Chuck had been sure that Blair's driver (or Serena's) would respond, but when she, too, shook her head, Chuck's heart began to pound furiously. Suddenly, the "odd situation" they were in had been upgraded to "living nightmare." What could possibly have caused all of these people to simultaneously fail to respond? He hadn't thought too hard about the epidemic plaguing the students, but now... now it all seemed too convenient, like a dream where everything was just a little off, just a little wrong.
A flicker of hope flared in his chest as they hurried toward Serena's car, but even he caught a glimpse of the shadowy figures in the front seat just as Blair slid in. Why were there two of them?
That question was answered in short order in the form of Blair's scream, and although Chuck had already started around the other side of the car, he instinctively jerked back to pull her out, catching the smallest glimpse of the bloody creature as he did. He just stared for a moment, frozen in fear as the blood-curdling sound of a moan escaped the creature's lips, but he regained his senses just quickly enough to jump away before the creature had managed to struggle out of the car.
"RUN!" Chuck ordered, but despite his powerful instinct to flee, he still tugged at Blair's arm. "Shoes off, Blair," he commanded. "We have to get out of here."