“Wow! Would you look at that view!” Lauren exclaimed, as the car rounded the side of the steep hill. Ahead of the car, to the right, the countryside stretched as far as they could see, through hills and valleys covered in green trees and winding rivers. Lauren was a young woman with short blonde hair parted in the middle and light blue eyes.

“I’d appreciate it if you focused less on the view and more on the road.” The young woman sitting in the seat beside her replied. Susan was a tall brunette with long, light brown hair and dark brown eyes. “It wouldn’t be good if we went off the road right at the moment…” The country road they were driving down twisted and turned, following the steep hills and it was very narrow. Only a few feet of asphalt and the metal barrier stood between the car and a steep plunge down into the forested valley below.  

“Fine Susan…fine…” Lauren said. “I will concentrate on being a good driver. Ten O’clock and 2 O’clock…Check my blind spot…” Lauren teased. The young woman grinned. “I have been so looking forward to this week! An entire week free from any distractions! No calls, no e-mails…”

“No texts, no facebook…” Kellie complained from the back of the car. “I haven’t had a signal since we stopped for gas and that was an hour ago!” Kellie was Susan’s little sister, the youngest of the coeds. She had red hair, tied back in a ponytail. She’d reluctantly agreed to let them drag her on this camping trip, but had spent most of the trip up here complaining about it.  

“I’m sure the internet will still be there when we get back, sis.” Susan told her. “It will be good for you to get out of the dorm room and away from the computer for a little while. Hey, that must be the sign for the campgrounds!” She sat up, pointing. A few yards ahead of a turn off was a large wooden sign, marking it the entrance to the “Green Valley Camping Grounds”.

Lauren turned off the main road. Not far down the turn off, they came to a small booth. There were two park rangers wearing the traditional grey-green uniform seated in the booths, a man and a woman. As Lauren pulled up to the window, the man leaned out. “What can I do for you ladies today?” He asked. Lauren could see he was wearing a nametag that identified him as “Charles Whitman.”

“We’ve reserved Camp Ground 4A.” Lauren told him.

“Oh yes. Some other girls came by, head ‘in for that campsite, said they were expecting some friends a little later.” He said, nodding. He reached over to hand her a folded paper map of the park. “It’s not far. Just follow this road about ten minutes, turn left and follow that until you reach the bend. You can’t miss it!”

They bounced down a narrow dirt path for close to twenty minutes following his directions. “The Ranger was right.” She said as the trees lining the road broke revealing their campsite. “Looks like Hope and June beat us here.” Another car was already parked at the end of the road. Not far away, another two young women were setting up a small, red nylon tent.

Lauran parked her own car nearby. Opening the door, she jumped out. “Hey gals! How long have you been here!?!”

Hope glanced up from the tent peg she was driving into the dirt. “Oh, not long. Maybe fifteen minutes. Mind giving us a hand?” Hope and June both had dark hair they wore long. Hope’s eyes were a bright green though, while June had dark brown eyes.

“Finally.” Kellie said, as she unbuckled and got out of the car. “My legs are so stiff, I’d almost forgotten I had knees. Ugh…where’s the bathroom? I need to pee.”

“The latrine is just up the path that way.” June told her, jerking her thump over one shoulder toward a narrow dirt path winding into the forest.

“I asked where the toilet was! Not a stinky hole in the ground!” Kellie wailed.

“Sorry sis.”  Susan said, opening the map. “It looks like the nearest bathroom is…about ten miles that way.” She pointed off into the distance. Kellie gave a horrified look. Glumly, she stalked off in the direction of the latrine, muttering under her breath. The other girls suppressed the urge to giggle.

Susan and Lauren joined their friends in helping set up the tent. When it was erect, they pulled their own tent out of the back of Lauren’s car and started setting that up as well. Kellie came back from the latrine and joined in halfheartedly.

With the tents set up, the girls unloaded the rest of their camping gear. They dropped their backpacks in the tent and unrolled their sleeping bags for that evening. Hope and June had brought a bag of charcoal. Setting them up in the campsite’s small, stone fire pit with some twigs and leaves for kindling, they got the charcoals going hot, to cook dinner.

As they ate half-burned hotdogs and chips, the friends discussed their plans for the week. “This map shows all kinds of trails through the forests. Some of them wind for miles and miles through the park.” Susan said, ignoring her sister’s groan.

Nestled in a valley, with steep hills on every side, night came to the campsite quickly. It wasn’t long after the sun had set behind the crest of the western hilltops then the forest began to get dark. Lauran lit the two electric lamps they had brought and set them up in the center of the campsite.

