We both jumped. I took a deep breath and dragged the back of my hand under my eyes. “What was that?” God, I was pathetic. My entire body was still trembling and my voice was shaky.

_Get ahold of yourself, _I thought_. _

“I think the tire popped.” She said, getting up and looking out of the window. Sure enough, the RV was headed down an empty side road. As soon as we hit the dirt, whoever was driving stopped.

I stood up and grabbed Olivia’s hand, leading her out to the kitchen. Austin was looking out of the back window. I don’t know how he could see. The snow was falling in thick layers, coating the ground and everything around it.

“What did we run over?” I asked. Everyone’s heads snapped to me. I hated the look of symphathy I was getting. I didn’t want it.

Turning the engine off, James swung the captains seat around to face us. “I think there was a screw in the road. I’m gonna go check.” I nodded.

“I’ll come with you.” No one tried to stop me. I think they knew that I needed a distraction. Anything to keep me thinking about _that_.

A sharp pang of sadness stabbed me in the heart at. I frowned and hurried to grab my green jacket. James slipped out the door before me and held it. I stepped out and immediately wrapped my arms around myself.

_Damn, it’s cold. _

He gave me a small smile and put his arms around my shoulders. Without realizing it, I had snuggled deeper into his side. He was warm.

Blood rushed to my cheeks as I avoided his eyes. We trudged through the snow towards the wheel that was deflated. I squated so I could see it better. There was huge ass nail stuck in it.

“Why the hell was there a nail _that big_ in the road?” I asked. I looked back up at James who was going through the RVs compartment.

He looked back and shrugged. “I don’t know. We could go look, but I don’t think that’s a good idea in this weather.” I nodded. Sounds good to me. Anything to get out of this storm. I was freezing.

We headed back to the door, only to stop when we heard a bush rustle. I looked back. There was nothing there. Then it made some more noise. This time I caught the end of something.

“James.” He wasn’t looking at me. “James.” I whispered again. He seemed to be playing with his flashlight, trying to get it back on. “_James_!” I shouted. Too late. The creature was gone.

I growled. Damnit! That wasn’t an animal. The footsteps were to heavy. Almost like a human. “I’m gonna go check it out.” I said over my shoulder. James said ok and went back to his flashlight.

I walked forward trying not to make much noise. When I made it to the shriveled up plant, I looked down and gasped. “Oh my god.” There were footprints. Like, human footprints.

I stumbled back a couple steps, and I almost fell when James caught me. He had walked up behind me without me realizing it. “What the hell?” He was confused.

So was I. There was no chance that these were old. The snow would have covered anything up. That means…whoever was out there, was also out here with us.

James seemed to have realized it as soon as I did. He latched his hand around my arm and started pulling me back towards the RV. “Come on, Emmy! We have to get back.” He said. I wanted to curse him. He was a lot stronger than me. I felt like my arm was going to come out of its socket.

The snow was blinding me. I choked on a couple of snowflakes and tripped on a rock I couldn’t see. “Shit!” I groaned. My ankle twisted and I crashed to the ground.

Pain lanced up my leg and made me dizzy. James was by my side in an instant. “Emerson! Are you ok? What happened? Oh, god.” He saw my foot. It must’ve been bad because he looked like he was gonna be sick.

His hands hovered over my ankle, like he was trying to decide what to do with me. “Just..take me back to the RV.” I hissed. I ground my teeth against each other, trying not to scream.

The pain was almost unbearable. Black spots swam in my vision. Footsteps sounded behind us and James picked me up. He looked around wildly, jostling my foot.

The storm had picked up and all I could see was the jacket my face was buried in. He clutched me closer to his chest, trying to find which way to go.

I only heard one thing before I promptly blacked out.

“You’re coming with us.”

[Hey! Part 4 probably won’t come out for a while because I have school and all that jazz. Hope everyone has a great day! 🩵]