Horror in the Woods

by Mountford, Lee

  'Don't call me an idiot,' Craig said, again turning away, this time to look back at the man.

  'Then don't act like one.'

  'Guys,' Tim said, 'we need to calm down. Craig, I admire what you're trying to do, but we can't help that man. He's already dead. The best thing we can do for him is to get the hell out of here, get to town, and call the police. They're a lot more equipped to deal with anything like this than we are. And they're the best chance we have to catch the son of a bitch that did this.'

  Craig didn't respond to that, which Kim was thankful for. Though part of her did want him to keep going so she could really get into it with him. The realisation that she wanted that, even in a situation such as this, gave her reason for pause.

  'So which way do we go?' Ashley asked, getting to her feet. Her face was streaked with tears and her eyes were red, but she was able to keep her hysterics under control for now. Kim put an arm around her. She realised that may have been Tim's job, to offer her reassurance, but fuck it, she had known Ashley for years.

  'We go back,' Kim said.

  'No,' Tim said, 'we carry on.'

  Kim let out a sigh, 'Tim, stop this. We need to go back. I will not stay and die in these fucking woods. If whoever did this is still around, then he could be hiding anywhere. So, we need to get out quickly. And that's back the way we came.'

  'The way we came is no safer, and it's a longer trek. If we keep going, and stick together, we find help quicker. The sooner we're somewhere safe, the better.'

  'Guys,' Ashley said, her voice soft and defeated, 'please don't argue. We don't need that right now.'

  'You're right,' Craig said, stepping forward and walking towards the body. 'We need to stop being so selfish and help this man.'

  Kim reached for him, as did Tim, but Craig managed to weave between them and jog over to the corpse. Kim could do nothing but follow.

  For fuck's sake, Craig, you're going to get us all killed.

  6

  More unexpected events.

  He'd anticipated the group would have pressed on, quickly, in one direction or another. Either back the way they came, or with any luck, forward.

  But this?

  The tall, thin, blonde boy was braver than expected. Brave, but so very stupid.

  The man silently made his way forward, bare feet feeling their way across the leaves, twigs, and moss, stepping gently as to not make a sound. He settled in behind a thick tree, pushing his body against the bark and peeking around it to watch things unfold. He was maybe twenty metres from them, closer than he would have liked, but in the best cover available.

  He grasped the handle of the long blade tied to his thin waist. It wasn't as sharp as it should be; dirty and blunt, useful more for inflicting prolonged pain than doing any decisive damage.

  It would still do the trick.

  The blonde boy reached the thing he was jogging towards, took a moment to compose himself, and crouched beside it.

  The man readied himself.

  7

  Ashley didn't want to follow them, her legs didn't feel like they had the strength, but Kim and Tim had run off after Craig, so she had instinctively done the same. Not because she wanted to be any closer to that horrific sight, but because she didn't want to be left alone so far from the group.

  Her stomach was cartwheeling and her body shaking, both with adrenaline and fear. She was queasy at what she had seen and just wanted to drop, curl up, and pass out, to wake up safe and sound somewhere.

  Somewhere warm, with Tim laying next to her, telling her it was all just a bad dream.

  Ashley pulled her phone from her pocket, checking again to see if there was a way to call for help, but the signal was still dead. She was still cut off.

  Then they all surrounded Craig, who crouched near the man. And Ashley saw the full acts of depravity that had been committed on him. She wanted to scream again.

  Instead, she spun away and clamped a hand over her mouth to stop the contents of her stomach, the rabbit food Kim had complained about so much, from making a re-appearance. As she did, her eyes were drawn to a large tree in her line of sight. She squinted at it, still battling the urge to vomit, but certain she had seen something.

  Some kind of movement.

  Her vision was blurry from wet, stinging eyes, so she couldn't be sure. It was more than likely further tricks of the brain, considering what they were all going through and, as she looked now, there was nothing. And other than the noise they were making, and the normal ambience of the forest, no odd sounds, either.

  'What a fucking mess,' Kim said. Ashley, reluctantly, turned back. She didn't want to take in the details, but she couldn't help it.

