Curse of the Gut Ripper

Tim Miller

Copyright © 2015 Tim Miller

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. The following is a work of fiction. Any representation of any actual persons living or dead is coincidental.

Cover image provided by MadMaskman

Chapter 1

Buddy Hansen loaded up the SUV as his girlfriend Katie Rock stood around chatting with their friends John Lepper, his girlfriend Dawn Dewey, Peter Ledson and Susan Andes. The six of them had been planning this trip for months; well, the other five had. Going hiking through Texas hill country in July wasn't Buddy's idea of a fun time, but he could never tell Katie no.

"You almost ready?" Katie asked.

"I would've been done a while ago if I had some help. You guys seem just to want to stand around jerking each other off."

"Whatever!" They piled into the Expedition as Buddy climbed into the driver's seat. It was going to be a long drive, but he had no doubt it would be fun. John, Dawn, Peter and Susan were friends of theirs from college. They hadn't seen any of them in almost ten years, so the weekend getaway was a great idea. Though Buddy thought spending a weekend on Sixth Street in Austin would be more fun than hiking. But Katie the health nut insisted on hiking.

John and Dawn were into things like hiking, rock climbing, and even skydiving. Peter and Susan were known to go SCUBA diving in various parts of the world. Buddy was kind of the oddball among the bunch. He'd rather watch a football game than climb rocks or jump out of a perfectly good aircraft.

"So, Buddy," John asked. "You know much about this place we are going?"

"Only that it's hot, and there's lots of rocks."

"You mean Conner's Grove?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, Conner's Grove. You never heard about the people killed there?"

"Oh Christ," Buddy said. "People killed, how? Snakes? Heat exhaustion?"

"No. The Gut Ripper!"

"What?" The girls said in unison.

"Shut the fuck up," Buddy said.

"I'm fuckin' serious! I googled it. It's this old legend there. Supposedly, years ago, some guys were hunting out there; they got lost or something, and one of them flipped out. He killed everyone in his party and cut them wide open, ripping all their guts out. When authorities found them, their intestines and entrails were scattered all over the place."

"That is so gross," Dawn said.

"That's not all," John continued. "So years later, another group of campers was found dead, all their guts ripped out. Happens every few years."

"Bullshit," Buddy said. "Then why is it never on the news?"

"Are you fuckin' serious? You can't believe the lamestream media dude. That's nothing but spoon-fed, corporate bullshit for all the little sheeple. You have to look beyond that to find the real truth."

"Like what? Where did you hear all this?"

"This cool website called Texasurbanlegends.com. Some crazy shit on there dude. They did a story about some secret club for rich people who tortures people for fun a few years ago. Crazy...crazy shit!"

"Yeah, that sounds like a real legit site," Buddy said. "Did you check any of that with Snopes?"

"Snopes?" John laughed. "Dude, fuck Snopes. They are corporate shills owned by the Bush family. You know what that means?"

"Um, I give up."

"Illuminati." John waved his finger as he said it to dramatize the point.

"Oh my God you are so full of shit," Buddy said. "Did you bring a tinfoil hat?"

"Fuck you, man. Call me crazy if you want. Look this shit up for yourself. Stop being such a sheeple."

"So, when was the last time that this Gut Licker guy killed someone?" Katie asked.

"Gut Ripper," John corrected. "Two or three years ago, a couple on their honeymoon decided to go camping. He trashed their campsite, and they were found with their stomachs all ripped up. The girl was hanging upside down from a tree with her entrails wrapped around her corpse. Was a really sickening site."

"You saw it?"

"Just pictures online. Go to Liveleak.com and you can find all kinds of sick shit," John explained.

"So, if there is some wild killer on the loose there, why are we going?"

"Why not? You scared?"

"I'm not scared. I'm not the one talking about Jason Voorhees stomping through the woods hacking people up."

"Jason's got nothing on this guy, dude. This guy is a monster. And he's for real."

"This is creeping me out," Susan said after being quite this whole time. "Maybe we should just go to Austin."

"Yeah, Austin would be cool," Dawn said.

"See?" Buddy said, smiling. "Not too late."

"No. We are not going to Austin over some crazy urban legend. Let's just get to Connor's Grove and have fun. There isn't any weird killer going to hurt us." Katie scolded. "We've planned this for months. Besides, John is just trying to scare you all. We're all a little old to be scared of campfire stories."

"You never know…" John said.

"Doesn't matter, we're almost here," Buddy said as they passed a Conner's Grove sign. In just under an hour, they arrived. Buddy pulled the SUV to a remote spot and climbed out to stretch his legs. Peter, who had been asleep most of the trip, stepped out and looked around.

"Wow, we're here already?" he said. "That was fast."

"You slept the whole time," Susan said. "Plus you missed the horror stories."

"What horror story?"

"Nothing," Buddy said. "Just some stuff about Katie's cooking."

Katie punched him in the arm as she climbed out of the truck. Once they were out, they began unloading.

"Should we head out tonight, still?" John asked.

"I'm exhausted. I say we set up camp and head out in the morning. It will be dark here soon."

"Sounds good to me," Katie agreed as they dug out the tents and sleeping bags and began setting up. They joked and laughed as they set up the tents while Peter got the grill set up and loaded the chicken and sausages to cook. What none of them noticed was the man watching them from behind some large rocks less than one hundred feet away. The man held an ax in his right hand, and both he and the ax were quite real.

Chapter 2

Peter lay in the tent looking at Susan, who was reading a paperback while holding a flashlight to the side.

"We came all the way out here so you could just sit here and read?"

"Sorry. I'm just tired. Was a long drive today."

"We both slept most of the way."

"I know, but it was all cramped up in the car. What did you want to do anyway? Not like there's a bar out here."

Going out was their thing on the weekends and even weeknights. In between their adventures, Peter loved to hit the town. Though watching Susan lie on top of her sleeping bag wasn't the worst thing. Since it was the middle of summer, even at night it was plenty warm and humid. She'd stripped down to a tank top and booty shorts. The tank top hugged her breasts just right; even in the low light her nipples were plenty visible.

"I can think of one thing we could do," he said as he rolled over and slid his hand across her stomach, sliding it under her tank top. She put the book down.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" she asked teasingly.

"Nothin."

"It doesn't feel like nothing. It feels like, oooh." She rolled her head back as he pulled her shirt up and put his mouth over her breast; the nipples hardened instantaneously. He nibbled it gently while flicking it with his tongue. She let out a sigh as she pulled the tank top all the way off. He kissed along her chest as she ran her fingers through his hair, pressing his face deeper into her warmth.

He slid up and began kissing her. He ran his hands up and down her body as their tongues massaged each one another. She slid her hand down the front of his shorts, taking his stiff cock into her hands and rubbing it, feeling it throb in her fingertips. Peter thought he was going to pop just from her touch. His cock twitched and throbbed in her hands with each of her gentle movements.

He began sliding her panties down when she stopped.

"What was that?" she asked.

"What was what?"

"That noise."

"I didn't hear anything," he said as he leaned in again, but she pushed him away. He rolled his eyes and stood.

"What did you hear? It's probably John or Buddy walking around."

"I don't think so. It sounded like somebody breathing."

"Can we just…"

"Shhh!" she said. They both sat there quietly and listened. "There it was! You hear it? Someone is outside!"

"I think John had you spooked with his little horror story."

"Shut up. Will you check it out?'

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Yes, I'm serious."

"Why don't you go look? You're the one who heard it."

"Cause you're the man. Quit acting like such a pussy."

"Fine. Whatever. Guess you really weren't in the mood. Most girls just say they have a headache."

"Whatever. Just make sure some maniac isn't out there with a chainsaw or some shit, please?"

"Fine."

He didn't even bother putting pants on. He just slipped his shoes on and unzipped the tent to step out into the night air. Part of him thought he should take a weapon or something but didn't have anything handy. Next to the tent, one of the hammers they used to pound the stakes in was lying there. He grabbed it and wandered around the tent. There was nothing in sight. No footprints or heavy breathing of any kind. The other tents were all quiet as they were asleep like normal people after such a long day.

He walked around each tent and figured it was safe to go back inside and, at least, get some sleep since he was obviously not going to be getting laid. Before going in, he walked to some bushes about a hundred feet from the tent and took a piss. Once he finished, he walked back to the tent only to find it had collapsed. He looked around, but the others were still in place.

"Susan? What's going on?" he said. He walked around and picked up parts of the tent, but there was no reason it should have collapsed unless Susan was fucking with him. He walked around further from the camp when he heard her voice.

"Peter." Her voice was just above a whimper.

"Susan? Where are you?"

"Peter, help me!"

He followed the sound as he walked in between some trees when he saw her. She was still in just her boxers; there was a huge man dressed in all black except for what looked like a white mask. It reminded him of a riot mask or something. Peter saw Susan had been pinned by the throat against the tree.

"Peter!" she cried out again.

"What the fuck! Let her go, motherfucker. This shit isn't funny." His first thought was that it was John dressed up fucking with them. After all his Gut Ripper horror stories on the trip, Peter wouldn't put it past him. But this guy looked much taller than John. The man in the mask said nothing as in his other hand he held up a long shiny blade. Peter gripped the hammer tight and charged the man.

The masked man batted him away effortlessly. Peter fell to the ground, dropping the hammer as he did so. Blood filled his mouth where the stranger had struck him. He scooted back as the masked man took the knife and slashed Susan's stomach open. She coughed and choked up blood as he dug into the incision, pulling out her intestines. They spilled onto the ground, filling the night air with a bloody, acidic stench. Peter leaned over and threw up.

"Help. Peter! Help me!" Susan grunted as she struggled to breathe and fought against the extreme pain she must have been feeling. Peter watched helplessly as the man took her intestines and looped one section around her neck, she weakly struggled against it, but her bloody hands just slid off. The man looped the other end around a tree branch just above her. He gave her intestines a few tugs, and she began to raise up off her feet.

"No!" Peter screamed as the man lifted her several feet off the ground and tied her intestines to her own feet, completing the circle. Susan swung there, gagging and struggling as her guts strangled her. After a few seconds, she went limp. The man turned and looked at Peter and took a few steps. It was then Peter realized if he couldn't save her, he should have started running away a long time ago. He finally got to his feet as the masked man took another step in his direction.

Chapter 3

Peter ran over the rocks and down one of the trails; looking behind him the huge, masked figure just kept lumbering along. He was glad he'd worn his shoes, at least, but couldn't figure out how this maniac was able to keep up with him by just walking. There was a patch of trees just ahead. He ran that way hoping to lose the killer through there. In the dark, it was hard to see what was in front of him. He tripped over a large rock, tearing up his knee and nearly twisting his ankle.

He got back to his feet and made it into the trees. The killer was only twenty or so yards behind as he ran around another set of trees and through some bushes when he got stuck and pain seared through his body. He was stuck in razor wire. He'd hit the wire at full speed and was caught in it around his arms, legs, and dug into his chest. He tried to move, but with each movement, the mini-blades cut deeper into his skin. One of the blades was sunk horrifyingly low beneath the surface.

Part of him thought of just ripping his arm away, but he feared tearing through an artery if he did that. Plus, it hurt like hell. He heard footsteps coming up behind him as the killer approached.

"Help! Somebody help me!" he screamed, hoping to wake the others and that someone would come to his rescue. If anyone did hear, they'd never make it to him on time. He was stupid for running away from the camp, but he wasn't really thinking straight. He struggled and grunted as the razor wire dug into his body.

In a matter of minutes, the masked man was standing right over him. The man looked Peter up and down as if he were a science project. The large set of eyes looking at him with almost childlike curiosity, yet the terrifying gaze seemed capable of penetrating his soul. The man was holding a pitchfork in his hand.

"Look, I'm not sure why you're angry," Peter said. "Are we trespassing? Is this your home? We'll leave. Ok? We'll just pack up and go. We won't say anything to anyone. I promise."

The masked man stood behind him as Peter felt the prongs of the pitchfork press against the back of his head.

"No! Please? No! No! No!" Peter pleaded. He had just turned thirty recently. He'd just landed the job he'd always been wanting and life was finally starting to go his way. It would figure; about the time things are going well he'd die. Not only was his life about to end, but he was about to be killed in his underwear hung up in a bunch of razor wire.

With a single thrust, the man shoved the pitchfork into the back of Peter's skull. Peter gasped as his mouth hung open. Oddly he was still alive as he felt the sharp prongs slowly working through his brain. It didn't hurt as much as he thought it would, but he knew the lights would be out any second. When they finally did go out, the last thing he felt was the prongs pushing against the back of his eyeballs right before they popped out of his head.

Peter's killer pulled on the pitchfork, ripping Peter's lifeless body out of the razor wire and planted it into the ground. Peter's body stood propped up, dangling from the prongs by his head as the killer took the knife and slashed Peter's stomach open. He pulled out the gooey entrails and strung them around the bushes and branches nearby. Once he finished, he headed back into the campground.

