Horror in the Woods Read online

  Horror in the Woods

  Lee Mountford

  For my wife, Michelle.

  Contents

  Free Books

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Also by Lee Mountford

  Author Plea

  The Hobbes Hall Diaries

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  Free Books

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  1

  Ashley ached.

  A dull pain radiated in her thighs, calves, and feet; pain that was growing stronger with every step. The air was cold and it bit at the exposed skin on her face. Over two hours of rain had drenched her, drenched them all, and the ground had become wet and soggy, making her feet sink into the muddy grass as she trudged through the wilderness. None of the group had been able to pick up a phone signal since yesterday, so they were completely cut off from the civilised world, and worse, she hadn't showered in over a day.

  She worried she smelled like a dumpster.

  Ashley was in good shape. Hours at the gym on the treadmill and weight machines ensured that, but even so this was still tough going. It was a different type of endurance.

  Despite all this, she was happy and actually enjoying herself. Turns out Tim had been right; this trip so far had been fun.

  She wasn't sure where they were exactly, only that it was the middle of nowhere, miles from any kind of civilisation. However, that brought with it its own sense of peace and relaxation. Rolling green hills extended out beyond her in all directions, meeting a grey sky that stretched on forever. The smell of damp grass and mud assaulted her nose. For a city girl like her it was as foreign as being in a desert.

  And yet she found herself loving it.

  A big reason for that was the tall man before her who led the way, the one with the broad shoulders and nice smile, the one who had planned this trip for them and convinced them to leave behind the creature comforts of the city.

  The four of them had fallen into a line: Tim out in front charting their course, Ashley in second, and her friend Kim just behind her, leaving Kim's boyfriend, Craig, bringing up the rear.

  'How you guys doing back there?' Tim asked, barely out of breath.

  'Not going to lie, Tim,' Kim said in response. 'My legs feel like they are on fire. I'm cold, I'm wet, I'm grumpy, and I stink. This is hell.'

  Ashley smiled, relating to some of Kim's complaints. But only some. She heard Tim chuckle.

  'Points taken, Kim,' he said. 'Just power through a little bit longer and we can set up camp and have a well-deserved rest.'

  'And some well-deserved food,' Craig chimed in.

  Ashley hadn't realised just how hungry she was, but after hearing Craig mention food her stomach began to grumble in anticipation.

  'That would be something to look forward to,' Kim said, 'if we weren't eating rabbit food and rations.'

  Another fair point. Ashley turned back to her friend, who flashed her a playful wink.

  'Well,' Tim said, 'if you're hungry enough, even the simplest food can taste like a banquet.'

  'I doubt it,' Kim said. 'But I would kill for a latte.'

  'The closest we have is instant coffee,' Tim said.

  'I'll take it.'

  Even though Kim was complaining, and Ashley had no doubt she meant the things she said, she was at least saying them in a playful way. Ashley really wanted her closest friends to accept Tim and like him the way she did.

  Well, maybe not exactly the way she did.

  The whole point of this trip was to let Kim and Craig get to know Tim a little better and, hopefully, accept him as being good enough for Ashley. Kim was an amazing best friend, and she was fiercely loyal, but that loyalty could make her fiercely protective whenever anyone new was in the picture. When Ashley first told Kim about Tim, her friend had of course been happy and supportive, but Ashley knew there was a stream of judgmental questions ready to spring forth; and spring forth they soon did, in an attempt to ascertain his worthiness.

  But for Ashley, the only question was whether she measured up for him.

  She heard a click behind her and turned to see Kim sparking up a cigarette with her decorative gold lighter, the one that meant so much to her, which had been handed down from her mother. Given that smoking had directly contributed to her mothers death, Ashley found it odd that Kim kept up the habit, but she tried not to judge. Maybe it was some kind of connection to the past for her friend to hold on to.

  'Might want to avoid doing that when we get into the woods,' Tim said without looking back.

  'Excuse me?' Kim asked.

  'Won't take much to start a fire.'

  'It's soaking wet everywhere,' Kim said. 'I'm pretty sure nothing is going to burn.'

  'It'll dry off quick enough,' Tim said. 'Just be careful.'

  Kim's expression now stopped being playful, and she shot her friend a who does he think he is scowl. Kim hated being told what to do by people she knew, let alone a stranger, but Ashley knew why Tim was concerned.

  How could he not be, given what had happened to him?

  'Don't worry about me, Action Jackson,' Kim said, taking a drag and blowing the smoke up into the chilly air. 'I won't be starting any forest fires.'

