Something_Violent Read online

  A sickening burst of tingles hit my stomach.

  “How long you’s been out here?” the man asked. “And what in hell’s on yore faces?”

  “Seth?” Jody said, her eyes widening.

  “Don’t move,” I said.

  “Better list’n to Romeo,” the guy said. “Don’t wants me to get spooked and…” He shoved the barrel against her head and shouted, “Bang!”

  As Jody squealed, the ugly freak let out a lunatic’s cackle.

  “Did you hear that?” Mackey shouted in the distance.

  “Yeah,” said Goober. “Sounded like Lemont!”

  Lemont sneered. A corner of his lip curled, showing bleeding gums. “Shit. There goes me having this one to myself.”

  Jody looked at me, fear making the caramel tint drain from her face.

  “Gid up,” Lemont said. “Slow-like.”

  I stood up first, then held out my hands to help Jody up.

  “Now’s,” Lemont said. “Drop those weapons. Slow. Don’t get me spooked.”

  “Or bang?” Jody asked.

  “Bang on Romeo. Open a red mudhole in his there chest. Bang in you, open up a red mudhole betw’n yore legs. You’s can leave the mask on. I’s kinda like it.”

  Jody made a disgusted face as she reached behind her back. When she brought her hand back, she was clutching the .41 in her trembling hand.

  “That’s a nice ‘un,” Lemont said, whistling. “Drop it.”

  Jody did as he said. I dropped the double-barrel beside it. Then the bat. Jody dropped the knife. I slipped the bandolier over my shoulder, tossing it on top of our stockpile.

  Lemont, staring at the weapons at his feet, slowly shook his head. He let out another long whistle. “Damn,” he said. “Gots anything else?”

  “That’s it,” I told him.

  “Yore sure?” He stepped closer to Jody, bumping his crotch against her rump. “She don’t gots anything hiding in here?”

  “Get away from her,” I said.

  “Or what, Romeo? You’s goin’ to stop me?”

  Opening my mouth to tell him I would, I heard leaves and sticks crunching as feet trampled them.

  Goober appeared first behind Lemont. He saw us, paused, mouth dropping open. “What the hell?” he said.

  “Got’s visitors,” Lemont said.

  “I’ll be damned,” said Goober. Looking at Jody, he grinned. “This Howler-ween?” He tapped the nose of Jody’s mask with a finger.

  Mackey arrived a few moments later, out of breath. His lungs made sharp gusting sounds as he looked from Jody to me. His pudgy cheeks were the color of apples.

  Flashing a gap-toothed grin, Lemont said, “Looks like we has to get extra plates fer supper.”

  Laughing, Goober excitedly clapped his hands.

  Mackey stepped forward. Grabbing Jody’s mask under the cheek, he ripped it off, snapping the bands. Goober gasped when he saw her face. Lemont said something under his breath that I couldn’t understand.

  Mackey, eyes narrowing, studied Jody. “Is that…?” He gripped the top of her purple hair, yanking off the wig. Her dark hair fell around her shoulders. Holding the wig up as if he’d just scalped a cowboy, Mackey stared at her.

  “Hair’s fake,” Goober said, amazed.

  Mackey walked over to me, fingers slipping into the eyeholes of my mask. He jerked forward. There was a small resistance before the band snapped.

  Mackey stared in my eyes. “I know you, boy.”

  I said nothing as Mackey stepped back. He pointed my mask at our weapons. “Pick all this here shit up, bring it wit us.”

  Lowering his gun, Lemont stepped forward with Goober. The two brothers quickly gathered our weapons. I noticed Lemont wasn’t paying attention to me, and he was within grabbing distance. Stepping forward, I planned to get hold of his Adam’s apple and tear it out, but Goober thumbed back the hammer on the .41 and leveled it on Jody’s chest.

  I stayed where I was.

  Lemont stepped away, turned, and rested the bat on his shoulder. “I likes the nails,” he said, raising the shotgun so it pointed at me.

  Mackey held out his arm, Jody’s wig swaying from his hand in purple arcs. “Start walkin’.”

  Getting behind Jody, I nudged her to take the lead. With her in front of me, I could be somewhat of a barrier between them and her. After Lemont had already openly displayed a morbid fondness for Jody, I wasn’t taking any chances.