*      *     *     *     *

John and Dawn stepped out of their tents and found Buddy and Katie looking around.

"Did you guys hear that?" John asked.

"Yeah. Someone screaming. Sounded like Peter," Buddy said.

"Shit. Look at their tent."

The four of them walked around the collapsed tent that had housed their missing compadres.

"What the fuck?" Katie said. "This shit is freaking me out."

"Maybe it's the Gut Ripper, huh, John?" Buddy said looking at John who appeared less playful than he had earlier in the day. John didn't reply to Buddy's jab. "Huh, John? You were so full of knowledge in the car. Got nothing to say now?"

"Look, why don't we spread out?" Katie said. "Something must have happened. Are there any bears or mountain lions out here?"

"I have no idea," Buddy said. "But we should stay in pairs. John, you guys, head that way, me and Katie will look around back by the hills. Yell if you find them."

"What if they are really hurt? Like maybe there is someone else out here." Dawn said. "I think we should all stick together."

"Um, Buddy…" Katie said.

"No one else is out here. Fuck we're nuts for even coming out here." Buddy said.

"Buddy…."

"Hell, we didn't see a single fucking car or camper since we got into the park," he continued.

"Buddy!"

"What?"

"Look."

He looked at the tree line where Katie had been pointing. There was a large man wearing a white, beat up mask and carrying a large knife.

"What in the fuck?" he said.

"You think that's Peter fucking with us?" Katie asked. "Please tell me it's Peter goofing off."

"I don't think that's Peter," John said. "That is the actual Gut Ripper."

"If you guys are fucking with us; God help me I will gut you my fucking self." Buddy said.

"Dude, I'm not fucking with you. And he's headed this way."

The man was now less than fifty feet from the group.

"All right then," Buddy said as he picked up a rock and hurled it at the masked man. The rock hit him in the mask and bounced off, but the man kept coming.

"Buddy, I don't think that's Peter in there. Let's get out of here," Katie said.

John had taken a few steps backward before he turned to run. He barely made it a few steps when the masked man hurled the knife at him. The knife hit him in the back of the thigh, knocking him to the ground. Buddy, Kate, and Dawn were already racing for the car when they looked behind them and saw John face down on the ground with the masked man closing in.

"John!" Dawn screamed. John got back to his feet and began to hobble toward them just as the masked man came up behind him, grabbed him by the hair and lifted him off the ground.

Chapter 4

John kicked and struggled as Buddy, Katie, and Dawn watched helplessly as the masked man lifted him off the ground. He wrapped an arm around John's chin while ripping out a handful of hair. Flesh began tearing away from John's skull as he screamed and thrashed. It took less than a minute for the man to rip the hair and flesh clean from John's skull and toss it aside. John shrieked and cried as the man threw him to the ground flat on his back.

John lay there and tried to scoot away as the man knelt down and punched John in the stomach. John doubled forward as the man dug his fingers into John's stomach, using his nails to tear and rip at the flesh as John screamed and kicked. The man soon had John's abdomen torn wide open and began pulling John's intestines out.

He pulled them out until they were in a long, bloody, greasy heap on the ground. John was now crying and moaning as the man flipped him over, and used John's guts to hogtie him by his hands and feet. The last measure was wrapping a length around John's neck and pulling it tight.  John gagged and strained as he struggled against his insides. His eyes and tongue bugged out of his head as the masked man now headed for the remaining group.

"Fuck! Get to the car!" Buddy said as they ran toward the Expedition. He'd left the keys in the visor thankfully. They piled into the car as he closed and locked the doors. He grabbed the key and put it in the ignition, but the engine it just made a clicking sound as he turned the keys.

"Fuck! What the fuck?!" he screamed as he turned the key again but it still just made a clicking sound.

"Hurry up!" Katie yelled, "Start this piece of shit! He's coming!"

"I'm trying, it won't start!"

He tried again but nothing.

"Hurry!" Katie screamed again. "What the fuck is wrong?"

"It won't start! He must have tampered with it! Shit!"

"What do we do? He's getting closer!" Dawn screamed.

"Where is he?"

Dawn looked out the window, but the man was gone.

"Well?"

"I don't see him."

"He's fucking out there somewhere. He didn't just disappear."

"I don't know," Dawn said. "Maybe he gave up and left."

Katie looked around through the back window.

"I don't see him either."

Buddy sat behind the wheel and looked around when the glass shattered to his right. He turned to see the masked man had busted out the passenger side window, grabbed Dawn by the hair, and was now raking her face across the broken glass along the edges. She screamed as he dragged her face back and forth before losing his grip. She looked up and turned to Buddy, grabbing his arm; her face was a looked like shredded ribbons. Her eyes began to swell shut, and the chunks of flesh jiggled while hanging off her face.

"Help me! Please help!" She clung to his arm as she screamed. Buddy grabbed her arm and tried to hold her as the killer reached in and pulled her by the hair again. There was so much blood on her arms, making them slippery. Buddy just couldn't hold on, and she was soon out of his grip. The masked man pulled her out of the car, opened the door as he stuck her head in the car door and slammed it.

She screamed as he repeatedly opened and closed the door on her head. She let out one final scream as her skull finally gave way and flattened as brains and tissue spilled out onto the passenger seat. Her body slumped to the side as Buddy opened his door.

"Katie! Get out! Run!"

Instead, Katie tried to hit the man with a tire iron she'd found in the back seat. Buddy got out and started running, but saw the man grab the tire iron from Katie's hand and smash her in the face with it. He then pulled her out of the car and threw her over his shoulder. Buddy stopped running as he watched the killer carrying her like she was a sack of potatoes.

He walked around to the front of the car and threw her to the ground as he ripped her shirt off. Buddy stood and watched as the man took out a knife, bent down as he squeezed Katie's breasts and starting with the left, began slicing off her tits. Katie screamed as Buddy ran toward the camp and picked up a loose two by four. He ran at the killer who know had her left breast sliced completely off and started on her right one.

Buddy hit the man in the head with the two by four as hard as he could, splitting it in half, but the man just looked at him as he pulled and sliced the last tendril of skin connecting the tit to the body. Blood oozed from the two large holes in her chest as the man began to chisel at her eye with the knife. She screamed and cried as Buddy ran around the back of the Expedition, looking for anything that could stop this guy. He didn't know if he could save Katie or even himself at this point, but he had to try.

There was something sticking out of a tree a few feet behind the car. He ran up to it, and it was an ax. A full sized ax stuck in a tree as if someone began to chop it down and gave up halfway through. He had no idea where it came from but grabbed it and ran around the front of the car. This time, he found Katie staring up lifelessly at the sky as the man had her abdomen cut open and was pulling her guts out one length at a time. They weren't kidding about him being the Gut Ripper. The killer looked up at Buddy just as Buddy managed to take one solid swing with the ax. The ax connected, slicing off the killer's head in a single blow.

The killer's head rolled away as his body slumped to the ground as blood sprayed from his stump. Buddy reared back again, in shock that he actually connected the blow; it took him a minute to register the killer was now dead. He looked at Katie's body and shook his head as he looked away, hugging the ax to himself he sat down staring at the ground.

What was going to be a normal camping trip, in less than a few hours, turned into a massacre of his friends. He'd just killed a man, even though he didn't feel a bit of remorse about it. The man was a brutal murderer and deserved what he got. Now he had to figure out a way to call for help and get the hell out of here. Though moments later he heard the sound of an engine approaching.

When it came into view, it was a black van speeding toward him. Thank God. Maybe they were here to help. Maybe one of his friends called for help before they died. He still hadn't found Peter or Susan, but he was certain they were dead as well. The van pulled up just a few feet in front of him, and the door slid open. There was a beautiful black-haired woman standing just inside the van door. She almost didn't seem real at first. Buddy looked around before he spoke.

"Thank God. This guy, he killed my friends. I need help. We need the police."

Instead of responding, the girl picked up what looked like a gun and fired it at him. Only did he realize it wasn’t a gun when two long cables with sharp prongs struck him as electricity coursed through his body; fuck, it’s a Taser. His body went tense as he fell to the ground, unable to move. Just as the current stopped, a man stood over him and placed a hood over Buddy's face. Buddy felt someone lift him up, place him in the van and then closed the door. The last thing Buddy remembered was the sound of the van's engine.

Chapter 5

Buddy awoke and tried looking around, but there was something over his head; some kind of sack or pillow case. All he could tell was wherever he was, it was dark, and there was a light source coming from his left. His arms were tied behind his back to a chair, and his feet were bound to the legs. Panic began to swell up in his stomach, but he forced it down. Who was that woman? His mind rewound through the last series of events. Watching John get his hair ripped out of his head, Dawn's face being shredded by the glass, and then his dear Katie being brutally ripped apart. He pushed the thought away as quickly as it had surfaced.

Footsteps sounded nearby as he struggled against his bindings.

"Hello? Who is there?" he called out with panic practically bleeding from his pores. "What's going on? Are you going to kill me? Who was the mask guy? Was that the Gut Ripper? Hello?!"

There was no reply as the footsteps stopped. He sat there quietly trying not to overthink the situation when the footsteps returned. This time, the person pulled the sack off his head and sat down across from him. It was the woman he'd seen earlier by the van.

Her black hair was pulled back as she glared at him. In the low light, he could see her skin was light brown, and her deep brown eyes looked like black coals staring back at him. She was wearing a black sweater and black utility pants.

"Who are you? What's going on?"

"Shut up," she said.

"You with that killer? You a friend of his?"

"You don't listen very well do you," she said. She had a slight accent, but he couldn't place it.

"My name is Pavarti," she said. I am with the Order of the Blade.

"What the hell is that?"

"Shut the fuck up and I'll tell you. Or, I can put the hood back on. One more word and it goes on and I leave you here."

"Ok, ok. I'll be quiet."

"You killed the man known as The Gut Ripper. I get it; he attacked you and your friends, so you killed him in self-defense. We here at the order protect the legend of the Ripper. We are the reason it continues."

"What? How?"

"There is a simple reason as to why his origin goes back sixty years or more, but he is still killing. He is not just one man. He's been many men. You killed him. Which means you get to be the next Gut Ripper."

Buddy sat there and took this all in. None of it made any sense.

"So I killed the Gut Ripper, so now I have to be the Gut Ripper. Is that what you're telling me?"

"Correct."

"So what about the guy I killed? Who was that?"

"He was a man who had killed the Ripper many years ago. He acted as the Ripper for a long time until you killed him."

"Why? Why would you keep this going? Why would you want him to live on? He's a fucking murderer! Did you see what he did to my friends? To my girlfriend?"

Pavarti stood and walked over to a bag and opened it. She removed the severed head of the man he'd killed earlier. The head was still wearing the mask. She sat the head on a table as its lifeless eyes stared at him.

"What in the fuck?" Buddy said.

"You will wear this mask soon."

"The hell I will!"

She rolled her eyes as if she'd had this discussion countless times before.

"Everyone says that. No one wants to be a killer. Everyone says they won't do it. Everyone does in the end. Everyone dons the mask, becomes the Gut Ripper and craves the killing. Fear not, this will be your fate as well."

"What makes you so sure?"

"You will soon figure out how hopeless your situation is."

She stood and stepped away. For the first time, Buddy looked around to see where he was. It was some kind of cave. The air was thick and humid. The only light source was a single lantern hanging on the wall. Once she stood, a group of men came walking in. Several were wearing normal clothing. One was wearing a uniform of some kind.

"These are some of the members of the Order. One of them is Charles Mitchell. He's the head ranger at Conner's Grove. He and the others help clean up bodies and keep weapons and traps available so you can do your job.

"Why the fuck would you people do this? This makes no fucking sense!"

"It's hard to explain, and I doubt you'll get it in your current state anyway."

"Try me. Why would you want to keep this supposed legend, this grotesque murderer alive? Why make people dress like this troll to kill? My friends are all dead. He ripped them to fucking shreds." The reality of what all had happened was starting to sink in. Buddy became overwhelmed and choked back tears as he remembered Katie lying there with her breasts cut off. "Why? Why would you do this? Why would you make me do this?"

"In a nutshell, balance. And that is all I'll say about it for now. I take it you're not ready to take on this role."

"Fuck you."

She shook her head.

"I figured as much. You're not the first to refuse. Soon you'll embrace it. We'll keep you here until you are ready. Once you are ready, we'll teach you everything you need to know. You'll go through our diet and conditioning program, and you'll learn to kill with precision while inflicting great pain and suffering. You will learn to crave and thrive off blood and killing; it will become your passion and desire. Eventually, Buddy Hansen will no longer exist. You will just be the Gut Ripper." She looked at one of the men standing behind her. "Take him to his cell."

"Should I feed him?" the man asked.

"Not yet. Let him think about it. After a few days with no food, he'll come around."

