Chapter 8

How is this even possible? Tears formed in my eyes and one slowly slipped down my cheek. Jess entered the living room and stood silently beside me.

“I-Is that, Aunty Jillian?” she stammered, not believing what she saw in the photo before us.

I silently nodded my head, not really believing it myself. How could my mum have married Scar? Before I could think any other terrible thoughts, Jess pulled me towards the front door and we exited the house of horror.

I realised Jess had found Scar’s car keys, as she was unlocking the van’s door. We scrambled into the van’s seats and Jess revved the engine. She had obviously taken the wheel because I was still shook up over the photo. Adrenaline was obviously pumping through her as she had not complained about her shoulder once. The van sped down the narrow dirt road. It suddenly hit me that we had no idea where we were going. How were we going to escape this never ending forest?

We drove for ages, not uttering a single word to each other. I glanced out my window and noticed that the sky was darkening. Mist formed on the window and I was feeling a bit cold, as there was no heating in the van. Suddenly, the van lurched forward and came to a complete stop. My heart skipped a beat, as I thought about how the van may not start again. Jess fiddled with the ignition and the engine roared to life.

I let out a sigh of relief and said to Jess, “I was really worried there for a minute”.

She let out a shaky laugh but I had obviously spoken too soon. The engine cut out and Jess let out a sigh of exasperation.

“It’s out of petrol,” she stated simply.

She punched the steering wheel but retreated when i noticed her shoulder wound had started bleeding again. It was night time, we were dressed in barely any clothing and we were freezing, and our escape car had run out of petrol. Typical.

We. Were. Doomed.

“We’ve got no other choice, we have to walk. We would be an easy target for Scar if we just sat here in the van,” Jess announced.

Even though she was younger than I was, I felt right now that she was much mature than me. We hopped out of the van and I instantly shivered. It was pitch black and we didn’t have a source of light. I took Jess’s hand and we started slowly walking down the track.

***

My legs ached, my eyes were drooping and I felt like I was about to collapse. We had no idea how long we had been walking in the darkness for, but it felt like years. Suddenly, I tripped over a rock on the track.

My face smashed into the dirt and I screamed in agony. Jess was beside me in a second.

“Casey, are you ok? What happened? Are you hurt?” she shot questions at me.

“My arm,” I moaned, taking it from beneath me.

The pain shot up my arm, feeling as if it was on fire.

Jess took one look at my arm and said, “It’s broken.”

Then everything went black.

***

My eyes fluttered open and I noticed it was still dark. I sat up and pain shot up through my arm. Jess glanced over and looked relieved that I was awake.

“You passed out from the pain in your arm. I carried you over to these bushes. You’ve been out for almost three hours i think,” she said.

I noticed she had tied her jacket over my arm to substitute as a sling. We had to keep walking; whether my arm was broken or not. I stood up awkwardly as I couldn’t use my left arm. Jess took my right hand and we set off, once again.