'Bullshit,' the girl said.
Adela laughed and let go of her. 'You'll see in time, my dear.'
'So,' Father said, 'you agree?'
Adela cocked her head and Ted could see the contemplation on her face. 'Maybe. She might just have it. Though only the old man can know for sure.'
'So we take her to see him,' Father said, with finality.
'And if he agrees, and she becomes one of us? What do we do with Claudia?'
'We wait till she gets herself back here,' Father said. 'Then take her down to see Grandpa as well.'
'What'll happen to her?' Timothy asked.
'Doesn't matter,' Father said. 'If he agrees with this, then after we take Claudia down we won't see her again. No need to worry ourselves about what he does with her.'
'What if he doesn't agree?' Henry asked, still picking bits from the body left on the table. He pulled free chunks of meat from the open stomach and slipped them into his mouth. 'What if she isn't one of us?'
'Then nothing happens,' Father said. 'We carry on as we are.'
'With Claudia around?' Henry asked.
'Of course,' Father replied.
'Don't think she will be too happy, though, when she finds out what we were thinking.'
Father shrugged. 'She'll learn to deal with it. She'll have to. And she should let it be a lesson not to fuck up. But, I have to say, I have a good feeling about this one,' he pointed to the redhead. 'Might be just what we are looking for.'
'So, what do we do first?' Ted asked. 'Do we finish up with her?' He pulled at the leash, making the Asian one yelp, a small break in her sobbing. She seemed totally broken now. 'Or do we take the redhead down to see Grandpa first?'
Father though about that for a moment before finally deciding.
'We take her to Grandpa,' he said. 'Timothy and Henry can stay up here and clean up. They'll need to get rid of the leftovers and set the table again, anyway. The rest of us will go down and see what's what.'
'Sounds good to me,' Ted said, then leaned closer to the redhead, close enough to smell her. 'Good luck. If all goes well, looks like I'll be calling you sister soon enough.'
30
Ashley knew these people were insane, that much was painfully evident, but seeing what had become of poor Craig, a sight which turned her stomach, was enough to prove this family was completely and utterly unhinged.
Craig's body had been totally desecrated and mangled.
It was an inhuman sight.
The blood that ran from the ruined corpse seemed to drain from the table, which Ashley saw had small holes along its surface. His lifeblood slipping away to God knows where.
It was sickening.
In some respect, considering their mental state, the Webb's talk of getting her to join them, to become part of this nightmare, shouldn't seem that crazy. But did they really think she would ever allow that to happen? Even if it proved to be the only way to save her life, living like this was not an acceptable compromise.
She would rather die.
The man who had carried her back here, Ted, began cutting at her bonds.
'You're going to need a bit more movement,' he said. 'Getting down there isn't exactly easy.'
She'd expected him to perhaps free up her legs, but to untie her completely surprised her. She looked at him warily.
'You'd be advised not to try anything stupid here, girl,' the father said, and folded his arms over his chest. The tone he gave off was scalding, almost... parental.
She felt Ted grab her from behind. He wrapped one arm tightly around her chest and brought up his knife to her throat.
'I'd listen to him carefully if I were you, sweetheart,' she heard him say, feeling his rotten breath on the side of her face.
He pushed her forward and the older man, Benjamin, pulled a key from his overall pocket and walked to the corner of the room, where he squatted down. As Ashley passed the table where Craig's remains sat, she saw Benjamin fumbling with something on the floor; a thick, iron grate, roughly about three foot by three foot. He unlocked it and placed the key back into the pocket on his chest, then opened the grate, which was hinged at one side.
A trap door.
So that's how they proposed to get her down there. Ted then pushed Ashley over to his father, who grabbed her by the throat.
'Ready to go see the old man?' he asked with a sneer.
'Wait,' a voice shouted, echoing around the small space. Everyone turned their attentions back to Kim, who had been forgotten. She was in sitting position on the floor, pulling her tied hands under her butt, before bending her legs and looping her arms from under them. She didn't seem to be in any kind of rush.
'You got something to say,' the father asked, chuckling.
'Take me instead,' she said, standing to her feet.
'Take you? Take you where?'
'Down there,' she said. 'Wherever you are going. Take me. Let me join you.'
Benjamin threw his head back and let out a bellowing laugh.
'You? Join us? Oh, my dear, I'm afraid that isn't how this works,' he said.
'And you wouldn't fit in, anyway,' Adela added. 'You're eyes are too slanty. Not really our sort.'
She laughed as she spoke, and Henry chuckled along with her.
'Besides,' Benjamin went on, 'you don't just get to ask. You need to be chosen.'
'Then choose me,' she said, taking a step forward.
'Why should we do that?'
'Because,' she said, still walking forward. No one seemed concerned by her, merely curious. 'I have what it takes. I can be one of you.'
Ted quickly walked over to Kim and took a strong hold of her.
'Wait,' Benjamin commanded, seemingly intrigued. Ted released her and stepped aside. 'So,' Ben went on, 'you think you have what it takes to be one of us? Well, I have to say, in all my years, never have I heard anyone say they actually want to join us. Like I said, it's never a choice.'
