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When Abby regained consciousness, the cave was empty. She could only hear the dripping of water hitting the cave floor, some of it having seeped through from above and forming a puddle towards the back. The pressure in her bladder grew with each drip. It was time to get up. She’d be damned if she was going to wet herself.
She shimmied her shoulders, grimaced against the pain and then flexed her hands, her ankles. She leaned forward. Everything hurt, but she felt better than before. She planted her hands and lifted herself up, using the wall for the strength her weakened arm couldn’t supply. Her legs threatened to give out, but didn’t, reluctantly holding her weight enough for her to remain upright.
She clutched her side, instantly feeling her own blood. There could have been more, though. She thought maybe it had stopped, or at least slowed, and that meant she had a chance at continuing. She hobbled to the mouth of the cave and peered out.
No devil, but the girl was still there, her blue hair shimmering in the sun. With Abby unable to remain stealthy, it took Kim almost no time to look over and notice that she’d awoken.
“You’re awake,” Kim said.
Abby nodded, slipped and fell to her knees, barely catching herself before going all the way down. Damn this pain. She needed to get it together. She couldn’t let this stop her from her ultimate goal. Not after so much sacrifice.
“Need something?” Kim asked.
“Bathroom,” Abby eked out.
Kim crossed the distance between them quickly and ducked down under Abby’s arm, helping her back to her feet. The going was slow, but Kim shuffled her towards the tree line.
“Where’s the devil?” Abby asked.
“He left.”
“And you didn’t go with him?”
“I’m not leaving you until I’m sure you’re out of this forest,” Kim said. “I won’t let you hurt them.”
“The Director wants a dead devil, and he’ll get it. From me or someone else. You can’t stop it.”
Kim remained quiet as they shuffled forward. Eventually they made it to a tree. Kim leaned Abby against it before retreating far enough away so that Abby had a modicum of privacy. Though it was painful, Abby managed to take care of her business. Her range of motion was coming back. Her ankles were protesting less. Perhaps she was in better shape than she thought.
“I’m done,” Abby said.
Kim appeared quickly and took some of Abby’s weight again.
“Why?” Kim asked as they shuffled back to the cave. “Why kill them?”
Abby tried to shrug, but didn’t really make it. “It’s complicated.”
“They didn’t do anything to you. Why punish them?”
Abby stopped, forcing Kim to do so as well. “Didn’t do anything to me?”
Tears threatened as Abby drew strength from her painful past. “One of those things killed my fiancée. The only man I’ve ever loved!”
Kim glanced sideways. “Wait. You’re...”
Abby took a deep breath, swaying as she tried to support her own weight, relying on Kim as little as possible. As she backed up, a glint caught her eye from the waistband of Kim’s jeans. The gun. Abby suddenly felt invincible, adrenaline pushing away the pain enough for her to realize she still had a chance at this.
“I can stand on my own,” Abby said. She moved her hand down from Kim’s shoulder, across her back, then wrapped her fingers around the handle of the gun. She pulled it out and scuttled backwards, her feet tripping over one another and threatening to topple her to the ground. She held her balance, though, partially by extending her arms towards Kim, muzzle pointed at the girl’s chest. Kim immediately put her hands up.
“I didn’t know,” Kim said. “We thought maybe you killed your boyfriend and made up the story about the devil.”
Abby laughed mirthlessly. “I didn’t make it up. We were camping. It came for us in the night. We ran. And it killed him right in front of me.”
Kim’s dark brown eyes glassed over. “That’s... horrible. But, I know these creatures. They wouldn’t have done that for no reason.”
“Are you saying it’s Ben’s fault he was eaten by one of these... things?”
Kim shook her head quickly. “No, I’m not saying that. Maybe you threatened it by accident. You don’t have to kill it.”
“But I do. For me. And now, for my employer. I’ve never failed a mission. I’m not going to start now.”
“But look at yourself. You can barely stand.”
Abby saw the truth of the statement, but the adrenaline of the moment convinced her that she could muster through until the job was done. For Ben. For Beatty. There’d be time for medical attention after that. Once she had the catharsis of this kill, she’d finally be at peace. She couldn’t remember what that felt like. To be hopeful and unburdened. She wanted it so bad, and this was her path. This is what she had to do to get herself back, and she would not let a few injuries stop her.
“Turn around,” Abby said. Kim hesitated, so Abby tightened her grip on the gun. That was enough. Kim turned.
