I started in surprise as I caught sight of Jenna. Everything had been so hectic, frantic, and terrifying when we fled the house that I hadnt noticed Jenna until now. I didnt know where she had come from, but I suddenly recalled the other voice I had heard calling to us from the woods. This was the most disheveled, and rumpled I had ever seen Jenna look, and yet I was certain that she still looked ten thousand times better than I did right now. Like Abigail, she was slender and delicate, with a fragile air that made me weary of breaking her in my awkwardness. Her skin was as smooth as porcelain, her eyes wide, and a bright emerald green. Her rosebud mouth trembled with the force of her exhales, her pale cheeks were flushed with exertion, and her strawberry colored hair was a disheveled mess around her heart shaped face.
Though we were the same age, Jenna and I were not friends. We never had been. We did not run in the same circles at school. Jenna was popular, perfect, and wealthy. Even during this time, when wealth was not as important as it had once been, she still flaunted it. She was always immaculately dressed in expensive
clothes, her makeup and nails were flawless.
Jenna and Bret had dated a few years ago, and most people thought that they were the ones that belonged together. Including Jenna. She had never made it a secret that she still wanted him, she had never tried to hide her flirtatious behavior with him, or her animosity toward me. Id never really known how to react to her; I tended to ignored her, which was easy enough most of the time. However, there were times when she was hard to ignore, and so was her overt behavior. Times, when even I had to acknowledge the fact that she would do anything to get Bret back. I honestly couldnt understand why he wasnt with her still, why he had broken up with her in the first place, or why he continued to choose me over her. Jenna was beautiful, graceful, and confident. I was, well I was a quiet, clumsy, mess.
Sometimes I wondered if Bret might be a little slow.
Where are we going? Jenna asked, the terror evident in her voice. It was probably the first time she had talked to me in three months. I was fine with that fact. I had few friends, I liked it that way. I tried not to think of them now, or the fact that I may never see them again. It would be ok, I told myself. I would survive their loss, I had survived worse before, but I still ached for them. I hoped that if they werent frozen they were able to get away, and that if they were frozen their deaths were as quick and painless as possible. I wished there was some way that I could go to them, some way to help them, but there wasnt. My family had to come first, maybe later
Maybe later I would be able to see them again, but I didnt hold out much hope for that. This was not the world I had always known anymore, I was gripped by the knowledge that everything I had always known was gone. That nothing would ever be the same again, and that there would be a lot more losses before all of this was over.
The antique shop.
Where Cade works? Jenna squeaked.
I blinked in surprise. Even Jenna had known that Cade worked at the antique store. But of course she had, she may have her sights set on Bret, but Jenna was one of the people that would know where everyone she considered of importance worked, hung out, or lived. Yes.
Why?
I didnt answer that question. I simply didnt want to, and I wasnt entirely sure I knew why we were going there. I glanced behind me, but the dark night was enclosing in on us. The ship was fading from sight; only the slithering sounds alerted me to the fact that we were still being hunted. Still being toyed with.
Abbys jaw was set in determination; she was moving swiftly along, her dark eyes intent as she searched the night. I dont know where my parents are, Jenna said softly. They were going out to do some shopping. They wouldnt have gone far though. My mom hates the fact we have to walk everywhere now, but I didnt see them anywhere near our house after this happened. I dont know where they are. I waited for hours, and then I ran into Cade
I glanced back at Bret, frowning as he met my gaze. Where were his parents? I wondered. It was only then that I realized just how scattered, awful, and heartbreaking this whole situation was. Just then I realized the families that had been, and would continue to be destroyed by everything that had happened today.
Including my own.
I looked to my immobile mother. We still had her in our possession, there was still hope that she would come back to us, but was there really a chance? I wondered miserably. Even if there wasnt, there was no way I was going to let those things get a hold of her. No way in hell.
I waited, I waited for so long, but they didnt come back. My attention was drawn back to Jenna. It didnt appear as if she were talking to me anymore. Instead, she seemed to be trying to work through her guilt and shock. I wanted to comfort her, wanted to assure her that she hadnt done anything wrong, but my words would do little good and I knew it. She would blame herself until the bitter end and it would be awful. I looked for them, but I was afraid to go far. I left them a note. Maybe I should go back.