The Wildman

Chapter TWELVE

Illuminations





Jeff had no idea what he should do next. He wanted to get back to the dining hall so he could grab some food and maybe a bottle of rum, but it didn’t look good. Evan told him he had collected some rainwater to drink, but his stomach had been empty for so long he vomited it back up after only a couple of sips.

“It’s gonna be a while before you get your strength back,” he told him, trying not to think that Evan was probably going to end up in the hospital hooked up to an IV for at least a few days.

“So what’s the plan?” Evan asked.

“I’m not sure.”

“That’s not much of a plan.”

Jeff stepped to one side so Evan could hook his arm around his shoulder and use him for support.

“We’ve got to get to the boat. That’s our only chance. Even if the engine’s f*cked, we’ll row back to the mainland if we have to.

“As long as Ben hasn’t take the oars.”

“Yeah … There’s that.”

“You don’t think he’d think of that?” Evan shook his head. “He’s been planning this for a long time. Chances are, he’s got his bases covered.”

Jeff sniffed with grim laughter and shook his head.

“Yeah, but he hasn’t counted on the human element.”

Or the inhuman element, he thought, still confounded by the transformation he’d experienced in the woods. Although his senses weren’t as keen right now as they had been, he was sure something fundamental him had changed inside … some primitive part of his brain that had been dormant had been unlocked or re-awakened, and was working in ways he still had trouble comprehending. But he couldn’t deny he could sense things that even yesterday—although yesterday seemed so long ago—would have slipped past him without a ripple.

“We’ll swim over if we have to,” Jeff said. He gripped Evan by the waist, hooking his fingers around his belt for support. “First thing, though, we have to get down to the lake and see what’s what. He’s just one man. He can’t be everywhere at once.”

Evan chuckled and said, “Right. It’s not like he’s Hobomock or something.”

He had said it in jest, but Jeff’s immediate thought was, Yeah, maybe he’s not Hobomock … but I am.

He almost said it out loud, but let it drop. On a purely rational level, he knew it wasn’t true. I couldn’t be. He hadn’t been possessed by any Indian spirit or demon. There must be a simpler explanation for what had happened to him. The threat to his own life had kick-started some weird defense mechanism in his brain. It was probably something everyone had, but society or “civilization” buried it so deeply beneath layers and layers of laziness and complacency that we were no longer aware of it … unless or until we needed it.

Like now.

The danger he faced had stripped all of the trappings of civilization from him. He was more in touch with his primitive heritage, and he was confident he could outsmart and outfight—and kill—Ben.

It was simply a matter of survival.

“You up to this?” he asked.

Evan sucked in a whistling breath and took a step forward. His muscles had obviously atrophied from inactivity, but all he had to do was keep moving. Put one foot in front of the other. They would deal with whatever came when and if it came.

The wind hadn’t let up. It was bending the trees as it blew cold and hard from the west. Even Jeff had to admit that the cold and damp were getting to him. As they made their way slowly along the trail, he couldn’t stop thinking about how nice it would be if only they could get in front of the fire in the dining hall and have something to eat and drink. It wouldn’t take much for the civilized part of his nature to reassert itself.

Odds were Ben was hanging close to the dining hall and the boat, waiting for them to show up. The boat was their only option of surviving and getting off the island. Ben could hole up somewhere out of sight and be ready when they came.

“How you doing?” Jeff asked. Evan’s steps were faltering more and more the further they went. His breath came in short, wheezing gasps that shook his body. With nearly every other step, he stumbled and would have fallen if Jeff hadn’t been holding him.

“I … I’m … all right. I’ll make it.”

“Wanna take a minute to rest?”

Evan gritted his teeth and shook his head.

“If I sit down now, I’ll never get up.”

Jeff had to admire his friend’s fortitude. He wanted to say something about how, even if they didn’t make it out of this, even if both of them ended up dead tonight, they had been brave and had tried with every resource they had, so they could die satisfied.

