Monster Gauntlet (9 page)

I had lost all sense of time. Out of all of the tools we’d been offered, nobody had thought to ask for a watch. I had no knowledge of and no control over my time. I hated the feeling. Unfortunately, the helpless feeling sort of fit my mood. My sense of time and my ability to plan accordingly were just more things I had no control over.

One thing the group agreed on was when it was time for a break. We found some large rocks to sit on and we ate. I shared my food with the others. Bear scowled at my generosity. He probably figured I owed it all to him for saving my life (which he kind of did), but I didn’t let that sway me. I was sure cared less about my life and more about “wasting ammo.”

At some point, Marine nudged me. I looked down at saw him holding a metal canister. He was handing back my mace.

“You found it!” I exclaimed. Then, after some thought, I said, “Keep it. I have a gun now.”

He shook his head. “No,” he said. “It’s yours.”

Then, with a sly smile, he added, “Don’t worry about me.”

His weird smile made me wonder just what type of secret weapon he might be packing, or if he really thought he was that badass with just a knife and grenade. Either way, his confidence was sexy.

Bear growled, “Sorry to interrupt your love fest over there, but’s time to get moving.” Everyone agree, and we did.

–––––

We crossed the creek and clouds descended on us like gaseous monsters creeping their way down from mountaintop haunts. Wind and rain pushed us about, then subsided to a moist lull between storms – typical Scottish weather. Even after the storm subsided, the clouds in the sky churned and swirled like gambling gods looking down and deciding out fate.

At some point the trees parted as we passed through an isthmus between wide open spaces. The walls of forest closed in like the jaws of a death trap. I felt better when we passed through to the other side,” but then I tensed up almost immediately. Far off in the middle of open area up ahead was a large mound – a bump in an otherwise flat field. It pushed up from the earth like a something hiding under the covers at the foot of your bed at night. On top of it was something that looked like a crucifixion.

We passed the base of the knoll with weapons drawn. The wooden cross looked like a capital “T”. There was a figure bound to it with rope. It was unmistakably female. She was wearing a ragged strips of clothing that might have been a dress in a previous life. Her head was slumped forward, and wet, tangled, black hair hung down and hid her face.

“It’s a woman,” Mason said.

“No shit,” said Bear.

Mason said, “So, are we going to check her out?”

“Of course,” Bear said.

Trish rolled her eyes.

“You know that’s a monster,” she said. “Why can’t we just move along?”

“She might not be,” said Marine. “She could be something else.”

“Like what?” I asked.

“Like bait. Food for a monster.”

“Great,” Trish grumbled. “Another reason to keep moving.”

“This is where they want us,” Mason said, his eyes darting around like rodent constantly on alert for predators. “We should just move.”

I hate to admit it, but I could really see his point. This was obviously some type of trap.

“We should at least see if she’s alive,” Marine said.

Everyone’s gaze went from one person to the next. Finally, Bear said, “I’m going to see if she’s alive.”

A huge knife appeared in his hand. Then he said, “If she is, and she’s human ... well, let’s just make sure first.”

He held up the knife and smiled with an inappropriate amount of delight and an overexcited twinkle in his eye that made me shudder. I subtly brushed my palm against the reassuring bulk and weight of my gun.

We climbed the knoll. Bear shouted in the woman’s face.

“Hey! Hey you! You alive? Wake up!”

No response.

The bare arms and legs of the woman were pale and smooth. Her body reminded me a little of Alysh’s, with bigger boobs. I know the men noticed.

“Hey you! You want to live? Look up.”

Still no response.

Holding the knife in his right hand, Bear slowly extended his left hand to part the black curtain of hair hiding her face.

“Bear! Don’t!” Trish hissed.

I knew how she felt.

Bear’s hand moved closer in slow motion. Just before the fingertips touched the hair, I took a step backwards and closed my eyes.

The woman moaned.

My eyes snapped open. Bear’s hand swept her hair aside. Her face was beautiful. Bear was smiling. I took a deep breath and exhaled.

Bear pinched her jaw and turned her head to either side, exposing a long neck. The woman was unconscious – drugged, or something.

“No vampire bites,” he said approvingly. Then he added, “Doesn’t mean they aren’t somewhere else.”

