| The Massacre Written by Nicholas Thomson June 2001 It was the summer of 1976. The soaring heat seared the cracked tarmac of the winding country roads of the outskirts of Phoenix. The harsh heat wave which had struck the small town of Snake Water Creek kept the locals either shuttered in their homes while bathing in a bath of ice or lying in the pool while their wrinkled skin absorbed the violent beams of sunlight. The town of Snake Water Creek was a back-wards place. Progression regressed more than it advanced. The children went to school and all left at fourteen to get jobs either in the butcher business or in the slaughterhouse at the edge of town. The people were intolerant to the minorities who were usually treated with force, however secret. The few main families who occupied the small jerkwater town married each other, which of course overtime caused some slightly in-bred yokels to be produced. This was an infrequent occurrence thanks to the slow injection of outside blood, which was introduced, but never taken away. People came to the town, but never left, the people lacked ambition. This minority of yokels as they were frequently called became outcasts in the slightly pompous, internal community. Forced to the outskirts they eventually surrounded the 'smarter' part of town with a circle of wooden shacks, mostly one level, but the more able of the outcast community built two story buildings by using their woodworking skills they had mostly learnt themselves. Considered safe, these houses were below standard and remained an ink-spot on the seemingly blank piece of town paper. Most of the locals tried to retain a level of indifference with the yokels, but for the high minority within the prosperous part of town, a level of persecution was seen as required to keep these yokels from destroying the town. However, these persecutor's violence was met with a low level of tolerance from the lower part of the social charter. The persecutors often disappeared and were never heard from again. Obviously, the blame fell on the outcasts. Only their primitive minds could be behind such barbaric behaviour, but despite the frequent police involvement, none of the cases were ever connected with the social deviants who plagued the town. Of course, the underlying strain between the two societies never disappeared. The strain had been suppressed since 1969, which was the last incident of such a nature, the events of which could not be uttered in public. Nobody knew when such an event would occur again. The people lived in a quiet fear. SUMMER, 1976: It was a Sunday and Lisa and her friends were just leaving her brother's funeral. The previous week her brother, Josh, had been involved in a horrific accident on the freeway as he was returning from work. A jack-knifed truck had spilled its load of oil onto the road just behind the off-ramp. Josh was travelling too fast, the accident caught him by surprise and his car was sent sliding into the roadside barrier. The tragedy shocked her family and friends deeply, but not her, she hadn't gotten on with him for many years, what started out as a minor dispute rocketed into a full-scale war between them, she didn't care, she only showed a minor interest at the service. As she didn't care much, her friends had to act much the same, the journey home would be much smoother if they treated the situation as if the accident had never happened. They had taken David's new van. It was blue, with odd gray panels where bodywork was replaced and rust riddled through it. The van was barely fit for the road, but the lack in highway policing in the area made it possible to run the most un-road-worthy vehicles. As they were in no particular rush to get back home, David drove the van calmly down the deserted highway. Fields of dead crops and scorched grass encircled the road on either side and contrasted against the deep sky blue, naked of clouds or any imperfections. Like pinholes in creation�s canvas, crows circled the rows of death, scouting for a meal. However, there wasn't much chance of them catching anything. If it didn't talk it was dinner, but some of the more respected elements of the small society wondered how true this law was. Single dead trees littered the horizon as the repetitive telephone wires at the side of the road waved up and down as they were passed. A low breeze whistled softly in through the wide-open windows of the decrepit van as its passengers sighed with the heat. The blinding brightness of the sun penetrated the van, not even stopped by their sunglasses. The humidity had shot up since the morning when it was cooler, and it kept on rising. Sitting, cramped in the back, Catrin, Joe, Winston and Chris tried hard to cope with the searing heat, their clothes drenched with rancid sweat, their hair was in knots as hot droplets dripped from their fingers. "Christ! It's hot as hell in here!" shouted Winston. "Yeah, well it's just as hot out there," replied Chris. "Hey Lisa. When do you think this heat's gonna end?" mumbled Catrin. "NEVER!" exclaimed Chris. "Shut up jerk off! I didn't ask you!" "You shout at me again I'll�." "You'll what Chris?" said Catrin. "I don't know. The weatherman said this could go on for days, maybe a few weeks," answered Lisa. "A few weeks! I'll die by tomorrow if this heat doesn't stop!" stressed Winston. "What. Are you afraid it will ravage you hair or something? Hey, news just in, Winston, hair loss is hereditary!" joked David. "Hey, my dad's not bald, he just doesn't have as much hair as he used to. That's all. Anyway, who cares? You know, some women find bald men extremely attractive." "Does that go with the beer belly, or without?" continued David. "Hey man, fuck you! I'm not overweight, I'm just�.in resting," replied Winston. "And how long have you been resting?" asked Joe. "Hey man. I thought you were dead back there, you haven't said a word since we left the cemetery," said David as he glanced back from the highway. "I just felt the conversation wasn't that challenging, I felt I would join when it spiced up." "Or you became bored," laughed David. "Why don't you watch the road chump." David was the only athletic one out of the group. He was tall, muscular and had very short blonde hair. After his parents had died tragically in a house fire he became determined to better himself. Unfortunately, the fire was no accident. David's parents had been fighting for a very long time. Eventually, his father snapped after David's mother had trashed his private office, destroying his vast collection of valuables. David's father had proceeded to the local department store and had picked up three cans of kerosene, a box of matches and some rope. He planned on tying her up in the basement and torching the house, however, after he had struck the match, he turned and slipped on the kerosene soaked rug behind him at the foot of the stairs sending him crashing down the steps, braking his neck. The fire engulfed the house, burning it to the ground. Living on his own from the age of fifteen he learned how to suppress his emotions and managed to mostly keep a straight face. "Hey Joe," shouted David as he looked into the wing mirror. "How about we pick up some beer on the way back?" Joe was the quietest and most intellectual of the group. Usually found in his chair reading the classics, he was also a keen moviegoer. Claiming to have watched Psycho twenty times the group felt that he was the odd-one-out, but this didn't phase him, he craved individuality. "Yeah. Sounds good," he replied. Chris sat in the corner behind David's seat as he picked at his fingernails. Considered as the 'macho' one of the group he never