Vinh and Marie hadn't fallen that far away. Where the tall girl had tripped was near the end of the hill, sliding down onto a ledge that was big enough to hold a few trees along with the two girls. Vinh leaned against the large hill from her back, the girl's face stung like little needles were digging into her skin.
She managed to grab at her eye, feeling the hot liquid drop from her palms. She was hesitant to move and look at it herself, though she knew it was blood. The blood from her that was slashed open.
"Vinh! Vinh..!" Marie's panicked voice forced Vinh to open her eyes. She only managed to open her left eye, her other one felt glued shut from an enormous amount of pain when she tried opening it.
Marie's face came into focus, it was slightly blurry but the older girl would make out the look on the child's face. She was afraid, terrified while she shook Vinh with her shaking hands. Tears brimmed the end of her eyes, dirt was pushing into her curly blonde hair and smeared into her red cheeks.
Vinh reached out for her, pulling her back off the wall from behind to grab at her desperate hands. She winced, her hands stung at how sore they felt. She has no idea what just happened, where they were.
Where was Kim Seo? Cameron?
Marie looked around frantically, she suddenly bolted her head up in the direction above Vinh. She let out a yell, along with the sudden sound of some sort of skidding in dirt. It felt heavy, a few rocks and dirt littered on the girls from above. Vinh didn't look up to know who or what it was.
She forced herself forward, ignoring the stinging in her body when she did so. Her arm latched around Marie before she stood all the way up and bolted forward.
Marie let out a cry, watching the large man trail behind them with large steps. Vinh pulled her closer, forcing the girl to grip her hand and to run with the same pace as the taller girl. Even if it hurt Vinh to do so, she had a pump of adrenaline that forced her body to move forward.
She feared that Marie would let go, that maybe the little girl's grip wasn't strong enough. She held tighter every time the child's hand even slightly loosened, her grip was slippery with sweat from the energy pumping through her veins.
The loud stomps, the skidding of the gravel behind them from the large, loud feet only made her run faster. She tripped, sliding down the rest of the hill in the opposite direction of where the others were. She didn't care, she couldn't care.
He was coming closer. No matter how fast the poor girl ran, the man got closer and closer.
"VINH!" Maire let out a shriek, tripping over herself when the older girl sped up. She turned back to her, pulling the girl onto her back and taking off one more time, she knew the killer was right at her heels. She could almost hear his deep breath, running down her neck that was damp with sweat.
They couldn't run forever, the girl was already ready to pass out. She looked around frantically, trying to look for something, anything to help them.
Come on! Come on!
She was smart, the smartest in the class. She could think of something, anything to save them. Marie squeezed harder on the girl's shoulders, smothering her sobs in the girl's neck.
She caught something out of her eye, she didn't know what it was, but it looked like a way out. She didn't have the time to think about it before she turned, almost getting snatched by the spear the killer swung at her head, it sliced more of her damaged hair as she avoided getting decapitated.
Vinh used both her hands to latch Marie's arms around her neck to be stronger just as she leaped up from the bushes that blocked off a path. A path that Vinh desperately jumped into, she was suddenly falling, her legs getting scratched and cut up while her back laid down the rocks before splashing into a deep and cold body of water.
It stung the new wounds that lined the girl's legs and back, but Vinh didn't move up for air, instead, she bolted down. With one hand on Marie's arms around her neck, Vinh used her other hand to push the two down and away from where they were. It was pitch black, only a few water lilies is what she could make out of the river's ground.
It was tight, suffocating when she felt the girl on her back squirm. She didn't want to risk going back up, so she pushed the two forward as quickly as she could. While she did so, she closely moved up towards the surface, making sure that they were moving swiftly away from where they jumped into the water.
Her feet left the river's floor, she had to use most of her remaining strength to make it back up to the surface. Her vision was blurry, lights startled to flicker in the ends of her vision. Her chest was exploding, enormous amounts of pain erupted in her ears.
The adrenaline was wearing off just as she burst through the surface to take in a gulp of air. She heard Marie choke from beside her, she moved as quickly as her dying body could to grab the little girl. Her hand found its way on her face, pulling the girl down into her arms while she covered her lips.
Vinh stayed silent, letting only little puffs of soaked breaths out from her nose. She suppressed Marie's frantic pants, shushing her just as the sound of steps came to her. Vinh paddled her legs to keep them on the surface, moving her head around frantically to find where the killer was.
They were in the middle of what seems to be another river, it was pitch black all around them. Only puffs of fog from the rippling surface of the black water was any source of movement. The loud steps circled them, becoming louder before fading into the abyss beyond them.
Still, Vinh was cautious. She let the silence spread around their surroundings, watching all the movements that caught her eyes. It was eerily silent, the soft sounds of the wind and water washing together finally let the girl let out a silent sigh. She didn't want to risk it, but the cold water running through her bones made her slowly sink from the growing fatigue rising within her.
