Chapter Sixteen
On the floor of the forest, approaching the lodge, hands are digging into the mud, a pair of strong hands, pulling through the dirt, grabbing the exposed tree roots and using them to propel his body. Moving at a powerful speed. Closing the distance. Released from a nihilistic void, Curtis crawls into violence.
Alison kneels down, gets some leverage, and wrenches her knife from Gravel’s back. She meticulously wipes it on his jacket and slips it back into her pants. Abruptly, a blast of static and then, loudly over the camp P.A. system, Ben’s voice.
“Listen carefully,” Ben’s voice fills the air.
Alison slinks from the tin shack and drops to the ground behind a rock between the shed and the lodge.
In the lodge over by the bookcase, Ben holds the microphone for the P.A. system. His tone carries the sureness that comes naturally from being the smartest one in the room. His chilling authority is implicit in every word. “I’m going to kill one hostage every five minutes until you come on in here so we can chat. And for everyone’s sake, my brothers had better not be hurt. You have four minutes.”
Alison considers her options. She could rush the main room shooting. But Jimmy or Hank could be easily killed that way. Think.
Meanwhile, those arms, muscular and gnarled, pull, pull, over the ground and approach the lodge because Curtis is no longer numb. He feels it. He can’t help but feel it. His breathing is thick and labored but he is not slowing down. He is almost there. To do what? He doesn’t know. He knows only that doing nothing is no longer his life.
Alison analyzes in eerie stillness. She scans the area around the lodge, the path, the shed - all areas she knows thoroughly now. She sees with different eyes. The connections in her mind have been rearranged. What is left of her grip on humanity is screaming at her not to allow another hostage death. Rationally, she knows giving up kills everyone. She knots her fingers in her hair and it looks like she might yank it out by the roots and not even notice.
Over the P.A., “Three minutes.”
And she lets loose! Alison utters a long loud wail, a wail that has been waiting, that has been gathering inside of her since that very first moment. It is an aberrant sound: not recognizably human yet not resembling any animal. The plaintiff yowl echoes through the camp with a searing rawness. Ben hears it and finds it exciting. It stirs the ugly stew at the core of him. He doesn’t know what he’s dealing with, but if it sent his brothers into hiding, it must be powerful and cunning. The possibility that someone could have killed both his brothers is unthinkable. He considers what tools are at his disposal. He knows he is missing something. Something has been bothering him. And then, what he can only attribute to divine intervention, as a gift from God it comes to him. A small grin crawls across his face. He locks eyes with Hank. Hank holds his stare defiantly, but he sees it: the shift, the twinkle of delight from a puzzle solved. Ben begins talking directly to Hank and walking over, “I think the lady wants to be left alone. That’s what you said to my brother. I think the lady wants to be left alone. Like you didn’t know her. Odd words for a husband.” Hank does not give in to the force of Ben’s gaze. He holds his eyes with strength and says nothing. Bella’s stomach cramps and she fights a wave of nausea. Julie hasn’t lifted her head for an hour and Ed fears she is in deep shock.
“Aw,” Ben continues, “but this is easy.” He takes the muzzle of his weapon and points directly at Hank’s head. Hank does not flinch. He will not cringe in front of his son. He maintains. Jimmy begins to quiver. Without taking his gaze from Hank, Ben asks Jimmy. “So, kid, that’s not your mother there, is it?”
Jimmy is petrified and can barely form a word, “Ah…”
“Your mother’s out there isn’t she?” Ben moves the muzzle of the gun to rest on Hank’s left eye socket.
Jimmy cries out, “Don’t please. Yes. Yes. Please”
Ben always feels such a pleasant thrill when he’s calculated correctly. He loves that rush of superiority. He lowers the gun. He savors a moment of triumph face-to-face with Hank. Then, he bends down and grabs Jimmy by his arms, which are still tied behind his back. He drags him across the lodge floor as all of the hostages beg for him. Hank dives out after his son. With his ankles tied, his arms secured behind his back, all he can do is crawl on his knees and face. He saw the menace in Ben’s eyes. He knows pleading is worthless.
