Kim.
The girl Ashley considered her best friend in life, someone she loved dearly, someone she thought loved her back. The girl who seemed only too eager to leave her behind.
As angry as she was, Ashley wasn't oblivious to the fact, though, that both her and Kim had done exactly the same thing to Craig less than an hour ago.
It seemed this was a weekend for turning your back on a friend in need.
In some fucked up kind of way, though, perhaps Tim's betrayal hurt Ashley less than what Kim had almost done. This was his plan all along, after all. He hadn't turned on them; he was never one of them. Not really.
But with Kim it was different. Ashley couldn't shake the look Kim had given after she had run by without helping.
It was almost apologetic.
Which, to Ashley, meant Kim had every intention of continuing on, leaving her behind as a distraction to make good her escape. That hurt more, and cut deeper, than anything Tim and his fucked up family could possibly do.
So, the question remained. If, by some small chance, an opportunity to escape presented itself, would she leave Kim behind? God knows she deserved it.
Ashley didn't know the answer to that question, not yet, and decided it pointless debating it. If an opportunity did arise, she would deal with it then.
The woman carrying her began to stumble with almost every other step, and her breathing turned into a wheeze. She was obviously running out of steam.
'You think we should untie their legs and make them walk for us?' Ashley heard the brother call from behind. 'Might be easier that way.'
He certainly didn't sound as out of breath as his sister was. 'No,' she said, defiantly. 'I'm fine.'
The pause, and deep breath, between each word, indicated otherwise. Ashley had half an idea; to try and wriggle free, to make things as difficult as possible for the woman, maybe force her to drop Ashley. But then what? Her brother was still bringing up the rear, and Ashley was completely tied up. What could she possibly do other than flop around on the floor like a fish out of water?
The answer came a short while later, when the girl carrying her eventually gave way to exhaustion and stumbled to the floor. The impact was sudden, but Ashley's fall was broken by the woman, who let out a grunt. She wiggled out from beneath Ashley, panting, and kicked out at her, catching her in the ribs.
'Wanna trade?' the brother said, walking over to them both, Kim still slung over his shoulder.
'I said I'm fine,' his sister said.
'You ain't,' he replied. 'And if we need to keep stopping, this is gonna take too long. You know what the family are like, especially Henry. By the time we get back there'll be no good meat left.'
'We still have these two,' the sister said. 'Plenty of good meat on them.'
'True, but why give up any of it? Who knows when we'll have a feast like this again. Food supply has been getting more scarce year on year.'
'I know that. You think I don't know that?'
'Then let's quit fucking about and get a move on. Here, take this one,' he said.
'No,' the woman said, quickly getting to her feet. She moved too quickly, however, and wavered a little as she stood.
'Will you stop being so damn stubborn?'
'I got this,' she yelled back.
'Fine,' her brother replied. 'Then cut her feet loose and make her walk ahead. It'll be quicker that way.'
'And if she tries to escape?'
'Make sure she doesn't. Make sure she won't even think about it. Tame the fucking mouse, sis, and be quick about it. I ain't hanging around any longer.'
The man strode on past them and, as he did, Ashley locked eyes with Kim. Ashley scowled, letting her friend, or ex-friend, know exactly how she felt. Then her ribs exploded with pain as the sister, who stood above her, planted another kick into her, this one with the toe of her boot.
'Listen here, bitch,' the girl said, kneeling down close to Ashley. She pulled out a short, hooked blade. 'I'm gonna untie your feet, and you're gonna walk along like a good little doggie. Understand?'
Ashley didn't answer, didn't even look at her.
'If you don't,' the woman started, but held off finishing as she brought the blade to Ashley's cheek. She slowly pushed it into the skin, drawing blood. The pain was sharp and Ashley felt the warm trickle of blood run down her face.
'That's just the start,' the woman said. She then quickly yanked the blade down, hard, completely opening up Ashley's cheek. Ashley howled in pain as the knife easily sliced through the skin. She even felt the tip cut across her gum and scrape her molars as it went.
