Chapter 1: Carrie

I couldn’t believe that the day was finally here! I had planned this trip for so long, it seemed to take forever for time to finally catch up to my bustling excitement. I sauntered around the house, quickly making my last round, to ensure I hadn’t forgotten anything.

Kasandra, my roommate, who was also my best friend, sat on the couch and scoffed at me, each time I passed her. I didn’t know what she was so concerned with, since she had the weekend to herself. I was sure she was going to have her boyfriend over and they were going to perform unmentionable acts all over the apartment, while I was using my hiatus from school to get back to nature.

Yet, being that she was the opposite of me in this regard, I guessed I shouldn’t be so surprised.

Kasandra wore her emotions on her face and everyone knew exactly what she was thinking, without her having to say a word.

At times, especially growing up, this trait got her into a lot of trouble, while I was roped in most of the time, simply because I was guilty by association.

Now that we were adults, though, this talent was useful.

I, on the other hand, was quiet, resourceful and a pacifist. I would do anything to avoid a fight, while Kasandra had accepted she couldn’t hide her emotions. Therefore, she seemed to always be ready for a fight.

Right now, however, her glare of disapproval was lessened slightly by her strained, cheerful tone, “So, why are you excited about this trip again? Please tell me you’re going to do more than hike.”

“Nope,” I insisted as I reached for the last few things I felt I would need on my journey. “I’m going to be spending the week in the mountains, enjoying the clean, fresh air. I want to clear my head before classes start again.”

“Why don’t you just go to the spa, like a normal person?”

I laughed, knowing that strangely enough, Kasandra was trying to be nice, even though it didn’t sound like it.

“Because, it’s not the same,” I insisted, hoping she didn’t see through my carefully constructed plan.

“Yeah, that’s my point, it’s a lot more fun, relaxing…and safer. If you want to work up a sweat, go in a sauna.”

“Kas, are you worried about me?” I retorted in a joking tone, which made my friend scowl as she shook her head, though her expression still gave her away quite apparently.

“No, it’s just a stupid idea,” she answered, somewhat defensively.

“I know you think so,” I replied, refusing to let her ruin my excitement.

“I mean, why a mountain? Why that mountain?” She insisted, getting into questions that I didn’t want to answer.

I sighed, again refusing to allow her to douse the passion I had regarding this trip, “I respect that it isn’t your thing but please respect that it’s mine.”

“Just be careful, is all,” she hissed, “I know that it’s your thing and whatever. That’s not the stupid part.”

“Well, if you’re so worried about it, why don’t you come with me?”

I knew she wasn’t going to, but to keep the conversation fluid and away from the secret truth behind my trip, I needed to ask her, so she didn’t get suspicious.

If I had it my way, she would never figure out the true reason I went on this trip. If she did, I would likely never hear the end of it and that was the last thing I needed.

Again, Kasandra scoffed, “I’m not that worried about you,” she retorted with a snide laugh.

However, I brushed off the warning, considering where it was coming from. After all, Kasandra was a city girl and could never understand the intrigue and the beauty of nature.

She simply thought it was gross and dirty; which was why this ended up being the perfect place for my trip. If it was anywhere else, besides hiking or otherwise dirty outdoors, she might actually want to come along, and I couldn’t have that.

I needed to this myself. There was no other way for me to find the peace that I sought.

I rolled my eyes, “Goodbye,” I grumbled as I grabbed my pack. “I’ll be back in a week,” I insisted, slinging the pack over my shoulder.

I left before Kasandra could succeed in putting any doubt in my head about taking this trip. After all, I had to meet my guide at the foothills of the mountain range and after waiting so long to go on this trip, I didn’t want to be late.

“Seriously, though!” I heard Kasandra scream from behind the closed door, “Be careful! Don’t get eaten by wolves!”

“Bye!” I called again, trying to stifle my amusement as I rolled my eyes. I shook my head and started the trek downstairs.

This is gonna be great! I assured myself confidently, pushing forward, toward my car, ready to start my adventure.

The ride to the foothills of the mountain seemed to take forever but eventually, I found myself gazing up at a majestic scene of wildlife and reverent nature. The air was already thinner. I could feel it withering as I inhaled it, already, but I was prepared for this.