  The man was big, a similar size to Tim, but with a bald, dirty head. His clothes were old, filthy, and a mismatch of styles, more cobbled together than picked out. Her first instinct was that he might have been homeless, or close to it. No shoes, either, just dirty feet with jagged toenails. All of this was just periphery, though. The real focus of attention was on what had been done to his face.

  The skin had been stripped away, leaving jagged edges, obviously cut or hacked from the bone beneath. It hadn't been done with any kind of precision. Chunks of red meat and stringy tendons lined the skull. Without lips, the teeth and gums were exposed in a demented smile. In addition, his jaw hung loose, at an unnatural angle, a clear sign it had been fully dislocated.

  Then there were his eyes.

  Or rather, the lack of them.

  In their place were empty, red pits, that bore down inside of his head.

  She hoped the man hadn't been alive when this had been done to him.

  'Okay,' Kim said, 'you've seen him. He's dead. You know we can't help, so can we please go?'

  'Jesus, Kim,' Craig said.

  'She's right,' Tim said. Ashley could hear the agitation and impatience in Tim's voice, something she couldn't blame him for. All she wanted to do now was run. Maybe Craig was right, maybe that selfishness made her a bad person, and the thought didn't sit well with her, but right now, she didn't care.

  'Maybe he has some kind of wallet, or identification. We might be able to find out who he is.'

  'But why does it matter?' Kim yelled. She squatted down next to Craig, getting right in his face. 'What good can you do here? All you're doing is putting us in more danger.' Her face was going red as she berated him, but Craig wouldn't look at her. 'For fuck's sake, Craig, you can't save everyone.'

  'Please, stop shouting,' Ashley said. 'It's too loud. Someone might hear.'

  Kim, gritting her teeth, turned to Ashley, and nodded. She stood up again. 'You're right, Ashley. But Craig, I'm serious. Pull your head out of your arse and get a move on. Otherwise...' she trailed off.

  'Otherwise what?' he asked, still not looking up.

  'Otherwise, fuck you. We're leaving you.'

  Now Craig looked at her and his expression wasn't pleasant. Even Ashley was taken aback at what Kim had said. Surely she couldn't have meant it, surely it was just the stress of the situation making her lash out, desperate to try and make Craig see sense? It wouldn't exactly be out of character, but still, the way she had said it...

  'Go then,' Craig said, with an unnervingly even voice. 'Turn tail and run away. Look after yourself and fuck everyone else. I wouldn't expect anything less from you.'

  Not again, Ashley thought, not now. This wasn't the time for an argument, this was a time for working together, for looking out for each other. They had to act as one, something Ashley didn't think was looking likely. Knowing this only served to make her even more anxious. She looked around the woods again, half expecting to see whoever killed this man spring out from behind a tree and bound towards them with some kind of weapon.

  She saw nothing, but still her attention was drawn to that tree. Something about it didn't sit right with her. Had she actually seen something earlier?

  A creeping feeling brushed up her spine.

  'Guys,' she said, but they were paying her no at
tention, instead focused on their argument.

  'Fuck you,' Kim said, with venom, 'you little prick. Can't you get it through your thick fucking skull that playing the hero is going to get us killed? Who do you think you're helping if you're dead? No one. All you'll be responsible for is putting us in the same position as this poor fucker, because you need to be seen as the do-gooder. It's fucking stupid, Craig. And you know what else? It's boring.'

  Craig, ignoring her ranting, reached out a hand towards the man, aiming for the pockets of his dirtied trousers. Before he could dig through them, Ashley saw Tim's hand shoot out and grab Craig firmly by the wrist.

  'Don't,' Tim said. It was not a suggestion, but an absolute command.

  'Let go of me,' Craig said, and tried to wiggle his wrist free. It was futile. Tim's grip looked as strong as iron.

  'Enough of this, Craig,' Tim said, sounding more and more assertive with each word. 'I promise you we'll help him, but to do that we need to do the right thing. The sensible thing. We need to get to town and find help. You want to do the right thing? Then we need the person or people who did this caught and arrested. Don't you want that?'