But Jeff wouldn’t allow such thoughts. They weren’t going to die. Thoughts like that worked against them.

They were about halfway to the dining hall when Jeff suddenly drew to a halt. His senses were tingling as he craned his head forward, cocking it from side to side as he listened and waited for something that had caught his attention to be repeated.

“What is—?” Evan started to say, but Jeff shushed him. Moving quickly, he all but dragged Evan off the trail and into the woods. They knelt behind a low evergreen bush, and Jeff eased Evan down to the ground before creeping forward a short way under the low-hanging branches.

“Stay quiet,” he whispered.

As he scanned the trail, every nerve and fiber of his body crackled with electrical tension. He sniffed the wind as he listened and stared into the well of darkness. To his eyes, the night glowed with an eerie purple iridescence that seemed not to have a distinct source.

Danger is approaching.

He knew that much.

It was a palpable presence in the night, as if the air and the forest were his skin, and something was pressing against it, applying slow, steady pressure.

Moving swiftly and quietly, Jeff darted off into the woods, circling around but always staying no more than twenty or thirty yards away from the path. After he had gone a hundred yards or so, he doubled back toward the trail, knowing the threat was getting closer and was coming toward him.

The night crackled with tension. The wind hissed like angry snakes in the branches overhead. But beneath all of these sounds, Jeff heard something else … the slow, steady tread of feet on the rain-soaked ground.

You don’t stand a goddamned chance, he thought, anticipating that it was Ben. He clenched his fists and waited patiently, barely breathing as the footsteps came closer and closer. After a few tense moments, with the night vibrating all around him, Jeff saw a dark figure. A solitary dark silhouette was making its way slowly up the trail without the aid of a flashlight, feeling his way through the darkness like a blind man.

Moving forward silently, Jeff prepared to attack as soon as the person—it had to be Ben—walked past him. The person rounded a turn in the trail, walking past where Jeff was hiding. As soon as his back was to Jeff, Jeff struck. Barely making a sound, he moved up quickly behind the person. When he was only a few feet away, he leaped at him. His arms encircled the man’s waist, and the forward momentum propelled them both face-first onto the ground.

Growling savagely, Jeff hooked his right leg around the man’s lower body, scrambling to hold him down.

The man thrashed wildly to free himself. His grunts of desperate struggle were muffled by Jeff’s weight as it pressed his face down into the mud.

“You son of a bitch,” he said softly, surprised that he wasn’t filled with insane rage. Instead, a cold, calculating cruelty filled him. He was as heartless and as detached as a snake striking its prey.

The man beneath him continued to struggle, but his resistance quickly drained away. Before he killed him, Jeff wanted to stare him in the face and watch the light of life expire in his eyes as he clamped his hands around Ben’s throat and squeezed the life out of him.

“You really thought you were gonna win?” Jeff whispered in a cold, merciless voice. “You thought you’d get the better of me?”

Feeling Ben sag in his embrace, Jeff shifted his weight off him. Still holding him down with his legs, he yanked his shoulder and flipped him over.

Jeff was stunned when he saw Tyler staring up at him with fear-widened eyes. His tongue protruded from his mouth, and his breath made watery, hitching sounds.

“What the Christ?”

For just a second, Jeff wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

What if Ben had learned the magic of the forest and was tricking him with this illusion?

But Tyler groaned as he shook his head.

“What the f*ck are you doing out here?” Jeff said. He kept his voice down because Ben could easily be within hearing distance.

When Jeff released him, Tyler tried to sit up, but his hands and feet kept slipping in the slick mud, and he fell. His throat was still making funny gagging noises as he flopped onto his left side and assumed a fetal position.

“For Christ’s sake,” Tyler gasped. “You don’t … you don’t have to … f*cking kill me …”

“I will if I have to,” Jeff said as he got slowly to his feet and brushed his hands. Bending down, he helped Tyler to his feet. Once he was standing, Tyler started to wipe the mud from his clothes but soon realized how futile that was and stopped.

“What are you doing out here?” Jeff asked. “How’d you get away?”

