Crimson magic flowed from Father Anderson’s hand and entered Jessie’s closed eyes.
The energy spread across her vision like warm water, gradually merging with her body.
“The Lord has heard my request and granted you the ability to see through the darkness,” Anderson said solemnly, placing the responsibility for the miracle on God without hesitation.
He removed his fingers from her eyelids.
“Can you see now?”
“What?”
Jessie didn’t fully understand what he meant.
She blinked several times, and then the darkness surrounding her began to recede.
At first, she could only see the ground directly in front of her.
Then the trees several feet away became visible, followed by the branches, rocks, and uneven trail stretching deeper into the forest.
Within seconds, the night looked almost as clear as twilight.
“That’s impossible.”
Jessie covered her mouth, staring around with wide eyes.
Even the faint tracks in the dirt were now visible to her.
Anderson’s expression remained calm.
“It seems the blessing worked.”
He adjusted the Winchester Model 1897 in his hands and continued in a serious tone.
“There’s nothing impossible about a miracle.
The Lord exists, and tonight, He has chosen to help you.”
Jessie nodded blankly.
The events of the night had already shattered most of her understanding of the world, but suddenly receiving the ability to see in complete darkness pushed her disbelief even further.
Anderson chambered a slug.
“Let’s go.
Following the Lord’s will, we’re going to eliminate the killers and rescue anyone still alive.”
Jessie stared at the muscular priest standing before her, his black clothing and Roman collar clearly visible through her enhanced vision.
After a moment, she tightened her grip on the pistol and nodded.
“All right.”
The difference between moving blindly and being able to see was enormous.
Jessie’s fear didn’t disappear completely, but her thoughts became noticeably clearer now that every shadow no longer concealed an unseen threat.
As she led Anderson through the forest, she began recognizing landmarks from her earlier escape.
She even noticed several steel traps hidden beneath leaves and branches.
“Father, be careful.”
Jessie pointed toward a patch of disturbed ground ahead.
“They set traps all through this area.
Carly stepped into one of them.”
Anderson approached and crouched beside the concealed device.
The jaws of the heavy hunting trap were stained with blood, and a torn strip of fabric remained caught between its teeth.
The cloth matched Carly’s jeans.
“So this is where Chris distracted them?”
Jessie nodded.
Sadness immediately appeared in her eyes.
“Yes.
Chris drew them away so Carly and I could escape.
Without him, we would’ve been caught.”
Anderson examined the surrounding ground.
Several overlapping footprints led in different directions.
Some belonged to Jessie and Carly, while the larger, uneven tracks had been left by the cannibals.
Today had become the worst nightmare of Jessie’s life.
She and her friends had only wanted to camp near a beautiful lake, but the trip had turned into a slaughter.
She had watched people she cared about die, fled through the wilderness, stumbled upon the killers’ cabin, and witnessed what they did to the bodies they collected.
By the end, only she, Carly, and Chris had escaped.
Anderson noticed the grief on her face but didn’t comfort her.
There would be time for mourning later, provided they survived the night.
“Keep moving.”
Jessie drew a shaky breath and pushed the memories aside.
“Right.”
She continued leading the way while Anderson followed the tracks and signs left by the fleeing victims and pursuing cannibals.
With their enhanced vision and known direction, they moved rapidly through the dense forest. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Before long, the trees began to thin.
A moonlit lake appeared ahead.
Without the thick canopy blocking the sky, pale light reflected across the still water.
Under ordinary circumstances, the sight would have been peaceful and beautiful.
Neither of them felt any desire to admire it.
Several damaged tents stood near the shoreline.
Sleeping bags, coolers, and camping supplies had been scattered across the clearing, while dark bloodstains covered sections of the ground.
Anderson glanced at Jessie.
“This was your campsite?”
She stared at the abandoned tents for several seconds before nodding silently.
Anderson suppressed the urge to question why a group of young people had chosen such an isolated location without reliable cell service.
Their mistake had already cost them more than enough.
“Which direction did you run?”
Jessie raised one hand and pointed toward the right side of the clearing.
“That way.”
Anderson moved ahead of her.
Bringing Jessie had been the correct choice.
Searching the enormous forest alone might have taken several hours, and Carly didn’t have that kind of time.
They crossed the campsite and reached another stretch of disturbed ground.
With magic strengthening his vision, Anderson easily spotted the blood smeared across the grass and bark.
Something had been dragged from the campsite into the woods.