Despite what everyone who was closest to me either genuinely seemed to think, or preferred to believe, this wasn’t my first time in the mountains.

Granted, the last time was a while ago, but I certainly didn’t think that disqualified my experience.

I had survived the first time, and I liked to think that I had garnered intelligence with age, so I should be fine this time as well.

After all, it wasn’t like I was dumb enough to go up there all alone. I had hired a guide and I had no intention of doing anything dangerous. I was taking this trip to enjoy nature and let go of the stress my life had placed upon me in the last year. I wasn’t intending to be consumed by it.

Sure, perhaps my idea to trek the mountain alone, with only a guide wasn’t the best plan but I didn’t have anyone else to go with and I wasn’t going to forgo this opportunity because I was afraid of a little adventure.

Everyone who knew me was as certain of that as I was, so despite Kasandra’s attempts to get me to do something else to relax, no one else had wasted much time trying to talk me out of it.

However, when I saw the man I would soon learn was my guide pull up next to my car in a beat-up truck, looking less than savory, I hoped to God the first impression was inaccurate.

While I didn’t have anything against pickup trucks, or anyone in particular, the strange feeling that plagued me the moment the truck pulled up had me instantly regretting my decision.

I should’ve gone for the more expensive guide… I thought immediately, though I still hoped this wasn’t as bad a decision as it now appeared to be.

It wasn’t that this guide was cheap; he was simply the cheapest. At the time, I had also thought I was getting a good deal, instead of a cheap deal, since this was a little bit of a downtime for the mountain. It was usually hot, so people didn’t like to hike, and it was right at the cusp of the changeover, when the leaves started their fall foliage display, so I thought I might simply be getting a discounted rate.

However, as I gazed upon the man I was supposed to be spending the next week with, I couldn’t help but think I was going to receive a discounted experience too.

The man who hopped out of the truck was tall, lanky, and unshaven. His hair looked as though it had never met a brush and his shirt was stained. His jeans were torn at the bottom and his boots looked far too worn out to be acceptable for the hiking trip.

He looked more like someone I would see living in the mountains, instead of a guide, who was supposed to be well-respected people within the mountain community.

Although, I was determined not to let anything spoil this trip for me, so when he walked toward me, I spoke first in the friendliest voice I could muster.

“Hi! Are you Mitch?”

“Yep,” the man replied, barely looking at me as he dug in the back of his mud-stained, rusty truck bed, pulling up a raggedy pack that didn’t look near full enough for a week’s hike.

Still, there was a possibility he was a minimalist; it sure would explain his attire and first impression; one of the few explanations that wouldn’t want to make me take off in the other direction.

“You Katy?” Mitch looked at me strangely as he turned around and slipped the pack over his shoulder.

“Um…Carrie,” I corrected in a gentle voice, trying not to come across as a bitch, considering the amount of time we about to be spending together. However, I couldn’t quite help but narrow my eyes at the empty beer bottles that were rolling around in the back of the truck, disturbed by the man grabbing the pack.

“Oh…Carrie. Right,” he responded as his eyes obviously tracing over my body in a strange, slightly revolting manner. “Oh…Don’t you worry about that…” Mitch added as he finally returned his gaze to my eyes and saw that I was looking at the remnants of booze, “Just the remainders of a good memory…From over the weekend. I’ve gotta clean this old girl out…”

As though trying to sound endearing toward his truck, in a very odd way, he gave the side a loud smack, which caused the body to rattle.

It was a solid truck, from the look of it, so the force of his thrusting made me slightly nervous.

I tried not to show him that I noticed but I could hardly keep my upper lip from curling in disgust.

“You look mighty pretty for going on a week-long hike,” he answered in a redneck kind of condescending tone.

“I like to be prepared,” I answered, feeling a shiver run down my spine, “So, when should we get going?”

“I guess there’s no time like the present,” he replied, showing me a grin that was obviously missing teeth.

I swallowed hard and again, reconsidered being alone in the woods with this man. Although, I eventually decided that it was probably better to be with someone, as creepy as he seemed, then alone.

