Death Head Valley

by David Charlesworth

  She quelled her voice and ran! She swung to her left, back towards the camp. She'd rally the troops and get out of there, then call the cops. She was smarter than to try and let them tackle this by themselves. They'd be back; with cops and helicopters and guns. She rushed through the woods, clambering the slopes and darting between the trees and over rocks, much like the speeding force she had imagined chasing her before. Roots threatened to snag her feet, branches tried to clothesline her, anything to let the lunatic at her back catch up, but she was not about to let that happen. No matter how thick and fast the obstacles came at her, so long as she kept herself aware she'd...

  She passed a spear. However it was not in the hands of a killer. It was driven into the ground at a forty-five degree angle, its deadly tip aimed upwards and outwards.

  Realisation hit her all too late. The killer had lined a proximity of spears on the path back towards the camp, counting on her running full bore into the field of traps they had set. And like clockwork she did just that. She could not stop, and her momentum ran her into another spearhead.

  What little breath she had was knocked from her as the cruel implement punched through her belly, driving straight through her abdomen, and bursting out of her back between her lower ribs.

  Her mouth filled with blood which sluiced out over her lips, soaking her chin as she retched and coughed. Her legs bucked slightly and she slipped further down onto the makeshift stake, tearing her guts even further. She gripped the spear, trying to pull herself off it, but the pain and the slick shaft prevented her from managing to move more than an inch.

  She heard feet casually approach from behind. 'Why?' she tried to say, but the word was garbled and just brought more blood pouring from between her now red teeth. She wanted to see her killer, to see the monster who had brought such a cruel end to her life before she had fully bloomed and emerged from her chrysalis. She wanted to look them in the eye, then spit in it.

  The killer did not grant her that satisfaction though. Instead she felt something strike her hard between the shoulder blades. The spear pushing through her, crossing by the one that had punctured her guts. The second spear passed through her and deep into the soil below.

  Unable to slide down either shaft now she let go of the spike as the last of her life left her body. And there she died, pinned to the earth like a sample butterfly on a lepidopterists display board.

  9.

  Annie and Donovan reached the quarry later than expected, the valley was deceptively larger than what the maps had led them to believe. They had driven up a steep and winding path which criss-crossed the river via wooden bridges that appeared to be on the verge of collapse. They had left the valley floor behind long ago and to their right, every so often, they caught a glimpse of the staggering drop that was lined by the canopy of trees below. It was an impressive sight, but Donovan knew there were better to be had.

  The path evened out finally and led to a clearing where the woods had been decimated. Stumps and ancient, felled trees littered the ground. The quarry workers would have cut them down long ago. Lumber littered the ground, unused and rotten. It was still swollen and bloated from the rains that had swept the valley a few days ago. Folks in the town proper had worked the quarry, but the trek out was arduous and in its heyday the place was a popular destination for those seeking work, so more housing had to be built, and why not build it in the valley itself? Donovan had seen the shanty town on Google maps, it was on the far side of the quarry. They decided they would gather the rest of the gang tomorrow, maybe, and go exploring.

  To their left a waterfall thundered into a large lake. It cascaded down the sheer mountain face of Alan (or was it Allan?) through a large, jagged crack that looked like a child's representation of lightning. They gazed up at the ragged cliff face, mottled with green where nature had found root in its unforgiving and brutal nooks and crannies. It was the outer side of the quarry. Perhaps, given time, the workers would have expanded and the entire cliff side they stood on would have been a large, gaping wound into the side of the mountain.

  'Looks like we're walking,' Annie said.

  Leading up to the top of the quarries outer rim was a trail that led through a natural canyon of sorts. A steep path nestled between the rock and had been lain with wood and gravel. They left the SUV and followed it up, through a ragged pass and onto the flat plateau above. Once they were level they could see the yawning hole that had been blasted into the side of the mountain, then down into the earth. Normally quarries are miles long with gradually dropping paths for trucks and excavators, but this one had steep, ringed paths that led down to boarded over orifices just above the waterline. They could see now that the river originally ran around the quarry. The old guy in town had said there had been an accident, but it looked like the ground between the water and the man-made fissure had been intentionally blown away to flood the place. However, nature always found a way and the quarry maintained a relatively even depth as the excess poured out of the crack they had seen.

