Blinding Light

"Bullshit!" Joey shouted, driving down an old dirt road with his girlfriend Emma. “You know what? Get the fuck out!" He slammed on the brakes. Emma jerked forward, almost hitting her head on the dashboard.
"You can’t be serious?" Emma said sobbing.
"I don't care! Get out of this car now!" Joey's voice cracked. He unlocked the doors.
"You can’t just leave me here!" Emma begged. "I have no idea where we are!"
"I don’t care! Now get the fuck out!"
Emma opened the door and before she could step out completely Joey started to pull away.
"Joey!" She screamed, watching in disbelief as their car disappeared into the distance.
Emma was surrounded by nothing but woods and stars. The only light was the yellow tint from the giant moon that floated above. Tears streamed down her blushed cheeks like tiny rivers. Emma did the only thing she could do. She started to walk. She pulled her cellphone out of her pocket and dialed Joey's number. No answer and then more tears.
She didn't know how long she was walking but the stars started to fade and the sky turned from a dark and hateful black to a deep blue. The sun would be up soon, she thought looking up at the clouds floating in the ocean of now barely visible stars.
Her hair felt heavy on her head. The clothes she wore were spotted with sweat. How could he just leave me? A feeling of eyes watching, waiting, weighed her down with every step.
Then there was a new light. A brighter one and it was coming towards her. A vehicle, probably a truck judging by the sound of the engine, was driving in her direction. She put up her hands hoping to get the drivers attention. A weird feeling fell over her, it was feeling that she had only felt one other time in her life. When her alcoholic father would know she did something wrong and would beat her. Now this feeling filled everything. She couldn't shake it. The truck veered to the side of the road she was on and started heading right for her, speeding up with every second that passed. The sound of the engine grew like thunder from an incoming storm.
Emma turned and ran into the woods. She didn't know where she was going or if going into the woods was a good idea but she did know that something wasn't right about those lights.
To her surprise, the lights didn't stop at the trees. Somehow it was going through the thickness of woods, passing through the trees like the wind blowing through her hair. She ran as fast as she could. She couldn't breathe. The tree branches reached for her, like long extended fingers trying to grab her and turn her over to the mysterious truck, leaving scratches all down her arms and legs. How was this thing moving through the trees? Her heart pounded in her chest, almost as fast as her feet pounded on the dense underbrush.
Emma's foot got caught on an out sticking root and she plunged to the ground onto her face. Her phone flew from her hand and landed a couple of feet away. Blood started trickling from her nose. She wiped it away and turned to see the lights, nothing. Where did it go? Then, to her right, she heard the roar from the engine, and then the blinding lights.
She crawled for her phone, jumped to her feet and continued running. She dialed Joey's number over and over, only to receive the same response as before, nothing. Why wasn't he answering? The lights were closing in now and she could feel the warmth from the engine. The roar was like laughter, waiting for her to lose her energy and give up. She wouldn’t let that happen. She ran until she couldn't run anymore.
Emma came to a clearing in the woods and noticed it was a small trail, formed by years of tires flattening the overgrown grass. She turned and saw a small wooden cabin at the end. Running with the last of the energy she had, she slammed into the creaky door, almost knocking it down. She pounded on it with both hands and the roar behind her grew louder.
"Hello!" She screamed. "I need help! Someone is after me! Please let me in!" Her voice was wavy, tense and urgent, almost as urgent as the pounding of her fist. There weren’t any lights on in the cabin and the door was locked. She slammed her shoulder into the door, trying to break it down. This thing that sounded like a truck but had the presence of a beast enlarged behind her. "Help!” She screamed in between breathes.
Then a light switched on and for a moment she felt that she would be okay. Her shadow on the cabin grew larger as the truck got closer. The door started to open and Emma fell in. She turned and slammed the door shut. She leaned up against the door, as if that would stop the truck from plowing through this tiny wooden box of a house.
A small, elderly woman, probably 70 or 80, Emma figured, was standing before her. Her hair as white as her skin and her eyes as humble as her voice.