turned down a fight. This did of course lead him into some awkward situations, which he would bravely, but foolishly get out of. Also, he was the show-off of the group, constantly combing his hair and fiddling with his gold neck chain, which he claimed, came from his grandfather, when everyone knew it came from the market, $2.99. But above all else, he wasn't the nicest of the group. Beaten repeatedly as a child by his father after his mother was killed in a bank robbery, he grew up frustrated and unable to admit defeat. He would not only start fights, he would finish them. Winston was similar to Joe. A quiet member of the group, he was known for his frequent displays of bigotry. The group, were by no means uncomfortable about this as they would heartily share in his jokes. As a popular member of the group he always felt it necessary to never take off his sunglasses, even at night. In addition to his image, he liked to stay in shape, or so he thought. The group thought that most of the time he sat at home all day with a bag of chips in one hand and a beer in the other. Somewhat of a fraud, he never admittedly let on. While the boys sat quietly, the girls were somewhat, annoying. Discussing the latest bands they decorated their nails with different garish colours. Catrin, the self-confessed hippie of the group spent many a day living without something to better herself. Whether it was washing or eating, the whole group thought that it was beginning to get old. Her mother, her inspiration, left her father as she thought he was part of the establishment's plans for world domination or something like that. Since this, her father lost his job and became a drunkard, after losing their family home, Catrin moved in with her Aunt, while her father disappeared. Lately, she had gotten to know Chris a bit better, and since then, she had been living with him. Lisa was the most calm and pleasing of the group. She was also the only one of the group who had had the most stable upbringing. Her mother and father had been married all their lives and had never fought with one another. They were a very close-knit family, but because of her rift with her brother, she became more withdrawn from her family. As they drove on they came closer and closer to the outskirts of the town. Gradually they noticed the landscape getting worse, dryer and dryer, deader and deader. Burnt out cars littered the sparse, creepy landscape, parched by the sun random sticks of brown grass poked out of the ground, pointing touching the skyline. Partially camouflaged by the dead clumps of grass, the rusted hunks of twisted metal ranged from basic pick up truck, occasionally up to a sports car of sorts. "Jesus! You see that. That looks like a 1970 Ford Mustang!" shouted Chris as he looked out the window. "What you talking about man!" said David. "There ain't no way a car like that would be stranded out here in the ass-end of the world!" "No man! I swear it! Pull over! I gotta see this!" replied Chris. David, slightly eager to show Chris up, pulled the truck over to the side of the road and yanked on the hand brake. "David. No. I wanna get home. It�s only a useless piece of scrap now! Why are you always like this when a car comes along?" moaned Lisa. "Oh come on, let me enjoy it will ya, everytime you want me to come along to one of those damned woman things at the Plaza, I always come along with you. Come on, we won't be that long, don't worry, we'll be home in plenty of time," replied David. First out of the truck was Chris, he was always ready to prove his masculinity, next was Winston, always one for admiring a good car. The rest then followed on leaving David and Lisa trailing behind them all arguing with each other. "Damn it! What the hell is your freakin' problem? I just want to look at the stupid car!" shouts David. "That's exactly what it is! Stupid! Stupid!" says Lisa. "Look, I said it would just be a minute, why the hell are you acting like this anyway?" "You have no idea do you, no idea whatsoever." "Is this because of your brother? What's up with you? You said you hated your brother, you were glad to see him in that cold grave weren't you, weren't you!" continues David. "Shut up! Shut up! Just shut the fuck up will you! Yes, okay. I hated his guts, when I found out he was dead, I laughed with joy, I celebrated his death, and I enjoyed the whole thing! Are you happy now?" shouted Lisa. David quickly deflates himself as the argument has obviously come to a head. He quickens his pace slightly and pulls off ahead of Lisa who quickly shoves her hands into her pockets, slouching her body to face the floor in guilt. "Man, listen to them going at it! Have you ever heard anyone fight like that before? That was fucking whacked out!" said Chris ecstatically. "Chris, mind your own business will you, come on, we've just seen Lisa's brother get buried today, show some freaking respect for Christ�s sake!" muttered Catrin. "What did you say?" Chris stops in his tracks and grabs hold of Catrin's arm, pulling on her harshly, pulling her back to look at him in the face. "What did you say to me? Did you just tell me to shut up? Is that what you said?" says Chris as he intimidates Catrin. "Yes! Okay, I told you to shut your stupid fat mouth! Lisa's brother is dead and I don't see you showing much compassion here. Why don't you actually locate your sensitivity and remove your head from your ass!" Catrin now storms off to catch up with the others who have nearly reached the wreak of the Mustang, while David catches Chris up. "Woman trouble huh?" asked David. "You bet ya, got a right open mouth she has, getting right bored of her now," mutters Chris. "Huh, you're the lucky one, I've got queen of the bitches back there harping on at me about going to see this car, moaning and whining and going at it like that. Christ! We're not even an item for god's sake!" replies David. Chris smiles slightly and they both quicken their pace further as they begin to approach the wreak. The others are already standing around it as David, Chris and Lisa catch up. The Mustang is heavily battered, rusted and in a state of utter disrepair. The overgrown dead hedge, which clamps itself to a fallen wall, creeps over the metal shell of the vehicle, swallowing whole, eating away at a piece of automotive history. "This is it, this is what I dragged across a dead field for, a piece of rusted crap sitting in a patch of shit!" shouts Lisa. "Some great fucking piece of driving masterwork! This piece of junk isn't even worth a shoe off a dead horse's foot! That's it, I'm going back to the van, I'll wait for you there." As Lisa trudges off in a grump the rest of the group all turn to watch her walk away in anger, they sigh as the situation calms down and all turn back to face the car again. David steps in a little closer to the car, crouching down to peer in through the doorway. He glances at the dash, the gearstick, and the wonder that is the Mustang. He rubs his hand gently across the edge of the roof, retracting slightly for the rust is scratching at his fingers. "Damn man, only in a back water hell hole like this place would you find such an amazing sight like this, swallowed by the fucking trees," mutters Chris. "Hey, trees are people too, they live, they breathe and have any right that a person has," says Catrin in a mood. "What the hell are you talking about now woman?" says Chris abruptly. Catrin then looks at Chris in shock of his blatant sexism and storms off after Lisa. "One all for David and Chris," murmurs Winston. "What was that, what did you say you fat fuck?" groans Chris. "Hey man, just saying that you two ain't exactly a score with the