Black Cross

Branches smacked her in the face as she frantically ran through the woods. She could still hear them yelling in the distance. They were looking for her. Hunting her down like a wild animal in the woods. Someone screamed nearby, a shrill blood curdling scream. The kind that shakes the entire body and makes you feel their pain just from hearing it. They had gotten another one of the girls. The smell of blood and sweat filled the air. She knew she had to keep moving even though she had no idea where to go. She couldn’t even see a foot in front of her, straining to try to make out figures in the dark; she couldn’t even see the light of the moon through the thick trees. Praying they were just trees. This was a sick game to them. Like playing cat and mouse, only they were the mice. Pleas and cries for help and mercy rang out all throughout the dark forest which seemed to be dying down as they picked them off one by one. She couldn’t seem to be able to get her eyes to adjust and her feet were paying the price. Someone was running up behind her fast, faster than she could move. Her heart jumped up into her throat. They had found her, game over.

“Mackenzie! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” she swung around to come face to face with Patrick. He grabbed her and held her tight for a moment, his hand entangling in her long golden brown hair.

“We have to get out of here.” She cried into his shoulder. Tears ran down her face as she clung to him. Patrick grabbed her hand and started running again. He held her tight so they didn’t lose each other. She could hear the men gaining on them. Just stopping for a moment seemed to have given them a very large advantage. They sounded like bulldozers coming through the woods. Panic started to fill her. She tried searching the woods for any sign of them she could find but she could make nothing out in the darkness and before she knew it her legs were trapped in a rope like a calf at a rodeo. They dragged her down to the ground with one quick sweep, manically laughing as if they were getting off to this. Her hold on Patrick’s hand broke.

“Patrick!” she yelled as she rolled in the dirt and leaves frantically trying to get out of the ropes. “Patrick!” the man that roped her grabbed her face mimicking her as she yelled and cried. His toothless smile was in her face breathing on her and smelling her, as if he could smell the fear seeping from her pores. He pushed her head down to the ground forcefully, and then still laughing took the butt end of his gun and jammed it as hard as he could into her forehead. An explosion of pain shot through her head and everything faded to black.
Images from the beginning of the day flashed through her mind. All seven of them sitting on High Point Rock, laughing, joking around, just enjoying the beautiful spring day. Everything before the mayhem seemed so easy. Simple daily tasks they all performed without thinking twice like going to school, seeing friends, playing sports or having stupid meaningless club meetings, things they all had taken for granted everyday of their lives seemed so extremely important in a moment like this. Thoughts of their parents and annoying siblings ransacked their minds. Mackenzie thought about her parents and the younger sister that admired her in every little way, how she pouted when she was told she couldn’t come. Mackenzie thanked her lucky stars for that. Her mind stopped on Patrick and Kristy. What had happened to Kristy? Or Robin? Or Chris and Anabelle? She had already known what happened to Zach and Cody. They had used them as examples. Just the thought of it made her stomach churn. This was supposed to be a short spring break trip, the boys’ idea.” A little wilderness never hurt anybody” is what Cody had told them. All of the girls reluctantly agreed, only because they were promised a fantastic beach trip after graduation. Kristy hated outdoors. Her best friend. What had become of her? They let them go and they all ran like pigs getting out of their pen. Shots fired overhead. After seeing what happened to Zach and Cody they all ran with panic and fear. They knew they had to run as fast as they could before the hillbillies found them but none of them had the least bit of a clue where they were or how to get away and to make matters worse it was dark. So dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. They had been abducted from their campsite by these psychos. They had seen them ride by in their truck earlier that night but thought nothing of it. That was their mistake. The rednecks came back later that night and ripped through their tent a hootin and a hollerin.

The redneck hillbillies hog tied each kid one by one taking special time with the boys just to rough them up a bit and threw them all in the bed of the truck. The kids never had a chance. The men intended on hunting and killing them all one by one. Nothing is more thrilling then hunting humans the men thought. They let the two biggest, loud mouthed boys go first, Zach and Cody, using them as a demonstration for the rest. Neither stood a chance from the gate. Zach hit a bear trap halfway through the field, almost completely severing his right leg at the ankle. Cody got an arrow through the eye at the tree line. Bub only let him get so far out for entertainment purposes. Give him hope then shoot it away literally. Jr, the leader of the hillbilly clan told all the kids that they had a ten minute head start. After that they were fair game, and nobody ever escaped them. Ever. Bub, known as the tall stupid one, laughed crazily from behind him out of excitement. He might be stupid but he sure could am that bow. Jobe, the reinforcer, untied them and shot his gun in the air causing them all to scream and scatter in panic. Game on.
Kristy, what had happened to Kristy, Mackenzie thought dizzily coming in and out of consciousness as her hunters tossed her into the bed of the truck once again. She was having problems remembering things. They had been untied but were the only ones not aloud to run. It all started to flood back to her. The crazy hillbilly men pitted them against each other in the pig pen.

