Hunter in the Woods - Part 1

A group of friends' camping trip gone wrong when one of them turns up dead.

          The 1984 Ford Bronco hopped and bounced as it crunched over potholes in the road. The leaf springs squeaked with every bump. Headlights beamed a path through the black night only to reveal rocks and twigs that lay across a dirt path on a winding forest service road.
          Zack's head would've hit the ceiling as the truck rocked and jumped if he hadn't been wedged between Brian and Jennifer.
          "Shit, Zack, your elbow dug right into me," Jennifer said.
          "Sorry, I can't control how Greg drives," Zack retorted.
          Brian was asleep, and with every bump in the road, his head would bounce off the window next to him, which only woke him briefly before he would doze off again. His eyes were covered with a baseball cap pulled down low. His red curled hair poked out from underneath.
          "We are out in the wild now," Greg chuckled, white-knuckled on the steering wheel. "Off those dumb camping roads. Sorry for the rocky ride."
          Greg reached an open hand to Lilly in the passenger seat, who popped open a cooler from under her thighs, shook the ice off a beer, and handed it back to Greg.
          "You think its ok Greg? You're driving." Zack said.
          "Who's going to stop me, Zack? We are out in the middle of nowhere and we are only about a mile from the spot. It's all good. Chill out. You could probably use on yourself. You want one?"
          Zack made eye contact with Greg through the rearview mirror and shook his head.
          "Suit yourself," said Greg. He cracked the beer can and slurped the foam that fizzed out.
          "Almost there, baby," Lilly said. "Our first camping trip as adults."
          They all let out a howl into the night, a teenage war cry.



          Jennifer finished setting up her tent and went over to help Zack. The only light source was the truck's headlights, which splashed a cone of light across the campsite.
          Zack struggled. Two folded tent poles dangled from his hand as he stood in the center of a mess of nylon fabric.
          "Here give me one end of that, I'll help you out," Jennifer said. Her auburn hair shimmered in the headlights. She made quick work of setting up Zack's tent while he stumbled and tried his best to help but just seemed to be in her way.
          "How are you so good at this stuff?" Zack asked.
          "Hunting with my dad," she replied with a smile. "Anyways, I'm going to turn in. I'll see you in the morning." She turned and faded into the darkness.
          Zack tried to say goodnight, but the words didn't make it over the lump in his throat.



