The Cabin Is Always Hungry

FINDERS KEEPERS

Part 9

The Goliath hacked through the door and widened the gap by several inches. He could put his entire arm through it now, and it would be only a matter of time before he would get into the room.

I wondered if the cultists would behave the same way if chased by a masked psycho across the cabin. Leo and his crew were a good test run for what I had in store for them.

Consider this a dress rehearsal, I thought. Better to spot any mistakes and curate their eventual suffering before the cultists use the space tomorrow and make the cabin as deadly as possible for them. I wanted Coach Hodge and his ilk to suffer the way they made me suffer.

Unfortunately, Leo and his friends were the accidental test subjects.

But what if anyone made it out alive? The night was still young, and there were plenty of chances of escape.

I mulled over the thought and focused on the Goliath.

Art stumbled back to the closet door. “Leo! He’s breaking in!” He shouted. “What should we do?”

Fortunately for Art and Leo, the vanity dresser was wedged against the nightstand. Even if Goliath could open the door, he wouldn’t be able to walk inside but had to either brute force his way into the room or crawl through the gap he chopped off. Both options would only slow him down. He retreated into the hallway.

“The door, Art!” Leo pointed. “The bathroom!”

Art quickly dashed toward the bathroom door (shared by both bedrooms). The Goliath marched into the second bedroom, but Art managed to lock the bathroom door from the inside before the killer could get to him. He rushed back to the master’s bedroom and closed the second door. “That should stop him,” Art said. “What now?”

“Um, let me think.” Leo paced and ruffled through his pockets. “Shit! I left the keys in the living room!”

“Do you think we can get it?”

“With that fucking guy out there? Nah. Not a chance.”

“If we don’t get the keys, where can we go? We can’t run into the woods in the dark!”

“The ranger station.”

“The ranger station?”

“There’s a fire lookout tower nearby. We’re still at the tail end of fire season, so a fire watcher should be there. We can’t get a signal, but they have a radio. We can call for help!” РＡꞐỐꞖΕş

I frowned. A fire watch tower wasn’t included on a list of locations in my dungeon, so it should be outside the boundary. I flew out of the cabin, searched the area with many-eyes, and quickly located the tower two miles north outside the border.

Inside, I could make out the fire watcher on duty, listening to country rock radio while he brewed hot water on a gas stove for his empty mug of tea. A Self-help book about dating in his forties sat half-opened on the desk.

Even if Leo and Art went that way, they had to traverse at least five miles by the most direct route to reach it. That’s a two-hour trek. Minimum.

Leo darted toward the double-hung window, which opened by lifting the bottom part. Unfortunately, there was no latch, and given I deliberately made it hard to open during a chase like this, Leo had to open it by pulling as much weight into it.

A loud thump reverberated from the bathroom as the Goliath broke into the first door and started hacking through the next. The Goliath peered through the gap again, breathing heavily.

“Come on, Leo! He’s almost through!” Art exclaimed.

“Give me a sec!” Leo said over his shoulder. “Fucking thing’s stuck!”

Art looked around frantically for anything that might help him stop the giant. The vanity dresser wedged against the door was filled with empty jewelry boxes and a few knickknacks—nothing useful. The nightstand next to it held nothing but an alarm clock. Two unplugged lamps were on either side of the bed; they wouldn’t have been strong enough to do any damage anyway.

The Goliath reached into the gap and tried to turn the knob from the other side, but Art grabbed one lamp off the nightstand and threw it at him. It bounced harmlessly off the door, but the Goliath reeled his arm back and started chopping again; it was too narrow for his frame.

Leo gritted his teeth, muscles straining against the force, veins popping out of his neck as he lifted the window open with a gratifying roar. “Hurry up!” he yelled. “I got it!”

Art grabbed another lamp from the table and threw it at the Goliath. This time, the lightbulb shattered against the gap, shards of glass shattering out through the opening, which caught the Goliath straight in the face.

The Goliath staggered back, plucking the shrapnel off his mask inches away from under his left eye.

