The Monster in the Woods

Tim looked over the journal on the desk, wondering what the hell was going on. He didn’t remember writing this, and half the words he didn’t even know how to spell. Picking the tattered journal up, he read over the scratched-in entry, a sense of dread befalling him; half of it didn’t even look English.

“What’s that?” Casey asked as she carried the last of the groceries into their beaten and dreadful looking motel room. They’d been following a trail of videos left by a close confidant of Jay, someone Tim didn’t even know the name of. So far they’d met a lot of dead ends (no pun intended) and people who Tim didn’t think were all the way there.

Tim snapped the journal shut with a loud smack, shoving it into his backpack. “Nothing,” he said, lying through his teeth. He knew he shouldn’t be hiding secrets from Casey, but he also didn’t want her getting in over her head. She was already under enough stress from their wild goose chase; he didn’t want to add to that.

“What? Is it your diarrrryyyy?” She asked, teasing him.

Tim snorted hard with a roll of his eyes. “Got everything in?” He asked, nodding towards the brown bag of groceries. Wandering over, he began to sort out the different non-perishables and goods they’d picked up from the mom and pop store down the road. It wasn’t healthy food, to say the least, but when you’re on the road you don’t have a lot of time to choose between home-cooked and microwavable.

“Yeah, that’s everything. When are we heading out again, Tim?”

“Couple hours, our next lead isn’t off work ‘til 4,” Tim replied, turning against the counter which held the microwave. “Don’t wander off this time, though.”

“Worried about me, Tim?” Smiling, Casey sat on the edge of the bed, pulling her legs close to her. In truth, she had become a tiny bit bored by the last story. After all, it didn’t sound like anything The Operator was capable of. It was probably some guy who saw they had cameras and thought he would end up on the news. Actually, this whole search seemed to lead them nowhere. Neither Casey nor Tim were any closer to getting answers; Casey didn’t want Tim to think she’d given up hope on finding any.

“Yeah, I’m worried about you getting yourself killed, kiddo,” he said bluntly. “Look, when your mom entrusted you with me, that meant that I have to worry about your ass getting killed, too. Or worse, abducted.”

“How is getting abducted worse than getting killed?”

Tim rose his hand, waving her off. “It just is. Now are you going to help me eat these burgers, or am I going to have to make a pig of myself?”

As they both sat down to eat the lukewarm burgers, they sat in a comfortable yet eerie silence. Tim still didn’t feel comfortable enough to bring up the journal he found, and Casey didn’t push him to.

In truth, both were hiding secrets from each other.

Ever since they drove into the sleepy town of Lakewood, Casey’s paranoia had skyrocketed. She constantly thought she saw The Operator’s blank face in store windows, door frames, even the eerie woods that laid just beyond the town’s welcome sign. She knew if she told Tim everything that was going on, not just the paranoia she had the night before, he may get the crazy notion to investigate himself. Or worse, find The Operator. The hair on the back of her neck prickled as she thought about them, the faceless one who plagued The Marble Hornets, the one who took so many of their friends. Casey just wanted the nightmare to be over; for her and Tim’s sake.

“Get your coat on,” Tim said as he finished his burger, getting up from the seat. Glancing at the clock in the corner, she saw that their lead had just gotten off work. Where had the time gone?

After a short car ride, they parked outside a normal looking apartment building. The outside was taken care of and well decorated, with a cute little community garden just outside the entrance. The duo both had separate thoughts of how they wanted something like this, something normal and more like a family. Wandering up the steps, Tim found the apartment number easily. It only took a few moments for the owner to answer the door, her smile wide despite her chilling tale.

“Mrs. Simmons?” Tim asked, pushing Casey behind him. Casey glanced at the elderly woman with graying locks of hair against her black hair. She seemed normal enough, Casey didn’t know why Tim was suddenly so protective of her. Was there something he sensed that she couldn’t?

“Hello dearies! You must the reporters I spoke to over the telephone, right?”

“That’s right, ma’am. We’re just trying to get some facts straight. Can we come in?”

“Of course you can, the living room is right this way!” She moved out of the way for them both, spotting Casey. “You’re rather young for a reporter, dearie.”

Fuck, he forgot about Casey for a second. Thinking fast, he sputtered out, “oh, uh… it was ‘Bring Your Daughter To Work’ day today,” Tim replied quickly.

Casey wanted to laugh at how out-of-place it sounded. They didn’t even look alike! But it warmed her heart at the thought of calling Tim ‘dad.’ “That’s right! I want to get into writing when I finish school, just like him.”