The woman laughed and stood back up. 'Going to have a nice little scar there, little lady. I made sure to cut deep. Looks like I might have gone too deep, though. Fuck, I can see your jaw and teeth through the opening. Maybe I should have kept it going, whaddya think? Made the gash run into your mouth? That would have been a hell of a thing to show off.'
Ashley squirmed and groaned, feeling more blood spill down her face to the floor. It stung horribly. She saw the woman move, bending down to her feet and pulling at the bonds that tied them. She cut through the rope and Ashley's legs came free.
Ashley felt an opportunity brewing, but she would have to take her chance at the right time. Right now, she was too disoriented from the pain that burned through her cheek.
'Get up,' the woman yelled, and kicked her again. Ashley slowly complied, and stood to her feet. 'Good little mouse,' the woman said and shoved Ashley forward. 'Now, march.'
Again, Ashley complied, walking forward carefully. With her flashlight gone, she was unsure of her footing, even on the relatively level trail. Her face and cheek continued to burn like a line of fire running down her skin, and blood dropped in steady globules from her chin.
The man carrying Kim was farther up ahead, almost lost to the shadows. That was good, but the woman was pushing Ashley on quickly, which meant they would close the gap in short order. If Ashley was going to make an escape, then she needed to try it when she only had one of them to deal with.
And she would need to put the woman down somehow, at least semi-permanently, in order to get free. Ashley had already seen how quickly the girl could move through these woods, and she would have no trouble catching Ashley if it turned into a straight foot race.
Half a plan developed in her mind, and through sheer desperation, Ashley acted on it as quickly as it had formed. She let an ankle roll beneath her, careful not to let her full weight drop, but trying to make the stumble look convincing, even letting out a small cry of pain as she began hopping forward. She bent double and pulled the supposed bad ankle up from the floor, cradling it with tied hands.
'You fucking idiot,' the girl said. 'I ain't carrying your fat arse anymore, so get a move on.'
Ashley took a step forward and pretended to stumble again, in pain, as if putting pressure on the ankle was unbearable. The girl pushed her again, and Ashley hobbled, then lowered herself to a crouching position and lifted the foot in question off the floor. She continued to moan, making things as convincing as possible.
'My ankle,' Ashley said. 'I can't... I can't put weight on it.'
'You're going to have to,' the woman said.
'I can't,' Ashley replied, starting to cry.
Once again, the blade was at her throat. 'If you don't, I'll just drain you right here, right now, and let you bleed out on the floor.'
Ashley decided to call her bluff, hoping that the woman had no intention of carrying through with her threat. The goal was to get Ashley back to the house, not kill her out here and let her meat go to waste.
She just hoped it wasn't a goal they would easily give up on.
Ashley slowly fell backwards to her butt, and kept her leg in the air to avoid putting any pressure on it. She knew she had to catch the woman somehow, in some way, and make her feel it.
The woman bent down close to Ashley, fire in her eyes, and held the blade out. 'I'm not fucking joking,' she said.
Ashley
saw her chance.
As the woman leaned closer to issue more threats, Ashley pushed her raised foot forward, as hard as she could, driving the heel into the girl's nose with every ounce of power she could muster. Ashley heard a crunch and the girl's head snapped back. She dropped the blade and stumbled backwards a few steps.
Ashley acted quickly, diving for the blade, which she grabbed with her tied hands. She was back on her feet in no time and charged into the woman, shoulder first. The girl fell to the floor and Ashley landed on top of her.
There was a moment where the girl, Claudia, Ashley remembered, looked up in disbelief. Disbelief that this little mouse was able to outwit her and get the upper hand.
Ashley didn't dwell on this, she swiftly raised the knife high above her, grasped in both hands, and drove it down.