Jeff’s senses were still honed as he turned and looked up and down the trail, expecting to see Ben nearby.

“I came to find you,” Tyler said, still laboring for breath.

“How the hell did you get away? You know f*cking killed Mike, right?”

Tyler took a step away from Jeff. The move was subtle, but it put Jeff on his guard. Something wasn’t right here.

“Yeah,” Tyler said. “I know. Mike’s dead … and Fred, but you … we have a real problem here.”

“No shit, we do. We have to kill that motherf*cker before he kills us.”

When Tyler took another step back, Jeff noticed he had his shoulders hunched up as if he was preparing to attack.

“That’s why I came out looking for you,” Tyler said. He still sounded like he wasn’t getting enough air into his lungs. “You gotta talk to him.”

“Are you out of your mind? I’m not gonna talk to him. I’m gonna kill him as soon as I get the chance.”

“No, no,” Tyler said with a firm shake of the head. “It’s not like that. You don’t understand. It doesn’t have to be this way. You can talk to him … reason with him.”

Jeff glanced up and down the trail again and then looked into the dark woods. Although Ben wasn’t nearby, Jeff could still sense his presence.

He’s out there … right now … watching us … listening to everything we say …

Is he already aiming his gun at me? … Is he going to shoot me in cold blood?

The night crackled with tension as Jeff and Tyler faced each other less than six feet apart. Jeff didn’t doubt he could beat Tyler hand-to-hand, but he didn’t want to fight him. All he wanted was to get off this goddamned island with Evan. If he had to hurt or kill Tyler to do that, then he would without a second thought.

“No,” Jeff said, his voice a deep, animal growl. “It’s you who doesn’t understand.”

“Just talk to Evan. You’ll see. He can be reasonable. He’s just … he was confused. He didn’t mean to kill Mike. The gun went off accidentally.”

“Jesus, Tyler! You don’t even know. That’s not Evan. Evan Pike has been a prisoner out here. That guy you think is Evan is really Ben Foster.”

“Ben Foster?”

“Yeah. Jimmy Foster’s younger brother. And he plans to kill us because he blames us for what happened to Jimmy.”

A look of genuine shock spread across Tyler’s face. Then he frowned and shook his head as though struggling to deny the truth of what Jeff said.

“He had Evan tied up in the f*cking storage closet in the infirmary. He was going to kill him after he killed the rest of us … even you, Tyler.”

“No. No. That’s not true. That’s not what he told me.” Tyler’s face contorted with the effort of trying to accept what Jeff was telling him. “He wants to explain how it was all a misunderstanding … a terrible misunderstanding.”

“I saw him kill Mike,” Jeff said. “He pointed the gun at Mike’s head, counted to three, and shot him point blank. And he shot at me. You must have heard the shots. And he’s gonna do the same thing to you if you don’t help me get off this island and notify the police.”

“You know where Evan is?” Tyler asked, his voice lifting with hope. He took a step closer to Jeff, but Jeff backed away, maintaining the same distance between them.

“I did.” Jeff was surprised how easily the lie came to him. “But when I went back to the infirmary, he wasn’t there. I don’t know where he is now and, frankly, I don’t give a shit. All I want to do is get out of here. Are you with me?”

Tyler’s expression glazed over as he lowered his eyes and shook his head as if what Jeff had told him was too much to handle. His body started to tremble, and he looked like he was about to drop.

“I’m telling you, man,” Jeff said, resisting the impulse to step forward and help support him. “That’s not Evan. He’s got you fooled. He fooled all of us. He’s using you to trick me into giving myself up.”

“No … no,” Tyler said, raising his head and glaring at Jeff. His mouth was a firm, bloodless line. “He promised me he’d let me go.”

“He what—?”

Tyler took another step closer. This time, Jeff didn’t back away. As they glared at each other, neither one of them said a word. Jeff stretched out his senses out to the night, listening … and smelling … and looking …

And the night spoke to him, talking to him in ways he had never experienced until tonight.

