Never Die Alone

“Who knows? As you said he’s a psycho.” But whatever his sick plans were, they included their birthdays.

“Jesus, he was going to kill us, Zoe. I know it!”

“Just keep going,” Zoe said, tugging her sister along as a new noise cut through the night. A rumble of sorts. “Wait!” She skidded to a stop, wet grass and gravel sliding beneath her feet.

“What? But I thought—”

“Shhh!” Over Chloe’s complaints and her own breathing, Zoe thought she heard the sound of a motor, a car’s engine. Trying desperately to locate the direction, she closed her eyes, straining to listen. “You hear that?”

“What?”

“A damned car or truck or—oh, shit! Maybe it’s him!”

“What? No, I thought you killed him.”

“I thought I did, too.”

“Where is the car?” Chloe looked over her shoulder, one way and then the other. Even in the dark night Zoe saw the wide whites of her sister’s eyes, felt her fear. “I don’t see anything. No headlights, no—”

“Just run!” Zoe yanked hard on her sister’s hand. They had to leave the road. Zoe couldn’t believe the freak could have survived her attack, but maybe he had an accomplice. Chloe was right, no headlights shined in the wet night, but the uneven growl of an engine bore down on them, and it was coming from the direction of the cabin. “Come on!” Zoe tore through the dark woods, dragging her sister with her. From the way Chloe lagged behind it was clear that Zoe had always been more athletic, while Chloe more of a student. Tonight it didn’t matter. Chloe was going to have to dig deep and push herself if they were going to escape this living nightmare.

Panic reigned as the sound of the vehicle’s engine came nearer. Oh, God, please let him drive past. Let him think we’re long gone. Maybe they should hide, just stop and use the cover of darkness as their cloak, but that seemed like inviting danger. No doubt he had a flashlight or lantern and some kind of a weapon. A gun or machete or whatever.

Run, run, RUN!

Dragging her sister, Zoe veered off the road, over a berm of weeds and grass. Finally the rain was letting up a little, clouds moving, a bit of moonlight offering some visibility.

“We should’ve listened to Mom,” Chloe said as they stumbled and raced to the edge of the woods. “We should’ve gone to her apartment.”

Shoulda, woulda, coulda.

“Then this dickwad wouldn’t have found us.” Chloe was breathing hard, panting.

“Too late.”

“Or I should never have broken up with Tommy. If he were here, he would know what to do—”

“Tommy’s a prick and we don’t have time for this!” Why the hell was Chloe thinking about her exboyfriend now?

“But he loves me!”

“Oh, for crap’s sake, just hurry!” Together they scrambled through the undergrowth. Thorns pricked, nettles stung, the sharp edges of pinecones cut into their feet as they hurtled blindly through the trees. Chloe thought she heard and smelled water ahead, maybe a creek or river or—

Thunk!

“Ow! Shit!” Chloe yelped, her hand sliding from Zoe’s as she fell. “Damn it all to hell.”

“Shh!” Zoe ordered, sliding to a stop and turning back toward her sister. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled and she whipped around. Was there someone else here? Suddenly she felt dozens of pairs of unseen eyes watching her. Which was crazy. No way. She took a few steps toward the sound of ru

Craaack.

A twig snapped.

Zoe spun quickly, searching the darkness. “Chloe?” she whispered.

No answer.

“Chloe!” Which way was her sister? She had to be nearby. “Where the hell are you?” Her voice was a raspy whisper as she squinted into the shadows. “Chloe?”

“Over here!” Her sister shouted from the suddenly quiet copse. But her voice came from a few yards off, as if she were moving away from Zoe.

“Where are you?” Zoe whispered.

“Here!”

The engine had quit ru

“Maybe it’s help,” Chloe ventured.

“No!” Zoe wasn’t convinced. “We’ve got to get out of here,” she shrieked, her arm scrabbling in the air, searching in the direction from which she thought she’d heard Chloe’s voice. “Run!”

“Don’t leave me!” Chloe cried.

Zoe turned and plunged into the dense growth, racing toward the sound of her sister’s voice. A few steps in her legs met the resistance of something heavy and cold. By the time she realized it was a fallen log, she was going down.

Crap! She tumbled down, rolling to a stop against a stump. “Oooph!” Sharp pain splintered through her ankle.

“Zoe!” Chloe cried as the beam of the flashlight strobed through the trees, searching.

No!

They were seconds away from being discovered, and Zoe couldn’t let the searcher find her twin. No way! Zoe stood a chance against whoever was hunting them down, but she had to think fast to save her sister. Forcing herself back onto her feet, she tried to keep weight off her tender ankle as she waved and yelled and screamed to divert the hunter’s attention from Chloe. “Hey!” she shouted at the beam of light. It moved quickly, bouncing as if whoever was holding it was ru

But the light didn’t swing in her direction. Instead, it veered over into the brush many yards from her, toward her sister. Horrified, Zoe watched the watery beam shift and circle, homing in.

Suddenly the beam landed on Chloe. Cowering and ghostly in the light, she seemed rooted to the spot, frozen in fear.

“Chloe, run!” Zoe screamed as she struggled to see the hunter in the thin moonlight. It was a big, hulking form. The hairy man in an apron. The monster was alive! Somehow he’d survived!

Sick inside, she screamed at the top of her lungs for her sister to get on her feet and escape. “Go! Run!”

But it was too late. In the next instant the freak pounced on his prey, springing with the agility of a lion.

Chloe let out a shriek as the light cut out.

Oh, God!

“There’s still time!” he growled, his voice a gravelly whisper in the damp night.

Instinctively, Zoe had lurched toward her sister, but now, trapped in the muddy darkness, she froze. She’d lost her bearings! She stared into the night, willing her eyes to focus in the moonlight. As her eyes adjusted she saw him hovering over her shocked twin. It looked as if he were striking her again and again, but as her focus sharpened Zoe realized he was tying Chloe up. The beast was subduing her, trapping her, just as a spider traps its prey . . . for later.

Zoe sank onto the wet ground, her fingers scrabbling over the earth and mud, searching for a weapon—a rock, a stick, anything. What had he said? There’s still time? As if there were a deadline. Her fingertips located a root, but she couldn’t dislodge it. Damn it, there had to be some stone or . . . nothing!

“Help!” Chloe cried, and Zoe sprang to her feet only to feel an excruciating pain skitter up her leg. Jesus!

“Zoe! I can’t—”

And then Chloe’s voice cut off, as if she’d been gagged.

“Let’s go,” he croaked.

“No!” Zoe screamed, hobbling toward them. Terror rushed through her as she watched him haul her sister to his shoulder and begin walking toward the road. “I’ll be back,” he growled in that horrid voice. “Don’t worry. The party won’t start without you.”

Zoe took a step forward, intent on chasing him down, on somehow maiming him and saving Chloe. After all, she’d done it before, but his chilling words echoed through her brain.

The party won’t start without you.

The party?