Mrs. Simmons smiled kindly, her crinkled brown eyes glimmering as if she remembered an old memory. “How sweet! Please, come and have a seat. Would you like some tea?”

“Not right now, ma’am. Actually, we’d like to get straight to the questioning. We have a tight schedule today,” Tim said as he took a seat beside Casey. “Now, tell us all that you can remember. Every little bit helps.”

The elderly woman took her seat in front of them, her weathered hands folding against her lap. “My grandmother use to tell me stories about the man who lived near the forest. You don’t believe them growing up; they’re just stories to frighten children from wandering off by themselves. That’s what me, Billy, and my younger brother Kevin believed.” She sighed sadly as she mentioned her brother. Casey thought about Jake and how much she missed him. “We went to the forest just out yonder one day. We’d always go to play; we also dared each other who can stay the longest in the forest.”

“Did you play do that often?”

“Every once in a while, it was just good fun. Of course, that was before kids started going missing. Sometimes, they’d show up. Other times…” Her voice shook as she spoke. “My brother was one of those people.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Casey spoke softly. Her heart cracked into a million pieces. In that moment, she connected so deeply with the kind old woman.

Mrs. Simmons shook her head. “He didn’t die, dearie. He saw him.” Both Casey and Tim stopped suddenly, waiting and urging her to go on. “I saw him. At least, I think I did, no one believed me. But Kevin, he got the worst of it. He’s still up in Lakewoods Home, been there ever since that day.”

Tim’s hand shook. That could’ve been his fate if he didn’t get better, left to rot in some asylum because of The Operator; and if he didn’t come in the nick of time, Casey’s too. “What did he say he saw?”

“All sorts of things. He said he saw a faceless man, heard static.. It tried to tell him to hurt others. But Kevin didn’t want to. He fought SO hard. The doctor’s all said he was suffering from psychosis, that he had a mental break. Course, now they’re using the term ‘schizophrenia’, but back then it was basically unheard of.”

“And what made you finally get in contact with Mr…” Tim tried to remember the name of the man who’d sent them the videos. “Mr. Adrian?”

“Oh, little Adrian! I use to babysit him all the time. Well, until he got old enough to take care of himself.” Mrs. Simmons giggled at the fond memory, a pleasant smile on her face. She sighed softly, “well, he started seeing him as well.”

“He saw the same faceless man you and your brother saw?”

“The very same! At first I thought he’d just heard from his mother about it; but then he started drawing pictures or showing me pictures… I about fainted the first time I saw him in a photograph; it was exactly as I remembered.” She looked up from her hands, watching Casey and Tim. “What paper did you say this was for again?”

“The uh…” Tim’s brain fizzled as he wracked his brain for an answer.

“Lakewood Times! My father’s a freelancer they hire,” Casey said, thanking whoever for the fact she saw a newspaper before they came to visit Mrs. Simmons. Tim wasn’t as quick on his feet as Casey; their brains combined were actually quite frightening.

“If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like that cup of tea right now,” Tim said. There was a stormy look in his eyes as he looked towards Casey. From just listening to her account, they both knew that this was their reality. Their wild goose chase wasn’t just that, the videos sent to them weren’t just a crazy man’s rambling, and The Operator could be watching them at this very moment.

As Mrs. Simmons got up to put the kettle on, she continued talking about the strange urban legend, “he feeds on your negativity, you know. Not just that — your loneliness and your fears as well.”

“What, like that creepy clown from the Stephen King novel?” Tim scoffed out. Casey elbowed him gently, shooting him a look.

“Who?” Mrs. Norris said as she took her seat back down on the couch. There was something comforting about her, despite the original hesitation Tim felt entering the apartment. She was really just some kind, old broad caught up in the tangle of horror The Operator left in his wake.

“No one,” Tim replied just as quickly. Leaning back against the sofa, he rested his arms on your legs. “Does your brother allow visitors? We want to get as many eyewitnesses as we can.”

Shaking her head, Mrs. Simmons spoke, “no, only family it seems. But he doesn’t want to see anyone lately.”

“Did he ever say why?”

“Hmm… he keeps talking about how ‘he is coming for him.’” She looked visibly upset recanting her brother’s choice words.

Tim didn’t want to say it out loud, especially to Mrs. Simmons, but he felt as though her brother’s days were numbered. They’d have to make a visit to Lakwoods Homes and help him out. Maybe he was like them. Or maybe he was just some guy sent mad because he glimpsed at the actual devil. Whatever the case was, they had enough information. He was sure of it. “I’m afraid me and my daughter have to be going, we’ve got enough notes. Thank you again, Mrs. Simmons,” Tim got up, shaking the elderly woman’s hands. She looked so lonely in the moment.