Abby considered pulling the trigger. She’d never killed another human, but it seemed easy enough. Easier than killing a rare tiger, or a charging elephant. She could put a bullet in this girl’s back and have one less headache to worry about.
“Which way did it go?” she asked. Kim started to turn. “Nuh-uh. Point.”
Kim pointed towards the tree-line opposite the cave, where Abby had taken her failed shot that had led to the pain coursing through her body.
“Are you lying to me?”
Kim shook her head.
Abby took a step forward, steadier than she expected, and pushed the muzzle of the gun against Kim’s shirt. Her finger tensed on the trigger. She’d come this far for Ben. To avenge his death. Her muddled mind tried to justify killing Kim as a step towards that goal. As long as this girl was alive, she’d stop at nothing to frustrate Abby’s efforts.
No. She wasn’t going to kill a person. This whole thing started because a person had died. Instead, she lifted her hand in the air, brought her arm down, and hit Kim hard on the head. The girl crumpled to the ground, face first into the mud. This was the best option. The best way. Now she needed to find her gear, then the devil, then get the hell out of here and away from this life forever.
Strength returned with every minute. Abby was able to kneel and roll Kim to her back, at least. She’d wake up before long, and her friend would be back eventually.
With that taken care of, Abby looked around. The girl had indicated that the devil had gone into the woods across from the cave, but Abby didn’t believe that for a second. She could see signs of the devil scrabbling up the hill next to the cave. She needed her gear first, though.
Her backpack was easy to find. She’d sat it down before she took the shot. She took up her canteen first and emptied the contents into her mouth, lapping up every drop with delight. That alone made her feel more energized. Next, the radio. She needed to check on Beatty and update Radley. She pulled it out, adjusted the volume and pressed the button.
“Radley, you there?”
His voice came back almost immediately. “Abby? So you’re okay, after all?”
She considered how to answer that. “I’m... alive.”
“Miriam Brooks came here, said you needed a rescue.”
The very idea caused all of Abby’s wounds to ring with pain, as if to remind her that yes, she absolutely needed a rescue. She even entertained the thought. If she bowed out now, she could return at full strength... hopefully after these cryptozoologists had skipped town.
Radley apparently didn’t care for the silence. He spoke again. “I’m glad you’re okay. I have some news for you.”
“About Beatty?” Suddenly nothing else mattered.
“Yes,” he said. “I heard from the nurse taking care of him, and...”
A pause. Too long. Far too long. Her heart was already beating hard, trying to give her enough strength to continue with her injuries, but now it went into overdrive.
“He didn’t make it, Abby. I’m sorry.”
The sorrow came first. Then the fear.
Then the anger.
It all flooded her so quickly, riding her adrenaline, that she only recognized the last one. First Ben, now Beatty. This damn creature had taken everything from her. She sank to the ground, the back of her radio hand against her mouth. Tears stung her eyes. The cool, humid air of the woods suddenly felt cloying and claustrophobic.
Radley again: “Abby? Are you there? Are you okay?”
His voice sounded distant. She didn’t care what he said. Didn’t register it.
Abby Wilson had experienced grief. More than many, perhaps. It had never caused her to shrink away. It had never caused depression, in the classical sense. It had only provided fuel. Turned her into a machine that fed on that large supply of grief. She didn’t need more fuel. But Beatty had provided it, unexpectedly, to her. It felt the same. Exactly the same. No different than the night Ben had died.
Her mind tugged her back from the brink, reminding her that Radley needed an answer. An answer to a question she didn’t hear.
“Um... I...”
“You can pull out now, if you want,” Radley said. “No one would blame you.”
If she hadn’t been in shock, she might have picked up on the tone of his voice. The edge that implied the opposite of what he said. She didn’t register that, though. She only heard the offer and considered the implications. No one would blame her. How could they? She’d lost two people she loved—yes, she loved Beatty, she couldn’t pretend otherwise now. But she knew one person would always hold her at fault. One person would never let the failure go. And she had to live with that person every day.
“No.” She said it with finality, acknowledging the truth of her path before she’d fully formulated it. “I’m okay. I can finish this.”
“Alright. I’ll call off the evac then.”
“Roger that,” Abby said. “I’ll reach out when the devil is dead.”
She turned off the radio without getting a response. It was against protocol to turn it off, but she didn’t care. She was in this alone now.
She could finish this.
She would finish this.
