Into the Woods

He didn't have a tight hold on me and I rolled away before he could get in another punch. I had him by at least fifty pounds, so if I could get in a hit, I would be able to even up the fight. But at the moment his speed and agility was kicking my ass.

I did my best to ignore the throbbing pain from my arm. I could feel my shirt sticking into the oozing wound. He must have clipped me harder than I'd thought. I still had the use of it, but it hurt like a son of a bitch.

I was getting to my feet, but he'd already leapt to his. From my kneeling position, I attempted to aim my gun at him. His boot made contact with my wrist and the gun skittered into a copse of trees out of reach. He reared back to kick again, this time I caught his foot, twisted and flipped him to the ground.

I made it back up on my feet, pulled my knife and got into fighting stance. I would be ready this time and he wouldn't find me such an easy mark.

He mirrored my stance and we circled each other, sizing one another up, neither of us committing yet to that first attack. He was unarmed and I had a knife, my reach was already longer than his, so I decided to make a move. He'd pissed me off, and I wanted to get in a little pay back.

I struck out with the knife aiming toward his chest. He grabbed my wrist to block and held on. I knew he'd have to concentrate on the knife so I sent my left flying into his jaw. I connected and he stumbled back. It was satisfying to get in a hit and to watch his neck whiplash from my fist. I didn't want to lose the momentum, so I followed him, pressing my advantage.

We exchanged blows, mostly feeling each other out. I'd managed to get in a cut, but it didn't seem to be slowing him down. I was surprised by his endurance. He must have had training in fighting, perhaps military. I kept steadily moving him back and he'd lose open ground soon and would be into the trees.

I amped up my assault. When he was just a few steps away from the uneven ground, I flicked the knife and cut him again. The distance had shrunk between us and I could smell the blood and sweat we were both losing. An uppercut with my left surprised him, and he stumbled back and went down.

I was changing my grip on my knife so I could slam down and bury it into his heart. But, before I could start my descent he'd found my gun, and was pointing it at me. I didn't think, I just charged.

I felt the impact before I heard the rapport. Searing pain shot through me and all I could see was a blinding white light before everything went dark.

Chapter 8

Sean got to his feet. Even though there was no doubt the body on the ground was dead, he still kicked the knife away. He put the gun into his waistband and ran his fingers through his hair. It had been a long time since he'd had to kill another human.

He had heard about the girl, Casey. Everyone around here had, her disappearance had made the news for weeks. But with no new evidence it had lost momentum with the media. It was difficult for him to believe she'd been kept in a cage out here this whole time, and by one of the Park Rangers. He'd recognized the man lying at his feet. Sean had been coming out here long enough that he knew all the Rangers if not by name, at least by sight.

This was going to be a hell of a mess, he thought.

He picked up the knife and headed back toward the cavern. Inside the scene hadn't changed, since the girl was still bound. She'd been watching the entrance from between her legs because of the way she'd been chained it was her only angle. He dropped his gaze when he realized he was staring at her naked body that was bent over and spread open like a buffet waiting to be sampled.

"Is he...?" she asked.

"Yes," Sean answered. "He's dead."

She closed her eyes for a moment, and he thought she was going to cry. She did take a deep breath and he noticed her breasts for the first time. Again he had to look away.

"Ma'am do you know where he kept the keys?" he asked.

"He always kept them on a key ring he carried. They should be in his pocket."

"Ok then," he said. "I'll be right back."

He turned and marched back into the woods to retrieve the keys. The body was still where he'd left it. Something would have to be done soon before the buzzards showed up. He knelt down beside the corpse to check the pockets. The key ring was the only thing he found.

His thoughts drifted back to how long she'd been kept in that cave. How long would she have been held captive here had he not come along? And if there hadn't been sex noises coming from the cave he wasn't sure if he wouldn't have walked right past it.

The gate to the cage was standing open and he walked through. His eyes were drawn to the naked woman adorned with chains and splayed open before him. He took a deep steading breath. It was a mistake. He could smell her now, the scent of her sex still heavy in the air. And yes, her thighs were still wet with her juices.

They weren't looking for her anymore, he thought. It wouldn't take much to get rid of the Ranger's body, not in the deeper sections of the park where the larger predators roamed. She was already in a cage.

He looked back at her lush body and dropped his hands to his belt.