WEBVTT
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All right, my spookies, Tonight isn't just another stroll into
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the treeline. This is the best of twenty twenty five,
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a handpicked collection of the wilderness nightmares that hit the
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hardest last year, the stories that made you stare into
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the dark like it was staring back because out there
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where the signal dies and the road turns to gravel,
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fear doesn't need a mask. It just needs time. We've
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got a hidden waterfall with a sunrise worth risking everything
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for until someone else shows up. We've got a legendary
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plant that isn't rare, it's waiting. We've got a river
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nightmare that proves the biggest thing in the water isn't
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always the most dangerous. And we have a howl that
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doesn't echo it answers. So tighten your bootlaces, check your flashlight,
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and if you're listening with headphones, maybe keep one ear
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free because this is the best of twenty twenty five
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and the woods pick these stories for a reason. And
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make sure you're subscribed right here at Weekly Spooky, where
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we have a brand new horror story every single Wednesday.
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We also have true crime on Mondays and little surprises
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throughout the week. And we would love to have you
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join us. But now get cozy, pull out a blanket.
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It's time to begin. Fortune Falls by David O'Hanlon. Janine
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and Rose were on summer break from their third year
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at the University of Kansas. Being from a flat, landlocked wasteland,
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the Lady Jayhawks usually took their breaks on a beach
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in Galveston. Then something immensely terrifying it happened the previous year.
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They'd been on the beach for three days. Between surf
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lessons and volleyball games, all anyone could talk about was
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this new movie opening that weekend. They decided to take
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a chance and join some of their friends for the
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first evening showing of Jaws the next day. They all
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just sat on the sand the day after, and every
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day after that until it was time to return to
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school for the summer of seventy six. They decided they'd
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try something different and far away from the threat of
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shark attacks. Kansas didn't have beaches, but it didn't have
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mountains either. Oregon was Jeanine's idea, and Rose had fallen
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in love with it. She studied the maps and picked
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the route for their journey of self discovery five days
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of backpacking and camping from the isolated town of Sheldon
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to the Silver Creek Lodge, where they'd celebrate with a
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final day floating lazily down the Snake River. We should
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just camp here, Janine said. It's going to be dark soon,
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and we still kind of suck at setting up the tent.
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The signs say overnight camping is prohibited. Rose replied that
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couple said it was only eight miles to the next town.
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We'd be lucky to do that in three hours, Rosy. Besides,
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everyone we've talked to has said that we need to
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see this waterfall at sunrise. We all already missed it
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this morning because you didn't want to get a ride
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from that trucker, because hitchhiking is dangerous, she scoffed. And
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that guy was gross. He looked like an evil Jerry Garcia.
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Scary Garcia, Janine said, with a giggle. Come on, Rosie,
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everyone's leaving the park anyway. No one will know we're here.
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Worst case, some ranger Smith guy comes by and we
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make dough eyes at him until he just gives us
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a warning. Rose seemed to consider it. She looked over
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to the parking area, and Jeanine was correct. Almost everyone
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had already cleared out. The park rangers wouldn't lock the
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gate until sundown, but with less than an hour to go,
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there wasn't much to do except feed the mosquitoes. A
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family of six was packing everything into their station wagon.
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A couple of teens made out on a park bench.
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Local kids played the last downs of their football game,
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and a red pickup truck sat unoccupied in the far
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corner of the lot. No one would be around to
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notice them, and it would be nice to see the
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waterfall at first light. That had been their original plan
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after hearing about it from a couple at a diner
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two days earlier. The locals called it Fortune Falls because
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the water broke up and sparkled like a cascade of
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diamonds at sunrise. Roses better safe than sorry approach had
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set them back hours. However, when they arrived at noon,
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the site was anything but impressive. The waterfall wasn't particularly
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large and only descended some fifty feet to the punch
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bowl below. After the big show at dawn, most people
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moved along to the larger recreational areas. It did seem
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unlikely park services would spend much time locking down the
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tiny fortune Fall site. An engine turned over and Rose
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glanced around again. The station wagon was ready to go.