opposite sex is all, Christ man, learn to take a damned joke," replies Winston. Chris now steps up to Winston, lifting his torso and chest up above Winston's shoulders. Joe now jumps in after observing the whole thing. "Hey now, no need to get ugly, he was just speaking his mind, maybe you should try the same some day, huh, Chris." "Speak my mind, why don't you shut the hell up and leave this to the men!" replies Chris. David now steps in on the argument. "Hey, come on now guys, lets stop acting like assholes and get back to the truck, we should be heading back now, come on, just let it go Chris, let it go, come on now, lets get back to the truck, it will be getting dark soon probably, come on." Chris steps down from Winston and they all head back to the van where Lisa and Catrin are already waiting in a grump. As they all pile back into the van David gives Lisa a slightly wounded sorry look, but as he jumps back into the driver's seat he quickly removes it so as not to cause too much of a sudden atmosphere change. As the van pulls away from the roadside and rumbles off into the distance, a figure pulls itself from the overgrown shrubbery, which is flopped over the wall, and looks on as the van of teens drives off into the sun. The sun beats down further and continues to heat up the van despite every possible window being wide open while the raucous teens inside swelter under the penetrating, scorching heat of the summer sun. "Hey, looks like we're getting near a town here," says David as he slouches over the wheel. The others take notice and all gather around the windshield and stare out onto the ramshackle buildings made from multiple wooden beams and panels while the surrounding ground is dry and littered with patches of dead grass as well as bags of rubbish and old pieces of scrap metal. "Ah shit dude, this place is worse than hell, let's just drive through fast, okay?" replies Winston "Come on man, you're wussier than a fucking baby! Where's your sense of adventure. Christ, it's not that bad, besides, if we meet any inbred hicks, hell, they can always fuck ya up the ass while we get away, you might just come in handy!" jokes Chris. "Hey shut up limp-dick! They'd rather fuck you up the ass!" shouts Winston. "Hey, hey, hey. They can fuck you both up the ass!" includes Joe. "Yeah, and for afters they can get you to suck them off!" finishes Chris. "Hey guys, shut your traps! Last thing I wanna hear are you two bickering like kindergarten kids, suckin' up all the air in this van. Now pipe down, or I'll throw you out to get fucked by those inbred bastards." Says David lightly while the girls roll their eyes. By the time the childish comments had ceased, they were beginning to enter the slum town of ramshackle houses and glazed looks of residents. Their van seemed a welcome surprise to the locals as they began to wonder out of their houses and stop on their porches to stop and stare at the passing crate of fresh meat for the grinder. "Dude, pick up the pace. I think these locals are on the less than friendly side of nature," whispers Lisa. "Don�t worry, just keep your eyes off them and keep yourselves sat down. Don't watch them, just ignore it and we'll soon be past it," replies David as he presses down on the accelerator a bit more. Meanwhile, as the van begins to get lost further amidst the shacks and local folk that stare at them with vigor, more and more begin to show themselves from their darkened huts and shelters. Slumped in appearance and less then attractive to say the least, they gawk mindlessly while the shiny metal van passes them by. They continue to watch and stare, but soon, the van disappears from their sight and they begin to crowd back into their darkened shelters as the dust on the road begins to settle. As they begin to slowly pull themselves out of the ramshackle town, they come to an area of town that seems to have been properly constructed, possibly taken over by the inhabitants of the randomly built shelters prior. Eventually, it seems that they may have passed the worst of it, but they then come to a traffic light showing red and as they wait for a herd of cattle to pass by slowly, they wait anxiously as it appears the locals have cottoned onto their whereabouts again and are started to seep out of doorways and windows to catch a glimpse of 'dinner' as they joke about while they watch the scared faces of the teens inside the van. As Lisa is in the front with David, she attracts the attention of the male members of the town, one of which begins to slither out of his rocking chair on the porch of the general store just to the right of the van. As he does so, David catches a glimpse. "Oh dude, this is like something out of a god damn freak show!" mutters Joe. "Here comes one, just play it cool, don't look at him." But as the man reaches the vicinity of the van, Lisa catches his line of sight and the sweaty looking man begins to smear a grin across his face. He walks out in front of the van and grabs the attention of Lisa. "Heh, heh, heh. I bet you'd lak to suck this one up real nice wouldn't ya bitch!" he exclaims as he unzips himself and pulls out his penis, which he then proceeds to play with frantically. Lisa's eyes widen as David shows his disgust as the man begins to masturbate heavily in front of the van, laughing and chuckling sickly as he does so. He then staggers round to Lisa's side of the van and then picks up his pace until he eventually ejaculates across his hand, flicking it at the van in joy when he finishes. "Fuck, dude!" exclaims David as he cranks the van into gear, pressing down on the gas to swerve the vehicle around in a U-turn to take another road out of the shantytown. But as the van pulls away, the local man continues to flick and swipe semen at the van, eventually losing it as it roars off kicking up the dust on the road surface. "Lisa, are you okay?" asks David as he negotiates the swerving turns of the randomly placed buildings and meandering locals who barely acknowledge the van's presence on the road. "Yeah, yeah I think so, keep going fast," she replies as she chokes in near-vomit-inducing shock. "Christ man, we need to get our white-asses out of this hear place. You just now these sick bastards enjoy a bit of perverted pleasure with us 'city-folks,'" continues Joe. "Hey man, shut up. Just drop it," replies David sharply. Soon, the shock had passed and they were now driving down a safer part of town and a much better constructed area too. The buildings were white and had been painted in the not too distant past. Signs on the general stores and barbershop hung merrily while all of a sudden, there appeared to be two Sheriff's departments on either side of the road. David pressed down on the brake slightly to ease off his speed so they could enter the town at a slower, more law abiding pace. The men sat on the porches of these buildings on the very edge of the 'good' part of town were all huddled in their chairs that they leant back on, their feet pressed up against the hand rail while they held their rifles or shotguns with pride. "And now we enter, the 'Twilight Zone'," mutters Joe. "Too right. I wonder if these guys sleep with their guns?" replies Winston. "Well, at least now we can stop off and get something to drink, I'm dying of thirst here. Think we should be alright now, those guys look pretty solid, I don't think many of them yokels outside town will be getting in here too easily," said David as he looked out of the driver's side window at a tower beside the main Sheriff's department to his left. Inside the town stood another man, also holding a gun, ready and positioned to deal with any unwanted types