A scream sounded in the darkness. A sharp, mechanical sound that cut through the night as the semi truck pulled into the station. Inside the trailer, Danny bolted upright, his eyes wide with terror as images of whirring blades and the sound of his own screams flooded his mind. The cold metal of the trailer floor against his skin only served to remind him of the cell he’d been trapped in for weeks. Figures flooded his vision, nightmares and memories indistinguishable from one another. He tried to control his breathing but his mind kept racing, forcing the memories to the surface. Instinctually, he focused what little energy he had into phasing through the bottom of the trailer. He hit the ground with a thud, cursing as the impact reverberated through his bandaged arm. The feat had worked though. The uneven asphalt under him, the warm, summer breeze and the smell of gasoline and diesel were enough to force his mind back to the present. He peered out from under the truck.
The little gas station sat right off the highway, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Twenty feet away stood a line of tall evergreens. Danny looked from the station to the woods and sighed. He struggled to his feet, shouldered his bag and slowly began to trudge into the moonlit forest. He continually put one foot in front of the other, ignoring the unsettling sounds drifting out from between the trees. His stomach ached with hunger and his legs felt like they might give out at any moment. Clouds began to blot out the moonlight and the scent of rain filled the air. Danny tried to pick up the pace, but within minutes he was drenched. He was about to give up and rest under a shrub or something, when he caught sight of a light through the trees. He took a step in that direction and his foot slipped on the muddy ground sending him sprawling down the little hill. He tumbled out of the trees, cradling his right hand and came to a halt at the edge of a road. He looked up towards the source of the light and blinked.
“You have got to be kidding.” He grumbled. Of all the places he could have ended up, Vlad’s gaudy cabin was the last place he’d expected. Danny pulled himself to his feet, his legs were beginning to shake from exhaustion. As the rain continued to pour down, he groaned and finally started to limp towards the only source of shelter. He figured, Vlad would probably be in Amity anyways, so it wasn’t the worst option in the world. Besides, he just needed to get out of the rain and rest for a bit. He’d be gone before Vlad even knew he’d been there.
Danny staggered up the steps and dropped his bag on the porch. He thought about just phasing through the front door, but phasing through the truck had already taken a lot out of him and he barely had the energy to stand at the moment. He resigned himself to sitting on the stone steps, glad that the roof extended out enough to keep the rain off of him, and leaned against the house. Within seconds he was sound asleep.