The Art of Manipulation

******This fanfic is based off of the game The Quarry. I'm not a gamer but my best friends persuaded me to play this one- and it sent me into a dark abyss of obsession. Until I went on Pinterest, I thought I was the only one who read more into Laura and Sheriff Hackett's relationship. And you guessed it, that is what this story is going to be centered on. Of course, the other characters will pop up because who doesn't love a bit of Kaitlyn's sarcasm, Jacob and Emma's doomed love, the sweetness between Nick and Abi, and the flirtatious witty banter between Ryan and Dylan?

*********************SPOILERS AHEAD***********************

“Max, we’re lost.”

You could feel your boyfriend glance at you as you bit your lip while looking out the window. It was pretty bright in the middle of the night. Sighing, you rolled the car window down and immediately felt the rush of night air relax you as you breathed in the scent of the woods. As you looked up you noticed the full moon. At least you guys had that light as a guide even if you were lost.

“We are not lost, we’re just,”

You eyed him suspiciously, “Yes?” After it was apparent through his sputtering that nothing would be forthcoming you reached for the map in the backseat.

You could feel Max staring at you, “Eyes on the road, sir!”

“How do you do that?”

The surprise in his voice didn’t surprise you. You were always catching him doing stupid things. There were times he accused you of being a witch. You never corrected him. Snatching the map you re-situated yourself just in time to yell at him again before having to grab the wheel.

“MAX!”

What was that on the road?! There was definitely something.

You didn’t have time to speculate as you yanked the wheel to the left sharply. As he regained control of the wheel from you, you grabbed onto the door handle and held it so tight your knuckles went white. You braced yourself as Max swerved right to left and eventually left the road. Your breathing calmed a bit until you saw a stump ahead of you. He didn’t seem to see it.

“Max, stump!”

“Wha-”

Grabbing the wheel quickly, you veered to the left just in time. The car skidded to a sharp halt. Your face was in Max’s lap as you heaved.

“Whoa, honey…now?” Max chuckled.

Looking up at him with squinted eyes, the smile on his face left abruptly.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Honey, I-”

“Don’t.”

Max turned the key only to be met with a strange grinding sound. It failed to start.

“Oh my god.” You sighed heavily as you opened your car door.

You didn’t bother slamming it in anger because it would be lost on him anyway. You adjusted your hat and tugged your crop top down. Standing in the middle of the woods should’ve relaxed you but it didn’t. There was something about these woods. Why did it seem extra creepy? Most of the light from the moon was blocked out by the density of the trees where you crashed. A car door slammed and you jumped while looking over at Max who had finally gotten out of the car. He ran a hand through his messy red hair.

Were you too hard on him? No, he was always fucking around and if you weren’t there to keep him in check how would he get through life? I mean, you’d almost just died.

He looked over at you before opening the hood. You looked away.

“Hey, Laura!”

Without looking you replied, “Yeah?”

You heard him sigh, “Can you bring me the toolbox from the trunk? Please?”

Sighing, you turned your head to stare at him before making your way slowly over to the trunk. To be honest, you were surprised his rust bucket made it this far. The paint was chipped but you figured if it had lasted this long, a few more miles wouldn’t make much difference, if he hadn’t killed it from running off the road. This camp better be worth it. The trunk creaked loudly as you opened it. At least you’d get some kind of medical experience working there. You couldn’t wait to go to college to study being a vet. You leaned in to get the toolbox when you noticed a paper sticking out of Max’s bag. You frowned at it. Eyeing the paper you grabbed the toolbox. Holding the toolbox, you squinted at the paper until your curiosity got the better of you. You snatched it and began reading.

“We regret to inform you…”

It was a fucking rejection letter!

Damn it, Max.

You thought he’d done well with his grades and essay. You frowned as you tried to think of a reason they’d reject him until you realized he was keeping this from you. Sighing, you shoved the letter back into his bag and made your way to him at the hood of the car.

You slammed the toolbox on the corner of the car while eyeing your boyfriend. He raised an eyebrow.

“Thanks?”

