Chapter 5: Camping in the Woods

Another week of school passed for Takabi. At the time, the fall weather slowly began to arrive. Before the summer ended, Carlos had suggested Takabi come camping with him and his family.

Naturally he agreed, although he was a bit hesitant at first. Even then, Carlos spoke some words of wisdom and convinced him to come along.

So there they were, setting up tents in the middle of the woods. It was Takabi, Carlos and his two sisters, and his mom. Carlos's father had work in Canada, and wouldn't be back until winter break.

The sun was slowly setting, the sky bathed in an orange blanket with the stars and moon lining up across from them behind the mountains. "Hey," Carlos's voice called to Takabi, making the white head turn and face his friend. "Mom and I are heading down to the stream to catch some fish. You gonna be okay with the demons?"

Despite him addressing them as demons, Carlos' sisters were never really mean to Takabi. In fact, they were a little too nice to him like children. The older of the two sisters was Anna. A blonde haired party girl with the usual crowd of too many friends and many more crushes.

Carrie was the dark haired reserved sister. Unlike Anna, she had a boyfriend she loved, though he was across the country on duty. Despite that, both sisters had some repressed feelings for Takabi, despite being a year older than him and Carlos.

"I'll be fine," He said, hammering down a spike into the dirt, making sure the tent stayed standing in place. Carlos nodded and left with his mother.

A tent opened, and Anna poked her head out. She looked from right to left, before locking her gaze on Takabi's back. He was dressed in a T-Shirt and denim pants. Brown steel toe boots were on his feet, caked in mud and grass.

She slowly crept from the tent, moving behind him silent and tapped his shoulder. "Need any help?"

"Jesus!" He yelled, falling on his butt and looking up at her. She was dressed in a spaghetti strap tank top, with jean shorts that hugged her butt tightly. She sat down next to him and smiled. "Scared you?"

"Yeah, you did, Anna." He replied, turning his focus back to the tent.

"I can help you, ya know. I'm already all set with my tent." She leaned a little closer to him. He paid her no mind. "How's classes been for you?"

"You were a sophomore once. You know already." He answered, and she frowned. "Sorry," He said, sighing. "I'm just a little on edge. A lot on my mind." Takabi had been thinking about the deaths for the past week. More specifically, the officers.

He couldn't stop. He read online that one of the officers had identified him, but once she said he just vanished into thin air, they ignored the claim and went with the suicide bomber theory. "Things are just crazy in the world."

"You're talking about all the murders, right? I know what you mean, no one will shut up about them." She pulled out her phone to pull up an article she saved. It was of the woman who was strangled with her own organs. "This one is the scariest by far though. The autopsy showed she was murdered first, then raped. Can you imagine someone doing something like that? It's so cruel."

He nodded, putting down the hammer in his hand. He pushed the death from his mind for a moment and asked, "Anna, when you look at me, what do you think?"

Silence met his question. When he looked at her, she was blushing madly and drooling a little. Wiping it away, she said, "A lot of things I probably shouldn't.. The fact that you look older than you are too. Not to mention how kind you can be."

"Kind," He repeated questioningly.

"Yeah. I remember when we first met. Carlos and I were arguing over who got to use the TV, and you said you'd play with me instead of Carlos if he wasn't nice." She laughed a little. "He got so mad, but you were his best friend so he dealt with it."

"Well, I was a kid who grew up with very little. No siblings or anything, so it kind of irked me he wasn't treating you how he should. Still, that was when we were kids." He shrugged it off. "I could be completely different."

"Oh you're definitely different, just not how you think." She touched his thigh, and winked at him, standing and walking towards the fire pit. Takabi watched as she walked off, but soon looked towards the sky and laid back in the soil, hands under his head.

The hours passed by quickly. Carlos returned with his mother shortly after the three hour mark, a cooler filled with fish in Carlos' hands. They set them up quickly to cook and simply talked about life. Laughs and jokes were exchanged, and the five let go of the outside world.

By midnight, Carrie stood and said, "I gotta pee." She walked behind Takabi, leaning down to mutter something in his ear that made his face turn a tiny bit red before she disappeared in the bushes. When no one was looking, he stole a quick glance at her. She was wearing shorts like her sister, but a plain white T-shirt and boots. Her dark hair was in a ponytail when she moved from view.

Takabi sighed and stood, "I'm gonna pack it in. I'm exhausted."

"Can't stay up late, anymore?" Mrs. Rivera asked. "Come on, we were gonna tell ghost stories. I was hoping to see you freak out Carlos again." The boy grunted and ignored his mother's comment.