Leo lifted the window, but it only opened halfway. He tried to force it open more, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Fuck this.” Leo picked up the chair from where the vanity dresser used to be and threw it over the left-side window. Glass shattered everywhere. Clearing the windowsill of any sharp glass, Leo hopped over and climbed out of the bedroom. He almost missed a step, catching the window frame, but a jagged glass still embedded in the structure sliced through his palm.

“Shit!” Leo staggered back and reeled his hand close to his chest. It started to bleed.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Careful with the glass, Art. Hurry.” Leo grabbed Art’s arm and guided him through the window.

I frowned. “I should have placed a contingency there.” I made another note to reinforce the window by purchasing a magical barrier to keep it sealed.

I detected movement from the living room, and I darted over there to see what it was. Eddie was finally awake, crawling on the floor toward John’s hacked-up body. He quickly snatched the van keys and, grabbing the couch’s armrest, hauled himself back to his feet. With Goliath still distracted with Leo and Art, Eddie limped out to the front door and opened the latch, stumbling onto the front porch. He headed for the van.

“Heads up,” I said to the Goliath. “Eddie’s got the keys.”

The Goliath pulled his hand from the doorknob and left the bathroom. Leo and Art must be wondering why the Goliath suddenly stopped his pursuit, but they welcomed the brief respite. Art finally managed to climb out of the window, but his injured ankle made it difficult to lift his leg over. Another sharp edge cut through his lower calf and Art yelped. Leo grabbed his ankle and yanked it off the glass.

“Can you walk?” Leo asked.

“I—I think so.” Art put some weight on his leg, but his knee buckled over. “Nope! Not happening.”

Leo thinned his lips. “Come on. Give me your arm.” Leo grabbed Art’s arm and put it around his shoulders. He placed his free arm around Art’s waist and hoisted him, supporting his weight. They both limped toward the parking lot.

“Leo, someone’s got the van!” Art pointed out, and the strangled roar of the engine came to life, and the red brake lights pierced through the fog as the van reversed. “It’s Eddie! He’s got the keys!”

Leo grinned. “Yo! Eddie! Wait up!”

The van screeched to a halt. Leo grinned and dragged Art toward the van.

Inside, Eddie glanced at the side view mirror and saw Art and Leo’s shadowy frame in the mist getting closer and closer…and so did the hulking mass standing by the cabin’s front porch, the axe already in hand. Eddie gritted his teeth and pushed the gear to drive. He put his weight on the gas pedal, and the van sped out of the driveway.

Leo’s face fell. “Eddie! No!”

“What the fuck!” Art exclaimed. The realization that their one guaranteed escape sped out of their reach sent Art’s Resolve to red and Leo to a darker orange.

Leo tried to hoist Art back to his feet, but the latter slumped in defeat. “Come on, Art! We can get to the ranger station.” A lie, of course. Even I didn’t believe Leo’s words, given Art’s injured.

“I—I can’t! My leg.”

“We can make it!”

“I don’t know if I can, Le—!”

Thwack!

The axe’s blade wedged deep into Art’s right shoulder blade, severing his clavicle and down through his ribcage. Leo stumbled back and fell on his ass, scrambling to escape the Goliath looming behind Art.

Art gently caressed the blade with his knuckles as if he couldn’t believe it was inside his body. He looked up at the masked psycho behind him, lips quivering, but held no fear—just this thousand-yard stare. The Goliath brought his foot down on his back and yanked the axe off his shoulder. Art floundered forward and hit the dirt face-first. He let out a hard cough, and blood spurted from his gaping mouth.

[You have gained 1 essence: Arturo “Art” Gomez]

[You have gained 150 crystals]

Leo sat frozen, watching the Goliath bring the axe down twice on Art’s spine. Yet his Resolve remained at a darker orange, not enough to collect the essence I needed to grow. Not once had his Resolve turned red throughout the night, and I suspected he was like Ennis Blunden.

What did the demon say again? Ripen the meat, right?

I could tell he wouldn’t move, his adrenaline and fear freezing him in place. Bringing [Strange Noise], I whispered in his ear:

Run.

