She blinked a couple of times and realized she’d fallen over completely. Her vision was sideways, but she could see Eric a few feet from her. His eyes were closed. He looked unconscious, but he was still breathing. Molly was beside Lucy, their hands still intertwined.
Lucy took in a deep breath and tried to stand. Her arms were feeble and shook as she put her hands down in order to push herself up. “Is…” she tried to say. She coughed, but it was a soft sounding cough. Her hearing was still gone for the most part. Lucy tried to clear her throat. It hurt a little bit, but it helped with her ability to speak. She just wasn’t sure how loud she was talking.
“Is everyone alright?” She asked, trying to shake her hearing back. Lucy gingerly touched her ears, recoiling instantly. Her fingers came away covered in a glistening red liquid.
The others were beginning to rise, their ears also covered in blood. They looked at each other, unable to really communicate in a way. They had no choice but to stand around and do nothing for a moment. They definitely needed time to recover.
“You should run!” said a booming voice. It seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. It was as if there were speakers in the clouds and in the trees. The voice was so loud there no way any of them couldn’t hear it. They winced in pain and covered their ears once more.
“I’ll give you a head start if you run!” The voice said. “Don’t make me come out there!”
The three looked at each other, fear in their eyes. They all looked very confused. Without any way of communicating without revealing their position they were lost to silence. But even without it, Eric took off towards the forest, leaving the two girls alone.
The pair looked at each other. They blinked a couple of times, unable to comprehend that that Eric just left them alone. But that made their choice for them. They jumped off the steps of the porch and ran after Eric. Lauren’s body was still slumped over on the planks of wood behind them.
The woods were beginning to become familiar territory to them. Lucy and Molly held hands so they wouldn’t lose track of each other as they moved fast through the brush. They could see Eric’s form a few feet ahead of them.
“Eric! Wait for us!” Lucy called.
There was no response whatsoever.
“Why is he leaving us?” Molly asked. Their hearing had more or less returned to them now.
“He’s scared. I can’t really blame him.” Lucy said.
“But we should stick together right?” She asked.
Lucy nodded. “It’s been a long night. No one is exactly thinking straight.”
Their chase for Eric continued into an unknown part of the forest. The brush was becoming thicker and the moonlight was no longer illuminating a path for them. Running was no longer an option. Now all they were left with was crawling through the woods. They kept having to move branches and other things out of their way. Eric had disappeared into the distance. They could only tell Eric’s general direction by the sound of crunching leaves and sticks.
Things changed moments later when there was a blunt crack and the sound of pain coming from Eric.
“Eric!” Lucy called. They moved ahead as fast as they could, but the trees were making it difficult.
After a moment of hacking away at the forest both Molly and Lucy came upon a small field that was completely clear of all trees and branches. The whole thing was lit by the moon, making it easy to see what had happened to Eric.
He was kneeling with his hands crossed behind his head. There was blood coming down from the side of his head. Lucy couldn’t tell exactly where it was coming from, but it bleeding profusely.
Standing behind him was a large humanoid figure. The person looked to be about six feet tall, covered completely in black tactical gear. Covering their head was a large mask, it looked like a tiger’s head. It was white with black stripes, a snow tiger more or less. In the person’s hand was a crossbow, leaning against their shoulder. In his other hand was a pistol, held against Eric’s head.
“I think it’s time we put an end to all this.” The voice said. It sounded male, but it was muffled by the mask. It stared at them both, completely still and emotionless.
“What do you want?” Lucy asked. She felt Molly hand clasp around her own.
“I’ve been watching you all since you arrived here.” They said. The only other sounds in the area were the soft breeze in the air and the sniffling of Eric in pain. Lucy couldn’t quite tell but it sounded like he was crying.
“Quiet.” The being said without moving its head towards Eric. Eric immediately quieted, leaving just the wind between them.
“You.” It said, remaining completely still. “Come here.”
Molly took a step forward. Lucy tightened her grip on her. “What are you doing?”
“It’s asking for me.” Molly said. She tried to take another step forward but Lucy pulled her back.
“Come here. Or the boy dies.” The mask said.
Reluctantly, Lucy released Molly’s hand. She took steps towards the masked being. When she got closer to the tall being, he took her by the arm and pushed her to the ground.
“Perfect.” He said, the voice sounding more male by the word. “Now the games can really begin.”
“What do you want with us?” Lucy called out. “Why did you attack us? We didn’t do anything to you!”
“That’s not the point. All you did was fall for my trap. You accepted my invitation to this cabin.”
Lucy blinked and raised an eyebrow. “What? What does that even mean?” She looked back to the cabin.
“You know, it’s always college kids that come here. I wonder why that is…” The head finally a moved and the hand with the pistol scratched at the mask’s chin. “One I time I did get a soldier. Guess he was looking for a bit of a break after a tour overseas. He was real fun, the best hunt I’d ever had.”
“Hunt?” Lucy spat. “This is all just a game to you?”
The standing tiger shrugged. “We all have our needs.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “So you killed our friends for sport. I can’t believe this. You’re a monster!”