Chapter 6

Benjamin Huber sat on the porch smoking his last joint. He was going to save it for later, but his girlfriend, Lisa Costello had been getting on his nerves all day. For the past month, she’d been obsessed with taking a trip to Conner's Grove. She wanted to go hiking and check out the caverns there. They'd only moved to Texas a few months before, and this was on her must see list. So there they were getting ready to head out.

Fortunately, Ben had talked some of their friends into going along with them. Marc Hoffnagle and his girl, Sophie Hall, and then Jason Limberg and his girlfriend Sally Ray. Girlfriend might be a strong word for Sally, however. They'd only been dating for a few weeks. Jason had a tendency to get attached to a girl immediately after having sex with her. Maybe he was an old school romantic, but he'd been shit on by more than his share of chicks.

Not that Ben felt sorry for him. He'd told him over and over sometimes ass was just ass. Not to Jason. Every piece of ass was filled with rainbows and glitter covered unicorns as far as he was concerned. At least until he found out the girl couldn't give two shits about him. Sally had so far been different. She seemed to actually like Jason, but Ben wasn't convinced.

"Ben! Have you seen my…what are you doing?" Lisa asked as she came outside.

"What does it look like?"

"Did you smoke that whole fucking bag of weed you bought?"

"Well, not all at once."

"Jesus Christ, Ben. You fucking bought that shit two days ago."

"So?"

"So, I'd have liked some of it. God." She turned and went back inside.

"I'm sorry. Hey, what were you looking for anyway?"

"Nothing your wasted ass could help me find. Just go finish your fucking joint."

He went back outside as Marc and Sophie pulled up. Ben secretly had the hots for Sophie. She was way too hot for Marc. He and Marc had been friends since high school. He’d met Sophie in college. Marc was always a computer nerd, which ended up being his field. Sophie was a volleyball player and sorority girl. Ben figured she could see Marc was on his way to making a lot of money and decided to latch on quick. Lisa told him he was too cynical.

Marc was short and even when he tried to comb or style his hair it always looked messy. He used to wear thick glasses until getting Lasik a few years ago. Sophie was tall, blonde and didn't have an ounce of fat on her anywhere. She climbed out of the car and smiled at Ben. He smiled back, but he always smiled when stoned, so it wasn't all that sincere.

"Hey Ben!" Sophie said. "You guys excited?"

"Hey Sophie, Lisa is, more than I am. I don't think she's talking to me right now anyway."

"You smoked all the weed again, didn't you?"

"Not like we had that much to start with."

"Dude," Marc began. "I don't know how you stay upright most of the time."

"Jesus. You guys make me sound like some fucking crackhead. I just like to smoke pot once in a while. Ok? Fuck! This an intervention or some shit?"

Marc put his hand up in surrender.

"Hey, ok man, shit. Just fucking with you. Where is everyone else?"

"Lisa is inside, Jason and Sally aren't here yet."

"Well shit. When did you guys want to leave?"

"As soon as they get here," Lisa said as she came outside. "You guys got your stuff ready?"

"Yeah, we taking your truck?"

"Yeah, I cleaned the Suburban out last night."

"Works for me," Marc walked to the car as Ben followed him. They both pulled bags out and loaded them into the large SUV as the girls went inside.

"She'll calm down," Marc said. "She always does."

"Yeah I know. I just don't get why she wanted to go. Did you hear about last weekend up there?"

"No. What?"

"I found it online. Like six campers disappeared."

"You serious?" Marc grabbed a large bag and tossed it into the back of the Suburban. "Maybe it was the Gut Ripper!"

"Yeah, that's what one blog said. This guy has a whole website about the Gut Ripper. He's got all these cases listed, and he tries to connect the dots."

"Weren't there any bodies? I thought the Gut Ripper actually ripped people's guts out."

"Yeah, he says with modern crime fighting technology the Gut Ripper started cleaning up after himself. He only kills at Conner's Grove, though."

"What do you think?" Marc asked.

"If I thought there was really a Gut Ripper I wouldn't be going. It's just some goofy urban legend anyway. Might make a good movie. It’s pretty creepy when you read about it."

"So where do you think those campers went?"

"Hard to say. Maybe they said fuck it and went to California. Who the hell knows? Maybe it's all made up."

Another car pulled up as they finished loading bags. It was Jason and Sally. The girls came out of the house as the car came to a stop.

"It's about time!" Lisa said. "I'm ready to get out of here. You guys ever been up there?"

"I have," Marc said. "When I was a kid. Sophie hasn't."

"You'll love it. I'll have to show you the fresh water spring up there," Lisa said.

"Spring? Where?" Marc asked.

"It's off the hiking trails. Most people don't know about it because they stay on the trail."

Jason and Sally came walking up carrying their bags.

"You guys ready?" Jason asked.

"Just waiting on you, slow pokes," Lisa said.

"Sorry. Someone had to doll herself up for the trip to the wilderness."

"Shut up," Sally said. "I took a shower. The horror!"

They finished loading their bags and climbed into the SUV. Lisa got behind the driver's seat as the rest of them got comfortable. She put the truck in drive and headed off, and Ben was sound sleep in the passenger seat before they left the driveway.

Chapter 7

Lisa drove as Ben played with the radio after waking up from his drug induced nap. He dug through a CD case and put a CD in which the rest of the group seemed happy about until it started playing. They all cringed at the sound of an extremely twangy version of the song "Wagon Wheel" began playing.

"What the fuck is this? This isn't Hootie," Marc said.

"His name is Darius Rucker, and this isn't him. This is Old Crow Medicine Show. I like their version better."

"You shitting me? This is some backwoods hillbilly shit."

"God this sucks," Sally said. "Can't you put on Jason Aldean or something? Oh! Put on Florida Georgia Line! They are awesome!"

"We'll make you walk if you put that shit on," Marc said.

"Come on man! This is good music!" Ben protested. "That country shit you listen to, it's just pop country. This shit, man, this is real. This speaks to your soul!"

"Dude, you're high as fuck. We could play Old Macdonald, and it would speak to your soul," Jason said.

"Fuck you, man."

"Will you guys shut up already?" Lisa said. "We're almost there anyway."

Lisa was regretting the trip already. Her fight with Ben earlier didn't help much. The bickering the rest of the trip only unnerved her even more. The park entrance was just ahead. She pulled up to the gate where the ranger stood at the booth. She paid the parking fee as the ranger gave her back her change.

"Hey man," Ben said. "So did a bunch of people really vanish from here a few weeks ago?"

"Say what?" the ranger said. He looked old and heavy and seemed like he hated his job by the disdain in his voice.

"Those campers. Like a couple months ago. There was like six of them who disappeared from here."

"Where in the hell you hear that?"

"It was on the internet, man!"

"Oh yeah. Then it must be true!" he looked away from Ben and back to Lisa. "Go ahead and follow the road all the way down, then you'll see the signs to pick what part of the park you want to go."

"Hey. Dude" Ben wasn't going to let it go. "It's all over the internet. Some people said the Gut Ripper got them. He's killed lots of people here. You don't worry about him getting you?"

"Are you on goddamn drugs son? There is no fucking Gut Ripper and the only ones about to disappear from here will be you assholes if you don't get a move on!"

"Fine, whatever," Lisa said as she drove through the gate and down the road.

"Good job, dick head. You almost got us kicked out," Marc said.

"He wasn't gonna kick us out. Fuck him anyway."

They sat back in silence as Lisa drove up the hill and around a large curve. Once they were around the curve, there was a large sign. Lisa followed the one stating 'campground and hiking trails', and within a few minutes they had arrived. There was no one else on the grounds. People stopped coming to camp years ago when the Gut Ripper rumors started. A waterpark going in a few miles away probably helped too. When it was this hot, it was more fun to go down water slides than camp and hike.

The group piled out of the SUV and grabbed their gear.

"We still got plenty of daylight. Want to go for a hike?" Jason said.

"I'm exhausted. You all weren't driving last few hours," Lisa said. "Can we just set up and if you all want to head out I'll take a nap."

"Sounds good to me, I'm tired too," Ben added.

They got out the tents and sleeping bags and spent the next hour setting up their campsite. Once they’d finished, Jason grabbed a cooler and pulled it out of the back of the SUV.

"Fuck hiking. Anyone want a beer?"

"Hell yeah!" Ben ran over and grabbed one along with Jason. The girls all got a beer except for Lisa, but she eventually meandered over to grab one. Jason began setting up the grill next.

"I'm gonna cook some brats if anyone wants any. I'm starving."

"That's what I'm talking about!" Ben said.

"Of course, Ben is hungry now," Lisa said.

"You know, why didn't you just stay home? You've been miserable since we left?" Ben asked.

"I don't know. Maybe I should have. I didn't know you were gonna be wasted the whole fucking trip."

"Hey, you said yourself I'm more fun when I'm wasted!"

She just stood there rolling her eyes.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing. I'm just questioning my life choices."

"Oh, come on. Come eat and drink with us! Be merry! Ha!" Ben took a drink of his beer. Sophie walked over and put a hand on Lisa's arm.

"Hey, maybe you can show me that spring you were telling me about."

Lisa's eyes lit up.

"Yes! I totally forgot. God yes. Don't let these assholes find it. They'll just want to jump in and make fart bubbles!"

They both laughed.

"Come on. I'll show you while they are distracted." Lisa grabbed a small bag and a couple of water bottles, then threw it over her shoulder. Sophie followed as the guys, and Sally, drank and laughed as Jason fired up the grill.

"I don't know, that does smell good," Sophie said.

"There'll be plenty later. I just have to get away for now. I'm sick of Ben talking about the fucking Gut Ripper. I was about to rip his fucking guts out at the gate."

"Haha, right? God, no wonder that ranger was such a dick."

They laughed and talked as they walked for a quarter mile down the trail when Lisa veered to the left.

"It's back this way, off the trail."

Sophie followed as they worked their way through bushes and over rocks. After another quarter mile, it opened up to a large spring where water was flowing between some rocks. Sophie's eyes went wide as she looked around.

"Wow! This is amazing!"

"See? I told you." Lisa removed her shirt and pulled her shorts off. Sophie began undressing as well, as Lisa dipped her feet into the cool water. Neither of them noticed the man wearing the mask watching them from the ridge just above.

Chapter 8

Buddy followed a man through a tunnel and outside the cave into a large clearing. The man's name was Sergei, and he spoke in what only can be described as broken English. He was a tall and lanky man with a European accent. Buddy had spent almost a week in his cell. He hadn't seen Pavarti since that first day. Men would come into his cell and beat him, water-board him or sometimes they'd just play loud music outside his cell for twenty-four hours.

It didn't take long before he broke. He told them he'd do it. He didn't really want to. He thought if he went along with it, for now, he might get a chance to escape. Today was his first day of "training." When they reached the clearing there was a large ax sitting next to a stack of logs. Sergei pointed at the ax and nodded.

"Pick it up," he commanded.

"I'm going to chop firewood?"

"You weak and pathetic. You killed Gut Ripper with lucky blow. To be Gut Ripper, you must be big, strong and powerful. You get this by chopping wood. Whole stack. Chop into pieces."

"Are you serious? The Gut Ripper has to chop wood?"

"You do it! You chop wood. I watch. Do it now!"

Buddy shook his head and picked up the ax. He set a log on the stump, and clumsily raised the ax over his head. Buddy swung and hit the log, but barely cutting into it. He tried it again, but this time, he only succeeded in knocking the log off the stump. Sergei shook his head and snatched the ax from him.

"How you kill the Gut Ripper? You swing ax like little girl! Hahaha!" Sergei lifted it to the side of his head, swung it and split the log in two in one swing. "You see? You hold the ax up here, you put your shoulder into it," he demonstrated slowly and handed the ax back to Buddy. "Now swing."

Buddy held the ax like Sergei had shown him. He swung it at a new log and cut it almost in half. Sergei nodded.

"Better. Do more."

Buddy went to work and by the third log, he was splitting it on the first strike. For the next several hours he went through splitting the logs. After an hour, his back and shoulders grew tired. He stopped and caught his breath.

"Why you stop?"

"I'm tired."

"Ripper no get tired. You chasing campers in woods. You think you can rest while in hunt? Gut Ripper chase victim to end of earth! Gut Ripper does not rest! Now work!"

"Just give me a minute."

Sergei walked up to Buddy and slapped him across the face.

"Pick up ax and work! Or I hit you again! Do it!"

Buddy shook his head and picked it up. The blow stung as well as pissed him off. He could tell Sergei was a seasoned fighter and Buddy was a shitty and exhausted opponent. Sergei would eat him alive if he tried to fight. The ax felt like it weighed a hundred pounds in his hands. He swung it again, this time a limp wristed blow and barely touched the log. Sergei smacked him again.

"You chop wood right!"

"Look man, I'm beat. Can't we finish this tomorrow?"

"No! No tomorrow! You work!"

