by Tim Miller
"I have," Marc said. "When I was a kid. Sophie hasn't."
"You'll love it. I'll have to show you the fresh water spring up there," Lisa said.
"Spring? Where?" Marc asked.
"It's off the hiking trails. Most people don't know about it because they stay on the trail."
Jason and Sally came walking up carrying their bags.
"You guys ready?" Jason asked.
"Just waiting on you, slow pokes," Lisa said.
"Sorry. Someone had to doll herself up for the trip to the wilderness."
"Shut up," Sally said. "I took a shower. The horror!"
They finished loading their bags and climbed into the SUV. Lisa got behind the driver's seat as the rest of them got comfortable. She put the truck in drive and headed off, and Ben was sound sleep in the passenger seat before they left the driveway.
Chapter 7
Lisa drove as Ben played with the radio after waking up from his drug induced nap. He dug through a CD case and put a CD in which the rest of the group seemed happy about until it started playing. They all cringed at the sound of an extremely twangy version of the song "Wagon Wheel" began playing.
"What the fuck is this? This isn't Hootie," Marc said.
"His name is Darius Rucker, and this isn't him. This is Old Crow Medicine Show. I like their version better."
"You shitting me? This is some backwoods hillbilly shit."
"God this sucks," Sally said. "Can't you put on Jason Aldean or something? Oh! Put on Florida Georgia Line! They are awesome!"
"We'll make you walk if you put that shit on," Marc said.
"Come on man! This is good music!" Ben protested. "That country shit you listen to, it's just pop country. This shit, man, this is real. This speaks to your soul!"
"Dude, you're high as fuck. We could play Old Macdonald, and it would speak to your soul," Jason said.
"Fuck you, man."
"Will you guys shut up already?" Lisa said. "We're almost there anyway."
Lisa was regretting the trip already. Her fight with Ben earlier didn't help much. The bickering the rest of the trip only unnerved her even more. The park entrance was just ahead. She pulled up to the gate where the ranger stood at the booth. She paid the parking fee as the ranger gave her back her change.
"Hey man," Ben said. "So did a bunch of people really vanish from here a few weeks ago?"
"Say what?" the ranger said. He looked old and heavy and seemed like he hated his job by the disdain in his voice.
"Those campers. Like a couple months ago. There was like six of them who disappeared from here."
"Where in the hell you hear that?"
"It was on the internet, man!"
"Oh yeah. Then it must be true!" he looked away from Ben and back to Lisa. "Go ahead and follow the road all the way down, then you'll see the signs to pick what part of the park you want to go."
"Hey. Dude" Ben wasn't going to let it go. "It's all over the internet. Some people said the Gut Ripper got them. He's killed lots of people here. You don't worry about him getting you?"
"Are you on goddamn drugs son? There is no fucking Gut Ripper and the only ones about to disappear from here will be you assholes if you don't get a move on!"
"Fine, whatever," Lisa said as she drove through the gate and down the road.
"Good job, dick head. You almost got us kicked out," Marc said.
"He wasn't gonna kick us out. Fuck him anyway."
They sat back in silence as Lisa drove up the hill and around a large curve. Once they were around the curve, there was a large sign. Lisa followed the one stating 'campground and hiking trails', and within a few minutes they had arrived. There was no one else on the grounds. People stopped coming to camp years ago when the Gut Ripper rumors started. A waterpark going in a few miles away probably helped too. When it was this hot, it was more fun to go down water slides than camp and hike.
The group piled out of the SUV and grabbed their gear.
"We still got plenty of daylight. Want to go for a hike?" Jason said.
"I'm exhausted. You all weren't driving last few hours," Lisa said. "Can we just set up and if you all want to head out I'll take a nap."
"Sounds good to me, I'm tired too," Ben added.
They got out the tents and sleeping bags and spent the next hour setting up their campsite. Once they’d finished, Jason grabbed a cooler and pulled it out of the back of the SUV.
"Fuck hiking. Anyone want a beer?"