“Fight er die.” The extremely short fused one known as Jobe yelled holding tight to his riffle. The girls stood stunned facing each other, staring at each other. Best friends since kindergarten, always being the one person that had each others backs, now having to fight each other. They stared into each others red rimmed eyes. Mackenzie didn’t think she could so it. Turning on someone who was practically family was not in her blood.

“The winner gits a chance ta run! Now fight!” Jr yelled while taking a shot at Kristy’s foot and hitting her foot. The bullet went straight through her foot and she dropped to the ground, screaming in pain. Mackenzie ran to her best friend to try to help her. Jr yelled in frustration and grabbed her by the hair, yanking her back hard and shoving her to the ground.

“This ain’t how its guna be.” He said. Bub threw a crowbar at Kristy. “Git’er. Jr cocked his gun again. Kristy slowly got up and limped over to Mackenzie. She looked her in the eyes, tears streaming down her face,

“I’m sorry, I don’t want o die.” She whispered and swung as hard as she could at Mackenzies head. Mackenzie dodged the first blow but wasn’t able to dodge the second. The crowbar came down hard on her ribs with a loud crack, knocking the wind out of her. She managed to leg sweep Kristy and knock the crowbar free. “Please.” She whimpered to her best friend begging her not to do this. Kristy just shook her head and dove at Mackenzie. Taking every hit Kristy gave to her Mackenzie tried to keep her at bay but she broke. Rage, fear and sadness coursed through her and she started pounding back, sobbing with each hit. She hit Kristy as hard as she could until she didn’t move anymore. “Woo-hoo!” yelled Jobe. He laughed and opened the gate and with a creepy seriousness said “Run rabbit run.” Mackenzie didn’t need to be told twice.

Water shot out of her nose as Jobe jammed a hose in it. She coughed and spat but managed to fully regain consciousness. She struggled under the ropes that bound her to a black cross. Her hands were bound to each side of the cross with her feet tied together at the bottom. The ropes were so tight that there was no wiggle room whatsoever. No chance of escape. The cross was standing about 10 feet from the ground and directly across from her on his own identical cross was Patrick.

“Congratulations.” Jobe yelled from the fire that burned in between them. “The strongest male and female. You survived just to be sacrificed.” All three brothers started laughing like a pack of hyenas. Entertained by nothing but laughing at everything. She tried to yell but couldn’t. Her voice had gone. Patrick’s head hung low. He had been beaten pretty bad. Mackenzie wondered if he was already dead. The brothers had changed wardrobe as well. Their flannel shirts and shredded boot cut jeans had been traded in for black cloaks. The hoods of the cloaks hung low on their foreheads. They truly looked demonized in every sense as they stood in the light of the fire. Mackenzie tried to fight against the ropes that bound her. This made the brothers laugh even more. Each had a dark circle with an upside down cross in the middle drawn on their foreheads. Jobe wasted no time. He grabbed another hose and started spraying Patrick with it. Mackenzie watched in horror as the smell of gasoline reached her. Jr hung his hands over the fire and started saying some sort of chant. Jobe finished dosing Patrick, who made no move or noise as he was being sprayed and started to walk towards her. She struggled frantically against the ropes with no luck at all and before she knew it gas was soaking her. She gagged and choked as the smell overtook her. Bub cut a deep gash in her leg with a sharp atheme and dripped the blood over the fire. She started pleading and screaming with them begging them not to do this with what little voice she could muster. Jr took a torch and lit it in the fire. He turned and started walking toward her with a completely menacing satanic grin. This was it. All of her fighting and running was all for nothing she thought. She closed her eyes and tilted her head up towards the sky accepting defeat. Jr set the hay that sat under her cross on fire. She could feel the heat on her legs, starting to spread up her body. Burning and melting her skin. She screamed out in agony. Screams that echoed out through the woods. She screamed while the three crazy hillbilly brothers watched in amusement and laughed, with Jr cheering “This’ll bring on some good huntin!”