Buddy picked it up and managed to split the rest of the logs. It took him two more hours. Each swing felt like his arms were going to rip out of their sockets. Pins and needles shot up and down his arms, back and shoulders with each swing. When he was finally done, he dropped the ax and went to his knees. Sergei stood over him with approval.

"Good. You slow but it good you finished. Now get up."

"Are we done?"

"Chopping wood? Yes. Training? No. Get up."

Buddy stood as Sergei pointed.

"See that trail. We run."

"Run? Why? What the fuck? I'm can barely move!"

"You cry like little girl again. Ripper has excellent stamina. Gut Ripper no get tired. We run. Go now!"

Buddy began jogging along. Sergei seemed ok with his pace. He ran along behind Buddy and would give him a shove if he slowed too much. They ran until the sun went down. Buddy was winded and even stopped to throw up a few times. He had no idea being a slasher was so exhausting. Why did he need to run for anyway? In the movies they just stalked about slowly and counted on their victims tripping and falling. He never saw Jason doing cardio.

Finally, they reached the end of the trail, which was on the opposite side of the clearing from which they began. Buddy stopped and put his hands on his knees. After catching his breath Sergei pointed inside the cave.

"Come. You follow me."

They walked into the cave and wove through another series of tunnels before coming to a large room brightly lit with floodlights. There were tables and benches set up and enough food on the table to feed a small army.

"There. You eat," he said as he grabbed a plate and began filling it with sausage, beef, and veggies.

"Where did all of this come from?"

"The Order provides it. Now eat. You need strength."

Buddy load his plate with as much as it would hold. He scarfed down every last bite and got seconds. It had been a week since he'd had a decent meal. He grabbed a third plate scarfed it all before he finally felt stuffed. He sat there and leaned back against the wall as Sergei stood.

"Now what?" Buddy asked.

"Now you sleep. Let's go."

He followed Sergei to another part of the cave. This was darker and warmer than the cell he'd been in. There was a cot covered with blankets and pillows in the corner.

"There is your bed. You sleep. In the morning, we work."

Buddy climbed into the cot and fell sound asleep before his head hit the pillow.

Chapter 9

After several weeks, Buddy's training was becoming slightly easier. At least, he was getting used to the routine, and his physical conditioning was improving dramatically. Sergei had him chopping wood, stacking rocks. They practiced fighting with a variety of weapons. They sparred with everything from axes, machetes, knives and even using spears and staffs.

A week of training was dedicated to evading firearms. Apparently the Gut Ripper wasn't allowed to use a gun. Being this was Texas, he was extremely likely to cross paths with victims carrying guns. So, he had to learn various ways to remain in the shadows, sneaking up on people and disarming them before they can pull the gun or, at least, get a shot off. Some of the methods reminded him of the League of Shadows sequences in "Batman Begins."

He also learned the Gut Ripper wears body armor under his coveralls just in case. While it may be hot and bulky, this is part of how he seems invincible and keeps advancing while being shot at. Training in the body armor was no picnic. Buddy would have to be able to keep moving after being shot; this took a hot minute to get used to and involved him standing there wearing the vest while Sergei took aim and pulled the trigger. That wasn't a fun day.

"Hold still you stupid sissy girl!" Sergei called out.

"You sure you're not going to shoot me in the face?" Buddy asked.

"I no shoot you in face unless you no shut up! Now hold still and put your hands on sides!"

Buddy finally stopped moving around, put his hands to his sides and closed his eyes. He didn't even hear the gunshot until after the bullet struck his chest. It felt like a blow in the stomach with a sledgehammer. The shot knocked him off his feet and flat on his back. The air went out of his lungs as he gasped. He was sure he was dying until Sergei stood over him.

"See? You no hurt. Stand up. We do it again."

He wasn't hurt, either, at least not permanently. At the end of the day, his torso was purple from the bruises. Sergei said they would conduct vest training once a week. After a while, his body would adjust and not bruise so easily. Buddy didn't look forward to this, but after the third week, he did notice it wasn't as painful as before.

Today Sergei said they had something special planned. It had been almost six weeks since he'd been captured or assimilated or whatever you wanted to call what was happening to him. Sometimes at night, he'd think about the friends he'd seen brutally murdered, but it had begun to feel like a distant dream. They kept him so busy and exhausted; he never had time to dwell, really. Sometimes in his dreams, he saw them or remembered them.

Even the training didn't seem real. Well, it was real, but it didn't feel like he was actually training to be a murderer. Over the last several weeks, he'd noticed his muscles were beginning to form as he gained weight. None of the weight was fat, however. His chest was growing thicker as his arms grew larger; they were turning him into a seriously sculpted badass and deep down he had to admit he liked it.

Today things would become all too real. Sergei took him out to the clearing like usual. Except today, Sergei seemed much more serious. Not the guy was ever a barrel of laughs. But he was much more somber this time.

"Today is the next phase of training. Today you learn a major lesson," Sergei explained.

"What lesson is that?"

Sergei took out a whistle and blew it. Within a few minutes, a man came walking out of the woods dragging a woman with him. The woman was bound and gagged. At first, Buddy thought it was another role-playing exercise until the woman was close enough to see the terror in her eyes. She looked to be in her fifties and not particularly well dressed. Her clothes were old and dirty.

The man walked the woman to Sergei, who pushed her up against a tree and used a rope to tie her to the tree. The woman was crying and struggling through her gag as Buddy looked on in horror.

"What the fuck?"

"Today you will become a true killer," Sergei said holding out a knife.

"What? Are you fucking kidding me? I'm not killing her."

"You will kill many as the Gut Ripper. This is the first. We make it easy. Just stab her in heart or cut throat."

"No! I'm not doing it! This is some innocent woman! She has a family! People who care about her."

"She homeless prostitute we pick up by offering heroin. No one give fuck about her. No one miss her. You'd be doing her favor by taking life. Now do it!"

"What the fuck? I'm not doing that. Let her go!"

"You kill her, or I kill you."

"Fine. You'll have to kill me then." Buddy wasn't sure what he was actually saying. Up until now, none of this seemed real. It just felt like he was at some fitness boot camp. The idea of killing someone was just some concept they talked about but had never pushed until now with a screaming woman staring him in the face. She was helpless and powerless, her life in his hands there was no way he could do this.

"Ok. Maybe this will convince you."

Sergei took out his phone and began flipping through a series of pictures, holding it up to Buddy. Buddy felt the knot in his stomach turn over when he saw the photos. It was his parents. His mom in Dallas and his dad in Austin. The pictures of his mom showed her walking to and from her car, outside of her house and one showed her walking into a gym. The ones of his father were similar. One was him sitting in a restaurant.

"What the fuck?"

"We know everything about you. You sad about losing friends? How about parents too? We bring them here, torture and kill them while you watch. Or you can kill worthless junkie whore. Choose!"

Fuck. Buddy reluctantly took the knife and walked up to the woman. He did not want to do this but wasn't about to sacrifice what family he had left. This was for real. Once he did this, he was on the path to forever becoming the Gut Ripper. He held the knife up to the woman who cried and screamed through her gag. Her eyes were pleading with him for mercy. He looked down at her chest, so as not to see her eyes. He held the knife up and touched the pointy end to her chest.

Taking a deep breath, Buddy closed his eyes, pulled the knife back and thrust it forward. The woman screamed as the knife entered her body. Buddy felt her chest heave as warm blood sprayed on his hand. He pulled his hand away and opened his eyes. Her body was thrashing and twitching as she gasped for a few final breaths while the knife stuck out of her chest. Finally, the woman's body went still as Buddy turned away. He was finally a killer.

Chapter 10

Buddy couldn't shake the feeling of having killed the woman. For days, he slogged through training and could hardly eat. Sergei even cut him loose early the last day or two. It wasn't something he could just snap out of. He'd killed a woman. Nothing he could ever do would change that now. He sat in his room on his cot staring at the floor. It was late, and he should try to sleep, but he hadn't been sleeping well.

"You pout all night; you should pout like man." Sergei said as he stepped inside. He was carrying a bottle of vodka and a couple of glasses. He walked over and sat down next to Buddy, poured a glass and handed it to him.

"I don't like vodka."

"This Chechen Vodka. You drink. Maybe it will put hair on your girly chest."

"I'm not in the mood…"

"Look. You been pouting and moping for days. We going to fix right now. You drink now!"

Buddy held the glass up to his mouth, and the smell alone burned his nostrils. He took a sip and cringed as the liquor burned his throat. He coughed as his mouth burned. Sergei sat there laughing while watching Buddy gag. He had never tasted gasoline, but this tasted like what he'd imagine gasoline tasted like.

"You get used to it. Take 'nother drink."

Buddy tried another one; this one went down a little easier.

"What is this?"

"I told you. Chechen vodka. This got me through many winters during wars."

"What wars?

"The Chechen wars. I fought both of them. Very tough times."

"Damn."

"Yes. Damn indeed. I see many terrible things. I did many terrible things. I see women and children blown to pieces. Once there was a pile of bodies in a village of nothing but women and children stacked taller than I. Very sad."

"Jesus Christ."

"Yes. Having war in your home country is not a good experience. I've seen neighbor's homes blown up, and towns I used to visit turn to rubble. After wars, I moved here. My wife was killed during the war. There was nothing left for me there."

"So how did you get involved in all of this?"

"I teach self-defense at school in Austin when Pavarti met me. She took classes. One day she tell me about the Order of the Blade. She tell me what they are and why."

"And you bought into it?"

"No. I no give fuck who they are or what they do. They pay well. They offered me job training soldiers, but I train slashers."

"That doesn't bother you?"

Sergei finished off his glass and poured another full one of the vodka.

"Killing is killing, and death is death."

"Don't you get sick of it after everything you've seen and done?"

"Not when it all I know. Shooting Russian soldier or stabbing some woman, all same to me. One not more special than the other."

"These people have families; they have lives."

"Life is risk. I could get hit by bus on way home, then I dead. I could have been killed during wars, but I lucky. Campers end up being in the path of the Gut Ripper? They not so lucky. So they die."

"Jesus that's cold."

"That, truth."

Buddy had been working at his glass and was beginning to feel the effects of the vodka. His vision got fuzzy as his brain started to tingle. Sergei poured them both another drink.

"You learn too. The people Gut Ripper kill, they not your people. They not your family or friends. They are meat. You kill them painfully and brutally. Eventually, you grow a taste for it."

"Why? Why do this? Why keep some mythical slasher story going just to kill people? Pavarti said something about balance. What the fuck does that mean? Balance for what?"

"I not know and don't care. I here to train, so I train. Sounds like bullshit to me. Balance, huh!" He shook his head and took another drink. "Sometimes thing just are what they are. You think too much. Your life will be made now. You have everything you need and you kill people. Who else can say that?"

Buddy shook his head and took another drink a long one. It burned going down his throat but not as badly as earlier. He felt that one. His vision blurred as the room began to spin. Sergei was still talking, but he couldn't make heads or tails of it at this point. He was talking so fast. At least, it sounded fast to Buddy. He didn't care anymore. The vodka had been a good idea. Buddy needed the numbness. Maybe he'd ask if he could drink the stuff more often. It might help him get through this new hell he was living in.

Like it or not, this was his new life. He could keep fighting with himself and with the Order and see where that takes him. So far it hadn't done much other than cause him stress, guilt and anxiety. Or he could embrace his new life and be the Gut Ripper. The thing is, what were his long-term prospects? He'd likely not live to be a seventy-year-old Gut Ripper. It was all too much for him to process. Like Sergei said, he thinks too much.

Not to mention the room was in a full spin now. He looked at Sergei and saw three Sergei's sitting next to him talking about something he couldn't make out. He lay back on the cot and stared up at the ceiling that was also spinning. He decided he'd thought and lamented enough for one day. He closed his eyes and let the darkness take him.

Chapter 11

Buddy made it through the next few days of training with no problem. At this point, he felt as if he were on autopilot. The days blended in which he didn't mind at all. He wondered how much longer he had to do all this before they expected him to actually hunt and kill real campers. Part of that answer came after a couple more weeks.

Sergei led him to the same clearing where he had killed the woman a few weeks before. His stomach sank, wondering just what they had in mind now. Sergei hadn't said anything as they came out of the cave. Once in the clearing, he blew his whistle. Moments later two more men appeared from the woods dragging a man who was bound and gagged.

It was a young man who looked to be in his twenties or thirties. He had on a wife beater, jeans and a pair of running shoes. They threw him to the ground as the man lay there flopping around trying to scream through his gag.

"You want me to stab another one? A guy this time?" Buddy asked.

"Yes and no." Sergei put down his duffel bag and pulled out a tomahawk. It was made of a lightweight steel with a razor sharp blade and rubber grip around the handle.

"So you want me to tomahawk him?"

"You are going to do your first hunt today." Sergei nodded to the men. "Cut him loose."

The men did as they were ordered, removing his bindings around his hands and the gag. The man stayed on the ground and immediately began begging for his life.

