by Tim Miller
The SUV rolled up and turned on the overhead lights as the window rolled down. The ranger was a middle-aged man in a wrinkly uniform.
"You ok, ma'am?" he asked.
"No! There's a fucking guy in a mask back at our camp! He just killed everyone!"
"What? Hang on. Just calm down. What guy in what mask?"
"Back about a mile that way." She pointed. "I was here with five of my friends. He hacked all of them to pieces. This Gut Ripper guy or whatever."
"Ma'am," he said as he rolled his eyes. "The Gut Ripper is a legend, a myth. There is no Gut Ripper."
"Then maybe it's someone pretending to be him! I don't give a fuck who it is! He killed my friends! He murdered my boyfriend!"
"Ok. You're in a lot of distress. Go ahead and hop in."
She climbed into the passenger side and closed the door as he started down the trail. After a minute she noticed he wasn't turning around.
"Where are you going? You're going right back to the camp! Don't go back there! Get me out of here! I can't go back there!"
"Now listen. I'm going to get to the bottom of this. You just calm down. You'll be fine."
Within a few minutes, they were back at the camp. He opened the door and climbed out.
"Ok, I'm going to check things out. You stay put."
"Don't leave me here!"
"You're fine. I'll only be a minute."
He turned and disappeared around the back of the SUV. Sally sat there waiting for several minutes when the door swung open, and a hand grabbed her, throwing her onto the ground. Before she could react, someone was kicking her repeatedly. One kick caught her right in the nose. Her eyes watered as she saw stars. For a moment she feared she'd pass out, but she managed to stay conscious. Looking up, it was the Ranger standing over her kicking her. Just behind him stood the Gut Ripper.
She thought the Gut Ripper was about to slice the Ranger in half, but she couldn't have been more wrong.
"There!" the ranger said. "You almost let this one get away. I brought her back to you on a silver platter. You think you can handle it from here?"
The Gut Ripper just looked at him and nodded.
"Good. Don't fuck it up, wait until I'm gone to finish her off."
The ranger turned and walked toward his SUV. She sat and watched as the one man she thought would help her ended up betraying her. She had no idea how he was involved with this slasher, but all hope began to fade. As the ranger reached the door, the Gut Ripper moved toward him, grabbed him by the head and ran his knife across the ranger’s neck, slashing his throat wide open. The ranger’s body slumped to the ground as the Gut Ripper looked at her and removed his mask.
* * * *
Buddy listened to the obnoxious ranger screaming at him. He’d only met this asshole one other time and he already couldn’t stand him. Who did this slob think he was? He wouldn’t last two seconds going through what Buddy had gone through. As the man yelled he looked at the woman on the ground. Something about the look in her eyes gave him pause. Something about her reminded him of his girlfriend, Katie. Her facial expressions and mannerisms were very similar. The current terror in her eyes brought him back to Katie’s final moments as he helplessly watched her die.
He stared at her as tears streaked down her face. Ultimately he didn’t know if he could kill her. The others were all easy. It was just like the training with them. The ranger finished his rant and turned toward his SUV. Buddy gave it a final thought before he decided what he needed to do. He was sure there would be consequences for his actions, but after everything else he’d faced the past few months, he could deal with that as well.
Buddy stepped toward the ranger, grabbed him and cut his throat in one smooth motion. He turned to the girl whose look of terror turned to confusion. He took a deep breath and removed his mask. The girl still looked confused as he put the knife in its sheath and reached his hand out to her.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said
She took his hand and he pulled her to her feet as she stepped away cautiously.
“Get in his truck and get out of here. Drive through the gate and don’t stop for anything. Do you understand?”
She continued standing there with her eyes wide and mouth hanging open.
“Do you understand? Get out of here and don’t tell anyone what you’ve seen here. They’ll know and will come for you. Nod if you understand.”
She focused for a second and nodded.
“Who is they?” she asked. “Who are you? Why did you kill my friends?”
Her voice sounded distant as if she were in a daze. He imagined he sounded the same when the Order first grabbed him.
“Long story. Get in the car and get out of here. Go! Now!”
She jumped in and closed the door. Within seconds the SUV was down the trail and out of sight. Buddy watched her go as the van came driving up from behind him. He wasn’t sure where they came from, but it didn’t matter. The van came to a stop as Sergei jumped out and ran up to him, sticking his finger into Buddy’s chest.
“Why you let her go! You are Gut Ripper! You rip her guts out! You stupid coward! You will pay…” Sergei began but was interrupted by Buddy’s blade pointed at his throat. Buddy pressed just hard enough to draw a speckle of blood. Sergei talked a lot about not fearing death, but for the first time since being with the Order, Buddy saw fear in Sergei’s eyes. They had trained Buddy well, extremely well. Maybe too well. It was time they started to understand what they created.
“You don’t tell me how to do anything. Do you understand?”
Sergei just glared at him.
“Do you?” Buddy screamed.
“Yes. I understand.”
Buddy took the knife away.
“Good. Things will be different as long as I’m the Gut Ripper. I suggest you and your pals in the Order remember just what it is that I am,” Buddy said as he turned and headed back into the woods.
The End
Exclusive Sneak Peek at Tim Miller’s Next book:
Spankenstein
Tim Miller
Chapter 1
Donny Spanks sat in front of the TV watching the actress closely. This was his favorite show, but only because of her. The show was called, 'Criminal Brain.' It was a bunch of secret government agents solving the most heinous of crimes. The lead actress' name was Candi Murphy. She was everything he dreamed of. Long, perfect blonde hair, full, luscious lips and a body that wouldn't quit. Donny made sure he was in front of the TV any time it came on. He'd even lost a few jobs over his obsession, but none of that fazed him. He couldn't get enough of her.
