(Author's Note: So, I wrote this in a single afternoon with the intention of making a one-off for fun. I failed. I trimmed the fat as much as I could, but this will have to be a two-parter at least. I also wrote this in first person; something I HATE. But, I feel like it works. Anyway, let's see how part one does. If you make it to the end and want to see how everything wraps up, please let me know. Otherwise, I'll just concentrate fully on 'Nowhere to Run' and get back to this...eventually. I only hope it gets approved because it's pretty dark.)
The Search: Part 1
There were five of us in total; Yasmin, Gus, Bart, Terry, and myself, Daneela. On a four-cabin campsite, we'd all been crammed into a single cabin. I had already known Yasmin as we were camping together. The other three had been part of their own camping party. Ultimately, we were all hostages.
Yasmin scratched a line in the wall, signifying the end to our third day here. "How much more of this?" she groaned after standing up to pace.
"Who knows," Bart answered. "Based on how much food we had," he made an estimation in his mind, "weeks?"
Gus dragged his hands over his face. "I still can't believe this is real."
Having your camping trip cannibalized was very real and very dangerous, although the fact that it was by Squatchers was a new one. The two of us nature enthusiasts -- Yasmin and myself -- had set aside five days in the Appalachian Mountains for some hiking, outdoor cooking, and star gazing. The three of them just wanted to do whatever it was guys did together on camping trips, which was probably drink, get high, and talk about girls. Unbeknownst to us, a group of Bigfoot hunters were hot on the trail of...something...and felt they couldn't abandon their chase just yet even when their food was starting to run out. So, we were all stuck here, fed the bare minimum, kept on a bathroom schedule, and guarded by two man they called Woody and Minion while the other seven ran off to track whatever it was they'd caught up to.
I walked over to the window by the door and looked outside to see Woody still there and still armed with his shotgun. He sat in a rocking chair but, instead of facing it outwards, he faced it towards the cabin. When our eyes connected, he gave me a two-fingered salute next to his temple to let me know that he was wide awake and watching.
"So...Woody, huh?" I began to tease. "Did your parents really do that to you, or...?"
"Daneela, don't," Yasmin warned.
It had been three days, and I was beyond caring. "I'm just saying that it's not a very common first name. Maybe there's a story behind it. Come on. You can tell me. We're all friends here."
This gangling, rough-looking motherfucker's thin lips actually curled up at the inquiry. "I like Woody the Woodpecker."
"Was that your screen name on the GoDaddy site you all found each other on? God, did you use the picture, too?"
Yasmin put her hands together and pleaded. "Please, do not antagonize the man."
"I'm not. I'm not. The name suits him. I mean, look at him. Skinny, pale, red hair, no nut sack..." Yasmin pulled me away from the window, but it didn't shut me up. "I wondered why they left you behind to do all the bitch work, but now I get it," I called before being spun around to face Yasmin. "I'm cool. I'm cool, Yas."
He just kept on smiling and kept on rocking in that chair.
She ran a hand through her silky, brunette hair. "That was fucking stupid. That man could leave us all for dead in a ditch somewhere."
I scoffed. "Whether they like it or not, they can't stay up here forever chasing their own tails. Eventually, our food is going to run out, too, and then what, huh?" I turned back to the door and kicked it, "And then what, you fucking clown?!"
"And then they could kill us maybe." Yas shook her head, completely giving up on me.
"If they wanted to kill us, they would have done it already. Especially since we're just costing them food."
"Hey, don't give them any ideas," Gus warned.
Terry decided to speak up. "They think Bigfoot is real. They're probably convinced they're going to find something out there and will get to say 'I told you so' or something. And, when they don't, that's when they're going to realize that they could each go down for kidnapping, theft, and probably a whole bunch of other stuff. It'll be a lot easier to convince them to spare us if we stay cooperative."
I rolled my eyes. "Of course you'd take her side."
Yasmin held up a finger. "Don't you start."
"He's been simping for you since we got into this mess." I stared at him. "Are you hedging your bets on getting laid one last time or something?"
Yes. After three days, I'd become 'that girl'. While everyone else's heads had remained cool, I was freaking out a little. Yasmin was my girlfriend. They all knew this. What they didn't know was that we'd come out there in the first place because things had been a little rocky between us. We both loved the outdoors, and this camping trip was supposed to make us feel like the last two people left in the world so that she could see that there was no one else she'd rather be with. Instead, some freaks rolled into our campsite asking us to donate our food for a greater cause and, when denied, held us up at gun point and locked us in here. I don't think it's a stretch to assume that this was in fact the worst weekend of our lives. And then in popped this college graduate pretty boy and his friends telling my girl all the things she wanted to hear. Yes, I was on edge.