at a safe distance by the looks of things. As they began to pull into a parking lot in the centre of town, David began to acknowledge the presence of another group of people, appearing at the town entrance behind them, in the rear view mirror. David easily found a parking spot and pulled the van neatly into it and jumped out straight away and walked to the side of the parking lot to come adjacent to the sidewalk so as to catch a glimpse of the yokels coming up to the town entrance. As they did so, the Sheriff's deputies soon became aware of it with the warning of the man in the tower. Slowly, the deputies scrambled out of their chairs and stepped out into the street. As the lawmen grabbed hold of their guns tight, the approaching miscreants began to pick up pace to a fast walking pace. Now resembling a scene from a western, the lawmen and the inbred troublemakers faced off with each other. The yokels reached the border of the town entrance to be greeted with the voice of the man in the tower. "Don't take another step assholes. I got you in my sites!" They stopped and stared at the deputies ahead of them a little up the street. The line of four deputies then drew their guns on the invading group of outsiders, cocking their shotguns with pride and vigor. Then as the whole situation gets just a little more tense, the door to the Sheriff's office opens and outsteps the Sheriff who wanders out onto the scene and comes between his loyal band of lawmen and the invading outsiders. "You'd better listen to reason boys, these guys behind me ain't shot at anything in a little while and are itching for some fun," he says in his proudest tone. Then, one of the outsiders steps forward a step. "Hold it right there shit-head!" shouts the man in the tower, "Or I'll blast your brains all over the road!" "Better listen to him mister, as I said, they're just waiting for an easy kill," shouted the Sheriff. Then as the forward most yokel looked up at the man in the tower, then the Sheriff, and then his band of men behind him, he stepped back one step to rejoin his others. "You'd better tell them kids to get outta our town before somebody gets to 'um!" he shouts. "Don�t you even think about it boy. These kids you talkin' about are just passing through from my reckoning. Leave 'em alone and you be left alone." For a moment, the gang of outsiders stares at the Sheriff, and then at once, disband and go about heading back to their part of town down the road. As they do so, the Sheriff turns about and walks back to his air-conditioned office with a sense of joy under his belt as the rest of his men separate and go back to sitting on their porches chewing their tobacco and reading their Playboy's. "All we need now is Clint Eastwood and we got ourselves a bonafied western," utters Joe as the rest of the group begin to gather around David who still stands staring into the distance, watching the outsiders wander off into the haze of the heat. "Yeah, let's get a drink now," replies David. As David walks back to the van to lock up, Chris and Catrin are the last out and proceed to join the others hand in hand. While David rolls the windows part way up, the others in the group head off in the direction of a bar just up the road from the parking spot. Then, as soon as David has locked up the van, he walks off following the others to the bar up the road, but as he begins to head off, he is confronted by one of the locals of the 'good' part of town, an elderly gentlemen. "You got a couple of mighty fine looking women there with ya. Don't want to let them fall into the hands of them sideshow freaks back there. They do some nasty stuff, but nobody catches 'em. So I'd say you better be on your way soon boy, 'cos this place isn't where you should be if you want to be staying in good health." And with that, the elderly man walks back off into his own direction and disappears round a corner as David begins to pad off to the bar slowly at first, pondering the words he has just been filled with. The gang are now all in the bar, sat down in a booth across the way from the bar itself and sitting right under a cooling jet of conditioned air as David walks in. He turns around to find them, and eventually does and walks over to sit down with them. "Hey man, what took your time?" asked Chris. "Strangest thing, this guy, he um�never mind. Let's just get our drinks and get going," replied David. "Yeah, well don't worry, we ordered you a cold one bro. Just sit and relax to the music man," finishes Chris. "Yeah, right sure. Just relax," mutters David to himself. Finally, the drinks come over to the gang, which they soon grasp quickly and begin to sip at eagerly. David picks his up and rests it against his head for a while to cool himself down as he listens to the music playing in the background. A gentle country tune that plays softly in the back of the bar echoes out smoothly and surrounds the people, bouncing of the walls and cruising around the cold bottles and glasses of beers sat on the bold, mahogany tables. Suddenly the radio is interrupted by a brief newscast. "We interrupt this local broadcast for a news flash. The body of 16 year-old Monica Fairchild was discovered today in a disposal bin at the back of McReedy's Pool Hall on the outskirts of town last night. The owner of the pool hall discovered the body late last night after hearing a commotion outside. By the time he had reached the back door, the perpetrators were gone, leaving behind another victim of the sick minds of the local bad elements. The body of Ms Fairchild was swiftly taken to the morgue and an autopsy has since been conducted with some urgency. The official report, released just this hour, explains how the body of Ms Fairchild shows signs of torture, burning and rape. The body was found naked, and so local officials who arrived at the scene had already assumed this. All fingers and sources point to the involvement of Joe Shepperton AKA "Big Joe", a resident of the outskirts shelter village of Snake Water Creek, a convicted rapist and one-time murderer. It appears as though his involvement is clear, but as to the whereabouts of this man is unknown. The Sheriff's department has released a statement that this man will be brought to justice by all means necessary. The rape of Ms Fairchild is one of a series of rapes that have occurred over the past decade in the town of Snake Water Creek, all events during this time have been confirmed to be the work of elements outside the town. But this is only the second time a case has ended in murder. Nearly 10 years ago, the body of another 16 year-old girl was found. That of an Ms Hope Green whose body was also found dumped, but beside the Snake Water river which runs through the centre of town. The body was also badly raped, possibly by more than one man. It is assumed that at least four were involved in the crime due to indications by injuries and sperm samples found on the body. All other rape cases after this time until now have been sudden, surprise attacks on the younger members of the town's female population and since this time measures have been taken to attempt and secure the town from outside elements. All female members of the town's population have been encouraged to take self-defence classes at the local High School and are also encouraged to carry a weapon at least when walking alone. But despite these measures as well as a curfew on young women in the region being imposed, many more cases of rape have occurred, some even involving the perpetrators entering the homes of victims. The rapes have been savage and have all seemed to be a warning to the residents of Snake Water Creek to either