Stephanie followed the chain attached to the bear trap with her flashlight; the other end was pinned to a tree trunk, by what looked like a railroad spike. She planted her feet and tugged at the chain with both hands, but it wouldn't give.
"Darn it...! Okay-- okay... Think, Steph-- think..." she pulled her spare pair of socks out of her backpack and stuffed them in Miles' mouth. "Here, bite this."
"Eeez, onk eeve nee!" he complained, tugging at her sleeve.
"I'm not leaving you, honey." she leaned down, cupped his face in her hands and kissed him on the forehead. "I'm gonna find a way to pry this thing open. Stay strong for me, will ya?" she struggled to muster a smile.
"Mmmf..." he nodded; his face twisted in pain.
Stephanie used her toothbrush as a hairstick to tie her hair in a messy bun, and started looking around; the beam from her flashlight dancing in the darkness, like a lightsaber gone haywire. To her surprise, there was literally dozens of bear traps -each one with the release snapped off and its chain pinned to a tree- scattered all over the edges of the clearing. She turned her flashlight toward the path to Walter's, only to find out that it was blocked off by a sea of... razor wire?
"What the..."
She walked over to the side overlooking the town and placed her hands on the railing. Suddenly, the view didn't seem so majestic anymore; the falls sounded like a cacophony of white noise, the lake was black as tar, the town felt hostile and deserted, the mansion looked like the slaughter house from that one Stacey Kirk novel...
"What do I do? What do I do...?" she clenched her fist and punched at the wooden railing in frustration.
*crack*
"Wait, that's it!"
She looked for the biggest rock she could carry, and proceeded to attack the railing again and again, until part of it was reduced to a bunch of 2x4's. She picked out the sturdiest one she could find, and ran back over to Miles.
"I'm here, honey! I'm here!" she caressed his hair, before putting her flashlight on the ground and pointing it at the bear trap. "Brace yourself, this is probably gonna hurt..."
She placed a foot on the bear trap's axis to keep it in place, and inserted the piece of wood into its maw.
"On the count of three-- I pull, you get your leg out. Got it?"
Miles nodded.
"One..."
"Two..."
"Three! Go!"
Stephanie pulled with all here might. The springs moaned in protest, as the maw slowly opened wider and wider against its will.
Miles started slithering away on his elbows, trying to free his leg.
Suddenly, a lightning turned night into day for a split second, and Stephanie turned her gaze to the woods. A wolf stared back at her; its eyes burning with hunger.
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es1Wr1S7hlw"You have got to be kidding me..." she whispered to herself; a booming thunder rattling her insides.
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