chapter Eight: Corpse Party

Lorraine’s mind was reeling with all kinds of worst-case scenarios. She remembered the many incidents she heard about when guys would spike girls’ drinks and do unspeakable things to them. These things were very common in New York, and although Secret Valley was a small town, vile people were everywhere.

“She is a lightweight, maybe?” Aiden suggested with a small nonchalant shrug. However, his eyes contradicted his display of indifference. He seemed concerned. He didn’t know who Jason was, but he knew what he was. Connecting the dots together, Aiden decided that Cedric somehow made Mary hold the party in the woods and he was the one who sent Jason.

His long silence only intensified her sense of dread, “Something feels off.” Lorraine mumbled under her breath. Her words didn’t seem particularly directed to Aiden, but it sounded more like a thought said out loud., “I think I will follow them.”

She started walking in the direction they went, only for Aiden to grab her tightly by the arm and with clenched jaw he asked, “What do you think you’re doing?”

She furrowed her eyebrows and tried to pull her arm from his grasp, but to no avail, “I don’t know, Aiden. What does it look like I’m doing?” she replied snidely. “I’m obviously trying to help a friend. What if he slipped her something? This guy doesn’t look like good news to me.”

His lips were in thin line and his eyes looked conflicted, “And what could you possibly do when you get there?” He then gave a relented sigh, “Stay here, I’ll go.”

When he let go of her arm she could feel pain shooting through it. Lorraine knew she wasn’t the strongest, but the strength of Aiden’s hold on her arm felt stronger than it should be humanly possible, “I will go with you!” She retorted stubbornly.

“To do what? Watch and scream?”

“Look, I don’t know who died and made you the boss of me, but I’m going to go find my friend who decided that it was such a great idea to follow after some asshole jerk. You’re welcome to join”

They started walking into the woods. Judy and Jason had become only shadowed figures in the distance before they disappeared completely into the darkness. Lorraine took a look around; being in the middle of the woods made her disconcerted. It reminded her of her dream all those days ago. The darkness that engulfed the woods, how the trees looked like disfigured monsters, and the chill of the air; they all deepened her apprehension. At the same time, she was extremely worried for Judy, who had managed to carve her way into her heart. She was walking with Aiden in silence, something which she was grateful for, but her mind reeled with the way he tried to manhandle her. it might have not seemed like much for some girls, but for Lorraine it was.

She dared steal a glance at Aiden. His eyes were focused, and he looked like he knew exactly where he was going, although for the life of her she couldn’t even catch a glimpse of either Judy or Jason. It was getting colder, and Lorraine felt a shiver run down her back. She rubbed her hands together and at that same time they both heard a distant sound. The sound of a crow.

It was at a distance, but it managed to petrify her all the same. Her steps came to a halt involuntarily and Aiden did too. He knew they shouldn’t be going after them, especially not Lorraine. However, she was resilient. *“There’s no going back now.”* He thought, moving towards the strange sounds he could hear. The sound of the crow was a clear sign of his presence. *“Cedric.”* The name echoed in his mind, and it made him angry, but equally scared. She could see his jaw clenching, and his eyes squinted. He reminded her of a predator stalking his prey; a dark thought that she willed out of her mind.

They were a part of the woods, which seemed eerily familiar to Lorraine. Looking down, she noticed that fog was surrounding their feet and up to their calves, thickening with each step they took. When they reached a cemetery, she stopped. *“It’s the same cemetery.”* She realized, horrified. Her eyes were fixated on the land made of endless lines of tombstones, partially veiled from their sights because of the fog. She remembered her nightmare from the night before and a different kind of terror coursed through her body.

“I can see her, she’s here” His voice broke Lorraine out of her reverie. She had lost sight of Aiden and was surprised to find that his voice was coming from within the cemetery. It only took her part of the second, before she started running to catch up to him. She could hear the cawing of a crow and she saw it flying next to her head. It paused in its flying, looked at her for a moment too long, before it flew away. She walked carefully towards Aiden, who was kneeling down on the floor and she could see feet.

It was Judy’s, one foot was bare while the other still had the red heels she was wearing earlier. She rushed next to him, and a loud gasp left her mouth, “Oh my God! Is she okay?” She felt utterly stupid for asking such a question, but she wasn’t sure what else to do. Judy’s face was pale, drained of any killer. Her fiery red lipstick was smeared to the side, and a strap of her dress was torn.

Aiden didn’t answer her, and for some reason Lorraine’s eyes drifted to the side, taking note of something on the ground, only a couple of feet away from her. She squinted her eyes trying to take a closer look and saw that it was a head. A person’s head. She wasn’t sure what to do, but she let out a scream that pierced through the air.