In The Dead of Night Book 1 & 2

Chapter Nineteen

                                                                Chapter Nineteen

I quickly ran out of the bedroom screaming to Stacey, "she is gone, she is not in the cabin, the window is open!"

I grabbed the .45 pistol and a lever action 30-30 with scope and a box of shells for both and my hunting knife, tucking it and the .45 into my jeans hollering at Stacey to grab a pistol and watch the windows but stay inside. Slinging the rifle over my shoulder and running out the door around the side of the cabin as fast as I could through the deep snow, now about four feet deep, with the wind blowing like it is her tracks wouldn’t last real long. I found where she exited and took off in her path mumbling under my breath of how stupid she is, wearing pants, a t-shirt and maybe tenishoes out in this weather she would freeze to death. Shortly zipping up my hoodie and tightening the hood, I continued running in her path darkness was coming rather quickly but with the moon and the snow visibility is still decent providing the wind slows down. I followed the tracks  close to a mile already in this deep of snow, I do not know how she made it this far in the cold weather with barely any clothes, not knowing where she is. She’s running on nothing more than shear and complete fear and determination to live, she doesn’t know I have no intentions of killing her though.

I can hear a howl in the distance, if I do not find her soon the wolves will get her for sure. I kept running in her path but the wind was starting to cover it, making me question if I ever would find her. My body was weakening, sweat pouring down my chest and back and legs my heart rate racing, lungs burning still pushing on the best I could. I knew she could not possibly be doing much better, I estimate I have gone close to three miles now and I felt as if I was going to drop, then I realized I was but maybe another two miles from the ranger station. She couldn’t possibly know that though, she is running on hope and luck I have to find her before she gets to the station.

I push myself to keep running, my lungs burning worse, legs on fire. How long has she been gone? Shit she could already be at the station, I stop back about 200 yards away, I can see the glow of lights in the window of the rangers cabin. I drop to the ground and begin to crawl the rest of the way till I’m just barely covered by the tree line, looking at the cabin. I see a ranger outside shoveling around the snow mobiles franticly, power is out in town, I know they can’t contact the police department in weather like this. They couldn’t possibly be considering coming after me on their own, I unsling the rifle from my shoulder and uncap the scope peering through it, aiming into the window of the cabin seeing the girl and two more rangers giving her warm blankets and a cup of coffee. As she is crying and seemingly telling them everything, they're attempting to calm her down. Darkness has set in however the glow of the moon on the snow is perfect enough light to take a shot if I need to but there are three rangers here tonight that I can see, anyway there could be more though. I doubt they would have more than three up here at one time, the first shot I take is going to tip them off and at best I’ll get the guy outside shoveling. I don’t know that I’ll get another shot from here at the two inside, so at best the situation is going to be a guessing game.

I’ll take out the guy outside with my knife, he shouldn’t hear me coming with all the noise he is making shoveling. I begin creeping up behind him slowly till I am so close I could breathe on his neck, I quickly throw an arm around his face pulling my knife from my jeans, I slit his throat so deep the knife scrapes against the bone as the steam hot crimson blood spews down him. I drag him off into the tree line then chop off a branch with my knife and use it to cover my tracks and the enormous amount of blood laying back down under cover of branches, I unsling my rifle once again watching them inside waiting for my next opportunity. It took a while but I could make out the larger man instructing the other ranger to check on their guy outside, I watched him disappear out of sight of the window. I aimed the barrel on the front door and waited the door opened and the ranger walked out hollering for Jim and glancing around for him, I aimed for his left leg praying the sights were accurate I exhaled and squeezed the trigger followed by a thunderous roar as the rifle fired striking true to the man’s leg completely taking out his knee cap. As he screamed for James the man inside, I watched James disappear from window view, I cocked the lever of the rifle reloading it and aimed the rifle for the door as James come running outside to help his partner. I exhaled and squeezed the trigger again following a thunderous roar of the rifle firing this time striking James in the head, dropping him in his very tracks, cocking the lever of the rifle once again and stared down the scope aiming at the man’s head as he cried for help. I exhaled and squeezed the trigger with yet another thunderous roar of the rifle firing it struck the man right through his left eye, killing him instantly. I turned the rifle back to the window spotting the girl peering out, screaming then running across the room to the back door.

I jumped up and ran to the snow mobiles, firing one up and blasting my way through the snow around back of the cabin, following the girls path till she was in my head lights. I slowed down taunting her as she ran crying and screaming, I let her run close to another mile before I decided to play a game with her. Stopping the snow mobile, jumping off running through the trees to her right side, at just enough distance that I could maintain visual of her but remain unseen by her, I creped around as quietly as a predator stalking there pray; crouched down. She realized the sound of the snow mobile had stopped and so did she, spinning in a circle sniveling like a child, she stared into the dim trees trying to spot me but she couldn’t. She began to cry and beg me to just let her go, she would never tell, I struggled not to laugh though it was difficult. She began walking away as she gasped and cried, I followed beside her yet away by about 200 feet out of site, as she gazed around watchfully. I sped up a bit and gained about 1000 feet of ground in front of her and crouched down behind a tree waiting for her a few moments later, she gained closer and closer to me till she was right next to me and didn’t know it. I grabbed her ankles and pulled her legs out from underneath her, as she fell into the snow, I climbed on top of her straddling her and laughing she raised her knee with great force as she screamed striking me in the groin, taking my breath away. As she jumped back up and ran as fast as she could, I regained my composer more angry then before and set back out after her running as fast as my tired burning legs would carry me. It took close to a mile but I finally caught up to her and tackled her back to the ground striking her in the face with my elbow, knocking her out.

I returned to my feet and caught my breath, my body too weak to lift her, I grabbed her hair in a fist full and began dragging her back towards the snow mobile. By the time we reached the snow mobile she had awaken screaming from the pain of being dragged by her hair, I pulled the .45 pistol from the back of my jeans and pointed it down at her head.

"Listen you stupid little girl, I have gone to a great deal of trouble to spare your life more than once up to this point but you are really trying my patients. This is no way to show appreciation for me keeping your ass alive, now with that said I’m tired, I’m cold and I’m in pain. If you don't shut the hell up and if you try to fight me one more time, I will have my way with you right here and then put a bullet in your head without batting an eye, do you understand me?"

The girl cried and mumbled, "yes, just please don’t hurt me."

"Get up right now and get on the snow mobile, just remember what I said before, you do anything stupid..."

She got up and slowly walked to the snow mobile, swinging a leg over the seat as she trembled from the cold and fear. I assumed I swung my leg over the back of the seat behind her sitting down, I pressed my body firmly against hers, wrapping my gun hand around her waist and aiming the pistol against the bottom of her chin firmly, as I used my free hand to start the snow mobile and drive it back to the cabin.