by Lee West
“Maybe we should take out Jeff for you! Then you’d have Kim to yourself!” Bruce laughed.
“No need. I’ll have Kim right under Jeff’s nose, and he won’t do a thing about it. You’ll see. The man is the living definition of a doormat!” said Chet with a laugh.
Jeff could hardly contain his rage. He fought the instinct to burst into the shed with fists blazing. Instead, he slowly and quietly worked his way out of the hiding spot. Once he felt certain to be out of earshot, he ran through the woods to his sleeping brother.
Mounting the steps in one leap, he burst through the door to the cabin. The others startled, sitting up immediately.
Jeff kneeled next to his brother and said, “You need to leave now. It’s not safe here.”
Joe rubbed his eyes, still half asleep. “What do you mean now?”
“I mean you guys have to get out of here—right now. I overheard Chet, Noland and Bruce. They plan to kill the three of you on the road back to the university tomorrow. You aren’t safe here!” said Jeff.
“Oh shit! We thought something like this might go down. We planned to leave early in the morning before they got up. Are you sure?” asked Mike.
“Yes. I’m certain. You need to leave or they’ll kill all three of you,” said Jeff.
“Come with us,” said Joe urgently.
After hearing the men laugh at his expense, Jeff wanted to leave the camp more than anything—but he knew he never would. “I can’t.”
“Why the hell not? Those guys are crazy, and they obviously don’t care about you!” said Joe, maybe a little too loud.
“Shh! You’ll wake Kim. I can’t leave because of her. She’ll never leave this place. She loves it. These are her people.”
“So? Leave her here and come with us. If they’d kill us, what makes you think Chet won’t come after you next?” asked Meg.
“I think he will come after me at some point, but I can’t leave her. She’s everything to me. I know that probably sounds crazy, but I can’t live in the world without her,” said Jeff.
Meg moved away from Jeff. She grabbed Joe’s hand and nudged him to get moving. “Sorry, Jeff, but if you’re not coming, we need to go,” she said. “Can you let us through the front gate?”
“I can’t. Chet has the only key. Besides, you can’t go through the front gate. They’ll have someone watching it. You have to go through the perimeter fence,” said Jeff.
“That’s easier said than done. We weren’t able to do it before,” said Mike.
Jeff tilted the shabby plaid reclining chair onto its side. He quickly lifted off the fabric covering the bottom of the chair to expose its innards. Inside the chair, he had hidden a cache of gear and weapons. There were several knives, a pair of compact bolt cutters, and a semiautomatic handgun. Everything had been neatly taped to the frame of the chair. He ripped the bolt cutters from their hiding spot and handed them to Joe. Then he replaced the fabric on the chair and placed it back in its upright position.
“Take those. You’ll need them to cut your way through the fencing. You should head to the right of my cabin. You’ll be traveling due north. Just before coming to the next cabin, head east through the forest until you see a clearing in the woods. Go through the clearing to the perimeter fence. There’s a stretch of fencing where the people on watch can’t see. It’s basically a no-man’s-land between watch standers. That’s the spot you should cut through. Then it’s a straight shot to the main road. You know your way back to the university from there.”
“Okay. Got it,” said Joe.
“Why do you have all this stuff?” asked Meg.
“I don’t trust that asshole Chet either. Once he locked the gate and held the key around his neck, I knew I needed to look out for the two of us. The bolt cutters ensured we could get out if needed. I brought the gun from home when we came to camp this year, even though weapons are strictly forbidden at the camp,” said Jeff.
“Let me guess, no one is allowed to have a weapon except Chet?” said Mike.
“Yes. He maintains the camp arsenal. When we hunt, he’s the only one who can take a shot. It slows us down, but he’s a good shot, so he gets it done.”
“I’ll bet he’s a good shot,” said Mike.
“Over the last few weeks, I’ve added the knives to my little arsenal. The others have always kept us at a distance, outside their circle. Kim doesn’t seem to notice, but it bothers me. I thought I’d make sure we had other options in case the shit hit the fan,” said Jeff.
Joe took Jeff by the shoulders and said, “Thanks, man. I don’t know what sort of crap storm our leaving will bring you, but I appreciate your loyalty. It means a lot to me.”
They hugged for a second; then Joe said, “You know where to find us if you change your mind.”
Jeff stood on the porch watching them as the darkness of the forest obscured their bodies. He wondered if he’d made the right decision.
— 22 —
Joe led the three of them past Jeff’s cabin, using the rough directions Jeff had hastily provided. Once they could see the second cabin, they needed to leave the main path and walk through the dense forest. Thick tree branches scraped against his face as he moved. With each step he worried they would go in the wrong direction, heading back to the camp instead of to the safety of the outside world.
“I can’t believe those guys intended to kill us!” said Mike.
“I can. That Chet guy scared me. He seemed crazy. The whole place is crazy, and so is my brother for staying. For the life of me, I don’t understand what he sees in Kim,” said Joe.
“We should’ve asked for the gun. I’d feel a lot better if we had a weapon,” said Mike.
“Me too. I thought of the same thing but then figured he might need it more than us. Poor guy,” said Joe.
