A few minutes earlier
"What the fuck are we supposed to do, Walt?!" Warrick shout-whispered, crouching behind the parked truck with his brother. The twin's car was parked a little distance away out of sight on the single road that led to this clearing in the forest. "So? What's the plan? You're supposed to be the smarter twin!"
"While I one hundred percent agree that I'm smarter, could you shut up for one second? I'm trying to think here."
"But there's no time to think! Who knows what those guys are doing to Ever right about now?"
Walt groaned, racking his brain for a way to get Ever back without having to deal with those intimidating men, especially the one that carried the girl inside the cabin. However, it seemed that option simply wouldn't be possible. In that case, perhaps the simplest method might prove the most effective.
"How about we just knock on the door?" he suggested, which earned a very disappointed look from his brother.
"Are you serious, Walt? Have you never watched a horror movie before? Come on, look at our surroundings! There's a cabin in the middle of the fucking woods! I'm willing to bet those men that took Ever are cannibals."
"Now, you've watched way too many horror movies. What are the chances of us ever actually encountering cannibals?"
"We live in a universe where ghosts, zombies, and werewolves exist. Literally anything's possible, Walt."
"...Good point."
"Wow, what do we have here?" Bradley said, who had heard the twins' not-so-quiet bickering while walking to the truck. "Looks like we'll be feasting tonight."
"You see?" Warrick said. "I told you they were cannibals."
"Is that really what you're thinking about right now, you idiot?"
"Hey, I'm not an idiot, or else I would've been in the previous book."
"Shut up and run, you idiot—"
But it was already too late as Bradley grabbed the two boys and hauled them over his shoulders.
. . .
"Now, you boys sit here and read through that pamphlet, alright?" Bradley said, placing the twins on the sofa with a copy of "The Cannibal Club's Official Guide to Being Eaten."
This was after Ross had fastened their feet with zip ties to avoid another lost meal. But the cannibals agreed to keep their hands free so they could read through the pamphlet more easily. They were very adamant about them reading it.
"Hey," Warrick said to Bradley, who remained standing by the sofa to keep an eye on the prey. "Which section of the pamphlet are we supposed to read? 'Sorry, you're about to die' or 'Sorry, you're about to be disfigured, but you'll live for now'?"
Walt snatched the pamphlet out of his hand. "Forget that shit. What happened to Ever?"
"Oh, you mean the missy?" Bradley asked. "She ran away with all her body parts just before I found you two."
Walt let out a sigh of relief that at least Ever was able to make it out of here okay.
His brother, on the other hand, exclaimed, "Fuck, Walt! I knew we should've waited in the car!"
Walt narrowed his eyes at him. "What do you mean we? You said I should go alone while you would wait in the car."
"At least you would be the only one stuck here, then. And I could've met up with Ever."
"One of you still would need to come for me in that case."
"......"
"...You would come and get me, right?"
"......"
"You guys can eat him first."
Before anyone could agree to that, the door burst open.
"Hey!" a new man greeted, entering the cabin. The door blocked the twins' view of him.
"Tom!" Bradley said with delight. "You're not going to believe this. We have not one, but two catches tonight. Twins!"
"Twins?" Tom shut the door and turned to the boys on the sofa. His eyes widened with surprise. "You two!"
"Tom?" Walt and Warrick said together.
"You know each other?" Ross asked, walking into the living room while Peter finished up the soup.
Tom nodded. "These kids are my neighbors."
"Thank god," Walt sighed. "Looks like we can get out of here now."
"What are you talking about?" Tom said.
"Like you said, we're your neighbors."
"Yeah," Warrick added, "so you'll let us go."
Tom shook his head. "You're awfully mistaken. You may live next door to me, but we're still going to eat you."