Die Jagd

Danni

Every sound in the distance made my body quake.

Wrapping my arms around myself, I trekked through the maze, the damp chill clinging to me like a film. Somehow I was still alive. Barely. I tried to keep the images of that man dying by frying out of my head, but it was either that or thinking about how I would probably meet a similar fate.

How could I have let myself get into this kind of situation? I was a smart, gritty person – paranoid and quick to hightail it out of a situation I found uncomfortable. The whole setup with Till was sketchy from the beginning, but I was desperate for a good grade. Now, I wandered alone in the dark ready to meet my death. Tears stabbed at my eyes again and I pressed the heels of my hands into them to make it stop.

Another sound – this one closer and more prevalent than any others – was heard to my left, on the other side of the maze wall. I stopped and listened intensely. When my footsteps silenced, phantom ones continued. I wasn’t alone anymore. Trying to keep thoughts clear, I tried to decipher which way they were going. Concluded we were about to meet at the next opening in the maze.

Friend or foe – I cared little to find out. I wasn’t banking on the former, not if I wanted to stay alive.

I backtracked, stepping quietly over the dead corn stocks underneath my feet. When I felt I was out of hearing, I turned and ran back the way I’d been coming, certain there was a different turn I could take. The corner came into my view and I took the turn, immediately having to zig to the right and another fork in the road only a few feet from there.

Just as I made the way to take the path to the left, something grasped me tightly by the arm and pulled me back. Between the sensation of sudden capture and witnessing a large arrow propel from the maze wall and imbed in the opposite one, metal surface glinting in the moonlight. It would have ran right through me.

The threat at the present was now a problem. I struck out with my free arm, letting out a series of animalistic grunts as I tried to fight off my new attacker. It was a man (of course) and he was blocking my hits with his other arm, refusing to let me go. It took time before I realized he was speaking to me, almost calmly, over the rushing of blood in my ears.

It was in German, his words. It made me angry. This stupid fucking country with its stupid fucking language!

“I don’t fucking speak German!” I screamed at the top of my lungs and elbowed him in the chest.

He grunted, but continued, “It’s alright! I’m not going to hurt you. Calm down, please!”

“Then, let me go!” I jerked back against him and he released me. I almost lost my balance.

Free, I considered running from the man, but logic whispered in my ear. He had purposefully saved from getting impaled. He stood in the darkness, a broad-shouldered mass with eyes nearly glowing with intensity. In the moonlight, I could see the dirt and a couple days of scruff clinging to his face.

“I let you go,” he said and his rough voice startled me. “Now, just…be quiet. They come out here to hunt sometimes…and I don’t want to exactly be their next trophy.”

“Whose they?” I dropped my voice to a harsh whisper, stepping back closer to the man, leaving enough space to dodge and run if I needed.

The man shrugged. “That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out. I…” He stopped himself short. “I’ll start at the beginning. I’m Richard Kruspe. About a month ago, my friend went missing. I was looking into his disappearance because I thought someone he worked with was responsible. I think I was right because now…” He looked around us and shrugged. “I’m here.”

“Well, shit,” I said. “How long have you been here?”

“A couple days,” Richard said casually. “I’d say the morning will mark my fourth.”

I let out a sigh and closed my eyes, rubbing at them absently. “I’m guessing the only way out of here is death?”

Richard shrugged. “That seems to be gist of it. They let you loose and either the traps get you or they do.”

They…

“What’s your name?” Richard asked. My eyes suddenly darting to him made him tone down the friendly a little. “If you don’t mind me asking…”

“Danni,” I said shortly. “My friend, Carol, and I were doing a story on a guy and…now we’re here. All thanks to my fucking professor.” Richard cocked an eyebrow. “We have a professor who strongly disliked us because we’re from the U.S. He set me up with this story for a class assignment and…” I swallowed hard, choking the truth down. “I saw him. I saw him as that other guy was letting me go. It was his plan all along, to kill me and Carol.” My breathing began to escalate, the rushing in my ears returned. “Who the fuck does that?” I squeaked out, knees shaking. “Who wants to kill another human?”

I felt a hand on my shoulder and Richard was standing right in front of me, those expressive eyes drilling into me. “Psychopaths,” he said. “People who are more monsters than human. Hey.” The grip on my shoulder tightened, but I didn’t feel threatened anymore by his presence. He seemed to steady me rather than cause any more terror from entering my core. “Let’s have each other’s backs in this, alright? If we team up, maybe we can get out of here alive and find our friends.”

“Alive,” I said and the reality that Carol could very well be dead already made me nearly cave in on myself, even more than my own death.

Richard sensed my undoing and gripped both my shoulders, shaking me slightly. “Hey, keep it together, America. I need you to as brave as you can so we can get out of her – with our friends – alive. Got it?” I nodded. “Alright, breathe for me. In and out…that’s it.”

I focused on his voice, rather than incapacitating thoughts swirling in my skull. There was a slight lisp mixed with his German accent, which was sort of cute. I chose to calibrate all my energy on that silly realization instead of passing out and letting the monsters win.