She was the perfect woman in every way possible. As he watched, he wondered if he could ever meet her. If he did, would she be interested in him? Would he stand a chance? During the commercial, he stepped into the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. Taking his shirt off, he scanned his whole body. No way would she want him. He was short, skinny; scratch that, way too skinny and so pale he was almost transparent. His hairline was receding and his chest hair came out in random patches. No girl had ever found him remotely appealing.
This fact got him thinking. He'd worked in the medical field for years as an operating room technician. It was a great job. Well, several jobs. He bounced around from hospital to hospital before he finally ran out of places that would hire him. His awkwardness made most employees uncomfortable, along with his tendency to daydream. Turns out surgeons like you to be paying attention when they need a set of clamps during open-heart surgery.
So here he was, an unemployed and unemployable surgical technician. He'd seen so many surgeries he felt like he could perform one himself. Over the years, he'd accumulated a lot of instruments and had saved lots of money. One of the side effects of being single for so long with no children. His jobs paid well and he never spent much.
He went back and watched the TV again to see Candi some more. Once the show was over, he decided to head out and have a beer. Sitting around the empty house a
ll night drives him crazy. He got dressed, got in his car and headed to a nearby pub. It was an old bar that he used to frequent more regularly. He didn't get out as much anymore, but maybe it was time to start. Once inside, he sat at the bar and ordered a Coors Light.
As he sipped on his beer and noticed there were lots of women in the pub; he didn't remember so many girls in this place before. They were there in groups hanging out and listening to the jukebox. That was when he saw her. No way was it Candi Murphy; she lived in Los Angeles. Doubtful she'd ever hung out in a dive bar in San Antonio, Texas. The woman stood out among the rest of the girls. Partly because most of the girls were Hispanic. That wasn't unusual. Most of San Antonio was Hispanic.
A blonde haired, blue eyed angel like her stood out even more than normal. Donny stood and walked casually past her to pretend to be looking at the jukebox. He was trying not to stare, but she gave him an uncomfortable smile as he walked by. It wasn't Candi; he was sure that Candy had fuller lips and a dimple on her chin. Either way, the resemblance was uncanny. Maybe she'd be interested in him. Now wouldn't that be something; making love to this beautiful woman and pretend that she was Candi. It would be the next best thing at least.
He went back to the bar and sat there sipping at his beer. Soon he began drinking it faster as he felt the tingling in his brain. Ordering another, he quickly downed that one as his buzz grew stronger. As hard as he tried not to stare, he couldn't help himself. He could tell she saw him every time he looked over; she was looking away. Finally, she got up and walked out. Fuck! Normally, he would sit and pout that he blew another one; but the beer seemed to grow his testicles, and poof, he had balls. At best he wanted to apologize to her for staring and acting like a weirdo.
He jumped up from the stool and headed out the door. She was there in the parking lot walking by herself to her car. She'd been sitting with two other girls, but they must have arrived separately. Slowly, he walked up behind her until he was a few feet away.
"Umm, excuse me," he said.
She jumped and turned around.
"What the hell? Are you following me to my car? What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I-I'm sorry. I was just…"
"Just what? Wasn't bad enough you kept staring at me in there like some creepy asshole. Now you're following me? For what? What do you want?"
"I just wanted to apologize. I'm sorry for staring in there. I don't get out much."
"Yeah, that's pretty obvious."
The conversation wasn't going how he'd pictured it at all. In his mind, she would smile, welcome his apology, and maybe strike up a nice conversation. Now, he was just freaking her out even more.
"I'm sorry. I know I'm weird. I just think you're a pretty lady," he said as he turned and began to walk away.
"Hey," she called out. "I didn't mean to be such a bitch. I just had no idea what you were doing or why you followed me to my car. For future reference, don't do that. That's weird as hell."
He couldn't help but smile at her softened tone.
"Really? Thank you!" he turned and smiled at her.
"No problem. Try to have a better night. I need to go anyway."
"Oh, yeah sure." At this point, he wasn't sure what came over him. She was so beautiful, and the fact that she suddenly was being nice to him suddenly flipped a switch in his brain. The beer obviously didn't help, but it was as if something came over him that he couldn't control. At least, he didn't want to control it. He took a few steps forward and put his arms out.
"Could I have a hug?" he asked as she stepped back and screamed.
"What the hell! Get away!" she took another step back before kicking him in the dick. As he doubled over, she pulled a can of mace from her purse and sprayed it into his face and mouth. His eyes and tongue burned as he fell to the ground. She got into the car and sped away, kicking dirt and rocks onto Donny's burning face. As he lay there writhing in pain and crying, rage began to fill him. It was time for him to face the facts. No woman would ever want him. He was too ugly and weird. Perhaps there was another way for him to obtain the perfect girl.
About the Author
Tim began writing at a very young age. Even in grade school he'd sit around with his notebook, writing stories for himself and his friends.
As an adult, Tim's writings have evolved into darker realms. He released his first horror novel, "The Hand of God" in 2011. Since then his books have become progressively more violent and gory. With the release of "Family Night" in 2013, Tim had moved into the world of extreme horror where he continues to push the boundaries of human suffering.
Tim is now an international best seller as well. His book, "Hell, Texas" has recently ranked high on Amazon sales charts since its release in Germany under German publisher, Festa-Verlag.
Tim is very active on social media and loves interacting with his readers. You can find him at his website at http://timmiller.org
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Also By Tim Miller
Psychoville
Dollhouse
Curse of the Gut Ripper
Hell, Texas
Family Night
My Brother’s Keeper
Fertile Fields