'But I want to,' Kim said.
Ashley couldn't believe what she was hearing from her so-called friend. Surely what they'd done to Craig sickened Kim's as much as it did her? Surely she could have nothing but contempt for these people? Then, Ashley thought back to Kim's earlier eagerness to leave her behind, and figured this was just another display of desperate selfishness. She was doing it for one reason and one reason only; so she didn't have to die.
'No, you don't want to. You just don't want to die,' the man said, as if reading Ashley's thoughts. 'And it isn't going to work, I'm afraid.'
'That's not it,' Kim insisted. 'I do want to be one of you. And I can prove it.'
'Prove it? How?'
Kim continued walking, slowly, up to the table, up to the bloodied and destroyed body of Craig. Everyone, including Ashley, watched her intently. After taking a deep breath, Kim then lowered her head forward, to Craig's opened stomach, and opened her mouth.
Jesus, no, Ashley thought to herself, repulsed. Surely there was no way Kim would go through with this.
But she did.
Ashley was revolted as Kim buried her face into Craig's insides. She heard a wet squelch, and Kim brought her head back up. Her mouth was smeared with blood, and glistening strings dangled from it. She then began to chew, slowly.
'How could you?' Ashley said.
Kim didn't answer, just continued chewing. The family erupted in laughter.
'Jesus, Timothy,' Benjamin said, doubling over in laughter. 'You really did bring us quite the selection this time. I've never seen anything like it.'
'I don't know what to say,' Tim said. 'I never knew either of them had it in them. Maybe I misjudged them.'
Kim smiled as she chewed. it was a manic sight, and she made her way over to Craig's head. 'What's the best part to eat?' she asked through a mouthful of meat. 'The throat looks tasty.'
Ashley had half an idea to race over to Kim and strangle her herself.
Kim leaned in to Craig again, ready to take another bite as the family continued to roar in laughter a
round her.
Ashley was horrified. After all she'd seen, this sickened her the most, purely because of the betrayal of it all. Her mind was racing with confusion and rage, and it took her a moment to realise Kim was staring directly at her.
Kim's eyes flicked from Ashley, then to the trap door, then back again, and she gave an almost imperceptible nod.
Ashley realised Kim was signalling to her.
She wanted her to go down there.
But when, and why?
And then it all became clear.
Kim, with her hands still tied together, quickly grabbed what looked like a sharp kitchen knife from the small table next to the slab. She screamed with fury and sprinted towards Benjamin, the knife held out before her. The family, still recovering from their laughing fit, were slow to react, and Kim lunged, thrusting the knife into the man's throat. Ashley heard a wet squelch as the metal slid easily into the flesh. The blade was of such a length that it penetrated right through, and came out of the back of Benjamin's neck.
Kim quickly sidestepped around him, still holding the knife and twisting the man as she moved, putting Ashley behind her, and her between Ashley and the rest of the family. She pulled the knife free and lunged into Benjamin. They tangled briefly until Kim pushed him backwards into Tim, who caught the older man before he fell. Benjamin brought a hand up to his neck, his eyes wide with shock, and pressed it tight to the puncture wound, trying and stem the blood that gushed and spurted free. It was useless, though, as it pumped rhythmically from between his fingers. Benjamin sank to his knees.
Excitement spread through the rest of the family, the violence like an aphrodisiac to them. Henry whooped and hollered, clapping his hands together.
'Very clever,' the mother said, pulling her lips back into something halfway between a smile and a grimace. 'Not going to do much good, though.'
Kim turned her head slightly, looking back to Ashley.
'Go,' she whispered.
'But-' Ashley began, but didn't have the chance to finish. Kim backed up and shoved Ashley, who stumbled. She lost her footing on the edge of the trap door and fell inside. The drop was only a few feet, but she landed painfully on the earthy floor.
She heard commotion above and saw Kim drop the knife down to her, before slamming the grate shut. A metallic clang rang out as Ashley's tried to catch up with what was happening. Kim pressed herself into the grate and was frantically working her hands as bodies descended on top of her. It took Ashley a moment to understand what she was doing; in her hands, she had the same key Benjamin had used when he opened the grate, and she was now locking it.
Ashley realised she must have taken it when she was wrestling with Benjamin, before shoving him away.
Seemingly all part of a desperate plan.
Frantic yelling rose in volume and intensity from above, a yelling that was overpowered by Kim's screaming. She was in pain, then Ashley saw why. A blade appeared though her front, just to the side of her stomach. Still her hands worked and Ashley heard a metallic click.
The grate had been successfully locked.
Thick, fat hands wrapped around Kim's throat, hands that engulfed her neck almost completely, and began to squeeze. Kim's eyes bulged and her screams were choked off, but that did not slow her down. She thrust an arm through the grate and something fell from her grip, landing close to Ashley.
It was the key.
Ashley looked up at her friend, who mouthed the words I'm sorry, before being dragged completely from view.
Screams of pain and agony rang out, along with the frantic, arguing voices of the family. Tim appeared at the grate above her and pressed himself down on to it. He looked furious.
