Worst Nightmare

“This is my worst nightmare,” Alice complained as she followed her friend through the vast field.

 “I thought that was being stuck in a room with Jake Robinson again,” Olivia replied as she walked forward, hoping her phone wasn’t going to die any time soon.

 This was an unexpected trip, so it wasn’t as if she’d thought ahead and brought a flashlight and Alice refused to be helpful. So here she was, trying to navigate through this random field late at night with just the light on her phone while in kitten heels. The smaller heel was meant to make Olivia feel sexy but comfortable while they were out for the evening. Now they just felt like regret and wasted money as more mud stuck to them with every step she took.

How she envied Alice’s thick heeled boots and the warm jacket she had.

Maybe she could persuade her to swap shoes, if only for a little bit. Like five minutes…okay ten tops but really, they were basically the same size and Olivia’s feet were really hurting. They had already spent the last few hours standing around, catching up with people Olivia really didn’t care about but pretended that she did. And wasn’t that just soul-sucking?

She hadn’t even given a second thought to most of those people over the past ten years, and yet one evening with Jenny McGuire and here she was, acting like an idiot.

“I thought we promised to never bring that up again,” Alice said while trailing behind.

Olivia stopped, not having realised until then that her friend was no longer right behind her. She lightly bounced on the balls of her feet, trying to keep her heels from sticking in the mud. She did not want to have to take her shoes off and walk barefoot the rest of the way.

“Well yeah, but did you see him tonight? Still a hottie, even without the side fringe and skinny jeans,” Olivia laughed as they continued to walk. She was sure the light on her phone was beginning to dim but she didn’t dare check to see what percentage her battery was on.

“And still probably a massive asshole who doesn’t understand-.”

“Oh, you can’t still be upset about that,” Olivia said, interrupting her friend.

Alice turned and stared at Olivia before shaking her head and muttering, “Just forget about it.”

“What have I done now?”

“Nothing. I said forget about it. Let’s just find this stupid place, take the stupid picture and -”

“Get back to the stupid party?”

“Whatever,” Alice replied while rubbing her face, her eye make-up smudging slightly as she did.

Olivia would have said something but there was no point because Alice was clearly in one of her moods. If they hadn’t been friends for years, Olivia honestly didn’t know how she would have put up with Alice.

They walked in silence for what felt like forever. Olivia was too busy focusing on not falling over to care about why Alice may have been quiet.

 Why hadn’t she just said she’d come back the next day to find Spade’s Ditch. Or at least insisted that Jenny came with her, to not only prove that she went there but to also make Jenny suffer with her.

Finally, Alice broke the silence. “I think we’re walking in circles.”

“No, not possible.”

“Oh really, and why’s that?” Though Alice had stopped walking, Olivia had yet to notice.

She continued on a couple more steps before answering, “I’ve been following the stars, Alice. You know, like they tell you to do in those survival shows.”

“I think it’s a bit more than just following the stars Olivia and anyway, I’m pretty sure you need a clear sky to be able to see stars for that to work.” Alice pointed upwards, “Does that look like a clear sky? No.”

“You just don’t understand it,” Olivia replied while bouncing again on the balls of her feet slightly. The longer they stood still, the more chance her shoes were going to sink into the ground and yeah, maybe the skies were overcast. That didn’t mean Olivia was wrong.

“No, but I do understand that I’ve seen that one tree at least five times already and don’t ask me how I know it’s the same one because there are no other trees in this field,” Alice sighed as she pulled out her phone.

“Look, why don’t I try to see if I can track our location on my phone.”

“Oh, so now you’re being helpful.”

Alice doesn’t reply as she continues to look on her phone. Olivia wished they could carry on walking while she was doing it though as it was getting colder. She tried to warm herself up by rubbing her arms and occasionally breathing on her hands, but nothing seemed to be working. The eerie silence was also beginning to creep her out.

“Anything?” Olivia asked, hoping her friend had some good news.

“Well, I was right,” Alice stated as if she really needed to point that out. “We’ve definitely been walking round in circles. However, we’re not far from where the reunion was taking place so we can just turn back this way,” she points over her shoulder, “and go back to the party and be warm and safe. Sound good? Excellent.”

She started to walk back but Olivia quickly grabbed her arm, causing her to stop.

“Wait. You know we can’t go back yet.” Olivia whined. “You know I have to do this.”

