Cadaverous - Rewritten, P A Webster [best thriller novels of all time .TXT] 📗

naïve and then you start acting like this. They won't come for you as long as I'm with you. You're safe with me."

"You're not making me feel safe at all. I got myself involved yesterday because you're like a brother to me, I thought you were the better person. I thought I knew who you were but suddenly I'm seeing a whole other side of you, and it isn't a good side. I can see now that I was wrong, maybe they're the better people. Maybe you deserved to be hit," I said. Cruz was left stunned by my words. I pulled my arm out of his grip and left him behind. I looked behind me once I was a fair distance away, and he hadn't moved an inch. He remained frozen in place.

 As I walked, I examined my arm which was now red and sore from where Cruz had grabbed me. I was sure I would probably wake up with a bruise the next day. It wasn't until my legs started to ache that I noticed I'd been walking pretty quickly and that my heart was still pounding from my encounter with Cruz. I took a deep breath and slowed my walking pace. It was over now, there was no need for me to be frightened anymore. I quickly checked my surroundings, just in case Cruz did in fact happen to be around. He wasn't, the only sign of human life was a small black car that pulled up to the curb ahead of me. As I approached it, I wondered if anybody was going to get out of the car, but even as I passed it nobody did. That's kind of odd, I thought to myself.

 I continued on my way, up ahead I could spot the entrance to the dirt track that would take me straight home. I took a sigh of relief, feeling slightly more at ease. A mobile phone chime rang through my ears. Instinctively, I pulled out my phone to check why it had chimed. I pressed a button, expecting to see a notification on my lockscreen, but there was nothing. Nobody else is around, if it wasn't my phone, whose was it? Maybe my phone just had a glitch or something. I tried to reassure myself, but the paranoia that Cruz had stirred up before was now coming back to me again.

 I checked over my shoulder, expecting to see nobody again. This time, there actually was somebody. There was a man walking a few metres behind me, dressed in a black hoodie and matching black pants. They hung their head low, making it near impossible to identify any of their facial features. I watched as they stuffed their mobile phone back into their pocket. I looked back ahead of me before they could notice me staring at them, I felt extremely intimidated by this person and I didn't particularly want to get on their bad side.

 I wondered if they were following me, or if it was just a coincidence that they were walking behind me. Maybe I should pretend to be on the phone to somebody, just in case they are following me. But then again, I'm no good at acting, especially in a situation like this. I could picture myself attempting to pretend that I was talking to somebody, but failing miserably as I stumbled over my words under the pressure. Yeah… I would definitely not be convincing enough.

 The dirt track was only a few metres away from me now, I decided that taking it was probably the best option. If I take this shortcut I can confirm for sure if this guy is following me or not, nobody uses this pathway. If he does follow me still, I'll run. If I run fast enough I should get home before he manages to catch up to me. There was a certain degree of risk with my plan. Yes, it would mean getting home quicker, but I was also walking into a reasonably secluded place. Obviously, if this guy was really following me, I could've been playing right into his hands. However, I reassured myself that I was probably just being paranoid and that the guy would not follow me.

 I turned onto the dirt track and began to listen out for anything that could signal that the guy had followed me. There were a few moments of silence, with only the sounds of leaves rustling in the trees and the distant chirping of birds. I began to settle down and relax. I heard the crunching of the dead leaves on the ground from behind me. Without even checking behind me first, I ran as fast as I could. As I ran my mind was completely blank, it was my body had switched to auto-pilot mode. It was amazing that I didn't trip over anything as I ran.

 I was running short on breath when I spotted the light at the exit. Judging that it would probably be the safest time to check, I looked over my shoulder. They guy dressed in black was nowhere to be seen. I came to a stop, feeling like a complete idiot for letting my paranoia get the best of me. So he wasn't stalking me after all… I just embarrassed myself yet again… great. I turned back around to face the exit again, and came face to face with the person I wanted to see the least. My heart stopped.

"You…" I gasped, tentatively stepping backwards.

"Yes, it's me," Chase smirked, stepping closer. The only thing running through my mind was what Cruz had told me earlier.