  They approached the edge and peered over the lip and into the dark, sightless depths of the pool below. The water was clear, yet the sunlight barely pierced further than a few feet before being extinguished by the depths.

  'What were they mining?' Annie asked.

  'No idea. And why didn't they just mine it out? Why a quarry?'

  Neither of them were geologists though, all they had was baseless speculation and the quarry was not the real reason they were there anyway. Donovan turned around and looked back, over the valley. THAT was why they were here.

  He called for Annie to join him at the edge of the plateau. She made her way over to him, stepping over the large cracks and jagged edges that made up the floor.

  'It's beautiful,' she said.

  A sea of trees stretched out before them, the river snaking into them and disappearing from sight. The green vista reached out across the valley, and they could just about see the plains they had driven across on the horizon. She gazed up at the mountains, the atmosphere misted, their peaks faded in the distance of the lower atmosphere.

  Donovan couldn't take his eyes off her face. Her expression as she took in the view was magical. She caught him staring.

  'What are you doing? That's weird. You're weird.'

  'But that's why you love me,' he smiled.

  'Sure. And you're super handsome.'

  The ring was hot against his skin. Slick too from his nervous touch. His stomach wanted to purge itself, but there was nothing to expel. He had skipped breakfast for that reason specifically. He pulled the band out and kept it tight in his fist as he turned to face Annie front on, she followed his lead, wanting to embrace in front of the natural beauty of the valley. They kissed knowing they would remember this moment for the rest of their lives.

  'Annie...' he said, their lips parting. The taste of her working like a sedative, calming his nerves and stopping the shake in his legs. He took to one knee.

  'Oh my god,' she whispered.

  He reached into his fist with his spare hand and held up the plain ring. He had a whole spiel about it being simple, just like the love he felt for her. Simple and easy, natural, the way it was supposed to be. But the words didn't come, nor did they need to.

  'Yes!' she cried out, wrapping her arms around him as they kissed again.

  He slipped the ring onto her finger and she held her hand out. It was loose. He had never bought a ring before, never even thought about them. He especially never thought about resizing them, nor did he think about the fact his mother had been a burly, thick woman. And, as Annie moved her hand, the ring fell from her finger and bounced off the stone floor, towards the quarry mouth.

  A howl of panic ripped from Annie's throat as she raced after the ring, Donovan following in hot pursuit.

  It struck the ground, letting out a high pitched ring, then again with each consecutive bounce, putting more distance between it and its pursuers with each strike. Its momentum slowed and, just before the looming
chasm where it would be lost forever in the dark waters below, it skittered and began to roll, before slipping into a crack in the rocky floor.

  Annie cried again, all but throwing herself across the coarse ground and reaching into the dark crevice to fish out the lost jewellery.

  'Watch you fingers!' Donovan called out.

  'It's alright. There's...'

  Her voice trailed off as she pulled out a large, faded pin badge. She held onto it and plunged her other hand back into the hole, retrieving the precious ring which she then slipped snugly onto her thumb.

  'Thank God,' Donovan said. 'That's my mom's.'

  'I'll keep it on here until we get home. Then we can get it fitted properly. I love you,' She said as they hugged. Then added, 'Your moms? Oh my God, Don... I can't believe it.'

  'It's not too corny, is it?'

  She didn't respond, instead throwing herself into him once again.

  'What else did you find?' he asked when they finally pulled away from one another.

  She held up the badge. It was almost as big as her palm and was decorated with cartoon balloons and presents. The colour was all but gone and the metal that held the plastic coating in place was solid brown with rust. She rubbed a finger across the muck encrusted surface and read the message out loud, 'Connor. “Eight” today.'

  'Some kid lost his birthday badge up here, huh?'

  'Yeah,' she replied quietly. 'A long time ago.'

