The Uninvited (11 page)

Chapter 20

Traci flew forward, screaming as she hit the ground, and slid painfully through a thorn bush, twigs, and rocks. Brandi was trying to bring the stick down, she had her eyes shut and Katy jumped across the battered Traci and tackled her around her stomach. Brandi hit hard, letting out a good deal of air. She said, “What the fuck is wrong with you, Katy?”

“Well, if you would have been paying attention you would have seen you probably didn’t want to kill the person beneath you.”

Brandi moved to the side so that she could see and took in Traci trying to push up from the ground failing at first and falling back to the ground. Katy moved over and helped her up, slowly. She winced as she extended her arms. There was a bloody leaf angel beneath her. Her short shirt and tank top did little to protect her as she had slid. Katy said, “Fuck, me I'm so sorry. Are you okay, Traci?”

Traci was still in shock. “I didn’t think that I had any chance of catching up to you two. Isaac stayed behind-”

“What, why, what was he thinking?" Brandi asked.

“He was thinking that his best friend was about to be murdered right in front of him and the idea of it was more than he obviously could handle.”

Katy stared at Brandi coldly. “Hmm, sounds like I'm not the only one that was trying to use morals. I knew that I should have stayed with him but someone bitch slapped me and then pulled me into the woods, leaving my husband behind.”

Traci tried lifting her legs and rotated her arms to see what range of motion she had in them. She could have been more pleased with the results but wasn’t ignorant and knew sitting there complaining about things that couldn’t be changed would do no one, including herself, any good. Traci looked at the two of them and said, “Get me a stick too. I am done being a victim. If that son of a bitch comes after me again I'm going to stab him through that stupid fucking mask of his and call the cops long after he’s dead.”

Brandi said, “Wow, this isn’t how you act at the office.”

“Really, Brandi? I also don’t have a psychotic piece of shit running crazy in the office trying to kill me. Because I'd fucking kill them too.”

Brandi held out a stick for her and the three of them headed to the wood’s edge, peering out to see if there was anyone or thing that they needed to be wary of or about. Katy said, “So once we call the cops did you want to go back and try and find Isaac?”

“If they have a gun or something we can borrow, or maybe knives, I don’t know. There’s a good chance that sick fuck could probably take all three of us out, but it is my man and I love him. Christ, I just got engaged today and I have to worry about losing him already. Do you know how much bullshit that is?”

Katy said, “Well, in a year when we are all somewhere tropical celebrating the wedding of you two we will be feeling extra thankful for the love that we all have for each other.”

Brandi said, “You guys think that we could maybe talk about this later and get a move on? If things are so important sitting here and talking about it isn’t doing anyone any good at all."

“She’s right,” Katy said. “There’s about a million nicer ways she could have said it, but what are you going to do with some people’s kids?”

Brandi went to say something but the two of them walked ahead, leaving her standing by herself open mouthed. She ran to catch up to them, not wanting for one second to be by herself in the woods filled with killers. The girls walked to the edge of the timber looking around, waiting, and deeming it looked safe to go and venture out to. They walked out into the gravel driveway that covered most of the property along the edge of the barn. Katy was in the lead when she walked to the edge of barn. She looked both ways quickly to make sure that the monster wasn’t lurking around the corner. A scream tried to pour from her but Traci was there instantly, pulling her backwards and hushing her as she covered her mouth. She let go and said, “What…..what is it?”

Katy turned around her to face her, face void of all color. “It’s a man. He’s dead. That son of a bitch must have come here first. He doesn’t look all that fresh either.”

Traci peered around the corner, wishing she hadn’t; the visual she received wasn’t anything that she needed to have in her memory bank. “Could this day get any weirder?”

The three of them avoided Steven and made their way across to the house. When they made it there they listened, hearing a screaming whistling sound coming from inside. Brandi said, “Who the fuck makes tea when a dead man is hanging outside?”

“Maybe someone who was expecting a normal day yesterday or the day before? Maybe the killer put it on there before he left because he’s all kinds of effed up.” Traci said.

Katy gripped the handle to the door, checking the lock. When it opened, she pushed the old wood door open slowly, seeing the horror show before her. They looked down at the antique wood with the long blood trail heading outside and one heading up the stairs. They made their way in slowly and cautiously. Brandi opened her mouth to say something and Katy shook her head no holding a finger up to her mouth. They walked the first floor of the house, checking doors. The home had no basement and they were thankful as hell for that. When they made it to the kitchen, they removed the teapot and looked around; the new silence was almost deafening.

Katy said, “Okay, so where’s the fucking phone?”

Brandi pointed, almost laughing, at the wall-mounted line. “Oh my god, they have a home phone. Who even has a home phone?”

Traci walked to it quickly, avoiding the blood marks everywhere on the floor. “Really, you are making fun of the one thing besides a gun that could potentially save our lives?” She picked the receiver up off of the wall and listened for the dial tone. “It’s dead, damn it. Let’s check the rest of the house. Maybe there’s something else up there that we can use. Maybe we can find a cell phone up there.”

Brandi said, “Yeah, that or we are going to find another dead body. This place just screams that good things happened here.”

Katy said, “Well, maybe we’ll find some car keys and we can just drive on out of here. I know it wouldn’t break my heart if we put some distance between us and this place. Maybe we could find the boys on the way out. Wouldn’t that be amazing? Let the cops send like a thousand guys here and find that son of a bitch and kill him.”

The three of them started to head towards the receiver when a lamp fell in the living room, followed by feet running wildly across the floor towards them. The three of them screamed as they sprinted up the stairs. Traci was pushing them as fast as she could until she looked down, seeing a black cat sprinting through their legs and to the safety of a room upstairs. They stopped, taking their time laughing about it for a second. Katy said, “Anyone else feel totally fucking paranoid?