The mask bobbed up and down as laughter made its way to Lucy’s ears. “Oh my pretty, pretty friend. The fun has only just begun.” He took the pistol and waved it between the two people kneeling before him.
“You must choose who lives, and who dies.” They said, motioning between both Eric and Molly.
“Are you insane? Why would I do that?” Lucy yelled. Part of her hoped that someone might hear her yelling and come see what all the fuss was. The realist in her though knew that they were way too far for that kind of thing to work.
“Because if you don’t, I’ll kill them both. And then you.”
Lucy immediately stopped talking. She froze with indecision. How could she choose? And even if she did, wouldn’t the other hate her for killing the other?
“I don’t have all day. You should make a decision quickly. Lest I get impatient.” The masked being said, its voice booming.
“I…” Lucy’s eyes moved from Eric, who was still wincing in pain, but doing his best to be quiet. Then over to Molly, who was covering her mouth as she did her best to contain her sobbing.
“Well what if I do this?” The gun moved down in between the two and over to Eric’s head.
Lucy gasped and put a hand out. “Don’t…”
Then it moved over to Molly. “What about this one?”
“No!” Lucy said taking a step forward.
It was almost like she could see the smirk appearing through the mask. “Perfect.” The gun moved back behind Eric’s head. Then there was a flash and a loud bang! A smoking hole appeared out the front of his head.
The masked being lifted a leg up and pushed Eric’s body into the grass. It slumped over, completely lifeless.
Lucy stood completely still. She didn’t make a noise or any kind of sound. She couldn’t believe that had just happened.
There was a sigh fro
m across the field where Molly was. The other being, standing above her seemed to chuckle at her. “I’ll give you one thing, you definitely did exactly what I thought you’d do. College kids are so predictable.” A boot pushed Molly forward, putting her flat on the ground.
Lucy dared to ask. “Are we free to go?”
“Leave. I’ve done all I can here. Frankly this was rather disappointing, all things considered.” The beast’s head said to her.
As Molly stood up and made her way over to Lucy, she couldn’t help but ask, “How did you know I would choose Molly?”
There was a loud resounding laugh that echoed through the trees. “I’ve been watching you all since you got here. It wasn’t hard to tell that you had no love for you boyfriend. Hell, even his friend had noticed it. They talked about it before I killed your friend… What was his name? Bruce I think. Something like that. But it was easy to see that you were only with him because you loved his sister.”
Lucy’s cheeks burned red. Her eyes met Molly’s. There wasn’t any kind of reaction in Molly. She just kept moving towards Lucy. Eventually they joined hands and made their way back through the forest. Lucy looked back once, and noticed that the masked being was gone. There was nothing left in that small patch of field but Eric’s body.
The journey back to the cabin was quiet. They held hands the rest of the way, but Lucy knew it was only for physical support. She wondered what was going on in Molly’s head. Would she hate Lucy from now on? She had to realize that this was an impossible choice that Lucy made. Despite her feelings for Eric – or lack thereof – she didn’t want anyone to get killed. That’s not who she was. She could only hope that Molly would understand that.
As they approached the cabin it occurred to Lucy that the keys to Eric’s vehicle had been broken.
“Guess we’re going to have to walk the whole way, won’t we?” Lucy said.
Molly just shrugged and moved on. She kept her head down, staring at her feet. Lucy sighed and followed alongside her.
She wasn’t sure how long it was to the road, but Lucy was fairly sure it was a couple of miles until they reached a place where cars might be traveling. Then they could signal for help at least.
At this point the moon was beginning to recede and Lucy thought that the sun might be coming up. They might actually be getting out of this.
There was a slight twang in the air and Lucy’s muscles tensed. She dropped to the ground at once and tried to pull Molly down with her.
But it was too late. The bolt pierced the side of Molly’s head, pulling her body towards the tree, nailing it to the wall.
“No!” Lucy cried. She stood and ran over to Molly. Blood was leaking out her mouth and ears. There was no reaction of any kind from her.
Then there was a sinister laughter coming from the trees behind her. “Okay, I lied. College kids are fun.”
Lucy turned and saw the masked killer coming towards her. He carried himself like he was having a wonderful time. His crossbow leaned flat against his shoulder. “You people are so gullible. Why in the world would think I’d let you go?”
They lowered the crossbow and fired another bolt. This one pierced Lucy’s leg, sending her to the ground. She screamed in pain, clutching her leg.
“Yes, naturally the one who has been terrorizing you this entire time would be more than happy to set you free and tell everyone what has happened to you. You people are so unbelievable stupid.”
Lucy started to crawl away from him. “Please… Just leave me.”
“Sorry kid. No can do. Gotta get rid you guys before the next bunch come in. I think I have a couple on their honeymoon coming in. Time to prepare!”
Boots appeared in front of Lucy. She looked up, practically blinded by pain, to see a tiger’s face looking down at her.
“You did well, kid. I guess.” The tiger shrugged and pointed the crossbow down at her.
“Please…” Lucy asked, pawing at the boots in front of her.
There was a blunt sound.
Then instant darkness.
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Horror: Cabin In The Woods: Until Dawn Page 7