“What about your tea, dearie?”

“I’m afraid there’s not enough time, miss. My father and I are very busy,” Casey shook her hand with a friendly smile. She wanted to tell her everything was going to be alright, but she didn’t actually know if that was true; she wanted it to be though. Following Tim back to the car, she decided to ask. “So you think it’s him?”

“I’m more positive than a nerdy kid’s report card,” Tim said as he started to search through the trunk of the car. They’d have to pay a visit to her brother before anything else and get their facts straight before making a plan. But they were coming to an end of their adventure. The Operator was nearby, he was sure of it. “How are you doing, kiddo? You were awfully quiet back there.” Tim asked as he slammed the trunk down. “You still having those thoughts--” He lost his trail of thought as he turned back towards Casey, heart dropping in his chest when he spied a familiar book in her hands.

“Tim… when were you going to tell me?” Casey’s voice was quiet, barely above a whisper as she stared at the first page of the journal, her hands shaking. There was nothing discernible about the book, nothing that a normal person could see. But as clear as day on the front page was a familiar symbol, her birth-mark.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Tim slunk back against the car. “I couldn’t be sure what it was. But last night… I… I blacked out, kiddo. Or I passed out, I don’t know! When you woke me up, I was having dreams about him.” Tim’s palms felt slick as he recollected the nightmare he had of The Operator, of getting captured by him. “And when I went to grab my bag this morning, that was in there. But I don’t know anything past that. I don’t even remember buying a journal!”

Casey’s knuckles turned white the harder she gripped the book. She felt like her world was slipping out from under her and there was nothing she could do. “You were going to tell me. Right?” When Tim didn’t answer, Casey’s heart sunk. They promised they wouldn’t hide any secrets from one another. “Right?” Her tone was colder than she meant, but she hated when Tim beat around the bush and then beat himself up when something happened because of it.

“Eventually,” he admitted, “when we were out of this hick town.” Running his fingers through his thick black hair, he leaned his head back. “It’s this fucking town, Casey. Something isn’t right. I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be here.”

Casey’s eyes flew open and she tossed the book back onto the hood of the car with a loud thunk. “So what, you’re going to drop me off to be babysat while you play the hero, Tim? We’re in this together, you’re my charge! We’re suppose to protect each other!”

“I’m also suppose to make sure you don’t die!” Tim snapped harsher than he meant, his chest raising and falling with a shallow breath. His eyes were wild with anger, with regret. The thought of Casey getting hurt tore him up inside. “Do you have a death wish or something? I told you you’re not staying here, and that’s final!”

His anger flung Casey back years. She was a little kid again, getting scolded by her step-dad whenever her illness would rear it’s ugly head. Balling her fists, she felt her nails prick into her palms. Then, without a moment’s hesitation, she bolted to the only place she could find solace: the forest.

“Kid!”

But she didn’t look back, she couldn’t think of anything but the hurt she felt over Tim going back on his promise. He promised her things would be different, that they would change for the better, that they wouldn’t lie to each other anymore. But it seemed she was the only one keeping that promise. Casey ran as far as she could go, not stopping for a moment to catch her breath.

But when she finally stopped, she found herself surrounded by dark, dense trees that loomed over her threateningly, blocking any source of light. “Shit,” she mumbled to herself as her heart pounded in her chest. Fat, salty tears threatened to spill. Casey wasn’t overreacting, she really wasn’t, she just didn’t like being treated that way. As she slipped down against a tree trunk, she came to the severity of this situation.

The Operator was messing with them, wasn’t he? He was trying to make them hate each other; did he manipulate them better when they were alone? Casey and Tim were both alone when their symptoms started regressing; since arriving, they’ve been together. But the moment they parted ways to sleep was when the symptoms started again.

He was a parasite. He feasted on their sanity, drove them away from all their friends and family until they were alone and unloved. But Casey wasn’t unloved; she had her mom. And, she still had Tim, though he did sound really upset with her. Casey would be okay, though. She knew her way around the forest, it was like a second home to her.

And if The Operator came to collect, she wasn’t going down without a fight.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
The moment Casey went running off, Tim hopped in his car without a second thought and went screeching after her. What the fuck had gotten into her?! He found himself gritting in his teeth, unable to ease himself as his mind raced at possibilities of where she could be. The motel room was out of the question (she was way too pissed to want to see him), there wasn’t a lot of places she would be interested in in this quiet town… that meant there was only one place… but god, would she really be that pissed off to run there?

