This is
what Kenneth liked about the goggles.
Because they were armed with infrared technology, they could look around
and seek out heat sources at long distances.
It gave him a sense of hope.
Spotting the shape of an animal was as
easy as spotting the shape of a human.
When they came upon Cheryl, he felt they would be alerted of her
presence dozens of yards before they actually were upon her.
Then, they could become stealth and
hopefully remain quiet enough that when they did approach her, she wouldn’t
hear them until it was too late.
And even if she did hear them and chose to run, which she would, she’d
be running blindly in the dark, unlike them.
Either
way, it was a win for them.
They
just needed to find her.
“But you
won’t find her,” Maria said.
“I
told you.
You’re going to fail.”
Kenneth
stopped for a moment and looked behind him.
What he saw wasn’t just Maria’s body,
outlined in green because it conducted no heat, but dozens of other women
standing behind her, most of whom he recognized, some of whom he didn’t, all of
whom he was certain had been sent to hell by him and Ted.
He
steeled himself against them and blocked out their cacophony of ridiculing
voices.
He couldn’t let them in,
regardless of how close they were to his back.
He turned back to Ted, who now was
several feet ahead of him, working his way through the woods, and quickened his
step to catch up with him.
Ted was
his elder.
He was in control of the
situation and he needed to honor that.
It was how He planned it.
Ted said he was having hallucinations, but he didn’t agree.
The dead were with them.
They’d always be with them because they
were responsible for their passing.
For whatever reason, Ted couldn’t see them, but Kenneth could
(
because
I’m the Chosen One
),
which
was good because they were conspiring against them.
They said that they already had reached
out to Cheryl Dunning and were there to protect her.
What that meant, he didn’t know.
But he knew he had to act as if they
weren’t there.
He knew he had to
press on.
He knew he could disrupt
what was happening now or he would just anger Ted.
So, he shunned them even as they cackled
at his back.
“You’re
going to lose, Kenneth.”
“Both of
you are.”
“You may
have taken us out, but we’re about to take you down.”
“You
raped me, and then you put an ax in my head.
You did it alone.
You set me up.
Do you think I’d ever forgive you for that?
I’m going to haunt you forever,
Kenneth.
And I’m going to make sure
that you either die or go to the chair for what you’ve done to all of us.
You think you’ll find Cheryl
Dunning?
You’re wrong.
You won’t find her.
We’re ready with a plan to get her out
of here alive.”
But
ahead of them, in the far distance, emerged an orange horizontal blob, as if
someone or something was lying on its side.
He reached out and touched Ted’s
arm.
“Do you
see that?” he whispered.
Ted
nodded.
“That’s
no animal.”
“Doesn’t
appear to be.”
“It’s
her.”
“No, it
isn’t,” Maria hissed.
“You’re
wrong.
That’s something else.”
“Tell
him what it is!”
“Tell
the freak!”
“It’s a
serpent,” Maria said.
“It’s the
devil.
Right there.
Curled up and waiting to strike the
moment you disturb it.
That’s the
end of you.
That’s your death.
Go forward
and welcome it.
Then you can be where we’re not―in
hell.
You’ll rot there.”
“He’ll
burn
there.”
But
Kenneth knew that hell was the last place he’d go.
Confident, he removed his cell from his
pocket.
“What
are you doing?” Ted asked.
“I’m
sending her a text,” he said.
“We’ll see if she moves.
Get
your gun ready.
Because if she does
move when I hit the button, we’ll know it’s her.
If it is, we’ll need to act fast.”
CHAPTER
TW
ENTY-SEVEN
“There
you are, Cheryl,” the text message said.
“Now, what are you going to do?”
The
moment she read the message, Cheryl turned off the phone and plunged herself
back into darkness.
The phone cast
light, which she couldn’t have.
She
shoved it back in her pocket and listened.
She held tight onto the sharp stick and waited.
Though a breeze was starting to pick up,
she heard no movement, which unnerved her.
Was he waiting for her to move?
Think.
How
could he see in the dark?
If you
were from these parts, it was well known that poachers used night vision
goggles.
It was in the paper all
the time.
Was he using them?
He must be using something like that,
which meant if she ran, he’d see her trying to make her way through a forest
concealed by the cover of night.
Sitting
duck.
She was
beginning to feel panicky, which her father and grandfather would tell her was
the worst thing she should feel.
She needed to keep a level head.
She needed to strategize.
She needed to think like him, if that was even possible.
She wasn’t stupid, but there was
no question that she was at the losing end of the stick.
What
were her options?