"Don't hurt me! Please! I beg you! I won't tell police, I won't say anything. Please!"

"Shut up," Sergei commanded. "Stand up."

The man just sat there begging until Sergei kicked him.

"Stand up and stop crying like sissy girl!"

The man jumped to his feet and looked back and forth between the men.

"Now run! Go!"

The man turned and ran into the woods. Sergei looked at Buddy and nodded.

"There, go! Get him!"

"You want me to catch him and kill him?"

"No, you to catch him and make some baklava. Yes, kill him!"

Buddy shook his head, no longer in the mood to fight or argue. It was useless. He started after the man taking several slow, lumbering steps.

"What you doing?" Sergei asked.

"I'm going after him."

"You walk like zombie."

"Isn't this how slashers walk?"

"This no Jason movie stupid boy! You Americans watch too much TV. Run!"

"So I run after him?"

"Yes! Haul ass, kill him! Go now!"

Buddy took off running through the woods. The man already had a good head start on him. He ran for a few hundred feet when he stopped. He wasn't even sure where the guy had gone. He could have gone in any direction. They hadn't really worked on tracking. Maybe that would come later. Buddy stood and listened. To his right, he heard a stick breaking. It was a ways off, but loud enough for him to hear it.

Turning in that direction, he ran until the man was in sight. Buddy was glad for the moment they'd been doing all the running and training, or he'd be out of gas by now. The man ran over some logs and behind some trees, but he peeked out to see Buddy coming for him. He turned and kept running.

Buddy trotted along at a comfortable pace. He was gaining ground on the man who was terrified. That fear would only exhaust him faster. Before long, Buddy was only fifty feet behind the man. They ran out from the woods and near a rock formation. The man began climbing the rocks, which Buddy didn't get. The guy was only going to corner himself, but it was possible he was totally out of his head by now.

The man got up almost ten feet, lost his footing and slid down. He landed flat on his back, allowing Buddy to catch up. Great, now he had to figure out how to kill him. He didn't want to, but there was no way out of this situation. Besides, it was probably another junkie or something. It was no real justification, but it soothed his conscience for the moment.

He grabbed the man by the tank top and pulled him to his feet.

"Please! Why are you doing this? Just let me go, please!" the man begged.

"Shut up." Buddy didn't want to hear the man talk or know anything about the guy that might make him seem more human. Buddy pushed the guy down onto a rock, held his head steady and swung the tomahawk striking the man in the neck. The blow wasn't hard enough to remove his head, but it lodged into the side of his neck as blood sprayed up in the air, getting onto his shirt and some on Buddy's face.

He took several more swings until the man's head rolled free. The man's body fell to the ground with a thud. Buddy picked up the severed head by the hair and held it up. The man's eyes were frozen open in an eternal stare of fear along with his mouth that was agape. Buddy cringed at the sight as he lowered it to his side and made his way back through the woods with the head. It took him longer to make his way back, as running was no longer necessary.

He began to feel tired from the adrenaline dump and wondered if he was even headed in the right direction. Before long, he reached the clearing where Sergei was standing smoking a cigarette. Buddy walked up to him and tossed him the man's head. Sergei dropped his cigarette as he caught it. Buddy kept walking toward the cave, ignoring Sergei's surprised look.

"Where you going?" Sergei called to him.

"I did what you told me. I need a nap."

Chapter 12

Buddy didn't know what was happening to him, other than he was dying inside. Chances were, he'd already died. Whoever he was a few months ago was long gone. Maybe that was the point. They were killing off Buddy to bring out the Gut Ripper. Lying there in his cot, he couldn't sleep. He'd tossed and turned all night thinking about that man's severed head.

The blank gaze and gaping mouth kept staring at him in his sleep. Over and over, he could hear the fleshy sounds tearing and squishing as the tomahawk separated the head from the neck. He wished he could take a Xanax or something to sleep, but it was not likely they had a medicine cabinet there. He got up and walked around his living area, which wasn't large. He'd figured by now they could give him a real room and not a fucking cave.

Buddy walked down the tunnel into the dark. He figured he might as well explore some as he wandered around. As he walked, he passed other rooms similar to his. Some of the men who'd been helping Sergei were sleeping in cots in those little areas. The tunnel wound around, and he came to a door in the side of the wall. There was a small window, and he looked inside. A small lamp was on the floor offering dim light to the small room.

This one looked more like a regular room. It had a floor and walls with a regular bed in the corner. Sergei was curled up in the bed as Buddy tried the door and it opened. He quietly stepped inside and saw Sergei's duffel bag just inside the door. Buddy bent down and flipped through it. There was a hunting knife inside along with other camping gear and clothes. Buddy grabbed the knife and walked over to the bed.

He stood over looking down at Sergei, taking a deep breath he thrust the knife downward aiming for his heart. Sergei jumped awake and rolled to his side, kicking Buddy in the leg as he did so. The kick caught Buddy by surprise and he dropped the knife and went to one knee. Sergei swung at Buddy, but he ducked the blow and wrapped his forearm around Sergei's neck, locking him in a chokehold.

Sergei struggled as Buddy tried to tighten his grip. The room was humid, and both men were sweaty, causing his arms to slip. Sergei broke the grip, grabbed Buddy by the upper arm and flipped him to the ground. They tussled on the floor for several minutes, throwing random punches at each other. Buddy took a few shots to the face, including a good one to his nose as he felt it crunch under Sergei's fist. For an older guy, he as a tough old bastard.

Buddy got a few good shots him himself as Sergei lunged behind Buddy. Buddy grabbed his leg, but Sergei spun around holding the knife and stuck it to Buddy's throat while holding his head.

"What you fucking doing?" Sergei yelled. "You lost your stupid mind?"

"I was trying to kill you."

"I see that. Why?"

Sergei put the knife down and walked over to his bag. He put the knife in the bag and dug out a couple of towels. He tossed one to Buddy as he began wiping his face with the other.

"Clean yourself up. What is wrong with you?"

"I want to get out of here. I'm fucking sick of this. I chopped some poor asshole's head off today. I don't know if there is a hell, but if there is I'm going to it for sure."

"There no hell. Besides, I told you, death is death. You just bring sooner. You do great job today. You chased him down, you caught him, and you no hesitate. Killed boy in perfect Gut Ripper fashion. You almost there. Soon going after real campers."

"I still don't get why."

"I told you, balance," a voice said from the doorway. It was Pavarti.

Both men looked up at her as Buddy tried extra hard to wipe the blood off his face.

"What the fuck does that even mean? Balance?"

"Balance in nature. Look at the Sub-Saharan desert; you have zebras, and you have lions. The lions prey on the zebra. Our world has become far too civilized. We have no balance. People come and go each day to their jobs with no fear of death or even danger."

"That's bullshit. People die all the time. Car accidents, murder, and stuff."

"Those are random. We here at the Order are a small part. Sometimes we go weeks without any victims. This is why the Gut Ripper inflicts as much terror as possible on his victims. It's not just about inflicting death, but inflicting fear and pain. Return them to their primal instincts. Right before they die is the first time most of them ever lived."

Buddy looked at Sergei, who shook his head and shrugged.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I told you that you wouldn't understand. It doesn't matter. You just need to do your job," she said. "Now get back to your room."

"Why can't I have a room like this? I'm sick of sleeping in a cave on a stupid cot. I want a TV too."

Pavarti rolled her eyes.

"Look. You'll get better accommodations once you are officially the Gut Ripper. This is how we do things and have always done them. You're almost there. And stop trying to kill Sergei. He's done nothing but help you."

"Help me kill innocent people."

"Well, you're not innocent. Should we kill you?"

"What?"

"You've now murdered two people. That makes you far from innocent."

"You fucking made me kill them. You threatened my family."

"You still made the choice. Like it or not, you are becoming the Gut Ripper. Soon you will be craving it. Trust me, it happens each time. Now head back to your bed. You’ve got a big day tomorrow," Pavarti said.

"What? Hunting another homeless guy?"

"Come with me."

Buddy stood and walked out. She walked alongside him through the tunnel.

"After tomorrow, you'll be a full-fledged killer and your doubts will be no more."

"I doubt that, but ok," he said as he reached his cot.

Pavarti smiled at him and put her hand on his shoulder. For the first time, he saw her smile. His skin went warm at her touch as he looked into her eyes at the low light. She was, even more, beautiful smiling. She patted his shoulder before she spoke.

"Trust me."

Chapter 13

Buddy woke up to a group of men throwing a bag over his head while dragging him out of his cot.

"What the fuck? What's going on?"

They held him down while taping his hands behind his back and dragged him through the tunnel. They tossed him into the back of the van, and the van began moving. He figured they were still in the park based on how bumpy the ride was. They weren't on any real roads.

"What's going on? Is this about last night? Because I attacked Sergei?" No one answered as he struggled against the tape. The ride lasted several more minutes before they stopped. The men grabbed him and dragged him out of the van hauled him along the ground for several hundred feet before dropping him completely. One of them had removed the tape and bag before they ran out of the cage.

Buddy stood and looked around. He was in a large cage that was open on top. There was ten-foot tall chain link fence surrounding him. The perimeter was around fifty feet. Inside the cage were four other men. All of them were looking at him as if they wanted to rip him to shreds.

"Hello Buddy," Pavarti said from behind him. She was speaking just above a whisper through the fence, so only he could hear her. "This is your final test. There are five small clubs lying around the cage. We've killed loved ones to these men and told them you were their killers. They jumped at the opportunity to get a shot at you."

"What the fuck? Why?"

"Your job is to kill them all. Kill them and you'll be the Gut Ripper. Don't kill them and you'll be dead. Good luck." She smiled before raising her voice. "Get to it gentlemen!"

The four men circled Buddy as they each picked up their clubs. Buddy picked up the one closest to him as one of the men charged him. He jumped to the side but ran right into another one who caught him on the chin. The blow almost knocked him backward. Buddy swung out of reflex and hit the shorter guy who was closest to him.

He connected knocking the man to the ground as the taller one took a swing. Buddy ducked it and brought his club up between the man's legs. The man doubled over as Buddy cracked him in the back of the head. The other two men came charging, and Buddy turned and ran. He jumped up and climbed the fence, but only about half way. One of the men grabbed Buddy's leg as Buddy pushed off and landed just behind the two men. He cracked one in the side of the face knocking him to the ground as the other swung, hitting Buddy in the stomach.

Buddy doubled over as the man reared back for another hit. The man on the ground in front of Buddy looked up. Buddy quickly struck him again and then hit the standing man in the knee with the club. The man stumbled away as Buddy jumped to his feet and cracked him in the head. Before that guy hit the ground, one of the others was coming at him again.

This was going to get exhausting extremely fast. He couldn't keep just knocking them out. Buddy swung at the man again hitting him in the side of the head, knocking him down once again. He quickly dropped to one knee and smashed him in the head several more times until he felt the skull cave in. The man lie there twitching as another man tackled him, attempting to put him into a chokehold.

Buddy struggled against the choke, trying to loosen the man's grip, but unable to do so. He took the club and thrust it over his shoulder in a desperate attempt. The club struck the man's eye socket, causing him to scream and loosen his grip just enough. Buddy turned and bashed the man in the face with the club, knocking him onto his back. He struck him in the face ten more times until his skull broke open, causing brains to ooze out onto the ground.

He stood as the two other men were now working their way back toward him. Buddy moved back as the men spread apart, planning on taking him from opposite directions. His only chance would be to attack one of them, which he did. He charged at the man on his right, planting his shoulder into the man's midsection before the man could get a blow in. They tumbled to the ground as Buddy straddled him and began raining blows down with the club repeatedly.

He kept hitting the man until the other was almost on him. The man's whole head was a misshapen, bloody mess as the man blew blood bubbles out of his mouth while gurgling. The last man dove at Buddy, who rolled away at the last second. Buddy jumped to his feet as the man mimicked the move.

The two men circled each other while still holding their clubs. Buddy bent down and picked up the dead man's club that was lying next to his foot. They continued to circle before Buddy decided to hurl one of the clubs at the man. He threw it as hard as he could, end over end it sailed at his target. Before the man could bat it away, it struck him between the eyes. Just hard enough to stagger him for a few steps; that was all Buddy needed.

Before the man could recover, Buddy was all over him. This time, he didn't stop. He kept swinging, smashing the club into guy's head again and again until there was nothing left but a pulp of hair, flesh, blood and bones. Buddy stood and looked at himself. Blood soaked his t-shirt and pants. He tried to catch his breath as his heart continued to race as the adrenaline surged. He threw the club to the ground, looked up to the sky and screamed.

Chapter 14

Almost two dozen members of the Order encircled him as he stood in front of a small table where the mask was sitting. Pavarti was standing in front of him, and Sergei stood among the circle. This was his "masking" ceremony as they were calling it.

