This is a follow up to the story Tangled. hope you enjoy reading.
Prologue
Denise McGrath stopped her car at the edge of the forest, near the beginning of a well known trail. She got out and unloaded her camping gear from the trunk, checking it for the third time that day: tent, flashlight, food, book, medical kit, bug spray. She wasn't used to camping, but her counselor said it would be a good chance for her to de-stress and get over her divorce and to relieve the stress her work.
She hefted the pack onto her shoulders and breathed out a sigh, "Well here goes nothing." She locked the car, looked at the forest and then started hiking down the trail. She found some footprints in the dirt, and that made her happy, knowing others were somewhere around. She went about a mile and then decided to look for a good camp site. She soon located a small clearing and dropped her pack and began setting up her tent. Once her gear was in order, she sat down against a tree with her book in hand and began reading away her troubles and worries.
"This might just work," she thought as she listened to the near silence of the forest.
When the sun began to set, she gathered wood and built a small campfire. She ate and then when the fire burned low, she went into the tent and climbed into her sleeping bag for the night. Lying in her bag listening to the sounds of the forest, she thought, "Everything has gone really well, at least so far." She drifted off into a contented slumber.
She awoke to the sound of screams coming from somewhere in the forest. She thought, "What was that?" She listened carefully and heard the screams once again. Her next thought was to call the police, but then she remembered where she was and that she had phone. Her counselor had said that she should leave the world behind for this trip. She decided she'd go find out what was happening and with a curse, grabbed her flashlight and followed the trail toward the sounds.
She eventually found the remains of a campsite; a few torn and slashed tents in a small clearing around a burned out fire pit. She looked at the wrecked tents, and found them stained with a dark smear, which she recognized immediately as blood. Stepping back, she looked around more carefully and found nothing. She stiffened with fear. What the hell had happened here; it looked like something out of a bad slasher flick.
She found a set of footprints leading away from the trail she had followed in and decided to follow those. Every few yards, she came upon a drop of blood, a bit of torn clothing or discarded gear and she assumed she was following a wounded person. She gathered her courage and continued on. The trail continued for several hundred yards, perhaps even a mile and terminated in a large clearing with a small abandoned house. With her light leading the way, she stepped into the clearing and began to move toward the house.
A noise behind her made her jump, and turn, but she was already too late. Someone struck her from behind knocking her flashlight out of her hand and knocking her to the ground. She started to turn, but then felt something sharp pierce her neck and then she felt heavy. The last thing she thought was, "what the fuck," before darkness took her and she knew no more.
Chapter 1
Trees stood silent vigil as far as the eye could see; green landscape unbroken except for a small clearing near its center. Birds chirped and flitted amidst the trees. Sunbeams shined through breaks in the emerald canopy, lighting the red, brown and yellow leaves scattered on the ground.
In the clearing were remnants of a long abandoned lodge. Its grey stone chimney long bereft of fire, stood in stark contrast to the deep greens and browns of its surroundings.
A wide smile formed on Dwight's face as he lowered the camouflaged binoculars, letting them hang loosely at his chest. He grinned, excited about the discovery, and then he turned and ran down the ridge straight to his battered jeep. Dwight jumped in and soon the vehicle sped off down the trail and toward this latest find. The roar of the engine broke the peaceful silence of forest as Dwight sped off.
His excitement made his driving sloppy and on more than one occasion he nearly crashed his jeep into a tree. The jeep continued onwards, flying over an embankment to land hard on the ground beyond and then crashing through a pair of small bushes to emerge in the clearing. Dwight slammed on the breaks, and skidded to a sliding stop. He jumped out of the still running vehicle and landed flat-footed on the remains of what once was the cabin's driveway. His worn grey leather boots crunched dry leaves and small twigs as he made his way toward his find.
His eyes widened upon nearing the building, seeing that it was much larger than expected. The cabin appeared to be two stories with what looked like a small window at the very top which was either the attic or a small room. A large window took up much of the first floor although dust, dirt and cobwebs covered the glass, making it impossible to see through.
Dwight walked around the house, his mind racing with the hope that he could see inside and perhaps see something valuable inside. To his delight, he found a small deck leading to the back door. Dwight went up the three small steps and over to the window by the door. The glass in this window too was marred and obscured by cobwebs and other debris to see inside and he sighed and was just about to turn and go back around when he spotted a small unblemished pane in the corner of the window. He knelt down to look into the cabin. Dwight saw that the place appeared to be abandoned. Cobwebs and dust covered the furniture that he could see. It looked as if no one had been inside for quite awhile. Dwight's heart soared; this was his first big score. He couldn't wait to tell his pals in town about this.
He stood and gave himself a congratulatory fist pump as he started back across the deck but then stopped. If he wanted to really impress his friends he would need proof, not just his word. He would have to steal something and take it back for the others to see before they would believe him and help him steal what remained in the house. He rolled his eyes at the irony but didn't worry overmuch; the task seemed simple: just get inside.
Dwight turned and went to the back door. The door looked like solid oak with old style metal hinges. Apparently the owner had a flair for old fashioned things, Dwight thought. Dwight reached down and turned the doorknob, finding it difficult but amazingly, unlocked.
'Today is definitely my day,' he thought as the door swung open. His joy was short-lived as the door stopped after an inch and refused to move further. He cursed and stepped back from the door. He didn't see a chain on the other side so maybe something was blocking it. Deciding upon this explanation, he put his shoulder to the door and grabbed the knob. He wasn't muscular by any means but at close to 290 pounds, when he pushed, the door moved and he could hear something sliding backwards. He kept pushing until the door was open enough for him to squeeze inside.
Once inside, he noticed what had given him such a hard time. A heavy burgundy cabinet sat against the door. Inside it had glass shelved filled with assorted expensive glasses. The glasses were not what caught and held his eye; on the third shelf sat a tall silver statue of a mounted cavalryman. The statue looked old and from what Dwight could tell, genuine and valuable. His eyes lit up with dollar signs as he stared at the statue. This would make his friends believe him. They would come back for sure.
Dwight didn't bother looking any further and wasted o time before opening the cabinet door and grabbing the statue, careful not to accidentally break it. It weighed at least eight pounds, making him feel that it was genuine silver and reassuring him of its value. Holding the statue with both hands, he moved around the cabinet and back out through the door.
Once outside, he closed the door behind him and made his way down the steps and around the front of the cabin to his jeep. 'Wait until they get a load of this,' he thought as he put the statue on passenger seat and headed back to town.
Chapter 2
"Yer tellin' me you found that out in the woods all by yerself?" Cutter O'Leary asked.
Dwight nodded, quivering in his chair with excitement over what he'd found. Cutter eyed the statue carefully, lifting her lifting her feet the table where she'd sat and listened to his tale of the cabin in the woods. Cutter brushed away a stray lock of red hair from her face, lips pursed in thought, her eyes glancing at the overexcited man and then returning to the silver statue.
