She told me

Chapter 19

I jump off the sofa and make a beeline for the telephone, Cathy still screaming. I shut my eyes trying to drown her voice out as I punch in Cory's number. There's no answer and I bite my lip in frustration. This is not good. This is not good at all.

Thankfully, Cathy quiets down which makes it easier for me to think. Obviously, I need to get to Cory before Mia does and since he's not picking up the phone, I need to go out and find him. I quickly scribble a note for Mrs. Hayes, thanking her for the sandwiches and walk out of the front door.

I can't afford to wait for a bus, so I make my way towards the back of the house, hoping against hope that Mia didn't ride her bike on her way to her next victim. I smile as I see a familiar red bicycle lying on the ground, things were finally going my way.

I'm halfway to Cory's house when I realise, I don't really have a plan other than begging Mia not to kill him. I shrug, could work. When I knock on his front door, I already have a story ready. Cory had promised me we would go for a run in the morning, and he would help me train for the school track team. His father opens the door and after I parrot my lie, he gives me a onceover and looks so unconvinced that I feel a little insulted. He closes the door and I hear him yelling for Cory. The door opens again, and he shrugs, "he's not home, he's probably already waiting for you at the ground."

"Oh" I swallow, "yeah, I'll go meet up with him there then".

I walk down the steps, trying to figure out my next course of action, "hey kid?"

I turn back, "yeah?"

"You should probably load up on some carbs, you won't last an hours' practice otherwise".

I nod, "yes sir".

The door slams shut, and I walk back to Mia's bike. The park is nice this time of the night. I freeze, "Cathy?"

It's quiet, cold, and breezy like you're the only person in the world.

My mind is racing because this isn't supposed to happen, not this way. Cathy is supposed to go radio silent after every warning. That's her pattern, that's been her pattern since the first warning so why would it break now? And why the park? It was stupid, listening to a voice in my head that wasn't mine, but Cathy had never been wrong before and I really had no idea where to go next so I jump on my bike and head to the park.

Like Cathy had predicted the park was dark and quiet and really fucking creepy. Against my better judgement, I walk towards the trees where Peyton had been hiding earlier that evening. I shiver as a particularly chilly gust of wind hits me. There are a million other places I'd rather be right now but being here was probably the only way to save both my friends and I was starting to realise why I'd never really had friends before. They were way too much work, with their murderous tendencies and their inability to obey simple instructions like 'there's a serial killer after you, stay the fuck home.'

"Cory" I whisper, "you there?"

There's no answer so I stop whispering, "Cory? Dude if you're here you need to come out."

"CORY" I yell finally.

There's no answer. I am truly alone in this creepy park which looks like it came straight out of a horror movie and its exactly what I deserve for listening to Cathy. I'm just about to turn back when I spot something white among the trees. I jog up to it and pick up the white cap, my blood running cold. The last time I saw it, it was on Cory's head and now it was muddy and dirty with a small smear of blood along the rim.

I sit down beneath the tree, studying the ground to see if there is any more blood. I can see leaves, grass, and twigs but no blood, which meant Cory wasn't badly hurt, and if he wasn't badly hurt that meant he had had enough strength to at least attempt to run, which meant both he and Mia weren't here.