Mastim's Curse

Chapter 25

Jogging away from the water's edge, my soul feels weighted by the ghosts of two dead men, the one directly at my hands and also the sandy haired teen that begged for my help and received nothing. As I continue to get closer to the source of the yowling it affects me in a primal way, calling to that dark presence inside me like a kindred spirit. In a short time, the pit itself comes into view. A few people with solemn faces stand near the large depression where the dogs must be. A few of them give guarded glances at my approach but quickly lose interest in me as they return to looking down into the gaping pit. Curiosity pulls me to the edge revealing a pack of snarling pit bulls standing guard over the bell. But that's not what everyone is staring at. A mutilated body lays in the dirt at the bottom of the pit with a knotted rope hanging down the side of the pit nearby. A stick still clutched in their dead hand. The face is so badly mauled and torn that I'm not sure who it is. The guy next to me makes a gaging sound and then turns to throw up on the ground. Even my stomach is feeling queasy at the gruesome sight.

How are we supposed to ring this bell? Too late, I realize that there may have been something back at the pond that was meant to help here. The way the straw helped with the ice trap. Even so, it probably was on the island. If there was something in the ice trap to help with the alligators, I missed it completely. I give myself a big mental kick for missing that opportunity. You have to pay attention to everything here or you're going to end up dead. There's no room for mistakes.

I feel something is wrong right before there's a heavy shove to my back that pushes me to the edge of the pit. My foot slips causing me to fall to the ground with one leg hanging over the side. I twist to grab at the dirt and sharp rocks in a last ditched effort to keep from falling in. For a moment, I cling onto the edge until a hard kick to my face turns the world black.

The world is a fuzzy place, full of pain. A feeling of alarm forces me to open my eyes to the sight of bared fangs inches from my face. With a shout, I pull myself up onto my feet and away from the dog about to bite me. This dog is the biggest pit bull I've ever seen and he looks half mad with his wild eyes and frothing mouth. I look up to find the bitch that pushed me and see my evil neighbor Kyle laughing down at me. My inner darkness bursts free, flooding my body with a dark rage that comes forth in the form of a blood curdling howl more frightening than any banshee from hell. The scream of darkness and black death wipes the smile off his face and stops the pack of advancing dogs in their tracks.

Nothing is going to stop me from killing this pathetic man. Kyle is going to die and it's going to be a hot and bloody death. First, these dogs have to be dealt with. The largest dog, which I suspect is the leader, moves closer with his mouth frothing as he snarls at me. He seems to be about to pounce, so I turn the tide by lunging at him first. He yelps in surprise and jumps back to avoid me. The other dogs instinctively give us room to await the outcome of our battle for dominance. But I'm not here to be leader of the pack. I make a feint to the left side of the leader so I can maneuver closer to the bell. He snaps at me and draws blood on my left forearm as I dodge and rake my nails across his eyes. That brings a whelp of pain from the dog and gives me a chance to ring the bell.

The small gathering of people at the top cheer for me, that is, except for Kyle. His face is full of hate right now, but it's going to be full of pain and terror when I get out of here. There's a rope, but climbing it without these doges attacking me is going to be a trick. The huge dog and I each stand our ground, both of us coiled to strike when a voice calls from the top. It's Mike with the spear, and he has something dangling from his right hand that I can't make out.

"You can borrow this, but I want it back," he says before tossing the spear down to me. I catch it with relish. This is exactly what I need.

Mike swings the mass in his right hand around in an arc before throwing it at the pack below. As it comes down, a mesh of netting material spreads out over a wide area and covers most of the dogs within its webbing. The leader is one of those not caught by the net, but it's no match for me now. I show no mercy, and the fight is soon over.

Mike climbs down and pats me on the back before ringing the bell.

"Thanks, for the help," I say.

He pats me on the back. "No problem. It's all part of the fun right?" His smile is a sad one.

"Right..." I motion to the rope. "You go first while I watch these dogs. That nets not going to hold them much longer." One of them has almost worked their way out.

"Ok boss." He gives me a wink.

He climbs back up while I cover his exit. Once he's up, I toss the spear back up to Mike before quickly climbing out just as one of the doges get loose. Fire flows through my veins with desire to settle with Kyle, but there's no sign of him.

The guy in red, Fred, comes up to us and asks Mike for use of his spear so they can take care of the remaining dogs. While Mike debates with him, one of the girls standing nearby notices my searching glance, points to my left. "That asshole ran off into the trees."

The pain of cuts and bruises along with the deep frost bite my body has suffered is put aside in the heat of the hunt as I run along the path through the trees. I pull up short when the sound of an air horn cascades across the area. It's followed by the familiar, but distant sound of Bryan Rockwood's muffled voice over loudspeakers. His voice is too distorted to clearly make out what he's saying, but it's bound to be important.

The fire inside me starts to fade while the reasoning part of my brain takes over. I've completely lost track of time. Maybe that horn means our time is up and this event is over. If so, what a relief... But I'm in no mood to cooperate by peacefully going back to my cell. The drone that's been following me isn't in sight so I duck behind one of the larger trees to ponder my next move. More blasts from air horns rake the air and now the sound of vehicles joins in. They're coming for us. Killing Kyle will have to wait until the next time we meet.

There's no reason to make this easy for them, so I hunker down further with my back to the tree letting the surrounding shrubs hide my dirt and sweat covered body from view. Now I notice that my arm is bleeding freely where I was bitten in the pit. This is going to get infected for sure without some meds. I find a spot on my shirt that seems to be less dirty and press it down hard on the wound, trying to ignore the stinging pain. The flow of blood slows enough to satisfy me so I let up the pressure a little and keep my eyes sharp for anyone that might be coming this way. The distant sounds of shouting are joined by gunfire giving evidence of unpleasant things going on in the direction of the dog pit. I wonder how long it'll be until they come looking for me. There's no evidence of cameras nearby so maybe they don't know I'm even here. I pull more of the nearby plants onto me for cover and settle down to wait.

My hopes fade when the sounds of yelling and orders being barked starts to sound closer. They're clearly coming down the trail near me. If I hold still, they might not see me behind this tree. Soon, I can hear them talking.

"Tracker says she's close. Keep your eyes open," a gruff voice says nearby.

Tracker? I feel around my clothes with my hands but don't find anything and then look down at the brand new athletic shoes that were provided. I quickly peal them off and start crawling on my belly to a new location.

"There she is," a voice says from way too close. "Where you going Nicolette?"

Damn it. A hasty glance behind me reveals two men in hunting clothes pointing assault rifles at me. Crouching on my keens, I consider making a run for it. Before making up my mind, the closer of the two shoots the tree next to me. Wooden splinters explode with more than a few making their new, painful home in my side.

One hand reaches for the new gash on my side while my other signals my surrender. "Ok... Ok... I get the point."

"You better or the next bullet is gonna spoil your date with Aleale," says the man that fired the shot.

The mention of Aleale causes a reaction from me that even he notices. "That's right... According to the scoreboard, you got high points for her. So behave, and you're going to be flying high tonight." A large grin spreads across his face showing his discolored teeth and both men chuckle lewdly.