“I’m gonna explore a bit.”

“What? Really? It’s the middle of the night in a strange forest.”

“So?”

He sighed, “Just…be careful.”

“Right.”

Turning away from him you pulled your phone out and put on the flashlight app. You looked around trying to decide which way to go. Heading in the direction where the trees were sparse you swore you heard a noise.

Get a grip Laura, you’re outside. Of course there will be sounds.

Shrugging it off you headed farther into the forest which seemed to get darker. You noticed something on a tree in the distance. As you made your way over to it the only sound you heard was the crunching of dead leaves, twigs, and rocks under your feet. Dodging a few branches and squeezing through a few trees finally brought you to a small clearing. You walked slowly up to the tree. The closer you got you were able to make it out. It was a flyer. It looked pretty old. You snatched it off the tree to read it. It was a picture of an older woman with her hands around a crystal ball. She looked like a fortune teller.

“Harum Scarum? Huh.”

You put the flyer in the back pocket of your shorts. Suddenly, you heard crunching a few feet away. Turning the flashlight in that direction lit up what looked like a person ducking behind a tree.

You froze. The hairs on the back of your neck stood up as you took a few uneasy steps backward. The tree wasn’t that far away which made your anxiety worsen. After staring at it for a minute you backed up a bit until your foot caused a stick to break sending out a resounding snap into the stillness of the night. You shuddered a gasp before turning and tentatively continuing your exploration of the eerie woods. A few minutes passed before you came upon anything interesting. At first you thought it was some type of hut made out of sticks but as you crept closer you could see it was a cage.

A cage?

Or, at least, it was. It looked like it had been damaged. A fire, maybe? Creeping up to get a closer look you noticed the sign that apparently used to be attached to it had fallen to the ground. You knelt down to inspect it. Passing your flashlight across it you realized it must have been a fire that destroyed it. The signing was frayed and scorched around the edges but you could just make out what it said.

“Silas The Dog Boy”

The thought occurred to you that he must have been a part of the “Harum Scarum” show that the flyer was for.

A twig snapped close to you. The breath caught in your throat as you whipped around shining your light into the empty woods. Remaining still for a moment you let your eyes scan the trees. The humidity was suffocating and being inside these close woods made it almost unbearable. You could feel the sweat dripping down your back. You jumped back as you saw movement between the trees. Not waiting to find out what it could be, you quickly began your journey back to Max. Hearing a faint whisper made you pause. Trying hard not to shake from fright you listened hard to make sure you were hearing things.

“Silas…”

Gasping, you sprinted through the woods not daring to look back in the direction you had come. As you ran you could still feel the breath on your ear from the whisper. You hopped over large sticks and dodged drooping branches as you ran through the seemingly never ending woods. After a few minutes of running you started to worry you’d never make it out so you looked behind you and all around to see if anything looked familiar. Just as you turned around a branch came into view too close to dodge. All you heard was a ‘thunk’ as you smacked into it head on. Dazed, you fell backwards to the ground. While shaking your head to clear the fog you slowly got up and staggered forward. Your pace was not as quick as before. Squinting into the forest you finally saw a light which you assumed was the headlights of Max’s car. With the end in sight you legged it.

As you came careening out of the woods you ran straight into your boyfriend. He was just as warm as you but more sweaty. Before you could tell him what happened you bent over double trying to catch your breath. With his strong hands gripping your shoulders so you wouldn’t fall he almost yelled.

“Laura, what the hell happened?”

In between deep breaths you managed, “someone…out…there…I…heard…them.”

He looked at you incredulous, “What? A person? Out there?”

Seeing the look on his face you straightened up quickly while putting your hands on your hips, “Yeah, Max. There was. I kept hearing someone walking around me. Then…then somebody whispered.”

You could see the doubt in his eyes, “Max, I’m not making this up. There is someone out there! We have to go…like, now!”

Even if he didn’t believe you he could see you were distressed so he nodded, “Ok, ok, let’s go.”

He ran to the car and slammed the hood back down while you ran to the passenger door. You quickly made it inside while he tried to start the car. It wouldn’t start.