  Thankfully, Tim let it drop.

  Ashley felt a pang of anxiety pop up in her gut. So far, everyone had gotten along, and last night Kim had even said Tim was slowly gaining her approval. This little exchange, however, had been the first signs of any disagreement, or animosity, and while it wasn't anything catastrophic, Ashley hoped it wasn't the start of a serious rift.

  So on they walked, seemingly forever, until Tim stopped and pointed to the brow of a hill in the distance, one lined with a thick expanse of dark trees.

  'There,' he said. 'We'll be cutting through those woods.'

  Ashley wasn't sure what the difference was between a forest and just woods, but it seemed an inadequate description for the mass of trees that sprouted up from the hilltop. Even at this distance she could see that the green canopies at the top only stretched down so far, leaving weathered, brown spears bursting from the ground.

  'And you know your way through there?' Kim asked.

  'I do,' Tim said, not taking his eyes off the destination.

  'Won't it be easier to just go around?' Craig asked.

&nb
sp; 'We could do that,' Tim said, 'but it's a beautiful hike through those woods. Trust me, you'll love it.'

  'Looks ominous,' Craig said. 'Are the trees dying?'

  Ashley looked to Kim and gave her a pleading look, hoping her friend would just go along with it. Kim took the hint.

  'Looks nice. I think we can handle it,' she said. Ashley gave her a big, thankful smile.

  Tim turned to look at Kim as well, with a smile of his own. 'That's the spirit, Kim' he said. 'A fighting attitude like that is perfect out here. Before long, you'll be like a natural at this stuff.'

  She laughed. 'Not a natural, but I'll get the hang of it.'

  They set off again, heading for the woods up in the distance.

  It was a creepy-looking place, and Ashley knew she was the type to scare easily.

  Timid like a mouse.

  A few years ago, Kim had used that expression about her, and the name had annoyingly stuck, always on hand and ready to be used whenever her friends wanted to tease her.

  Ashley the mouse.

  There was no malice when her friends said it, but Ashley hated it. Still, she'd never told them to stop, which added further credence to the name. Worse yet, Tim had recently heard them use it and asked her about it, which led to a slightly awkward conversation.

  Still, despite how ominous the woodland looked from here, she felt safe with Tim, so she dutifully followed him.

  The group pressed on, dreadfully unaware that they were currently being watched.

  2

  He kept himself low, pressed into the dirty, wet ground.

  They wouldn't see him. He was far too careful and too good at what he did. This place was his environment; his home, not theirs. They were the intruders, and coming here was the last mistake they were ever going to make.

  He bubbled with excitement, wanted to giggle, but even at this distance it could draw attention. So, he remained silent, exercising patience as he had been taught. It was hard, because all he wanted to do was to leap up from the dirt and dash towards them, screaming manically, just to see the look of shock, then horror, on their faces as he closed in on them. But that reaction, whilst exciting, did not justify possibly ruining everything. It would be nothing but a sweet hors d'oeuvre, and what he needed was a juicy main course. The pain, torture, and desecration he wanted to force on them was difficult to resist, but he had to, if only for a little longer.

  It would come soon enough.

  Things had to be done at the right time, for the good of the family. And the family were all growing impatient. The thing inside of them, that desire, that need, required release. And soon.

  It had been a long time since their urges had been sated, and this primal drive was now fighting to get out, causing the family to turn on each other. That was fruitless, they all knew it, but you could only hold back instinct for so long before the animal took over.

  Now they had fresh meat to feast on.

  And the banquette would be tasty indeed.

  He saw them trek towards the woods, unaware of what awaited inside. Not just death, but torture and pain beyond their wildest, most vivid nightmares.

  Knowing that excited him.

  He squinted through the dirtied lenses of his binoculars. There were two women in the group, which pleased him. The one with long, dark hair and a confident stride looked East-Asian. It would be a thrill to watch that confidence crumble and melt into absolute fear. The other, the taller redhead, didn't carry herself with the same authority. Hers was the walk of a follower.

  Those types of women were the most fun to play with. They gave themselves over instantly, with no notion of fighting back, putty to be moulded and abused, all in the hope that they would be spared.

  Foolish.

  And, most exciting of all, was a specific look they had, at a specific time. after being subjected to torment like they had never known they would still pray for mercy. It was important that he toy with them and dangle the carrot of freedom for a while. Make them believe they had a slight chance to live through this.

  Then he would quickly and mercilessly quash all notions of survival. It was then, when all hope had been stripped away, and they finally realised the inevitable was coming, that that look appeared in their eyes.

