Kylie gulped. There was no way she could hold off all of these people. Shay had been tough enough. She looked around for an escape; to her dismay, the only way out was the door, which was completely blocked off by the army of the undead. Fighting would make it more difficult for Shay to bring her down, but it could also mean that she would die faster. There was only one way to handle this. Kylie set the pitchfork down and slid it to Shay.
"You win." She said simply.
A wicked smile crossed Shay's face. "That's all I ever wanted. Come, let me show you what we are." Kylie obliged, following Shay out of the barn and back into the forest, leaving Valery at home.
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"No!! Look! Kylie is missing!!" Valery cried into the phone. "You aren't understanding! Yes, I know she runs off sometimes to LaLaLand, but this is very different!" Valery sighed. "Fine then! If you don't believe me, whatever. It's not like you ever cared for her like you do Eric in the first place. She's more of my daughter than yours!" Slamming the phone into the receiver, Valery looked up just in time to see the clouds move over the sun. "Great, Kyles. Now it's going to rain, and I have to look for you."
Grabbing her umbrella and coat, Valery marched into the forest, walking straight into the face of danger.
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Kylie struggled. This was all a trap. Of course. How could she have not seen it? It was Shay that she was dealing with. Shay, the one who had stolen Eric, David, and her aunt Vicky. Kylie sighed, staring down at the camp. She was tied to a tree, thick vines wrapped around her wrists. They hurt; she figured she was allergic to them. Having no idea what to do, all Kylie could do was wait.
Wait, wait, wait. The thought of it was agonizing. Waiting for hours, days, weeks just to find out her fate? There was no way she could make it.
Eric scampered across the ground, grabbing a pine cone and chucking it at her. An elderly woman on a tree stump cackled as it hit Kylie in the shoulder, the small pieces of it sticking to her skin like nettles. Shay strutted across the grounds as well, David following her. Kylie spit at him, but it missed, landing on a small chipmunk. It chittered for a moment before running off. Then, Kylie remembered the dream. She had been thrown over the cliff . . .
Would that be her fate? Being tossed carelessly over a cliff, either dying on the way down, or drowning?
And then, Kylie saw Shane Cowers. He had been a freshman; he was her age, cute, strong, and not to mention smart. He was everything she looked for, but his brother had murdered him before the two ever got a chance to meet. Seeing him now was no surprise. Kylie already had seen her dead aunt, friend, ex-boyfriend, and brother. Why not throw incredibly hot guy into that mix, too? He looked up at her, and at the sight of the pine cone, and he crawled up the tree. Kylie smiled to herself; It reminded her of Edward Cullen, even though "Twilight" was so last year.
He sat on a branch next to her. She stared at him. "Hello," he said. "Who threw this at you?" He tore off the remaining pieces off of her shirt and shoulder.
Kylie looked down. "Umm . . . my brother did." Shane stared at her, obviously intrigued.
"Brother?"
"Yeah. Eric Brown. I'm Kylie. We went to the same school last year; in fact, we were in history and math together." A smile spread across his face, and to Kylie's surprise, his teeth were not razors like the others.
"What are you doing up here?" he questioned. Kylie explained to him, and he immediately growled. His fingernails were strong, however; they sliced through the vine like a knife would slice through cake. He was dangerous, and on Kylie's side.
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Valery gulped. It was getting darker and darker, but yet no sign of Kylie. The barn was empty, and she wasn't sure where to check anymore. The forest was too menacing and dangerous. Valery leaned up against a tree, when a hand landed on her shoulder. She turned around, whacking whatever it was with her umbrella. "Ow! Aunt Val? Is that you? Why did you hit me?!" Kylie snapped, stepping out into the moonlight, rubbing her arm.
"Sorry, you spooked me." Then Shane appeared behind Kylie. Val gasped, "Kylie! Don't move!" Kylie stared at her, her eyes telling her aunt to calm down.
"He's on our side - as long as you're nice." Kylie grinned. "This is Shane. Shane, this is my Aunt Val." Shane stared at Val, but didn't make a move to shake hands with her. Awkwardly, Valery pulled her arm back to her side. "Okay . . ." She muttered.
Kylie turned to Shane, asking him where in the forest they were now.
He told her solemnly, "We are in Dead Center. Welcome to the place where we are created."
Kylie and Val looked around, and for the first time, saw people limping around them.
They were all dead.
