Chapter 3 Alpha's Vixen
"Yeah," Sophie answered, her voice a bit subdued. "That sounds good to me too. I hate long car rides." Elize had already opened her door and gotten out, Ina following her into the cool air.
Pia was getting out also, still frowning, "Whatever. Only for a few minutes, okay? I wanted to party tonight, not drive around with you nerds for hours." Her tone was not as sharp as it often was; slightly muted and a bit hesitant as her eyes drifted over the area.
The quintet of young people walked forward from the car, their feet stepping carefully among the almost lawn-like wild space before them. The moon shone down brightly, casting silvery light and long shadows over the land, and the air was sweet from the scent of the wild growing herbs; the landscape ethereal, beautiful, and both alluring and spooky all at once. They were silent, looking around at the scene before them. All felt a small but growing fear in the back of their minds as their eyes left the moonlit grass and stared into the deep, thick darkness that waited under the boughs of the trees. The feeling grew and grew, each of the young people tensing up slowly, eyes wide and shifting, tongues wetting lips that suddenly felt dry. They formed a loose, gaping circle, their backs to one another as they sought out the nameless dread that was growing, growing ever stronger in them. Elize let out a soft whimper.
The witch shook the dregs of the wet mixture into the cauldron and then lifted up a paper bag. She put it to her full lips and blew into it, inflating until the paper strained to hold itself together. "Boo!" She swung the paper bag toward the cauldron and her other hand in from the opposite side to strike it, the force enough to burst the bag with a loud banging pop.
From behind all of the students, in the middle of the circle they'd formed, there was a massive roaring boom. The fear that had grown to fill their minds exploded into panic unlike any they'd ever felt before. Their bodies screamed at them, every fiber, every cell, ever nerve yelling; run, RUN!
They broke like spooked deer; bolting in whatever direction they were facing, as fast as their limbs could carry them. There was screaming but none of them was sure who it was coming from, indeed, none of them could sense or think clearly enough for that. Screaming cries of terror seemed to simple fill the night, all around them, driving them on. They stumbled but ran on, leaving behind the strange clearing, the car, and each other and plunging blindly and heedlessly into the waiting black of the woods. There were cries here and there, the snapping of twigs and branches as they crashed through underbrush, and then nothing. A rising, hair raising howl rose up from somewhere, an atonal call that rang out over the wooded ridge and the valley below.
The witch held her stomach, looking away from the cauldron to avoid touching it as she doubled over. "Oh, my God! Look of them go!" She laughed, eyes tightly shut, reaching out with one arm to support herself against the wall, her tremendous breasts bouncing and jiggling under her dress from the force of her merriment. "Hellfire! Best! Halloween prank! Ever!" She threw herself into a chair, laughing further, kicking her legs, her face reddening. "Oh, oh, damn! That was great! Ohh, and the best hasn't even started yet!" She took a deep breath, a few giggles interrupting it, smiling and feeling pleased at her work. Which one would she get? "Ohh, oh, boy." She giggled again, then blinked and shook her head. "I should make some coffee for my guest."
Branches and sticks cracked under his feet and against his body as he ran, breath ragged and rough, his heart pounding in his chest. Sean hurtled through the darkened woods along a thin trail, the duster flying out behind him and flapping as his legs pumped. Where? The clearing, he'd felt something coming, felt afraid, never been so scared in his life, and then something. And he ran, was running. He was running uphill, towards the top of the ridge. Adrenaline roared through his veins and his body still shrieked at him to run, to escape. But from what? There was nothing there. Calm down; he was panicking. Don't panic, remember the guide.
He slowed down to a jog, his breathing growing rougher. God, his chest hurt. How long had he been running? He jogged into a brisk walk and then stopped, gasping for breath, looking around him as best he could. "Damn...it's...fucking dark...in here," he said, more to have some sound than for any other reason. Where were the others? He turned to face the way he'd come and cupped his hands to his mouth, "Elize! Ina, Sophie! Pia, can you hear me?" His calls faded away as though swallowed up by the blackness around him and there were no answers. "God, girls, please be okay."
He looked back over his shoulder and started, turning fully around. Up ahead a way, it looked like past the edge of the forest, at the ridge's top, there was light. It shone bright and clear, cutting through the darkness. Light. Light meant people and people meant help. Or cannibalistic hillmen. But probably help. Grunting, he forced himself into a jog up the inclined path again, his legs burning under him as he moved with purpose up the trail. Moonlight started to break through here and there and then he could see ahead where the blackness gave way and silvery illumination returned and through it all that gleaming golden light, no, lights, beckoned.
Sean jogged on for another ten minutes before he came out of the woods. The top of the ridge had once been forested as well, but whether by natural means or the hands of men it was clear, a strip perhaps forty yards across running down the back of the rise. Looking down the strip, he could see the clear space went on for miles; small trees here and there as well as standing poles from which a few cables were strung up towards the peak. Standing there, nestled up against the utmost last upward thrust of earth and stone, was a house. It was an older style and solidly made; two stories of brick solidity. There was a chimney, though no smoke came from it, and there were gables over the upper outmost windows. It had painted shutters and though most of them were closed, a few on the first floor were open and it was through these that light streamed. Brick steps let up to a wide porch made of fieldstone and a large and solid looking front door with a deadbolt above the handle.
A house up here? Who would live all the way out here? Sean stared for a few moments before he started for it, trying to get his breathing under control. It didn't matter; it looked like they had electricity, even a phone. Hell, up here, his phone might get signal. And in any event, they could help him. Sean approached the house and seeing no doorbell, reached up to knock on the door hard; once, twice, again, and then let his hand drop. He stepped back from the door, pushing his glasses back up his nose with one hand.
There was a heavy click as the deadbolt withdrew, and then another softer one as the lock did the same. Sean drew himself up, squaring his shoulders, ready to meet whatever hermit or mountain man resided up here so far from civilization. The door swung inwards and he blinked in shock, his mouth opening a moment before he shut it. Standing in the door was a girl about his age, shorter than him by a good eight inches, with golden red hair pulled back into a ponytail at the back of her head. Her skin was fair, almost alabaster pale, smooth and flawless. Her face was elegantly beautiful with delicate features, soft eyes of a deep brown that was almost black and startlingly bright red, luscious lips. She was wearing a tank top and a pair of pajama pants that were red with bats and pumpkins on them and her feet were bare. She was slender and had a petite figure, though her tank top showed more cleavage than he'd have expected from her build, the swell of her bust filling it enticingly. Her waist was very narrow and she had a round, pert little ass. "Good evening." Her voice was warm and smoky and it sent a thrill down his spine. Her eyes wandered over him and lingered here and there a good bit, her lips curving in a slight smile before she looked up at him with a concerned expression, "Are you all right?"
"I, uh, feel better now," he said. Then he blinked, "Uh, no, sorry, miss. My name's Sean and I'm afraid my friends and I, we were on our way to a party and we got off the track somehow, then we all got lost," he stopped himself and shook his head. "Please, may I use your phone? Or do you have a flashlight or something? My friends are out there somewhere and I have to find them, please." He was suddenly aware of how crazy he must look; messed up hair, face flushed from running, still breathing roughly, probably a few rips and tears in his clothing from his run through the woods.