The Devil's Woods

by Brian Moreland

  She looked at the clock. 9:55 p.m. Not much time before the mayor and his men would be back. If she stayed, she might not live to see tomorrow.

  Her car was still parked outside. She contemplated whether to go through the house, and deal with her son, or climb out the window and down the lattice, risking the chance of falling and breaking her neck. She decided to sneak out, but as she moved to the window, the phone rang.

  She stopped in the gloom of her bedroom. The old bell phone rang a second time then was answered by Hugo.

  Easing the phone’s receiver off the cradle, Wynona listened.

  “…your mother went to the reservation yesterday,” said Mayor Thorpe’s angry voice. “She tried to warn them. Now Elkheart’s back.”

  “Is that so?”

  “We’re having a town meeting at the church tonight to regroup.”

  “Can I come over there, Father?” Hugo asked.

  Mayor Thorpe said, “Yes, but first you have to kill your mother. She’s told too much already. If she escapes—”

  “Wait a minute,” Hugo interrupted. "I think somebody’s listening on the other phone.”

  Wynona heard his receiver set down. Feet walked across the wood floor. The doorknob twisted. Wynona dropped the phone.

  Hugo pounded on the door. “Mother, it’s not nice to eavesdrop. You’ll have to be punished.”

  Wynona regretted ever conceiving the boy. For thirty years she had put all her love into Jensen Thorpe’s illegitimate son and had never gotten an ounce back. He was too much like his father.

  “Mother! Open the fucking door!” Hugo pounded again. The wood cracked in the center.

  Wynona raised the gun, hands shaking.

  Something scraped the other side.

  Claws, she thought. My son can grow claws.

  He growled through the door.

  She placed the gun inches away and fired three shots, punching as many holes through the flimsy wood. Peering through a hole, she saw Hugo’s quivering body on the floor. Wynona yanked open the door and let him see the shame on her face.

  Black ooze seeped from two fissures in his chest. The face of the thing lying on the floor vaguely resembled her son. Hugo stretched a knobby, claw-tipped hand toward her, speaking like a child, “Mother, you shot me… Why?” His voice deepened again. “Why, you bitch?” He lurched toward her and received a bullet in the eye.

  Hugo lay paralyzed momentarily, as his mottled skin began to shift and contort. Not having much time, Wynona poured a bottle of brandy over his writhing body. Then lighting a cigarette, she flicked it at his chest. Her son burst into flames.

  Wynona found her keys and hurried for the car.

  * * *

  Elkheart pulled one of the skulls out of the crate. “This is what the Macâya’s offspring look like in their natural form.”

  Kyle ran his fingers along the juts and ridges of the skull’s broad cranium. Jagged fangs filled its wide jawbones. The eye sockets were surprisingly small and set deep. The skull looked so alien there was nothing in the animal kingdom he could compare it to. The only things that it resembled were the creatures from his nightmares. Some of the skulls had horns.

  Jessica picked up what looked to be a baby skull. “Amazing. These creatures really exist?” The scientist in her seemed to be reveling in the discovery of a new species.

  Kyle, on the other hand, felt a knot in his gut as he realized who the Devil’s offspring were. “Everyone in Hagen’s Cove can change into one of these?”

  “Just those born from the Thorpe clan,” his father said. “I call them ‘shifters’. When they’re in public, they wear their human masks and blend in quite well. But when they roam the woods, they shape-shift into these monstrosities.”

  “Even Sam Zano?”

  Elkheart nodded. “All the Mounties in the area. They shield the crimes that happen here. When the girls are abducted, Zano makes sure no one ever finds them.”

  Kyle sat on a twin bed as the gravity began to sink in. “And Ray Roamingbear?”

  “Human. But he helps the cult abduct women. In return, he can live out his sick fantasies with his captives, and Inspector Zano turns a blind eye.”

  Jessica shuddered. She put the baby skull away and joined Kyle on the bed. “What about Wynona?” she asked. “She came here trying to warn us. I thought she was crazy.”

  Elkheart’s face turned somber. “Wynona’s not crazy. She was probably terrified for you.”

  “But why?” Jessica asked.

  “Because no woman who enters Hagen’s Cove is safe.”

  Jessica’s breath hitched.

  “So Wynona’s not part of the clan?” Kyle asked.

  “Not by choice. Years ago, when she was seventeen, she ran away from home. Wynona hitchhiked to Hagen’s Cove to work as a waitress at the tavern. That position is how the town lures in women. If the ‘help wanted’ ads don’t draw any flies to the web, Hugo and Thorpe’s truck drivers scour the highways for girls hitching. They like runaways because it’s easy for those girls to vanish without a trace. I think Ray has been helping the townspeople collect women. Maybe they let him keep a few of his own.”

  Jessica squeezed Kyle’s hand. He put an arm around her.

  “All of the men here murder women?” Jessica asked.

  Elkheart shook his head. “The men of Hagen’s Cove don’t kill the women. They breed with them. The girls are divvied up at the church auction. Some are chosen by the town’s men for child-bearing domestic slaves. Most end up committing suicide.”

