I know what they want; what they’re expecting. They have obviously done this
before, and they know how it goes, because all of their victims have been
predictable. They want to get as deep in the woods as possible as fast as
possible. But I don’t know where I am, or how far I am from civilization. I
could wind up heading straight for some kind of secondary base camp, where
an entire regiment is waiting to finish the job. Things used to be a lot
easier for me. I had a pretty cushy life, and I didn’t worry myself with the
state of the rest of the world. I’m sure that’s why they chose me, because
they’re angry, and I’m an easy target. Well, I’m about to show them just how
wrong they are. I am not going to make it easy on them. I’m not going to run
as far as I can. I’m going to hide, and find an opportunity to hunt them
right back. They’re counting on the fact that I’ve been so sheltered. They
think it gives them some kind of advantage over me, like they’re the only
ones who are all right with getting their hands dirty. I may have less
experience than them, but there has been a darkness inside me since I was a
boy, and they just gave me permission to let it out. If I manage to kill any
of these people in my pursuit of freedom and safety, no one will blame me
for it. It was self-defense. They may have all the weapons, and probably
even the skill. But I have something they could never understand: the
ability to shut out my feelings, and turn feral. I’m no straight arrow, but
I don’t drink all that much, because if I want to lose my inhibitions, all I
have to do is let go of my grasp on the moral code that I developed to avoid
getting in trouble. That’s the only reason it’s there. I don’t really value
human life, and I certainly don’t value these people’s lives. If they want
violence tonight, they’ll get it, and they’ll be sorry they asked.
Just as I’m crossing the tree line, an arrow nearly catches me in the ankle.
They promised they would wait five minutes before they began the hunt. I
don’t think they have their eyes on breaking that promise. They’re clearly a
cocky bunch who have no reason to suspect that I might actually survive
this. I think that was just one of them showing off his bow and arrow
skills. That’s good to know. When I think I’m out of eyesight, I speed up. I
run as fast as I can, as far as I can, using up nearly all the energy I can
muster at once. Once a minute has passed, I stop. I turn around, and head
back towards the barn, but at an angle. I walk slowly and carefully,
avoiding every fallen leaf on the ground. I spend the four minutes I have
left getting right back to the starting point without alerting anyone to my
presence. They’re going to walk straight into the woods, thinking that I’ll
be a kilometer away before they catch up to me. I start to hear their voices
as I get closer. I can’t tell what they’re saying, but their tone doesn’t
sound like they know what’s up. My plan is working. What I’m gonna do is
make it back up to the barn, kill whoever they left behind to guard it,
steal their weapons, and then go after the rest, one by one. I stay low, and
peek around a tree. Hm. I don’t see anyone there at all. Did they really all
go off on the hunt? What a bunch of morons. I wait for a moment just in case
before bolting towards the barn, getting myself drenched in the floodlights,
but not staying visible too long. I find an old pickup truck inside. Perhaps
there are some weapons stored in here. There aren’t, but the key is in the
ignition. This forces me to admit to myself that they left me with no excuse
to fight back and kill people. So I reluctantly get in the truck, and drive
to the police station two counties over.