"Hell yeah!" Ben ran over and grabbed one along with Jason. The girls all got a beer except for Lisa, but she eventually meandered over to grab one. Jason began setting up the grill next.
"I'm gonna cook some brats if anyone wants any. I'm starving."
"That's what I'm talking about!" Ben said.
"Of course, Ben is hungry now," Lisa said.
"You know, why didn't you just stay home? You've been miserable since we left?" Ben asked.
"I don't know. Maybe I should have. I didn't know you were gonna be wasted the whole fucking trip."
"Hey, you said yourself I'm more fun when I'm wasted!"
She just stood there rolling her eyes.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing. I'm just questioning my life choices."
"Oh, come on. Come eat and drink with us! Be merry! Ha!" Ben took a drink of his beer. Sophie walked over and put a hand on Lisa's arm.
"Hey, maybe you can show me that spring you were telling me about."
Lisa's eyes lit up.
"Yes! I totally forgot. God yes. Don't let these assholes find it. They'll just want to jump in and make fart bubbles!"
They both laughed.
"Come on. I'll show you while they are distracted." Lisa grabbed a small bag and a couple of water bottles, then threw it over her shoulder. Sophie followed as the guys, and Sally, drank and laughed as Jason fired up the grill.
"I don't know, that does smell good," Sophie said.
"There'll be plenty later. I just have to get away for now. I'm sick of Ben talking about the fucking Gut Ripper. I was about to rip his fucking guts out at the gate."
"Haha, right? God, no wonder that ranger was such a dick."
They laughed and talked as they walked for a quarter mile down the trail when Lisa veered to the left.
"It's back this way, off the trail."
Sophie followed as they worked their way through bushes and over rocks. After another quarter mile, it opened up to a large spring where water was flowing between some rocks. Sophie's eyes went wide as she looked around.
"Wow! This is amazing!"
"See? I told you." Lisa removed her shirt and pulled her shorts off. Sophie began undressing as well, as Lisa dipped her feet into the cool water. Neither of them noticed the man wearing the mask watching them from the ridge just above.
Chapter 8
Buddy followed a man through a tunnel and outside the cave into a large clearing. The man's name was Sergei, and he spoke in what only can be described as broken English. He was a tall and lanky man with a European accent. Buddy had spent almost a week in his cell. He hadn't seen Pavarti since that first day. Men would come into his cell and beat him, water-board him or sometimes they'd just play loud music outside his cell for twenty-four hours.
It didn't take long before he broke. He told them he'd do it. He didn't really want to. He thought if he went along with it, for now, he might get a chance to escape. Today was his first day of "training." When they reached the clearing there was a large ax sitting next to a stack of logs. Sergei pointed at the ax and nodded.
"Pick it up," he commanded.
"I'm going to chop firewood?"
"You weak and pathetic. You killed Gut Ripper with lucky blow. To be Gut Ripper, you must be big, strong and powerful. You get this by chopping wood. Whole stack. Chop into pieces."
"Are you serious? The Gut Ripper has to chop wood?"
"You do it! You chop wood. I watch. Do it now!"
Buddy shook his head and picked u
p the ax. He set a log on the stump, and clumsily raised the ax over his head. Buddy swung and hit the log, but barely cutting into it. He tried it again, but this time, he only succeeded in knocking the log off the stump. Sergei shook his head and snatched the ax from him.
"How you kill the Gut Ripper? You swing ax like little girl! Hahaha!" Sergei lifted it to the side of his head, swung it and split the log in two in one swing. "You see? You hold the ax up here, you put your shoulder into it," he demonstrated slowly and handed the ax back to Buddy. "Now swing."
Buddy held the ax like Sergei had shown him. He swung it at a new log and cut it almost in half. Sergei nodded.
"Better. Do more."
Buddy went to work and by the third log, he was splitting it on the first strike. For the next several hours he went through splitting the logs. After an hour, his back and shoulders grew tired. He stopped and caught his breath.
"Why you stop?"
"I'm tired."
