Day 05: Bodies in the Woods

Group 1: Veronica, Elise, Natalie, David, Amélia, Eddie
Location: Warehouse

“Keep running,” Veronica huffed as she charged forward in front of Elise. Coming from the dark, thicker area of the woods into the lighter open one, she could finally see where she was going without the use of a flashlight and quickly tucked it into her backpack.

“Wait, Roni, we need to go back. The kids. Jeremiah and Nina, they’re gone,” Elise said, leaning her body against a rock as she tried to catch her breath.

“What? SHIT!” Veronica cussed, looking around and seeing Elise was right. She had no idea at what point they’d lost the other two but looking at the blaze, now visible above the trees, there was no way they could go back. They would stand no chance of getting out alive. “We can’t go back. We have to keep moving.”

“Please tell me you’re kidding.”

“Look behind you, Elise. The entire place has gone up in smoke. In a minute, that fire will reach us. Besides that, who knows how many more armed men are lurking back there waiting to take us out?” Veronica paused, watching Elise stare at the flickering flames as if willing them to extinguish. “Elise, I feel bad for saying this, I do, but, we can’t risk going back. Let’s hope they made it out.”

With an exasperated sigh Elise nodded her head. Pushing off of the stone that had been supporting her, she snatched up her pack and quietly trudged behind Veronica. 

Natalie sat in the middle of the room. Darkness encompassed every corner. Ropes held her securely to a wooden chair that wobbled on one leg when she shifted her weight. The place smelled of fuel and motor oil leading her to believe it was some sort of auto garage or hangar. It was cold and her head throbbed just above her left eye. She could tell she was injured but didn’t know how bad.

Taking a look around left her with very little clue as to where she was. It was dark. Not even a crack in the window to her right provided enough light to see much. Just as her eyes started to adjust to the pitch black a door opened behind her, bathing the wall in front of her in a dark umber glow. She could feel someone enter the room…maybe two. They stood behind her quietly out of sight, but breathing. At least they’re alive, she thought and quickly banished the idea. It was the living that had attacked them tonight. 

“I’m hurt,” she said in a voice so tiny and low she was unsure if she was even heard. The door opened and closed again. Someone left. But there was still one there. She could sense him staring at her in the darkness. “Please? I need medical attention.”

Silence. Natalie crooked her head to the side hoping to make out any distinguishable features. He was tall. That much she could tell. But his unwillingness to speak left her afraid of his intentions. She pulled at the rope laced around her hands but her fingers couldn’t get a good enough grip to untie them. The buzz in his veins heated and rushed into his head as he watched her squirm in her bindings. He inhaled a deep breath. It had been a while since his last kill but there was much to be said about anticipation.

A distant scream cut through her thoughts. Its visceral tone and the way it cut off mid-screech uneased the hair on Natalie’s neck. He saw her jump. No doubt considering the chances of those cries for help coming from her own mouth soon. The buzz grew louder, increasing from the faint drone of bees in the spring to the deafening roar of a Howitzer.

The man started forward with one deliberate step after the next. Natalie nibbled on her lip as she felt his fingers reach out and touch the loose hairs on her nape. She tried to move away, but the wobbly leg on her chair only served to bounce her right back into his grip.

The door opened one more time but this time someone spoke. “Porter wants to see you,” a deep masculine tone crowed. The man ignore the voice at the door and continued stroking Natalie’s smooth skin, enjoying the way she writhed beneath his touch. “Now,” the voice demanded, stopping the man’s roaming fingers.

The man retrieved his hand as he knelt down to whisper in Natalie’s ear, “Soon.” The door closed one last time, immersing the room in darkness once more.

The forest was growing cooler. The damper ground sloshed beneath their soles as they continued hiking through the dark woods. Switching on their flashlights, they played the beams on the pine needle carpet, keeping their eyes peeled for any unwanted element. A few feet away from an abandoned farmhouse, Veronica stopped and listened.

Quickly switching off their flashlights, Elise and Veronica crept forward. A small animal scurried through the brushwood. Above, branches rustled in the breeze. They walked forward. Dead leaves crunched underfoot. Fifty feet ahead, shadows moved on the ground. A figure loomed beside the two-story country home.

Veronica motioned to Elise to round the back as she kept a steady approach towards the front. Elise nodded, acknowledging the plan, but as she took a step back, the sound of a weapon loading halted them both in their tracks.

“Move and you’re dead!”

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