She was losing her energy, her vision blurred things together while her legs began to cramp up, her muscles felt like they were tearing apart while she fought to stay afloat. It hurt, sobs threatened to escape from her shivering lips. They had to get out now, Vinh had to get them out.
She hissed, pulling her head up from the water, she felt her hair stick to her damp skin. She pulled herself out, fighting off the blurry images as she made it to the shore line from where they started. They had no idea where the killer went off too, she knew it wasn't smart to go back to the rocky land, but it wasn't much better to be staying in the water.
She muffled her coughs, her lips shivering from the cold rush of air passing her hair. It felt stuffy, yet freezing. Her bones were stiff, the pain elbowing into her head was rocketing through the sky. The blood from the cut on her eye was stuck to her skin, it felt uncomfortable but the young girl couldn't think about that now. She quickly looked over Marie for any sort of wounds.
The small girl had red puffy eyes, a few cuts along her bare brown skin that looked dirty and irritated. Her small dress was ripped with tears all along the end, it was soaked and stuck to her skin while it fell apart. Other than that, she didn't have any large or life threatening wounds.
Vinh felt her forehead, her skin flinching when coming in contact with Marie's head. It was freezing cold, her whole body was. She was shivering, hiccuping small wrecked sobs. The tall girl gulped, the fear piling up in her as she looked around them frantically. They had to get back with the boys, getting split apart will be their death.
Vinh slowly stood up, wincing when the pain ran up her body, threatening to collapse her. She shook it off, reaching down for Marie to grab onto her hand. She did so, her cold fingertips sending a shiver down Vinh's ripped up back.
"Stay quiet.." She looked down to the child, a serious expression spreading across her features. "And do whatever I tell you to do. Got it?"
She nodded, holding back loud sobs that were held up in her throat. She was terrified, but held back the fearful noises so it didn't get them caught. Marie held tightly onto Vinhs hand, the others warmth seemed to reach both of their bodies, the tall girl began to walk up to where they had jumped from.
It was difficult, Vinh had to scramble her way up there along with Marie who tried hard to keep up with the tall girl. It was slow and painful, her vision was horrible thanks to her other eyes being glued shut by blood. The fear of the killer was a good push for her, it made the girl keep fighting back against the stinging pain and before she knew it, they were up at the top where she had jumped.
It was darker. Was it?
Vinh desperately looked around them, her head pounded in frustration. Where had they come from? The hill where she had fallen off, she had to get back up there, the boys should be there. Or maybe they went down to look for them?
Vinh didn't know, she did know that she shouldn't risk it. They had to find some place to hide in case the man was after them. Along the way, she would look for any traces from the boys. She didn't know if she should go up the hill back to where they started, or stay down here and hope to run into the others.
"Erg.." She held onto her pounding forehead, her anxiety was through the roof, causing her body to buckle at the pain. She felt the panic beginning to rise, tears welling up at the bottom of her eyes.
She was terrified…
What do they do now? Vinh had to keep Marie safe, to get out of there and find the others or they are dead. She was already dead if her wounds aren't treated yet, the infection will grow and it will end up killing her.
Everything was going wrong, it made it harder for her to focus, she just wanted to sit down and stop. To rest..
"Vinh.." Marie's small voice broke her out of her head.
The girl quickly pulled at her hand, shushing her harshly before continuing to walk forward. She held harder onto the girl, her palm growing warmer through their connection of skin contact. Marie had winced from the harsh tugging, only Vinh ignored her, shushing her once more before hopping down and following along the bottom of the hill.
Her thoughts were that maybe the boys were down there with them, following after they had fallen off. She hoped that to be true, that maybe they would run into one another. The base of the large hill where they saw the small flickers of light, Vinh made her way to where she thought it would be.
It was hard to tell where it could be since they were now down at the bottom and not the top looking out below. The hill was also a lot larger than she expected, the wide turn and angles to where it ended were long. It would take a while to get to where they saw at the top from where they were, and the boys might not even be down here!
The teenager gulped away the anxiety. Even if they weren't down here, the light could be life, another human who could help them get away. Vinh couldn't think straight because of the pain, along with everything that had transpired today. She went with whatever was right in front of her, she knew that they would cause too much noise if they tried to crawl back up the hill. That, and because she couldn't make it with her body like this.
She could barely even run..
If the killer came after them, she would have to hide. And where they were, under the hill there were small patches they could fit in that were out of view. It might be a little obvious, but it felt like the safest options out of them all for the girls.
Vinh's feet felt like they were dragging behind her. Her vision constantly swayed along with her movements. The girl's whole body shook, the cold wind could almost knock her over. Marie was under her, her body pressed into the tall girl's leg while their hands stayed connected the whole time.
Vinh felt like she was in some sort of dream walk. She was numb, something like the cold water running along her back.. She couldn't feel it.
Dream walking.
Didn't know what that felt like, maybe it was just the surreal feeling of the over piling of fear mixed in with jumbled thoughts? The teenager was used to never thinking about anything at school, she would just sit in the back of class and sleep. She didn't have to bother with things like PE or learning. She was already smart, and what would she need to learn to run for?