'Don't you fucking go anywhere,' he said. 'We will gut you, you hear? We will fucking tear you apart.'
Ashley picked up both the key and the knife that Kim had dropped. Kim's last act had been to save her friend's life and give her a chance at escape.
Ashley felt a draft to her side and saw she was at the start of some kind of small tunnel, only a few feet in circumference, that cut down into the earth at a steady decline. She didn't know where it led, and she guessed something would be waiting, but at least it got her away from the horrors above, from this psychopathic family, and maybe gave her a chance at freedom.
And it was all thanks to Kim, a girl she had thought to be a coward and a traitor.
A girl who had sacrificed her own life for Ashley.
Ashley looked back up to the face of the man she once thought she loved.
'Tim,' she shouted up, then raised a hand, middle finger extended. 'Fuck you.'
She then began to crawl onwards, as quickly as she could, down the decline of the tunnel, one that grew ever steeper.
Behind her, she could still hear the threats and cursing of Tim as she left him behind.
31
The pain was immense, but Kim felt an odd sensation of peace through it all. With her throat crushed, she lay gasping on the floor. The knife that punctured through her had been pulled out, but it had ripped and split things on its way. She felt blood spit out of the gaping holes, front and back, with every breath her dying body took.
This was the kind of pain she had been fearing, the reason she had considered running and leaving her friend behind, all so she could save herself. After the carnage and violence back in the woods, and seeing Ashley drive that knife into the woman's skull, but not killing her, broke something inside her. If something like that didn’t kill them, then nothing would. It seemed to snuff out all hope of escape, so a new survival instinct took over; compliance.
She stopped resisting and fell in line, submitting herself to these beasts in the hope that they would spare her. She didn't really believe they would, but what else could she do?
Then, after being lead back on a leash like a dog, she saw what they had done to Craig, and she knew that was to be their fate. Whilst Ashley had shown the kind of fight they needed, Kim had wilted when it mattered.
The agony she was in right now, the pain she had been so scared of, was far worse than she imagined it could be. However, despite that, it still didn't compare to the shame she felt at her previous actions.
So, when these people had talked about getting Ashley to join them, something that still didn't make sense to Kim, she made a decision.
They were both fucked, the situation was simply too dire, Kim knew that. As they led her friend off to that trap door, to take her down to God knows where, Kim decided to use the last of her free will for something worthwhile; even though it would cost her her life.
And that decision was to fight hell-for-leather to ensure that at least one of them got out of here alive. Or, at least give one of them a chance.
And she succeeded.
Right now, her friend had that chance. It may not have been much, and she could very well still meet a nasty end, but at least she'd given Ashley hope.
And maybe earned her forgiveness as well.
Kim felt Henry step over her, his towering bulk rising up and up. She could see his fat head looking down at her from up high, with a scowl, as she struggled to suck in pained breaths.
'What do we do with her?' he asked. 'She's dying. Cold meat is no good.'
The man she had stabbed, Benjamin, was on his feet again, trying to talk, but he could do no more than gargle and spit blood. The crimson liquid still spilled liberally from the vicious wound, and he looked incredibly pale.
Good, thought Kim, proud of her achievement.
'Forget her,' the woman said. 'Kill her and be done with it. We need to get after the other one, and quick.'
Henry smiled. 'Looks like your time's up,' he said. 'Shame we don't get a proper meal from you.'
'Henry,' his mother snapped, 'this is no time for playing around. Get on with it. We need you.'
'Okay, Ma,' he said, defensively, like a temperamental teenager. He then reached down and took hold of Kim’s neck. 'This is going to hurt,' he whispered.
And it did.
His mighty hands compressed, crushing Kim's already mashed throat utterly and completely. She felt a sudden pain as her head was twisted sharply to the side. Something cracked, but death wasn't instant. Kim was unable to open her mouth to scream and her head wobbled uselessly in his grip.
There was an almighty tug, and she actually felt the vertebrae in her neck pull apart as the skin surrounding it stretched and split.
Kim's last feeling was of rising into the air, as her body lay motionless on the floor below.
* * *
'Get out of the way,' Ted said, pushing Timothy aside as his brother spat obscenities down into the dark void, but the girl was gone, that much was clear. Ted began working at the grate, digging the long blade of his machete around the edge of it, into the ground, hoping, in vain, he could dig it up. Without the key, he could think of no other way to gain access.
And the only key he was aware of for that grate was down there below them.
Ted was angry. Furious in fact, that his father, who had just given a speech on responsibility and consequences, had so stupidly lost the fucking key. Right now, she was heading farther down there, towards him, and they, with all their power, were actually powerless to stop her. It was the single biggest clusterfuck he had seen from anyone in this family. Ever.
If anyone deserved punishment for their actions, it was his father.
But Ted was also more than a little scared. Sure, his father had fucked up, but it was Ted who had first suggested turning the redhead, and that was the reason the grate had been opened in the first place.
So, would this all be blamed on him?
But just because Father had fucked up, royally fucked up, surely that didn't make him wrong about the girl. The fight she was now showing had to be proof he was right? He hoped the family, and Grandpa, would see it that way too.
Horror in the Woods Page 15