stay away from the outside elements or leave the area totally. For now, this is Brian Donahey of the Snake Water Radio Station. I now return you to scheduled programming." As the scheduled programming of easy listening music returns to the air waves, the gang al become quiet with the realisation of this incident and sudden and unwanted insight into the town's past and the barbaric nature of the outsiders. "I think we'd better drink up and get the hell outta here," says David in a worried tone of voice. "Yeah, I think so too," replies Lisa. "Ah come on guys, we don�t have to be in that sort of a rush, come on. That sorta thing only happens at night around these parts. Besides, I wanna hang around here a little longer, catch some rays," says Chris. "Have you forgotten we've just come from visiting a grave?" replies Winston. "Hey man, just because we visit some graveyard, don't mean we can't catch some rays on the way back. Besides, if this wasn't a trip out, why the hell are we all here?" states Chris. "Man's got a point there bud," interrupts Joe, "It may be an asshole point, but it still stands. I'm all for finding that river, fancy a swim in this sort of heat. Besides, how much trouble can we get into?" David sighs but eventually folds to the demands of the others who sit and stare around him waiting for a response in their favour. "Okay, okay. An hour at the river but that's it. I ain't hanging around here a minute longer." The crowd rejoices while David and Lisa remain fairly quiet and sip at their cold drinks. As the others calm down, they race to finish their drinks so as to get to the river quicker. Finally, they all finish and they begin to roll out of the bar as the locals look on in awe at the "stupidity of teenagers." The gang race to the van while David pays the bill and heads out after them with Lisa's company. They head back out into the steaming hot summer day, the birds twitter in the trees and the locals bathe themselves in the comfort of their porches in the light of the gleaming sun. "You know, we don�t have to do this. You could just say we have to get back. They'll understand, I didn't like what they said on that radio either," says Lisa as she holds onto David's arm. "Yeah I know, but, well. I suppose just an hour won't be too bad. Then we can get the hell out of this place." The rowdy group piles into the van and take their positions in the back when David unlocks the doors. David and Lisa are the last ones into the van and with them all now in the van; David starts her up and rolls the rumbling vehicle out of the parking lot. They head out of the parking area and turn right to drive down the main street of the town, passing the locals who all stare at them in quiet disapproval of their decision. "I wonder where this river is then," mumbles David who rolls the van around the quiet street corners and back streets, following signs and directions of yet more signs, all scrawled on in backwoods talk or something, presumably the work of the outsiders in a vain attempt to cause mild disruption in the fa�ade of the otherwise picturesque town of Snake Water Creek. "Ah! Finally," says David as he eventually finds his way in the direction of the river. "I think I found it guys." David picks up the pace a little as the river begins to come into view. The glistening water that flows merrily by spatters random pockets of sunlight in their direction, sparkling their attention towards the clear waters of the river. David pulls off the main road and drives the dusty van down a shallow incline down the verge at the side of the main road, eventually coming to a halt about twenty yards from the river's edge. No longer has David parked the van than the doors are swung open and the excited group begins to disembark. As they do so, David and Lisa begin to lighten up a little and relax somewhat in their seats in the front of the van. "Hey, don't worry. That kind of stuff happens in the city all the time. Anyway, a bunch of city kids like us can handle that sort of thing with our hands tied behind our backs back home. Let's try and enjoy this hour, huh?" speaks David as he pats Lisa on her knee comfortingly. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Anyway, by the looks of things, taking a bit of a swim seems like a good idea. But I think I'll just dip my feet in. I don't have my suit with me," replies Lisa. "I don't think that�s gonna stop the others by the looks of things." David points to the group who are by now completely stark naked and running into the water with all the joy and excitement of a three year-old at the beach. Lisa giggles as Chris whips his shorts off in a matter of a couple of seconds and heads into the water, his whiter than white buttocks following him in while his tanned upper body struts around like a movie star. Lisa then jumps out of the van as does David and they both head to the water's edge, kicking off their shoes as they do so. They sit at the edge of the river and dip their legs into the water, gasping in cooling delight as they do so while they watch the ambitious others splash and tackle each other in the flowing, cool waters of the river. "You know, you're not that bad of a guy, David," says Lisa quietly. "Huh? What was that?" he asks. "I said. You're not that bad a guy." "Oh. Um�thanks. I'm flattered," he replies as Chris brings another torrent of splashed water towards Winston and Joe who counteract his maneuver with a brief two man tackle. "I always though you were a bit of a jock. Always keeping in shape and so on. I kind of got the wrong impression about you," says Lisa as she loosens up a little bit more. "Really. A jock huh?" laughs David as he lies back on the ground behind them. "Yeah, a jock," replies Lisa as she also folds back so she can come to a more face-to-face level with David. "So what sort of anti-jock am I then?" asks David. Lisa then giggles slightly. "Well. I've been kind of meaning to tell you this for a little while now, but. Well, a pretty good lookin' anti-jock." "Really?" asks David. "Well, yeah. I mean, you're smart�.attractive�.you know." David smiles at Lisa as she begins to stroke the grass they lay on in small circles of embarrassment. "You know. I've kind of been meaning to tell you something too." Lisa then sits up a little and looks into David's eyes. "I've, I've been meaning to say for some time now, that, well, you're a pretty good lookin' girl." David smiles as he releases a load off his chest and as Lisa smiles back. "Really, you find me attractive?" asks Lisa. "Oh yeah. Definitely. I'd say you're about the most sexy woman I've ever met." "Well, I suppose I'd say you're the most attractive man I've ever met," whispers Lisa into David's ear as she bends down to his level. As they get a little closer, David holds onto Lisa's hand and strokes the hair out of her face with the other. Lisa then moves in a little closer to David and then quickly dives in for a kiss, which David is all too pleased to accept. As they lay there kissing, the others quickly become aware as they frolic around in the water. "Hoo, hoo baby!" shouts Joe. But David and Lisa are far from caring what the others are saying or doing as she continues to engage with David as they draw in closer to each other. Eventually, they cease for a moment as the others go back to splashing each other and wrestle in the water. David shudders for a moment in elation. "Okay, well I see the feeling's mutual then." Lisa giggles a little more as David continues. "And that's good, 'cos you're really hot." Lisa now blushes with elation too and they continue to lie close to one another until they both let their eyes wonder to the