He knew that the immediate area was safe, at least for the time being. Ben wasn’t nearby, but he wasn’t far off.

And he’s coming for me.

The thought send a tingling chill up Jeff’s spine. He experienced a heady rush that made him feel giddy.

He thinks I’m a fool … He thinks he can trap me …

Jeff snorted and almost laughed out loud. He couldn’t let Tyler know he could see what they were up to as clearly as if they were standing in broad daylight.

In a quick, fluid motion, Jeff stepped forward, clenching his right hand into a fist. He cocked it back. Before Tyler could react, he snapped his fist forward. An amazing feeling of exhilaration filled him when his fist connected with Tyler’s face, hitting him squarely on the bridge of the nose.

Something in Tyler’s neck cracked as his head snapped back. He made a funny little squealing sound as a jet of dark blood shot from his nose. Without another sound, his legs folded up, and he dropped. His body made a loud squishy sound when it hit the muddy ground, sending a fan of mud flying into the air.

Jeff stepped back, knowing Tyler was down for the count. He might even be dead, but he didn’t care. The son of a bitch had tried to trick him. He had betrayed his trust, and he had to learn that anyone who got in his way was going to pay a huge price.

But Jeff didn’t have time to enjoy his triumph.

A second later, the night around him throbbed with a cold rush of air. His surroundings brightened for an instant, and the woods filled with a muted purple glow.

In that instant, Jeff had the sensation he was flying, hovering several feet above the ground. Something had changed with his vision, and he saw further down the path than he should have been able to. He could see around the twists and turns of the trail as though looking down a long, straight line that led all the way back to the dining hall and beach. Far off in the distance, Ben Foster was moving along the trial toward him. And Jeff saw the gun in Ben’s hand and the murderous glare of rage in his eyes.

Soundlessly, Jeff turned and ran off into the woods just as Ben rounded the turn in the trail. A single shot rang out, but the bullet whizzed by harmlessly and ripped into the woods.

Moving fast and silently, Jeff went deeper into the woods, feeling himself blend into the darkness as if he had become the darkness. He was confident Ben hadn’t seen him. He was taking pot shots, shooting at any sound or motion.

By the time Ben got to where Tyler was lying unconscious on the muddy trail, Jeff was already circling around to where he had left Evan, hiding in the brush.

They didn’t have much time, and he planned to use what they had to his advantage.

* * *

“You sure you can walk?”

Jeff didn’t like the way Evan was so unsteady on his feet, but he was determined not to leave him behind. If Tyler really was on Ben’s side, their chances of getting back to the mainland were decreasing.

“I’m good … Seriously,” Evan said, but when he took his first step, his legs collapsed buckled under him. Jeff grabbed him to keep him from falling.

“I’m still kind of stiff from not moving for so long.” He took a deep breath. “I’ll be all right once we get moving.”

Without another word, they started off through the woods side by side, keeping parallel to the trail but never so close to it that they would be seen if anyone came along. They hadn’t gone far before Evan had to stop and catch his breath.

“I can’t believe this is all because he blames us for what happened to his brother,” Jeff said.

Evan nodded. “As far as I know.”

“I can’t figure why he didn’t kill you when he had the chance. It doesn’t make sense to leave you out there like that.”

Evan shrugged.

“Maybe he planned to use me as a hostage or negotiating chip or whatever.”

Jeff shrugged, not convinced. If Ben planned on confronting all of them at the same time, he would have done it the first night. It made more sense for Ben to pick them off one by one, rather than confront them as a group where they might be able to resist and overwhelm him.

Still, he had the gun.

Until they changed that, he had the advantage.

Before he was consciously aware of it, Jeff sensed something moving toward them in the dark. He shushed Evan and looked around, letting the night fill his senses. Reaching out as much with his mind as with his eyes and ears, he implored the night to speak to him.

“I think he might have found our trail,” he whispered.

“What are—”

“Shsssh.”

