#off:drop

“god, that fucker is ugly —”

                   “just shut up and release the others. don’t forget to unlock all the doors.”

“aye aye, captain!”

the sun is out, the birds are singing, and the skinsnatcher is making his way back to the cabins for a return visit. while everyone is still on edge from last night’s argument, he’s been busy dealing with the scholar of the group — another addition to his coat of skins that puts leatherface to shame. this time, in the light, you can see the deep red markings on his sickly pale skin and the thread keeping his lips shut. in his hand, he wields a long blade that drags along the forest floor. silently, he enters cabin one.

          >> INTRODUCING THE SKINSNATCHER — pale, tall, and not much of a looker, he likes to kill through skinning, dismemberment, and torture! do not get trapped with this freak!

+ strong, quick reflexes, corners victims, undeterred by hits, quiet

- always walks, five minute regeneration period if you fuck up his head

meanwhile, those over in cabin two have the honour of being in the presence of the zombie redneck torture family, flown in all the way from the states! they’re already doing themselves justice by breaking through windows and infiltrating the cabin, though not nearly as quiet as the skinsnatcher. with an undefeated streak in their kill record, they split up, one for each sacrifice. the caregiver is their first lucky victim.

          >> INTRODUCING THE ZOMBIE REDNECK TORTURE FAMILY — summoned by the tape recorder, the undead family composed of five members are equipped with weapons from chainsaws to machetes and aren’t as braindead as they look! be careful, cos the woods are now rigged with bear traps too!

+ can run (albeit a little sloppily), perseveres even with missing limbs (and heads), undeterred by hits

- can be stopped temporarily by trapping them, render them immobile and you’re safe

remember: this is only the beginning.

     (pssst — has anyone seen the athlete?)

“alright! let’s get this show on the road, boys.”

                    “opening the gas vents and unlocking cabin one’s basement door.”

“hold on to your bets, everyone...”

the sun has just begin to set and you are all gathered in the living room of the main cabin. the startling sound of a door creaking catches everyone’s attention. would you look at that? the door to the basement, previously locked, is now open. before you can enter, a raccoon dashes out, proving to be the source of the noise downstairs you heard earlier.

no one really seems to question how the raccoon got there in the first place.

someone switches on the light and honestly, the antique porcelain dolls lined up on a dusty wooden shelf would be more off-putting if it weren’t for the taxidermied wolf head forced into a snarl hanging above said shelf. there’s a tape recorder on another shelf and a straw hat hanging off the corner of the shelf. it almost feels like the eyes of the dolls and the wolf follow you as you take a gander around the dimly lit room.

the scholar’s grandfather really has some interesting... hobbies, no?

old papers are strewn across a table with questionable stains and smack dab right in the middle is a journal, bound in something similar to leather but not quite. it’s opened to a page with chicken scratch writing, just barely decipherable among the strange symbols surrounding it.

so, who can read latin?