Several pieces of torn clothing hung from the low branches.
Farther ahead, Anderson noticed something swaying from a tree.
It was a severed human head.
The eyes had been removed, along with the ears and tongue.
Fresh blood still covered the mutilated face, suggesting the victim had died earlier that day.
The remains almost certainly belonged to one of Jessie’s friends.
Jessie hadn’t noticed it yet.
Anderson immediately changed direction and stepped into her line of sight.
“This way.”
He guided her around the tree before she could look up.
Preventing her from seeing the mutilated remains wouldn’t change what had happened, but there was no reason to add another horrific image to her memories.
It was a small act of mercy.
The bloodstains and drag marks continued deeper into the forest.
They were fresh enough that even without Jessie’s guidance, Anderson could now follow them easily.
The killers’ hideout couldn’t be far away.
Several minutes later, another clearing appeared through the trees.
A crude wooden cabin stood in the center.
Firelight flickered through the dirty windows, while thin smoke rose from a crooked chimney.
Rows of wrecked vehicles surrounded the building.
Cars, trucks, and abandoned campers had been stripped for parts and pushed together alongside mountains of rusted metal.
License plates from different states hung from posts or had been nailed to the cabin walls like trophies.
The scene looked like a graveyard created from the belongings of previous victims.
Anderson studied the vehicles with mild surprise.
The cannibals must have possessed extraordinary strength and considerable mechanical skill to transport so many damaged cars through the forest.
Some had clearly been dragged a great distance from nearby highways.
Jessie’s hands tightened around the pistol.
“Father.”
Hatred replaced the fear in her voice.
“That’s their cabin.”
Anderson gave a small nod.
He raised the Winchester and quietly advanced toward the outer ring of wrecked vehicles.
Jessie stayed close behind him, following every instruction exactly as promised.
They slipped between two rusted trucks and crouched behind a wall of scrap metal.
From their position, they had a clear view of the cabin entrance.
A foul smell drifted through the clearing.
Anderson took one breath before deciding he would rather not take another.
He turned toward Jessie and lowered his voice.
“Stay here.
Don’t move, and don’t make a sound unless I tell you.”
Jessie licked her dry lips and nodded.
“I understand.”
Her obedience earned a faint look of approval.
Anderson examined the cabin again.
He was hidden in darkness while the killers remained inside a brightly lit structure.
With his magically enhanced vision, the tactical advantage belonged entirely to him.
Against ordinary human opponents, the situation would hardly qualify as a challenge.
Anderson rested one shotgun against the side of the vehicle and reached for a heavy section of scrap metal.
It looked like part of an old truck bumper and would have required two normal men to move comfortably.
He lifted it with one hand.
Jessie stared at him but wisely remained silent.
Anderson calculated the distance to the cabin door, then threw the piece of metal.
The bumper sailed through the air.
CRASH!
It struck the wooden entrance and smashed straight through it.
Splintered boards exploded into the cabin, followed by the sound of furniture being knocked over.
Angry voices erupted from inside.
“Grah!”
“Rrrah!
Gah!”
The words were barely recognizable as speech.
Anderson couldn’t understand the cannibals’ broken language, but the meaning was obvious.
Someone had attacked their home, and they intended to kill the intruder.
Heavy footsteps rushed toward the ruined entrance.
Anderson raised the Winchester.
Several seconds later, two deformed men charged from the cabin.
The first carried a large bloodstained axe.
He was broad and heavily built, with a twisted face and thick arms powerful enough to swing the weapon like a hatchet.
The second held a hunting bow in one hand and a long knife in the other.
A quiver filled with crudely made arrows hung across his malformed back.
Both killers scanned the clearing with bloodshot eyes.
They had no idea where the attack had come from.
Anderson smiled.
“Amen.”
He rested the shotgun against the edge of the wrecked car and aimed at the bowman’s head.
The cannibal seemed to sense something and turned toward the darkness.
Too late.
Anderson pulled the trigger.
BOOM!
The Winchester’s blast tore through the night.
The heavy slug struck the bow-wielding killer in the head.
His skull burst apart under the impact, sending blood and bone across the front of the cabin.
The headless body remained standing for a fraction of a second before collapsing onto the ground.
Beside him, the axe-wielding cannibal froze.
He stared at his dead companion, unable to understand what had just happened.
From behind the wrecked vehicles, Father Alexander Anderson smoothly worked the pump.
Chak-chak.
A fresh slug entered the chamber.
End of Chapter 18
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