  The drunk from town had mentioned a Connor, hadn't he? He saw his family die and grew up in the valley, feral, taking his revenge on anyone who came near.

  She shuddered, even in the warmth of the afternoon sun.

  'You ok?' Donovan asked. 'You've gone pale.'

  She didn't know what to say. She didn't want to sully the proposal and Donovan would think she was mad for believing the ramblings of the town drunk. After all, the badge was at least twenty years old, if not more. How could a child have survived out here that long? If there was any truth to that story, (and there had to be, she held the proof there in her hand) then the resolution was one of a tragic loss of life. A child's family, then the kid himself, dying of exposure or hunger. It wasn't the origins of some campfire bogeyman. Even so, she felt unwell thinking about it.

  'We should head back,' she said, unable to hide her fear.

  Try as she might, she couldn't hide the fact she was terrified from Donovan, and every five minutes he would ask if it was the proposal that had knocked her sick. The car was cruising back down the path and she found herself staring at the trees that whipped by with a new sense of dread. They didn't fight much, usually when drunk and over petty things, but she could feel a fire building inside her, mixing with the dread and fuelled by the wrongness that badge had brought about in her world view.

  Donovan drew breath and Annie's fingers pulled up into fists, she was ready to scream, but instead he swore.

  'SHIT!'

  His leg began pumping the brake pedal, but the car didn't slow.

  'The brakes!' he cried out.

  The SUV continued to roll down the gentle decline before thumping into the low point of a dip, hopping over it and coming to a sudden, jolting stop as they bumped into a tree. It was barely a fender bender.

  'Jesus Christ!' Annie said, hopping out of the car.

  Donovan followed and fell to the floor, checking under the car.

  'Brake lines have snapped.'

  Annie felt that dread inside her well again, she felt like throwing up.

  'Don, we have to get out of here!'

  'Not going anywhere with the brakes shot. There's some way steeper paths than this one. Unless you want to slowly cruise down, pumping the handbrake, but that'd fuck it-'

  'Who cut them, Don?' she asked, pleading. How could he be so calm?

  'Cut them? Nobody. Probably got snagged on a sharp rock or... why would someone cut them?'

  'Connor,' she finally admitted. 'Don't you remember the old guy in town?'

  'I thought his name was Jimbo or something.'

  'No! Don! He said there was a crazy guy in the woods called Connor. He cut our brakes!'

  'Hey now... hey,.' Donovan cooed, wrapping his arms around the trembling Annie. 'Crazy old guy was drunk as hell. Just trying to scare us for shits and giggles. God knows there's nothing else for them to do around here.

  'And look,' he continued, 'if it was this “Connor” the “mad man of the woods”. Would he know how to cut a brake line? And if he did, then what was he expecting? He's been watching too many movies if he was expecting us to blow up or something. They always keep their foot on the gas in films, you just let off the accelerator and let the car come to a stop. Y'know, unless you live in San Francisco on those crazy steep roads. Worse case scenario we would have been banged up a bit.'

  'Banged up a bit? And that's fine, is it?' she yelped. He started strong with putting her at ease but fumbled the ball at the end.

  'I didn't say that, Annie...' he held her out at arms length, and stared into her watering eyes. 'It was a creepy coincidence, I swear. That's all. Nobody out here but us and that idiot survivalist. But you heard how he was set up, just some dumb kid playing in the woods. We'll hike back down to camp, get Bilbo to fish out a repair kit and tomorrow he can drive us back out here and we'll go home early, if that's what you want? Ok?'

  She nodded, but could not shake the terrible feeling something was wrong... and in his heart of hearts, Donovan felt the same way.

  10.

  Night had come. The stars lit the tree tops, but not the spaces between them, and no-one had returned to camp. Kevin paced the perimeter with a warm, untouched beer clamped in his hand.

  'You're making me dizzy,' Bilbo said, blanket tucked up under his chin.

  'You're not sleeping out here tonight, right?' Kev asked.

  'Sure. Why not?'