“I really don’t”

“Alice. Please.” She used what others called her ‘princess voice’. It was hard to resist when Olivia used it, she sounded so childish and sweet and really, who wouldn’t want to help someone like her.

 “Jenny will make my life hell if I don’t reach Spade’s Ditch.”

“Get over yourself, Olivia! We’re not in school anymore. We’re almost thirty, Jenny can’t make you do anything. I think it’s time you get over this little obsession you have with her and get over yourself.”

“What?” Olivia really didn’t understand what Alice was saying or where this was coming from all of a sudden.

“Oh, stop pretending.” Alice yanked her arm out of Olivia’s grasp. “I’ve known for a long time I wasn’t the friend you wanted in school. I know you tried to become friends with Jenny, and she rejected you and you settled for poor lonely Alice. But I didn’t mind because I thought you at least liked me. But now I’m not even sure if that’s true.”

“What are you even saying, Alice? Of course, I like you. You’re my best friend. You’ve always been there for me. Even when I do stupid things, like walking through a field in the middle of the night.”

“Yeah, because I’m just as big of an idiot as you are,” Alice shouted. “The place probably isn’t even real. I mean really, Spade’s Ditch. Some guy made that up at school to scare the younger ones. It’s not a real place. There is no man with a spade for a head waiting for us in his run-down barn.”

“How do you know?”

“Because it sounds ridiculous. Do you not think that if there really was someone like that out there, the police wouldn’t have found him yet? It’s not exactly as if he can blend in, what with the whole spade for a head thing.”

“Alice-”

“Shh-”

Olivia looked offended as she tried to speak again, only for Alice to shush her a second time, waving her hand while looking around the field.

“Do you hear that?” Alice whispered with slight panic in her voice.

“Hear what?”

“Shh, listen.”

Though Olivia didn’t appreciate Alice shushing her, she did try to listen.

At first, she couldn’t hear anything, other than Alice’s short sharp breaths and her own chattering teeth. Clearly, there was nothing out there and Alice had just done this to either shut Olivia up or to make her look stupid, pretend as if there really was Spademan out there, freak her out and then tell everyone how scared she was.

But then, before Olivia could say anything, she heard it. Only faintly at first. A rustle of the long grass, but she wasn’t sure from what direction. She and Alice continued to stare around the field, wide-eyed as the sound came closer.

Suddenly Olivia saw a dark figure running towards them.

She raised her hand, trying to point and tell Alice that something was coming behind her, but she was too frightened to speak. Luckily, Alice turned slowly, following where she was pointing. Olivia knew her friend had spotted the same figure when Alice screamed so loud, that there was no way the people still at the reunion hadn’t heard her. Hopefully, that meant someone would be coming out the find them soon. Surely Jenny wouldn’t be that heartless to leave them when they were clearly in trouble.

Alice was the first to move. Turning back around again to face Olivia and grab her arm as she took off in the opposite direction. Olivia stumbled at first, her kitten heels having become stuck in the mud. Luckily the heel hadn’t broken off. Though maybe that would have been the best thing to happen because Olivia was finding it too difficult to keep up with Alice.

She could hear someone shouting. Probably whoever was chasing them. Olivia could only imagine the horrible and sickening things they were saying.

The friends reached the end of the field. They had a decision to make. Going backwards was out of the question, so that meant left, right or straight on. Olivia had no idea what path they had taken before, but it was clearly the one they wanted to avoid. They really didn’t need to walk in circles anymore.

She jerked her phone about, trying to see if she could find the recently trodden grass to indicate where they had been. Her hands were shaking too much as she tried to use her phone and keep up with Alice. They had to choose quick, as Olivia heard the footsteps coming closer. She’d let Alice decide. Alice was always good at making the right choice.

“-ia, Alice! Wait! Olivia, Alice!”

But Olivia didn’t want to wait for whoever was chasing them. It didn’t matter that they knew their names. All that mattered was getting away from them. But Alice didn’t move. Instead, she turned her head to the side, eyes scanning back as the shouting became clearer.

“Danny?”

What.

“What?” Olivia repeated out loud. Because who the hell was Danny and why was he trying to kill them? And why was Alice starting to jog towards him?

“Alice.” Olivia hissed at her friend, trying to grab hold of her before she would do something stupid. But Alice just shrugged off her hand and continued forward.

“Danny, it is you! What are you doing out here?” She’d said when the guy finally caught up to them.

This Danny guy didn’t seem like a creepy, killer weirdo. Actually, he looked kind of familiar. Olivia slowly joined the two of them as Danny answered Alice.