Besides, I had already paid him, and he still showed up. I decided that had to count for something. Even if he was dirty and disgusting, he had to have work ethic and honor to some degree. He didn’t take the money and run, so that had to prove something to me. I wasn’t sure what yet, but I was hoping after hiking with him, I would find out…and it would be positive.

So, I shook my head in agreement, trying to also shake off the bad feeling that was gnawing at the pit of my stomach.

I waited for Mitch to lead the way, figuring that if I followed him, it would be safer, and I could keep an eye on him.

To my surprise, the first few days yielded nothing to fear and I was starting to settle into my own, achieving the idea of becoming one with nature. We were deep into the mountains by now and although the tour guide still seemed weird, backwoods, and a little overbearing, I had decided that he wasn’t dangerous. Besides, I wasn’t there for him. I had hired him. I was in the mountains for the experience and to let go of my stress. I had some issues that I needed to come to terms with and I had decided a while ago that I wasn’t going to let anyone get in the way of me finding my peace. Therefore, there was no way in hell I was about to allow this creepy guy to take that away from me, so I resolved to ignore him as best as I could and focus on the majesty that surrounded me.

The trails we walked along were rocky and rough, but the terrain was fun and challenging. I didn’t feel threatened by it, especially because the weather was predominately in our favor.

It was hot at times, but Mitch was good about stopping to get water and ensuring that we were both hydrated.

As the air thinned further, I started to feel more tired and we tended to stop to catch our breath and drink our water more often.

Of course, there were plenty of other factors that attributed to this as well. While I couldn’t and didn’t want to know Mitch well enough to speak for him, I knew that the muscles in my legs had shredded a while ago. Now, it was all I could do to keep pace with Mitch’s long strides as we crossed the stone-laden path that coiled up the mountainside.

Along the way, we passed many small towns, carved right into the side of the mountain, almost like posing as a work of art. Each town had a breathtaking view and I found myself contemplating, more than once, what it would be like to leave my life behind to disappeared into a carved oasis.

Of course, I knew that was out of the question for me but being that the townsfolk were the only people I had to talk to, considering I didn’t talk much to Mitch, made me feel a connection to them as I grasped for every strand of intrigue this trip held.

While I knew that it probably wasn’t great, I was happy it wasn’t just me who Mitch seemed to be awkward around. When we were in the town, Mitch tried and failed to talk to every woman he came within eyeshot of and didn’t seem to be too well liked by anyone.

Searching for a bright side to all of this, at least the townsfolk seemed to know who he was and, aside from rolling their eyes when they found out he was my tour guide, no one expressed that I should tread lightly.

Still, I couldn’t help but think this was strange. After all, if the guide came up here a lot, it would make sense that he had at least one friend.

Although, with each town we passed through, the reactions were the same. There didn’t seem to be one person who was pleased to see Mitch, although everyone was hospitable to me.

This experience was echoed for the first few days, until a few nights into the trip, it started to get late. So, we decided it would be a good idea to start to set up camp for the night.

This always seemed like the strange part for me. Perhaps it was because I was truly alone, in the dark with a man I didn’t trust. Sleeping was difficult, so I was perpetually exhausted. On this evening, we had maneuvered through a long day of tough terrain. I was extremely tired because of it and hoped that finally, tonight, I would be able to get some sleep.

However, as soon as we stopped and started to gather what was needed for a successful campsite, I started to get an extremely odd feeling from the guide.

Mitch had acted slightly strange all day, but he was always strange, so I had learned to ignore him.

However, today, I noticed that I was exceptionally tired. Even though the day was long, and the terrain wasn’t easy, I took pride in keeping myself in shape. So, when I failed to put up my simple tent without stopping to take a sip of water, I thought that my fatigue was particularly strange.

Feeling my mouth almost immediately dry out, I downed a large swig from my water bottle and immediately felt my stomach curdle in protest. I made a face, glaring at the water bottle but was unsuccessful in figuring out why it made me feel sick.

“Are you okay?” Mitch called from his side of the campground, almost as though on cue, which I tried not to find strange.