Leo brushed off his right ear and screamed. He rolled over, hauled himself back to his feet, and scampered into the woods. I never saw a man run that fast before, but I reckoned that his military training had kicked in. He took off into Trail B, which led north into McLaren Forest, heading toward the mountains.

Toward the direction of the ranger station.

I turned to the Goliath, watching Leo disappear into the fog. Was that a smile on his face? I still couldn’t see behind the mask, but it looked like he was pleased by the turn of events. He slightly bowed in my direction as if saying thank you for giving him a chase scene.

The Goliath marched into the woods and bolted to a full sprint.

“Huh. So, you can run, after all.”

Now to Eddie.

I turned my attention to the driveway. I sensed Old Growth lurking in the woods, darting from tree to tree as it followed the van through the winding dirt road. I flew into the van’s cabin and found him scrambling to control the van through the thick fog and disorienting him. I still had twenty-five minutes left with the environmental aura—plenty of time for the delver to make mistakes.

Let’s see if this fog and the road did as they were designed.

“Come on! Come on!” Eddie exclaimed, wiping the beads of sweat forming above his brows.

Adrenaline must have been coursing through his veins. I saw Old Growth darting between the trees, waiting for my command. He was getting closer to the bridge.

From the side view mirror, Old Growth rushed across the road inches from grazing the van’s back bumper. Eddie must have seen its shadow from the side view mirror. He glanced at the rearview mirror and checked both side view mirrors. Not taking any chances, he put more weight on the gas pedal.

I braced myself for the bride’s illusory trap.

As he rounded the corner, A thin shadowy frame of a woman stood in the middle of the road, dragging something behind her. Headlights briefly illuminated Maxine’s startled expression. Eddie looked back at the road just in time to turn the wheels hard to the right. He tried to regain control of the spinning vehicle when the hood clipped something through the thicket, spun again, and threw the van’s double doors from the back wide open.

That’s when Eddie saw the tree ahead, and all he could do was cover his head with his arms as the airbags blew up on his face.

Unfortunately, Eddie wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.

Eddie flew out of the windshield and rolled into a ditch as the van’s hood crumpled around the trunk. The wound on his injured leg opened wider; his fibula broke and poked through flesh. His left arm angled and rotated awkwardly, and the impact knocked the air out of his lungs. Eddie lay on the dirt, unmoving.

Demon Maxine sauntered over to the ditch’s edge and frowned.

“I was gone for one minute, and we got delvers in the cabin?” She let out a cackle. “And I was not invited to the party! How fun!”

“Took you long enough,” I said. “We still got one in the woods. The Goliath is chasing him.”

“How fun for him. What of this one?”

“Same story. He tried to escape. Old Growth is—”

Old Growth hopped off the tree and landed next to Maxine. The demon didn’t even flinch.

“Hello, Oldie. How are you?” The demon asked. “Are you having fun?”

Old Growth merely shrugged.

“Ah.” Demon Maxine nodded. “Tis’ that night, I see.”

Eddie coughed and gasped for air.

“Holy fuck. That whale is still alive,” the demon said.

“Help…” Eddie cried out weakly. His Resolve turned a darker orange, but it was slowly dissipating. “Help!” He forced to roll his head sideways and looked up to the ditch—to Maxine looking back at him. “Please…help…me…”

Maxine frowned. “He’s dying,” she whispered under her breath. “Poor fool.”

Eddie furrowed his brows. “Why…are you…just standing there? Help. Me! Ple—” He paused. As his vision adjusted in the darkness, he noticed the sinewy mass of vines standing next to the woman. “What…what…”

Old Growth tilted its head curiously and crawled down the ditch.

“What the…what the…”

The demon smirked. “Ah. Sweet, sweet fear of the unknown,” she mused. “I forgot you humans get a bit freaked out by magical creatures. Ahhh. I love Earth. So gullible and naive.”

Old Growth loomed inches away from Eddie’s face as if smelling his aura.

“Please…don’t…hurt…me—”

The javelin-like appendage pierced through Eddie’s back and out of his chest, and Old Growth lifted him off the ground. Dangling with half his broken leg, Eddie clutched the javelin’s pointy end, trying to pry his body off it. It was no use. Old Growth brought Eddie’s face close to its own as if savoring its first kill.

