Lies Behind The Woods

head on the steering wheel, and Jane fell forward, hitting her head on the dash.
The truck driver got out of his truck, rushed over to the SUV to help render aid like a good Samaritan. John got out of the car.
“What the fuck? Are you guys all right?” The truck driver asked John after meeting him in the middle of the street.
“We’re fine. But not for you.” John took out his pistol and shot the truck driver in the head.
With Tara still unconscious, Steve woke up and witnessed John executing the driver in cold blood. He watched John standing over the truck driver’s lifeless body. Steve quietly opened his side of the car door and went to Jane’s door and shook her to wake up. Jane slowly came to her senses. Steve placed his hand over her mouth and made a quiet sound with his index finger. He pointed to John in the middle of the street as he placed the dead truck driver back in his truck. Steve and Jane entered the woods. Just as they reached the bushes, John noticed their attempt to escape and fired shots in their direction.
“So, it’s a hunting trip now,” John told himself as he lit a cigarette while walking back to the SUV.
“Tara, Tara. Get your ass up. They’re trying to escape,” John yelled as he shook Tara in the driver seat. “Wha—what happened?” Tara finally came back to her senses.
“You let them get away. That’s what the fuck happened. Now, let’s go get them bastards.” John ran after his victims.
Tara was right behind John as they ran through the thick White Pine woods, the sun beginning to set.
“You know Steve is a runner. He’s probably way gone by now,” Tara said as she slowed down, running out of breath.
“Yeah, but you hit that bitch in the leg. Luckily for us, you are a bad shot. Plus, he’s hurt too. They ain’t going far.” John got on one knee to look at the fresh footprints and the bloody trail Jane left from her thigh. He looked around the grass like a hunter and saw another bloody trail. “This way. They can’t be far.”
Steve and Jane were moving as fast as they could with Jane limping all the way with her injured leg.
“Steve, I’m tired. I need a break,” Jane cried as they reached a small river that separated the woods.
“We need to keep going, Jane. They are going to kill us when they get a chance. This is our only chance for survival.”
“I can’t go on. I’m hurt and tired. I don’t run like you do. I don’t have the energy. Just fucking go without me.”
Steve took Jane by the hand and looked her in the eyes, wiping her tears as they fell down her cheek.
“I’m not going anywhere without you. We are in this together,” he said as he picked her up off the ground.
The sky started to turn pink. The wind chill was dropping and they could hear wolves howling in the background.
“We have to cross this river, I think. I don’t know where we are going, but we must keep moving. They may be right behind us,” Steve said to Jane as he surveyed the area.
“Not so fast, motherfuckers.” John caught up with Steve and Jane with Tara slowly catching up behind. John waved his gun like he was in the wild west.
“I guess we’re walking the rest of the way,” John said as he motioned to the river for the party to cross.
“I . . . I need to rest.” Jane sat on a log next to the river to catch her breath.
Steve managed to gain some courage to step up in Jane’s defense. “We are staying right here. Fuck you, John. We’re not moving any further. This shit stops right here.”
“Oh really, tough guy? I don’t like your snitching bitch ass anyway,” John said as he raised his pistol. He shot Steve and Jane screamed. Steve’s body fell back into the river. John blew on the barrel of his pistol and smiled as he saw Steve fall.
Tara ran next to John.
“Is he . . . Is he dead?” Tara asked.
Jane turned to the river. “Steve, Steve, Steve, get up!”

11


Cabin Fever
A passerby notified the police about the truck and SUV being on the side of the road. Police arrived and started a crime scene investigation.
“Ping.” An alert sounded on Professor Pembleton’s phone while he was at home grading papers. He finally had the ability to have all alerts from the camera at the intersection instantly. “Oh, what now? Another person ran a red light again,” he said as he opened his phone to view the camera. The camera showed the near-miss accident and the murder and body placement of the truck driver, but it didn’t show the escape attempt of Steve and Jane.
“Oh, shit! I have to notify Tim right away,” James told himself as he dialed his number. They had become
close friends since the first case three years ago and had helped each other since the Tara Murphy case.
“James! I was just about to call you. You have no idea where I’m at right now,” Sergeant Tim expressed. “The same exact spot where my camera helped solve the case of Tara Murphy,” James replied right away.
“Wow, you are on top of it like always, James. Sounds like you have some clues for us. What do you have?”
“Well,” James hesitated. “I see a near-miss accident, and the SUV gets out of view. Then the truck driver is met in the middle of the street. But . . . I don’t know if I could believe my eyes, Tim. The shooter . . . looks a lot like John Dexter, Tim. John fucking Dexter.
This can’t be right, can it?” James asked nervously.
“Unfortunately, it may be the case. John escaped from Bare Hill Correctional Facility two weeks ago. The media is not aware because Senator Smith wanted to keep this low-key due to the nature of