“I’ve been looking for you.” He was slightly out of breath as he continued to talk. “Well, me and Jake have been.”

Alice must have pulled a face because Danny then went on to say “Don’t be like that. We were worried about you both.”

That’s why he looked familiar. He was Danny Blackwell, one of the guys who used to hang around with Jake when they were at school. Not that anyone would blame Olivia though for not remembering him, especially not when Jake was around. And he was just passible in looks. But none of that mattered now because he’d come to save them. Him and-

“Where’s Jake?”

Danny finally looked over at Olivia. He waited a few seconds before saying, “Something’s happened.”

“What’s happened? Has something happened at the reunion? Is Jake ok?”

“Look, Jake and I were worried about you both after you accepted Jenny’s dare. It’s easy enough to get lost in the daytime, so we decided to follow you. However, by the time we got here, we couldn’t see either of you. We must have gone into the right field instead of following you into the left or something. After about ten minutes, I thought it would probably be best if we went back to the reunion and tried to get more people to help. Or at least find someone who had your numbers, so we could call you. But Jake didn’t want to give up searching yet.”

Danny sighed before continuing, “I said we’d look for a couple more minutes but then we really had to go back for help. It wouldn’t be good if all four of us got lost out here. However, just as we were about to turn back, we heard something rustling in the bushes. We thought it was one of you.” Danny looked Olivia straight in her eyes, “But it wasn’t. Jake ran to the bushes first and before I even knew what was happening this deranged looking man grabbed him. I tried to reach him to help but he told me to run and find you before anything could happen to you two.”

Olivia looked over at Alice, who was avoiding her gaze. Clearly, because she was embarrassed. For so long she had said how horrible a person Jake was, but here he was, risking his life to save them.

“I’ve messed up so badly. I just ran. I just ran and I should have stayed and done something because who knows what’s happening to him now. He could be seriously injured or worse-”

“Stop.” Alice placed her hand on Danny’s shoulder. “You can’t think like that. If you would have stayed you probably would also be caught and then there’d be no one to warn us there’s someone dangerous out there. You did the right thing.”

Alice tried to smile at him, trying to reassure him that he had made the right decision, but Olivia wasn’t so sure. Yes, they had now been warned, but Jake was still out there in danger and now he needed help.

“We need to help him.” Olivia’s tone left no room for argument and yet somehow, Alice did anyway.

“No way. We need to get back to the reunion and call the police.”

“But it might be too late by then. It could take hours before the police even make it out here.”

“So what? You’re going to track them down and then ask really nicely for dangerous man to let Jake go and then what, ‘please Mr psychopath let my friend go. I know you want to kill him and now probably us but please don’t’. Don’t be so stupid Olivia.”

“You’re only acting this way because it’s Jake. If it was anyone else out there, you’d be straight on board to go find them.”

“I’m not even going to answer that.”

“Because you know I’m right.”

Suddenly Alice’s face was only inches away from Olivia’s. She could feel her friend’s breath against her skin as Alice started to speak.

“What I know is, that this is all your fault. If you hadn’t been so worried about what Jenny McGuire thought of you then none of us would even be out here.”

“You can’t seriously be blaming me? I had no idea that any of this would happen.”

“Well, that’s definitely your problem isn’t Olivia? You never think.”

Danny cut in before Olivia could answer.

“What I think is that you both need to keep your voices down. We don’t need to draw any attention to our location right now.”

Olivia stayed quiet because Danny was right. Regardless of what they did, they needed to be as quiet as possible. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to glare at Alice while Danny continued to talk.

“I think it would be best to go back and get more help. I mean, even if we wanted to find them, where would we even start looking? It’s not like there are a lot of hiding places out here.”

That was it!

Olivia knew exactly where to look.

“Spade’s ditch. That’s where they have to be.”

“Olivia.” Alice groaned.

“No, hear me out. There’s an abandoned barn out there. Where else would you take someone?”

“It makes sense,” Danny said, though he sounded uncertain.

Before Alice could speak Olivia started to walk on, determined to find Spade’s ditch. Alice and Danny quickly caught up to her, asking her what she thought she was doing. But none of that mattered because honestly, Alice was right. It was her fault that there were all out in the field right now and that’s why Olivia needed to find Jake.