 

They know your face now, and they know where to find you. If you ever see them again, run.

 

Yet, my legs no longer knew how.

 

"What do you want?" I asked, my voice trembling slightly.

"You're quite perceptive, I'm impressed. I've only uttered three word and you've already figured out that there's something that I want," he said. I was unsure whether he was being sarcastic or not. As with the day before, he seemed amused by me, and it scared me. "All that I want is some information. That's it. And if you give it to me now, I can leave and we can all go home."

"I don't know what information you could be talking about. I don't know anything," I assured him. I wished that I knew what information he wanted so I could just tell him and he could leave.

"But you do know Cruz, right?" he cocked his head to the side, his chocolate brown eyes boring into me. "I don't see why you would've risked your life for him yesterday if you didn't at least know him."

"Well… yeah I know him," I answered, feeling extremely confused. Chase smirked again before turning his back on me.

"Thank you, that's all I needed to know. Come on Levi, it's time to go," Chase called out. I had no idea who he was referring to until somebody grabbed me from behind. It was the guy dressed in black who'd been following me earlier. Suddenly it all made sense, he had been luring me into a trap, making sure I did exactly what they wanted me to. Chase began to walk towards the exit of the woods. I was dragged along in the same direction by his friend Levi.

"Wait!" I yelled, starting to panic. Were they trying to kidnap me? "I thought you said that I could go home after I told you what you wanted to know!"

"You misinterpreted my words," he said, his back still to me. He turned and flashed me a smile. "I said that we could all go home, I never meant your home. I meant mine of course."

"No! Please! Let me go!" I begged, tears beginning to roll down my face as I panicked.

"Levi please deal with her, I already have a headache," Chase sighed, his face now serious.

 

The last thing I could remember was his friend placing his hand on the top of my head.

Chapter 3

My eyes fluttered open and I was staring up at the roof of a darkened, unfamiliar room. I was lying down on what appeared to be an old wooden bed. The mattress springs creaked under my weight as I sat myself upright. I examined my surroundings, the room was lit only by a small lamp on a cabinet next to the bed. The room was quite small, the only other furniture in the room was a wooden dresser, a small coffee table and an antique arm chair. There was one small window that was covered by some curtains, there was no light shining through them. My head ached as I wracked my brain, trying to remember where I was and why I was here. I'm still dressed in my uniform, so I guess I didn't make it home, I thought to myself.

 After giving myself a few moments to adjust, I stood up from the bed. I slowly made my way over to the door. I tried to twist the door handle, but it was locked. I hit the door, trying to force it open but the door remained shut. I began to panic, where am I? Who is behind this? Why am I trapped? My eyes drifted towards the window. Maybe the window would be my only way to escape. I ran across the room and tore the curtains open. I brushed my fingers across the window frame, feeling for the latch to open it. I pushed the window open and was greeted by an icy breeze. I stuck my head out, trying to adjust my eyes to the darkness. Although I couldn't see all that much, I could see light coming from a window below. Not being on ground level made me question the window as an escape option. I guess if there's no other way…

 The door burst open with a boom, in an instant my attention was completely taken away from the window and the possibility of an escape. With the flick of a switch, the room was suddenly illuminated. I blinked, now attempting to adjust my eyes to the light. As soon as everything came into focus, I remembered. Chase, who was standing in front of the doorway must've noticed my sudden realisation, he smirked. Behind him stood two of his friends with their arms crossed. I recognised them both from the first time I'd encountered them, when they were interrogating Cruz. One of them was noticeably paler than the other, making his rather short jet black hair stand out against his skin tone. His eyes were a mesmerising ice blue, they were so pale that it seemed unnatural. The other guy was more muscular and had extremely dark brown eyes that looked almost black in comparison to his dark brown hair. They were both fairly intimidating.

 Chase eyes settled on the open window, he dashed across the room at an inhumane speed. If I hadn't seen a blur of motion, I probably would've thought he'd teleported. He couldn't really have run that fast… could he? I'm most likely hallucinating. He slammed the window shut and without even glancing at me, grabbed me by the elbow and threw me into the armchair across the room effortlessly. My eyes must've been