“Yeah, I’m fine…” I offered dismissively, putting my water bottle down on the ground and groaning softly. I shook my head to clear out the fog but was completely unsuccessful. In fact, the shake of my head immediately caused me to feel dizzy.

Coupled with my upset stomach, I was happy that I was sitting down.

I closed my eyes for a moment, drawing in a deep breath, until I noticed a douse in light in front of me.

Finding it strange, I opened my eyes and looked up, almost falling off the log I was sitting on. Mitch was now hovering around me, almost expectantly. It startled me, and I made no secret of expressing my discontent with his closeness.

“Is there something wrong?” I demanded, pulling myself up from the ground and heading back over to my tent.

“No…I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he retorted, almost as though he was insulted.

“I’m fine, Mitch. I already told you I was fine,” I hissed, going back to putting up my tent.

“So, you don’t talk much,” he offered in a manner that led me to question whether he expected me to answer.

Despite my exhaustion, I returned to pitching my tent, trying to give him the hint that I wanted him to leave me the hell alone.

However, he simply stood there, staring at me. I could feel his eyes piercing my back and the thought of having an altercation with him only made me feel more tired,

So, eventually, I turned around and gave him a grin, “No. I don’t. I’ve always been more of the silent observer.”

“Oh? Yeah, I get that,” he answered as he swayed back and forth, fists punched uncomfortably in his pockets as his lanky structure coiled up into an elongated ‘S’ shape.

“So, you go to school, right? College?”

“Yeah, I do,” I answered, “I’m studying to become a paralegal.”

“Cool,” he replied, though he seemed distracted by his own thoughts.

“So, do you have a boyfriend?”

The last question caused my stomach to drop uncomfortably.

“Um…Yeah,” I answered, deciding that less information I gave about the fictional boyfriend would be more convincing.

“Oh?” Mitch answered, stepping toward me in a manner that made me feel even more uncomfortable. “Why didn’t he come with you on this trip? Are you guys on the outs or something?”

“No,” I replied, trying to sound convincing, “he…he just doesn’t like the mountains…Or hiking. He thinks its…boring.”

I knew that my voice was cracking as I stepped away from him, hoping that he eventually would change his mind about what he was obviously hinting around, before it was too late.

Although, each of my movements seemed increasingly sluggish and with the thinner air, it was becoming increasingly arduous to breath.

“So, what he doesn’t know, won’t hurt him, right? Don’t you want to do it on a mountain?” Mitch insisted, now becoming seriously direct.

“No,” I insisted, trying not to let my fear translate through my voice, “I’m sorry but I would rather keep our relationship professional.”

By now, I could feel my heart pounding as my whole body shook with terror. I wondered how long it would take me to make it back to civilization but was certain this was the longest portion of the trek with no towns for miles.

I swallowed hard as my eyes searched for something I could use as a weapon.

Yet, my sluggish brain seemed utterly useless, unable to focus on anything, other than my fear.

“Why?” Mitch demanded, now raising his voice significantly as his expression became alight with ire. “What? Am I not good enough for you?”

“Mitch, I said no! I hired you to guide me up the mountain. That’s it!” I exclaimed, trying to turn around and run but getting caught up in the tent.

“Why don’t you just give it a try?” He insisted, stepping closer to me with a hastiness that even my slowed disposition was able to notice.

“No!” I screamed, fighting my way through the tent, trying to get away from him.

However, when I tried to go around the side, Mitch quickened his pace and grabbed me. Although I tried to dodge his grasp, I felt his fingers clasp around my wrist as he yanked me close to him.

Spinning me around, he pinned me up against a nearby tree.

I tried to fight him off, but he grabbed my other wrist and shoved my arms up across my chest.

When I realized that his iron grip, which was surprisingly strong, had rendered my upper body useless, he glared into my eyes as a sinister grin formed on his lips.

“Relax, Carrie. Enjoy it,” he offered in a low, yet threatening voice.

“No!” I exclaimed, one more time as I focused on throwing all my strength into a kick that caught him right in the groin.

The instant I felt his grip loosen, I wriggled my wrists out of his grasp and turned to the side, so that I could run away from him.