They continued in silence for a few moments as they cut through the forest.
Finally Meg spoke. “Are you sure this is the right way?”
“No. I’m not at all sure. He really didn’t give us much to work with, and it’s pitch dark!” said Joe, exasperated.
“Hold up. Let’s use the flashlight for a second. We need to have a look around. I don’t want to run back into those guys!” said Mike.
They stopped and Mike turned on the high-powered flashlight for the first time since they left the cabin. They had previously relied upon the silvery glow provided by the moon for their trek. However, once they’d moved farther into the deep forest, the celestial illumination failed to pierce the thick overhead veil of branches. Mike fished his compass out of his breast pocket and then turned to Joe and Meg.
“Okay. Let’s see where we are,” he said.
“From what he said, we should have headed north and then due east. Right?” asked Joe.
“That’s what I heard him say too. I think,” said Meg, unsure.
“That’s the direction we’re going in, sort of. It’s more like northeast. I think we must be walking parallel to the fence. We need to turn that way in order to go due east,” said Mike, pointing.
He flashed the light in the direction they should walk. The trees appeared to have been clear-cut in the area of the forest just ahead of them. The bright eyes of two animals glared back at them in the beam cast by the flashlight.
“Looks like we interrupted their dinner party,” said Meg.
Mike stomped his feet and continued to blast the animals with the bright beam of his flashlight until they scampered off into the forest.
“Let’s go. This must be the clearing he mentioned,” said Joe.
“Can we use the light a little longer? I really don’t want to walk into their dinner,” said Meg. “Or become dinner.”
“Me neither,” said Mike.
He led them across the clearing toward the exterior fence.
“What the hell? Holy crap!’” Mike yelled a little too loudly.
“What is it? We need to keep it down!” said Joe in a loud whisper.
Mike pointed the flashlight to
the ground and slowly swept it over the clearing. Body parts littered the entire area. Dirty articles of clothing clung to bones of various sizes. A skull had been dislodged from its body, the face partially eaten by the animals. The bodies of at least twenty people were strewn across the ground as though hastily dumped.
“Joe—” said Meg as she grabbed hold of his arm.
She retched and then vomited loudly onto the ground. The meager contents of her stomach mixed with the body parts at her feet, causing Joe to glance down at his own feet. He realized that he stood on a femur, not a thick stick as he’d assumed. Whoever had hidden the bodies out there had not even bothered to dig adequate graves. The light dusting of soil put over the corpses did nothing to deter even the laziest scavengers.
“Come on. We need to keep moving or we’ll end up in the pile,” said Mike, urging them forward.
Meg finished emptying the contents of her stomach. She just stood still, seemingly unable to move.
“Come on. He’s right. We need to keep moving. Can you walk?” Joe asked her kindly.
She shook her head and straightened up. “I need to get out of here! I saw a little hand over there!”
The three moved as quickly as possible through the shallow graves. They tried to avoid the decaying flesh and bones as much as possible. However, the crunching under their feet indicated their efforts failed.
Images of Jeff being killed and dumped in a shallow grave tormented Joe.
“What about Jeff? I can’t just leave him here. This is far worse than we could have imagined. What if they kill him? It’ll be all my fault!” said Joe, stopping suddenly.
“I’m not going back and neither are you. Your brother knows what he’s dealing with. If he truly had no clue, then he wouldn’t have stockpiled weapons. There’s no way we can go back now. It would be a death sentence. Besides, Jeff isn’t the only one who needs you,” said Mike, glancing at Meg.
Meg looked shaken and weak. She walked slowly, with effort, trying not to step on body parts. The three of them would need each other to survive fleeing the camp.
“Shit. What am I thinking? Sorry. I’m just freaking out. You’re right. We need to keep moving. Going back will just get us killed.”
After leaving the clearing, they again had to make their way through the forest toward the outer fence.
“Do you think the other campers know about the graves?” asked Meg quietly.
“I’ve been wondering that too,” said Joe.
He held her hand as best he could as they walked the uneven terrain.
“My guess is that people have no idea what their fearless leader Chet is up to. Remember your brother said this area of the fencing is obscured from the watchers? I think Chet did that on purpose so that he could hide his dirty deeds right under their noses,” said Mike.
Mike slowed and then stopped. He checked the compass one more time to verify they continued to travel in the right direction. Then he swept the flashlight beam across the area up ahead of them. The tall, imposing fence sat within their sight.
— 23 —
Jeff stood on the porch of their cabin for a few moments after the others left. He could not convince himself to go back inside to lie down. Everything about the camp had changed for him in a matter of a few seconds. The fact that Chet and his henchmen would kill his brother caused a visceral response in his body. He wanted more than anything to flee the camp. However, his love for Kim kept him firmly in place in spite of everything. Finally he resigned himself to lying back down. Nothing would be gained by brooding alone on the porch. Sleep would never come, he knew that, but at least he could rest.
He crept into the bedroom as quietly as he could. Once inside, he closed the door softly. A stirring in their bed indicated that Kim had heard his arrival.
“What are you doing?” she said.
“Nothing. Go back to sleep. It’s the middle of the night.”