"What's wrong dear?" She said. The cabin was very small behind her and only consisted of a small rocking chair that sat in front of a lit fire place, and a round wooden table that filled the poor excuse for a kitchen.
"There's someone..." Emma started between panting. "He's chasing... I need..." Her voice trailed. Seeing the worried look overcome the old women's face reassured her.
"Follow me dear." The old woman said with a sense of urgency. "I'll protect you." She grabbed Emma's hands and pulled her. Emma was surprised by the strength of the woman.
The old lady led Emma to the back of the cabin. There was a small doorway that led to what looked like a laundry room. She pushed a rug from the floor, revealing a small latch. A small combination lock hung from the handle.
"You can hide down here." The old woman said. She unlocked it and lifted the latch. "He'll never find you down here. I'll take care of him. How does that sound?" Her voice never changed. Pleasant and soft.
Emma started down the creaky wooden stairs. The darkness engulfed everything. The old woman started to shut the door.
"Wait!" Emma said. "You should come down too." Her voice cracked. "What if..." And before she could finish the sentence the latch was shut. Emma creaked down the stairs, trying her hardest not to make any noise. She stood at the bottom and waited.
For a long time there wasn't any noise, just a deafening silence. Then she could hear the front door of the cabin creak open and some muffled voices. She couldn't make out what was being said but she could hear a deep voice and the same gentle voice of the old lady. Then the door slammed shut. The same silence overwhelmed everything once again.
This time the silence was broken by the sound of muffled moans. This sound scared Emma more than the sound of the truck or the lights. It was in the basement with her and she recognized it from somewhere but she couldn't place where.
"Hello?" Emma whispered. No answer but the moaning grew louder.
For a moment the moaning was all she could hear, like a mosquito buzzing in her ear. Then there were heavy foot falls on the floor above. The sound sent images of the heavy boots her alcoholic father wore, stumbling toward her with his fist raised ready to plant one on her cheek.
She could smell something. A smell that filled everything and smelled wonderful but what was it? She couldn't place it. She thought back to the times as a child when her father would bring a deer home and cook the meat on the grill. She remembered that the smell was sweet and wonderful, the smell of cooking meat.
Then a moment later she heard a metal clicking sound. What was it? She thought. Where had she heard it before? Then, just like the metal sound she heard, it clicked in her head, the lock. They had locked her in. A claustrophobic feeling over took her. The unseen walls closed in. What the hell is going on? She dialed Joey's number again. Please pick up. She thought. I need you here Joey. Just as fast as the thought popped into her head, she heard Joey's familiar ringtone go off somewhere in the darkness. A light flipped on and she could see her surroundings for the first time. She was in a basement that was just as big as the cabin. Dampness weighed everything down. Metal chains with hooks hung from the ceiling and dripped with a thick, almost black, liquid.
A man was hanging from the ceiling by the far wall, both arms were chained up, forcing him to hang in a cross shape. One of his legs had been severed from the hip down and cauterized. A ball of screams rose through her throat. She covered her mouth in an attempt to prevent it from coming out. She didn't succeed and screamed at the top of her lungs.
The man looked up. Emma saw that he was gagged with something. It was Joey. His eyes exploded with fear and pain. Tears streamed down his face. There was no holding back the screams now. She screamed until her voice was hoarse and her throat hurt as much as her lungs. Then the foot falls again.
She heard that familiar clicking sound of the lock. The latch swung open and a giant man descended down the stairs. He wore a fiery beard that stretched almost to his belly button. He dragged a long machete at his side, dropping from step to step like a slinky. The old lady almost floated behind him. The giant stopped at the bottom of the stairs and the old woman stood in front of him, grinning. Her teeth were as black as the giant man’s fingernails.
"I told you you'd be safe here dear." The old woman said. "Now let me fix something to eat. We must have you for dinner." They both went back up the stairs. Fear grew with every creaking step. They shut and locked the latch behind them. The lights flicked off and there was nothing but heavy blackness, the smell of cooking meat and that same deafening silence.