She felt the blade sink into the gut of the woman, who let out a cry of pain. Ashley then pulled the weapon sideways, across the woman's belly, slicing her open, allowing blood and ropey entrails to push their way out.
The girl roared in pain and rolled away, clutching her stomach as red liquid spilled through her fingers.
'Fucking bitch,' she spat, blood running from her mouth.
'Sis?' Ashley heard the man call from ahead. During the conflict, he had obviously kept on going, and Ashley couldn't make him out anymore. The woman groaned and gargled in response, but it was quiet, almost muted. She coughed and spat a splash of blood across the ground.
Ashley's mind raced as to what to do next; the woman was down and didn't look to be getting up any time soon, suffering what may have been a fatal wound. Though, remembering the faceless man, it might take a little more to put these people down.
Could they even be killed?
Worth a try.
Ashley then clasped the handle of the blade again and thrust it down, letting her full weight drop behind it. She guided the tip into the side of the girl's head, and felt herself stop mid drop, suspended as it initially pierced into the skull with a crack, then held. The girl let out a horrible screech and the blade found its way farther in. Ashley pushed down, forcing it in, and twisted and twirled the blade, attempting to mash up the brain beneath.
The woman thrashed and screamed, blood spilling from her cranium and gut, but her movements were weak.
Realising she still needed to get away, Ashley heaved the knife free, which took three tries, and angled the sharp edge along the ropes that tied her wrists together. She then ran it backwards and forwards, trying to get as much leverage as possible with the awkward grip.
'Sis?' she heard the man shout again, louder this time. Ashley cut at the rope, frantically. The knife was soaked in blood, and slippery in her hands, but she worked as quickly as she could.
'Hey,' she heard the man yell, and Ashley looked up. She could see him now, up ahead, still carrying Kim, who he promptly dropped to the floor like a sack.
Come on, she prayed, willing the knife to do its work much, much faster. The man set off in a sprint towards her and she, in turn, swivelled and ran. Ashley tried to keep on cutting as she fled, but it was hard to keep the knife steady.
Looking back over her shoulder, she saw the man move with frightening speed as he closed the distance, keeping low, like an animal finely-tuned to its environment.
'What do you think you're doing, girl?' he yelled.
Come on, come on, come on.
Ashley then felt the rope finally give, and fall slack. She wriggled her hands completely free and let the rope fall, keeping a firm grip on the knife, and ran for her life.
But it was no good, he was just too quick, and he closed the gap in mere moments. Ashley knew he would catch up to her in no more than a few seconds. So, instead of letting that happen, she stopped and turned to face him. She also brought the weapon up, and held it out before her, letting him see what was waiting.
The man pulled up short a few feet from her.
'Well, did you take that from my sister?' he asked. He turned back to look at the writhing woman on the floor.
'Stay back,' Ashley said, 'or I'll gut you too.'
The man nodded, seemingly impressed. 'Didn't think you had it in you, little mouse. You're full of surprises, ain't ya? And you did indeed gut my sister, but that only means I gotta do the same to you.' He then pulled free his own long machete. 'Here, let me show you.'
Ashley took a step backwards, still training the knife on him as he took a step forward, matching her movements. Running wasn't an option, as the man was far too quick, and this time she had no head start to speak of. If she couldn't run, that left only one thing, and it could very well mean her death. But she knew if she didn't try, then she would die anyway. Hell, at least this way might be quicker, and less painful, than what they had planned for her.
Ashley took a deep breath and tried to steady her nerves.
'You know what,' she said, feeling an odd sense of calm take hold. 'I think I want to give it another try myself.'
The man looked surprised, initially, then he threw his head back and let out a hearty belly laugh. 'Damn, little mouse, I really like you. Shame it's gotta end this way. You would have been fun to play with.’
Ashley didn't wait any longer, she lunged forward, blade first, ready to hack and slash as wildly as she could.
After the first swing, Ashley knew her escape attempt was over.
