Haunted by the Past (Original)

Chapter 74

Heading back to the cabin where it all started and ended, we took a very wide detour through the woods to approach the remains of the cabin from the opposite side of the footpath. Of course that meant it took us a lot longer than I would have liked to reach it, but we wanted to approach it unnoticed for as long as possible.

"Yeah but if you were him, you'd expect us to come from the side, wouldn't you? I mean what idiot approaches a potential trap from the front," I argued as we marched through the uneven forest.

"The same idiot that goes 'Ah, but they expect me to come from the side so I'll approach from the front'," Eli joked. "The whole area is one big trap, but the front is where most of the surveillance will be, plain and simple."

"But this is so fucking annoying," I whined as I climbed over a fallen trunk blocking the way forwards.

The uneven forest floor, the constant ducking and pushing around branches, and the obstacles on the ground were absolute torture on my sore, bruised body after already spending the early morning hours already searching for Cameron. I wasn't going to tell Eli though. I didn't need him chastising me again for leaving the hospital. I also didn't need to give him reason to force me to stay behind, not that he could stop me.

"Ok, now we have to climb up that hill," he announced.

I leant over to catch my breath, then glanced up in the direction he was pointing, "Hill? That's a mountain, Eli."

"It's not that steep," he tried to assure me.

"Yes it is!" I balked.

"Look, you can use the roots as steps to climb up," he began to ascend the hill by stepping on the protruding roots. To maintain balance, he placed a hand on the tree next him. "Ok, it's a little steep."

I rolled my eyes, "Surely we can find a less steep slope if we go around."

Eli was now about halfway up the slope, gripping the sturdier branches to pull himself up, "It's really not that bad."

Groaning, I followed, trying to remember where best to place my feet as I went up. My thighs and calves burned with fire. I had to keep reminding myself mentally what was at stake. This was not just a casual walk through the woods. This was to save Cameron and bring justice to the person responsible for so many deaths.

"Remember what Mr. Osmond would say in gym class," Eli said from his comfortable position on the ledge. "'Pain is just weakness leaving your body!'"

"I wanted to murder Osmond every time he said that!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, well, he distracted you from the pain, didn't he?" Eli mused.

Just as I shot Eli a glare, my foot slipped and my knee painfully scrapped along some rocks, ripping my pant leg. The shock of the fall sent a massive wave of agony through my bruised ribs. Gritting my teeth, I tried my hardest in quietening the scream that escaped. Eli squatted down to offer me a hand, but out of frustration, I jumped back onto my feet and rushed the rest of the way up to the ledge.

"There's more!?" I said exasperated.

"Well, yeah, the cabin's at the top, remember?" he pointed out.

"So there was a less steep path," I narrowed my eyes.

"Yes, if we approach from the front," he shook his head. "But that was the worst of it. From here it's just a gentle rise to the top of the hill."

"Mountain," I clarified.

"Ok, fine," he rolled his eyes. "But from here on out, we need to move quietly."

I nodded in understanding. Eli had spent the first part of the hike making sure I knew the basic combat hand gestures. And making me swear to stay close behind him.

We travelled another quarter of a mile uphill in silence. I stepped where Eli stepped, and he stepped slowly in places that would generate the least amount of sound. It was an agonizingly slow process, but as we approached the clearing, we were confident that we hadn't been noticed. Or if we had, our enemy didn't try to stop us.

Eli had us duck behind a large shrub while he pulled out his phone to examine the clearing. Through his camera, we saw Cameron slumped up against a pile of the cabin rubble, but we didn't see anyone else. Eli zoomed in to check for movement around the forest edge. Then he examined the treetops. Wondering if he saw something I missed, I waited for confirmation from him.

Eli paused for a few extra moments, then motioned with his hand for me to check on Cameron. As I passed him, he drew his gun and turned off the safety.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped cautiously out from the trees. I expected something to happen, but all was quiet. Shuffling carefully forwards, I kept an eye out for wires or disturbed patches of dirt, which would be clear indicators of traps. Not that we expected Triple-6 to be utilizing anything deadly, it didn't fit his modus operandi, but that didn't mean they wouldn't try to immobilize us.

Cameron though was disturbingly still. While I tried to take the utmost care in my approach, the closer I got, the more I panicked. By the time I was within a few yards of him, I ran to his side. Cold and stiff, he was barely breathing.

"Cameron! Wake up please!" I lifted his head off the ground.

His glassy eyes slowly slid to the side and his cracked lips moved to mouth words to me, but it was unintelligible.

"Call 911!" I screamed.

Eli grabbed my shoulder and tried to pull me away from Cameron, "It's too late for him."

"No! No, it isn't!" I snapped.

"Oh my God, what's going on?" a female voice exclaimed behind us.

Caught by surprise, we both spun around to see Meredith approaching us. Eli immediately lowered his gun at the sight of her.

"What are you doing here!?" Eli went to her. "You have to get out of here now!"

"I got sent a disturbing photo of Cameron. Is he dead?" Meredith questioned.

"Shit," I muttered under my breath.

Not bad, throw Eli off by adding Meredith to the mix. This complicates the situation.

"Meredith! Go home now!" Eli ordered.

"Wait!" I interrupted. "Did you come alone, Mere?"

"Well, yeah, I was told to come alone," she shrugged.

Eli dropped his shoulders and rubbed his head in frustration, "Why would you do that!? Did you learn nothing after being kidnapped!?"

"Excuse me?" Meredith said offended. "I learnt plenty."

Out of nowhere I heard the sudden spark of a taser and Eli fell to the ground, convulsing. I jumped up from my position by Cameron's side in shock, my eyes darting back and forth as I tried to comprehend what was happening. Eli was lying on his side twitching with all of his muscles cramped up while Meredith slinked towards him, her face twisted into a sadistic grin.