This is the fifth part in a series, so if you have not already done so, you might want to read Part I, Part II, Part III, and Part IV before continuing.
“Can never be too careful,” said Ed.
“What?” said Tommy.
“You asked about the ax. You never know what else might be wandering around these woods. Better safe than sorry.”
Tommy’s brain was feeling sluggish. Between the pain and the exhaustion, it felt like it took forever for his brain to process the simplest bits of information. Even so, he was pretty sure no one on the ferry had mentioned anything about dangerous wildlife.
“I was told there hasn’t been a bear on this island for decades.”
“Maybe not,” said Fred. “But do you really want to be the first one to discover the first bear on the island in decades, and without anything to defend yourself?”
It felt like it took Tommy’s brain several minutes to dig up everything he remembered hearing about wildlife on the island. “Wait. They said bears tend to make their way from island to island by walking over the frozen lake. But it’s September. The lake hasn’t been frozen for months. Surely someone else would have reported seeing a bear by now if one had been living on the island all summer.”
“Only if they survive to tell the tale.” Fred said this with a grin that made Tommy very, very uncomfortable.
He suddenly found himself wishing very hard that Carrie and Hailey would come back with those herbs.
As if in answer to his silent prayer, Carrie came crashing through the woods, panting and panicked. “Tommy! We have to get out of here! They’re canni-”
Her warning was cut short when Ed came up behind her and buried an ax in the back of her skull. She pitched forward before Tommy had time to register what was happening. He hadn’t even seen Ed get to his feet, much less grab an ax.
In some distant part of his mind, Tommy wondered if it was the same ax Hailey had taken with her to gather herbs, but as the thought crossed his mind, Hailey walked out of the woods, still holding her ax.
“Sorry about that. She got away from me.”
“Don’t worry about it. I got her. And it’s not like this one can go anywhere.”
It took Tommy a moment to realize they were talking about him. It took him another moment to realize he was about to share Carrie’s fate.
He scrambled out of his chair, but as soon as he tried to put his weight on his broken foot, he stumbled and ended up on his stomach, limbs sprawled. He managed to get to his hands and knees and started crawling away from the campfire before the cold metal severed his head from the rest of his body.
“Oh, that smells good!” said the woman hauling firewood past the campfire.
“You’re welcome to try some when it’s ready,” Hailey said with a beatific smile.
“Thanks, but we brought our own food.”
“I’m sure you’re a great cook, but I doubt whatever you’re having for dinner can hold a candle to this feast. It’s a secret recipe, handed down through our family for generations.”
The woman looked longingly at the tender meat as gobs of fat dripped into the fire with a sizzle. “Are you sure you have enough?”
“Plenty.”
“Well, maybe just a bite, if you’re sure you don’t mind.”
The end.