  They brought us into the backyard. Chairs had been placed around a spit. Over the flames was a wild boar with a long rod shoved from its ass and out its mouth. Hair plucked, its skin was charring from the flames licking it.

  Though it looked gross, the smell made my mouth water. My stomach quaked with hunger.

  “Get more chairs,” Mackey said.

  “On it,” said Lemont, handing the shotgun over to Mackey. He walked toward a rickety lean-to that was attached to a dilapidated shed. He chucked my bat in, then ducked under the low shelter.

  Jody stepped close to me, hugging my arm. “What are we going to do?” she whispered.

  “Just play along,” I whispered back. “We’ll get out of this.”

  Though Jody nodded, I doubted she very much believed me. I wasn’t so sure I believed it, either. We’d been on the other side of this scenario many times, and not once had anybody been able to overcome us or get away.

  “How’d you two get here?” Mackey asked.

  “Hiked,” I said.

  “Bullshit.”

  “We love nature. Smelled the food and decided to see what it was.”

  Mackey stared at me. “It’d be best you don’t lie to me, boy.”

  Something clattered from inside the lean-to. Lemont grunted, then cussed. I hoped something heavy had fallen on his foot.

  “We drove here,” said Jody.

  “Fine’ly,” said Mackey. “At least one of you’s has some sense. Why’d you’s drive here?”

  “Just happened to find it,” I said. “Not on purpose.”

  Mackey tilted his head, narrowing his eyes. “I don’t reckon I much believe that.” He let out an exasperated sigh. “Goober?”

  Goober, who hadn’t stopped leering at Jody this whole time, pulled his eyes away. “Yeah?”

  “Bring the woman over here.”

  Goober clapped.

  Jody pressed against me, shaking her head. “No.”

  Stepping in front of her, I said, “Stay back. You’ll regret it.”

  Tucking our masks and Jody’s wig under his arm, Mackey aimed the shotgun low with his other hand. “Only take one shot in yore knee to make you’s go down. You won’t die, but there’d be nuttin’ you could do to stop Goob. When he gets goin’, there ain’t no stoppin’ him.”

  Making odd clucking sounds, Goober made his way to us. A rope of drool hung from the corner of his mouth.

  “All right,” I said. “Hold him back.”

  “Hang on, Goob,” Mackey said. He looked at me.

  “We drove here,” I said, “looking for you.”

  “Now we’s gettin’ somewheres,” said Mackey.

  Lemont emerged from the lean-to with a metal folding chair in each hand. He walked over to where the meat sizzled above the weak flames and set them up. As he crouched to stoke the fire with a stick, Mackey made quick gestures with the shotgun, directing us to sit down.

  We did.

  Mackey sat in the chair across from me. Goober sat to Jody’s left, and Lemont sat to my right.

  “Goober,” Mackey said, “start making us some sandwiches.”

  Nodding, Goober stood up, stuffing the .41 in his pocket. He walked over to a small box on the ground, crouched in front of it. He pulled out thick rocks of bread, a knife, and a grilling fork with two tines on the end. He set the grilling fork on the seat of his chair, then used the knife to saw the bread in half.

  “Is it only you two?” Mackey asked.

  I thought of the girls waiting in the car. “Yes. Just us.”

 
Mackey’s eyes narrowed. “You telling the truth?”

  “I am,” I said.

  “Mind my manners, if’n I don’t believe you.” He looked at Lemont. “Check around.”

  “But Mack, we’s about to eat…”

  “Do it, you asshole.”

  Lemont huffed through his nose. “Yessir.” Shoving his seat as he stood, the chair toppled over.

  “Jeez-us,” said Mackey with a sigh. “Damn brat.”

  Feet stomping, Lemont headed for the driveway, making an extravagant show of flinging his arms. Each time they swooped back down, his hands smacked his thighs. He plodded a course for the driveway.

  Jody and I shared a quick, worried glance. I hoped the girls would see him coming and hide. This situation was going to get a hell of a lot worse, and I didn’t want them anywhere near it.

  Goober stabbed the fork into the meat. The tines vanished with a wet punch. Juices trickled from the holes as steam swirled out. Using the knife, he carved off thin portions, letting them fall into an iron pot. Underneath the blackened skin, the meat looked tender and moist.

