The Return To Wayde Woods

Bob pulled out his flashlight and shined it into the woods where the noise was coming from. He and the children were both completely silent as they listened to it coming toward them. From the woods a person emerged.

"Oh shit, I'm so glad to see you!" the man said. "My name is Alen. I'm sorry to bother you all but I'm lost."

Bob relaxed. "You almost scared us to death son," he told the young man.

"I'm sorry Sir," Alen replied.

"That's okay. Care to join us for dinner?"

"Seriously? Thanks, I'm starving!" Alen accepted.

Alen walked over and sat down by the campfire. He said hi to the children as Bob handed him a plate and eating utensils. Then Bob handed him a soda from the cooler.

"Have a piece of my fish. It's better," Tina advised him. Timothy rolled his eyes.

Alen got some food on his plate and eagerly began eating. He had been wondering around for a long time. His beer ran out soon after leaving and he hadn't had any food since breakfast. Alen had no idea if the piece of fish was the girl's or the boy's, but it was delicious.

"My name is Bob Cullor. These are my grandkids Timothy and Tina," Bob informed him.

"Cool, it's really nice to meet you," Alen replied.

"So how did you get yourself lost out here?" Bob asked, resuming his pipe smoking.

Alen shook his head, "Me and a buddy were going camping here. He was driving and got stuck. We needed to go get help, but he wasn't keen on leaving the truck behind so I volunteered to go. I tried to follow the trail back, but I slept the whole way there so I didn't know where to go once the trails started forking. Before I knew what had happened I was in the middle of the damn woods. I'm really happy I found you guys. I know it's a lot to ask, but could you help me?"

"Of course we can," Bob replied. "But there isn't a whole lot we can do in the dark. Is your friend good for the night?"

"Yeah, he's got an entire weekend's worth of food and beer. He'll be having a better time than all of us put together."

* * *

Jerry was stretched out in the back seat of his dad's pickup. Empty beer can littered the floor, and he was munching on a bag of beef jerky. Headphones connected to his ipod filled his ears with music. The beer was getting to him, his eyes growing heavy.

CRASH!

Jerry jolted up to the sound of glass shattering. He immediatly looked out the window and saw a man standing in front of the pickup. The man walked over to the other side of his pickup's front. The man clinched his hand into a fist and sent it into the headlight.

CRASH!

"OH, HELL NO!" Jerry yelled. He grabbed the baseball bat his dad kept in the truck for defense and bolted out the vehicle door.

The man was massive. Jerry could see this but the mix of booze and adrenaline gave him an artificial sense of bravery. He held the bat up, pointing it at his truck's assaulter.

"Hey fuckface! What the fuck are you doing to my goddamn truck?! Don't you know that you can't just go around breaking people's headlights?! Or is your stupid, backwoods, fucking redneck ass too retarded to comprehend that?!"

The man had not moved since turning to face Jerry. The anger in Jerry's words had done nothing to intimidate the intruder. Jerry wasn't done.

"Why the fuck are you wearing a goddamn mask? Too goddamn ugly for your family in the hills to see? Tell your momma that's what she gets for bumping uglies with her brother!"

The man now took a step toward Jerry.

"Oh, so you're the fuckin' badass type, huh?! I'll show you badass!"

With that Jerry swung the bad, hitting the man right in the face. The man's head turned with the blow, but then straightened back out. The hit seemed to have no effect whatsoever. This worried Jerry, who swung again. Once more, the shot hit him square on the face and did nothing of much good.

"Son of a bitch!" Jerry yelled. Again he swung, but this time the man caught the bat in midswing.
The man's hand shot up and grabbed Jerry's throat. He effortlessly lifted him off the ground and tore the bat from Jerry's hands. Jerry's mouth was open as he was gasping for air. Gripping the bat in the center, he speared the end of it into Jerry's mouth, knocking out many of his teeth. Blood filled Jerry's mouth immediatly. The man loosened the grip on Jerry's throat, causing him to fall to the ground.

