Heidi stepped out of the warm crowded house, embracing the cool night air. The party was starting to feel suffocating.

"You’re leaving so soon?”

She turned before she could even leave the last step on the porch to find Jon, the Robin Hood clad boy from before following her out.

“Sorry, I saw you bee line for the door, so I wanted to make sure you’re ok.” He said, looking back towards the house. “I saw Kate stepped out onto the back porch, I guess Ren’s getting back with her?”

“What are you talking about?” Heidi asked, feeling a heavy dread in her heart.

“Well, Kate and Ren were together all last year; he was really head over heels for her. When she left him over the summer, it kinda fucked with him. I heard he tried getting back with her a couple of times, but she wouldn’t do it. I guess since she saw you getting cozy with him, she got pissed and wanted him back. She’s got him so wrapped around her finger, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were upstairs going at it right now.” Jon explained, “I feel bad though, you know? You’re a cute girl, he shouldn’t have just abandoned you like that, why don’t we grab a drink and we can talk about it somewhere, huh? Just the two of us?” He asked, placing a hand on her shoulder, making Heidi squirm.

“Hey!”

Heidi turned to see Pharaoh stepping out of the house, eyes narrowed with a pissed expression plastered onto his face.

“Piss off man, she didn’t come here with you.” He growled threateningly.

“Fuck, man, I didn’t you realize you were in line to fuck her too, should I just come back when you’re done?” Jon spat. Heidi let out a quick gasp as Pharaoh slammed his fist into the kids jaw, sending him crashing down into the ground in one quick move. Heads of party goers turned as they laughed at the kid face down in the dirt. Pharaoh dropped his fist, stretching out his fingers as he turned to Heidi, grabbing hold of her by the wrist and pulling her off into the night.

Heidi followed after Pharaoh through the night, allowing him to lead her through the dark. He walked quickly, making it difficult for her to keep up. One of his long strides equaled two of hers.

“Where are we going?” Heidi asked as she followed the Familiar.

“Back to the car.” Pharaoh said shortly.

“Why?”

“Because I want to talk without some drunk morons interrupting.” He told her. Heidi fell silent as she followed him back to the Rav-4. Pharaoh opened up the passenger side door for her, shutting it behind her as she slid into the seat. She crossed her arms uncomfortably as she tried to keep her mind off of what the boy had said before Pharaoh had interrupted. She didn't want Pharaoh to see her cry. Pharaoh climbed into the drivers seat and shut the door behind him with a slam, placing both hands on the wheel, but said nothing. She felt strange, sitting in the dark with him while the thump of the party music pounded in the background.

“Are you alright?” He asked finally, his voice cutting through the dark silence.

“I’m fine.” She told him, trying to add strength to her voice.

“You’re lying.” He said, looking over to her. The orange light from a streetlight behind the car lit up the cabin just enough for her to see his movements; his features were still shadowed. “I can hear it in your voice, you’re about to cry.”

“I’m fine.” She assured him, this time quieter. He could tell by the tone of her voice that she was pleading with him not to press the subject.

“I heard what that prick said.” He told her, “Did Kate really come speak with him?”

She merely nodded.

“Fuck.” He breathed out, leaning back in the car seat, letting his hands fall from the steering wheel.

“So what that guy said, about them being together, that’s true?” She asked.

Pharaoh raised a hand to his face, rubbing his eyes roughly as annoyance fell over him.

“Yeah. That fucking gorgon fucked him up over the summer. When he started showing interest in you, I thought maybe…” He started. “That maybe he was starting to get over her. Maybe he’d be able to be happy again.”

“Do you think he’ll get back together with her?” Heidi asked quietly. Pharaoh hesitated, not wanting to answer.

“Yeah, most likely.” He told her, not wanting to raise false hopes.

“I see.” She said quietly.

“Heidi, I’m sorry.” He said quietly. It was strange hearing him use her name, rather then the nickname that he had given her, but it made her smile.

“Pharaoh, you should go back to the party.” She told him, offering him a smile. “You’ve been looking forward to this and I hate that I’m ruining your night.”

“You aren’t ruining my night.” He told her. “Kate did that.”

“Still, go on back. I’ll join you there soon, I just need to collect myself a little.” She told him. “We can do more shots together.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind sitting with you.” He told her.

“I’m sure.” She said, “I’ll see you soon.”

Pharaoh nodded as he handed her the car keys, opening the door and shutting it behind him as he walked up the sidewalk back to the party, leaving her alone in the car.

She felt her face grow warm as she held back the nervous feelings that swelled in her stomach. She struggled to keep thoughts at bay as they ran through her head, telling her that this was a mistake, or that he wasn't really interested in her, or that she was a fool for getting so wrapped up in a boy so quickly. She silently kicked herself as she picked up her bag from the floorboard, searching through its contents for her phone. When she found it she hit the home button, illuminating the screen, seeing that she had missed a call from her mom. She tossed around the idea of calling her mom back, but wasn't sure if she was in the mood to talk on the phone. She had a habit of breaking down and telling her mom every little thing that was going on in her life, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to do that right now. She made up her mind to return to the party and drown her frustrations in shots with Pharaoh. She opened the car door and stepped out, ready to walk back to the party, but gasped in shock when she looked up to find the boy in the scarecrow costume standing in front of her. The car keys dropped to the ground in a metallic clang as she struggled to regain control of her racing heart.