“That fuckin’ kid…” Tim mumbled to himself as he made an illegal u-turn, uncaring if some hick town cop caught him or not. Nothing phased him when Casey’s life was on the line. As he drove down the old road, there was an open field where one could park. Near it, briefly blocked off by a stone fence, was the forest they drove past. Something triggered within Tim seeing that forest, like something was drawing him in, something familiar. The area was familiar as well, even though he hadn’t visited the forest since they’d came here. Had this been the forest from his dream?

Fuck that dream. Fuck The Operator. Fuck this fucking town. Tim just wanted to get Casey and run as far away from it all as he could. But even he couldn’t run away from his own problems, no matter how hard he tried. As he got out of the parked car, there was an eerie chill in the air. Looking up, Tim saw dark storm clouds rushing in, foreboding and ominous; he didn’t believe in that shit. But there was something wrong with this forest, like a dark presence was watching him from inside.

Operator or not, Tim wasn’t about to let this fucker take Casey away again. The last time she had a break this bad, she went missing for two weeks; those had to be the longest and most frightening weeks of the girl’s life. Tim wasn’t about to let that creepy asshole grab ahold of her again. Not when he was around. Armed with his flashlight, Tim began his trek within the dark forest. It was relatively quiet except for the breaking of twigs with each heavy step Tim took. Even though he knew it was him, it still sent his pulse racing and his hair standing on end. The forest was an unwelcoming sight. With each step, Tim expected to come face to face with his tormentor. It was a never ending fear that kept coming back with each turn, each bob of his flashlight illuminated what he thought could be him.

As he stepped deeper into the forest, the branches and fallen limbs in his path seemingly began to thin out. Walking forwards, his flashlight shone on a sight that made his heart leap to his throat. In the middle of the forest was a clearing, much alike the one from his nightmares. Had he truly been dreaming? Or had The Operator almost had him in his tendril filled grasp? Tim shook the invasive thought from his brain as he scanned the area. Thankfully, unlike his dream, there were no burrs to capture and pull him down. But upon closer inspection, there was a set of footprints leading away from it. They were too small to be Tim’s, and they didn’t look like boots a hunter might wear. Actually, they looked like sneaker footprints. Had Casey made her way through here? He was hopeful he could find her before he did.

“Casey?” Tim called out, shining his flashlight ahead. There was no answer back. Tim began to follow after the footprints, watching as they led back towards the dense forest ground littered with leaves and twigs. Damn it, he really wished he’d listened to his dad and took those tracking lessons; the footprints were harder to scope out on this terrain. He knew that if Casey wanted to be found, she would show herself.

A snap sent him spiraling, his flashlight bobbing as he searched for the cause. “Damn it! You could blind someone with that!” The voice groaned out, a figure shielding their eyes from the beam. Not just any figure. Casey. She looked completely fine, except from the various twigs that stuck in her hair and her jeans were a little dirty. Had she fallen? Was she running? Tim’s mind was running, but he said nothing. “Oh,” Casey said, as if just realizing who it was, “you found me.”

Her voice summoned his own, and with a groan, he said, “what the shit, kiddo? I was worried about you! Are you alright?!”

“I’m fine! I was just looking for the exit.” Well, that was a half truth. In truth, she was looking for the exit, but she was also keeping an eye out for The Operator. Even if he wouldn’t let her harm him, Casey would rather die than give up control. She knew she shouldn’t lie to Tim, but if he knew the truth, he would go ballistic on her.

“Well, now we’re both lost in the forest,” Tim sighed out. “I wanted to prepare before we did anything crazy like this, Casey!”

Casey folded her arms, but she didn’t try to rebut him. Tim was right, it wasn’t the smartest idea to run off. But she was afraid. Fight or flight, right? “You should have thought of that before you yelled at me.”

It gave Tim pause. He didn’t mean to lose his temper at the teenager; he was the adult, he should have handled that better. Of course she’d run away from her mentor coming at her like a drill sergeant. “Look… I’m sorry, but we can’t be here right now. What Mrs. Simmons said, it’s all true. Look at us, ever since we been here we’ve been finding excuses to duke it out. Maybe it isn’t feasting on people’s fears—”

“Maybe it’s making them push everyone away?” She finished. Tim nodded. Casey was always a smart girl, of course she could put two-to-two together.

