THE ENTRY (Book one of two)

Chapter 3: Madison.

I snapped awake in a cold sweat, my hands trembling. I shot up from the ground, examining everyone around me. "Guys." I panted, wiping my bangs from my forehead which stuck with great force. Everyone was asleep, even Loranna and Alyssa, who I remember playing their game of sticks when I last passed out. It looked to be at the crack of dawn from what I could see, and Samantha was missing.

My breath was caught short by a gunshot off in the distance, making me jolt in surprise. I shut my eyes, praying that Samantha was okay. I lowered to my knees, my bare flesh scraping against the earthy mulch scattered across the ground. I let out a slow, small whimper, clasping my delicate shaking hands together as tears welled in my eyes. "Please let her be okay."

I rested in this position for what seemed like forever, before someone rested a hand on my shoulder gently. I screamed, my hand automatically slamming back, into what felt like their pelvic region. This followed with a loud groaning sound and cracking branches of which seemed them falling backwards. "Oh, God Madison, that hurt like hell!" A familiar voice choked out from behind me. I widened my eyes to see Loranna hunched over by a tree, holding her stomach. "Your hands are so damn boney and hard." She grimaced, arching her back as she stood up. "Oh my god! I didn't realize it was you! I'm sorry!" I covered my mouth, getting up and rushing over. Loranna let out a breathless laugh, smiling slightly. "It's fine, I'm okay. I heard a gunshot in my sleep, but I thought I was dreaming. Then, I heard what seemed like crying, so I woke up to see you praying."

I helped her back to where she was sleeping and told her what I had heard, and how Samantha had gone missing a couple hours earlier. Her eyes softened as she stood up, hiking up her jeans. "I'm going to go look for her." Her face was stone cold, meaning she'd made up her mind.

I nodded slowly, resting my hands at my hips. "Maybe you should get someone to come with you this time, so you can hopefully make it back safely." I let off a hopeful look, waiting for her to show some kind of emotion. Loranna merely sighed, taking a hairband off her wrist, wrapping her hair into a ponytail. "I guess." She bit her lip, shutting her eyes. "I really hope she's okay. Hey, maybe the gunshot wasn't her, maybe it was someone near us killing off an undead, you never know." She spoke up hopefully. I grimaced, folding my arms. "We can only hope." I muttered under my breath.

I watched as Loranna stepped over Alyssa and Maggie, who had migrated next to each other for what would seem to be body warmth, and picked up her bag. Loranna slung it over her shoulder, looking at me. Her grey eyes scanned me for a moment, but quickly looked away. "Come with me." She mumbled. "What?" I blinked, freezing.

She walked over, grabbing my wrist. "You're the only one awake, come on." I hesitated for a moment, staying behind. I glanced back at the others, letting off a groan. "Someone needs to keep watch, right? I'll stay and keep watch." I let off a nervous glance, my eyes darting away from anything that wasn't her. "They'll survive, let's go." She grabbed my hand, yanking me out from the brush, into the forest.

We had walked for what seemed like hours, which wasn't good considering Loranna's sense in direction. "I think I've seen this tree, like, five times." I blurted out, pointing to a tree with an odd root pattern. Loranna stopped in her tracks. Looking ahead. Her eyes glazed over, glaring straight at something. "What I-" I started, but she quickly stepped back, clamping a hand over my mouth. She yanked me behind a large tree, crouching down. "Someone's here," she whispered. My heart began to race, unsure of what to expect. Loranna stood up, releasing her hand from my mouth and shoulders. "Stay. Here." She glared down, grabbing out her pocketknife, in which she called her 'exacto-blade.' I nodded, curling up into a ball, resting my head against the rough bark. Loranna stepped out into the clearing, her boots crunching all the twigs in her path. "Hey!" Loranna screamed. I turned my head, peering out just beyond the trees silver lining, holding my breath.