Mastim's Curse

Chapter 38

We lie side by side regaining our strength until the sounds of a struggle nearby rouses us. A woman's scream is followed by sounds of combat. The sounds become more frenzied as we both wearily get to our feet, ready to run if we need to. The crazed sound of battle re-energizes me. A man yells as if his body is being torn apart. There's no doubt that we're hearing a fight to the death. And then his voice goes quiet. Now only the cries of a woman can be heard. There is a final scream more soul rending than any I've ever heard, and then the woman's voice also falls silent.

"We're all going to die," Suzie says in a quiet voice. "All of us."

I give her a hug and can feel that she's shaking again. "We're going to survive this just to spite them, and someday... Someday soon, I'm going to hunt them all down and kill them." The last part I say with conviction.

She looks at me solemnly. "I believe you will."

We start down our new path. The light ends at the treadmill, and after the first turn, the passage beyond becomes so dark that we have to feel our way with our hands and feet. Unfortunately, we seem to be heading closer to where the sounds of that last fight came from. Then, after a turn in the passage, we see a door. Along the other edges of the door, where it doesn't quite fit to the door frame, light flashes are coming from the room behind it, as if lit by silent streaks of lightning. The walls are splattered with vulgar profanity and written on the door is, "The path to God is here". Suzie stops cold, and for a long moment, we stare at the door in silence.

It's hard to see because of the way the graffiti covers them, now I realize there is a door to our left and one to our right. Only, these doors have no handles and we can't' find a way to open them. The only door with a handle is the one with God's path.

"I don't want to go in there," Suzie whispers as the flashing light reveals her ashen face.

I should be ashamed of my feelings. Deep down, I crave more bloodshed. A lustful smile comes to me and I raise the bloody hunting knife to my mouth and kiss its hard blade. The taste of fresh blood on my lips is the sweet nectar of the dead. I feel Suzie staring at me and our eyes meet.

She says, "If we ever make it out of here, you might want to get therapy for those issues you have."

Therapy... right. "The last time I saw a therapist, she told me never to come back."

She opens her mouth to say something but closes it and looks away.

"Are you ready?" I ask.

"No." she says softly.

I put my hand on her shoulder. "We need to do this."

"I know, but I'll never be ready, so just do it."

"Ok, here we go." I've seen some crazy shit in my life, but none of it compares to the appalling sight that greets us when I open the door. The flashing light reveals a scene so horrific that even the sound of Suzie vomiting on the floor next to me doesn't distract me from gaping. Among a macabre collection of tattered coffins and weathered tombstones, are the sources of the screams we heard earlier. One is a mutilated woman hanging upside down from the ceiling by her ankle. She's completely naked and has been slit open like an animal with her intestines dangling down over her chest and onto her partner who is sprawled out on the straw covered floor. What's left of him is still chained to her. She's bad but he's positively grotesque. His body looks like it's been through a vegetable slicer that has shredded him into a pile of torn flesh and blood. I've never seen the effect of a chainsaw on a human before and hope I never will again. I swallow hard to keep down the bile that is rising in my throat.

The flashing light only amplifies the eeriness of the scene with each flash showing the picture of broken decorations and fresh blood splattered all over. I can only imagine the horror this couple was subjected to. They didn't have a chance. This place isn't about giving people a fighting chance. It's a grisly horror show where the home team has all the advantages.

Speaking of which, where's the bounty hunter. He's nowhere in sight. I don't like it. There are a lot of places he could be hiding in here. Or it could be he's just off taking a leak. If so, we might be able to get through this room before he gets back. There are three doors on the far wall, one of which must lead to the way out. We just need to pick the right one. First things first, we have to get across this room without setting off any traps.

"It looks like that girl stepped into a snare, so we need to be extra careful. They're going to be hidden under this hay or maybe triggered by any of the props so don't touch anything." There is so much crap in here cluttering the floor that they could have a butt load of traps set up.

When Suzie doesn't answer, I turn back and find her huddled in a tight knot against the wall apparently paralyzed with fear. This really is too much for any normal person to endure.

I kneel next to her and put down the knife so I can pull her into my arms. I whisper that we'll be ok, and that we'll get out of here soon. The truth is that I don't expect either of us to live to see morning. Images of Dad and Jaidee invade past barriers put up to keep emotion out and a tear slides down my cheek to fall on my bloodied shoe. I rock her in my arms like a baby until her trembling subsides.

With an effort, I push my emotions into deep recesses where they will not interfere with what must be done here. "I'm sorry, but we need to keep moving."

She gives a weak nod.

I grab the sharp blade lying next to me and stand straight, focusing on the dark lust coiled inside me. It swells at my touch. My voice becomes rock grinding against steel. "Now we become the hunters."

"Suzie, we're going to crawl on the floor looking for traps as we make our way. All you have to do is stay close behind me and keep your eyes open."

"Ok," she says. "Be careful."

I start looking for a good path to the doors then tuck the knife under my belt and get down on all fours to start a cautious crawl forward. It doesn't take long to find something. My fingers come across a taunt wire only a few feet in front of us.

"Found one." I trace it to the left and right. It seems to run from the left wall to one of the coffins on our right. "We just need to step over it and we'll be ok."

"Alright," Suzie says.

"Let me check the other side first." I run my hands over the area we are going to step and find that the ground feels soft in one area. I feel around on the spot and suddenly my arm is just about pulled out of its socket as I am hauled to the ceiling with a powerful jerk.