by Lauren Wood
“We paid them money to hunt us like animals. They admitted they have been doing this for over five years. Nobody has caught them. They go back to their lives after everything is said and done like nothing happened. Returning to the scene of the crime every year is sick and demented. They don’t have any conscience.” I had a compass, but it couldn’t tell me what direction to go to find civilization.
We were one step away from being dead and gone. I felt like crawling into a hole and dying. The more I thought about it the more I understood there was no way that I could look back. I was trying to see the light by pushing the darkness back, but it wasn’t easy when the threat of death was looming over my head.
I searched my many pockets in my cargo pants and cargo vest. I had the means to make a fire, but that would only attract their attention. I’d done my research on the area to know the temperatures dipped below freezing at night during this time of year.
“How can they do this to another human being? They have the advantage. We don’t know the area.” I knew enough to know there was a stream running through the mountains.
Montana was a labyrinth of different bicycle paths and hiking trails. I tried to remember what I had read on the map. I should have known something was wrong by how Peter was quite adamant that they knew where they were going. He didn’t want me to have any forewarned knowledge about the area in question.
“We can’t stay here and debate this. Our best line of defense is to keep moving and not look back. We stay away from the river. It’s the first place they are going to think to look for us. Making it easy on them is going to turn us into the frightened prey they want. I have this knife, but I can only use it if we can get close enough to pick them off one at a time.” I didn’t consider myself a fighter, but I was learning the hard way what I was capable of when push came to shove.
“I don’t have anything to defend myself. I’m guessing you don’t have another one of those knives.” I shook my head and I really didn’t think that I was going to have an occasion to use it during the trip.
It was mostly a crutch to give me a false sense of security. Those three men were not the only problem we had to deal with. The wildlife in the area could be unforgiving to strangers. Testing our limits by tackling a bear was going to make us into its breakfast.
“Nobody really knows what they are going to do until a certain situation reveals itself.” Stephanie was scared and it was up to me to push her past her endurance.
“I certainly wasn’t expecting to be a hero in this story. We are going to have to fight whether we want to or not. They are going to find that killing us is going to be a challenge.” I imagined what the knife would look like plunged deeply into Peter’s chest
I wanted to see the look of stunned surprise that he had seen on his first victim.
The driving force to survive was to see him on his knees begging for his life. Peter was the instigator and like a pied piper had brought together those of like mind into his close-knit group of friends. He was blurring the lines of what it meant to be a hunter. He probably found no challenge in something that couldn’t fight back.
“I’m through with this pity party. You’re not the only one that is going to rise up over their oppressors. We will do this together. It would be nice to get my hands on one of their weapons. I can shoot with the expertise of a marksman. I just need a target and it appears I have three of them.” The shock had worn off and was replaced by this defiant fire in her eyes.
I heard a gunshot and it was closer than I would have liked. It was tempting to go back and render aid to anybody that was fighting for their lives. I couldn’t put myself in their sights without having a plan. I had this fever burning up inside of me for revenge. This bloodlust to see them suffer was hard to ignore. I could see that Stephanie was suffering from the same affliction.
We didn’t follow any set path and crashed through the foliage trying to stay one step ahead of them. I could feel the branches slapping against my face cutting my cheek and fueling my rage even more.
“We both know what that noise meant. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I can say with some degree of certainty that I’m not going to beg for my life. They will find me spitting in their face before I admit defeat.” I was using my words to feed Stephanie the necessary motivation to keep going.
It was a good thing we were in shape. There were still moments where we had to stop and catch our second wind. I had already hit the wall and gone through to the other side. The stitch in my side was gone replaced with marathon endurance.
“They don’t want to capture us alive for any kind of ransom. They want the pleasure of seeing us cower in fear. They probably would have gotten their wish had you not been around to shake some sense into me.” Stephanie was stronger then she gave herself credit for, but I was happy to do my part to give her the necessary strength to carry on.
I was building up this immunity from the fear running through my veins. I was never going to give them the satisfaction of acting like a damsel in distress. Running wasn’t the answer. It was exactly what we were expected to do. I needed some time to orchestrate some kind of attack. I stood to lose my life, but I wasn’t going to go down without a fight.
Vultures were circling overhead obviously waiting for their supper to stop breathing. They were giving away our position. One look skyward and the hunters would know where to find us. It would’ve been nice to fire off a shot to scare them, but we didn’t have that luxury.
“I don’t know where this came from, but I like this newfound strength inside of me.” It wouldn’t surprise me to learn they were master trackers, but that meant that we had to keep moving.
Slowing down for any length of time was going to end badly for the both of us. I grabbed her chin with my two fingers and made her look at me. I didn’t have to say one word and she understood staying in one place was a detriment to our health.
“I don’t think that I could have done this without you. I know myself better than anybody. I would have pleaded for mercy and appealed to their humanity. They would have laughed in my face.” I wondered if killing us was the first thing they would do.