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The winning football team was high fiving while the losers
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collected their bikes from the lawn, and the makeout session
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was getting hot enough that it would soon need to
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move to a more private location. That red truck still
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sat there. However, an ominous feeling came over Rows, but
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she shrugged it off. She always had an ominous feeling.
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It seemed okay, we can stay, she conceded, but we'd
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better not get caught. Janine used the sawback of the
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survival knife to split a thick limb. She tossed one
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half into the fire and stuck the knife into the
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ground next to her. Janine's boyfriend, Howard, was in the
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rotc back home. He'd insisted she'd take the knife along,
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joking that she could use the compass on the pommel
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to find her way back home. Janine watched the needle
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settle and look to the southeast. She knew that somewhere
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beyond the expansive wilderness was Kansas. She'd never liked it there,
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over the last three days, she'd come to like it
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even less. It was boring in every possible way, right
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down to the men, she thought, as she pulled Howard's
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knife from the earth. Two more days and we'll be
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at the river, Rose said, folding her map. There's so
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much more stuff to see. We could come here every summer,
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and I don't think we'd ever find it all. I
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don't think I want to come here next summer, Janine
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whittled at the end of the stick. Jesus, Rosie, just
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look at it. How could anyone go back to Kansas
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once they've seen all this? Like you want to transfer here?
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Why not? The university is a few hundred miles that way,
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she pointed with the knife, then checked the compass and
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corrected her aim. That way. There's an entire ocean nearby,
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an ocean that's too cold for sharks too. Didn't Jaws
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take place in New England? Okay, so maybe they still
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have sharks. But there's a whole state of this, She
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gestured to the deep black wilderness around them. Have you
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met anyone boring in the last few days. I'm sure
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I have. Rose couldn't think of any. When did you
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decide this? I haven't decided anything, Janine sheathed the knife
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and inspected the point she'd put on the limb. Everywhere
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we've been this week has been so alive. Kansas is
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just an after birth. It's like God ran out of
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ideas and just left the canvas blank when he made it.
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What about Howard, the boys are cuter, Rose laughed. She
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didn't necessary sarahly agree with her friend, but there was
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a ruggedness about the Oregon Mountain men they'd encountered that
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was lacking in the Kansas stock. Howard is sweet, Janine continued,
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But all he can think about is the future. How
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can anyone give a rat's ass about the future when
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we have all this right now? Maybe you're right. We
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got an eight mile hike tomorrow to talk about it,
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Rose said, Let's get some rest. We don't want to
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miss the sunrise showing. We can make sure we have
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the best view before the gates even open. It's going
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to be magical. Yeah, Janine tossed the wooden spike into
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the fire. There's a lot to see tomorrow. The tent
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lit up suddenly from the outside. The bright light shone
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through the nylon, turning the structure into an oversized lantern,
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and roused the girls from their slumber. Jeanine rubbed her eyes,
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trying to clear away confusion with the sleepiness. Rose groaned
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and rolled over in her sleeping bag. It cannot be
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mourning already, she mumbled, it's not. Jeanine sat up sharply.
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She could hear the gentle rumble of a truck engine outside. Shit,
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I think we're busted, Rosy. Rose said something, but the
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words were lost in the sudden rumble of the motor.
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The light became more intense as the headlights rushed closer.
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The shower of earth and rocks thrown up by the
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truck tires rained noisily through the tree branches. Janine watched
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as the tense, thin skin glowed and brighter until the
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side collapsed and rushed towards her. Wrapped around a half
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ton of Detroit steel, Jeanine couldn't comprehend what was happening,
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or that the thing that struck her was the truck's bumper.
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Suddenly it was dark again. The ravaged tent lay draped
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over the women. Rose was silent. Janine felt a crushing
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weight on her right arm. She tried to move it,
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but the appendage wouldn't budge. She pulled harder a lightning
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bolt shot threw her fingertips to her elbow from the effort. Rosie,
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she cried out, A gentle sob answered her. The tent
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rustled wildly. I can't move, Rose, Janine said, what's happening?
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Rose sniffled. She fought with the nylon, clawing and punching
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at the tent as it collapsed on top of her.