"Ripper no get tired. You chasing campers in woods. You think you can rest while in hunt? Gut Ripper chase victim to end of earth! Gut Ripper does not rest! Now work!"
"Just give me a minute."
Sergei walked up to Buddy and slapped him across the face.
"Pick up ax and work! Or I hit you again! Do it!"
Buddy shook his head and picked it up. The blow stung as well as pissed him off. He could tell Sergei was a seasoned fighter and Buddy was a shitty and exhausted opponent. Sergei would eat him alive if he tried to fight. The ax felt like it weighed a hundred pounds in his hands. He swung it again, this time a limp wristed blow and barely touched the log. Sergei smacked him again.
"You chop wood right!"
"Look man, I'm beat. Can't we finish this tomorrow?"
"No! No tomorrow! You work!"
Buddy picked it up and managed to split the rest of the logs. It took him two more hours. Each swing felt like his arms were going to rip out of their sockets. Pins and needles shot up and down his arms, back and shoulders with each swing. When he was finally done, he dropped the ax and went to his knees. Sergei stood over him with approval.
"Good. You slow but it good you finished. Now get up."
"Are we done?"
"Chopping wood? Yes. Training? No. Get up."
Buddy stood as Sergei pointed.
"See that trail. We run."
"Run? Why? What the fuck? I'm can barely move!"
"You cry like little girl again. Ripper has excellent stamina. Gut Ripper no get tired. We run. Go now!"
Buddy began jogging along. Sergei seemed ok with his pace. He ran along behind Buddy and would give him a shove if he slowed too much. They ran until the sun went down. Buddy was winded and even stopped to throw up a few times. He had no idea being a slasher was so exhausting. Why did he need to run for anyway? In the movies they just stalked about slowly and counted on their victims tripping and falling. He never saw Jason doing cardio.
Finally, they reached the end of the trail, which was on the opposite side of the clearing from which they began. Buddy stopped and put his hands on his knees. After catching his breath Sergei pointed inside the cave.
"Come. You follow me."
They walked into the cave and wove through another series of tunnels before coming to a large room brightly lit with floodlights. There were tables and benches set up and enough food on the table to feed a small army.
"There. You eat," he said as he grabbed a plate and began filling it with sausage, beef, and veggies.
"Where did all of this come from?"
"The Order provides it. Now eat. You need strength."
Buddy load his plate with as much as it would hold. He scarfed down every last bite and got seconds. It had been a week since he'd had a decent meal. He grabbed a third plate scarfed it all before he finally felt stuffed. He sat there and leaned back against the wall as Sergei stood.
"Now what?" Buddy asked.
"Now you sleep. Let's go."
He followed Sergei to another part of the cave. This was darker and warmer than the cell he'd been in. There was a cot covered with blankets and pillows in the corner.
"There is your bed. You sleep. In the morning, we work."
Buddy climbed into the cot and fell sound asleep before his head hit the pillow.
Chapter 9
After several weeks, Buddy's training was becoming slightly easier. At least, he was getting used to the routine, and his physical conditioning was improving dramatically. Sergei had him chopping wood, stacking rocks. They practiced fighting with a variety of weapons. They sparred with everything from axes, machetes, knives and even using spears and staffs.
A week of training was dedicated to evading firearms. Apparently the Gut Ripper wasn't allowed to use a gun. Being this was Texas, he was extremely likely to cross paths with victims carrying guns. So, he had to learn various ways to remain in the shadows, sneaking up on people and disarming them before they can pull the gun or, at least, get a shot off. Some of the methods reminded him of the League of Shadows sequences in "Batman Begins."
He also learned the Gut Ripper wears body armor under his coveralls just in case. While it may be hot and bulky, this is part of how he seems invincible and keeps advancing while being shot at. Training in the body armor was no picnic. Buddy would have to be able to keep moving after being shot; this took a hot minute to get used to and involved him standing there wearing the vest while Sergei took aim and pulled the trigger. That wasn't a fun day.
"Hold still you stupid sissy girl!" Sergei called out.
"You sure you're not going to shoot me in the face?" Buddy asked.