  'You'll freeze! You've got a nice tent there and an inflatable mattress.'

  'No, it's good. It's good. I'm comfy, there's enough fuel for the fire.' He unhooked an arm from his coccoon and shook the stolen gas can. 'It's good. I'm going to smoke under the stars.'

  Kevin approached and sat down with him, putting the beer aside and grabbing a new one. It was not easy to forget about five missing people, even when talking to the big guy who had the ability to wrap you up in his little world.

  'I have a theory that dreaming under the stars will make your dreams richer,' Bilbo said with a nod, widening his eyes to get his point across.

  'Guess there'll only be one way to find out. But seriously, dude, don't try putting that gas on the fire. Just stick to the wood.'

  'I know, man. I was just joking.'

  Bilbo reached forward with his extended spatula and placed a burger on the grill over the fire and nodded for more kindling, which Kevin added. The flames leapt as the fat sluiced from the meat and landed amongst the embers.

  Kevin turned and glanced back out into the void that surrounded them, unable to shake the dread that had wrapped itself tight around his spine.

  'Can't get lost here,' Bilbo said, trying to ease his friend's troubled mind. 'They'll all be back when they're back. Can't get lost here, not really. The valley is wide, sure, but you just have to look up at the mountains to tell if you're getting deeper into it. Annie and Donny are probably screwin' man. Want to get it out their system before they get back to camp. Don't want us hearing them.'

  'I guess.'

  'Same with your friend and Zoe.'

  Kevin grunted.

  'You cool with that?' Bilbo asked. 'You're not jealous or anything? I knew Philly had a thing for Zoe. That lil' homie just needs some space.'

  'No, I'm not jealous. Zoe isn't my type,' Kevin said. It was true as well. He'd never admit to it, but he was slightly jealous but not of Anton hooking up with Zoe though. The thing was... Anton was his friend. He missed him and was slightly perturbed by the idea Anton might forget about him altogether if things got serious.

  'Chicks dig that goth look, huh?' Bilbo said, balanc
ing his burger on his long spatula, trying to flip it onto a bun. 'You going to start painting your face white?'

  'You telling me to white myself up? Not cool, dude,' Kevin smiled, playing Bilbo's game.

  'I meant like a Dracula goth, asshole.'

  'I know. And no, I'm not going to dress like a Dracula.'

  Bilbo finished his burger and lit another joint, passing it to Kevin who had a toke.

  'So what's with you and Anton, man?' Bilbo asked.

  'What do you mean?'

  'You two are getting real close. Just didn't know you were so into that heavy metal shit.'

  'It's just different, I guess... you know, you grow up and people expect certain things for your life for you. Know what I mean? Like my brother, Thomas. He calls himself “Tommy-Gun” now. Thinking he's part of that whole gangster rap scene. Like he's from Compton or The Bronx or some shit. I've never seen a real “Gangster” in my life.'

  'What do you mean, you're talking to one right now!' Bilbo grinned.

  Kevin laughed and carried on.

  'I mean, I love it, the music and all that. It's great and I get it, but it's not my life. Not mine and Tommy's lives. I've held one gun in my life and that was at a rifle range at some dumb life-camp thing our parents sent us to. I don't “pop caps”. I don't “pimp” and I only occasionally smoke “dank kush.”'

  'Nothing wrong with some kush now.'

  'I'm not saying it's a bad thing.'

  'I think I get it, man,' Bilbo said, blowing a huge plume of smoke out of his nose. 'This world is an ice cream parlour. There's a thousand different flavours and combination of flavours, and if you're real lucky sometimes it's an “all you can eat” kinda day. But you feel your Tommy is limiting himself to only having Rocky Road with walnuts and you feel people expect you to do the same. But you want some of the real weird Ben & Jerry shit, like fish flavour or something.'

  Kevin laughed again.

  'Sure! Something like that. Sure. What about you? What flavour you after?'

  'Man, I don't give a shit so long as it has sprinkles, sherbet and strawberry syrup,' Bilbo said, his head almost bisecting as he grinned.