Takabi shook his head, "Maybe tomorrow night. Thanks for inviting me by the way."

She waved it off. "Oh it's nothing. Since Mr. Rivera couldn't make it due to his…" She hesitated a moment, then continued, "Sudden… Business trip, we figured you were the next best option. The girls love you and Carlos can barely handle not being around you anymore."

"Hey, Mom, stop it," Carlos grumbled.

She laughed and nodded for Takabi to go to his tent. He turned and headed over, but when he unzipped it to crawl in, a heavy scream ripped through the silence of the night. None of them moved, unsure of what it was that disturbed them. Even Carlos stopped chewing his marshmallows midway, watching the dark trees with wide eyes. "W-what was that?"

"I… I don't know… Did Carrie come back, we should make her look," Anna said, hugging her knees tightly. She looked at Carlos, then her mother. Mrs. Rivera simply said, "Anna.. Carrie left a minute ago."

Takabi moved first. As he raced by Anna and Carrie's tent, he picked the flashlight that was sticking out of the bag on the tree stump nearby. He flicked it on, rushing through the bushes as Carlos called out, "Where are you going?! Takabi!!"

He had no clue himself. His body was just moving on its own.

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How long had he kept running?

He wasn't sure, but it had to have been about twenty minutes or so. The flashlight was shining through the dark at full volume, yet it was still difficult to see much. "Carrie! Where are you!"

Takabi came to a stop by a pond, kneeling down and forcing his head under to take a heavy drink of water. When he pulled his head out, and shook his wet hair, he noticed his body heat rising. The temperature wasn't as bad as it was with the man in the park, but it would be hitting those levels soon, and he knew that.

Movement caught his attention. He spun around, but relaxed when he saw Anna's face. "There you are!"

"Why did you come in the dark? What about Carlos and your mom?" Takabi asked bluntly, rubbing his hair.

"They're looking for Carrie. You run pretty damn fast, ya know. Ever consider track?" She said, halfheartedly. It was obvious she was trying to avoid thinking the worst possible scenario if they don't find her. "Any luck?"

"None. I followed where the scream came from." He said, sitting down and watching the pond settle. Anna sat next to him, eyes focused on the water. They sat together in silence, until Anna craned her head and said, "What is that?"

"What is what?" Takabi asked.

The smell of fresh blood filled his nose. He looked around, unsure of where it came from. Anna screamed, and Takabi looked at the water. The liquid was slowly turning red. A piece of cloth burst through the water floor, Anna carefully reaching over to pick it up. When she did, she lost all the color in her face and sat back.

A piece of flesh, the same color as Carrie's. The flesh began to grow, and Carrie's body burst on the surface. The belly was ripped open, and intestines and stomach missing. A single, untouched lung, and a bloody, half eaten and punctured one. The breasts were exposed, cuts and muscle visible. The head was missing.

It was definitely Carrie's body though. Takabi knew that much, based on the clothing. "What happened to her…"

This is what happens when you don't have your memories. You would have sensed it coming.

The voice. It kept repeating those same words in Takabi's head, over and over. He shook himself, pushing it down, trying to ignore it. Release our power. Become one with who you truly are and kill it.

"Kill what," He muttered.

Bubbles began to erupt from the water. Anna sucked in a lungful of air, and let it all out, nearly passing out at the sight of her sister's corpse.

It couldn't be true. She had just seen her about half an hour ago, right? This had to be some sick prank. Anna refused to believe any of it. That her sister's life could be taken so simply, so suddenly, and she didn't even get to say goodbye. "Carrie," She said somberly, tears building and clouding her vision.

"Watch out," Takabi yelled, tackling Anna aside. He cried out in pain, the two tumbling away from Carrie's body. When Anna looked back up, she looked at Takabi's face. He was wincing in pain. She scanned him, eyes stopping on the deep gash in his leg. "Your leg! Oh my god, you're hurt!"

"Just a scratch.. My leg is the least of our issues right now.." He muttered, sitting up. Anna followed his eyes, and went silent. No air entered her lungs, and certainly none exited. Her world shattered in a matter of seconds.

Carrie's head, hair mangled, eyes wide with horror and blood smeared all over her chin and exposed throat, hung in the mouth of a large hound. Around the size of a pick-up truck, Black in color, eyes glowing in a hateful orange. The rib cage was exposed, beating heart and rising and falling lungs visible to the world. Flames bellowed around its paws, and yellow jagged fangs remained visible around its snout. Blood and drool dripped from the tips of its teeth, and sharp claws dug into the dirt. It dropped Carrie's head, stomping on it and crushing it to mangled, blood soaked pieces as it raced at the pair.