“You bitch!” I heard him call as the rustling behind me turned into running.

Without looking back, I darted into the woods. Instantly, the run caused me to feel sick to my stomach but hearing a dog barking, I held out hope that I might be closer to help than I thought. Even though I didn’t see any sign of human life, the sound of the dog, at least, what I hoped was a dog, helped me press on through my waning resolve.

Behind me, I heard twigs cracking and limbs breaking. Hard, angry breaths and groans followed close behind and I knew that Mitch was still cashing me.

“Come back here!” Mitch called at one point, which made me realize exactly how close he really was.

I screamed and propelled myself forward. Now, I was even more desperate to find someone. I didn’t dare look back, but it seemed that with every step I took, Mitch’s long stride covered double the distance.

Again, the dog barked, and I used the sound as motivation, hoping that I would find someone who would help me.

After all, if it wasn’t a dog, I didn’t have anything to lose anyway and would much rather take my chances with a wolf or coyote then with my psycho tour guide.

However, just as I was thinking that, I felt a hand swat through my hair, barely missing it.

I screamed and tried to dart away from him but ended up feeling myself be shoved forward. I tried to use the momentum to my advantage but no sooner did I realize what had happed, I felt my foot catch on the underbrush below. I tried to catch myself but fell forward in a slow, painful moment that I couldn’t escape. As leaves and rocks bombarded me, I heard a crack in my ankle. Yet, I didn’t even have time to feel the pain before my head slammed against a large rock.

While I didn’t pass out, I immediately felt swelling in my sinuses and an ache in my head that was disorienting.

Momentarily, the intensity of my fall caused me to forget everything else but being on the ground and worrying about having broken something.

Although, the moment of twilight was short lived, being replaced by intense panic, when I felt hands grab my shoulder and throw me onto my back.

When I realized what was still happening around me, Mitch was straddling me and holding a syringe in his hand.

When I realized this, I freaked out, trying to kick and punch him, all to no avail. I tried to sit up, but he grabbed my hair and slammed my head back onto the ground.

I felt dazed again, but fought through it, now far too fearful of what he was planning to do to me to care about my injuries.

With the coursing horror flooding through me, a million thoughts ran through my mind at once; but the only truly cognizant thoughts were the ones that told me that he was planning to kill me and if he killed me, my injuries wouldn’t matter, so they were secondary.

Right now, I had to save my life.

As he released my hair, I screamed and blocked my face, but he threw my arms out of his way, with one hand and shoved my head to the side.

“No…Please…” I begged, feeling hot tears welling up in my eyes when I realized I couldn’t break myself free of his grasp. “Let me go…Please let me go.”

The guide chuckled as he brought the syringe out again and yanked the cap off with his teeth.

I gave one last flail, which he dodged effectively, before injecting the syringe into my neck.

I screamed and fought, yet my movements and my attempts to yell were soon rendered completely useless. The tranquilizer that he used to subdue me didn’t completely knock me out but it’s fast-acting nature paralyzed my whole body.

Becoming complacent and unable to move, all I could do was cry and with what little voice I had left, beg him to let me go.

“You should have just let me have you,” he insisted as his beady eyes pierced into mine. “But that’s okay, I like it rough…” He cackled, pausing to glare directly at me. His expression was sickeningly amused and disturbing.

Sweat poured down his pale face and his black hair stuck to his forehead, from running. His smile was wide and deranged, with the missing teeth only addition to the cartoonish sneer.

“Please…” I called, feeling myself now drift in and out of consciousness. “I don’t want to die…”

The man snorted with genuine humor if he hissed, “Well, if you had been a good girl and allowed me to do what I wanted, maybe that wouldn’t be necessary.”

“Oh God! Please…Please don’t…Please, leave me alone…I won’t tell anyone…” I screamed, even though my voice was hoarse, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to put thoughts, much less words together.

However, instead of reacting to my bequest, he simply continued to straddle me, thrusting himself against me with intent, wearing the creepy, oversized smile.

Then, when he realized his plan was succeeding, instead of taking any pity on me, he simply glared deep into my eyes, slid back, and reached to unzip his pants.