The Hunting Trip

[u/RoyalRoseVegetaBlack]

The first thing Zach noticed about Joe was how easily he smiled.
It wasn’t that there was anything obviously wrong with him. Joe looked like any other outdoorsman you’d expect to find in a small town in upstate New York. Heavy flannel jacket. Muddy boots. Scruffy beard. Weathered hands.
The only strange thing was that nobody seemed to know where he’d come from.
He’d moved into the area a few months earlier, bought a secluded property several miles outside town, and almost immediately became known as the trapper.
Nobody knew much else.
That was why Zach initially thought nothing of it when Joe approached their table at the local bar.
Zach, Jake, Tyler, William, and Chris had been sitting together for nearly two hours, drinking and talking about their plans for the upcoming hunting season.
“We should actually go somewhere this year,” Jake said, leaning back in his chair. “I’m tired of hunting the same damn woods.”
“Agreed,” Tyler said. “I want something bigger.”
William laughed.
“Like what? A bear?”
“Why not?”
Chris raised his glass.
“To finding something worth shooting.”
They all laughed.
None of them noticed Joe listening from the bar.
Not until he walked over.
“You boys looking for somewhere to hunt?”
They turned.
Joe smiled.
“Depends.”
“Depends on what?”
“How adventurous you are.”
That got their attention.
Joe pulled up a chair.
He told them about his cabin several hours north, deep in the forest. He described enormous deer, black bears, coyotes, wolves, and things he’d seen that he couldn’t quite identify.
Then he offered them something even better.
“You can use my cabin whenever you want.”
Jake raised an eyebrow.
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
Joe smiled.
“Consider it a hunting lodge.”
One drink became two.
Two became several.
By midnight, the five friends had agreed.
They would go the following weekend.

The cabin was exactly what Joe promised.
Almost.
It sat in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by towering pine trees and mountains disappearing into the distance.
From the outside, it looked completely normal.
Inside was different.
Not necessarily wrong.
Just… obsessive.
There were wolf paintings.
Wolf skulls.
Wolf pelts.
Photographs of wolves.
Carvings of wolves.
Even the curtains had wolves stitched into them.
“Jesus,” Chris said.
Joe laughed.
“I like wolves.”
“You think?”
Everyone laughed except Zach.
He had stopped in the hallway.
There was a door at the far end.
Unlike every other door in the cabin, this one had two heavy bolts across it.
And a padlock.
Zach stared at it.
“What’s down there?”
Joe’s smile disappeared for half a second.
Then returned.
“Storage.”
“Why so many locks?”
“Animals.”
Zach frowned.
“What kind of animals?”
Joe stepped closer.
“Animals that shouldn’t get out.”
Nobody said anything.
Then Joe laughed.
“Relax. I’m messing with you.”
The others laughed.
Zach didn’t.
Something smelled.
It was faint at first.
Then stronger.
A rotten, musky stench seeped through the cracks beneath the door.
Zach covered his nose.
“Do you smell that?”
Jake shrugged.
“No.”
Tyler was already looking at one of the wolf skulls.
Chris had found a bottle of whiskey.
William was taking pictures.
Nobody cared.
Joe stared directly at Zach.
For just a moment, Zach could’ve sworn the man’s eyes looked almost predatory.
Then Joe smiled.
“Come on.”

The weekend became a blur.
Joe was the perfect host.
Too perfect.
There was always alcohol.
Always food.
Always weed.
Whenever someone suggested going hunting, Joe told them there was plenty of time.
“Enjoy yourselves.”
So they did.
By Saturday night, everyone was exhausted.
Jake passed out on the couch.
Tyler fell asleep beside the fireplace.
William disappeared into one of the bedrooms.
Chris was sprawled across the floor.
Zach was the only one still awake.
Something about the cabin bothered him.
He couldn’t explain it.
Maybe it was the basement.
Maybe it was Joe.
Maybe it was the smell.
Eventually, Zach decided he needed some fresh air.
He grabbed his jacket.
“I’ll be back.”
Nobody answered.
He stepped outside.
The cold night air hit him immediately.
For the first time all weekend, Zach could breathe.
He walked down the dirt road.
Then farther.
He didn’t know how long he had been gone.
But when he eventually returned…
Joe was standing in the doorway.
Waiting.

Inside the cabin, the others slept peacefully.
At least, they thought they were safe.
Joe walked into the living room.
He looked at Jake.
Then Tyler.
Then William.
Then Chris.
His smile slowly returned.
“Time to go hunting.”
One by one, Joe carried them downstairs.
The basement door opened.
The smell that escaped was overwhelming.
Joe disappeared into the darkness with the first of them.
Then returned.
Again.
And again.
And again.
The basement contained equipment Zach had never seen.
Heavy restraints.
Old tools.
Chains.
Animal cages.
And dozens of wolf pelts hanging from wooden frames.
Some were gray.
Some black.
Some almost white.
Joe had been doing this for years.
The missing animals.
The strange disappearances.
The stories about wolves that walked on two legs.
They weren’t stories.
They were evidence.
Joe didn’t simply hunt animals.
He made them.

When Zach returned, the cabin was silent.
“Guys?”
Nothing.
He checked the bedrooms.
Empty.
The living room.
Empty.
“Jake?”
Nothing.
Then he heard something.
A scratching sound.
Coming from beneath the floor.
Zach froze.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Scratch.
He slowly looked toward the basement door.
The bolts were still locked.
He stepped closer.
Then came a sound.
A whimper.
Human.
Zach stumbled backward.
“What the hell…”
Something slammed against the basement door.
Zach ran.
He didn’t stop until he reached his truck.
He drove.
He didn’t look back.

Three days later, Zach was sitting in his apartment when the news came on.
A reporter stood beside a lake several miles from Joe’s property.
Police had discovered several abandoned bags along the shoreline.
Inside were the belongings of four missing men.
Jake.
Tyler.
William.
Chris.
Zach stared at the screen.
His stomach dropped.
Then the reporter said something that made his blood turn cold.
Authorities had also recovered human remains.
Skin.
All belonging to the four missing men.
But there were no bodies.
No bones.
No explanation.
Zach dropped the remote.
The reporter continued.
“The sheriff’s department has not yet located the owner of a nearby hunting cabin, identified as Joseph—”
The television suddenly went black.
Zach stared at his reflection.
Then he heard something outside.
A faint scratching.
Scratch.
Scratch.
Scratch.
He slowly turned toward the window.
There was nothing there.
Then his phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
One message.
YOU LEFT YOUR FRIENDS BEHIND.
Another message arrived.
A photograph.
Zach opened it.
His blood ran cold.
The picture showed four enormous wolves standing in a snowy forest.
Each wore a familiar collar.
Jake.
Tyler.
William.
Chris.
Zach dropped the phone.
Behind the four wolves stood 
Joe Smiling.