The Nature of Evil
Ch. 2
Chris awoke first to darkness. By the position of the moon he figured they'd been out only a couple of hours. He had a splitting headache and had to sit back down. He took some aspirin to try and get some relief. His eyes slowly adjusted with the help of the moonlight which barely made it through the canopy. When he put the aspirin back into his backpack he saw movement out of the corner of his eyes. It was Matthew slowly coming to. Matthew was groaning a lot and his vocalizations weren't discernable. Chris just figured it was a headache. The moaning then turned to screams of agony. Chris lowered himself to see what was wrong with his friend. When he finally got Matthew turned over he himself let out a yell of horror. Most of Matthews ventral side flesh had been removed. Any part where skin was exposed was where it was missing. Chris could only stare in disbelief at is flayed friend. Chris was knocked out of his trauma induced trance by Matthew's screams. Chris didn't know what to do with the inconsolable half-eroded man. His decision was made for him as the yells subsided. Matthew Edwards, his co-worker and one of his few friends, died there in his arms.
After a few minutes of mourning, Chris got up and tried to sort things out. He wanted to do something with the body but realized that he needed to get out of there. Whatever did this atrocity to his friend was very likely still around. A little rustling coming from behind him in a thicket helped him make his mind. There was no time for any sentiments now, he had to move. Chris looked and saw what might be the trail they took and darted in that direction. Behind him was his lifeless friend, thousands of dollars worth of equipment, and a potential killer.
When Chris had run at least a mile he realized that this was not the right trail. It was a trail of some sort but one that led deeper into the woods. He hadn't noticed the trail earlier and thought it odd how easily it was discerned in the darkness. The sounds behind him had ceased shortly after he started his run which made him doubt the existence of the killer. But something had to have done that to Matthew, he thought.
Chris decided to stop there and catch his breath. He needed to find a way out of the woods and get the authorities. He also needed to get Matthew's body and retrieve the equipment. However, he thought, I have to survive first. While thinking to himself he thought he heard faint talking. Chris had never had much confidence in his will power or sanity so he began to worry for he thought he was losing his mind. Chris walked around trying to regain his sanity but was almost relieved when he realized that the voices were actually coming from a clearing up ahead. Chris started to walk to the voices when another frightening realization came. What if they were the killers.
Chris was turning around to go back when a flashlight was shone his way. Fear ran through every part of him. His stomach was sinking so fast that it felt like it was about to exit the way it sent so many of its digested victims. Ultimately he froze except for the quivering brought on by complete horror. "Hold it right there," one of his captors said, "we have a gun on you." Chris's tongue felt as big as a cinder block so he didn't have much to say. "Turn around and come in very slowly," the same captor said. When Chris finally turned around he was blinded by the light so he couldn't make out his final acquaintances.