On Repeat

Water dribbled down his chin as he pulled the bottle away from his mouth. He took a deep breath and started chugging again. Sweat drenched his shirt and his pants. Standing across from him was the hiker that found him in the trench. She reached out and gently put her hand on his arm.

“Easy. You’re gonna make yourself sick.” She had an easy southern draw, clearly a tourist out here in the desert. She gave him an easy smile and he pulled the bottle away again. Using the bottom of his shirt, he wiped his face off.

He had been in that trench since the previous night and God only knows how she was able to spot him. He had been yelling all morning any time he heard anything near by. When she found him, he had been sleeping. The heat had caused him to sleep most of the day. He wasn’t sure what time it was. Looking around, he asked, “So, what time is it anyway?” Pulling out her phone she replied, “Just before 3.”

Shielding his eyes, he looked up at the sky and then back down at her. “Kinda late for a hike, isn’t it? I mean, I am glad you were out but this is the hottest part of the day. Are you setting up camp near by?” Turning and pointing at the same time she said, “We have actually set up camp over there.” Looking past her, he could see a tent that almost blended completely in with a small grouping of trees.

Nodding, he took another sip of water. “I didn’t get your name.” She smirked and replied, “No, you didn’t. I didn’t give it. You wanna come over and sit a minute. I can give you some more water for your trip back to the trailhead.” With that she turned and started walking towards her campsite. Following her, he noticed movement under her tent. As they got closer, another woman appeared and waved at them.

“Well, what do we have here? You aren’t the stranger picking type.” the woman winked at the rescuer and went back inside the tent. She motioned for him to pick a seat and followed the other woman inside. Looking around him, he started to get chills up and down his spine. The kind of chills he got when he was getting close to solving a case; when the answer was right in front of him and he just couldn’t see it yet.

Standing up and stretching, he called into the tent. “I think I’m gonna head out. I want to get back to my car before dark. I know my family must be worried.” When he didn’t hear a reply, he walked closer to the tent opening. “Ladies? I think I am gonna head out.” Again, he did not hear a response and turned to leave. Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move very fast through the brush.

Moving to the other side of the campfire, he quickly turned to see if he could catch a glimpse of what was moving in the brush. From inside the tent he heard, “You might want to get going. Things get weird around here after dark.” He looked back at the tent and took in what he was seeing. Their campsite wasn’t set up for a night or two. It actually looked like it had been set up for quite some time. He started to wonder again how it was that she had come to find him in the first place.

Calling into the tent he asked, “How did you actually see me down in the trench? I was pretty far down the mountain.” While he waited for a response, he continued to look around. Under the brush, where he had seen whatever it was moving, there was a rather large cage. This thing was not what he had at home for his dogs. It was sturdy, with thick bars and not much space between the bars. He wasn’t sure he could even fit an arm through the opening.

“Mister. You seriously should be on your way.” He turned to see the two women standing behind him. They each had on a gun belt and multiple holster with various weapons in each holster. They were both holding a crossbow and had two semi-automatic weapons strapped across their backs. The younger of the two, the one that found him, stepped forward a couple of steps. When she did, he stepped back not really sure what was going on.

“I didn’t tell you my name because you need to not remember you were here. She thinks I should’ve left you where I found you and let the family of that thing in the cage eat you. I am more compassionate than my sister. And to answer your questions, I was looking for his family.” And with that she hitched her thumb towards the cage. “We are contract hunters here to find these guys and eradicate them from this area. And before you ask, no I can not tell you what they are and you do seriously need to leave before dark. They come out at night to hunt. You do not want to become the hunted.”

Her sister stepped forward and pointing her crossbow behind him in the direction of the path. “That is the path that will take you back to the trailhead. Go before we make you the bait.”

Putting his hands up and backing away he nodded towards them both. Just as he turned to go, something ran into him, hard and fast. He was thrown forward and started tumbling back down the hill he had just walked up. Halfway down he passed out. When he stopped rolling, he was back in the trench he had started the day in.

Slowly coming to, he opened his eyes and started to shield his face from the sun. He realized he didn’t need to as there was someone blocking it. Pulling his arm up from under him, an arm reached down to pull him up.

“Hey. You okay?” Startled, he realized it was the same girl that rescued him the first time. She handed him a bottle of water and asked, “How long have you been down here?”