“I know it’s the middle of the night. Why were you out there?”
“I just needed some air. That’s all. I stepped out onto the porch. Go back to sleep.”
Kim would frequently give him the third degree when his answers didn’t satisfy her. He hated that about her.
“You were gone for an awfully long time for just getting air,” she said with a hint of suspicion.
He sat on the side of the bed, contemplating his options. He did not want to lie to her, but on the other hand, he did not trust her enough to tell her the truth. The others needed more time to get away from the camp before anyone knew they left. The bed creaked under his weight as he reclined. She moved toward him, nestling into his chest. He relaxed a little as her inquiry seemed to come to an end. Suddenly she sat bolt upright and looked at him.
“What is it? Are you okay?” he asked.
“You’re all sweaty! Why would you be sweaty if you were just standing on the deck? What really happened? Where were you?” she demanded forcefully.
Sitting up, he grabbed her tightly by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. In the dim light of the room he could see that no traces of sleep remained on her beautiful face. She had been up for a while, possibly overhearing everything that had transpired between him and Joe.
“I couldn’t sleep, so I went out for air.”
“You said that already.”
“Let me finish. I walked over to the Center, intending to look at the stars for a while until I got sleepier. While I was there, I saw Bruce and Noland head into Chet’s shed.”
“Really? Alone? They aren’t allowed to be there.”
“That’s what I thought, so I moved to a spot that would allow me to spy on them. Well, unknown to me, Chet was already inside. He told them to go pretend to go with Joe and the others to the university, and kill the three of them after they left the camp! He ordered those guys to murder my brother!”
She sat there silently listening to him. Nothing on her calm face betrayed her thoughts as he told her his story.
“Bullshit! You didn’t hear that right. There’s no way they’d be talking about doing anything of the sort,” she finally said.
“I know it’s crazy. I probably wouldn’t believe it either unless I heard them myself. Chet is so intent on not allowing anyone to know where the camp is that he’d rather kill my only brother than allow the camp’s location to get out. It’s wacked.”
Her face contorted into a tight grimace of anger as she stiffened under his hands. “At least he’s doing something to survive around here. You just sit around and let everyone else take care of things at the camp. You’ve never wanted to be here. Now everyone hates us because of you!”
She pulled herself away from him and got out of bed. In a flash she threw on a pair of jeans and a different T-shirt in a hasty effort to get dressed.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m leaving. I’m going to talk to Chet to clear this up. It’s just a misunderstanding. I’m sure you got everything wrong, like you usually do. Chet will tell me the truth.”
“No! Don’t go out there. I heard what I heard. You have to believe me!” he said desperately.
Jeff wanted to prevent her from leaving the bedroom and discovering they had left. Based on her reaction, she would likely tell Chet his newest victims had made a run for it.
He grabbed her hand and said, “Don’t go out there. Stay here with me. We need to talk.”
He desperately tried to at least stall her. The others needed more time to make it out of the camp alive. Jerking her hand away, she glared at him with a rage he’d never seen before. He instantly realized that he had made the wrong decision. He should have left her and gone with his brother. Kim showed herself to be just as crazy as the others. Maybe she always had been and he refused to see it.
“I forbid you to go!” he shouted at her.
He attempted to block her by stepping in front of the door, but she pushed him aside—forcefully moving past him.
“You forbid me to go? Really? I don’t know what I ever saw in y
ou!” she screamed as she stepped out of the bedroom.
Once in the sitting area, she stopped. He could see her slim form standing in the center of the room, looking around.
“Where are they?” she said, turning to him. “Where the fuck are they!”
“They’re gone. Far from here. I should’ve gone too, but I stayed for you!” he said, pleading to her. “I love you.”
“That was your mistake.”
She flung open the door and ran out of the cabin.
— 24 —
Kim ran as fast as she could to Chet’s house. He lived in the main house a few hundred feet outside the Center. As with the manager’s shed, he never allowed anyone into his private home. He said he needed space to call his own. Despite his rule, one day when Jeff was working on the farm, Chet had pulled her aside and brought her to the house. As she walked through the rooms with him, she imagined herself as the lady of the house at Chet’s side. Her marriage and loyalty to Jeff had been long forgotten, as her crush on Chet grew stronger by the day.
Jeff had lied to her about Chet’s intentions. Chet would never murder anyone; he only wanted to survive and keep the campers safe. Jeff had simply overheard them talking about something else and made the connection in an odd way to his brother. She would prove him wrong.
“Chet! Chet!” she yelled as she knocked loudly on the door.
No one answered, so she stood listening at the door for several moments.
“You looking for me?” said Chet from behind her.
He stood on the front walk, looking up at her, his rugged features outlined by the moon. Her attraction to him grew as he approached.
“They left!” she yelled.
“Who left? Get ahold of yourself! For shit’s sake, you’re hysterical,” he grumbled.
“Joe, Meg and that other guy! They all left. Jeff thought he heard you telling Noland and Bruce to kill them. I know that was wrong. He’s such a fool. I don’t know what I ever saw in him. I left him to find you!” she said, moving toward him.
