The Wildman (25 page)

So that was his plan. To get them one at a time. Maybe toy with them before he killed them.

The coward’s way,
Jeff thought.

Otherwise, while they were sitting
around the fire, all cozy and warm, drinking and shooting the breeze, he easily could have pulled a gun and accused them all of being responsible for Jimmy’s death. He could have gotten most of them all at once.

Or why hadn’t he waited until they were asleep and quietly slit their throats?

Jeff shivered, thinking it was a damned good thing he hadn’t slept last night. The lack of sleep might be getting to him now, but he would be sure not to let himself fall sleep tonight. He had to stay alert, ready for anything.

It bothered him that he couldn’t figure out Ben’s game plan, and he wondered if perhaps this guy he assumed was Ben Foster really was innocent.

What if the man he’d found in the infirmary was really Ben Foster … or someone else … and he was setting them up for … something?

Maybe he was using Jeff to kill Ben or whoever this guy was.

That didn’t seem very likely, but how could Jeff know? Evan—or whoever that was out there—certainly looked and smelled like he’d been a prisoner for more than a few days. It would be one hell of an elaborate scheme, but what if
he
was the real Ben Foster, and this guy Evan was really innocent?

What if he was playing Jeff so he’d do the killing for him?

All of these paranoid thoughts rushed through Jeff’s mind as he stared in silence at Ben, who was still leaning against the wall by the door.

Was he positioned there so he could keep tabs on what was happening inside and outside, or was he nervous, justifiably upset about someone dying on his property?

Jeff shook a cigarette from the pack and offered one to Ben. Jeff’s hand was shaking as handed it to him.

Whoever the fuck you are,
he thought.

“Thanks,” Ben said as he slipped the cigarette into
the corner of his mouth.

When he flicked his lighter and held the flame to Ben’s cigarette, Jeff studied the man’s face in the sudden brightness. He didn’t see anything behind the distant, glazed eyes. Then he lit his own cigarette and, leaning his head back, blew a cloud of smoke up at the porch ceiling.

“
This is some fucked-up shit, huh Evan?” he said as the nicotine rush went to his head. He put emphasis on the name but didn’t notice any reaction from Ben … or Evan … or whoever he was.

“
Amen, brother,” Ben said, exhaling noisily.

Jeff let the cigarette dangle from his lower lip as he folded his arms across his chest and cocked his butt up onto the porch railing. The wind had lessened but was steady now. It swept the smoke into the night.

“
So what do you think’s going on?” Jeff asked.

Ben was silent for a long time. He cocked his head to one side and scratched his cheek.

“
I wish to fuck I knew,” he said. He sounded so sincere.

Jeff took another puff and let the smoke out slowly through his nose.

Now was the time, he knew, to see if he could crack Ben, but Jeff had his doubts. He wondered why he was being so mistrustful of the situation. His lack of sleep made it feel surreal to find himself in a situation like this when all he’d been expecting was a quiet reunion of camp friends.

It was almost impossible to believe
that
someone
was out to kill them.

“I—uh, I think I know,” Jeff said.

“
Know what?”

“
Know what’s going on.”

“
Really.”

Ben took a long drag on his cigarette, but Jeff didn’t like the way his was affecting him, so he snapped it out into the darkness. It hissed and was extinguished when it hit the wet ground.

“
Yeah. I do,” Jeff said.

He didn’t like the way he was winding up inside. He remembered the feeling of anticipation he always got when he was up at bat. Year after year, Mike was the star of their tent’s team, but Evan had always been a good player, too, and Jeff had felt driven to compete with them. Every time at bat, though, he got terrible butterflies in his stomach. It was like that now … only worse.

“
I went for a walk a while ago.” Jeff lowered his voice as though in the confessional with a priest.

He tensed and waited to see how Ben would react. If he had a gun, what was to stop him from using it right now? Then he could go inside and finish off Mike and Tyler before they had any idea what was happening.

“
Doing a little snooping around, were you?” Ben asked.

Jeff couldn’t read Ben’s tone of voice. It was tight and higher than usual, a curious mixture of nervousness and agitation. When Ben took another puff, he sucked hard on the cigarette so the glow lit up his face, giving him a leering, devilish look.

Jeff realized he was blundering into something he might not be ready for right now, but once he’d started, there was no turning back. Before he accused Ben of anything, he wanted the other guys here to witness what he said and how Ben reacted. Easing the dining hall door open and keeping a wary eye on Ben, he stuck his head inside and called out, “Hey! Guys! Come out here a second, will yah?”

“
What the fuck are you doing?”

Ben moved away from the door toward the edge of the porch. He looked like he was coiling up, getting ready to run or fight.

“
There’s something I want to ask you about, but I want the others here when I do.”

Jeff’s pulse was hammering so hard it squeezed his throat as he waited to hear or see signs of activity from inside.

“
Yo!” he called out. “Hey guys!”

“
Just a sec,” Mike shouted from inside, but before Jeff could respond, Ben made his move. A blur of motion in the corner of his eye drew his attention, and then the night exploded with pain as something hard—harder than a man’s fist—slammed into the side of his head. White stars sizzled across his vision, and he rocked back on his heels. His legs almost gave out as the night slammed down with a roarin
g
whoosh
.
He staggered backwards, waving his arms for balance, but he was barely conscious when the backs of his legs bumped against the porch railing, and his momentum carried him over the edge. He hit the ground, landing on his back, hard enough to knock the wind out of him, but he didn’t lose consciousness. Pain and shock numbed him, but the cold air quickly brought him to full consciousness.