  “What’s this about?” Mackey asked, holding up my mask. His fingers stuck through the eyeholes like two chubby worms.

  “Our masks,” I said.

  “Naw shit, fuckwad.” Mackey shook his head. “Why was you’s wearin’ ‘em?”

  “We just do,” Jody said.

  “You’s killers?” Mackey asked, eyes narrowing. His eyes flicked back and forth from Jody and me many times. “Yeah, you’s killers aw’right.” Laughing, he tossed Jody’s wig into the fire. Her mask went next. The flames ignited the purple strands, turning them to ashy fibers. The mask curled, bubbled. Soon it was mostly liquid, the face sagging into puddles on the wood logs.

  Mackey crinkled my mask into a ball. Then, holding it above his head like a basketball, tossed it toward the spit. It bounced off the impaled boar’s side before landing in the wriggling flames.

  Watching our things burn made me hurt deep inside. Tears slid down Jody’s cheek.

  Nobody said anything else while Goober prepared the sandwiches. He gave Mackey his first—a stack of pulled meat between fat bread slices. Then he made two more, bringing them to Jody and me. He returned to the meat, made a sandwich for himself, and sat down.

  Mackey said a quick prayer, then told us to eat.

  I bit into the packed sandwich. Flavored juice burst in my mouth, hot and tasty. Though I wanted to hate the food, I couldn’t. It was delicious, and I was hungry.

  We ate in silence. Mackey finished first, and sat back in the chair, watching us. As I stuffed the last bite into my mouth, Lemont showed up. A pang of dread hit my satiated belly. When I saw he was alone, my stomach tried to twist.

  Where were the girls?

  “Find somethin’?” Mackey asked him.

  “Car.”

  Mackey looked at me. “Yores?”

  I nodded.

  Lemont got down on a knee in front of the meat, and began making his own sandwich. Mackey looked at his brother’s back as he spoke. “That all you find?”

  “Yep.” Lemont turned to me. “You two’s a pair of dumb fucks. Left yore doors wide open.” Lemont laughed. “I shut ‘em for you. Don’t want that fine car to get a dead bat-tree.”

  I saw Jody from the corner of my eye—shoulders dropping as she exhaled a long, pinched breath.

  The girls had run off.

  “Aw’right,” Mackey said. “Who are you two? I know’s yore face somewhere…”

  “Seth Covington.”

  Mackey’s lips moved, looking as if he was muttering my last name over and over. Then he suddenly stopped. Smiled. “Well spit in my mouth…” Shaking his head, he turned toward his brothers, who were busy stuffing their faces. “D’you hears that?”

  “Yeah,” said Goober, his mouth full. “So?”

  “Covington,” Mackey repeated, “‘member? What was that? Twenty years ago?”

  “More,” said Jody.

  “Holy shee-it,” said Goober, getting it. “You the kid Lemont let get away?”

  I didn’t need to reply. They already knew, and burst into laughter. I saw mushy mounds of food inside Goober’s mouth. Clumps sloughed out, spattering his pants.

  Mackey, red-faced, knuckled a tear out of his eye. He moaned as if he’d hurt himself laughing. “What’s this, then? You’s come lookin’ fer some ruh-venge?”

  “Yes,” Jody answered.

  Mackey looked at Jody. “And yore…?”

  “Seth’s wife. We kill together.”

  Mackey sucked in a deep breath. Mouth dropped open, body convulsing, no laughter came out. Bit by bit, I began to hear wheezy coughs that slowly escalated to a boisterous laughing fit. Goober and Lemont eventually joined in, though I could tell they were faking it.

  I waited until Mackey went to rub the fresh tears out of his eyes before I lunged. It wasn’t something I’d planned. I had no doubt if I’d given the attack any kind of preconceived thought, Mackey would’ve noticed before I could’ve done anything. This way, I had a small window of opportunity to get him.

  It didn’t last. Mackey saw me coming. Bringing the shotgun up, his finger curled over the trigger. I slapped the barrel aside just as it went off, feeling the reverberation in my hand.

  And Lemont’s head exploded in a veil of gushy red and brown.

  Flung backward, Lemont knocked the chair over, dumping his headless body onto the dying fire. His back pounded the ashes, the flames quickly spreading onto his clothes.