  'Of course I do, but-'

  'But nothing. That's all there is to it. The man is clearly dead, there is nothing we can do to change that. All we're doing here is messing up what is clearly a crime scene. We need to leave it as intact as possible so the police can do their jobs.' The defiance in Craig's face seemed to slip. 'Come on, man,' Tim went on. 'I really do admire you for wanting to do what you can, but let's just make sure what we do something that actually makes a difference.'

  Craig was silent for a little while, and Ashley prayed Tim had gotten through to him. Finally, Craig nodded. 'You're right,' he said, sounding sad. 'I just... I just hate the thought of leaving him like this. Of running away.'

  'I get that,' Tim said, squatting down next to Craig, releasing his wrist. 'But we've got to look past that. It isn't cowardly if the end result is for the best.'

  Again, Craig nodded. Tim put a big hand on his shoulder.

  'Oh yeah,' Kim said, her voice still laced with venom. 'Listen to him, but not to your own girlfriend. Fucking prick.'

  'Not now, Kim,' Ashley said. She loved Kim, but she didn't want Tim's good work undone. They were close to getting the hell out of here and stupid arguments born from fear wouldn't help with that. Kim clenched her teeth. Ashley saw her jaw working, grinding her teeth together and Ashley could feel the anger radiate from her; she obviously didn't want to give up this spat. Thankfully, however, she just shrugged and turned away.

  'So,' Craig said, still looking at the poor man. 'Which way do we go? Backwards or forwards.'

  He looked to Tim, then up to Kim. Neither said anything at first, and it was Tim who finally spoke.

  'I still say we move forward.'

  'And I still say we go back,' Kim replied.

  Ashley felt herself deflate. One argument avoided, another one incoming.

  She wondered if it was just a stand-off of pride between the two, neither wanting to back down, or if they both genuinely believed their point of view was best for them all. Ashley could see both sides of the coin; she wanted to get to safety as quickly as possible, but the thought of staying in these woods for a prolonged period, knowing someone dangerous may still be lurking in here, was a terrifying proposition.

  'I say we move forward,' Craig said, still looking at the faceless man. Kim's jaw fell open. 'Tim's right. We should get help as quickly as we can. If that means hiking through here a for a little longer, then so be it.'

  'You're just saying that to get back at me,' Kim said, folding her arms.

  'Yes, Kim,' Craig said, his tone condescending, as if talking to a child. 'The thing first and foremost in my mind right now is to get on your nerves and piss you off. Not to get out of here safely.'

  'Prick.'

  'Classy as ever, Kim.'

  'We don't know what's in here, you idiot,' Kim said. 'Anyone could be hiding in these woods and we would never know until it's too late. They would hear us coming and-'

  'If they are going to hear us,' Craig cut in, 'then they've already done that, because of all the noise we've been making. You yelling like a banshee won't have helped.'

  'I wouldn't need to yell if you would just listen.'

  'Guys' Ashley said, keeping her voice as quiet as possible, but packing it with as much urgency as she could. 'Enough.'

  'So, that's two to one on moving forward,' Craig said. 'What do you say, Ashley?'

  All three looked at her.

  'Tell me you don't agree with them,' Kim said. 'It's suicide.'

  'It isn't suicide,' Tim said. 'It's the most sensible thing to do. Look, Ashley, I know this place, I know how to get us through here quickly. There are more clearings ahead where we can take breaks if we need to. We then move on again to the next clearing. Rinse and repeat.'

  'But how long till we're clear?' Kim asked.

  Tim shrugged. 'Depends on how quick we go. If we push it, and I mean really go for it, I'd say no more than six hours.'

  'Six hours? That's a long time to be in these woods with whoever it was did that to him,' Kim said, pointing to the body. 'You're crazy.' She looked to Ashley. 'You have to see that.'

  Again, everyone's eyes fell to Ashley, and it seemed she was tasked with casting the deciding vote. She didn't like it.

  'Look,' she said, holding up her hands, 'I don't know. This is all beyond me. I know we need to keep moving, but I have no idea which way is best.' She looked to the ground and shook her head. 'I just don't know, so don't make me pick.'

