything else, but her eyes alone reached out to Emma. In the fading light, Emma knew that time had come to open a door or possibly close it forever. She could feel the wound inside her flare up, scream out to just move on. Like she always did. Tonight felt different, and Emma's wall finally fell.
"This, uh, this place. This town, these woods, that mill, and the diner we’re going to, they are all a part of what made me. I grew up here, and most of life was spent wandering these places with my father. My mother was not a fan of nature, and we were never close." Emma said. The two continued to walk as Tony briskly followed, Rosa even farther back trudging along.
"I was at home, I was just eleven at the time. My mother and father went on a date, for their anniversary to this diner by the edge of the woods. The Forest Haven, best meal for miles, at least that's what they said." Emma laughed, but it was hollow.
"My mother wanted to be alone with my father, so I stayed home. They were gone for such a long time that I ended up falling asleep. Then, late at night, the doorbell rang. It was the police. There had been an accident as they left the diner. Their car veered off the road and hit a tree. My mother had been driving, and my father..." Emma wiped her eyes as she walked, and Cassie put her hand on her shoulder, her eyes now tearing up as well.
"My father had been ejected from the car. His seatbelt wasn't on. He was always such a stickler for having your belt on. He wouldn't leave a spot until we were all secure. I know...I know my mother must have done something, unhooked his belt, I, I just don't know.
She survived. The police couldn't determine much more than maybe a deer, or another car had caused my mother to turn off the road. They said my father died because he must have forgotten to buckle up. The staff of the diner said that their date didn't go great, but they seemed fine as the left. But I know my mother did something." Emma said, her voice shook slightly with bitterness.
"My mother came home from the hospital and acted like nothing had happened, like it was just time to move on. I hated her, and I know she hated me. I don't know why. I think she just wanted my father, and maybe I was an accident that took him away from her. I'll never know though." Emma said, and Cassie was wiping her eyes as they were nearing the end of the dirt road.
"My mother drove out here one day and never came back. They found her car parked by the cliffs, she had overdosed. The cliffs are known to give way so I think she was hoping the car would just fall off, and when it didn't she took matters into her own hands. Either way, I didn't want to have her turn this place I loved into nothing more than an old wound. So I stayed here, and have tried to make it work." Emma felt a weight lift off her. She hadn't spoken of this to anyone. Cassie embraced her and squeezed tight.
"Hey you lovebirds! Wait up, we're falling behind here!" The distant shout of Tony broke their embrace. They saw Tony, flashlight waving about. He was lighting the way for Rosa, who was still further back, and still complaining.
"This was so dumb! It's dark and I can't see shit!" Rosa yelled.
"I told you to bring a flashlight! Just follow my light, it's just a dirt road." Tony responded.
Rosa walked briskly with her arms crossed towards Tony. As she did, a sound emerged from the woods. The snapping of twigs. The crunching of leaves. Something was moving, and it was big and heavy. Emma and Cassie turned their lights to the woods, as did Tony. All they saw were a few trees as the sound of carnage in the dark got louder. Rosa had frozen behind them in fear.
"Come on! Come on! We gotta go!" Tony yelled. Suddenly the cacophony from the forest ceased. The three beams of light darted back and forth, but caught nothing more than trees and darkness.
Rosa stood shaking as the blanket of twilight surrounded her.
"Tony..." Her voice quivered. A blast of light shone onto her, blinding her momentarily.
They all saw the light emerge from the trees and illuminate Rosa. It was followed by the sound of an engine roaring into drive. Rosa blinked her eyes, and they screamed. The white van burst from the trees and crossed the dirt road, it’s heavy frame jostling as it rolled over the rocks and gravel.
Rosa's body snapped hard into the ground as the front grill rammed her. The van jostled up and down as Rosa tumbled underneath it, the crunching sound of bones replaced the ones of dead leaves and fallen branches.
The van spun around just off the road, and the mangled wreck that had been Rosa rolled to a stop near a tree. Tony shone his flashlight toward where her body lay. It was a mistake. He began to scream as the light danced across the bloody carnage littered along the road and the trunks of the trees.
The van now faced them, and its engine revved, but it remained stationary.
The call had been heard, and all three turned and ran.
The chase had begun.
STAY TUNED FOR PART THREE TOMORROW
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