Then he brought the tip of his knife and placed it between her breasts. I had no I idea what he was doing. My first thought was that he was going to stab her in the heart.

Bear made a small slit in the fabric. Then, like a gunslinger in reverse, he put the knife away in the time it took to blink. With both hands free, he inserted his fingers into the slit in the dress. He took a breath, and it one motion, ripped it apart.

The woman’s breasts fell out like two huge melons. Bear’s eyes widened and he gasped.

“Looks human to me,” he said, grinning. “Only one way to be sure.”

He started to grope her. I had no idea how far this was going to go. If this was supposed to be a diversion, a stalling-tactic, or just another thing to fight over, it was working. I was about to say something but Marine beat me to it. He said, “Dude. Seriously? You’re going to rape a woman with millions of people watching?”

Bear’s smile disappeared as we were all suddenly reminded that we were on a live TV show. I saw Bear’s hand twitch like gunfighter’s hovering over the handle of his pistol.

In a voice that was eerily quiet, he said, “Nobody tells me ...”

“Nobody’s going to get raped,” I said.

Bear turned and found himself staring at the muzzle of my gun.

Bear growled, and said, “Girl, you better ...”

“Shut up!” I said, shoving the gun in his face.

The man looked from the gun to my eyes. His stare bored into me with an intent to kill. Most people would be intimidated. I shoved my gun even closer. His gaze went from the gun to my eyes. Our eyes locked, and after seeing no signs of weakness or bluffing, his will crumbled and he backed down.

“Fine,” he spat, putting up his hands. “Let’s just move.”

The woman groaned. All of our heads turned when towards her. I took my eyes and gunpoint off of Bear. The woman was waking up.

“What’s your name, girl?” Bear said. I didn’t like how he called that.

“H-Help me,” she moaned without looking up, her we hair partially covering her face.

“Oh that is totally a monster,” said Trish.

“Shut up!” I said, still holding my gun. Trish looked at me defiantly, then saw the expression on my face, and shut up. I almost smiled. I felt powerful with the gun in my hand. I was powerful. Maybe this was why people got off on guns so much.

“Give me an arrow,” I ordered Trish.

Her face said no, but her mouth wisely wouldn’t. Instead, she said, “Why?”

“Just give it and let’s get this over with,” I said. Slowly, she withdrew one and handed it to me. I was secretly grateful that I didn’t have to point the gun at her face to get my way.

I turned to the woman on the rack.

I took the tip of the arrow and dragged it across her arm, leaving a red line as if I’d used a marker. The woman jolted, cried out, and woke up. Her arm was bleeding.

Holding the shaft of the arrow, I wiped the bloody arrowhead in the wet fabric in what little was left of the woman’s clothing.

I leaned closer to the woman.

“What’s your name?”

She looked up, defeated, and said, “Cleona.”

“Cleona?”

“Call me ... Clea.”

“Where are you from, Clea?”

“Here,” she said. “Scotland.”

“What are you doing here, tied to this stake?”

“They took me.”

“Who?

“They took me,” she repeated, “and brought me here. This is my punishment. They said, ‘Now you will be dependent on the kindness of strangers.’”

I looked at Marine, trying to gauge his thoughts. I looked at the others. They just stared, deferring to me. I had taken charge, and they were waiting for me to finish the interrogation. I definitely had a lot more questions before...

Somewhere in the woods behind us, maybe about a kilometer away, something huge crashed through the trees and roared.

“What the fuck was that?” Mason gasped.

“Something fucked up,” Bear said.

Marine said, “We’ve got to move. Now.”

I looked at the woman, and then at Trish, whom I considered my main opponent in this. I handed her back the crossbow bolt.

“Silver-tipped arrows, right? They didn’t burn her skin. She’s not a werewolf. She’s not a vampire. She’s human.”

“I know what she is,” Bear barked. “She’s bait! And we’re standing right here at Ground Zero!”

As if to confirm Bear’s statement, another roar echoed in the distance from the forest. It sounded closer this time.

I hated to admit it, but Bear was probably right.

I didn’t know what to say. I looked around at the view from the knoll for the first time.

