Chapter 7 - Good To Know I'm Home

Everyone was breathing heavily, trying to calm themselves down.

"Shit," Carson mumbled, her heart beat quickening. This wasn't the time, it couldn't happen to her now. She tried to steady her breathing, tried to slow it down but it wasn't working. She tried getting out but her door was stuck. Her breathing continued to increase, tears were stinging her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She started getting light headed, and tried desperately to control the amount of air entering her lungs, but it just got heavier.

"Carson? Carson, what's wrong?"

She didn't know who'd said it, but she tried to answer. When nothing came out, her vision started getting blurry, the whole world was spinning.

"I think she's having a panic attack."

More voices came, but she had no idea what they were saying. It almost sounded like someone was giving someone else instructions.

"Carson! Hey, Carson come on, look at me." She felt a pair or hands gripping her shouldes, forcefully turning her to look at the mystery person instead of the car floor.

"Carson, come on. Deep breathes, follow my lead." They started inhaling and exhaling, trying to get the shaking girl to do the same.

Carson tried, and after a few minutes, her breath started getting controlled again. Her heartbeat slowed, and her lungs finally filled with air at a normal pace. She closed her eyes, leaning her head on the seat, taking deep breathes. Carson opened her eyes to see all three Bakers staring at her with wide eyes.

"Oh my god, are you ok?" Caleb asked from the seat next to her.

"Y– yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, though it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself rather than the Bakers.

"Good job, Caleb," Bradley told his brother.

Carson realized Caleb was the one who helped her, so she leaned over and opened her arms.

Caleb hugged her back, not only because he was glad she was ok, but because he was scared. A hug was what he needed right then.

"Thanks, Caleb," the girl said, letting go of him.

Caleb nodded his head towards Bradley. "Thank him. I wouldn't have been able to do anything if it weren't for Bradley."

Carson looked at the boy, who was slightly blushing, but obviously trying to hide it. She gave him a smile, which he returned.

"Fuck..." Elliot muttered under his breath. The three kids almost didn't hear him at first, but they definitely heard the second time.

"FUCK!" Elliot yelled, making all three kids shrink back.

Bradley, who was sitting next to him, had a terrified look in his eyes.

Elliot got out of the car, slamming his door shut, making Bradley wince.

"Fucking told you not to play around!" Elliot yelled again, going to the front of the car. "Shit."

"Dad?" Caleb said, getting out of the car before Carson could stop him.

"Alright..." Elliot said. "Alright, turn the ignition on," he told his son.

Bradley turned the keys and started the car.

"Put it in reverse. Ok, give it some gas." Elliot pushed while Bradley gave the car gas. "Give it some gas. More! A little more!"

Nothing. The vehicle wouldn't budge from its position in the snow.

Elliot moved towards the back of the car, Caleb following him from the other side.

"Are we stuck out here?" The younger boy said, fear lacing his voice.

Elliot didn't answer, he just opened the back of the car, letting the cold air break through and hit Carson's back. The girl shivered and listened.

"What's the knife for?" Caleb asked.

Carson whipped around at this, only to be welcomed by the slamming of the trunk.

"You come with me, Caleb," Elliot said.

Once Carson was sure they couldn't hear her, she turned to Bradley.

"Phones," she said, hoping he would get it.

The boy frantically started looking around for them, but they were nowhere to be seen. "Shit."

"Try the glove box," Carson said, keeping an eye on Elliot and Caleb.

"Got 'em. Ok. Awesome," the boy said, dialing a number on his own phone.

"Do you see mine?" Carson asked, hoping she would be able to call Mr. Barnes or even the police to come get them.

Bradley held his phone between his ear and his shoulder while he called someone and kept looking for the girl's phone. "It's not in here," he said after a few seconds of searching.

"What the fuck..." Carson muttered, but kept looking at Bradley, hoping someone on the other line would pick up the phone.

"Ah, fuck. Come on!" Bradley said when the line went silent.

The back door suddenly opened, and Elliot stood in the door way. "Alright, Brad, give it some gas."

Bradley threw his phone in the back seat and started the car up once more.

Elliot started moving on the car, and Carson caught on to what he was doing. She opened her car door and stood up, copying the man's actions, but it didn't do them much good.

Elliot tried moving to the front of the car, hoping it would move. It didn't.

"Ok! Ok," Elliot called, signaling for Bradley to stop giving gas.

Carson let out a defeated sigh and took a seat in the back. "We're not getting out of here anytime soon."

Bradley nodded, and after a minute he opened his door, making his way to the back.

Caleb climbed into the passenger seat, a grim look on his face.

Elliot stayed out of the car, trying to calm himself down.

After a few minutes of silence, Carson spoke up. "Well, glad to know I'm home."

Bradley looked at her like she was crazy. "'Home' is in the middle of nowhere for you?"

"No, dumbass. It's in hell," the girl answered, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What's gonna happen to us?" Caleb asked, sounding scared.

Carson's eyes softened and she reached forward to put her hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "Nothing. Nothing is going to happen to us. We'll be fine."

Caleb gave the girl a grateful smile and the three remained in silence for the next few minutes.

Carson couldn't help but think about what would really happen to them. Who knows what happened in these woods at night. They could be eaten by wolves or a bear before they could even figure out what to do. Her thoughts travelled back to her time at home. Was someone wondering where she was? Was Mrs. Kane worried about her? Was Mr. Barnes waiting for her for their usual evening coffee? All those thoughts travelled around her mind, but then she remembered. She was supposed to spend the weekend with the Bakers. No one would be wondering where she was because she was supposed to be away. Her thoughts then travelled back to earlier. Caleb had helped her through her panic attack, but Bradley was the one that gave him the instructions on how. She looked at the boy next to her, noticing he was looking down at his hands. So she did something that may have been stupid, but she had to thank him somehow.

Carson leaned over and gave Bradley a peck on the cheek before going back to her original position.

Bradley's head shot up, completely taken by surprise by the girl's actions, a blush already forming on his cheeks. "W– what was that for?" He asked, grinning.

The girl turned to him and smirked. "To thank you for telling Caleb what to do during my panic attack."

Bradley looked at her for a second before letting out a laugh and reaching behind him, scratching the back of his neck.

The next few minutes were silent, Carson watching the sunset until they were surrounded by pitch black darkness. And that's when all hell was let lose.