empty van behind them. As they both turn back to face each other again, they grin at each other in passion and get off the ground, hand in hand and run off the van, closing the door quickly as they clamber inside. "Ho ho! Looks like someone's getting some!" shouted Chris as he continued to splash at the others in the river while the sun continued to burn on. "I think we better be not knockin', 'cos that van's gonna be a rockin,'" says Joe jokingly. Catrin then comes closer to Chris and begins to whisper into his ear. As Winston and Joe play wrestling games in the water, Chris' eyes begin to widen in excitement. "Really!?" Chris shouts out. Catrin then motions for him to be quiet and she takes him by the hand to lead him off into a shaded area of trees up the river bank. "Hey, where are they going?" asks Winston. "Duh," replies Joe. "What, what do you mean? Oh wait, ho ho!" As Winston begins to get a little excited what with the sexual elation brewing around him, Joe cools him off with a quick torrent of abuse with a swift swipe of refreshing water, soaking his body again. "Aw man, now you're gonna get it!" exclaims Winston as he dives in for the kill, bringing wave after wave of water cascading through the slightly disturbed air, soaking Joe on impact. Catrin and Chris step out of the water and wander over to their towels laying at the river's edge along with their clothes. They quickly get dressed and begin to walk off down the riverside, toweling their hair as they go. The air is still, only slightly moved by a distant breeze, which stirs from somewhere a long way away. The rustling of the now surrounding trees above and around Chris and Catrin sound off subtly as the occasional bird soars past in the sky, a mere spot on the beautifully blue overhead. They are now making their way up the side of a small incline, which leads to a wide expanse of trees and patches of grass. The scene is picturesque, so that way in fact, that they soon forget the history of the area and go about making themselves comfortable inland a bit. They find a spot under a tree, a large oak that stands tall and proud, consuming the area with its presence. The leaves continue to rustle just a little as the sounds of the warring pair of misfits back in the river echoes out among the trees. Chris and Catrin both lay out their towels on the ground to make themselves a softer area to lie down on as the birds in the neighbouring trees twitter on and on at each other. Chris is first down onto the makeshift bed and is also first to remove his clothing, eager as always, he is quick to make a start and begins to pull Catrin down to him where he begins to untie Catrin's top while she loosens her shorts. As they continue to get intertwined with each other, they become more and more involved and heated, especially Chris who is all for getting into it and skipping the foreplay. But as they continue about their activities, a lone figure again appears in the far distance among the trees and bushes, watching them indulge themselves. As Chris and Catrin get into each other heavily, the figure crouches down to the ground, still watching them patiently, in the shadows, waiting for them. "Damn man, why can't you be a chick?" asks Winston to Joe. "What?" "Dude, they're getting the action," points Winston in the direction of the now wobbling van, "and they're getting it on over there too. I'm starting to fell a little left out here." "Well, if it's all the same, I wish you were a Playboy bunny. Then maybe I could get me some," says Joe. "Yeah, like one of them chicks would even consider being around you for more than five minutes." "Hey man. All I need is three," grins Joe. "Yeah, well. You can stay here and spank off to the sounds of the others, but I'm going to go off and explore those other woods over there," point Winston to a large grouping of trees across the river from them, which seem to continue on into darkness and nothing else. As Winston escapes the wonders of the cool, flowing water and begins to dress himself again, Joe continues to play around in the water, lying on his back pretending to be a naval ship and such. Winston then finishes dressing again and begins to walk off towards the bridge, which crosses the river. As he reaches the bridge, he looks around the surrounding area of town, nothing, not a soul looks back. Nobody is out as they are all locked up inside enjoying the wonders of air-conditioning. Winston then begins to cross the bridge and looks down on Joe, who is still playing battleships with himself. As Winston smirks, he looks ahead of himself and watches the shadows of the trees ahead move across the ground, beginning to sway back and forth a little more quicker than earlier, but still, the slightly denser breeze is refreshing on the hot body and Winston sighs in cooled joy while he makes his way to the end of the bridge. Finally, he reaches the end of the bridge and Winston now makes his way over to the edge of the woods, disappearing into them quickly as the sounds of Joe playing around fade into the background slowly at first, but then suddenly quite quickly. The trees are old and tangle around with each other in the heights of the cooler air nearer the light, which stabs down on the ground through the pockets between leaves. Winston continues to walk through the trees, whistling as he does so, calmer than he could wish for as the sounds of birds circling the area fill the air with the sweet natured calls and twittering of birds in flight. Winston is now getting deeper into the woods and the river is now impossible to make out as he has slowly descended a slight decline in the woodland floor which has taken him down to a slightly cooler area of the woods, situated in which, is a small hut. Just a small shed, possibly for the purposes of hunting animals, a store for guns or something. As Winston grows more interested in what's inside, he picks up his pace and he wanders down to the shallowest part of the woods, gazing around a sudden open area within the eye of the woodland expanse. The shed is small, about the size of a normal bedroom. A short chimney pokes out the top awkwardly, springing towards the light that filters through the trees and onto the woodland floor. The wooden beams used are now beginning to rot in the slightly damp atmosphere and the window in the front is dirty, smeared with mud and dust from the woodland floor. The door hangs unwanted, not quite attached properly, but more standing of its own will instead of being hinged to the overall construction. As Winston begins to step a little closer to the shed, he hears a muffled sound, something he can't quite place. He thinks to himself and he steps in further to investigate, wondering from what the sound has come from. He approaches the shed and quietly steps up to the door and places his ear nearer to the surface, listening tentatively. As he squints his eyes as he concentrates on the quiet inside the shed, he suddenly hears a noise. A shuffle, possibly a chair on the wooden floor of the shed, followed by a muffled sudden breath. Winston picks himself away from the door in shock, he then bends down again to listen, and picks up the same sound again and again. He then kneels down to the ground and peers through a small keyhole half way down the door. He looks into the darkened shed, but makes out a figure in the corner, sat in a chair. But as Winston focus' his sight a little better, he makes out a young female, tied to a chair in the corner of the room, a dirty rag muffling her whimpering cries as another figure paces around in the room in front of her. Parading around with glee, this figure inside the shed