â€œMay I presentâ€¦.â€™The Carriage houseâ€™ as it is labeled on the deedâ€¦ You see, back in the day, before cars people had engineless cars, called carriages and they were drawn by magical creatures, called horsesâ€¦nowyou have to understand, these arenâ€™t the objects of rich teenage girlâ€™s daddies buy them, but actual working animalsâ€¦.â€ He started in his announcers tone but quickly slipped in to bitter sarcasm and Tori thanked him for the gesture with a hard smack in the arm.<br/><br/>â€œI know, jackass!....â€ She said, only mildly miffed at his jest at her expense. It was nice, she let her defenses down a bit, and he could see that she could take some playful ribbing.  He walked up again and kissed her, and she smiled honestly, letting him know she appreciated the gesture.<br/><br/>Inside the â€˜carriageâ€™ house, wasnâ€™t a carriage, it was a car, draped under cloth. â€œSeeâ€¦I told you smart ass..â€ She said, laughing and giving him another playful smack.  â€œOkâ€¦sheeshâ€¦â€ He said as he strode in and went for the only thing of interest for a man, â€˜the carâ€™ of course.<br/><br/>Jacob grabbed the drop cloth and started to seductively pull it off, â€œThatâ€™s right Miss Morrisonetteâ€¦.And for your correct answer you.. winâ€¦. a â€¦BRANDâ€¦.NEWâ€¦.â€ He said, building suspense as he slowly removed the cloth and then he ripped it off and looked to her expression to see if he could guess itâ€™s worth. Toriâ€™s expression was telling; first was surprise, then confusion, and then her eyebrows started to drop and contort as other more complex emotions started to crawl into her normally beautiful visage. He couldnâ€™t take the suspense any longer, and so he turned to see the silver paint job on Greg and Shannaâ€™s SUV.<br/><br/>Jacobâ€™s mind reeled and he couldnâ€™t quite put it together, but then he crouched his tall frame and peered inside. Several unbelievable aspects of the scene hit him all at once, first was the wet smell, next was the cattails and swamp grass hanging from the gaps in the body panels, and then finally the realization that it wasnâ€™t some darkened lump leaning limply against the passenger seatbelt, but Shannaâ€™s, stained, water logged yellow summer dress. He jumped backward like someone lit a fire under ass.  â€œWHAT THE FUCK???â€<br/><br/>Tori turned away instantly, not wanting to see what she thought she saw; which was Shannaâ€™s dead form drowned to death; and not just her dress which it was, her mind filled in the blanks and it was too much for her to bear.  â€œOooh noâ€¦.ooooon noâ€¦..is it Shanna? JACOB!??? IS IT FUCKING SHANNA AND GREG IN THERE? PLEASE SAY IT ISNâ€™Tâ€¦..PLEASE!â€ Tori yelled, almost commanding Jacob to lie even if it actually was her two new dead friends.<br/><br/>â€œnaâ€¦..NOâ€¦.NO it isnâ€™tâ€¦.I donâ€™t see any bodiesâ€¦.â€ Jacob said after a couple of seconds to steele himself. He reached out and opened the door, brown river water poured out onto the ground. â€œNOâ€¦.I donâ€™t see themâ€¦..butâ€¦.â€ He stuttered and then lifted Shannaâ€™s dress off of the seatbelt and pulled it out for Tori to see.  â€œâ€¦.She was wearing thisâ€¦when they leftâ€ Jacob said, recalling how pretty Shanna had looked when sheâ€™d left with Greg.<br/><br/>Jacob dropped the wet dress in a sloppy pile on the tarmac and then started to root around in the disheveled interior, it was filled with river mud and everything left inside was destroyed. He saw Shannaâ€™s bag, but didnâ€™t see Gregâ€™s bag or any sign of him; not such a huge surprise seeing the current state of the vehicle, but everything else seemed to be inside.<br/><br/>He pulled his head out and coughed at the musty smell.  â€œNoâ€¦Nobody is insideâ€¦.â€ He drifted off, not able to say anything else. Just seeing the vehicle in this condition lead his mind to think about the worst, and he visualized both Greg and Shanna drowning to death, before he shook the thought from his head, but inside himself  he knew Tori was thinking the exact same thing.<br/><br/>Jacob again took a second to reinforce himself and then stalked over to Toriâ€™s frightened form, â€œI got youâ€¦itâ€™s OKâ€¦.We donâ€™t know they are deadâ€¦.just like Fish and Brandiâ€¦.They might be all okâ€ The words barely escaped his mouth before how stupid he sounded hit his brain. They both knew the likelihood of anyone surviving the power of something that has been undisturbed for this long and then suddenly became supercharged, was very unlikely. Judging from what Tori hinted at last night, and what they knew about the monster thus far, it already had what it needed and was now just eating them up one by one, with only Tori and Jacob remaining. He hugged Tori tight and they both shared a moment, realizing how serious the situation before them was, literally life and death.<br/><br/>Tori?....What do you wanna doâ€¦.I mean honestlyâ€¦..We looked all over already, and we canâ€™t find Fish or Brandiâ€¦â€¦God only knows where Shanna and Greg are nowâ€¦â€¦What do you really wanna do hereâ€¦.This place is EVILâ€¦..EVILâ€¦â€¦.We need to leaveâ€¦.walkâ€¦.swimâ€¦.DO WHAT EVER THE FUCK WE GOTTA DO â€¦.I MEAN SHITâ€¦EVERYONE I KNOWâ€¦other than youâ€¦..MIGHT BE FUCKING DEADâ€¦.OR POSSESSEDâ€¦OR GOD KNOWS WHAT....all I am asking you is, it worth it? Should we just pack up and try our fucking chances marching through the fucking wilderness, till we find fucking civilizationâ€¦â€¦Tell me Tori, cause for the life of meâ€¦.I canâ€™t think of a smarter optionâ€¦..This is getting fucking crazyâ€¦.I donâ€™t wanna dieâ€¦..I know  when I was young and didnâ€™tâ€™ give a shit, this stuff mightâ€™ve seemed fun, but now â€¦..shit I donâ€™t knowâ€¦.I am thinkingâ€¦maybe I might love youâ€¦.shit that sounds totally stalkerishâ€¦.sorryâ€ Jacob trailed off, embarrassed by his own honesty, â€œIts just that I donâ€™t want us to â€¦.end hereâ€¦.I want moreâ€¦.Promise me you will not give up on meâ€¦.Can you do that?â€ Jacob said, gaining personal momentum until he dragged himself and Tori out of the emotional gutter.  â€œCan you do that?â€