"I no shoot you in face unless you no shut up! Now hold still and put your hands on sides!"
Buddy finally stopped moving around, put his hands to his sides and closed his eyes. He didn't even hear the gunshot until after the bullet struck his chest. It felt like a blow in the stomach with a sledgehammer. The shot knocked him off his feet and flat on his back. The air went out of his lungs as he gasped. He was sure he was dying until Sergei stood over him.
"See? You no hurt. Stand up. We do it again."
He wasn't hurt, either, at least not permanently. At the end of the day, his torso was purple from the bruises. Sergei said they would conduct vest training once a week. After a while, his body would adjust and not bruise so easily. Buddy didn't look forward to this, but after the third week, he did notice it wasn't as painful as before.
Today Sergei said they had something special planned. It had been almost six weeks since he'd been captured or assimilated or whatever you wanted to call what was happening to him. Sometimes at night, he'd think about the friends he'd seen brutally murdered, but it had begun to feel like a distant dream. They kept him so busy and exhausted; he never had time to dwell, really. Sometimes in his dreams, he saw them or remembered them.
Even the training didn't seem real. Well, it was real, but it didn't feel like he was actually training to be a murderer. Over the last several weeks, he'd noticed his muscles were beginning to form as he gained weight. None of the weight was fat, however. His chest was growing thicker as his arms grew larger; they were turning him into a seriously sculpted badass and deep down he had to admit he liked it.
Today things would become all too real. Sergei took him out to the clearing like usual. Except today, Sergei seemed much more serious. Not the guy was ever a barrel of laughs. But he was much more somber this time.
"Today is the next phase of training. Today you learn a major lesson," Sergei explained.
"What lesson is that?"
Sergei took out a whistle and blew it. Within a few minutes, a man came walking out of the woods dragging a woman with him. The woman was bound and gagged. At first, Buddy thought it was another role-playing exercise until the woman was close enough to see the terror in her eyes. She looked to be in her fifties and not particularly well dressed. Her clothes were old and dirty.
The man walked the woman to Sergei, who pushed her up against a tree and
used a rope to tie her to the tree. The woman was crying and struggling through her gag as Buddy looked on in horror.
"What the fuck?"
"Today you will become a true killer," Sergei said holding out a knife.
"What? Are you fucking kidding me? I'm not killing her."
"You will kill many as the Gut Ripper. This is the first. We make it easy. Just stab her in heart or cut throat."
"No! I'm not doing it! This is some innocent woman! She has a family! People who care about her."
"She homeless prostitute we pick up by offering heroin. No one give fuck about her. No one miss her. You'd be doing her favor by taking life. Now do it!"
"What the fuck? I'm not doing that. Let her go!"
"You kill her, or I kill you."
"Fine. You'll have to kill me then." Buddy wasn't sure what he was actually saying. Up until now, none of this seemed real. It just felt like he was at some fitness boot camp. The idea of killing someone was just some concept they talked about but had never pushed until now with a screaming woman staring him in the face. She was helpless and powerless, her life in his hands there was no way he could do this.
"Ok. Maybe this will convince you."
Sergei took out his phone and began flipping through a series of pictures, holding it up to Buddy. Buddy felt the knot in his stomach turn over when he saw the photos. It was his parents. His mom in Dallas and his dad in Austin. The pictures of his mom showed her walking to and from her car, outside of her house and one showed her walking into a gym. The ones of his father were similar. One was him sitting in a restaurant.
"What the fuck?"
"We know everything about you. You sad about losing friends? How about parents too? We bring them here, torture and kill them while you watch. Or you can kill worthless junkie whore. Choose!"
Fuck. Buddy reluctantly took the knife and walked up to the woman. He did not want to do this but wasn't about to sacrifice what family he had left. This was for real. Once he did this, he was on the path to forever becoming the Gut Ripper. He held the knife up to the woman who cried and screamed through her gag. Her eyes were pleading with him for mercy. He looked down at her chest, so as not to see her eyes. He held the knife up and touched the pointy end to her chest.
