Meat

Ch 7

It was three a.m. when Quinn came and
knocked on my door. "What is it Q?" I asked, still half asleep. "I...I can't sleep. I keep thinking about the story that James told us. Do you think it's actually true?" I sighed and let her in. "Honestly, it probably is." Her eyes widened and she turned pale. "Quinn, look it's not a big deal it was a long time ago. 20 years I think? He's probably in prison." I said, trying to reassure her. "No! He said he never got caught!" She started choking out her words. "Veronica, I saw the man too." She said and suddenly my breathe caught in my throat. I knew I wasn't crazy. "R-really?" "Yes! Veronica, what if that's Neil!? What if the man we keep seeing in the woods is the cannibalistic killer!?" She cried. "Quinn, don't be rediculous. If anything he's just a huge pervert with no connection to the Internet okay?" She looked at me with a weird expression. "That doesn't make it better." I sighed. "I know. Now let's get to sleep. It's 3 am." I said and walked over to my bed. Quinn did the same and soon we were fast asleep.

-

We woke up around noon and started
getting ready. I couldn't sleep after Quinn told me she saw the man too. Soon, my mind wandered to if it really was the cannibalistic killer, but I knew that was ridiculous.

We go outside and James is there talking
to a tall red-headed girl about his age. "Morning." I said and James turned to me. "Oh, and this is my stepsister, Veronica and my younger sister, Quinn. Girls, this is Stephanie." He said and I shook her hand. "Call me Steph. It's nice to meet you!" She said with a southern accent and smiled. She had golden eyes and freckles.

"What the Fuck!?" Sissi screamed as she fell in a puddle. Soon, Jim showed up and started to help her. "Girls, please stop laughing, your sister is very stressed out." He said after he helped her out. He walked over to us. "You girls are up late. I specifically told you yesterday we were going on a hike. You should've been up earlier." He said with a disappointed look on his face.

"Oh no you're right Jim, it's all our fault,
You know what? Next time, our spirits will jump out of our bodies and shake them until we're awake! Oh, wait, you could do that! I almost forgot!" I snapped and rolled my eyes. His face turned a bright red "Veronica, I'm sick and tired of your attitude!" "Yeah? Well I'm sick and tired of you!" I cut him off. "Well, I guess that makes two of us!" He screamed and stormed away.

We all stood there, kind of shocked. "V, I-"
My mom started, but I cut her off "No, just, just shut up." I said, not looking at her once. She sighed and walked towards Jim. "C'mon, let's go get ready for the hike..." Quinn said and led me inside.

-

About halfway through the hike, Quinn, Steph and I get lost in some trees and seperated from the group. "Well shit." I murmur as I look around. "Where did everyone go?" Quinn asks. "I'm not too sure, but I know a way out. Follow me." Steph says. There's something odd about her. She almost seems....dangerous. I don't trust her just yet.

"So, you from around here?" I ask her.
"Oh, yeah. Lived here my whole life. Just me and daddy." She says and I nod. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your mother...?" Quinn asked hesitantly. "Oh, mama? She died when I was younger. Daddy said it was a bear or something. Her body was never found I guess. Said she died right before my granny did. Fate, or something." She chuckled. "I'm sorry about that." I smiled sympathetically "Don't be! It's the past! My daddy's good to me. Said I didn't need her anyway." I nodded, but started getting a strange feeling.

"So uh, where's your dad now?" I ask, almost afraid of her answer. She shrugs. "Probably at home with Martia. That's his girlfriend. He has a new girlfriend every month almost. But I got a good feeling 'bout Martia. She's nice, helps a lot with hunting and such." She says. "Look, there's the path." She points to a clearing and we start heading towards it.

Soon, we reached this old looking house
in the middle of no where. "We're home!" Steph jumped up and down and giggled. Quinn and I looked at each other. "Um, this...this isn't our cabin, Steph..." I said. "I know," she giggled. "But its mine! Come on in! Lemme introduce you to daddy!"

I looked at Quinn and shrugged as we walked
Inside. It was quite run down, but cozy. We stood awkwardly as Steph called for her father. "Daddy! Daddy, are you home?" She screamed. "Daddy, I brought guests!" My eyes widened as a tall man with black slicked hair and beady gray eyes came in, wearing a bloody apron and held a meat cleaver. "Daddy!" Steph ran up and hugged him and he held her with one arm. "Hey, darlin," he said with the same accent as Stephs. "Who did you bring over?" He asked, staring at us. "Daddy, this is Veronica and Quinn. I was on a hike with their family, and we got lost, so we came here!" She said. Suddenly, he smiled. "Hello, Veronica, Quinn. I'm Niel. I'm glad you could come tonight, you're just in time for dinner." He grinned and walked back into the kitchen.

Quinn looked at me with a worried
expressuon. I smiled slightly and followed Neil and Steph into the kitchen.

What could go wrong?