We were the only two females in the group making us vulnerable to a different sort of attack. They were brutes and would probably treat us like possessed cattle. Bending to their will would have broken us. They wouldn’t get the chance. I would gnash at their skin and tear at their face with my fingernails making my death quick.
The sun was going down, but I was foolish to think that the darkness and shadows were going to be our friends. We needed to find shelter and somewhere we could regain our composure.
We forged ahead, but it felt like somebody was watching us. It was probably paranoia setting in. I looked around and found nothing to indicate somebody else was in the vicinity. It didn’t mean that there wasn’t anyone.
“I don’t know if this means anything, but I haven’t heard anything in quite some time. There were eight of us in total. Counting the one that was shot as an example; I would say that we have the numbers on our side. It’s too bad the others weren’t thinking with the analytical side of their brains.” I had many regrets in my life, but my friendship with Stephanie wasn’t one of them.
We had met at a company function. I couldn’t get over how flirtatious she could be with the opposite sex. I found myself gravitating to her. I wanted to learn at the feet of the master how to manipulate a man with words and brief glimpses of flesh. We had many things in common including a childhood that was born from bullying.
They broke the mold when they made her. It was liberating to show off my natural beauty. The makeup she put on me was a battle cry to warn the other ladies that we were coming out to paint the town red. That was the time for them to lock up their boyfriends and husbands.
“That only means they haven’t used their guns. They might find it more sporting to sneak up on their quarry and slice their throats. I can’t even believe those words are coming out of my mouth. I h
ave no interest in dying drowning in my own blood.” She did give me pause for thought.
“This whole thing has been far more shocking than anything I’ve ever known before. I don’t want to think about those unfortunate souls that have already lost their lives.” I wasn’t going to let them intimidate me, but then I heard the unmistakable sound of a twig snapping behind me.
“It looks like I’ve found myself a couple of little birds.” The voice wasn’t coming from behind us, but from the backpack over my shoulder.
They knew where we were at any given time because they had planted something in the backpack to keep us from getting too far away.
“You are conniving bastards. I was under the impression this was going to be sporting. Imagine my surprise that you have been waiting for the right time to strike. You should be ashamed of your actions. What would your mother say if she could see you now?” I realized my mistake too late and heard the bullet coming out of the chamber.
My words had always been more powerful, but this time they had an unintended side effect. Stephanie fell to her knees and she looked at me before she collapsed in a pool of her own blood.
“My mother is a saint. You shouldn’t have used her name in vain. I was going to have a bit of fun with you, but killing you slowly is better.” The first shot spun me around with the impact to my shoulder.
I was going to die because I didn’t think of everything.
Chapter three
The taste in my mouth was like acid on the tip of my tongue. I had made a mistake and being too cocky had cost me my friend’s life. I was on my knees and he had a hold of my hair making me look at him. The muzzle of his rifle was moving around my lips and I could feel the heat of the barrel after it had already gone off once.
He was a hypocrite for thinking that he was above the law. My vision was cloudy with the blood loss seeping through my fingers. Something was behind him.
I heard the crack of bone breaking. The gun against my lips fell lazily onto the ground. The man himself was twisted in a way that didn’t seem humanly possible. He was lifted into the air and tossed like a bag of garbage into a nearby tree.
I thought it was a bear and I was going to be its next victim. I didn’t know of any animal that wore tight blue jeans and a black and red checkered plaid shirt. His beard covered his face with a masculine mask. His green eyes gave me the impression he was some kind of wild and feral cat.
He knelt on the ground and ripped open my shirt to expose my wound. He produced a piece of cloth and pressed it against my flesh to stanch the blood. He inspected both sides with medical efficiency.
“My name is Logan. I don’t know what’s going on, but maybe you can fill me in on the way. I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner to save your friend. I’ve never seen anybody look into the eyes of death and laugh. The bullet went clean through with mostly tissue and muscle damage. Can you walk on your own or do I have to carry you?” I couldn’t say a word, but I did manage to stand up by holding onto his physically demanding form.
“I don’t think it has hit me yet. I know she’s gone, but I can’t believe it.” I told him my name.
“Give me a moment. I don’t think your friend’s death should be in vain.” He took off his shirt exposing the many scars on his hairy body.
He was digging with his bare hands and I was leaning against a rock admiring the flexing of his muscles. He was making some kind of hole right in front of the prone form of Stephanie. It was maybe a foot deep when he was finished. I didn’t notice the backpack over his shoulder. He took out a spool of wire and attached it to two trees.
Somebody was going to come looking for their friend and stumble over that wire going face first into the hole he had dug. He proved to be quite resilient but the only thing I could think about was how my fingers would feel running down over his body.
He disappeared and I was afraid that he was going to leave me to fend for myself. I couldn’t move and my limbs were frozen with the shock that hadn’t worn off. He returned with a bundle of sticks he was turning into deadly implements with this knife in his hand. He stuck them in the hole and covered it with leaves and thin branches.
