Chapter 77 - Seventy - Seven : Linda
Linda might not be as outspoken as Caroline and Alexa but she was definitely smart. Her friends have failed which means they would come looking for her.
It all happened in a flash, one moment they were all having fun and the next, all hell was let loose.
She hadn't gone into the basement with the others cause she was given a different assignment - keep Ben busy.
Truthfully, it wasn't a difficult task since the guy was already wasted but he would wake groggily from time to time, asking about his goddess or something? She couldn't exactly tell.
But she was a smart girl, so she kept him distracted and busy until the incident occurred.
She had been the first to escape before anyone else could reach the door.
Linda knew it wasn't a coincidence the house began to quake the moment her friends went to have a bit of fun with the girl.
Something must have gone wrong , something must have happened.
So she ran to her packed car and brought the engine to life not minding the scream assaulting her ears.
She had to survive.
She had managed to successfully escape the Garcia's manor and was currently driving over the speed limit, hoping to reach her place in time with the intention of packing a few of her stuffs and leave Little Town before anything happens.
The night was so foggy and chilly that even with her headlights on, she still had limited visibility.
Linda swallowed nervously , the moonlight gleamed mysteriously casting eerie shadows on the tree-lined avenue.
The uncanny atmosphere spooked her so much that eventhough the night was cold she was perspiring to the extent her hands were clammy from fright.
Because her thoughts were all over the place, she abruptly screeched her car to a halt when she discovered there was a figure standing in the middle of the road.
Thanks to the backlash, Linda bumped her face on the steering wheel and moaned in pain. Pulling back her hair that covered her face like a waterfall, she gazed out on the road only to realize the figure she almost hit was still standing there, unfazed.
Her blood suddenly ran cold. She was no fool.
Just like Caroline, she had an idea of the supernatural though she wasn't a founding family.
And judging from the figure's conspicuous and weird dressing, Linda bet she was here for her.
Linda couldn't make out the figure's full face but definitely saw her lips moving.
" My God " She gasped " A witch "
But before she react, the car door was magically ripped open and she was forcefully flung out of the car only to land right in front of the mysterious figure.
Linda's eyes widened in shock and her chest moved up and down faster as her breath quickened. She crawled backward with her hands but the woman said something and an invisible force held her still.
Her blood chilled, she was definitely doomed.
The woman pulled her hood away revealing red blazing hair which shimmered under the moonlight and squat down, her eyes resting on her's.
"So it's you guys " She said and grabbed Linda's chin, turning her face from side to side Like a potential buyer examining the goods to purchase
"I-it's not me " She managed to say
"Really? " The woman queried interestedly
" Who then?"
Linda lit up at once, maybe there was a chance for redemption
"It's all Caroline and Alexa's fault !" She started " I warned them but they didn't listen. I was only forced into it , please believe me " She confessed with a pitiful expression, not caring if the details were hyped. Her life was on the line here.
"Hmmm " The lady said with an amused expression before she burst into a loud, ringing fit of laughter which Linda herself awkwardly joined.
But after a while the laughter gurgled to a halt and the woman's gaze turned ice-cold. All smiles dissipated from her face as she spat
"Do you know what I hate the most? "
Linda nodded sideways stiffly
She continued "People who abandon their comrades in the face of persecution " She gritted.
"Though you guys somehow ruined my plans tonight but I was willing to just erase your memories, try bring merciful for once but now I've changed my mind "
The lady stood to her feet, a burning anger present in her eyes " You can rot in hell "
Then she began to say words Linda couldn't understand "Ut tenebris lux tua, guide ad mortem"
But Linda knew instinctively she was casting a spell and tried to escape but it was too late - she couldn't move a muscle .
Suddenly Linda began to move but it wasn't of her own accord, it was if her body movement were under another person's control. Dread filled her, she felt like a puppet being played under one's string .
Before Linda knew it, she began to walk back to her car while the figure stood watching, pleased at the aftermath.
Linda frantically screamed at her body to take back the control but all her efforts were futile.
Soon, she started the engine and started driving - but the car was careering off course.
Linda didn't know how long she traveled but she started screaming her lungs out the moment her car ventured deeper into the coastal road.
She was a native of little Town so she particularly recognized this curved highway, it led down to a cliff towering some 2,000 feet above the crystal-clear glacial lakes and stretching over three miles in length.
A feeling of horror and dread of death seized her the moment her car slid off the cliff before she could react : not that she could do anything anyway since she was still under the strange hold.
The car tumbled, bounced and hit against ragged rocks before her surroundings blurred into light and shadows, and she felt the sickening sensation of falling off the cliff .
Her car plunged deep into the chilly water making her lungs ache while the mysterious hold on her dissipated.
Terror drove her to ignore the pain on her head and stomach nor did It give her a great deal of relief to know she finally had control over her own body and will.
Thankfully , she was grateful she was still conscious after impact since water was an incompressible fluid and hitting it at high speed was analogous to driving into a concrete wall.
Linda immediately calm down, she had to plan her escape knowing fully her best chance of escape was the first 30-120 seconds.
Gallons of water began filling her car, but she choose not to panick, aware it will be very difficult to open the door due to water pressure once underwater. So she slung her head back, filling her lungs with air.
Because the engine was still running and had electrical power, she rolled down the window but was hit with a flood of water cause the waterline was past the window. Determinedly, she was able to swim out.
Pushing off the car, she swarm to the surface and inhaled a lungsful of fresh cold breath. Linda was a good swimmer so she was sure of making it to the shore.
Unknown to her, the mysterious figure stood above the cliff watching everything that transpired with interest.
Fine, since the girl was like an annoying bedbug that refuses to die, she would let her live - after taking away her memories.