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"I'm not comfortable on the ground here. I'm - I'm worried about bugs. And ticks."
"Ticks?" Sounding incredulous, Dylan spluttered with laughter. "I don't think there are any ticks here. But I'll - I'll tell you what." He leaned closer. "My car's parked close to the pavilion, so I'll run back and go get us a blanket."
"Okay," Alyssa said.
That wasn't what she'd intended. She'd intended for them to both go back, to buy her some time. But now, Dylan had scrambled to his feet and was loping back in the direction of the pavilion.
Alyssa sat uneasily on the leaves. She was now feeling very aware that the zipper of her dress was too far down, the skirt had been pushed up to her thighs, and she was now alone. As she sat, she tried to think through the logistics of all of this. He would come back with a blanket. But that would kind of pressure her to go along with things from there. She'd feel that she'd somehow agreed to whatever would follow, if he brought a blanket back. That action would be sealing the deal. She'd find it harder to say no.
"But I don't think I can," Alyssa muttered, to the forest around her. "I'm still not sure."
He'd been a great kisser, though. She wouldn't mind another kiss.
Alyssa thought again about that kiss, and it made her feel better, but she couldn't get the knot of discomfort out of her mind. Something, somehow, was feeling not right here and she didn't know why.
It didn't make sense. She tried her best to work out what it was.
It didn’t help that the woods felt too dark. Too remote. Reality was pushing its way through the haze of alcohol and hormones that dominated Alyssa's current mindset.
She was alone in the woods without Dylan, and she was drunk.
Then a twig snapped, and Alyssa's head turned sharply. She felt a flare of fear. She'd sensed someone behind her. Or something. Was an animal creeping up?
Twisting around, she stared apprehensively through the darkened lattice of branches and leaves. And her eyes widened as she saw something. Or rather, someone.
Suddenly, she realized what was going down and why this shadowy figure was lurking here. Someone, a guy from the looks of things, had snuck up in the woods. Perhaps they’d come this way to take a pee, but had then stayed to watch what she and Dylan would be getting up to.
That was sick!
Alyssa's trickle of fear was shoved aside by a torrent of righteous anger.
"Get out of here, perv!" she yelled, drawing herself to her knees, hastily yanking up her zipper as she glowered at him.
She had expected the guy to hotfoot it after that warning, knowing that she'd seen him and that if he stuck around, she'd work out who it was and tell everyone.
But he didn't turn and run off like she'd expected.
Instead, he paced closer, his footsteps crunching over the path. A shaft of moonlight speared through the darkness of the canopy and then Alyssa saw his face.
She stared at him in absolute shock.
"Wait!You?What are you doing here? What the - ?"
Her irate question turned to a scream as the man lunged forward.
Alyssa scrambled to her feet.
This was no peeping Tom scenario. Too late, she realized this was something different. Something deadlier. It wasn’t only the fact he was looking to grab her. It was the expression in his face that she could now see as he neared her. In his eyes. There was an evil anticipation there that chilled her blood.
She whirled around, shocked and panicked, and began to run. Away from him, which meant deeper into the woods. But her high-heeled sandals were not the right shoes for speed.
Her chest was tight with fear and she felt as if she was choking. Her ankle twisted on a rock, invisible in the dark, and she let out a gasp of pain.
He was behind her. She could hear the footsteps getting closer. Thud, thud, thud.
She was drunk. She was going the wrong way. Deeper into the woods. Further away from anyone who could help.
She staggered, screaming again, wishing Dylan would come back, praying that he’d somehow arrive in time, because she’d never imagined this could happen. That she’d be chased through the woods. By someone she knew and trusted, who had turned into a terrifying monster.