torments the young girl, stroking her inappropriately while he swings a hatchet in his hand with power. "Fuck me," says Winston in shock to himself. But he said it too loud. The figure inside hears the sudden noise from outside the door of the shed where Winston kneels and steps over to the door, approaching Winston's position. As the doorknob begins to twist around, Winston shakes in fear, but is unable to tear himself away from the position in which he sits, stuck, paralysed in fear. The door suddenly burst open, a figure standing in its opening. Winston looks up at the figure, which is shrouded in the darkness of the shed. Then as Winston looks over to the whimpering girl in the corner of the room, he sees her wounds, sore and bleeding, all over her semi-naked body. The girl screams as the figure whips the hatchet up into the air, and then down again. Chris groans and then eventually explodes in joy, gasping for breath as he clambers off of Catrin who lays stunned on the floor at the pace at which Chris has just been through. The "whistle-stop tour of passion" as Catrin explains it to Chris was a little faster than she'd hoped for, but still, "you rock the world baby," she says to him as she rests her naked body on Chris', panting for air, elated and coming down from the glee. "You bet your ass baby, welcome to the best place on earth, the Land o' Chris!" As Chris shakes his fist in the air triumphantly, Catrin rolls her eyes, but continues to straddle against Chris' body. "I wonder how the other two love birds are getting on," says Catrin quietly as she relaxes further against Chris' chest. The sun still beats down, brighter and hotter than before. The heat inside the van is intense, but Lisa and David eventually come to a climax and they breathe in deeply as they fall apart from each other, lying back on the floor of the van. David gasps for air and reaches for a window nearest to him which he quickly slides open to let in some fresh air while he draws Lisa closer with his free arm. Relaxed and indulged, they lay there, hugging each other in a newfound relationship while the noises and splashes of Joe outside begin to flow back into their heads. Finally, after at least 2 hours, Joe clambers out of the water, skin shriveled, but thoroughly bathed and cooled down. He quickly scuttles over to his towel and his clothes, quickly dressing so as not to appear naked in the open air too long. Finally, he dries his upper body off and looks around the area. He sees no one, but knows that Lisa and David are still in the van. The whereabouts of Winston or Chris and Catrin are still unknown to him however, and he looks around the entire surrounding area, glancing back and forth to find them, but he sees nobody anywhere near. Guessing Winston is still exploring in the woods, he decides to play a joke of him and go chasing after him in the woods. Quickly, Joe ascends the slow incline to the main road and crosses the bridge with an urge to scare his fellow joker. As he comes nearer to the wooded area, he begins to feel a little chill, but shakes it off, rubbing the remaining dampness off his body while he steps further into the woods. As what Winston did, Joe walks into the cooler and darker area of the woodland unsuspecting and quickly finds his way to the lonely shed in the middle of a small clearing. Like Winston, Joe approaches the small shack, presuming Winston would be snooping around inside. As Joe reaches the door, he hears a muffled noise, and assuming it's Winston playing a joke on him, he hastily turns the doorknob and kicks open the door. But instead of scaring his friend, he discovers Winston hanging from the roof of the shed, gutted and sliced down the front exposing his innards while his head is heavily disfigured. Joe screams and staggers back out of the shed doorway, stumbling over on the lip of the door at the bottom. Joe collapses to the woodland floor, twisting his ankle on impact. He yelps as he hears the bones scrape off each other while the mutilated corpse of his friend hangs, swaying slightly from side to side, staring at him while blood runs heavily from the vast trauma to the body. Joe slithers back from the door, losing the sight of Winston's corpse in the darkness of the shed. Crying out as he does so in fear, he struggles to his feet and turns to face the way he came. But in his path stands a figure, disguised by the sunlight behind him, which pierces the trees entangled bodies. "No!" screams Joe while the dark figure begins to approach him. Joe turns to run, but the pain of his ankle is intense. But still, he tries to run, and run he does, heading for anywhere but here. He runs, dragging his foot behind him, screaming madly, crying in fear of his life, weeping is shock and sorrow for his friend whose body he discovered. All he hoped was that he wouldn't end up like that. While the trees pass him by, the figure behind gains on him, forever chasing him, following him through the now darker area of the woods and as the figure is almost just behind him; Joe crashes into a figure standing before him. He screams in shock as the sudden occurrence of another man sends him falling to the ground. Then, as Joe looks up at the second figure, the first approaches too. The two figures stand there in front of Joe. They're haggard, dirty, smelling of farming or something else. Possibly from hunting, but hunting what was the question on Joe's mind. But soon, his question was answered when the second figure pulled a knife from the back of his tattered and torn jeans. As Catrin pulls on her shorts again and adjusts her top, Chris jumps up again after having pulled his clothes back on again too. He helps Catrin up with a hand and bends over to pick up the ruffled towels on the ground. "Hey, what do you reckon is behind them trees over there, Chris? Looks like some old house or something back there in the distance." "Huh? Oh yeah, maybe. Let's take a look, then we'll head back," replies Chris. The pair wander off further into the isolated expanse of trees, Chris flinging their towels over his shoulder whilst gripping onto Catrin's hand. Quickly, they become lost amidst the trees and shrubbery and uneven land leading them deeper into the growing expanse of trees. They keep walking, stepping through layers of dead leaves and fallen branches. Occasionally an odd strip of rotten timber looms out of the corner of their line of sight propped against a dead tree of large rock formation coming out of the ground. It begins to get a little cooler amidst the trees and the large patches of shade they cast. As Chris and Catrin dot between these patches of cooling shadow, they are slowly followed by a figure that keeps their distance so as not to draw attention to their unwelcome presence. Catrin and Chris slowly get closer to the position of an old abandoned house situated in the middle of the wooded area. As they approach, they feel a slight chill, but continue on, walking up to the front porch of the house. The windows are either broken or boarded up by rotting sheets of plywood or chipboard while the paint flakes off the walls, falling onto the overgrown grass surrounding the building. The front porch is also suffering from major disrepair, but as the front door is wide open, it calls for a curious mind to enter. Chris is the first to do so, tugging Catrin on behind him by her hand, which he still grips on to possessively. The inside of the house is dark and musty. Cobwebs coat the ceilings and banisters of the stairs to the hard right of them while the interior doors are all unhinged and lying against the walls lining the immediate area. Large holes appear everywhere in