Craig looked up from his phone as their car hit the body, sending it into the windshield and over the roof. John screamed and hit his brakes, activating the ABS system until they came to a stop. The two of them looked at each other for a few seconds trying to figure out what had just happened. Craig looked out the cracked windshield as blood dripped towards the hood of the car, shattering the image of the sunset in front of them. John opened his door and got out of the car, putting his hands on top of his head.

“I can't believe this! I didn't even see him! We just killed a man! Craig, get out here and help me make sure he’s alright! Dammit Craig, get out!” He screamed as Craig sat there staring blankly through the windshield as the scene that just occured played back through his mind like a broken record. Craig's eyes shifted towards the rear-view mirror and saw the body laying in the road behind them. He grabbed the door handle and pushed it open, stepping outside. John began walking towards the body and Craig followed hesitantly behind him.

“Hello? Sir? Are you alright?” he said as he crept closer to the man.

“Obviously he’s not fucking alright! He’s laying in a pool of blood for God’s sake and his face isn’t even a face any-” John hushed Craig as they both got to the body and stood over it, staring at the carnage they had caused. John had crouched down and began to check the man’s pockets.

“What’re yo-”

“Checking for a wallet or some type of ID,” John interjected. “We at least need to know who this is when the police come and-”

“The police?! We are not getting the police involved in this. There’s no one for miles. We saw maybe one other car on the road the whole ride for this trip, I say we just leave and never talk about it again. I’m not going down for your reckless driving. How did you not see him in the road?” Craig began to pace back and forth as the stress washed over him and sweat began to form on his brow.

“I swear he came out of nowhere. One second the road was clear, and the next I just hit him! You know I’m a good driver. We’ve been dating for two years and never have I gotten a ticket or had an accident. If you ask me, this whole situation is just weird. And hey, look at this,” John said to him.

“I’d rather not go ba-”

“Just come here and look at this.” Craig let out a sigh as he turned back around and walked towards John, crouching beside him.

“What is it?” Craig asked as John pulled a pocket watch out of the man’s pants. It ticked faintly as they both looked at the cracked and bloodied face. As they watched the hands move, they stopped at 7:54. “I thought no one had these anymore”, Craig said as he flipped it over. On the back was inscribed 14 West Valley Drive.

Craig looked up and locked eyes with John, knowing exactly what was running through his head. Before Craig had even opened his mouth to interject, John stood up and began to reason with him.

“Craig, we have to go. What if he has a family? What if we stay the night? We

brought tents but they barely qualify as habitable. It’s at least worth a shot to go and see-”

“Yeah, but what if his family calls the police, if he even has any? Look at him

John, he’s a dirty man with tattered clothes. He was probably a hitchhiker for all we know. We’re not going. We can't go.”

“Why not? It’s worth a shot. The cops are going to be coming for us anyways. At least there we have a chance of hiding, and the others can come too.” Craig had forgotten about the others. Jesse and Pat were about an hour behind them in their own car. We were all supposed to meet up at the campsite and enjoy the long weekend, but now we probably ruined their plans Craig thought to himself. “Please, we can't just go on our whole trip… our whole lives, not knowing…”

“Fine,” Craig said reluctantly, “but I’m going to complain the whole time.”

“That was a given when we first got into the car, now let’s go before someone comes down the road… and text the others so they know where to meet us.”

The two men dragged the body to the side of the road and rolled it into the woods, leaving a trail of blood across the asphalt. They got back into the bloodied Santa Fe as the red liquid dripped down the white hood, and Craig plugged the address into his phone. Nothing came up.

“Are you sure it’s the right address?” John said to him as they started pulling away.

“Yes I’m sure. It’s not picking anything up. Do you have an atlas in here or something?”

“Glove box,” he said, not taking his eyes off of the road. Craig dug through all of the papers and napkins until he found the book and flipped through its pages. “Did you find anything yet?”

“I’m trying. It’s not everyday that I have to use one of these, now keep your eyes on the road and let me do my thing.” Craig dragged his finger over the road they were on until he found West Valley Drive. “Turn up here on the right, it should be down there somewhere.”