Buddy was far from excited, however. He felt dead and empty inside. He stood at the center staring ahead coldly. Whatever attraction he'd felt for Pavarti early on was long gone. Yet, he didn't feel anger either. He felt nothing, void of any humanity. He wasn't even longing to be home anymore. Ever since his final test, Buddy felt as if his soul died with those men. Maybe there was something about bashing in four men's heads that killed you on the inside. Pavarti insisted he'd enjoyed it. While there was a huge rush of adrenaline at the time, 'enjoyment' seemed like the most unbefitting term she could have used. Especially since each of those men was looking to cave his own skull. When it came down to it, Buddy was no longer Buddy; he was just a shell.

Pavarti was wearing a long black dress that couldn't have been cut any lower in the front. The lanterns hanging from the cave walls illuminated the area. The members of the circle were made up of men and women. Some were elderly, and others were as young as their twenties. Buddy wondered what kind of role each of them played within the order. He imagined some of them offered financial support. This operation couldn't be cheap to run. He still wasn't sure why, but at this point none of that mattered. Pavarti put her arms out to her sides and smiled.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the Order of the Blade. Today is a historic day. The legend of the Gut Ripper lives on starting today. Buddy Hansen has passed his final test. His first test was killing his predecessor. For the past few months, Buddy has undergone some of the most intense training in the world. While he was reluctant at first, he has slowly come around and has developed into a powerful killer. We are proud to have him carry on the legacy of the Gut Ripper."

She walked to the table and picked up the mask off the stand. Walking over to Buddy she nodded as he knelt down onto one knee. She carefully placed the mask over his head. As he looked out the mask, he noticed it was much lighter than it looked. He stood as she walked back to the table and opened a long case.

Inside the case was a shiny, golden ax with a hand carved wooden handle. She carried it over and handed it to him. He looked it over while feeling its weight in his hands. It was a beautiful tool. Except it wouldn't be so shiny after he buried it into someone's skull. Pavarti stepped away and held out her hands toward him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Gut Ripper!"

They applauded as Buddy held up the ax over his head and moved around in a circle. He lowered the ax as Pavarti walked up to him.

"This is good timing. The Ranger at the gate called up and said a group of campers is setting up near the springs. This is your chance. If you follow the cave straight ahead and take the first left, it will take you right out to the springs. There is a whole network of tunnels throughout the park. You can use them to sneak up on victims and cover ground faster that way. That's why they think the Gut Ripper is a ghost." she said.

Buddy nodded and walked toward the circle. The people there parted as he headed through the tunnels until he reached the opening. He came out on a series of rock formations. The sunlight was bright, causing him to squint as he looked around. He heard women's voices from just ahead. He walked to the end of the rocks and looked down into the springs. Down there were two girls undressing and jumping into the springs. He watched them for a moment, staying far enough back from the ledge not to be seen. That is, until one of them saw him.

"What's that?" one of the girls asked. Buddy quickly stepped away from the ledge as the other replied.

"What's what?"

"I saw someone standing up there watching us."

"I don't see anyone."

"I think Ben's stories are getting to you. Come on. The water feels amazing!"

Buddy went back into the cave and worked his way around the tunnel until he came out near the camping area. There were a group of guys and a girl there milling about some tents and cooking on a grill. The barbecue smelled delicious, but Buddy ignored it. One of the guys was sitting next to a tent rolling a joint. The others sat around the grill. Buddy looked around and wondered how hard it would be to find his way around the park at night. They'd done some night training, but he still hadn't gotten used to it. He took note of their locations and headed back into the cave.

Once he made his way back to his quarters, Pavarti was there.

"You find them?"

Buddy just nodded. For some reason, he didn't feel like he should talk with the mask on.

"Good. You going out tonight?"

He nodded again.

"Perfect. Let me take you to your new quarters. Follow me."

They wound their way through the tunnels until they reached a door. Pavarti opened it, and they stepped into a room even larger than Sergei's. Much nicer too. This one had carpeting, a large flat screen TV, huge bed, refrigerator and large closet. Inside the closet was various sets of coveralls and work clothes along with t-shirts and sweats. There was a large footlocker next to the closet. Buddy flipped it open to find it filled with knives, axes, machetes and various other edged weapons.

"As you can see, you have everything you need," Pavarti said. "I suggest, getting some rest. You have a busy night ahead."

Chapter 15

They sat around the campfire passing a joint around. Ben had out his ukulele and was trying to play Johnny Cash songs, but none of them were coming out very well. Not that anyone else minded. They were enjoying the weed and beer. Marc took a couple chugs of his beer before deciding he'd had enough.

"Dude. Do you have to keep making all that fucking noise? Jesus. We get it. You think you're fucking Johnny Cash, except you suck."

"Geez Marc!" Sophie said. "You don't to be such a dick to him. He's doing fine. We're just chilling out. It's been a long day."

"I know, but fuck. My ears are bleeding!"

Ben put down the ukulele and pointed at Marc.

"You know what man. Fuck you, man. That's what. I'm here just sharing my music with you guys who are supposed to be my friends. You've all been up in my balls all fucking day."

"No one has been on your balls Ben. You just been getting on everyone's fucking nerves," Lisa chimed in.

"And you. What the fuck? You're supposed to be my girlfriend. You were bitching at me before we even fucking left," Ben said.

"I was bitching because I was doing all the work to get ready while you were getting fucking stoned out of your mind. Then you sit around and try to talk about the world's issues and philosophy and shit except none of it makes any fucking sense when you're stoned."

"Yeah! Well, I wouldn't have to get stoned so much if you didn't act like such a bitch all the time. When we first met, you weren't like this. You were cool, and we goofed around, and had sex, and smoked pot, and had more sex. Shit, we're not even married, and you cut me off all the damn time."

"Yeah, it’s called adulthood. Something you apparently you seem to be avoiding." She stood and began walking away.

"Hey," where you going?" Ben asked.

"Going for a walk."

"But it's dark. You going alone?"

"I'm a big girl and an adult, I'll be fine."

She walked away from the group and followed the trail into the woods. Once she was far enough away to where she couldn't see the bonfire, she took out her cigarettes. She pulled one free and lit it, taking a drag. She'd been trying to quit but Ben had been driving her to smoke more and more. It wasn't like she was trying to be a bitch to him. In reality, she felt bad about the way she'd been treating him lately.

Problem was, since she'd moved in, it had been on her to take care of the bills, grocery shopping, cooking, and cleaning. He made decent money fixing computers, but that was all he did. He'd then come home and sit outside smoking pot and drinking beer each night until he passed out. They didn't even had kids yet.

She'd hoped to start a family one day, but wasn't about to bring a child into this world with Ben behaving the way he was. She wanted him to start acting like a grown up before they even talked about a kid. Her thoughts were interrupted by a stick breaking to her left. She took a drag of the cigarette and turned. Looking around, she couldn't see anything but it was too dark. After taking another drag, she heard it again.

"Hello? Ben? Is that you?" She called out, but there was nothing. She looked around a bit more.

SNAP

It was definitely footsteps.

"Hello? Who's there? This isn't funny!" There was another step, and then another. "Ben! God help me if this is one of your stupid gags I'm going to kick your ass!"

She turned and thought she ran into a tree, but it wasn't a tree. It was a man, a very large and very tall man. Looking up, he was wearing a white, beat up mask and black clothing. She stepped away as her stomach tightened. A scream formed in her throat until she remembered Ben's stories in the car on the way to the park. He was talking about this Gut Ripper character. So who was this standing in front of her? It wasn't Ben, that was for sure. This guy was too tall.

"Marc? Jason is that one of you? This shit isn't funny," she tried to sound confident but her voice waivered as she took a few steps back. The masked man said nothing as he watched her, standing perfectly still.

"I'm fucking serious. I'm going back to the camp. Then I'm kicking your ass whoever you are." She turned and began walking. She didn't see him pick up a long spear, nor did she notice it until he thrust it through the small of her back and it came out the front of her stomach. She stopped and gagged, trying to scream, but couldn't catch her breath.

He lifted the spear until her feet left the ground. She held on to the front of it as the shaft ripped further into her abdomen while bearing her weight. He thrust the end of the spear into a tree, until it stuck into place. Lisa struggled against it trying to pull her way off, but each time she did, the wooden shaft dug a wider hole into her abdomen. She struggled to breath but the masked man walked up behind her and grabbed her by the back of the head and began squeezing.

The pressure on her skull was incredible. Pain shot through her head and body as his fingers pressed into her eye sockets while he increased the pressure. She screamed as her skull began to crack beneath his grip until it gave way. Her head popped like a zit as brains squirted into the air and oozed out onto the masked man's hands. Her body went limp as he wiped his brain covered hands on his coveralls. He left her stuck to the tree and headed toward the camp, using the woods as cover.

Chapter 16

"Lisa?" Ben said as he stood. "You guys hear that?" They'd heard Lisa scream then she suddenly stopped. They all stopped what they were doing and looked around.

"I heard it," Jason said as he stood as well. "Sally, why don't you check it out?"

"Fuck you! You go look! Jesus. Such a brave guy I have here."

"It's dark and weird out there. Did anyone bring a gun?" Jason asked.

"I have a gun," Marc said. "But didn't bring it."

"Why would you not bring it?" Jason asked. "We're camping out in the middle of nowhere."

"I figured we won't be around people. Why didn't you bring one?" Marc asked.

"I don't own a gun. I don't even like guns."

"And you're from Texas?" Marc asked.

"Doesn't mean I have to have a gun. I never learned to use one."

"Does it matter?" Sophie chimed in. "No one here has a fucking gun. I'll go check on Lisa. God, you guys are a bunch of pussies."

"No, no. I'll do it." Marc said. "She may have just seen a possum or something." He began walking toward the trail.

"You want me to go, man?" Ben asked. "She's my girlfriend, you know."

"If you want to. Might not be a bad idea. Jason, you stay here with the girls."

"Fine by me."

The two men headed toward the trail and into the woods. They reached the trail and moved into the darkness. Marc turned on a flashlight as they walked around the area from which they'd heard the scream. There was nothing immediately in their sight. Ben saw something move to his left. He turned quickly to see a possum scurry up a tree. The sudden movement caused Ben to jump, but he was relieved it was only a small animal.

"Lisa?" Ben called out. "Lisa? You ok? Where'd you go?"

There was no response as they walked further down the trail. Marc shined the light through the trees but no sign of Lisa.

"You think she's fucking with us?" Marc asked.

"If she is, that's pretty fucked up. I don't know why she would."

They followed the trail around a large curve and over a small hill when they found it. Marc held the light on it as his mouth stood open.

"What the fuck?" Ben said. "What the fuck? What is that? Who is that?"

From a tree there was a dead body hanging from a long stick. The body's head lay flopped to the side like a deflated balloon with its hair flopping over it.

"Jesus Christ!" Marc said. "Is that…Is that Lisa? What the fuck?"

Ben stumbled to the body and looked her up and down. He put his hand over his mouth as he recognized her clothing and took a few steps back.

"It's her Ben? Ben? Is it her?"

"Yeah." Ben's voice cracked.

"What the fuck? Someone did this. Dude. Someone fucking did this!" Marc said as he took a few more steps back, catching his foot in a snare. His legs shot into the air until he was dangling upside down. His body swung back and forth as Ben screamed.

"Marc! What happened? You ok?"

"Some fucking trap dude. Get me down."

"How? You got a knife?"

"No. There's one at the camp. But try to get me down. Don't leave me here."

"I won't man. I'm right here. I won't leave you, bro. Let me see what I can do." Ben picked up the light and shined it along the cable holding Marc in the air. It was thick and made of wire. No way for him to just untie it and he might not be able to cut it even if he did have a knife. Ben kept fumbling with the cable when there was a noise to his right. He turned to see a large man in a mask standing there just looking at him.

"Oh shit!"

"What?" Marc asked.

"It's the Gut Ripper! The fucking Gut Ripper!" Ben screamed as he turned and ran down the trail, back toward the camp.

"Ben! Where you going! Don't fucking leave me!"

"Sorry man!" Ben called out as he kept running.

Marc tried to spin around and did so enough to where he could see the pair of legs walking his direction.

"Who is that? Who are you?" he asked, but the figure didn't speak. Once the man was closer to him, Marc could see the mask.

"What the fuck? Who are you? Did you kill Lisa? Oh shit! Oh shit! Help! Somebody help me!" he screamed as the direness of his situation hit him like a freight train. Panic spread through his body as he kicked and flailed, trying to do anything to free himself. Nothing worked as he dangled there helplessly as the Gut Ripper held up a large shiny ax.

"No! Oh God! No! Please! No!" Marc screamed but it did no good as the Gut Ripper raised the ax and brought it down the center of his crotch. Pain shot through Marc's body as it felt like his testicles had just exploded. He screamed again as the Gut Ripper brought the ax back a second time and brought it down with even more force. The blade struck his crotch again. Marc could feel the bone shatter as the skin continued to split. He coughed up blood and spit it out as he tried to scream but blood kept filling his mouth. The Gut Ripper chopped again and again. Before Marc lost consciousness, he saw his intestines spilling out, slapping him in the face.