  'Then it's two against one,' Craig said.

  'Bullshit,' Kim snapped back. 'Ashley, now isn't the time to shrivel away like a mouse. You have a voice, you have an opinion. Fucking use it.'

  'You won't be saying that if it doesn't align with what you want,' Craig said. He turned away from Kim, knowing she would yell again, and once more looked at the body. Then, Ashley saw his head cock to the side, like a confused dog.

  'Ashley,' Kim snapped, 'will you please grow a pair and think for yourself?'

  The comment hurt Ashley, maybe because she saw some truth to it, a truth she didn't want to face right now, but she was more focused on Craig's growing curiosity. Had he noticed something?

  'Guys,' he said.

  'Shut up, you,' Kim said. 'You've said enough.'

  'No,' Craig replied, 'that's not what I mean. I think...' he stepped forward, leaned in closer to the faceless man.

  'What is it?' Tim asked.

  'I think he's breathing.'

  The collective group held their breath, trying to register what Craig had just said.

  'He's breathing?' Ashley asked. 'He can't-'

  She didn't finish her sentence. The man suddenly jerked upright into a sitting position with an ungodly roar. His arms quickly reached out and, though they were still bound at the wrist, quickly found Craig's throat, and clamped down.

  8

  The scream Kim had earlier refused to let out now burst free, unstoppable due to the jolt of shock that rocked her.

  A sense of panic and adrenaline surged through the group as they tried to register what they were seeing. This man, faceless, eyeless, and by rights one who should be quite dead, now had his hands wrapped tightly around Craig's neck.

  After a moment of surprised inaction, panic set in, and Kim's first instinct was to dart to Craig's aid. Despite the arguing, she found herself by his side before she could even think about it, trying to pry the man's grip loose. Craig's mouth was opening and closing, struggling for breath, but no sound came out. It reminded her of a goldfish out of water, uselessly trying to suck in what it needed to breath. The crazed attacker made a strained, gurgling sound as he squeezed tighter.

  Despite her best efforts, it seemed futile. Kim simply didn't have the strength needed to break the man's hold, so she began clawing at his skin.

  'Stop,' she heard Ashley yell. 'Sir, please stop, we're trying to
help you.'

  It confused Kim. Why was Ashley trying to reason with a man who was, at this very moment, trying to kill Craig? Then it struck her. She looked up to the man's wrecked face, the red holes where his eyes used to be, and realised. He was blind, and probably had no idea who they were, so was fighting out of instinct.

  She pulled harder as Craig fought for breath, both of them trying in vain to break the hold. Another thought struck her; where the hell was Tim?

  She cast a quick glance up to see him standing motionless, his face blank, obviously in shock. But now wasn't the time for that, they didn't have that luxury.

  'Hey!' Kim yelled up at him. 'Could you fucking help us?'

  Tim seemed to snap back into reality, shaking loose the fog of shock that had him rooted to the spot. He quickly jumped in and grabbed the man's arms. With his added strength, they managed to pull the man's hands away from Craig, who slipped free and began to gulp in large swathes of air.

  'Sir,' Ashley went on, 'please calm down. We aren't trying to hurt you.'

  The man wriggled and writhed, moaning loudly and pathetically on the floor. They all scuttled backwards from him, giving themselves room as his hands thrust wildly in the air, this way and that, searching for something to latch on to.

  'Holy shit,' Craig said, still pulling in much-needed air. His voice was hoarse and croaky.

  'How can he be alive?' Ashley asked. Kim had no answer to that, it didn't make any sense. She helped Craig to his feet and, once up, he bent double, still trying to get his breath. His throat was red, with bruises already forming.

  The man still thrashed about, moaning and gurgling.

  'Sir,' Ashley tried again.

  'He can't talk,' Craig said, rubbing his neck.

  'What do you mean?' Kim asked.

  'I saw,' Craig answered. 'When he had me, I could see into his mouth. He doesn't have a tongue.'

  'Jesus,' Kim said.

  'I think it had been cut out.'

  'Poor fucker,' Kim said. 'Someone really wanted to hurt him.'