“Text the others and let them know where we’re going. Don’t mention the body or anything. We’ll wait until everyone’s settled in,” John said as he slowed down to make the turn. Craig took his phone back out and texted Jesse since he knew Pat was driving.

Hey, change of plans… Meet us at 14 West Valley Drive, the phones wont pick it up so use a map if you have it. It’s on the left off of the main road. See u soon, watch for deer. Lmk when you find the road.

His phone sent the text with the sound of a swoosh and it caught John’s attention.

“What’d you say?”

“What you told me. And I told them to watch for deer. We’ll tell them that’s what we hit ‘cause you know Pat’s gonna ask.”

“Alright,” John said as Craig’s eyes drifted down to his feet. “Hey Craig, I think we’re here.”

When they pulled into the driveway, they were suddenly swallowed by trees surrounding the gravel path that led their car uphill. Long driveway, Craig sent to the others. When they finally made it to the end, they parked in front of the log house. All of the lights were off and it looked like no one’s lived there in years. John got out of the car and started to unload the bags from the trunk. He knocked on the window causing Craig to jump slightly.

“Well don’t just sit there, go see if we can get in.” Craig got out of the car and walked to the front door. He raised his fist to knock but something seemed to stop him. He looked down at his feet once again and saw that he was standing on a doormat. He looked under it and there sat a brass key. He picked it up and put it into the lock, slowly turning until the door opened with a long, echoing groan.

Suddenly Craig was pushed aside as John walked in carrying the bags.

“Go get the rest of the bags, make sure you lock the car too”.

“Yes master...” Craig grumbled under his breath as he walked to the car. He said he loved me, but he sure as hell had a weird way of showing it, he thought to himself. Craig grabbed the rest of the stuff and walked into the house, closing the front door behind him. He dropped the bags and looked around. There were stairs on the left that led to another room, a room off to the right, and one in the center.  There was a kitchen on the right and a table sat in the center of the room. A furnace was in the corner and a bucket of ash rested beside it. Best of all, everything seemed relatively updated. John flicked a switch and the dusty old cabin suddenly became rustic and appealing.

Craig walked into the room right in front of him and it had a fireplace with a queen size bed in front of it. On the mantle sat what looked like an antique clock, its hands standing still at 7:54, but he didn’t notice . He made his way to the room on the right, which was a bathroom: nothing too interesting.

“Craig, come up here and look at this,” John’s voice echoed from upstairs. Craig walked out of the room and up the stairs, his hand gracing the bumps and cracks of the banister. When he got to the top, he was standing in front of two more beds, and a door swayed open in between them. Craig walked outside and looked out over the edge of the balcony.

The view from up there was breathtaking to say the least. The rolling hills stretched out to the horizon and the trees made them look like waves. The sun had just set and there didn’t seem to be any houses for miles. There was a tree sitting on the edge of the cliff under them, and a tire swing hung from its thickest branch, waiting for someone to swing over the cliff and feel like they were flying.

There was a honk from the front of the house, and they heard car doors close.

“That must be Jesse and Pat,” Craig said as he turned around and made his way back downstairs and out the front door. When he got outside, Jesse was unloading the bags while Pat stood in front of their Santa Fe with his arms crossed across his chest. He noticed Craig walk outside and gave him the look he always gives when he’s about to prove someone wrong.

“You told us to watch out for deer but it looks like you didn’t do a pretty good job. You must’ve mutilated that thing, your car is fucked.”

“Yeah, John didn’t even see him… it. It, the deer, kinda just jumped in front of the car and it was too late to stop or swerve,” he said as he glanced nervously down towards his shoes.

“Well are y’all gonna let the girl carry all the heavy bags inside? How did you find this place anyways?” Jesse said, breaking the silence between the two men.

“Here, let me grab some of those,” John interjected as he walked over to her extending a hand.

“You know I can get them all, I’m just busting your balls. I’m stronger than you anyways,” she gave a slight nod of her head and grinned as she walked inside carrying the bags. “But really, how did you stumble across this house?” Her voice glared from inside.