The smell of bile and excrement filled his nose at the same time. The Gut Ripper continued chopping away until the right side of Marc's body fell away, hanging to the other half only by a few strands of skin and muscle. His liver, stomach and lungs spilled out. The Gut Ripper stood there admiring his handiwork for a moment before putting the ax over his shoulder and continuing toward camp.

Chapter 17

Ben came screaming back into camp like his hair was on fire. Jason, Sophie, and Sally jumped to their feet as he ran up.

"The Gut Ripper's here! The Gut Ripper got Lisa and Marc! We gotta get out of here!" Ben was screaming.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jason asked.

"The Gut Ripper man! The fucking Gut Ripper! He's here. I saw him. Big tall dude, scary fucking mask, and big ass shiny ax. Lisa is all fucked up. He bashed her head in. Now Mark is stuck back there, but I heard him screaming. I'm sure he’s killed him too. We gotta go."

Ben turned and saw movement in the tree line.

"Look! That's him! There he is!"

They looked and saw a masked figure in the trees stepping out into the clearing. As he stepped over a bush, however, his leg got caught, he stumbled and fell forward. The Gut Ripper landed face first as his ax fell to his side. The group watched with curiosity as he got back to his feet.

"That's the Gut Ripper?" Sophie said. "He's clumsy as fuck." She started laughing watching the man approach them.

"Shit's not funny man. We need to go! Now!" Ben said.

"I think Ben's right," Jason said. "No need for us to stick around. We need to get help."

Sophie walked to the car and dug a crowbar out of the tailgate.

"I'm not afraid of this asshole. And if he did hurt my friends I'm going to fuck him up," Sophie said as she began moving toward him with the crowbar.

"What are you doing?" Jason said as he grabbed her arm. "Are you fucking insane?"

"Let go of me!" She shrugged him off. "If you're going to stand around like a pussy then fine! I stand up for myself. I don't give a shit who it is." She continued marching toward him. Jason wanted to stop her but knew it would be pointless to try. He stood and watched her heading into certain death.

*     *     *     *

Buddy felt like an idiot for tripping and falling. The whole group had seen it happen too. No way they would or should be scared of him now. What kind of slasher trips and falls on his face? He wondered if any of the previous Gut Rippers had done the same. Despite gutting two of their friends, at least, one of them wasn't scared of him. One of the girls was now coming toward him carrying a crowbar.  What the hell was she trying to prove?

The woman stopped about ten feet ahead of him banging the crowbar against her open palm.

"Ok asshole. If you're Marc under, there I'm going to fuck you up. If you're not Marc, then I'm seriously going to fuck you up. Now take off your mask!"

Buddy had to admire the balls on this woman. When he and his friends encountered the Gut Ripper, none of them even thought of standing there and getting lippy with the guy. The only reason Buddy had attacked him was because he was actively cutting up one of his friends. Otherwise, he'd have hightailed it out of there. In retrospect, he wished he had.

"Well? What's it gonna be? You just gonna stand there looking stupid? Trust me, you're not scary at all. I've never seen Freddy trip and fall like a dumbass. Did you go to the slasher school for slow kids?" she screamed.

Jesus, she was harsh. Buddy wanted to stab her just for being a bitch. He stood there waiting on her to make a move. He didn't want to start toward her too soon and startle her. If he fucked this up in front of her friends, he was fucked for sure. The last thing he wanted was to be replaced on his first night out.

"Ok, fine," she said as she started toward him. She reared back the crowbar and swung. Buddy held out his ax and caught the crowbar by the hook and flung it away. She stood there looking shocked as he grabbed a handful of her hair and lifted her off the ground. The defiance left her eyes and was instantly replaced by sheer terror.

She struggled against his grip, but he was too strong. He dragged her by the hair back into the woods. Her friends screamed as he dragged her. It was hard to keep from looking back, but he knew they wouldn't come for her. Once in the woods, he lifted her until her hair was snagged on a tree. She struggled and kicked to free herself but was unable to free herself. He sat down the ax and dug behind a bush where he picked up a baseball bat.

"What are you doing? Let me go! Please! Help! Somebody help!" she screamed.

He ignored her as he reared back with the bat and struck her in the stomach. She stopped screaming with a grunt as she coughed and wheezed. He watched her for a minute before swinging again. This time hitting her in the legs. He began hitting her repeatedly with the bat. Striking her in the stomach, chest, shoulders, and legs. He was careful to avoid her head so as not to kill her too quickly.

She gasped for air as her bones snapped and crackled with each blow. Sophie coughed up blood as she tried to speak.

"Please," she whimpered. "Please, no more."

Buddy wanted to feel pity for her. Months ago he would have. Now, he wasn't really himself anymore. He was the Gut Ripper. Pity wasn't part of his training. He let her cry and plead for a few more minutes before he took a swing at her head. It was hard enough to do some damage, but not too hard. Her nose burst open as her eye began to swell. After a few more blows, she coughed up blood and teeth. Her face was no longer recognizable. She didn't even look human. Buddy thought she looked like a Halloween mask. She was still wheezing and trying to speak. He put the bat down and pulled out his hunting knife. He thrust the knife into her lower stomach as she let out a grunt. He sliced up to the base of her rib cage and reached into the incision.

Her guts were warm and sticky as he grabbed a handful and began pulling them out. He was amazed at how such a small woman could have so many organs on her insides. He strung the intestines out until they were spilled all over the ground. Buddy then wrapped the intestines around her face and neck and pulled. She gagged and struggled as her body twitched while he strangled her with her own intestines.

He'd seen the previous Gut Ripper do this, so thought it would be worth a try. After a minute, her body went limp. He let go of the intestines and stood back looking her over. Of all his kills so far, he had to say this one had been the most fun. He picked up the ax and headed back toward the camp once again where he could still hear them screaming.

Chapter 18

Ben, Sally, and Jason had piled into the Expedition as Ben fumbled with the keys. He got them into the ignition and turned it, but the car wouldn't start. The engine just turned over and over. He pumped the gas, but that did no good.

"Don't pump the gas dumbass!" Sally yelled from the back seat.  "You'll just flood it! This car is fuel injected. You don't fucking pump the gas anymore!"

"Then why won't it start?"

"Because you're a fucking moron!" She screamed as she climbed into the front seat. "Get back there, and out of my way."

"Shit! He's coming!" Jason yelled.

They looked out the window and saw the Gut Ripper approaching. Sally fumbled with the ignition, but the engine just kept turning over.

"Fuck!" she screamed as the passenger side window shattered. Jason screamed as the Gut Ripper reached in and pulled him through the window by his hair. The jagged shards of glass sliced and cut at his skin as he was dragged out. Sally grabbed his legs and tried to pull him back, but the Gut Ripper was too strong and yanked him away from her. Once he had Jason outside he dragged him toward the camp.

They watched helplessly as the Gut Ripper pulled him in between some of the tents, which were now collapsed. Ben was screaming while Sally looked over to him.

"Why don't you do something?" Sally screamed at Ben.

"Like what? I can't do shit!"

"He's fucking killing him! He's killed all our friends! All you do is sit there and scream!"

"Fuck man. I don't even have a weapon."

She dug in her purse and pulled out a pocket knife.

"Here go stab that motherfucker with this."

Ben took the knife and looked out at the Gut Ripper, who was kicking Jason along the ground.

"Whatever. Fuck it," Ben said as he climbed out of the car and ran toward the Gut Ripper. He managed not to scream as he charged the slasher. The Gut Ripper turned and looked just as Ben thrust the knife into his chest. Oddly the knife was difficult to push in, and there was no blood. The Gut Ripper looked him up and down as Ben began walking backward.

"Uhh, sorry man. No hard feelings huh?" Ben stammered.

The Gut Ripper stepped forward and punched Ben in the face. He felt his nose crunch as his head snapped backward. Ben tumbled to the ground flat on his back and for some reason decided to play dead, or at least unconscious. He lie there as the Gut Ripper went back to work on Jason. Jason tried crawling away, but he was bloody and swollen from the beating he'd just taken.

The Gut Ripper grabbed a hand full of tent stakes and held down Jason's hand. Using the mallet lying nearby, he banged the stake through Jason's hand. Jason screamed as the Gut Ripper pounded the stake all the way into his hand. Jason continued writhing and screaming as the Gut Ripper moved to his other hand.

He pounded the second stake into Jason's palm as he continued screaming. Blood sprayed into the air as the stake penetrated the skin and muscle. Jason lay there moaning in pain as the Gut Ripper stood over him holding one more stake.

"No! Please! Just let me go!" Jason screamed as the Gut Ripper shoved the stake into his mouth. Jason gagged and choked on the metal stake as the Gut Ripper pounded it into his mouth. Blood spurted from his mouth as gurgling sounds came from his throat. He hammered it in until Jason was lying still with the stake driven through his skull and into his brain.

Ben lie there watching out of the corner of his eye while trying to pretend to be knocked out. It was difficult to listen to his friend's screams while doing so but he felt like he had held mostly still. He looked up and the Gut Ripper was walking his direction. He continued to lie still hoping that the killer would pass him by. Maybe go for Sally. He never liked Sally anyway. Not that he wanted her to die, but better her than himself.

The Gut Ripper was not going to pass him by, however. Ben looked up to see the killer standing over him. Ben quickly got to his feet and ran toward the woods. He didn't look back, but he didn't have to. He already knew the Gut Ripper was behind him and coming right for him.

Chapter 19

Ben ran through the woods. He actually surprised himself at his agility with jumping over rocks and bushes. After a while, he had to stop and catch his breath. He ducked down behind some trees and looked back. There was no sign of the Gut Ripper. Had he lost him? Maybe he went after Sally. Ben figured he'd keep going the same direction. He figured the park couldn't go on forever. He had to find a ranger or highway sooner or later.

He reached a razor wire fence. It was dumb luck he didn't run head on into it. There were strands of ripped clothing in places that told him others had been caught in it before. He walked down the length of the fence looking for an opening, but it seemed to go on forever. He took off his shirt and balled it up. Using it to grab the wire and try and work his way through.

The wires cut through his arms and hands despite his caution as he pulled the wire fence apart and stepped on part of it pushing it down. The razors sliced at his legs and ankles. He tried to keep his grunting to a minimum and after what felt like way too long, he made it through and found himself on the other side.

He turned and began running once again. His legs were turning to jelly as his muscles ached with each stride. He wasn't an athlete and had never been a runner. As the adrenaline wore off, fatigue began setting in. It was difficult to keep his balance but in the next few steps, balance was the least of his worries.

He ran through a set of bushes and straight into a ravine. The drop off was a good twenty feet. Ben both heard and felt his right leg snap as it hit the ground. His vision went blurry, and nausea welled up in his stomach. He felt like he should throw up, but didn't. Looking down, he saw his leg had taken the shape of an L. He lay back and looked up and along the edge of the ravine, the Gut Ripper was there looking down at him. How the fuck did he get there?

The Gut Ripper moved away from the ledge as Ben tried to move but pain shot up his leg and through his body with any attempt at movement. Tears filled his eyes as the dizzying pain paralyzed him; even moving his arms hurt. Behind him, he heard someone moving. Looking over his shoulder, the Gut Ripper was climbing down some rocks and headed his way.

Ben started crying as he lie there helpless. He couldn't move, certainly couldn't run, and a vicious killer was headed right for him. Within minutes, the Gut Ripper was standing over him looking down at his broken leg. The killer placed his foot on the broken leg and began putting his weight on it, twisting his foot back and forth, grinding it into the broken limb.

The pain was dizzying, and Ben shrieked. He begged and pleaded for the Gut Ripper to stop or just to kill him and get it over with, but the killer ignored him and continued with his torment. The Gut Ripper finally stepped away and picked up a large rock. Ben didn't want to know what he was about to do with it as the killer raised the rock over his head with both hands and brought it down upon the broken leg.

Ben screamed as more bones crunched and snapped. The Gut Ripper raised it again and brought it back down again and again. Each smash sent waves of pain at level Ben simply did not think was possible. Ben had recalled hearing that when someone is suffering in agonizing pain, they are prone to passing out. He hoped if that were true, he would pass out really soon. He wasn't sure how much more he could take.

His leg was now nothing but a pudding of blood and bone. His blood covered shoe flopped to the side with his foot still inside, but the rest of his leg was a mutilated chunk of rags and splinters. The Gut Ripper took the rock and began smashing his other leg. That sent a whole new wave of pain throughout his body. Ben couldn't help but wonder if his internet research and talking about the killer on the way to the park hadn't somehow conjured him.

The idea was absurd, and he knew it, but nothing else was making any sense at the moment. The Gut Ripper continued smashing away at his other leg until both legs matched. He then pulled out a hunting knife and stood over Ben, straddling his broken body

"What are you gonna do?" Ben whined. "Please don't hurt me anymore. Please?"