"Can we please just stop talking?" Gus asked while looking around. "All of us?"
The silence that followed was our answer. I sat down on the floor and put my head in my hands. Unfortunately, I missed the part where Yasmin mouthed 'I'm sorry' to Terry before sitting down next to me. It stayed this way for roughly ten minutes before all of us heard distant voices. We ran to the window, and it looked like the others were returning. Something wasn't right, though. They were dragging something on a tarp behind them. A tiny voice in my mind exclaimed, "Holy shit. Did they actually catch Bigfoot?!" but, upon close inspection, a very human groan could be heard, and it became obvious that the wounded party was their own. I counted three others. Two of them were dragging an old guy; one middle-aged white guy and one woman whose size brought to mind names like Helga or Bernice or Big Bertha.
"What the hell happened?" Woody shouted.
The large, burly woman with short, blonde hair and a voice much deeper than most patted the man being dragged hard on the shoulder twice. "You did good, Jake. We're gonna take care of you now."
"Fuck me. Y'all go get that sumbitch."
Woody repeated his inquiry. "What happened, Patty?"
She finally turned to Woody. "They'll tell you. Go on."
He handed her his gun and ran to the cabin that the injured man was being lifted up into. Instead of having a seat, she approached the front door causing me to immediately shrink away, and for good reason.
The door creaked open with a gun aimed at us. We knew the drill before she had to ask. All of us retreated to the far side of the cabin and placed both of our hands against the wall. Once she saw that we had done this, she lowered the gun a bit and smiled a gap-toothed smile.
"Evenin', everyone. I'm taking over for a while, and have come to ask if anyone has to use the facilities." She looked to each one of us. "Anyone? Speak now or forever hold your pee. Shit's kicked off next cabin over, and I don't know when the next go will be."
"Woody took us earlier," Gus answered meekly.
"He took all of you?" The fact that all eyes went to Yasmin and I was answer enough for her. "You first, Miss Green," she called, referring to Yasmin's green eyes. She may have been talking to her, but she stared at me with this self-satisfied grin as she ordered my girlfriend to her. Yasmin obeyed stepping forward with her hands up. "Don't worry, Miss Brown. You're next." Whether she was referring to my eye color or skin color was anyone's guess. Yasmin obviously didn't like a gun being pointed at her but, judging by the way she moved and how she didn't recoil from Patty's touch as she was ushered out, I was confident that the woman seemed to only get a kick out of harassing me.
Bart breathed out. "That woman's fucking huge."
"No shit," I sighed.
We'd all had conversations about perhaps bum-rushing Woody or anyone else guarding us when the door opened, but ultimately decided against it. Even if Woody was the one opening the door, we knew he didn't have the keys to our jeeps. They were kept on Patty, and there was no way any of us were taking her down; not without at least one of us paying the ultimate price. Without those keys, we'd only be jumping out of the pot and into the fire. There were still bears, poisonous plants, and the elements to worry about getting through in order to find safety.
As expected, within five minutes, Patty was bring my Yasmin back from the latrines. she returned to the wall placing a hand on mine.
"Did she do anything to you?" I whispered.
"No. The sick bitch just watches."
I pressed my cheek against hers. "Good."
Patty gestured to me. "Your turn."
"I'm good," I said defiantly knowing fully well that I wasn't.
Ignoring me, she threw her head back. "Move, Miss Brown."
I left the wall and squeezed past the woman as best as I could without touching her. She didn't make that easy. Once away from the porch, the harassment began.
"Did you miss me, Sunshin...?"
"No," I replied, flatly only to hear her chuckle. I groaned. "Can we actually go the the latrines this time?"
There were two perfectly functional latrines at the opposite end of the camp clearing but, sometimes, Patty liked to take me behind them instead. After days of getting to live without that anxiety, I had to come to grips with the fact that we were, indeed, heading around the back. Like a child, I attempted to make myself as small as possible as she swung the gun around on her back and pinned me against the exterior.
"Well, I missed you, baby girl," she said while kissing my cheek tenderly.
In front of the others, I was Miss Brown. In private, she had a number of pet names for me that all made my skin crawl. Every part of me wanted to run, but the voice in my head that still had some sense only said, 'Run where?' I had nothing. No supplies. No weapons. There was no doubt in my mind that I'd be chased and, on the off chance I did managed to get away, how would I find my way down the mountain? What if I fell and broke something? And then there was the most important reason to stay; Yasmin. I could never leave her behind.
She kissed my cheek again, but I just stood there cradling myself and refusing to make eye contact. I knew what she wanted.
The woman actually sniffed at me. "Your girlfriend sure is cute. I see why you like her."