Eddie’s Resolve switched to red.

“Game over,” the demon said.

With its other limbs, Old Growth clutched Eddie’s head. The other two grabbed his injured leg and his broken arm. In one swift pull, I now know what it looked like for a man to be split in half.

And that’s what happened to Eddie. The arm came off first, then the leg. Eddie was still screaming when Old Growth wiggled the javelin still embedded in his flesh before he tore his head off his shoulders. It then threw Eddie’s ripped body (and the loose limbs) back onto the road.

[You have gained 3 essences: Edward “Eddie” Mands]

[You have gained 450 crystals]

Demon Maxine picked up the head and, moving Eddie’s half-gaping mouth, said, “Congratulations, Oldie! I am your first kill! Here.” The demon threw Eddie’s head over to the plant, but Old Growth didn’t catch it; it rolled back into the ditch.

Old Growth wiped the blood off the javelin and retracted it back into its arm. He gave Maxine a courteous bow.

“Damn. He almost made it out,” I said.

“He will not last long in the dungeon,” Maxine said. “Not with a broken leg, at least. In other dungeons, it is a death sentence.”

“Are you all this brutal to delvers? Even in other worlds?” I asked. “From what I’ve seen in the past twenty-four hours...”

Maxine and Old Growth shared a curious look. “Of course, lord dungeon! It is yourspecial system. That is why we flock to you.”

I narrowed my gaze. “What do you mean by that?”

Maxine didn’t let her grin slip and gestured to the dark woods. “You said there is only one left, right?” She asked, changing the subject.

“Um…yeah. Leo Grady. I know him.”

“Close?”

“He’s been my camp counselor over the years. Back when the summer camp was still open.”

“Is he running?”

“Yes.”

“Good. A chase sheds Resolve. It won’t be long now.”

I said nothing.

The demon frowned. “We will make it quick once his Resolve is red, lord dungeon. At least we do not have to torture him; just…let him run out of steam.”

“Would that work?”

“Endurance is the key many humans lack. I know things.”

Maxine walked back down the road and picked up a black body bag. “You imposed, and I shall deliver. Your old body, lord dungeon.” She placed the bag in front of me. “Very difficult to extract, mind you.”

“I gave you a shovel.”

“No. Someone was there.”

“Someone? Do you recognize them?”

“I gleaned Maxine’s memories. They are called Kirk and Alvin.”

“My English teacher. I don’t know about the second guy.”

“Well, they’re looking for your body as well. Fortunately, I had already dug it out of there when they arrived. You must have freaked them out because of the massacre centered around the Yates Residence.”

“They didn’t follow you?”

“I made sure they didn’t. And even if they did, we’ll kill them.”

Right. “Open it.”

The demon raised her eyebrows but said nothing. She crouched down and unzipped the bag. Hollowed eye sockets were what greeted me first. My mouth hung open with a missing tongue. A strong, putrid smell invaded my nostrils. Even the demon took a step back and wiggled her nose.

I sighed. Last night’s events flooded my memory, especially Coach Hodge’s face.

“You two should help the Goliath with Leo,” I ordered.

Old Growth poked Maxine on the shoulder. Maxine leaned over as the plant monster mimed something with its limbs.

“Ah. Oldie’s asking what happens if his Resolve doesn’t turn red?” Maxine translated. “If his Resolve hasn’t gone down this late into the night, he might be worthy. If he dies, he’ll shed multiple essences.”

“It’s not guaranteed he’ll turn red, is it?”

“No.”

I paused. “Alright. If his Resolve remained high, knock him out. We’ll collect the essence later. For now, demon, drag my body back into the cabin. Old Growth, you chase after Leo. You’re faster than him. And the demon, after you drop my body in the cabin, take Trail B.”

Old Growth nodded and sprinted into the woods while the demon collected what was left of Eddie’s body and shoved them inside the van. I made a mental note to clean up the area and hide the van somewhere the cultists wouldn’t find.

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