          Zack awoke from a scream that made his stomach turn like he had been airdropped from his dreams with no parachute. He sprung from his sleeping bag and unzipped his teal nylon tent that still had condensation on it from the morning sun.
          "What the fuck, Brian!" shouted Jennifer.
          Greg and Lilly came running up to the scene following Zack. Brain lay sprawled across the opening of his tent; his throat slashed open. There was no blood, just a dry open wound, and horrible glazed colorless eyes.
          "Did you check his pulse?" Greg asked.
          "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's fucking dead, you dumb shit," Jennifer retorted, tears streaming down her cheeks.
          Greg held his hands on the top of his head, mouth agape. "Fuck, how did this happen?"
          "I don't know," Jennifer screamed. "I got up this morning and found him like this. What do we do?" She turned and threw her arms around Zack and cried into his shoulder.
          Although the moment was surreal, Zack felt an awkward pride in being able to console Jennifer. He rubbed her back, and she held on even tighter.
          "We should drive him into town to the hospital," Lilly said.
          "To the hospit-," Greg said. "What the fuck are you talking about? He is dead, and this is a crime scene. Nobody touches him. I'll drive into town and use the phone at the gas station to call the police.
          "We should at least cover him up." Zack said.
          "Alright, I will grab the tarp from my truck," said Greg.
          They covered Brian's body, and Greg drove off with Lilly. Zack and Jennifer watched the Bronco disappear into the forest in front of a trailing dust cloud.
          Jennifer had started a campfire, and she sat next to Zack as it crackled and popped. "What are we supposed to do?" she asked.
          Zack didn't have any answers. He wasn't sure he could handle sitting this close to a dead body anymore. "I need to go for a walk," he said. "Will you come with me?"
          "Yeah, I think that's a good idea. Let's get out of here until they come back."
          They wandered off down the trail, Jennifer leading just slightly.
          "How was there no blood?" Jennifer asked.
          "I don't know, I'm trying not to think about it. How much longer before they come back you think?"
          "Well, it's probably an hour back into town, then he will have to call and an hour back."
          Jennifer paused and waved over Zack, motioning to keep quiet. "Look at this," she whispered. She pointed to the ground, but Zack didn't understand what he was supposed to be looking at.
          "What?" Zack asked.
          "Tracks."
          Just as she said it, he could see the outline of shoe tread in the dirt.
          "How did you see that?"
          "Hunting with my dad," Jennifer said with a smile.
          They quietly stalked through the woods, following the tracks until they came upon a rusted-out truck. It sat squatted between the trees as if it was manufactured there.
          Jennifer crept up and looked through the passenger window. "No one," she said. She popped the door open and rummaged around. Zack had an awful pit in his stomach. He felt the eyes of the forest once again.
          Jennifer pulled jars out of the truck and swirled a deep red viscous liquid inside. "Fuck... Zack, I think this is blood." Zack squinted to examine as Jennifer continued to search. She pressed the button on the glove box, and it dropped open with a reluctant creak. A chrome revolver glinted in the light. Jennifer pulled it from the glove box, popped the cylinder, and counted the rounds inside. "Loaded," she said and jerked the gun to the side, snapping the cylinder back in place.
          Zack's eyes were wide studying how Jennifer moved with the gun.
          She caught his eyes. "Hunting with my dad," she said.
          The two headed back down the trail towards camp. They were both alarmed as they heard a truck ripping down the trail in the distance. Jennifer ran and ducked behind a tree; Zack followed.
          It was the Bronco. Both, Zack and Jennifer jumped out to flag down Greg and Lilly. The bronco approached and came to a sliding stop. Lilly wasn't in the truck, but Greg hopped out and rushed towards Zack. Zack's stomach turned as he realized it wasn't Greg, but someone wearing the skin from Greg's face like a mask. It drooped at the hollow eyes and mouth and the forehead was flipped down revealing the lining of flesh underneath.
          Zack scrambled and fell on his back. He kicked as hard as he could across the ground, backing himself up across the dirt. The assailant howled and hollered as they drew near, arms extended. Zacks nightmares came to a crescendo before coming to a full stop by the sound of gunshots. Blood spattered across Zack's face and his whole world went silent as his ears rang.
          The assailant fell to his knees in front of Zack revealing multiple bloody exit wounds around the chest. They fell to the ground and the skin mask flopped off as their face bounced off the forest floor. Jennifer came up from behind with the chrome revolver still drawn and targeted at the now-unmasked assailant. She grabbed a shoulder and rolled them over only to reveal Lilly. Her mouth bound, and her face streaked in blood. The gun came loose from Jennifers fingers, and she crumpled to her knees.
          In Zack's panic he hadn't seen that Lilly's hands had been bound together. Jennifer laid with her head on Lilly's, crying.
          "Jen, we gotta get out of here. Let's take the truck and go," Zack shouted.
          Jennifer didn't respond. She continued to sob.
          Zack got up, grabbed Jennifer by the arm and lifted her up. He threw her arm over his neck and carried her to the Bronco. As he approached the passenger side door, he popped it open and inspected the interior briefly before getting Jennifer situated in the back seat. He hopped over the center console to the driver's seat and turned the keys that were still dangling from the ignition. The bronco roared to life, and he stomped down on the pedal which shot rocks and dust up into the air.
          Jennifer sobbed while curled in a ball in the back seat. Zack drove the Bronco back to the interstate and the two headed back towards town out of the hellish woods.