“Look!” I said with a sudden spike of delight. “There’s the lake! And I can see the castle! We’re close!”

Sure enough, there they were, about two kilometers away. The lake looked like distant mirror reflecting the bleak sky.

I thought this good news would bring hope and a moment of peace and agreement to our group. Of course it didn’t.

Bear rightfully pointed out a stone tower, standing on hill beyond the bank of trees on the left.

“So?” Bear said. “There’s the tower! It’s closer!”

It did look closer, about one kilometer away, but I know that it could’ve been an illusion. Sometimes things in the distance look close but are actually a lot further than they appear when you walk to them. Of course, the same could be said of the castle and the loch.

“We should go to the tower,” Mason said. “We’ll get there faster.”

“But we’d have to go through the woods,” Marine said.

“So? There’s a path,” Trish said.

Indeed, there was an opening in the trees indicating the way to go.

Something suddenly clicked in my brain, like the cliché of a light bulb turning on. It really was like that. Suddenly I saw and understood the situation.

“This is a test,” I said. “It’s all a test. They’re seeing if we’re going to leave the girl to save our own asses, or if we’re going to take the risk and take her with us.”

“The risk?” Trish echoed.

“Sure,” I answered. “I don’t think she’s a monster, but Bear’s right. She’s bait. She’s strung up like a sacrifice. The monster out there could smell her and follow us. Or she could slow us down.”

“So we leave her,” Mason said. “Let the monster get on her. That buys us time to get away.”

My nose wrinkled as if I just smelled something disgusting. “Did you really just say that? What type of man are you? You’re a coward.”

OK, probably not the best thing to say, but the words just burst out.

Mason raised his machete. “Say it again, bitch.”

“I’ve got a gun,” I said.

“Think you can pull it before I cut off your head?”

“That’s enough!” Marine shouted.

“Fuck you!”

“Wait!” I shouted. “Everyone just stop! I’m not going for my gun. I am going for my knife. I’m cutting this woman down.”

This wasn’t a group decision. Before anyone could stop me, I did it.

Mason held his machete at waist level like a medieval knight with a sword, but Marine was doing the same with his big survival knife. They faced each other like gladiators, occasionally breaking their stare to watch what I was doing.

I cut the ropes binding her wrists, and when the last strands were cut, she fell off of the cross and into my arms.

The monster in the woods roared again. Maybe it could see us taking its prize.

“Fuck that shit,” said Bear. “I’m outta here. I’m going to the tower. Anyone coming with me can follow. I’m not staying here.”

“Me neither,” said Mason. “I’m not hanging out with the sacrificial virgin.”

“Virgin. Yeah right,” Bear grumbled.

Trish rolled her eyes.

“We’re going to the castle,” I said. “We need the supplies there. And we need the water. Anybody thought of that?”

There was moment of doubt. Then Bear said, “I have water.”

“Me too,” said Mason.

I looked at Trish.

She looked at those men. She looked at Marine, whom I assumed was with me. Then she looked at me. The new girl leaned on me like a sloppy drunk. I struggled as I helped her stand on her feet.

Trish winced and shook her head.

“Sorry,” she said. “I’m with them.”

“Seriously? You feel safer with those guys?” I said. I couldn’t believe a woman would say that.

She answered, “Actually, yeah.”

Then she turned and joined the others. Bear smiled. So did Mason.

They turned to go down the hill. Before descending, Mason turned back and looked at Marine and me.

“Guess we should say good bye,” he said. “Good luck tonight.”

He had a weird smile on his face. At the same time, Marine and I said, “Fuck you!”

Watching half of our “team” descend down the hill, I had a very bad feeling, as if I’d literally cut my chances for survival in half. I had the urge to drop the woman I was helping and run to catch up with the group, saying, “Wait! Don’t leave me!”

But I didn’t. I looked at Marine. He was looking at the others, almost certainly thinking the same thing.

I turned to the woman. I shoved her off of me. She didn’t fall. That was a good sign.

I said, “Look, Clea, we’ve got to go. Now. You can stay with us if you can keep up, but we’re not slowing down. Not for you. Not for anything. You got that?”

The woman nodded.

The thrashing in the trees sounded closer.

“Time to go,” Marine said.