  A look of terror so pure and so raw it never failed to get him off.

  So lost in his thoughts was he that it took him a moment to realise there was a stirring in his groin, pressing painfully into the mud.

  The group ahead were moving slowly, so there was time.

  He lifted his body a little and slid a thin, three-fingered hand into his dirtied underpants.

  3

  It had taken almost twenty minutes, but finally they stood at the boundary of the woods. Only a little while ago, the trees were small outlines on a hilltop far away, and now they reared up to an impressive, dizzying height. The canopy of branches high above was so thick with leaves that it blocked out a lot of the sun's light, giving the bare trunks that punctured through the mossy floor a dark, ominous feel.

  'Everyone ready?' Tim asked them, theatrically.

  Ashley saw that Craig looked to be feeling as apprehensive as she was. Even Kim's resolve seemed to falter, if only for a second.

  'Fuck it,' she said, 'let's go.'

  'Like I said,' Tim said with a laugh, 'you're a natural at this.'

  Ashley took a breath, which caught in her throat when she felt something on her hand. Tim had taken it in his own, engulfing it with his large paw. He gave it a squeeze and smiled at her.

  Her apprehension began to dissolve and Tim led her over the boundary, out of the wilderness and into the woods.

  It was a stupid notion, and obviously one born of a tired and slightly unnerved mind, but it felt like they had crossed over into something. She couldn't put her finger on it exactly, but it felt like a different kind of place.

  But then they had just passed into another kind of place, hadn't they? They had stepped into a more enclosed forest area that had a completely different feel than the open hills they'd spent the past day hiking across.

  That's all it was.

  Twigs snapped under her boots and the moss that covered a lot of ground was actually quite slippery underfoot. Ashley lost her footing more than once, but Tim was sturdy on his feet, effortlessly keeping his balance and allowing her to use him for support when needed. Kim and Craig moved up beside them, holding hands themselves. Ashley had a feeling it was more for support than any show of affection, something that she had seen less and less of between the two recently.

  They had been together for so long Ashley had wondered if the spark had just gone. Was this it for them now? This led her to wonder if the same thing would happen with her and Tim over time, and if he would eventually grow bored of her and cut her loose? She hoped not, he seemed genuine, and God knows she wanted him to like her. Everything seemed to be going the right way, and he'd even opened up to her about something very personal from his past, something that broke her heart when he had told her. As a boy, Tim had escaped his family home when it set ablaze one night.

  His parents and brother had not been so lucky.

  So, when Kim had sparked up a cigarette earlier and he'd told her to be careful, that wasn't just idle chastising; Tim was actually deathly afraid of fire.

  And with good reason.

  She took it as a good sign that he'd been comfortable enough around her to divulge that sort of personal information, painful as it must have been. Surely that meant he trusted her? And that, in turn, meant he liked her?

  She hoped so, but that little, nagging voice that was a permanent resident in her head wasn't so sure.

  Ashley tried to ignore doubts and concentrate on her surroundings. Visually, the tall, tightly bunched trees were in stark contrast to the wide-open hills and fields they'd spent the previous day on. The air wasn't as fresh in here; it seemed dirtier somehow, more earthy, as if stained by the bark of the trees and the earth of the floor. It felt heavier, if that wa
s possible, more musty. The sounds were different too; the chirping and chattering of wildlife, though sparse, echoed more in here, making the trees feel infinite. Like these woods were a place they would never get out of.

  That wasn't true, of course, it was her mind running away with itself. Tim had promised there was a trail through here, and so it was. They found it shortly after crossing into the trees. And if there was a trail here, that meant people came through from time to time, meaning it wasn't totally removed from civilisation. It also meant that by following the trail, you couldn't really get lost.

  As long as you stuck to it, of course.

  'So will we make it through these woods before camp?' Craig asked. 'It's getting dark as it is.'

  'We should,' Tim said, 'but there are clearings farther in where we can camp if we need to.'

  Craig nodded, though he didn't appear entirely satisfied with this answer. 'And then tomorrow we'll hit town?'

  'Yup, tomorrow we hit town,' Tim answered. 'There are some really nice pubs and bars there. Hell, there's even a good coffee shop so Kim can get her latte. Plenty to look forward to.'

  'Sounds good to me,' Kim said. 'Though I may have to forgo that latte for a big glass of wine.'

  'I like that idea,' Ashley agreed.

  'Just imagine how sweet it will taste when you get there,' Tim said.