“Yeah, hard to go searching for a kid when no one really cares that they’re gone. I wouldn’t be surprised if this town’s in on it too. They all seem too cheerful for their own good,” Tim shuddered as he began walking beside Casey. The clearing was just this way… right? As Tim retraced his steps, he swore it was a longer trek than before. That couldn’t be right though, right? Was it just his mind playing tricks on him?

“You do know we’re going, right?” Casey really hoped this was the case. She didn’t want to get lost in a forest that also doubled as The Operator’s hunting ground. Her hair prickled on her arms as she followed closely behind Tim, finding difficulty in even breathing. It was as if something was crawling up her throat, scratching for it’s way out.

“Yeah, I’m sure of it…” But, he didn’t sound so sure. Were any of them sure? Were they going to die in the forest? Was Casey ever going to see her mom again? Her friends? Or would she wind up on the news again, another lost girl in a web of missing peoples. The thoughts pounded through her brain. She found herself growing more frantic the farther they walked. Casey tried to focus on Tim’s voice, listen to the timber of Tim’s voice. But there was a never ending chant stuck in the recesses of her mind. It spoke like a thousand ancient voices at once.

                                                                                                                                         He’s here.
                                                                                                                                         He’s here.
                                                                                                                                         He’s here.
                                                                                                                                         HE’S HERE.

With a groan, Casey found herself falling to her feet. Her nails dug against her scalp as the pounding behind her skull rattled her whole body. The chant didn’t stop when she tugged at her hair, though. Her hand wildly flopped about, looking for Tim’s. But he wasn’t there, he was gone. Everyone was gone.

No.

Tim was there. He was screaming in agony. He heard the voices too, didn’t he? They had to get through this, had to fight him. If they didn’t, they’d lose. Casey didn’t want to lose again; she had too much to live for. With a grunt, she forced herself to stand up on shaky legs. Her wild eyes, wide and brown and filled with animalistic rage, searched the bushes that littered around them. She felt herself literally freeze in place as she spotted him. The Operator. Her body screamed at her to run away as the static filled her senses; she could hear it, smell it, taste it.

Tim struggled to get up from the ground, but even for the 5’6 man, it was hell. He wanted to give up, he wanted to curl in a ball and go to sleep forever; he wanted it all to end. But Tim thought of all the people he lost by being the weakling, by not fighting this piece of shit back. He wasn’t about to lose another one. With a final burst of strength, Tim stood up just in time to see Casey’s eyes go white. His eyes widened, wildly searching for the asshole, the cause of all this torment and shit. “You motherfucker!” He shouted strongly. Well, he meant for it to be strong. It came out weak, like a whimper. His arms felt like pins and needles as he tried to move them, feeling himself succumbing to The Operator’s influence. He had to fight back, he had to be strong enough for Casey. “Snap… snap out of it kiddo!” He growled between gritted teeth, struggling to grab Casey’s arm.

Casey thrashed against the touch like a wild animal, her eyes white and lifeless as he slowly took control of her. She felt free for the first time in a while, like there was nothing wrong with her. For a moment, she swore she saw Jake. He could give her Jake, she just had to follow his instructions.

Cursing to himself, Tim struggled to keep his grip on Casey stern. He wasn’t about to let some asshole take her and him away! “You have to fight him, Casey! He won’t give you what you want!” But… maybe he would. Tim found himself content with the thought of stopping struggling. Shaking his head, Tim fought hard against the thoughts. With his blood pounding in his ears, he shouted, “you mannequin looking fuck!” He roared, his voice no longer weak. “You fucking think you can take her away too?!”

The being he was shouting at was silent, Tim couldn’t tell if it understood what he called it or not. Actually, he was kind of hoping it did. As it rose a tendril, a knife whizzed by, slicing across the tendril before clattering down. The Operator stood stunned, briefly looking at its own tendril which oozed black goo, opaque against it’s sleek black skin.

Tim found the control it once held weaken as he whipped his head around. Casey was panting hard, her eyes back to their normal color. The knife in her holster was missing, however, no doubt the same knife used to wound The Operator. “You heard my dad! Now you gotta fight us both!”

“Casey, you just threw your only weapon!” Tim whispered to her, his fight or flight response kicking it; he wasn’t a dumbass enough to fight The Operator with only a rock. The fucker just tried impaling him!

