Patty's stomach dropped the moment he felt the cold metal plate under his foot. It took both an hour and half a heartbeat for the jaws of the bear trap to snap up and clamp around his leg.
He didn't even feel much pain at first, but as he collapsed into the snow and his brain caught up with it all he bit his tongue and begged whatever god was watching to not let him scream.
If they didn't catch him he could still make it. He couldn't be too far from the cabin now, he'd be able to call for help over the radio there. Someone had to hear it and come.
He pushed himself up, gasping and listening for the sounds of pursuit as he looked at the steel teeth buried in his leg. No one was following him yet, but he'd left clear tracks in the snow from the house to the woods. They'd only have to look outside and see them to know where he'd gone.
He fumbled with the springs, his numbing hands sticking hopelessly to the icy metal. Fuck his uncle and his modified bear traps. It wasn't enough to just trap intruders, apparently, they had to be punished for daring to trespass here.
He shook violently and rubbed his shoulders, wishing that he'd had time to at least get a coat before escaping into the night. How long did he have?
He tried again to open the trap, but was met with the same sickening failure. It must've jammed. He shuffled over to the spikes holding the chain down, but his hands didn't even have the dexterity to get a tight grip on them.
Crying did nothing to get the trap loose, but it felt good. He let himself sob for a while, heart falling to pieces as he finally connected the dots between the knife and Mom's throat.
She was dead. Dad was probably dead. He'd heard his sister die. He wondered if they'd killed Grandma too. Maybe they'd forget about her, upstairs in her bed. She so rarely left it now. He wondered what would happen to her if her existence slipped their minds.
Something moved in the underbrush, stilling Patty. He slowly laid down, barely feeling the cold now. Maybe they'd think he was already dead. He'd stopped shivering and congratulated himself for the self-control, ignoring the small voice that said he wasn't controlling it.
The sounds grew louder. He held his breath, watching the trees. Relief flooded him when a deer poked its head out. They hadn't found him.
He knew he should get back to opening the trap, but he didn't want to move and scare the deer. It was such a pretty creature. The stars were pretty too. They were so clear tonight, billions of them glittering above him.
It wasn't all that cold. He could lay still just a little longer.