Branches clattered as the trees swayed in the wind, but beneath that, there was another sound. Again, Jeff experienced a curious disembodied sensation as he stretched out his sense and nerves to feel what was going on around him.

This is magical, he thought, feeling almost giddy, and, at the same time, telling himself, No … You’re losing your goddamned mind … you’ve snapped because of what’s going on.

Jeff knew, without doubt, that Ben moving toward them, walking slowly … cautiously … his gun poised and ready.

“We have to get down to the lake before he does,” Jeff whispered. “Are you sure you can make it?”

“I don’t want to hold you back.”

Evan sounded wrung out with exhaustion. He was shivering as he slumped forward, looking like he was going to drop any second now.

“Are you sure you don’t want to do this on your own? I’ll hide somewhere they can’t find me. After you contact the authorities, you can come back and get me?”

Biting his lower lip, Jeff considered for a moment but then shook his head.

“I’m not leaving you behind. We either get out of this together, alive, or we don’t get out of it at all.” He listened for the sound of Ben’s footfall as he closed the distance between them.

“Let’s go,” Evan said simply.

Walking side by side, they continued through the woods, dodging tress and stopping every now and then so Evan could catch his breath. Jeff kept reaching out into the night, wanting to hear and feel every step Ben took, but the night was silent now. The presence of imminent danger had lessened.

Is Ben moving away from us?

Jeff wondered if his senses were failing him. What if Ben was coming closer, and he couldn’t sense it?

It seemed to take longer than it should have, but eventually up ahead he saw a clearing and knew they were near the dining hall. The strong smell of wood smoke filled the night air, but he told himself not to think about the creature comforts inside the dining hall. If they tried to get in there, Ben would have them trapped before they could get away. He had to stay outside, where his newfound awareness would tell him everything he needed to know.

But there were things in the dining hall he needed.

For one, he wanted to get his cell phone and car keys. He also could use some dry clothes for himself and Evan. And if he could, a bottle of rum would help warm them up and fend off the hypothermia they both were close to suffering.

The problem was, he didn’t see how he could accomplish any of that without getting caught.

What he needed, he realized, was a distraction.

* * *

They moved through the woods until they could see the glow of the fire in the dining hall windows. The mist blowing in off the lake made it all but impossible to see if Ben was lurking somewhere outside, waiting in ambush. There was no sign of danger, but Ben and Tyler could be anywhere.

Jeff’s chief concern was the boat.

What would Ben do to prevent them from using it?

Was the motor really useless, or had he choked it out on purpose so they would think it was broken? After all, once he had gotten his revenge, he needed a way back to the mainland.

If the motor really was burned out, was he going to row back to the mainland once everyone else was dead?

If that was his plan, he would have hidden the oars so no one else would find them.

And if the boat was out of the equation, the only option left would be to swim back to the mainland.

In water as cold as the lake must be, that was all but guaranteed suicide. Evan was already in such bad shape he would surely die if he didn’t get food and warmth soon. Exposure to the near freezing night was also wearing Jeff down. In spite of the transformation he had experienced in the woods, he knew he was still mortal. He hadn’t really become Hobomock. He was no Native American spirit or demon who was impervious to the elements.

But then again, neither was Ben, and unless he planned on committing suicide once he’d killed them, he had to have a way of getting off the island.

“I’ve got it,” Jeff said, snapping his fingers.

“Got what?”

“How we’re gonna get out of here. But you’re gonna have to do something to help. I hope you’re up for it.”

Jeff stared silently at Evan, trying to evaluate just how much he thought he could tolerate. Evan looked shaky on his feet. His shoulders were slumped forward as he leaned against a tree, gasping for breath.

“I’ll do whatever you say,” Evan said. “You’re the boos.”

Jeff couldn’t help but smile.

“There. You finally admitted it after all these years.”

“Admitted what?”

“That I’m the boss.”

Evan sniffed and shook his head. “You’ll have plenty of time to gloat about that once we get the hell out of here. So tell me. What do I have to do?”