Chapter 8

Chapter 8
        Camille
      It is completely dark now. Riah and I keep stumbling over trash and random items that are spontaneously laid out on the filthy ground. I vaguely wonder if they belong to anyone, if anyone cares about them. I hear that the Forsaken reuse a lot of garbage and format it into something useful. It could just be a rumor, but if I was a Forsaken, I would take whatever I could get. I am very cautious walking through this area. I've only encountered a Forsaken once before. When my parents were alive and we still lived closer to the Forsakens, my friends came over and we were playing a night game outside. We had accidentally roamed too far and into the edge of the Forsaken territory. It must seem stupid, roaming into a place like that, but there isn't exactly a sign. It was my turn to seek my friends whom were hiding and I saw a figure standing, hunched over in the darkness. I assumed it was one of my friends, so of course, I approached the figure. "I found you!" I squealed. As I got closer, I realized that it wasn't one of my friends at all. It was a stranger. A Forsaken stranger. "Who are you?" A voice croaked. I didn't know how to respond, so I kept silent. "Who are you?" The voice repeated. "Why are you here?" The figure was coming closer, so I began to back away and said, "I'm sorry, this is a mistake." As it turns out, I had been separated from my friends. They thought that I had given up and gone back home. I didn't know this then. I turned and ran as fast as I could. I was shouting for my friends to come out so we could go home. None of them came out though. I came home crying because I had thought that I lost my friends, and even worse, abandoned them. When I came home, though, they were waiting for me. After that, we decided to stay inside and play a different game. I remember how terrified I had been that night. Forsaken have always been a threat in my eyes, as they should be. I was dragged out of my memories when Riah tripped over an object and fell hard on the ground. He groaned in pain. I tried to pull him back up, but he wasn't cooperating well. I don't have time for this, I think, irritated. "Come on, Riah," I say as I yank on his wrists, attempting to pull him off the ground. He begins chuckling and I say, "Get up. We have to get home."
"I'll go home with you," he says with that sly smile.
"Yeah, whatever. Just get up." He is more cooperative now and gets back onto his feet. I feel like I am about to explode. I have so much stress building in my chest and my frustration levels are getting higher. My time is running out, and so is Maverick's. I can't imagine how terrified he is. Does he know that I'm coming for him? How would he? He probably thinks he's going to die. I can't let that happen. I let out a frustrated groan through gritted teeth.
"What's wrong, baby?" I wanted to slap him so hard, but I didn't. I just ignored him and increased my speed.
"Hey!" He shouted as he grabbed my wrist painfully. He yanked me back toward him and I tried to resist his pull.
"Let go!" I yelled. He kept his grip and looked at me with his sly smile. I tried to pull away, but he was a lot stronger than I was. He forced me against him and smiled down at me. "You're drunk."
"No I'm not." His words were slurred and his breath smelled like alcohol. I wrinkled my nose and tried to turn away as I struggled. "Come on, Cam," he cooed, moving in closer.
"Stop," I demanded, leaning away. I can't lean away any further with his hands gripping my wrists. "Stop, Riah!" I shout. He looks at me and frowns. Then, he shoves me away and I land on my back on the ground. I gasp in surprise and he stalks off. I almost shouted for him to come back. Then I realized that it would probably be better if he left. There's just one problem: I'm alone, and I'm anyone's fair game. I get back on my feet and begin walking again. Now every small noise causes a panic in me. I know the dangers this place conceals. It's so dark now, I can hardly see ten feet in front of me. There is no light source in the Forsaken territory during the night. I hear the sound of an engine behind me and two yellow beams shine in the darkness. A truck slows and the driver's window rolls down. I don't see his face very well, but his voice asks, "Do you need a ride?"