As usual, the Gut Ripper ignored him and thrust the knife into his lower abdomen. Ben screamed as the killer used the knife to cut all the way to his rib cage. Ben cried out as the Gut Ripper pulled the new opening apart, not caring how much pain he inflicted or flesh he tore away. He then grabbed a handful of Ben's intestines and began stringing them about the ground. Ben wanted to throw up but was unable. The site of his guts being ripped out was enough to make him want to barf.

The next thing the killer pulled out was his stomach. At times over the years, Ben wondered what human organs looked like. He regretted wondering the instant he saw his being ripped from his body. The Gut Ripper went so far as to slice Ben's stomach open as he held it in his hands. Fluid and bile came oozing out as the Gut Ripper squeezed it like a sponge. Ben screamed again as the Gut Ripper bent down and thrust his hand into his exposed abdomen.

Ben felt the Gut Ripper's hand burrowing into his chest until he could feel the man's fingers wrap around his heart. Ben struggled to breathe as the killer ripped the heart out of Ben's body and held it before his eyes. Ben got to see his heart take its final beats before everything went dark.

Chapter 20

Sally had given up on the Expedition and wasn't about to wait for her turn to be killed. She took off down the dark gravel road that led them to the camp. She figured at some point she had to run into another person or ranger or anyone who could help. Fortunately for her, running was one of her hobbies, and she could go at a good clip for a long time.

Running along a gravel trail at night wasn't the easiest thing, but she felt she’d put enough distance between her and the Gut Ripper to be mostly safe. She slowed her pace so she wouldn't trip or injure herself. She had gotten almost a mile away when she saw the headlights. She stepped to the side and waited for the vehicle to pull up. It as a midsize SUV with yellow lights on top. It was a ranger. Thank God!

The SUV rolled up and turned on the overhead lights as the window rolled down. The ranger was a middle-aged man in a wrinkly uniform.

"You ok, ma'am?" he asked.

"No! There's a fucking guy in a mask back at our camp! He just killed everyone!"

"What? Hang on. Just calm down. What guy in what mask?"

"Back about a mile that way." She pointed. "I was here with five of my friends. He hacked all of them to pieces. This Gut Ripper guy or whatever."

"Ma'am," he said as he rolled his eyes. "The Gut Ripper is a legend, a myth. There is no Gut Ripper."

"Then maybe it's someone pretending to be him! I don't give a fuck who it is! He killed my friends! He murdered my boyfriend!"

"Ok. You're in a lot of distress. Go ahead and hop in."

She climbed into the passenger side and closed the door as he started down the trail. After a minute she noticed he wasn't turning around.

"Where are you going? You're going right back to the camp! Don't go back there! Get me out of here! I can't go back there!"

"Now listen. I'm going to get to the bottom of this. You just calm down. You'll be fine."

Within a few minutes, they were back at the camp. He opened the door and climbed out.

"Ok, I'm going to check things out. You stay put."

"Don't leave me here!"

"You're fine. I'll only be a minute."

He turned and disappeared around the back of the SUV. Sally sat there waiting for several minutes when the door swung open, and a hand grabbed her, throwing her onto the ground. Before she could react, someone was kicking her repeatedly. One kick caught her right in the nose. Her eyes watered as she saw stars. For a moment she feared she'd pass out, but she managed to stay conscious. Looking up, it was the Ranger standing over her kicking her. Just behind him stood the Gut Ripper.

She thought the Gut Ripper was about to slice the Ranger in half, but she couldn't have been more wrong.

"There!" the ranger said. "You almost let this one get away. I brought her back to you on a silver platter. You think you can handle it from here?"

The Gut Ripper just looked at him and nodded.

"Good. Don't fuck it up, wait until I'm gone to finish her off."

The ranger turned and walked toward his SUV. She sat and watched as the one man she thought would help her ended up betraying her. She had no idea how he was involved with this slasher, but all hope began to fade. As the ranger reached the door, the Gut Ripper moved toward him, grabbed him by the head and ran his knife across the ranger’s neck, slashing his throat wide open. The ranger’s body slumped to the ground as the Gut Ripper looked at her and removed his mask.

*                              *                               *                                 *

Buddy listened to the obnoxious ranger screaming at him. He’d only met this asshole one other time and he already couldn’t stand him. Who did this slob think he was? He wouldn’t last two seconds going through what Buddy had gone through. As the man yelled he looked at the woman on the ground. Something about the look in her eyes gave him pause. Something about her reminded him of his girlfriend, Katie. Her facial expressions and mannerisms were very similar. The current terror in her eyes brought him back to Katie’s final moments as he helplessly watched her die.

He stared at her as tears streaked down her face. Ultimately he didn’t know if he could kill her. The others were all easy. It was just like the training with them. The ranger finished his rant and turned toward his SUV. Buddy gave it a final thought before he decided what he needed to do. He was sure there would be consequences for his actions, but after everything else he’d faced the past few months, he could deal with that as well.

Buddy stepped toward the ranger, grabbed him and cut his throat in one smooth motion. He turned to the girl whose look of terror turned to confusion. He took a deep breath and removed his mask. The girl still looked confused as he put the knife in its sheath and reached his hand out to her.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said

She took his hand and he pulled her to her feet as she stepped away cautiously.

“Get in his truck and get out of here. Drive through the gate and don’t stop for anything. Do you understand?”

She continued standing there with her eyes wide and mouth hanging open.

“Do you understand? Get out of here and don’t tell anyone what you’ve seen here. They’ll know and will come for you. Nod if you understand.”

She focused for a second and nodded.

“Who is they?” she asked. “Who are you? Why did you kill my friends?”

Her voice sounded distant as if she were in a daze. He imagined he sounded the same when the Order first grabbed him.

“Long story. Get in the car and get out of here. Go! Now!”

She jumped in and closed the door. Within seconds the SUV was down the trail and out of sight. Buddy watched her go as the van came driving up from behind him. He wasn’t sure where they came from, but it didn’t matter. The van came to a stop as Sergei jumped out and ran up to him, sticking his finger into Buddy’s chest.

“Why you let her go! You are Gut Ripper! You rip her guts out! You stupid coward! You will pay…” Sergei began but was interrupted by Buddy’s blade pointed at his throat. Buddy pressed just hard enough to draw a speckle of blood. Sergei talked a lot about not fearing death, but for the first time since being with the Order, Buddy saw fear in Sergei’s eyes. They had trained Buddy well, extremely well. Maybe too well. It was time they started to understand what they created.

“You don’t tell me how to do anything. Do you understand?”

Sergei just glared at him.

“Do you?” Buddy screamed.

“Yes. I understand.”

Buddy took the knife away.

“Good. Things will be different as long as I’m the Gut Ripper. I suggest you and your pals in the Order remember just what it is that I am,” Buddy said as he turned and headed back into the woods.

The End

Exclusive Sneak Peek at Tim Miller’s Next book:

Spankenstein

Tim Miller

Chapter 1

Donny Spanks sat in front of the TV watching the actress closely. This was his favorite show, but only because of her. The show was called, 'Criminal Brain.' It was a bunch of secret government agents solving the most heinous of crimes. The lead actress' name was Candi Murphy. She was everything he dreamed of. Long, perfect blonde hair, full, luscious lips and a body that wouldn't quit. Donny made sure he was in front of the TV any time it came on. He'd even lost a few jobs over his obsession, but none of that fazed him. He couldn't get enough of her.

She was the perfect woman in every way possible. As he watched, he wondered if he could ever meet her. If he did, would she be interested in him? Would he stand a chance? During the commercial, he stepped into the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. Taking his shirt off, he scanned his whole body. No way would she want him. He was short, skinny; scratch that, way too skinny and so pale he was almost transparent. His hairline was receding and his chest hair came out in random patches. No girl had ever found him remotely appealing.

This fact got him thinking. He'd worked in the medical field for years as an operating room technician. It was a great job. Well, several jobs. He bounced around from hospital to hospital before he finally ran out of places that would hire him. His awkwardness made most employees uncomfortable, along with his tendency to daydream. Turns out surgeons like you to be paying attention when they need a set of clamps during open-heart surgery.

So here he was, an unemployed and unemployable surgical technician. He'd seen so many surgeries he felt like he could perform one himself. Over the years, he'd accumulated a lot of instruments and had saved lots of money. One of the side effects of being single for so long with no children. His jobs paid well and he never spent much.

He went back and watched the TV again to see Candi some more. Once the show was over, he decided to head out and have a beer. Sitting around the empty house all night drives him crazy. He got dressed, got in his car and headed to a nearby pub. It was an old bar that he used to frequent more regularly. He didn't get out as much anymore, but maybe it was time to start. Once inside, he sat at the bar and ordered a Coors Light.

As he sipped on his beer and noticed there were lots of women in the pub; he didn't remember so many girls in this place before. They were there in groups hanging out and listening to the jukebox. That was when he saw her. No way was it Candi Murphy; she lived in Los Angeles. Doubtful she'd ever hung out in a dive bar in San Antonio, Texas. The woman stood out among the rest of the girls. Partly because most of the girls were Hispanic. That wasn't unusual. Most of San Antonio was Hispanic.

A blonde haired, blue eyed angel like her stood out even more than normal. Donny stood and walked casually past her to pretend to be looking at the jukebox. He was trying not to stare, but she gave him an uncomfortable smile as he walked by. It wasn't Candi; he was sure that Candy had fuller lips and a dimple on her chin. Either way, the resemblance was uncanny. Maybe she'd be interested in him. Now wouldn't that be something; making love to this beautiful woman and pretend that she was Candi. It would be the next best thing at least.

He went back to the bar and sat there sipping at his beer. Soon he began drinking it faster as he felt the tingling in his brain. Ordering another, he quickly downed that one as his buzz grew stronger. As hard as he tried not to stare, he couldn't help himself. He could tell she saw him every time he looked over; she was looking away. Finally, she got up and walked out. Fuck! Normally, he would sit and pout that he blew another one; but the beer seemed to grow his testicles, and poof, he had balls. At best he wanted to apologize to her for staring and acting like a weirdo.

He jumped up from the stool and headed out the door. She was there in the parking lot walking by herself to her car. She'd been sitting with two other girls, but they must have arrived separately. Slowly, he walked up behind her until he was a few feet away.

"Umm, excuse me," he said.

She jumped and turned around.

"What the hell? Are you following me to my car? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I-I'm sorry. I was just…"

"Just what? Wasn't bad enough you kept staring at me in there like some creepy asshole. Now you're following me? For what? What do you want?"

"I just wanted to apologize. I'm sorry for staring in there. I don't get out much."

"Yeah, that's pretty obvious."

The conversation wasn't going how he'd pictured it at all. In his mind, she would smile, welcome his apology, and maybe strike up a nice conversation. Now, he was just freaking her out even more.

"I'm sorry. I know I'm weird. I just think you're a pretty lady," he said as he turned and began to walk away.

"Hey," she called out. "I didn't mean to be such a bitch. I just had no idea what you were doing or why you followed me to my car. For future reference, don't do that. That's weird as hell."

He couldn't help but smile at her softened tone.

"Really? Thank you!" he turned and smiled at her.

"No problem. Try to have a better night. I need to go anyway."

"Oh, yeah sure." At this point, he wasn't sure what came over him. She was so beautiful, and the fact that she suddenly was being nice to him suddenly flipped a switch in his brain. The beer obviously didn't help, but it was as if something came over him that he couldn't control. At least, he didn't want to control it. He took a few steps forward and put his arms out.

"Could I have a hug?" he asked as she stepped back and screamed.

"What the hell! Get away!" she took another step back before kicking him in the dick. As he doubled over, she pulled a can of mace from her purse and sprayed it into his face and mouth. His eyes and tongue burned as he fell to the ground. She got into the car and sped away, kicking dirt and rocks onto Donny's burning face. As he lay there writhing in pain and crying, rage began to fill him. It was time for him to face the facts. No woman would ever want him. He was too ugly and weird. Perhaps there was another way for him to obtain the perfect girl.

About the Author

Tim began writing at a very young age. Even in grade school he'd sit around with his notebook, writing stories for himself and his friends.

As an adult, Tim's writings have evolved into darker realms. He released his first horror novel, "The Hand of God" in 2011. Since then his books have become progressively more violent and gory. With the release of "Family Night" in 2013, Tim had moved into the world of extreme horror where he continues to push the boundaries of human suffering.

Tim is now an international best seller as well. His book, "Hell, Texas" has recently ranked high on Amazon sales charts since its release in Germany under German publisher, Festa-Verlag.

Tim is very active on social media and loves interacting with his readers. You can find him at his website at http://timmiller.org

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Also By Tim Miller

Psychoville

Dollhouse

Curse of the Gut Ripper

Hell, Texas

Family Night

My Brother’s Keeper

Fertile Fields