"I'm so sorry, you scared me." She said breathlessly. "Are you going to the party? It's a few houses down." She told him, the hairs on her arms standing on end. The scarecrow boy didn't say anything, just looked down the street to where the party still raged on, then back to her.

"I can walk over there with you if you like? I just gotta find my keys, I dropped them." She muttered as she looked down, turning the light on her phone on. When she saw the metallic reflection of the keys in the gutter next to the car. She reached down to pick them up, but collapsed into the sidewalk when something heavy collided with the back of her head. She only held consciousness for a moment more.

A dull pain in the back of her head was the first thing that she noticed when she fluttered her eyes open. Her head felt heavy, as if she had been asleep for hours. She tried to lift her head, confusion growing as she felt her hair stuck to her face, wet with a warm thick liquid. The salty iron smell of blood filled the air. She sat up, wincing as her head hit something hard only a few inches above her. She instinctively tried to pull her hand up to her head, but her confusion turned to fear when she realized that her hands were tied together. Suddenly the space around her began to shake, she bumped around as she realized she was in the back of somebody's trunk. She looked all around for the glow in the dark emergency release that most cars have, but her fear grew into panic when she couldn't find one. The rattling grew more consistent, as if the car was off road. She moved her hands up to her face, feeling a thick piece of tape that had been wrapped around her head and over her mouth. She struggled to pull the tape away from her mouth, but the single piece gave no way. She ran her mind through all of the books and movies she had seen about kidnappings, and began to feel for the edge of the trunk, in attempts to kick out the tail light. She froze when she felt the body of another human being. She began to sob as she realized that she wasn't the only victim. Her heart raced as she felt the car stop and felt the shift in weight as the driver climbed out of the front seat. She made a plan to kick open the trunk the second that she heard it pop, hopefully hitting him or pushing him back, then she would head butt him and make a break for it.

She listened for the sound of the trunk hatch opening, preparing for her chance of escape. She rolled onto her back, and pressed her feet firmly against the trunk hood and waited. She heard the jingle of the keys, and the scraping of the key fitting into the keyhole, and then the pop of the hood. With all her strength she kicked the hood, slamming it up, but before she could even see where he was she felt an overwhelming jolt of electricity. She crumpled down as she heard the pop of a Taser. she felt his hands wrap around her arms, pulling her out of the trunk. She hit the ground with a thud as he dragged her through the dirt. She looked up at him, trying to get a good look at her kidnapper in the bright moonlight. Just as she had thought, it was the scarecrow. He dragged her easily through the dirt, through high grasses, stopping when he seemed to have found his destination; a clearing in the middle of a field with a wooden box, a hole and a tall post jetting out of the ground. He tied her to the post, tugging on the ropes to make sure they were tightly fastened and then opened the box, pulling a shovel out of it. He hopped into the hole and pulled the box down in with him, satisfied that the hole was the correct size. He looked up when he heard someone approaching.

"What the hell is that in your trunk?" The voice said. Heidi looked up weakly for the owner of the voice, but could find no one.

"I told you not to hit them so hard, it isn't fun when they are already dead!" The voice sneered.

Panic began to fill Heidi's heart when she realized that the other body in the trunk was dead, and that most likely she was next.

"That's deep enough, just get her into the box." The voice commanded.

The scarecrow nodded as it climbed out of the hole and pulled the Taser out of his pocket, clicking the button and sending the loud pops through the air.

Heidi shook her head, begging with muffled groans not to do it, but screamed through the tape that covered her mouth as he shocked her again. She could hear the other voice laughing at her pain. The scarecrow untied her and dragged her towards the hole, pulling her down into the dirt and into the wooden box. Heidi sobbed as she weakly fought against the scarecrow, trying her hardest to push against him, but her body felt as if she had been beaten brutally. He forced her into the box and pushed down the lid. She could hear the sound of a hammer pounding against the wood as he nailed it shut. Her heart raced as she realized that they were going to bury her alive. Suddenly she found strength as she pounded against the wooden lid, trying to break through it or push the top away, but to no avail. She screamed through the tape, as hot tears ran down her face, now stinging as the salt touched her skin. She heard the sound of dirt as it hit the wooden lid, shovel after shovel; and then a sound that she wasn't expecting. A crack of thunder and the wind picking up, howling as it blew through the trees around the field. She had never heard a wind so strong before in her life. She heard the roar draw closer, as if a tornado had come down from the sky above her, and just barely she heard the shouts of the unseen voice that had ordered the scarecrow to kill her; and then nothing. Her heart raced as her breath picked up. Her head pounded with adrenaline and lack of oxygen. She heard the sound of somebody climbing into the hole with her, and felt them tugging on the lid, trying to pry it free from the base. She heard the cracking of the wood as the nails gave way, allowing bits of dirt to fall on her face as the lid was pulled off.

"Heidi?" She heard an unfamiliar voice say frantically. "You're safe now." He said with relief.

"You're safe now. I’ve arrived."

She smiled weakly before she let her exhaustion consume her.