As far
as she saw it, if that was him she was hearing outside, she had only one
option.
But she hadn’t planned on
using it so soon.
She wanted to
wait for enough time to pass for her to be formally announced a missing person
before she went there.
She figured
that would take a couple of days.
She wanted the sheriff’s department and the state police searching for
her before she went to such an extreme.
She wanted a buzz of activity on the streets first, so they could see it
when it happened, but she felt that now, it was just too soon.
But what
choice do I have?
I’ve got
nothing.
Nothing but that,
if
I
can even make that happen.
Outside,
there was movement again and this time, she was certain it was footsteps.
Even though they still were some ways
from her, they sounded different.
More
like two sets of footsteps.
She
listened carefully to the soft rustling of leaves and pine needles being
stepped on, and felt a chill when a gust of wind cut through her shelter.
She drew her arms around her body for
warmth and was struck by another gust.
Please,
don’t let it rain
, she thought.
She
looked up through one of the holes in the shelter, saw moonlight and felt
relieved, even if it was only for a moment.
She had
to do something.
The
footsteps were coming closer.
They’d
kill her if they found her here.
She had
no choice.
Quickly,
she went to work.
CHAPTER
TWE
N
TY-EIGHT
“Did you
see that?” Kenneth whispered.
“She
moved.
I texted her and she moved.”
“I saw
it.
How far are we from her?”
“Hundred
yards?
Maybe more?
It’s tough to tell with the goggles on.”
“Move
forward with me.
Keep your gun at
the ready.
Be as quiet as
possible.
She’ll hear us at some
point and she’ll probably run.
But
she won’t get far.
She’ll likely
slam into a tree or something because she won’t be able to see, so don’t worry
about it if she runs.
OK?”
“I want
her to slam into a tree, Ted.”
“Why?”
“You
know why.”
“We
don’t have time for you to rape her, Kenneth.
Just keep low and keep focused.
I need you focused.”
“I can’t
focus.
I’m starting to feel
different.”
“You’re
acting different, that’s for sure.”
“I
wanted to eat those men back there, Ted.
I wasn’t joking.
I’ve never
felt like that before.”
“I need
you to be quiet.”
“But I’m
worried.
What does that mean?
Why did I want to eat them?
Part of me thinks that if I eat them and
after they go through my body, they’ll be purified of their sins.
If you hadn’t been there, I would have
eaten the fat one.
I would have
started with his face.”
Ted
turned to him.
He put his hands on
Kenneth’s shoulders and held him steady for a moment before he embraced
him.
“You’ve been under a lot of
stress.”
“I don’t
think it’s that.”
“It
is
that.”
“My head
hurts.”
“Then
it’s the stress.”
“I think
that I’m changing.”
“Into what?”
“I feel
like I’m being lifted onto a higher plane.”
“By
whom?”
“By
God.”
“Kenneth,
you’re already on a higher plane.”
“No.
Not like this.
You can’t see those women.
I can.
Explain that to me.”
“I
can’t.
But then I never could.
I think they’re hallucinations.”
“They
are
not
hallucinations.”
“Do you
see them now?”
“No.
But I will.
They’ll show themselves again.
And they’ll taunt me.
They’ll ridicule me.
They’ll try to throw me off, but I won’t
let them.
I’ve been chosen.”
His body relaxed against Ted’s.
“For what, I don’t know, but there’s
been a shift.
Physically, I feel
weak, which is not right for me.
You know how strong I am.
But there it is.
My body
feels drained on one level, and euphoric on another.”
“You
haven’t eaten today.”
“It’s
not that.”
“I think
it is that.
I think it’s the reason
you wanted to eat those men.”
“I
disagree.”
Ted
parted from the embrace and on his face, Kenneth saw irritation.
“What’s the matter?”
“If
you’ve been lifted to a higher plane, then why haven’t I?
I’m your elder.
Why would I be passed over?”
“Maybe
you haven’t.”
“I think
I have.”
“I
don’t.”
“How do
you know?”
“Because
we’re a team.”
“Then
why don’t I feel different?”
“Maybe
you will.”
“Whatever,”
Ted said.
“It doesn’t matter.
Apparently,
as you see
it, you’re the Chosen One.
Big
deal.
We have work to do.
This is a conversation for another time―certainly
not here, where she probably just heard most of our conversation.
Focus, OK?
I just need you to focus so we can
finish this and get
out of here.
If we
don’t, they will find us, Kenneth.
Do you hear me?
If we don’t
leave the state soon, they will find us and they will bring us to their own sort
of justice.”