Right…
A harsh tug pulled the girl's attention down, Marie looked up with fright filled eyes. Vinh looked on in confusion while Marie mouthed a few words. She didn't understand it, she was worried the girl might cause some noise.
"He- he..!" She began to sob, her eyes wide.
"Maire..!" Vinh hissed down at her, a warning glare from her one working eye.
Marie looked behind them, stepping backward and right into Vinh's shaking legs. It was then that the tall girl finally understood what the child was referring to.
Rustling of the leaves was behind them. It was accompanied with loud and obvious steps.
Vinh panicked, picking up Marie and dashing into a large pile of leaves from a fallen tree. It was edged into the hill, making a small but perfect hiding spot for the small girls. The girl quickly held tightly onto Marie, watching between the dried, dead leafs into the clearing they were just standing.
She felt herself hiccup, quickly covering her mouth with her hand as the tall figure came into view. He wiped his large spear that had blood stains dripping from it, he brought it up to his lips that were under his mask. Vinh could barely make out what was happening, the darkness and shrubs from the coverage were too big to see anything.
What she couldn't see was that the killer with scaared lips took a lick of blood off his finger. He made a face, the taste not satisfying for him. He let out a loud gruff, his vocals sounding old from his ripped throat.
His hand whipped back down to his side, he felt angry, surging hunger running up in his throat from the taste. The bone spear on his side was pushing closer to him, the killer looked down to the bloody weapon. He brought it up from the ground, using his fingers to wipe away the blood before flicking it off from his fingers.
The tall man turned his head up in the air to let the wolf skull slide slightly. He sniffed the air, a running scent drifted through, causing the man to jolt at an unknown sound. He turned before running off in another direction. He didn't even look in the direction of the girls. That allowed the teen to let out a small sigh.
Still, she waited a few seconds before coming up. She may not have seen what intrigued the killer, but she felt thankful that he hadn't caught them. She couldn't help but wonder how he got to them so quickly. They were just near the river, now he was right back behind them.
It felt like he was a predator stalking them, smelling them before chasing.
She suddenly felt cold sweat fall from her head. What had caught his attention?
What if he smelt the boys? Heard them or something?
She shook it off, the pit in her chest making her want to throw up from the fear riding on her back. She turned to Marie, deciding to ignore what her thoughts ventured onto. She looked around the girl one more time for any new wounds, even if she knew there weren't any.
Marie hiccuped, turning away from the girl's hand. Vinh couldn't help but scowl, closing her eyes in irritation. "You need to be more careful. Don't get us caught Marie."
Her whispers were hissed, she couldn't seem to understand if the child didn't understand the stakes for them.
What was happening right now. She knew it right?
She decided to turn away from her, looking back in the open space to figure out what they needed to do next.
Her body stopped when she heard Marie let out a wrecked sob. She looked back to her, her eyebrows drawn together as she took in the child state. Marie held her hands to her face, her knees up into her chest while the hot tears fell from her hands. It soaked her even more, her face felt hot and stuffy, the child's lips puckered out while she let out more cries.
Vinh noticed how she tried to hold them in, crying in vain while they were hushed from herself. She tried so hard to keep quiet that her body was shaking wildly from it. Vinh quickly moved over to her, putting a hand on her back while shushing her more gently.
It didn't seem to do anything, Marie shut her eyes tightly while letting out a tired wail. Vinh quickly went up to her, pulling the child close to her as she whispered small and gentle warnings. Her hand combed the girls messy blonde buns, her face stuffed into the taller girls ripped school sweater.
Marie held tightly onto the fabric, rubbing her face into Vinhs chest as she cried out. "I'm- I'm sorry..!" She sniffed, her tears soaking into the girl's sweater, it felt it along with the child's face that was growing more red. "I'm.. s-scared..! I'm scared.. Vinh…!"
She pushed her whole face into the teenager's sweater, crying more loudly this time.
Vinh hesitated, her hand shook from behind Marie's head while she comforted her. Her body and mind all came crashing back, her thoughts and emotions felt spilled out on invisible plates in front of her. She soon came back to reality, blinking away the tears that fell silently down her face.
The girl pulled Marie all the way in her lap, pushing the child into her to feel the warmth and comfort soak both of them. She closed her eyes tightly, letting small tears fall silently while it lasted for seconds. They let the silence stretch on, Vinh comforting Marie while giving gentle strokes on her back, running circles into her smaller body as her sobs slowly went quiet.
Something clicked in Vinh's mind. She didn't even realize how harsh she had been on Marie.
After seeing Loire die…
Vinh bit her lip when more tears came all at once. She pushed her head into Marie's head, sobbing silent when the image of Loire's dead face came back to her mind.
She knew it wasn't right, treating Marie like this to "protect her''? If she wants to protect her, she needs to keep her alive.
And she will do that. She will make sure that this small child crying in her arms will live. She whispered the promises in Marie's head, making her whole body let out a sigh of relief when the warm girl's body didn't leave.