  Jessica asked, “Why are they taking women?”

  Elkheart put the horned demon skull back. “It’s an act of survival. They need to prolong their race. Thorpe’s clan has a genetic defect that won’t allow them to breed with each other. If two shifters mate the result is always a stillborn. To keep their population growing, they’ve been kidnapping women for over a century and mating with them. Even the females born into the clan have to find human men to mate with. These women can shape-shift into any man’s fantasy. They are highly seductive. Madu and I call the females ‘Black Widows’.”

  * * *

  As Eric sat on the Hummer’s hood, drinking another beer, Nadine did a little striptease in the beams of the headlights. She removed her halter top and cut-offs. He cheered her on when she got down to a black thong. She toyed with the straps, spinning around, showing off her tight little ass. And then she slid her panties off and held up her arms. “Ta-da!”

  Eric clapped and took in the perfection of her body. He was so hard now his zipper was about to bust. “Climb on up here, hot stuff.” He started to put on a condom, but she said, “No, I like it natural.”

  “We have to be careful then.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m on the Pill.” She climbed onto the hood like a prowling jaguar and straddled him. He entered her and she bounced on his lap.

  Nadine was a howler. She gripped Eric’s shoulders as she rode him on the hood of the Hummer.

  He felt himself building, building. “Okay, babe, I’m about to come.” He started to lift her off.

  “Noooo!” She looked at him with fierce eyes and pinned him to the windshield. She pressed her hips down, grinding harder. The girl was surprisingly strong. She howled, arching her back. Eric exploded into her. Their bodies spasmed and then they collapsed together against the windshield.

  He wiped his sweaty brow. “Damn, Nadine, you’re an animal.”

  She giggled in his ear. “Can you do it again?”

  “Sure.”

  “Good. Will you do a special favor for me?”

  “What’s that?”

  “Will you fuck my girlfriends, too?”

  Eric heard footsteps through the high grass. Three gorgeous women stepped into the head beams. The redhead in the middle said, “Hey, cowboy, remember me?”

  * * *

  Not seeing another car on the road, Wynona sped through Hagen’s Cove in her Buick. All the buildings were dark, even the Beowulf Lodge and Tavern. S
he smiled, knowing all the townspeople were at the church.

  Zooming past the town limits sign—Welcome to Hagen’s Cove, population 466 and counting!—Wynona laughed and toasted the sign with her flask, then took a celebratory gulp of brandy. She had finally escaped. She drove along the winding backwoods road that would eventually reach the Trans-Canada Highway. From there she would continue on to Calgary, then to Toronto to see if her mother was still alive.

  Wynona had been one of the lucky ones, because Mayor Thorpe chose her for himself. He had provided her with a home, plenty of food, an unlimited supply of fine brandy to drown her sorrows, and a job working for the town’s undertaker. When Wynona turned eighteen, Thorpe impregnated her with Hugo. She remembered how hideous the baby had looked after birth. Its infant claws and featureless face had made her faint. In the first few months, its face was just a mouth in a pool of gray flesh. It had tiny sharp teeth that made breast feeding torture. Then, as her baby learned to shape-shift, it began to look like a hybrid of its mother and father. But her son’s human features had only been a mask that hid its true nature. Wynona had done her best to love her son, but he had never loved her in return. Now her lifelong burden was lifted as it lay dead in her living room, burning with the rest of the house.

  My son is dead.

  She pressed down harder on the pedal, relieved she had destroyed the small part of herself that she would have left behind. The full moon lit up the night with a blue-gray luminance. The trees stood on either side in jagged silhouettes. The empty road stretched in front of her. Another half hour and she’d be out of these woods and Toronto bound.

  She thought of the other abducted women still trapped in this hell town. The ones who tried to escape were given to Ray Roamingbear to be his playthings. But the worst were the girls chosen for the ritual, which happened once every ten years. Tomorrow night marked the tenth year. “Those poor, unfortunate girls,” she said, thinking of Jessica and Shawna.

  But there was nothing Wynona could do for them now. She took a swig of lukewarm liquor, let it trickle down her throat, then set the flask between her legs. When she got far enough away to start her new life, her first goal was to quit drinking.

  Lights gleamed in her rearview mirror, like wicked eyes in the night. Two trucks raced side by side, advancing at an incredible speed.

  Wynona pressed the gas pedal to the floor.

  Something scuttled up ahead.

  She flashed her brights to see a dark lupine figure standing in the road. It spread its long arms. She swerved to the left, as claws scraped her passenger door.

  Headlights glared behind her. A truck rammed her bumper. She jolted forward. The flask landed under her feet.

  A truck filled with men in the back raced alongside her. Baseball bats and crowbars pounded her hood, smashed her windows. Wynona screamed. The roadster slammed into her side. Her car slid onto the shoulder, tires rumbling over tall grass.