The Hunter repositioned his hands on the bat so that he was holding like a baseball player would. He swung, striking Jerry in the chest. Again, striking him in the belly. The Hunter raised the bat high in the air and brought it down across Jerry's back. And again with the back. And once more with the back.

The Hunter reached down and grabbed Jerry by the back of his neck. He dragged Jerry's broken body so that Jerry was sitting against the front of his dad's pickup. The Hunter raised the bat one final time, the last shot making full contact with the front of Jerrys face and sending the back of his head into the grill of the truck.

The Hunter dropped the bat and walked away.

* * *

Hank sat in his recliner, staring out the window at the driveway. Everytime he could see headlights coming down the street he gripped the arms of the chair, hoping it would be Megan's car. Each time he was disappointed.

Hank was suprised however, when one car did pull into the driveway. It wasn't Megan's car, but he lept up at the prospect that Megan could be inside. The car door swung open, and Mr. Silvio emerged from it. Hank went and opened the door.

"Mr. Wilson," Mr. Sivio said as he approached. "Have they found Megan yet?"

"Who?" Hank replied. "Nobody's looking."

"Why the fuck not?!" Mr. Silvio asked, suprised and angered.

"Perry said she has to be missing for fourty-eight hours before they can do anything," Hank answered, shaking his head.

"Fuck that!" Mr. Silvio yelled. "Come on, we're going to pay that motherfucker a visit!"

* * *

"Thanks for the meal," Alen told his new companions.

"Oh no problem," Bob replied. "Well we should be getting some sleep if we're going to go help your buddy tomorrow. There's an extra sleeping bag, you can just pick a spot."

"Cool. Thanks," Alen replied.

Tina ran up to Alen, Timothy not far behind.

"Do you wanna hear a bedtime story?" Tina asked Alen.

"Uh..okay, sure kid," Alen accepted.

"Okay well, once upon a time there was a little boy and a little girl," Tina began. "They went into the woods even though their mommy said not to. Then they heard a monster and..."

"BOO!" both kids yelled in unison.

Alen faked shock, widening his eyes and clutching his chest. "Oh man, that was really scary!" he assured them.

"Sorry for scaring you!" Tina told him while she and her brother giggled.

"Alright kids, come on now," Bob said. "Time to get some rest."

* * *

Dusty and Megan had decided to take turns sleeping so there would always be someone on watch. Dusty insisted on taking the first shift. Megan, unable to sleep, just watched him. He was sitting in a chair with his gun in hand. She knew he would do everything he could to protect her, but it didn't make her feel safe.

She honestly didn't know if there was even anything Dusty could do. They had hung The Hunter, and Ben had blasted him with a shotgun. Dusty had shot him multiple times with a handgun. The Hunter seemed immune to bullets and indifferent about pain. How can you kill someone like that?
What she would give to go back in time and stop them all from going on that trip out here. She knew she shouldn't think like that, she couldn't have known. None of them could. But if only they had just decided to go somewhere else. Spend the day at a beach or something. None of this ever would have happened.

Of course there was good that came from her previous experience in Wayde Woods. It ended her relationship with Tony, though she did wish he was still alive. She was much happier with Ben though and may not have had the oppurtunity to find that out otherwise. It also allowed her to have a relationship with her father again. That was the biggest positive change.

But so much bad happened as well. She lost Fat Bill, she lost Jenny and Michael, and she lost Suzette. She hated to think of her friends in these terms, but she missed Fat Bill the most. He was the closest thing to a brother she had ever known.

None of this mattered though, Megan realized. She wouldn't get to remember the good or have to remember the bad if this mission turned out the way she had to assume it would. She looked over at Dusty again, still on watch. This was the man she would probably die with.

Megan shoved herself off of the chair and walked over to Dusty.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she lied. "I can't sleep though. Let me take watch, and you can get some rest."