They finally made it out of the field, and into another almost identical one. At least this time there was a couple more trees around, so the three of them could keep better track of where they were going. Olivia had only been that far out in the fields, to Spade’s ditch once, while she was at school. Though she was too scared to actually go inside the abandoned barn. Alice hadn’t been with her that time because truthfully Olivia hadn’t meant to be there either. She had lied to her friend and said she wasn’t allowed to go out that Saturday and then proceeded to meet up with Jenny and her friends. After about waiting an hour near their school’s entrance, Olivia realised no one was coming and instead of going straight home, she decided to take a walk to clear her head. And then get lost, find Spade’s ditch and then get so freaked out that she ran all the way home and refused to speak about that day, for several reasons.

The group of three had briskly been walking for about five minutes before Danny spoke again.

“What was that?”

“Don’t even start that, Danny,” Alice warned as Danny slowed down, his eyes flickering about them.

“No seriously guys I hear something.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Olivia stated, not bothering to look back at them.

“Guys I’m not joking. I think there’s something following us.”

Alice’s reply was drowned out by a loud bang and Danny’s shouts of pain. That made Olivia stop and pay attention now. As she turned around, she saw Alice crouching down, over Danny’s body. As she walked closer, the light from her phone illuminated Alice, showing her pressing down onto Danny’s shoulder. Her hands stained red.

“No, no, no, no-” Was all Alice could say as she tried to help Danny.

“What the hell happened?” Olivia shouted because this was not the time to stay calm, no matter what Danny was trying to utter out as he tried to stand. 

“I think he got shot.”

“You think?” Ok, Olivia may be sounding a bit hysterical now. Someone being kidnapped is one thing, but someone actually being shot, and close enough to her that she may have been hit as well, that was too much. She was about to have a panic attack or something.

“I think it was just a graze,” Danny responded slightly slurred as he finally got to his feet. Alice was still holding on to his shoulder.

“Do you need me to-” Olivia started to ask before Alice shouted no.

“No,” she repeated, calmer this time. “It’s ok. But we need to move. Now.”

Olivia wasn’t going to argue with that.

“I think it’s best we get out of these fields as fast as we can and go back to the reunion,” Olivia said and she tried to run as fast as she could in her kitten heels. She was seconds away from just taking them off and running barefoot.

“No arguments from us,” Alice answered as she supported Danny the best she could while also trying to keep up with Olivia.

Suddenly another gunshot rang out. Alice and Danny stumbled, causing them both to fall, with Danny out cold on top of Alice. He must have been shot again, though Olivia couldn’t see anything. Not that she was focusing on the two of them on the floor at that moment because she was too terrified she would be shot next.

Her eyes were wide as she jerked around trying to find the shooter. Alice was whimpering on the ground, trying to get Danny off of her. She finally managed to get her arm free, and she reached out towards Olivia, asking for help.

Olivia stared at her.

This was Alice, her best friend in the whole world. The one person who has always been there for her, no matter what. And, guaranteed, if it was the other way round and Olivia was trapped under some probably dead body, Alice wouldn’t even hesitate to help her.

But Olivia couldn’t move.

Every second she was standing there, the more likely she was going to be hit next. She needed to move and maybe the shooter would be too preoccupied with Danny and Alice that they wouldn’t come after Olivia. Then she could get back to the others, call the police and get some proper help.

That’s what she would do. She would run.

Olivia’s eyes flickered to Alice’s shoes. They were in an easy position to just take off and swap for hers. It would aid Olivia in being able to run faster. But no, she didn’t really have time to mess around with that. She needed to go now.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered to her friend before she took off in a random direction.

She contemplated turning off the flashlight on her phone, worried the light would give away her position but she was even more worried about falling over in the darkness, so she kept it on. Olivia tried to block out Alice’s screams, begging her to come back and help.

And then another bang, then silence.

Olivia started crying. Her best friend was probably dead, and this was all her fault. What was she going to tell people? That she was an idiot who gave into peer pressure even though she’s almost 30 and got three people killed because she wouldn’t back down from a dare. No, no one could find out about that. This was just an unfortunate accident. A wrong place, wrong time kind of situation.

People can’t know it’s her fault.

She finally got to the edge of the field and had to decide whether to go straight on or left. Olivia started to panic as she now heard footsteps coming closer behind her. Straight on would probably take her further away from the place the reunion was held so she quickly turned left and carried on running.

Her side was beginning to hurt more than her feet were, which was saying something. Her breathing was becoming heavier. She saw a large tree in the distance and thought maybe if she could hide behind there for a minute, catch her breath and take these ridiculous shoes off, she’d be able to run much better.