Then man dodged under her arm, and when she tried to bring the knife down to his back, he just feinted to the side, effortlessly avoiding her attacks. He then ducked behind her as she overcommitted again, now completely out of her reach. It was helpless, and Ashley braced herself for the inevitable retaliation.
She felt a swift blow to the back of her head.
Spots of light erupted, pinpricking her vision, and dizziness took hold. She felt her body fall, but as she dropped, she was already feeling far removed from reality. Ashley realised she was losing consciousness, and her last sight was the man standing above her, still smiling.
He raised his knife.
Ashley was thankful that the black swallowed her up, stealing her consciousness, grateful she wouldn't feel the pain of her death.
26
The man held up his machete, ready to carve up the girl that had tried to escape.
The meek little mouse.
Obviously not so meek anymore.
In a strange kind of way, maybe this weekend had done her good, shown her what she was really capable of. She'd gotten the better of Claudia, leaving his sister howling and writhing. Ted couldn't remember ever seeing that happen before.
This little mouse had a lot of potential.
Shame he had to kill her.
It wasn't like he hadn't warned her, more than once, yet still she disobeyed. In a way, he could respect that, but rules were rules. He'd told her what would happen, and he needed to follow through. His father always said that if you didn't make good on a threat, then you were nothing, and no one would respect you.
In this world, you had to earn everything.
So, she had to die.
He gripped the handle of the machete tighter.
Didn't she?
In all the years he and his family had been doing this, and it had been too many to keep track of, he'd never really seen anyone like her. She'd proven to have a determination and strength he hadn't seen at first. And she was easy enough on the eye. Even the love mark his sister had bestowed upon her only improved things, as far as he was concerned. Battle scars were sexy, something to be proud of.
Plus, he knew Tim was getting tired of being the youngest, the weakest. His brother was desperate for more. Could it be time to recruit again? It was another mouth to feed, of course, but maybe a good-looking girl like this one would draw more meat out for them.
Maybe the reason things were so rough and sparse at the minute was because they had all stagnated. Things between them hadn't changed for a long, long time.
Was it time for the family to grow?
It had been over forty years si
nce Tim had joined, brought home by father, kidnapped after wandering too close to the woods. Maybe it was time for new blood.
But they could barely feed themselves as they were, so was adding another to their ranks sensible?
Maybe she could replace one of the others?
Tim hadn't proven that useful in luring food, especially not recently, so why not swap him out? And wouldn't it be fitting to swap him with someone he brought in?
The choice, however, was not his to make.
Father would have to make that decision. If he agreed, then the girl would go down to see Grandpa.
And if it wasn't to be, at least they still had another warm body for the feast. Maybe the only stupid decision here was to actually kill her.
Ted slid the machete back into the loop on his trousers, his mind made up. His sister was still rolling around on the floor like a wounded puppy.
'Well, sis?' he said, and stepped towards her. 'What happened here?'
'Ted, helgh,' the girl mumbled out, drastically slurring her words. Was that supposed to be help? Drool ran from her mouth, mixed with blood. Her jaw worked as she tried to speak again, but it simply gnawed at thin air, refusing to work how it should.
'Oh shit,' Ted said, laughing. 'She broke you, sis. You might be full-on retarded now.' He collapsed to the floor in a fit of hysterics. 'Jesus, she fucking done you over. Do you know how long it'll take to heal up from this? Sorry sis, I don't have that kind of time to wait. I'm going to be late getting back as it is.'
He got to his feet. Claudia reached up for her brother from a pool of her own blood. It was an exciting sight to him.
'Ted,' she pleaded again, forcing out the word.
He just shrugged. 'Ma and Da aren't gonna be happy with you when I tell them. Hell, they might even be impressed with our guest here and have her replace you. Take you both down to see Grandpa and see what he has to say.'
Claudia tried to crawl forward, but her motor skills were obviously affected and her hands didn't seem to move where she wanted them to. It was a comical sight, like a little marionette moving around by unpracticed hands.
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