* * *

The front door to the sheriff's office swung open with great force. A small but furious man charged inside and straight up to the receptionist counter. It was Mr. Silvio, with Hank behind him.

"Where the hell is that worthless sheriff?!" Mr. Silvio yelled at the woman behind the counter.

"He's in his office," the woman replied in shock.

"Tell the motherfucker that a tax payer is out here!" Mr. Silvio demanded.

"Okay, just calm down," the frightened woman replied. She picked up the phone and dialed it into the office.

The sudden ringing startled Sheriff Joe Perry as he snoozed behind his dest. Coming out of sleep, his office chair swung forward and his knee slammed against the metal drawer.

"Motherfuck!" he called out, reaching for the phone. "What is it Jane?" he asked.

"Sir, there are two gentlemen out here to see you," Jane replied in a shaky voice.

Joe Perry hung up the phone and stood up, adjusting his belt. "What is it now?" he wondered out loud.

Sheriff Joe walked out of his office to find Mr. Silvio and Hank standing there.

"So Mr. Wilson you brought a friend this time," the sheriff observed.

"Goddamn right he did, and I'm also a friend of his kidnapped daughter!" an even more angry Mr. Silvio snapped at him.

"Okay then, so why would that concern me?" the sheriff mocked.

"A kidnapped girl doesn't concern you Sheriff?!" Mr. Silvio spat the last word as if it tasted sour.

"Did you see this girl get kidnapped?" the sheriff asked.

"Well no, but I know it happened!" Mr. Silvio shot back.

"Do you have any evidence to back that up?" the sheriff asked.

"Yeah the S.O.B. that kidnapped her was harassing her at my business!" Mr. Silvio replied.

The sheriff shook his head. "Circumstantial at best. She's over eighteen and free to go wherever the hell she wants. Doesn't mean she is missing and it sure as fuck doesn't mean she was taken. Now, if she's still missing in fourty-eight hours, come back and see me. Otherwise, get the fuck out of my goddamn office AND IF I SEE YOU BACK BEFORE THEN I WILL ARREST BOTH YOUR ASSES!" He screamed.

Mr. Silvio was fuming. His nose was snarling and he was bouncing on his feet, as he always did when angered. He wanted to punch this so-called sheriff so bad.

"Fine," Mr. Silvio yelled. "We'll leave. But this sure as hell ain't the last you've heard of this!"

Mr. Silvio and Hank both left. Sheriff Joe waited for them to pull out of the parking lot and head down the road. He walked over to the front door and locked the deadbolt.

"If those two come back let me know," Sheriff Joe told the receptionist before disapearing back into his office.

* * *

Megan could not fathom how Dusty could sleep. He had practically passed out after she relieved him of guard duty. Now he was snoring away, as if they were on vacation instead of in the most dangerous place on Earth.

It was mostly envy however. She would've given anything to leave this place for a few hours, only if it was just in her mind. Perhaps she could dream about being home again. Spending time with her dad or Ben.

BANG!

The noise cut through her thoughts like a sawblade. It came from outside, by the front door. Megan waisted no time, she leapt up and ran over to Dusty.

"Dusty! Wake up!" she demanded, pushing on his shoulder.

"What? What's wrong?" he asked, coming out of a deep sleep.

"Something by the door. There was a loud bang," she informed him.

Dusty pulled out his gun and rose from the chair. Slowly he walked toward the door, taking every step cautiously. Once he arrived at the door, he did his best to listen to what was on the other side.
"Do you hear anything?" Megan asked, unsure what to do.

"Shh," he ordered, but he could hear nothing regardless.

Slowly Dusty turned the handle, trying to be silent. Suddenly he flung the door open, gun up and prepared to shoot anything outside. There was no one around, but the area wasn't exactly how they had left it. There was an arrow stuck to the door. A gold chain hanging off it.

"What is it?" Megan asked.

Dusty pulled the chain off. It was small and golden, at the end was a little dolphin.

"It's a bracelet," Dusty replied. "Suzette's bracelet."