Finally, she reached it. Olivia looked behind her to make sure she couldn’t see anyone. Hopefully, they had carried on straight instead of turning left as she had. Things were looking up as she leaned against the tree, trying to control her breathing. She under the straps around her ankles and yanked off her shoes. Her feet were bloody in some of the badly rubbed areas. Olivia was slightly regretting not taking Alice’s shoes. It wasn’t as if she needed them.

Just when she thought everything would be ok, she heard rustling. She peered out from behind the tree, checking to the right of her but she couldn’t see anything.

“Boo!”

“Ahh!”

Pain was all Olivia felt when something smashed into the side of her head. She went down instantly, dropping to the floor. She couldn’t help but think there was no need for her to take her shoes off just before passing out.

Olivia came to, slowly. She noticed the throbbing pain in her head before anything else but that was a good thing, right? That meant she was still alive. Though for how long, she could only guess.

For a good few seconds, she panicked as she couldn’t see anything, no matter how many times she blinked. Then she realised it was because there was something covering her eyes. Her hands and feet were bound together with zip ties, while a piece of tape had been stuck across her mouth. All those self-defence videos of what to do when you’re in this exact situation Alice made her watch had gone completely out of her head.

Before she could really start to work herself up, she heard a door creak open. Olivia tried to calm her breathing, but she couldn’t stop her heart from beating so fast. All she could think was ‘this is it’, with every step she heard from whoever was coming closer to her. She whimpered as someone grabbed her face, forcing it up.

“You look so pathetic right now.”

Olivia’s body froze with realisation. She knew who that voice belonged to. But it didn’t make any sense. Why would that person want to hurt her?

“Stop whimpering.” The attacker gripped her face tighter as she tried to stay quiet.

All of a sudden, whatever was covering her eyes was yanked off. She attempted to open her eyes but feared what, and who, she might see. She could feel dried blood on one eyelid. Her eyes swept slowly across where she had been taken, as she tried to make sense of it all. She was clearly in some abandoned place. Random tools and brushes were lying around, patches of hay were on the floor.

Her face was once again jerked up and she saw Alice. Sweet, loving Alice. Who was always there for her and never told her no.

Olivia instantly shut up, not wanting to anger Alice any more than she already had. She had never seen this side of her friend before, and it scared her.

“See, she can listen.” Olivia hadn’t even noticed there was someone else with them.

“Only when she’s threatened apparently. Wish I would have known that sooner.” Alice smirked as she pushed Olivia’s face away.

Olivia saw as Danny made his way over to Alice, kissing her as he put his arm around her. She noticed he looked very well, for saying he’d apparently been shot several times earlier on. Though there was a red stain on the front of his shirt.

“Don’t worry, she’ll soon be gone. Just like he is.”

Olivia stared over at where Danny had just come from. It took her a few seconds to realise there was someone else tied and beaten up on the floor. No, not just someone, but Jake. And if that was Jake lying there, that meant she had to be at Spade’s Ditch.

She was definitely going to die.

How did she not know that her best friend was crazy? She tried thinking back over the years to find any indication of mistreating Alice or hurting her in any way that would push her over the edge like this. But no. Nothing came to mind. Olivia had been the perfect friend.

This couldn’t be real.

Alice turned to Olivia. “I bet you’re wondering what’s going on. Thinking poor little Alice has lost it. Or maybe you think Danny here has brainwashed me. But let me make it very clear that this is all my idea. And you aren’t going to underestimate me anymore. So why don’t we start then?” She said matter-of-factly as she walked over and ripped off the tape. She laughed as Olivia shouted out in pain.

“Why are you doing this?” Olivia managed to choke out, as she tried to catch her breath.

“You see Olivia, I’ve put up with a lot from you,” Alice said, maintaining eye contact with Olivia the whole time.

“I tried to be a good friend because I knew how much you wanted to be in the ‘in crowd’ at school but they didn’t want you. I felt sorry for you. I even forgave you when you took Jake’s side over mine when he locked me in the room with him. What was it that you said to me back then? I should have been flattered. What? Flattered to be stuck in a room with a guy who wouldn’t take no for an answer and wouldn’t stop touching me. I was lucky Danny came in when he did because I definitely don’t want to think about what could have happened. And now, he can’t do anything to anyone else.”

Olivia noticed Jake had yet to move. She didn’t even want to think about what that meant.

“I thought we were friends,” Alice said softly.