“Well, um. It’s kind of a funny story-”

John cut Craig off, which was probably for the better he thought to himself. “My uncle,” John said, “used to live up here and he still had this house. He said we can live here if we pussy out and don’t want to live in the woods. After we hit the… deer, I took him up on his offer.”

Jesse emerged from the doorway, her short curly hair bobbing with every step. “Well, it’s better than a dirty tent, so who wants to celebrate with some shots? I brought the good stuff with me.” She giggled as she went back into the house, and Craig watched through the window as she walked over to the kitchen and rummaged through a cabinet.

“Yeah, I’m getting torn up by mosquitos.” Pat slapped the back of his neck and made his way up the front stairs inside, John and Craig following behind him. Craig closed the door behind him and made his way to the kitchen with Jesse.

“So whatcha got for us tonight?”

“Malibu, Fireball, some peach schnapps, and this blue raspberry Svedka I’ve been dying to try. We’re gonna be feeling warm tonight after this is running through our veins. Go get some food for me, Love? We can't be gettin’ fucked up on an empty stomach.”

“Good point,” Craig said making his way to the cooler sitting by the door. He pulled out the sandwiches and cans of beans they brought for the trip. It wasn’t the best to mix with alcohol but it’s all they had.

“Perfect, throw those beans in a pot on the stove and we’ll really get cooking,” she said, obviously pleased with herself for making that terrible pun. “John, Pat, come out here and take some shots with me.” Almost instantly, they emerged from the rooms they were in and came over to the counter Jesse had placed the filled glasses on. They all grabbed one and drank it no problem, and Jesse began filling the glasses again. 1...2...3… another shot down the hatch.

“Let me work on these beans,” Craig said, walking over to the stove. They continued taking shots, laughing and talking mostly about the cabin and the ride up. After about ten minutes and seven shots later, Craig took the beans off the stove and had another shot with the others. Craig was never much of a drinker, so while he had his third, they were on their eighth. They all sat around the table in the center of the room and ate their sandwiches and beans, leaving the alcohol to sit while they chewed instead of sipped.

Pat leaned over to Jesse and whispered something in her ear, but Craig ignored it and continued scooping his beans into his mouth. Pat pushed his chair back and struggled to regain his balance after standing up.

“I’m gonna go take a leak outside, see you fuckers in a few. Don’t take any shots without me.”

“There’s a bathroom over there if you need it,” John told him as he started to slide his shoes on.

“Yeah, but how often can I pee outside at home without it being illegal? I’ll be back soon.” Jesse turned around and Pat flashed her a wink as he turned around and closed the door behind him.

While the three of them sat inside and talked and ate, Pat walked over to the tree resting on the edge of the cliff behind the cabin. He unzipped his pants and relieved himself, letting his urine trickle down over the cliff’s edge. He pulled his pants down and took off his shirt, waiting for Jesse to join him. He put his hands in his underwear and began caressing himself at the thought of what was about to occur. His penis throbbed and he bit his lip, letting out a slight moan that intertwined with the sounds of the bugs and animals in the forest around him. He heard a branch snap behind him, and without turning around spoke.

“I’ve been waiting all week for this moment. He over eagerly stripped naked, nearly falling over doing so. He regained his balance and continued to stroke his hand back and forth on his raging erection. He felt a breath on the back of his neck, and it turned him on even more. “I hope you’re ready because I’m going to have you screaming all night.” He turned around and was face to face with a man he had never seen before.

He was bald, heavy set, and nearly six and a half feet tall. He grunted deeply with every breath, spraying Pat with the putrid smell of his breath. His face was deformed, almost pig-like, and there was a sinister look in his dark, sunken eyes.

“Yo, what the fuck man, back off!” Pat pushed the man but he didn’t move. “Who the hell are you?!” He went to move his hands over his nearly lost erection. The man lifted his arm up, and the moonlight caught the edge of a rusty meat hook. His dirty lips curled and cracked into a devilish smile as he slashed it gracefully into pats neck, making sure he wouldn’t escape. He lifted a long blade with his other hand and swung it down forcefully, leaving Pat’s penis laying in the grass.

