Hunted Ch. 07

I regained consciousness slowly, and sat up. Liv and Cody were still unconscious. I looked around and spotted Steve. Or what was left of him. He'd been completely torn apart by those dogs. Not to mention he was still impaled on the tree branch. All his fingers were bitten off. His navel was torn open with entrails hanging out. And one side of his face was literally chewed off. Holy shit, that was nasty! I'd seen some gross things before, but this topped the list. I can't say he didn't deserve it though.

I suddenly heard a snap. I turned my head and almost had a heart attack. The guy stalking us was standing there, no more than 10 feet away! He was a creepy motherfucker, dressed in a ghillie suit. He had a mask on that made Slipknot (a nu-metal band, look them up and you'll see what I mean) look like pussies. Not to mention he was tall, like 6'2." It's indescribable how scary he looked. He was also armed to the teeth. He had a machete, a sniper rifle, and a suppressed .45. I looked closer and also discovered he'd stolen our Bowie knives. I tried standing up but he was on me before I could blink. With a swift jab to a pressure point, I was unconscious yet again.

I regained consciousness for the second time, but I was already sitting up. That's weird. Why am I sitting up? I thought. I tried to move my hands, which were behind my back, but they wouldn't move. I strained to move them, but still nothing. "What the hell?" I said out loud. Then I realized what it was. "Dammit, my hands are tied." They were tied to a tree. I finally looked around, and saw Liv and Cody also tied to trees, both unconscious. I sat there for a while, no idea how long, until I heard footsteps. Then the psycho appeared, carrying what was left of Steve, still impaled on the tree branch. I quickly shut my eyes and pretended to still be unconscious. This was working until Liv came to a few minutes later and saw Steve's body. Needless to say, she screamed. I opened my eyes and saw the guy go over to her and slap her across the face. He hissed, "Shut up!" and went back to work. Liv sat back up, shaking, and with a big red mark on her face.

I was quickly filled with rage. No one touches her. I thought angrily. NO ONE! I strained and broke the rope that was binding me and jumped up with rage in my eyes. I made the stupid decision to tackle him. He was much stronger than me, picking me up and slamming me into a tree. Liv screamed and turned away. I stared at the guy, his repulsive mask really creeping me out. He gave me an evil smile and pulled out a knife.

"You're next," he whispered and raised it, about to strike. He stopped as a pair of hands wrapped themselves around his neck. Cody's hands. He too had broken free from the rope. He grunted and held on, trying to strangle him. Until this maniac's military reflexes kicked in. He tried to shake Cody off, jabbing the knife over his shoulder, aiming for Cody's face and neck. Cody kept dodging until the guy turned the knife on his arms. Cody yelled in pain as the knife tore a huge gash in his right arm, finally releasing him. The guy quickly tackled Cody and retied him to the tree. He then whistled for the dogs, who came running and sat near the tree, just waiting for Cody to try it again. Cody eyed the dogs and gave up.

The guy gasped and rubbed his neck. "Shit. Now, if you're done with the antics, let me continue what I was doing, and you'll stay alive." He had a raspy voice. He turned away and continued his task, which was apparently gathering all his weapons and traps. We sat in silence, watching him. Liv was crying silently, a combo of pain and fear on her pretty face. Cody was still bleeding, but was sitting tied to the tree trying to stop it. He winced as the rope dug into his arm.

But the guy had forgotten to tie me up again. I looked around and noticed one of the knives lying about 3 feet away. Slowly, I reached for it, Liv and Cody watching me in anticipation. The guy still had his back turned to us, cleaning his sniper rifle. My hand closed around the hilt. I couldn't decide whether to jump the guy or pass the knife to the others to cut the ropes binding them. I decided quickly, sliding the knife slowly to Liv, who somehow grasped it and sliced through her bindings. She wisely decided to keep the rope around her wrists, making it look like she was still tied up. She dropped the knife and pushed it over to Cody with her foot. Cody also made short work of the ropes, also choosing to make it look like he was still bound. But he hung onto the knife. He caught my eye and mimed something with his hands, careful not to let the guy see.

It took me a minute to get what he was doing. But when I got it, I instantly refused. Cody was miming for the two of us to run away while he jumped the psycho and stabbed him. I shook my head and mouthed, "No! You're coming with us if we run."

But Liv wanted to get the hell out of here and away from all this. She nodded and seemed to agree with Cody. I sighed and paused, weighing my options. I reluctantly gave him the green light.

Cody nodded and flashed me a thumbs up. Trying to be subtle, he held up 3 fingers and started counting down silently. "Three. Two. One. Go!"

We all ripped our hands free and jumped up, Liv and I sprinting for cover. Liv was tearing ahead, being a much faster runner than me. There was a startled yell from the killer as Cody jumped him. But then we heard barking and growling. Shit! We didn't think this through! Cody had forgotten about the dogs. I looked back, not sure what I was expecting to see- and started running even faster. The maniac was fleeing from the scene, but one dog was snarling and trying to chew on Cody, who was swinging the knife at it. But the other dog, the Doberman, was sprinting after us! I closed my eyes and continued running, praying. WHAM! I had slammed into a tree, and fell over in agony. I opened my eyes and gasped. The dog was closing the gap fast. Fifty yards...forty...thirty...

I turned my head and, ignoring the pain, yelled to Liv, who was about 30 yards ahead of me, still sprinting. Soccer must be really useful right now. "Liv, take my word for it, don't look back! Run! Run Liv! Climb a tree if you can." I looked back and screamed. The dog was on me. I closed my eyes hoping for a quick death.

But it jumped over me and continued tearing through the woods, chasing Liv. FFFUUUCCCKKKKK! I thought in horror. Instinctively, I reached for my knife, but remembered I didn't have it. "Son of a bitch!" I said angrily, jumping up. Then I heard a scream. The dog had caught Liv. It had bitten into the fabric of her pants, and was dragging her away, screaming. "Hang on Liv! I'm coming to get you!" I yelled, and resumed running after her, ignoring the pain in my body from the tree and bullet wound. I had only gone about 100 yards when I heard a creaking sound and an object moving rapidly. I just had time to realize where I was, out loud, "This is our old campsite. With all those traps. Oh SHIT!" The last thing I remembered was a huge object coming at me and slamming into me, knocking me out for the 3rd time.

To be continued in part 8.....