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Her voice grew panicked and shrill. I can't I can't
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get this off me. Why is this happening? The truck
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pulled forward, releasing Janine's arm from beneath its tire. The
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ground moved beneath them. Rose screamed. The tent was caught
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on the truck. They were being dragged. The fabric tore,
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but not enough to get free. Janine pulled her injured
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arm close to her body and rolled over, looking for
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a way out. The engine growled as the driver hit
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the gas. Rocks and branches tore through the bottom. As
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the tent sped along behind the vehicle, deeper into the woods.
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It finally came free. The truck's tires slid loudly to
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a stop. Rose found a tear and worked at it
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with both hands, forcing it open. Until she could get
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through Janine. She searched the ruins of the tent for
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her friend, finding a body shaped lump beneath Janine. Get
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me out of here, Rosie, I'm hurt bad, I will
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Oh my god, we're in big trouble. Rose stared at
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the truck, unable to look away. She could only discern
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the outline of the vehicle in the moonlight, but was
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convinced that it was the red pickup truck from earlier.
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The truck reversed, turning around slowly. The back bumper crunched
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against a tree. The noise snapped Rose out of her paralysis.
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She wrestled the tent off of Jeanine and gasped. Her
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friend's face was a mask of blood. Her forehead was
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split open in a large gash, showing bone beneath. Rose
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moved the flap of flesh back over the exposed skull.
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The headlights shined fully upon them as the truck finished
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writing itself. Rose leaned close to Jeanine. Stay really still,
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she whispered, don't make a sound. The engine revved. The
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driver did it two more times, letting the women know
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he could run them down with the Then the door
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swung open. A man stepped out of the vehicle, but
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leaned back inside to get something. He stepped in front
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of the lights, casting a long shadow over the women.
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Rose couldn't see any of the man's features except the
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distinctive shape of a cowboy hat atop his head, and
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then the even more distinctive shape of the axe held
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at his side. Why are you doing this, she asked shakily.
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She clenched her teeth and drew a deep breath. She
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blew it out and asked again, with more force, why
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are you doing this? What do you want? The cowboy
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moved towards her without a word. He swung the axe
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onto his shoulder. His walk was cocky and nonchalant. He
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looked like he was out for a casual stroll. Janine
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groaned and Rose shushed her quietly, praying the cowboy didn't hear.
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If he did, he didn't let on. He just kept
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walking closer. Please stop this, Rose shouted. She pushed her
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hands out in front of her, Just leave us alone.
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The cowboy swung the axe one handed. The blade whooshed
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by harmlessly, and he placed it on the opposite shoulder,
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spitting tobacco juice playfully at Rose. He took a backhand swing.
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Rose felt the hit, but didn't realize the gravity of
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it until the three stumps on her right hand spurted.
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Before she could respond, the cowboy took a two handed chop.
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It struck with the sound of a gunshot, and flung
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her into the dirt. Rose wheezed air sputtered wetly out
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of her collapsing lung. She rolled over, hugged her chest,
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broken ribs gouged into her palm. Janine shifted carefully in
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the tent. Her legs were still inside the sleeping bag.
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She moved slowly to wipe her eyes with shredded tent fabric,
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being careful not to draw attention to herself. Everything was blurry,
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but simultaneously all too clear. She could see the cowboy
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and the axe, and her best friend laying on the ground.
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She closed her eyes again, but it didn't protect her
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from what came next. She listened to the crack of
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the axe striking Rose again. Why. Rose asked why. The
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cowboy answered her with another chop. Rose kept repeating the word,
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and their attacker continued to respond the same way. Sharp
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cracks became softer, wetter, Rose's voice got weaker and then
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went silent entirely. Two more chops followed. Janine dared to
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look once more. The cowboy was kneeling over Rose. He
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sat on her hips and leaned on his axe. Janine
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carefully crawled free. The blood pouring down her face slipped
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past her lips. She knew she'd be tasting a lot
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more of it. If the cowboy spotted her, he probably
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thought she was dead already. She could have laid there
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until he left, But maybe he wouldn't have. Maybe he
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would have used the axe to make sure. She couldn't
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take the risk. She knew begging wouldn't work. It hadn't
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for Rose. Once her legs were free, she brought herself