“We are!” Olivia needed to get that point across because maybe then Alice would realise that what she’s thinking is wrong.”

“No. We’re not. You didn’t even notice I had a boyfriend for the past few years because every time we hung out it was always about you.”

“You could have told me at any time that you were seeing someone.”

“I tried! I tried and you just ignored me or thought I was making it up. So, in the end, I thought what’s even the point. All you did was complain about your family, your job, your flatmates. Oh,” Alice said in mock surprise. “You did actually listen once though, didn’t you? When I was telling you about how I was applying for my dream job. You know, the one I’ve wanted ever since I was a teen. But I didn’t get it.”

Olivia’s body flinched in anticipation as Alice stepped closer.

“I knew that was a possibility. Of course, there might have been a better person out there for the job. But imagine my surprise when I found out that you had gotten the job. You who had no interest in my field of work before. You who didn’t actually have the qualifications to work for this company and who lies about who you are and slanders me to the bosses while in your interview, so there was no chance I would get this job! I just don’t understand it!” Alice screamed.

“I did everything for you, and you couldn’t let me have this one thing, that I always wanted. You were always trying to make yourself look better than me and this, this was the final straw. You are no longer going to boss me around.”

Alice grabbed Olivia’s face once again, forcing her to look into her eyes. “So, I thought to myself, what could I do to get you back? I asked Danny to help because he’s a loving boyfriend like that. And you know what he said?”

Olivia shook her head, too scared to speak again.

“He said why stop at just you. Why not get back at everyone who had ever caused me pain and I thought what an excellent idea. And then the reunion happened, and it was like fate was on our side.” Alice smiled as she continued, “You’ll all be in the same place at the same time. I knew I couldn’t waste this opportunity.”

“We knew there was an abandoned barn out here,” Danny added. Olivia’s eyes flickered over to his. “We just had to think of ways to get you out here. Luckily for me, it doesn’t take a lot to wind you or Jenny up. I may have given her the idea to send you out here to look for Spade’s Ditch. And oh, wasn’t that perfect. I had no idea the fake story I told back then would be so useful now.”

“You’re such a forward thinker babe.” Alice blew him a kiss. Olivia couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“I was the one who persuaded Jake to go look for you both. He refused at first. He thought he was finally going to get back together with Jenny and didn’t want to ruin his chances. But I made him see just how heroic he would look. Saving two vulnerable, lost women from who knows what out there. I knew where you would be. So, I just made sure we stayed away from that field long enough so I could get him here and bash his head in.”

Olivia let out a sob. This couldn’t be real.

“I was sad I didn’t get to see it.” Alice pouted, her grip still tight on Olivia’s face.

“I know babe, but I made sure he knew exactly why he was going to die.”

Alice’s laugh cut through Olivia. She had never heard anything so evil-sounding before.

“I knew you were both stupid, but really, you both fell for everything so well. The fake rescue, the fake gunshots.” Olivia shuddered as she heard another gunshot. When she looked up, she saw Danny holding his phone, pressing a button as another shot rang out.

“Amazing what a little fake blood and a phone can do.”

“This has gone on for long enough. I won’t allow you to hurt me or anyone else again.” Alice glanced over to Danny. “Get the bat.”

Danny picked up a steel bat from near the barn doors. It was clearly covered in blood.

Olivia started thrashing around, trying to get out of Alice’s grip and get away. She needed to get away.

“Ah, ah, none of that.” Alice grabbed hold of her arm, pulling Olivia to stand up. Now with her kitten heels off, they were about the same height.

“I’m sure if Jake was able to, he would tell you not to worry, that it won’t hurt much. But sadly, he won’t be doing much talking after tonight.”

Alice shoved Olivia towards Danny as he swung the bat, hitting her in the arm. She staggered and fell back onto the floor, curling herself up into a ball to try and do anything to save herself.

Alice and Danny stood over her. Alice sniffled as she spoke, sounding more and more upset as she continued, “I don’t know what happened, officer. We were just messing around and then suddenly this big scary man came and tried to attack us, and we ran. But we got split up and I don’t know where she went. I ran back to the reunion, to see if she was there but she wasn’t.”

Alice laughed and kissed Danny one last time before making her way back over to the door.

“Now try not to have too much fun while I’m gone. We still have more to deal with. I’m thinking Jenny will be next.”

Olivia watched as her best friend left. Alice didn’t even look back one last time at her. Olivia was nothing to her.

This was her worst nightmare.