Hank explodes, “I’ll kill you! Let him go.” Hank crawls. “I’ll come back from the grave if I have to.”
Ben responds coolly, “You’ll have to.” He stands Jimmy on his feet, opens the lodge door, and pushes him out onto the porch. Ben steps out and ducks behind using Jimmy as a shield. He slams the door leaving Hank flailing around on the wood.
“Bitch! I’ve got your brat.”
Alison lying flat in some brush within sight of the lodge sees Jimmy. She sees his terrified expression and the tears on his face. She feels his fear and it feeds her fury.
Ben shoves Jimmy to the edge of the porch. “Woman, I am not a patient man.”
Something catches her glance. Underneath the lodge, in the crawl space, Curtis is dragging himself through the sludge. He is now directly below Ben and Jimmy. Ben is unaware.
Alison yells to distract, “I have your brother. Trade?”
Hank is riveted to hear her voice. That’s Alison. She’s alive. He shimmies his body up to the window to try to see. The other hostages are chewing on each other’s ties and making progress.
“I don’t like trades. Get out here with my brother at the count of three or I’ll start by shooting out this kid’s knee and then work my way up excruciatingly slowly.”
Hank lies flat out on the floor as Ed bites at his binding to free him.
Underneath the porch, Curtis sees the tips of Jimmy’s sneakers. He rolls onto his back so both his hands are free.
Ben begins, “One...two...”
Alison stands revealing herself fifteen yards away. For the first time, Ben and Alison lay eyes on each other. They connect animal-to-animal. Jimmy gasps at the sight of his mother: battered, bloodied, armed. Ben reviews this skinny beaten up woman.
Curtis’ strong hands dart up suddenly, unexpectedly, from under the porch; grabbing Jimmy by his shins, with all his might he pulls! He propels Jimmy off the porch and face down into the mud. Alison opens fire on Ben now exposed! Ben dives for cover rolling off the porch.
Inside the lodge, Hank yells wild with anguish. Bullets strafe the cabin: breaking windows, gouging chunks out of the bookcase. Hank crawls, staying low, to the door.
Ben returns fire as he takes cover. Alison darts into the woods reloading her handgun. Ben races to the shed and looks inside. Kent hangs limp harpooned to the wall. Gravel is dead on the floor. Ben’s whole family is gone because of her. He takes off after her. He is enraged! He will hunt her until she’s dead, and then, he will hunt her into hell.
Hank bursts out onto the porch in time to see Curtis untying Jimmy. He falls on the ground and hugs his son.
“Dad.”
“Who are you?” Hank asks.
Jimmy says, “He helped me.”
Curtis says, “Get back inside.” Jimmy and Hank grab Curtis, haul him up the two porch steps and inside the lodge. All of the other hostages are free now. They are moving furniture, covering the windows, and setting up a barricade.
Jimmy is crying hard for the first time, “Dad.”
Hank holds him, “Yes. Okay.”
“I saw mom. She’s…she’s…” There are no words to describe his mom.
As they fortify the room Curtis tells them, “I got through to 911. They’re sending helicopters. There’s been some kind of manhunt for these guys.”
Hank heads for the door as he asks Jimmy. “Where’d she go?’
Curtis answers, “She’s out to get the last guy.”
Hank finds this information hard to process. Why? What does he mean? On purpose? In the distance, shots are fired. Hank sprints for the door. Dan emerges from the kitchen with an ax and several butcher knives. Dan and Grant, both suffering from heartbreaking loss, are unwilling to sit and wait.
“Let’s go get this motherf*cker,” Dan says.
Bella asks, “Are you sure you should go out there?”
Jimmy implores, “Dad, don’t. Please don’t go.”
Hank looks into his son’s face, “Jimmy, she’s alone.”
“Dad!” Jimmy’s confused, “She didn’t look…normal.”
Hank kisses his son on the top of his head and turns for the door. Bella steps forward and puts her arm around Jimmy. The three men head for the door.
Grant yells back, “Barricade after we’re gone.”
“Hey,” Curtis yells after them, “Don’t sneak up on her. Really.”
Dan, Grant, and Hank run into the woods.
* * *