“Trust me about this, Tim. We’re stronger together,” she whispered to him, not backing down from the creature that stood in front of them. Yeah, she was terrified. But she wasn’t about to let this guy torment another soul. Before she could react, however, another tendril came crashing before her, narrowly missing her side. The Operator was fast, but she was sure she could outrun—

“Casey, watch out!” Tim barely pushed her out of the way before another tendril, quicker than the first, came hurdling for her. Casey gasped out, feeling a warm sting erupt down her right side. When the tendril moved back, she grabbed at her side. Pulling her hand away, she found it coated in blood. “I told you… god damn it, god damn it, god damn it…” Tim chanted, wasting no time in picking her up against his chest and running like a bat out of hell.

Behind him, he wasn’t sure if The Operator was still following or not; he wasn’t about to check. God damn it, why are you such an idiot? Now Casey is going to die and it’s your fault for not putting your foot down! Everyone you cared about is dead because of you; now Casey is going to be added to that body count! His thoughts swam as his feet pounded on the floor, branches and leaves crunched in his wake. Come on Tim, focus. You gotta get her out of here, fuck The Operator. You got one goddamn thing to worry about, you useless fuck. You better not fuck this up, man!

Swallowing hard, Tim tried to ease his crazy thoughts. There was time to blame himself later. Right now his main focus was Casey. He tried to still his own ragged breaths as his chest burned from the overexertion. She was still breathing, thank fucking God, though it was shallow and worrying.

“My knife…” She weakly murmured, staunching the bleeding as best as she could. Her vision grew hazy as she pressed down on the gap left by the tendril, biting her lip hard enough to bleed to keep from screaming in agony.

“I’ll get it tomorrow. Right now we need to get you to a hospital. Or back home… I don’t know!” His voice was panicked, the cool exterior he had earlier before shit hit the fan blown. “Just… don’t worry, kiddo. I got you.”

“I’m not worried,” she barely whispered out, “tis but a flesh wound.” Tim weakly laughed at her terribly timed reference, holding out hope that there was time to save her. He wasn’t a hopeful man, not in the slightest; but this kid made him want to be. “Don’t look so glum,” she said, weakly.

Tim laughed again, his laugh hoarse and forced. “Why shouldn’t I? You’re fucking bleeding out on me, kiddo. You’re staining my favorite shirt.” He tried to laugh and joke through the pain, but even Casey could see the grim look in his eyes.

“Cuz I’m not dead yet.” Actually, she doubted the cut would actually kill her in the end, but it would hurt like hell trying to get used to the healing process.

“I’m gonna get you out of here first, then we can say shit like that.” Just beyond the horizon, he spied a sight for sore eyes. “Car’s right there,” he said out loud, charging forwards with the last bit of energy he could muster. He practically ripped off the car door in opening it, shoving Casey onto the back seat as he hurried to start the car and drive.

“Tim, honestly, I’m fine. You gotta believe me,” Casey said as she held her bloodied hand to her side. Her vision was starting to fix itself, a good sign she was starting to heal.

“Okay, let’s say I believe you.” Tim said as he pulled back from the forest, turning so quickly that the car lifted off it’s wheels for a moment. “But I don’t want to stick around to get killed by the Men’s Warehouse mannequin.” Peeling down the road, he checked his rear view mirror. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay? He got you pretty badly, kiddo.”

Moving her hand away from the wound, Casey could see the skin was just starting to heal around the round gap. “Yeah, I’m fine. He missed any serious arteries.” Sighing, she laid back down in the back seat. “You called me your daughter.” She noticed Tim stopped fiddling with the mirror and checking it. He went eerily quiet as his hand returned to the steering will. “It’s cool,” Casey said, “I know you didn’t mean it.” Even though she said it was cool, she was just a little disappointed that he said it in a fit of passion and didn’t actually mean it.

Tim awkwardly cleared his throat as he drove down the country road, the sign welcoming them in the mirror. “Yeah, uh… about that,” he cleared his throat again. “You’re like family to me, Casey. I know I can’t replace your actual dad, and I’m not trying to. But you’re the closest thing I have to a daughter in this godforsaken and fucked up world. I meant what I said.” Looking behind him, he swore he caught a glimpse of her smiling.

“Don’t hurt yourself trying to talk,” she joked with him, laughing at how awkward he was making the whole situation. “It’s cool, I see you as a weird dad-mentor.”

Tim chuckled to himself, looking ahead to the road and journey before him. “Good, how about we recoup and figure what to do?” He paused, a wicked grin spreading on his lips. “My ‘special widdle daughty-waughty?’” He about lost his shit at the look of utter disgust that crossed her face.

“If you ever say that again, I’m driving us both off the road!” They shared a laugh as they drove on, both feeling worn out, but better than they bonded over a common enemy.