the construction where it seems others before them have come to mindlessly vandalise and explore. "Hey come on, let's see what's upstairs," urges Catrin while Chris glances around the immediate vicinity. "Okay," he mumbles as he's led up the rickety steps, his arm outstretched, as Catrin is eager to explore the upper levels. Again, the upstairs is decrepit and severely eaten away by time. All the doors are removed and the windows are boarded up making the hallway and connecting rooms very dull, only slightly lit by the light from downstairs. As Chris and Catrin begin to wander around the hallway and other rooms of the first floor, Chris becomes aware of a scuttling sound downstairs, but is unsure of whether it's his imagination or not. Instead, he ignores it and proceeds to follow Catrin around the maze of tattered and weathered rooms. All damp, wallpaper peeling, dirt and rubbish littering the floors, the couple continues to explore the house, eventually coming to what was once the master bedroom. For a change, the door still remains, but is closed. Without feeling suspicious, Chris tugs on the doorknob and pushes the door open into the room, but behind the door is not an empty room. Instead, Chris and Catrin are dragged into the room by three slouched men, dressed in ragged clothes, stinking of a foul stench only matched by the slaughterhouses. But it seems from their immediate behaviour, they are not workers of the animal slaughtering business. These characters are more the figures behind the local incidents that have plagued the town for many years, and it looks as if they haven't lost the taste for what they love to do best. The largest man out of the three grabs Chris and thumps his repeatedly down to the floor where he is held down by the large man's boot which he presses hard against the back of Chris' neck. The other two, slightly smaller men grab hold of Catrin who screams in fear. They hold her by the arms and pull her inside the room, throwing her against the wall opposite the door she was dragged through. She crawls up into a ball on the corner, clutching her head where she hit it when she was thrown against the wall. The weeps into her chest as Chris struggles to continue breathing. He tries to struggle free from the large man's power, but the overly powerful lummox releases his boot from Chris' neck and kicks him in the stomach several times over, finishing with a brutal kick to the jaw which causes it to break. Chris wails is pain as blood begins to seep from his crippled jaw and mouth. He breathes deeply, sharply and quickly as the other two men begin to advance on Catrin who screams at the sight of Chris who now lays semi-conscious on the dirty floor. "Cum' on boys! Get yow ass in there!" shouts the large man, "I'll get in after you's two." The other men look over to the main leader of the group and nod ape-ishly as they drool incessantly with pleasure and joy at the idea of getting another girl. The second largest man goes in first, lunging down to Catrin quickly, dragging her out of the corner and over to a damp mattress in the adjacent corner of the room. This man then kicks Catrin into the corner where she falls down to the mattress wailing in pain. As the man begins to advance again, the largest man looks on as he grabs hold of Chris' head, positioning him in front of the show they are about to create. As Chris comes back into consciousness, he shakes the blood out of his eyes, while the large man still grips Chris' head by his hair. "No, no. You bastards! No!" Chris gurgles; muffled by the broken jaw he now feels the full pain of. "I'm gonna get her Pa!" shouts the first man to advance on Catrin as he steps up close to her and kneels down to her side, "How do you like this one bitch?" he slurs as Catrin looks up at him. She then recognises him, the man from the traffic lights, it was him, and she was surrounded by his buddies who all wanted a piece of her. But as she gasped in horror, another figure enters the room, another figure stinking of slaughter, spattered in blood, human blood, the blood of Winston and Joe. The first man to advance on Catrin then strips down in a flash and jumps down onto the mattress, slathering his tongue across her face as she screams and screams. "Come on boy! Get a move on!" shouts the largest man while he continues to hold Chris' head up to view the violence, which Catrin is to experience. The man is fast to tear the top from Catrin's chest, exposing her sore breasts from the beating, and then, the man tugs off her shorts, brutally pinning her down and forcing himself on her. She groans in pain and fear, screaming in agony, soon becoming aware again of the new figure in the room. "Look's lak your boy is getting' him some good city ass there!" the figure shouts. "Oh yeah, he is. An' I'm gonna get me some too once ma' boys are dun! But look, I saved you a choice piece of city ass too, take this here pretty boy. He looks like he's beggin' for it!" replies the large man as he drops Chris to the floor. "Ho ho yeah!" exclaims the new man, I like this one alright," he says as he rips off Chris' shorts and tears off his underwear. And as the others violate Catrin as she screams continuously, the new man forces himself on Chris as he slouches his head from side to side, dropping in and out of consciousness. The house sits there in the expanse of trees and sounds out the screams of the victims inside and the joyous howls of the attackers into the unoccupied area. "What was that?" asks Lisa. "What? What was what?" replies David. "That, can't you hear it? I thought I heard screaming, in the distance." "Probably Chris and Catrin enjoying themselves a bit too much," smiles David. "Heh, yeah. But you sure beat their ass huh baby," says Lisa softly as she strokes David on the chest. "Yeah, you bet your ass. You got the best, that's for sure." "And you got he best too, David." "Oh yeah, that was, very, very good. Very, very good," he replies as he draws Lisa in further for another shot. "Oh, again?" she asks. "Hey, just the best for you baby. I've been waiting to do this for so long," he smiles. "Me too," whispers Lisa. The pair lies back down on the van's floor and engage themselves again, rolling back on and off each other as they begin to get heated again, breathing in deeply, giggling as they go. But as they do so, a couple of shadows begin to approach the van, slowly winding their way closer to the van and then beginning to creep up the side until they eventually appear across the van windows. As David rolls around with Lisa, he glances up to the window to his side and notices the shadows against the steamed up windows. "Hey guys, this ain't a peek show. Go on, get out of here!" he shouts out. He receives no reply, but the shadows begin to back away from the van and eventually disappear out of David's sight, so he presumes the others have disappeared back to the river. But as he falls back into pleasure, the windshield bursts open. Glass shoots into the van, covering David and Lisa and they scream in shock and as two figures looks in at them through the broken glass, grinning at them as they suck the drool from their mouths while they chuckle to themselves. "Look's like desert," mutters one of them as the other lifts the sledgehammer he is carrying up in the air and smashes the van again and again. Slowly making his way around the van, smashing all the windows, and covering the screaming pair inside in small shards of gleaming glass. Then, as David reaches for the sliding door to his left to try and escape with Lisa as they cower inside, the door opens before he reaches the handle, and a figure leaps into the van. |