Lucky 17

Original Idea by: Scraps

Characters created by: Katie Rice

Chapter 4: Manhunt

[*]

Ooooh…

Do what you want to do.
There ain't no rules it's up to you.
It's time, do what you do.
There ain't no rules it's...

I clicked the alarm off and laid in my bed, looking up at the ceiling above me. A nice dark stained wood finish glistened with the sunlight that was beginning to creep into the room through the blinds. As I watched the eggshell colored fan slowly rotate in the center of the celling. I finally sat up in the bed and stretched my arms. Letting out a muffled groan and a yawn before I looked to the clock, which read 6: 25 A.M. I then stood up and pulled up blinds and looked out to the vast forest before me. This sight reminded me of the old Boy Scout camps that I want to when I was a kid. In the distance, I could see a large opening with an array of small buildings in the distance. While I could not see who resided there, I had a hunch that said buildings were part of the settlement of Camp Weedonwantcha, where a certain little girl by the name of Seventeen resided.

"Today's the day little one. It's time for your big day." I said to myself, a pang of nervousness washed over me. "The question though is: Are you ready for this?"

I then looked to my hands and remembered what was going to be done. I clenched my hands for a minute before I looked back out to the vast forest before me. No one would know I was going to do this. Not my parents or friends, nor the authorities. Just me, the EHC, and God himself.

"Are both of us ready for this?" I said softly before I trudged towards the shower.

It was a decent shower, not as hot as I like it, but not cold enough to freeze your ass off. There was a complementary shampoo provided, but I preferred to use my own shampoo because of the mint eucalyptus. After a nice shower, I walked back into my room and gathered the clothing that I would be wearing for the trip. While in the scouts, my dad taught me how to dress appropriately in the event something happens while you are camping. Which is why I brought along a nice pair of breathable nylon shirts, socks, and undergarments. After putting on a nice forest green shirt. I then put on my nylon undergarments, socks and pair of navy green cargo shorts. I liked these kinds of shorts because they always came with spare pockets that were useful for carrying things, such as my car keys and cellphone.

After this, I strapped on my watch, which read 7:10 A.M, and walked into the kitchen, where I made a nice breakfast of bacon, granola cereal and toast with a glass of orange tea. As I sat down to eat my breakfast, I looked at the map of the Weedonwantcha area.

Obviously, the camp itself is built out of a bunch of old camp buildings, such as the cafeteria, administration office, and library. There is apparently some sort of a sister camp nearby, noted as the Ropes Course, but that's not what I'm focusing on. Nearby the cafeteria, there is a small group of camp houses, this is most likely the place to begin searching. However, the first thing to do is to find the camp, which according to the map is about four miles Northeast from this shack. This means that I would have to walk four miles to pick up Seventeen and then carry her four miles back.

"That might be problematic…" I thought to myself as I bit into my toast. "…unless…"

Remembering the old roads that I drove on in the van, I could just drive to the outskirts of the camp, park the car nearby and trek the rest of the way up to the camp, then pick up Seventeen and drive her back to the cabin. That would work better for me, but it might provoke too much attention. Not from any authorities, but from the residents themselves.

"Eh…" I shrugged as I took a sip of tea. "…there just kids, they probably lose one or two every day, what's the worst they could do?"

Still, it would be good to err on the side of caution and prepare for the worst. Besides, there's no telling what kind of monsters and predators are in these woods…aside from me of course…

I quickly rushed down to the basement and picked up one of the handguns that were provided for me. The pistol was cold and heavy. It's metal body was silver in color and it had a small silencer attached to the barrel for the sake of security as well as a polymer holster. As I was about to bolt out the door, an idea went through my mind and I went over to the grey cabinet and opened it, looking for a vial I saw that would be very helpful.

"Ah! Here you are." I said as I pulled out the brown bottle with the words "Chloroform Diazepam" written on the side. "You'll be very helpful today."

I then rushed back up the stairs and into the garage. I then opened the car and placed the gun in the dash box of said car and the bottle of chloroform on my passenger seat. I then walked back into the kitchen, scarfed down the remainder of my breakfast and then rushed to the car.