I didn’t have to give him any emotional feedback. I think what I was feeling was easily seen by the way that I was undressing him with my eyes. I believed in what I could see with my own eyes. I had to bury my grief. There would be time to relive those memories and give her a proper sendoff.
“That will teach them not to play in my sandbox. I moved here to get out of the rat race and to stop the noise in my head. I feel like I’m back in the jungle hunting my enemies. They are fools playing a deadly game they can’t win. They’re gonna learn the hard way not to mess with a wounded animal.” I yelped in surprise when he lifted me onto his shoulder and began moving quickly without getting out of breath.
I lifted my eyes to where my friend’s body lay motionless. I was deeply saddened by her loss. The revenge I had in my heart to make them pay had grown with the pain in my shoulder a reminder that I should never underestimate them.
“I want to kill them with my own hands. My face is the last one they are going to see before they close their eyes for the final time. I know you can give me the tools to make that happen. Will you do this for the memory of my friend?” They had made it personal and I was going to make them pay the ultimate price.
“I can kill them for you, but I can see this is not going to give you the satisfaction you’re looking for. I can show you a few moves. I feel responsible for what happened to your friend. I saw him pull the trigger and my heart sank. I was trying to sneak up on him, but I wasn’t expecting you to disparage his mother’s name.” I was to blame and it fell on my shoulders to avenge her death with my bare hands around their throat.
“There are three of them. You took out one of them.” The ease which he had dispatched his enemy was unnerving.
“I have this feeling the leader isn’t going to be stupid enough to fall into my trap. He will be bloodthirsty and direct his wrath at you. There’s no way that he can know about me, but it won’t be long before he figures it out. How did you come to be in this position? I thought I was alone. The solitude has given me a new perspective.” He was climbing this incline and my added weight didn’t seem to faze him.
“Peter Winter is probably not even his real name. This was supposed to be a friendly camping trip. My instincts were telling me something was wrong, but I chose to ignore them. I won’t be doing that again anytime soon.” His name was forever tattooed on my tongue and I cursed his name with hatred festering inside me.
“The one thing we have that is worth more than any material object is how we can determine what feels right and what feels wrong. We were born with the uncanny ability to sense danger, but the years of being spoiled buried it deep inside of us. It was awakened when I was called into action.” The terrain was dangerous and one wrong step meant that we were going to come down harder than we went up.
The view over his shoulder had me licking my lips despite the grief covering me in a shroud of regret. His posterior was molded from the hardest clay. It would’ve been a pleasure to see him unencumbered by clothing. My imagination was soaring. Dirty thoughts converged to bring to mind how he would look completely naked hovering over the top of me.
I didn’t know where he was taking me. I was trying to get my bearings and determine the direction we were going, but he was always changing directions.
He finally pulled back the camouflage curtain covering his cabin. It was completely hidden. You wouldn’t know it was there unless you knew what you were looking for.
“This is home sweet home.” The door flung open to an explosion of dust bunnies in the air. It was obvious there was no female in his life to give this place the feminine touch it was looking for. “I know it’s not much, but it is home. I built this with my father many years before I was sent to do things that I still can’t believe I did. I live with that burden hanging around my neck every day. I can’t begin
to tell you what sins I have committed in the name of our freedoms.” He lowered me to the hardwood floor and I stumbled with a bit of lingering lightheadedness to knock me off my balance.
I fell against him with my hands slapping heavily against his chiseled chest. I sighed deeply with the implication of what I might find when I uncovered each piece of his exposed skin.
My fingers moved like liquid fire down over his shirt until I was gripping the waistband of his jeans. I needed a distraction and I found the most delightful way to take my mind off of my problems. My balance was shaky. I fell to my knees with no fanfare initiating a striking match to his libido with my fingers massaging the lump of hard coal in his pants.
“It has been too long. You are definitely in a league of your own. This thing should have a zip code named after it. I hope you don’t mind my brazen approach. I have this little catch in my throat with the anticipation of seeing all of you. Don’t you think that you have kept that caged for long enough? Let me breathe some life into it.” He was staring and biting his bottom lip chewing on the facts I had given him.
“I would be a damn fool to resist you.” He grabbed my hair roughly and the firm touch was the fantasy that had become an obsession over the last couple of months. “Is this what you wanted? I can see in your eyes how you desperately need me to satisfy you. Tell me what you want.” My fingers were at work with my lust running cold in my veins.
I batted my baby blues and took a hold of his freezing cold zipper knowing that there was something hotter hiding within.
“I want to be fucked like nobody has ever fucked me before. I want to be used and made your sexual puppet. There’s more to me than anybody realizes. Give me the kind of pleasure women dream about reading those trashy novels at night.” He stuck his fingers in my mouth and I gave him the basic idea of what was waiting for him.