  She got back onto the road. The truck on her left scraped against her door. Something heavy thumped onto her roof. A hand smashed through her side window in a storm of glass. Talons swooped at her face. Wynona ducked, leaning toward the passenger side.

  Ahead, two police SUVs formed a roadblock. Sam Zano and his Mounties aimed their rifles.

  Wynona swerved hard to the right as shots shattered her back windows. Her car barreled into the forest, bumping over logs and ditches. Branches scratched the roof and the beast on top flew off. Her Buick rocketed downhill between the scattered pines. Much too fast. She tried to brake, but something was under the pedal.

  Her flask!

  Wynona fought the wheel. The right front bumper struck a tree, jolted her sideways into a pine. Her door caved inward. The impact hurled her against the passenger door. Shaken but alive, she pushed open the door and climbed out. Her shoulder ached and the forest was spinning.

  The trucks stopped, lights stabbing through the pines. Bodies jumped from the beds of the trucks. Doors flew open. The men’s angry voices turned to growls.

  Wynona raced through woods.

  Something snarled off to her left. She turned to see a white-eyed demon running through the trees. Holding back her scream, Wynona veered to her right.

  Several growls sounded behind her.

  How much longer could she run? Her lungs felt as if they would explode. Fear kept her going.

  The forest went silent. She glanced back. Nothing chased her. Had she lost them?

  Getting her bearings, she spotted the lake. There were houses along the water’s edge. Maybe she could steal one of the boats. She came into a section of the woods where the trees spread apart. She slowed to catch her breath, her side aching.

  Laughter off to her left seized her heart.

  Turning, Wynona spotted Mayor Thorpe standing ten yards away, his eyes reflecting the moon. He stood with his hands on his hips. He was still dressed in his suit, complete with cowboy hat and boots. “My dear Wynona, how foolish you were to think you could ever escape us.” Thorpe smiled impossibly wide, his mouth filled with shark’s teeth. Behind him dozens of white dots appeared in the darkness. The devil who had fathered her child shouted in the ancient language.

  The demons charged from all directions, pouncing on Wynona. Clawing, tearing, devouring—erasing her very existence.

  Chapter Twenty

  In the underground shelter, Kyle and Jessica watched a video of the night Elkheart’s crew was attacked in Macâya Forest. It was mostly dark, chaotic footage of people running around a campfire. Kyle winced at the screams, gunshots and animal growls as the team was overtaken. A monstrous hand swiped at the camera and the footage ended.

  As his father ejected the tape, Kyle remained seated with Jessica on the couch, absorbing everything. The abductions, the murders, a town made up of shape-shifting demons—it was all too much to fathom.

  Jessica was visibly shocked and hadn’t spoken in a while. Kyle wanted to say something to make her feel safe, but no comforting words came to mind. He put his arm around her shoulder and kissed her temple.

  His father locked the metal cabinet that concealed all his research. “For now, I don’t want either of you mentioning anything about the shifters to Eric. The last thing we need is for him to go off half-cocked.”

  Kyle squeezed his fists to keep himself from panicking. “What are we going to do? My plane is parked at the marina.”

  “Tonight, we sit tight. We’ll be safe within the circle of torches Grandfather and I have set up.”

  Kyle stood. “You think you can keep those things out with magic?”

  “Our tribe and the shifters have honored each other’s territories for over a century. Our ancestors put sacred laws in place to protect us.” Elkheart placed a reassuring palm on Kyle’s shoulder. “You two, go get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow, Madu, Scarpetti and I are going back to Macâya Forest to find your sister and Amy. After that, we’ll figure out how to escape.”

  * * *

  Kyle and Jessica returned upstairs to the loft in silence. There was still no sign of Eric and that worried Kyle more than he let on. He had convinced himself earlier that Eric had just gone for a drive to cool off and would return after an hour or two. Despite their differences, Kyle still considered his brother family, and the idea of losing him was just as heartbreaking as losing Shawna. Gripping the rail, he did his best to hold himself together.

  Jessica quietly packed a suitcase. She didn’t cry or panic or demand to be taken away from here. No hysterical theatrics from this woman. In moments of crisis, she displayed an inner strength that Kyle admired. It made him love her all the more.

  Love? Yes, his feelings for her were that strong now. He would die before he let Ray or anyone in town lay a hand on her.

  Kyle leaned over the rail that overlooked the dark den. Elkheart had retreated upstairs to his room. The mercenaries were on patrol outside, standing watch on the front and back porches. All they could do was wait now. Kyle thought of his plane parked at the marina. They
would have to go through Hagen’s Cove to get to it. Would the townspeople let them leave? Tomorrow his father and the mercenaries were going to sneak into the mineshaft and search for Shawna and Amy. If by chance they were successful, then Elkheart said the Thorpe clan probably wouldn’t let them leave without a fight. Kyle’s mind couldn’t even go there. He wanted to erase everything he had just learned. Wanted to be back home in Seattle, taking Jessica out on their first date, starting a new life with her. Now, the chances of either of them ever leaving these woods were slim.