Hunting Season

Sacrifice

Mitch wiped the blood from his forehead, hands clasped tightly around the metal bars of his prison. He stared out at a pile of what appeared to be charred bones lit in front of him. Surrounding the man was an array of makeshift benches, which weren't occupied...at least not yet.

"Mitch," a low, worried voice caused him to turn to his two companions. One of them struggled to keep the other calm as he pressed his shirt against the bloody stump that used to be his foot.

"Conrad's losing too much blood," Kevin whispered, squeezing the bleeding man's hand, "What the fuck is going on? Get us the fuck out of here."

"I know," Mitch responded impatiently, looking around the cage they had been locked in.

They had only planned to stay in Whispering Winds for a couple hours, but by the look of how dark everything was it was clear their time there was overdue. Not only that, but none of them remembered how they got there to begin with. Mitch had a faint memory of aiming his rifle at a deer, only to feel a stinging pain in his neck. After that, he woke up in the prison they were currently in.

Conrad's cries caused him to make his way back to his friend. He patted the sweaty man's head, trying to give him some words of comfort, "You've been through worse, soldier. You'll make it through."

"Mitch," the man struggled to speak, face paler than usual, "Kevin...the both of you. It's been an honor."

Mitch held his friend's cheek, shaking his head, "You're not saying goodbye yet. Not yet." He made his way to the side of the cage, forcefully wiggling each bar in hopes that one was lose. He could tell it was man made, and therefore had to have its weak points. After minutes of kicking and prying, he finally managed to find it.

One bar wasn't secured on right. He kicked it repeatedly, until it collapsed and fell to the floor with a slight dent. He pulled it into the cage and made his way to the other side where the entrance was. It was secure with a padlock and chains. He crashed the metal bar on the lock over and over, ignoring Kevin's harsh whispers that someone was coming their way. With all his might and a final grunt, he sent the pole straight down...

Chains fell off as the cage door gaped open. Mitch didn't even care as he noticed a group of cloaked individuals emerging from the darkness, lanterns in hand. He grabbed Kevin and looked him in the eyes, "Grab Conrad and get the fuck out of here." Kevin was about to decline, but he was thrown towards Conrad. With a pained expression, he quickly pulled his friend out and threw him securely on his back.

Conrad looked around deliriously, frowning as he glanced back at Mitch, who was slowly getting smaller and smaller. "Mitch? St-stop...Mitch!"

His friend stayed behind, raising the metal pole in his hand like a bat as the dark figures surrounded him. Mitch didn't look back at his friends, but he was at peace knowing they had escaped.

One of the eerie individuals stepped towards the man. They raised a lantern at his face, and he immediately swung at them with his weapon. They were hit directly on their shoulder, but it wasn't enough to save him.

Mitch was thrown to the ground and had his hands tied behind his back. Mutters echoed around him as he was dragged over twigs and rocks, causing him to bleed as he spat and cursed at his attackers. The one he had hit now took lead, stomping to the front of the group that pulled him by a piece of rope. He struggled and nearly got the restraints off before they all stopped in front of a cabin.

"What are you doing? Get the fuck off me!" He was grabbed my multiple people and forced into the dark cabin. It creaked and groaned under all their weight and almost felt like it would collapse at any given moment. One of the attackers knocked Mitch hard against the head so he was unstable for a moment. They took that chance to leave and lock him inside the dreary place.

"Get me the fuck out of here!!" Mitch banged on the door, breathing heavily as he searched for anything to aid him in his escape. As he wandered here and there, he finally turned a corner- noticing an eerie glowing light down a somewhat dark hall. There was a familiar rotting smell mixed with something he didn't quite know polluting the air. He stayed quiet, struggling to breathe the more he moved closer to the end of the hall. It was only when he was outside the room did he realize the horror he had stumbled upon.

"Shit," Mitch muttered, examining rotten, mutilated bodies littered all over the floor of a dimly lit area. It was decorated like some form of chapel, a ritualistic looking table included. He stepped over the bodies carefully, trying to make out what was on the table and hesitating once he realized what was there.

Two decaying, withered heads were seated besides a gold figure. It was of a naked "man", sprouting horns from his head. The statue itself seemed to be stained with blood, but Mitch didn't look for too long. He covered his mouth, clutching a necklace wrapped around his neck. Whatever he was thrown into was far more serious than he could ever imagine.

Mitch carefully stepped out of the room, suddenly stumbling into the wall as he fell to the ground. He struggled for air, panic mode activated as he covered his nose and mouth with the end of his shirt. He could hardly function now as his vision became warped and ugly. Mitch blinked rapidly, getting up as quickly as he could before tripping over a lifted piece of wood from the floor. As he stayed there, the man could have sworn voices were chanting in his ear, and he aggressively shook his head to get them out.

This was worse than anything he had ever experienced in his life.

He lifted his bloodshot gaze, and abruptly locked eyes with a horrifying sight. A monster with horns was kneeling like him, red eyes examining him carefully while it mimicked every move he made. Mitch quickly searched for a rock or anything hard around him, throwing whatever he bad grabbed with all his might at the creature.

It was gone in the blink of an eye, but the nightmare wasn't over. Mitch crawled to the corner of the cabin as he saw shadows and heard things he knew wasn't there. The cabin itself talked to him, speaking in a language he didn't understand.

It was over for him, Mitch thought as a new sensation of pain began to build inside. He squeezed the necklace in his chest, saying goodbye to his lover for the final time. All the poor man could do now was scream endlessly into the night.