An instant later, the night exploded.

A bright white flash accompanied a loud snap, and something whistled past his ear before hitting the ground with a dul
l
thump.

Jeff looked up at the porch and saw a dark smear of motion. Still dazed, he realized it must be Ben, and he had just shot at him.

“
You fucking asshole!” Ben shouted.

Jeff knew he was taking aim at him again, so he rolled over on his hands and knees, and scrambled away toward the side of the building.

“
What the fuck’s going on out there?” someone— shouted from inside. It sounded like Tyler, but the ringing in his ears made it impossible for Jeff to know for sure.

As he crawled away over the saturated ground, he cringed, waiting to hear another shot and feel the bullet tear into him.

You never hear the one that kills you,
he thought, so even though the sound of the second shot made him flinch and almost piss himself, he was filled with a surge of relief as he staggered to his feet and ran around the side of the building.

“
Look out!”
he shouted as he turned the corner and started running toward the woods.
“He’s got a gun!
”

Another bright flash lit up the side of the dining hall the instant a third shot rang out. The bullet clipped a tree trunk close to Jeff’s head, kicking up splinters of bark that sprayed his face but didn’t do any serious damage. He guessed—he hoped Ben couldn’t see him in the darkness. That was his only chance.

Cowering behind one of the pine trees and panting to catch his breath, Jeff looked at the glowing windows of the dining hall. Hopefully Mike and Tyler realized some serious shit was going down and would take cover …
or else come out to help him.

“
Be careful, you guys!
” Jeff yelled, cupping his hands to his mouth. “
He’s got a gun and wants to kill us!
”

Through the dining hall windows, he saw a flurry of motion. Shadows cast by the firelight shifted crazily across the windows like a dark kaleidoscope. Jeff had no idea if Ben had gone into the building or had jumped off the porch and was coming after him.

Who does he want to finish off first?
he wondered as he turned and he
aded off into the darkness.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Wide Game

Jeff knew now for certain that Ben had figured out he had found Evan in the infirmary.

He would have to come for him first.

He also knew that, with the ground as wet as it was, he would leave tracks any idiot with a flashlight could follow. And Ben, while he might be crazy, certainly was no idiot.

His best chance of survival, he decided, was to strike off into the woods, avoiding the muddy paths as much as possible. He had turned his back on the dining hall and was entering the woods when three shots rang out the night. They were muffled in the darkness, but he turned around in time to see the last of the muzzle flashes as it lit up the inside of the dining hall.

“
Sweet Mother of God,” he whispered, realizing Ben must have gone back into the dining hall and finished off both Mike and Tyler before coming after him.

It made sense.

They were isolated on the island with no way off unless someone found a boat or was desperate enough to swim the mile or so back to the mainland. It would be difficult if not impossible to swim that far in water that had to be close to freezing this time of year.

As for the boat, Jeff held little hope he could get to it and use it. Ben must have done something to kill the engine so they’d think they were stranded here. Jeff held out a slim hope Ben hadn’t permanently destroyed the engine. How else would he get off the island once he had done what he set out to do?

Ben had to keep his options open.

If the boat really was useless, then he had to have another boat or some way of getting off the island. Jeff had to find out what that was and use it to his advantage.

But right now, Ben was hunting for him. He had to survive.

Not being armed, Jeff would have to elude Ben and try to get off the island. Now that Ben had killed both Mike and Tyler, he could take his sweet time and stalk him at his leisure.

Crouching in the darkness, Jeff surveyed the dining hall for any signs of activity. He tried not to visualize what must have happened there. Mike and Tyler, no doubt have been confused by the sounds of gunfire outside, probably didn’t have time to react before Ben came in and shot them both. There was a slim chance on or both of them had escaped, but that didn’t seem likely. Ben probably walked in there as cool and calm as could be, took aim, and shot them both in cold blood.

Bleak despair filled Jeff.

He shivered as cold night air misted his face and ran in trickling streams down the inside of his raincoat. He still had his flashlight, but he had dropped the birch stick on the beach when he had helped pick up Fred.

“
Come on. Pull it together. Slow down and think.”

He tried hard to focus, but the situation seemed hopeless.

Jeff believed now that Evan had been telling the truth. Ben had tied him up and left him out in the infirmary, but Evan wasn’t of any use to Ben any more. Ben would be gunning for him, too. Jeff would have to get back to the infirmary as quickly as possible before Ben got there, found Evan, and killed him.

But Jeff realized he could be walking right into a trap if he went out there now. He wished he could think of some way to save Evan, but he couldn’t come up with any options.

Without a weapon beyond sticks and stones, what chance did he have against someone with a gun?

He had to think … Think …

This was like the “wide games” they used to play as campers. Sometimes certain tents would challenge other tents; other times, it would be all of the campers against the counselors and staff; but basically, it was a camp-wide game of hide-‘n-seek … Only this time, the stakes were a damned sight higher than a free ticket to the snack bar.

All was silent in the dining hall.

The only sound was the steady patter of water, dripping from the trees and plopping on the ground. The orange glow of the firelight inside the building seemed to mock Jeff as he shivered in the cold, but he couldn’t risk going back there. Not now. Even if one or both of his friends were wounded or being held captive, perhaps as ransom, there was nothing Jeff could do to help them now.

No, Mike and Tyler were on their own.

As far as he knew, no one had left the building.