Pat began to let out gurgled pleas for help as blood spewed from his mouth and neck, but once again the man swung his arm at him. Pat’s head was split clean down the middle, and his dead weight fell on the hook in the man’s hand. He  pulled the hook out of Pat’s neck and began to hack away at the lifeless body, cutting it into pieces and chunks. Pat’s arms laid by his now bare torso, and his legs were thrown over the edge of the cliff. Behind the man from the cabin, the sound of a door closing broke the silence in the air. He dragged Pat’s dismembered body with him and hid behind the large oak tree, the tire swing swaying peacefully in the wind.

“Where you at? If you scare me I’m gon’ fffuckin’ kill you, I swear,” Jesse slurred as she walked over to the tree. The man stood behind it, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. She made it to the tire swing and ran her hand across its rubber, contemplating whether or not to sit there and wait for Pat.

The man emerged from behind the tree and swung the knife at Jesse. He missed and cut the tire from the rope instead, sending it bouncing and rolling towards the edge of the cliff. She screamed for help and tried to run away, but she slipped on the bloodied earth from where Pat was dismembered. The man grabbed her by her hair and dragged her over to the tree. He lifted her up as a small squeak left her throat from the pain. He threw her to the ground and kicked her in the face, stunning her long enough for him to set the preparations for her.

He wrapped the rope around his hook and tied it into a knot, leaving it hanging from the tree. He picked Jesse back up as her now muddied and bloodied face stared in terror at him. He put her back into the hook until it caught, then left her hanging there like a piece of raw meat waiting for the butcher to carve it. As she hung there, only a few of her toes touched the ground, giving her a sense of freedom that was just out of reach.

“Eat”, he said, bending over to pick up a chunk of flesh from the ground. He put his dirty hands over Jesse’s jaw and squeezed so that her mouth would open. She tried to struggle but every time she did she ended up sending the hook deeper inside of her. He rolled the warm, wet flesh in between his fingers for a second before shoving it down Jesse’s throat. She gagged at the warm coppery taste of the meat as it mixed with the mud from the man’s hands. She began to throw up, sending warm, acidic liquid towards the opening of her mouth. He forced his hand deeper down Jesse’s throat as chunky vomit squirted out of her nose and the gaps between her lips and his hand, until the piece of flesh was down and her lips stretched and began to split at the edges. He grabbed Jesse by her waist and pulled her pants down while she hung there helpless. She tried to struggle, but it was no use. .

He ripped her panties down and went back behind the tree to fetch more of what was left of Pat. She heard him hacking away and began to panic and cry even more, but no one seemed to hear her. He walked back around carrying something behind his back while he gripped the knife in the other hand. He raised the hidden arm in front of Jesse’s face and let out a deep, raspy chuckle, but she closed her eyes and turned her head. His smile quickly faded as he swung his other arm and slapped her with all his might across the face, causing her to spin and wobble from the rope. When she finally came to a stop, she opened her eyes and saw Pat’s blank, dead eyes staring back at her as the man held the split, dismembered head by its blond hair. He threw it aside and showed something else to her, but this time she refused to look away.

She stared at the limp piece of flesh in his hand, finally figuring out what it was. He clenched Pat’s penis as he grabbed one of her legs and pulled it away from the other. He punched his arm forward and shoved the penis into Jesse as she let out an agonizing cry from the sudden trauma. He kept pushing farther and farther as blood began to drip down his arm, encasing it in its warmth. Jesse squirmed and eventually the man retracted his red arm, leaving Pat’s penis deep inside her.

He turned away and was about to leave her there, but Jesse, finally defeated, grew silent. The man didn’t like this. He turned back towards Jesse and took out his knife. He began to swing at her midsection as if she was a piñata. She kept spinning around from the force of every blow, her intestines, blood, and other organs falling out of her and sloshing onto the ground. After she was nearly split in half, he turned away and began to walk towards the cabin, leaving her hanging there lifeless, her body still swinging.

Meanwhile, Craig and John were in the downstairs bedroom, Craig bobbing up and down on top of John. The smell of love and the sound of moans filled the air and floated out of the window they had opened. John looked deep into Craig’s eyes as Craig’s rolled into the back of his head. John’s eyes shifted towards the open window. The man watching from outside ducked just as John’s eyes had reached him.