  Goober, sitting in his chair, screamed and swatted at the brain and skull fragments splattered across his arm, neck, and face. Dropping his sandwich, he stood up, running in circles as he screamed.

  I grabbed Mackey’s shotgun by the barrel, singed my hand, and jumped back. Shaking my head, I tried to wave off the burn. Mackey shoved the barrel into my stomach. Though the tip was hot, its contact sent paralyzing cold through me.

  Mackey pulled the trigger.

  It clicked.

  “Damn,” he growled through gritted teeth.

  Like me, he’d forgotten it was a single-shot model. Stepping back, I shot my knee up. It smashed his chin, knocking his jaw into his upper teeth with a hollow clack. His chair flipped back, dropping him on his head. His stumpy legs folded over, toes touching the ground in front of his face.

  Three quick shots blasted behind me. Turning around, I caught sight of Goober vanishing behind the shed as bullets punched holes into the wood.

  “Damn it!” Jody yelled. The .41 was clutched in her hand. How she’d gotten it back, I had no idea. She chased after Goober, so I didn’t get the chance to ask her.

  “Wait!” I shouted.

  Jody vanished behind the shed, without stopping. Turning around, I stole a peek at Mackey. He lay on his shoulders and neck, the chair leaning against him. He didn’t look in any condition to move anytime soon. Being cautious, I grabbed his shotgun and flung it into the woods. Then I grabbed the double-barrel and bat. I decided to leave the bandolier. There was no time to strap it on, and I didn’t want to carry it. My knife was nowhere around. I hoped Jody had taken it.

  There was a skinny footpath behind the shed that led into the edge of the woods. Figuring that was where Goober had gone, with Jody at his heels, I took it too. Vines and bushes lashed my arms, leaving red stripes on my skin that felt like wasp stings. One time my foot stumped a jutting root that jerked my leg out from under me. Pounding the ground, my chin scooted in the dirt. That really hurt. Took me longer to get up than I’d wanted, and I couldn’t move as fast as I had been.

  The woods opened on a small clearing. Oil drums with tubes feeding from the top were scattered about. Rust had turned the rotund containers orange. Glass jars were everywhere: stacked up neatly in rows with clear liquid inside, others were in wood crates and stacked like a supply inside a warehouse. There were lots of boxes with empty jars, and a pile of glass shards on the other side of the clearing.

  Moonshine.

>   Pausing at the first still, I looked around, trying to listen for dashing footsteps. It was hard to hear anything above my rapid breaths, so I closed my mouth and huffed through my nose, making me feel a little light-headed.

  I heard Jody’s voice. Though it was faint, there was no mistaking it. I did a run-and-limp combination sprint across the clearing. I found where the footpath began again and kept going. It was dark in this part of the woods.

  Keeping my speed somewhat swift, I tried to keep my movements quiet. Jody’s voice became louder. I still couldn’t understand what she was saying. Somehow I doubted she would be having a conversation with Goober. Unless she was pretending that if he begged for his life, she’d let him live. She’d only done that a few times before, usually to the ones that thought they could bribe their way out of being killed. We both had a good time with it. Sometimes the poor fools actually thought we were going to let them go.

  Maybe she wanted me to kill him. It was my family he’d helped kill, my mother he’d…forced himself on. She probably figured it was my kill to make.

  Smiling, I kept forging ahead.

  A moment later, my smile died.

  Off the path, beside a cluster of trees, I saw Jody. On her knees. And in a row, as if amassed by height, stood the girls: Lee, Ruth, and Della.

  I did a quick scan of the area, not finding Goober anywhere.

  What the hell was going on?

  “Jody?” I said, walking toward her.

  Jody looked at me from over her shoulder. Her eyes were drenched, spilling tears down her face. “I’m such an idiot, Seth.”

  “Wha…?”

  “I’m so sorry,” she said. “So sorry…”

  “What’s going…?”

  Then I saw it. Lee had the .41 pressed against Jody’s stomach. The tip of the barrel made a dent in her shirt. Ruth, holding my knife, looked at me. Her eyes were dark, like two tiny caves inside her skull. The grin on her young face showed nothing but wickedness. Della was the only one of the three not armed. I noticed her long fingernails for the first time. They looked as if they’d been filed into dagger-like tips. Had they been like that the whole time? I didn’t think so. Maybe it was something she’d done to herself just now.