[*]

It wasn't far to the camp, just about a half hour due to the dense forests and me getting lost for a moment. However, I eventually reached the outskirts of the camp. Using the map, I found an old abandoned parking lot and could park the van there for the extent of my hunt. I then took my gun from the dashboard and equipped it and the holster to my person. I then stepped out of the car and opened the back seats, removing a small hiking vest as well as a backpack with the essentials. I then locked the car and turned towards the entrance to the camp. The "entrance" was nothing more than a pair of two large old logs with a large curved rotting plank nailed between them that read "Camp Weedontwancha" on the front in faded yellow letters.

"Wow…" I said with a whistle. "…really makes you think about the original intention of this camp…"

After a few minutes of sign gazing, I checked the time, which read 8:47 A.M, I took a deep breath and began my hike into the camp.

[*]

It was nice to go hiking again. I used to do it all the time when I was a boy scout, but after I graduated high school, there was just not enough time to do so, not with college in the way. However, walking down this forest was a lovely stroll down memory lane…

…which apparently is crawling with cats…lots of cats…

As I tried to pet a few, like with most strays I've encountered, they either bolted away from me or replayed y gesture with a claw-shake or a bite, the latter of which broke the skin of my finger.

"Goddamnit!" I said as I popped the digit into my mouth to control the blood flow while I searched for a band-aid from my backpack. "How could these kids survive here?"

I then noticed the large skeleton of what appeared to be an old army solder laying on the ground under a bush. I noticed because it's skull was resting next to my backpack when I set it on the ground. I looked at my watch, which read 8:56 A.M.

"Christ! I've already been out here for fifteen minutes and this place is already a goddamn nightmare!" I exclaimed as I kicked the brave veteran of the skeleton war in the face. Knocking the skull off and sending it flying into the bushes surrounding me. "I swear, if I find out that all of this was some elaborate prank, I'm gonna give Martin the ol' Bob Bar-"

Just then, my ramblings were interrupted when I heard a noise from the bushes around me, particularly from the bush where she skull of the bone warrior went flying. It sounded like singing, a low hum, it was high pitch and off key, but it was a voice. As I made myself as still as a statue. I heard the humming stop and then I heard a voice.

"Oh! Hello Mr. Skullyface!" The voice said, it was clear that it's owner found the skull I punted and was talking to it like it was a person. "How are you doing today?"

The voice was just as high-pitched talking as it was singing, and it had a faint southern accent to it. Judging by the dialogue, the voice belonged to a child, probably around ten to eleven, and judging by the pitch, it is most likely belonging to a girl.

It was at that moment, my heart stopped and a thought shot through my mind like a racial slur shooting out of a youtuber's mouth. There is no way that this voice could belong to…

"What's that Mr. Skullyface, you're all alone out here?" The voice asked the skull. "Well Mr. Skullyface, this would be because you've got no-BODY!"

There was a long silence, it was clear that the voice made a joke, but it was a bad one, like…very bad, and it reminded me of the terrible joke I made earlier about the "Elite Homemakers Club."

"Well it's okay Mr. Skullyface, I'm on my way to have brunch with my friends, and you can come along." The voice said, followed by the rustling of the bushes which told me that this child had taken the skull. As I cautiously approached the bush, I pushed a few branches apart and looked through.

There was a large field beyond the bushes, it was vast with grass and one could see the mountains and trees in the distance. The sky was clear and aside from the stray cat and squirrel, there was little to no life or evidence of human contact…save for one little child.

In the center of this field, sitting on a rock in front of a large stump covered in debris and mud was a little girl. Her hair was a platinum blond with tuffs of dried mud and her skin was a dark tan and smooth like clay, save for her feet, which were darker and dirtier than the rest of her body. Given the conditions of the camp, this was not surprising. Nevertheless, the second I saw her, I felt the pang of anticipation and excitement full my soul. It was Seventeen! It was too good to be true, not only did I accomplish my goal and get to the camp without a hitch, but I also found my target in less than an hour after leaving my cabin. It was a time to be alive…

…but also, it was a time to hunt.

[*]