“Craig”

“Oh yeah,” he moaned. “Say my name again, Baby,” Craig said as he kept riding John.
“No Craig, there was someone watching us from the window.” He pushed Craig off of him and sat up in the bed.

“It was probably Pat or Jesse.”

“I don’t think so. They’re off doing their own thing and this man… he didn’t look like anyone I’ve ever seen before. I’m going to go outside and see who it was,” John said reaching for his underwear.

“The hell you are! If there’s some crazy dude outside, we’re staying in the house,” Craig insisted as he began dressing himself, unsatisfied.

“Yeah but what about Pat and Jesse, we haven’t seen them in a while. They might be in trouble.”

“The only way they could be in trouble is that Jesse is in trouble of getting pregnant by Pat when the both of them have been in separate relationships for about two years now. You can’t go outside.”

Just then there was a bang at the front door, and it came crashing down with a loud thud. Craig and John ran out of the room as the man walked into the cabin. John grabbed Craig’s hand, pulling him towards the stairs to escape the man blocking their exit.

“Let’s go!” he screamed, as Craig looked back to the open window behind them. The two of them ran upstairs. Craig rolled under one of the beds and tried to control his breathing while John went out to the balcony to hide. The man trudged upstairs, blade in hand looking for the two men. He stood there… listening. Craig saw the bottom of his shoes and covered his mouth to try and muffle his heavy breathing. He heard a gasp from the balcony.

John looked out over the railing and saw Jesse hanging lifeless from the tree, Pat’s dismembered head laying on the ground under her. He turned around and was standing under the shadow of the man. John punched him in the face and the man stumbled back slightly, but it only angered the man. He let out a blood curdling, deep scream as he swung his blade at John, slicing his abs from one end to the other. His throat began to fill with blood and whatever noises he made sounded like an animal being mauled. John’s hands reached for his own stomach and came into contact with something warm and wet. He looked down and saw that he was cradling his guts.

The man reached into the incision and grabbed John’s small intestines. He lifted John up by his throat and flung him over the edge of the balcony, his intestines flying out of him as he fell. John’s small intestines ripped out of him as he hit the ground with a thud, his insides sprawled on the ground all around him. The man walked back inside and dropped the part of John he had been holding. It plopped right in front of Craig’s face as he lie under the bed, and he let out a slight cry.

The man grabbed the mattress and flung it to the side, revealing Craig, laying there helpless. The man raised his blade but Craig rolled to the side and took off running back down the stairs. The man threw his blade at him and it sliced Craig’s leg. He let out a scream from the pain but continued running out of the cabin, deeper and deeper into the woods.

He heard the heavy footsteps of the man behind him and knew he couldn’t stop or else he would end up like the others. As he continued running, his clothes began to get tattered and torn from the branches, and his face kept getting whipped. He stopped for a second to catch his breath, and listened to the sounds of the woods around him. No footsteps, he thought to himself. He felt his phone in his pocket and reached to grab it, but instead he pulled out the stop watch that they had found on the man, its hands now ticking.

Just then he heard a scream from the man and began to run again. Craig breached the trees and ran out into the side of the main road, debating whether to run right or left. He looked to his right and saw headlights coming down the road. He began to raise his arms and yell for help but the man grabbed him by his hair and lifted him into the air. He flailed his arms and legs, coming into contact with the man’s groin.

He dropped him and Craig ran out into the road waving his arms and yelling at them for help. Why aren’t they stopping, damnit! Craig looked at the man standing on the edge of the woods that killed his friends and his lover, but he didn’t try to kill him anymore. He simply just stood there, watching with a grin on his face, revealing his dark, broken teeth. Craig looked back in front of him on the road just as the car hit him, sending him into the windshield and over the top. He skid to a stop as pieces of flesh and hair were left behind on the cement.

The driver slammed on her brakes as her red hair flew in front of her face and her phone fell out of her hand. She pushed it aside and looked at her two startled children in the back seat, then at the time on the dashboard, 11:48. The stopwatch in Craig’s pocket stopped ticking, and the man went back into the woods, waiting for the fun to begin once again.