“God damn it Max, I thought you fixed it!”

“Easy. I did, I did. Just give it a minute.”

After a couple more attempts you both heard the engine come to life. You sighed while searching outside. You weren’t moving.

“Christ, what now?!” you yelled at him.

He slammed on the gas, but nothing. You could feel the wheels spinning.

“We must be stuck in the mud.” Max offered as he let up on the gas and put it back in park. You were about to say something when he lowered his head. He was stressed out.

“Max we have to-Ahh!”

A person came into view through Max’s window. It was a man. A tall man. Max jumped at the sight before rolling his window down.

“Max, don’t-oh.”

It was a police officer. “Oh thank god, can you help us?”

The police officer pulled a face.

“Sorry, it’s been a night.” you felt sheepish.

“You guys alright?”

As Max related the situation you took this time to study the officer. He was very tall. Tall enough to where he had to lean down in order to look into the car. He seemed off somehow. He had short brown hair, a bit untidy. It was a bit odd how he stared at you while Max was talking to him. In fact, it was a bit off putting but you didn’t look away. Instead, you glared at him. His eyes were a tired, deep brown. They looked a bit dead but penetrating. He had to be in his forties at least. His uniform fit well and he wasn’t overweight. He wasn’t thin either…just in the middle. His clean shaven face revealed thin lips that seemed a bit lopsided as he pursed them. There was something about him…you couldn’t place it.

“You wanna tell me why you guys are out here in the middle of the night?”

The officer’s tone snapped you out of whatever trance you’d been in, “We’re going to the camp.”

He, once again, pulled a face, “Ma’am, you’re too early.”

Ma’am?!

“Uh, yeah. We know. We, uh, wanted to get there early to scope it out. Y’know?”

The officer looked unimpressed, “No, I don’t know.”

That sheepish feeling came back again. For a minute he didn’t say anything as he stared at you. It was as if Max did not exist anymore to him. You broke eye contact first before smiling.

“Ok, stay in the vehicle.” he walked away.

“Oh my god…” Max sighed.

You looked back at the officer as he walked to his cruiser, “I know, right?”

Turning back around you looked at Max, “You ok?”

“Yeah, I just thought he seemed…weird.”

All you could do was grunt.

Before long the officer returned and fiddled at the back of the car. He came up to the window again and without so much as a glance at Max, he looked directly at you as he said for you to remain in the vehicle. You nodded as he walked away. Glancing at Max briefly told you that he knew you were uncomfortable and he noticed the officer’s special attention toward you. You both jolted forward as the winch began to pull your car out of the mud trap. Once you were back on the road you breathed a sigh of relief. Once again, the officer sidled up to the driver’s side window.

“Now, you wanna tell me why you’re really up here?”

You furrowed your eyebrows waiting for Max to answer the question as you looked out your window. When the silence became too long to bear, you turned to Max expectantly only to realize that both he and the officer were staring at you.

“Oh, what, I’m supposed to answer all the questions?” you regretted it as soon as you said it.

You half smiled as you looked away embarrassed.

“Ma’am, step out of the vehicle.”

Oh shit.

“What?” Max’s hackles immediately went up.

The officer didn’t say anything more, merely motioned for you to exit the vehicle. Max started to open his door but the officer quickly caught it and slammed it shut.

“Sir, you stay in the vehicle. Ma’am, out…now.”

Fuck.

Max looked at you with his hand on the shifter.

“It’s ok Max…”

“Bring your map.”

You looked around for a minute.

“It’s by your feet. Must have fallen in your crash.”

You were taken aback. How had he even seen it down there? He was giving you the fucking creeps. You did not want to get out of the car but you distinctly felt that he would hurt Max if he got out instead. Plus, you did kind of sass him. You quickly snatched the map, not bothering to hide your annoyance. Sighing you jumped out of the truck leaving the door open just in case. You made your way to the hood where the officer was waiting for you. He pointed on the hood so you slammed the map down on it.