“Well, we might as well get ready for bed.” Hope said. “We can get a good night’s sleep tonight and be up early tomorrow to start our vacation.” None of the other girls disagreed with that plan, except for Kellie who just grumbled, so they split up to their separate tents to get changed. Lauran got out of her jeans and t-shirt and changed into a cotton nightie. June undid her skirt, but kept on her blouse. Susan also kept her t-shirt and panties on, folding her jeans away in her pack. Kellie changed into a button up shirt and a pair of boy’s shorts while Hope had on some athletic shorts and a sports bra. They said good night and went into the tents, carrying the lamps inside with them.  
The girls crawled into their sleeping bags. For a time, the girls continued to talk to one another as they settled down. A few minutes later, both tents went dark as they shut off the lamps and went to bed. Quiet descended over the campsite, disturbed only by the wind rustling the trees and the occasional cricket.

***

In the woods near the campsite, leaves rustled. A dark figure slowly crept through the underbrush, keeping a watch over the campsite. A few times, the figure tensed, when a noise came from one tent or the other, but after a while, it became apparent the girls were all fast asleep. The figure stood and raised a hand. From deeper in the woods, several more dark figures emerged from the trees, moving to join the first. There were six all together. One of them was carrying a large camera, panning it across the other raiders and the tents ahead of them. Moving with silent precision, they moved towards the campsites, splitting up; half of them to one of the tents, half to the other.

Rolled up, snugly, inside her sleeping bag, Lauren stirred as the door to the tent was slowly unzipped. Outside, the intruders paused a second, but a moment later, the young woman rolled over and fell back asleep.  A moment later, the looming figures outside the tent finished unzipping the flap all the way. The three intruders split up, each standing over one of the three young woman. The coeds continued to slumber, blissfully unaware of the danger lurking over them.

Suddenly, there was a burst of action and a muffled cry of surprise from the next tent. The three girls were jerked from their sleep by the noise. Still sleepy, they were slow to react to the sudden shock of seeing three black-clad figures standing over them in the tent…too slow. An instant later, the three intruders pounced down on their victims…

***

“MMMPPPHHH!!!” The five young women raised a chorus of gag-muffled moans as they were dragged along. After overpowering the surprised campers, their attackers had stuffed a wadded up cloth in their mouths to keep them quiet. Another cloth was tied over their lips. With their ability to cry for help eliminated, the girls were flipped over onto their backs. Their hands were roughly seized and twisted behind their backs, locked there with metal shackles.

Lauren shivered, partly from the terror running through her whole body, but also from the cold night air. She was still wearing the thin cotton nightie she’d gone to bed in. The other girls were also still in their pajamas, though during their struggles, both Kellie and June had had their blouses come undone, leaving their naked chests completely exposed.

Ahead of Lauren, June stumbled forward as the kidnapper holding her leash jerked sharply on it to keep the captive girl moving. A second later, the rope connecting June to Lauren suddenly went taut. She had to move quickly to keep from being pulled off her feet. Behind her, Susan hadn’t been quick enough. The tall brunette gave a muffled whimper as she was yanked forward. At the same time, Lauren was jerked back by the tether between them as well.

The last thing their captors had done was lock a thin, leather collar around each girl’s neck. Short leather leashes joined the three into a short coffle. One of their abductors walked in front of the girls, holding the other end of June’s leash, guiding the frightened women. Another figure walked alongside the line of captives, holding some sort of camera, filming them. From time to time, he would hurry ahead, stop and turn to record the coffle shuffling past him. The camera lens glinted in the pale moonlight as it recorded the girl’s misery. The other kidnappers were nearby, unseen, but still present, to forestall any attempts at resistance from their captives.  

As she struggled back to her feet, Lauren glanced around. The dark mass of the forest loomed up all around her, adding to the girl’s terror. The forest was nearly pitch black, the twisted branches of the trees overhead silhouetted against the full moon. The trail they were following was relatively even, fortunately, or one of them might have stumbled and broken an ankle…or worse. By now, they had left their own campsite far behind. The five had had plenty of time to wonder in mute horror where they were being taken…and what fate awaited them there.

As they rounded a bend in the train, the captives could see a large building, built like a log cabin but much bigger, sitting on a hill, a hundred yards ahead of them. There were lights on in the building. A small road wound its way up the hill towards the building. It soon became apparent that was where they were being taken. As they neared the building, the young women could see cars parked out in front of the large building. The kidnapper at the front of the coffle opened the door. From inside, they could hear excited voices talking…