He gave you an exasperated look and you winced, “Sorry. I’m just tired.”

Eyeing you he replied, “Well you’re in luck because I’m gonna show you where you can go to get a good night’s sleep.”

“What?”

“The Harbinger Motel.”

“That’s a weird name for a motel.”

“Is it?” he retorted.

“Well, yeah, I assume you know what it means?”

The officer was taken aback, “Of course I know- Look, this is where you’re going tonight. You won’t make it to the camp.”

Now it was your turn to look surprised, “Excuse me?”

“There’s no one there anyway.”

“How the fuck do you know?”

Oh my god, what the fuck did I just say?

He backed up while taking his hand off the map as you glanced at a wide-eyed Max. You looked back at the cop and opened your mouth. Nothing came out. The officer raised his eyebrows.

“I’m just gonna chock that up as sleep deprivation.”

You looked at him wide-eyed and nodded slack-jawed. You watched as he pulled a pencil out of his pocket and brought it to his tongue. As he licked it he looked at you.

Ew, who licks a pencil?!

He nodded to the map and you stepped closer gingerly.

He smashed the tip down on it, “See, we’re about here. And here’s the motel.”

“Ok, and where’s the camp?”

You watched as he started to point out where the camp was but thought better of it. He looked back at you suspiciously.

“I’m sure the fine folks at the Harbinger can point you in the right direction in the morning.”

“Riiiiiiiiight.” The damage was done. You caught sight of where his pencil stopped.

You backed away a few steps before you noticed the cop staring at you intently. You furrowed your eyebrows as he squinted at you. You looked behind you. Nothing there. As you turned around you were met with his hand reaching out to you. He grabbed the back of your head.

You froze.

With his other hand he took out a kerchief from his pocket. He pulled you closer. You couldn’t resist but you felt oddly safe. Watching out of the corner of your eye he brought the handkerchief up to your forehead and gently wiped the mud and blood away. It sent chills down your spine that you, unfortunately, couldn’t hide. You could swear you saw a tiny smirk form on his lips. It only lasted for a couple seconds but felt like an eternity. You felt his fingers on the back of your neck lightly caress you while he cleaned the muck off your face. Chills again.

Oh my god, what is happening?

His stare was intense and usually you’d be able to not only hold a stare but challenge it. There was something about this man that made you look away. You caught sight of Max in the car just staring open-mouthed at you. Seeing this you could tell there might be an argument waiting for you when you got back inside his car. The cop’s fingers finally loosened and you gently wiggled out of his grasp while feigning a yawn.

“Well…uhm, thank you. It’s been a night and I’m tired…better make our way to the motel.”

He didn’t say a word while he held your gaze. As you made your way to the car you locked eyes with Max because if you didn’t you know you’d look back at the cop. Then you felt his fingers on your neck again. Before you could stop yourself, your hand grabbed the back of your neck. As you opened the passenger door you could tell he was staring at you still and you couldn’t help yourself. Looking back at him your hand absently made its way from your neck to your forehead. The cop just stared and all you could do was smile awkwardly and give him a thumbs up.

What the fuck was that?

As you slammed the door you could feel Max glaring at you. Your patience was wearing thin with men eyeing you tonight.

“What?” you asked without looking at him.

He scoffed as he started the car.

“What did you expect me to do?”

“Uh, maybe not let him paw you like that?”

“Paw me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

He sighed, “You know what? Forget it. It’s been a long night, let’s just get to this motel.”

It was your turn to scoff, “You think I wanna go to some creep ass motel that some creep ass cop told us to go to in the middle of the creep ass woods?”

“So…”

“We’re going to the camp.”

“But we don’t even know where it is.”

“Sure we do.”

Max furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“I tricked him into showing me where it is.” You smirked.

“Nice!”

“What can I say? I have a way with men. I’m very…”

“Alarming? Intimidating?” Max suggested playfully.

“I was gonna say disarming.”

“Christ, he’s still back there. What the fuck is he waiting for?”

“Us.” You replied without even looking up from the map. “Alright Max, you ready? Let’s go.”