“Affirmative on that,” Brandi said, still trying to catch her breath.

They made their way up the rest of the long staircase, looking around and seeing a row of doors, and a trail of blood leading to one that they decided should be the last to be checked until they heard the cat hissing, sending shivers down their spines and into their toes. They walked to the edge of the doorway and stopped short.

Brandi asked, “Do you think that is the lady that owns this place?”

“I sure as hell hope so.” Traci replied.

“What do you mean by that?” Katy asked.

“Because if this isn’t her house then there is a really strong chance that we stumbled on to his home and I don’t want to think about this being his place where he brings people to kill and torture. He must have killed her and left her like that.”

Brandi went to say something and Christy brought her head up trying to blink enough until she could see and scaring the hell out of the girls. Christy looked like she was using every ounce of strength she had to hold her head steady. The amount of blood coming from the side of her head was not the worst thing about looking at her. They could tell that the woman had been tortured upon further review of her. She wasn’t sitting up in the chair, she had been tied in the sitting position and each of her hands and feet had a single nail ran through them holding her to the chair and her feet flat to the floor. Small pools of dried blood had crusted them. Katy said, “Oh my god. We need to help her. Are you okay? We are going to help you, I swear.”

When the woman went to talk they noticed it wasn’t that she was being shy it was that she had her lips sewn shut with heavy thread. They went to touch it and she screamed. Katy looked throughout the room, seeing the mannequin body in the corner with a half-finished dress on it and found a pair of scissors. Katy said, “I’m going to cut that string, is that okay?”

The woman started to cry, barely able to keep herself calm. Traci ran a hand down her face, “It’s okay, we are here now. We are going to take care of you, I swear. I need you to try and stay calm. I don’t want to cut you. Can you sit still, please?”

When they realized she wasn’t able to control herself Brandi and Traci did their best to hold her head steady; her wild eyes looked like she was about ready to pop blood vessels in them. Katy did her best to cut through the string, getting as many as she could. She winced as drips of blood began to pour out from the woman's mouth. When she could see the woman’s gums at first she thought that she probably wore dentures. When she was done and the woman could open her mouth all the way she saw that he had pulled the teeth from her mouth. When Traci saw this she thought of the man, and said, “Is that your husband outside by the barn?”

Christy, who they were pretty sure was in some sort of shock, looked back between the three of them. The tears that had begun had been now accompanied by snot and blood from her teeth. Brandi said, “Jesus, would you please say something, lady? You are totally freaking me out.”

Christy, who made little sense with a severed tongue, mumbled, “He’s behind you.”

Chapter 21

Ten minutes before the girls found Christy

Isaac ran as hard as he could. Each time he pumped his arm the pain that ripped through his shoulder wound was excruciating. He knew that no one was going to save him and that if he wanted to live he needed to move. He ran until he had to stop and puke. He leaned against a tree, holding on for balance and losing the drinks and small amount of food he had earlier. What had been only a few hours, now felt like it had been years.

He wiped with his free arm, when he tried to come up he fell to the ground. A pain like he had never before felt burned through his wrist. He pushed up with his left hand, not daring to put any pressure on his right. When Isaac looked up what he saw was his right hand staring back at him, something that he wasn’t sure he was able to believe at the moment. He screamed and looked at his wrist. When he did he saw that, yes, the hand was his and it was no longer attached to him.

He tried to push up and fell back to the ground. The blood that was pouring from his wrist was sending him into a state of dizziness and faint. He looked behind him and saw the stranger standing there drawing swirls down his blade with his blood. The son of a bitch was toying with him. Isaac pushed up to his rear and scooted backwards, ripping the belt from his side. He wrapped it around his wrist, tightening it until there was no give left, and put it through the loop to tie it off. He wasn't a doctor, but wasn’t stupid and knew if he did not stop the new wound that he wasn't going to still be conscious in a few minutes.

The man waited patiently, playing with the blade almost mocking him and in no hurry. Isaac said, “You enjoy this shit don’t you, mother fucker?”

The man nodded, giving a thumbs up enthusiastically. Isaac said, “You know one day you aren’t going to be so damn smart or so damn lucky and you are going to have to deal with the repercussions of your choices. I pray for that lucky fucker’s sake that they shoot first and ask questions second. I’m pretty sure that you have a one on one date with the devil in your very near future.”

Isaac said, “What you don’t know how to talk?”

The man bent down, getting very close to Isaac. He pulled up the mask and said, “I don’t usually have anyone want to talk to me.”

Isaac just stared at the man. “You…..you look normal. You don’t look like-”

“Like a killer? I assure you I am.” At that he pulled the mask back down, reaching forward and sliding the blade in through Isaac's stomach until it came out the other side.

Isaac tried to speak but couldn’t. He fell to the ground, looking up at the clearing in the trees, watching as the clouds rolled past him, moving slowly on what he thought, ironically, would have been a beautiful day with friends and his love if this psycho hadn’t ruined their day.

The stranger knelt down next to Isaac, patting his face. He leaned back behind and took Isaac’s hand sliding it inside of his overalls. As Isaac slipped into darkness he watched as the stranger started to walk towards the farmhouse. In the upper window he could see the girls. Or thought that he could see them.

Chapter 22

Sunday

The police made their way through the forest and very quickly found Jack still on the ground. One of the police said, “Sir, you want us to get photos of this?”

Lambert said, “No son, we don’t have time to waste here. We need to go and see if we can find this bastard before he tries to take anyone else out in our group.”

“You aren’t worried about the scene, sir?”

“If I did would I have told you otherwise?”

The man wasn’t new himself and he was smart enough to just stay quiet and nod. He thought about it and said, “Ain’t easy is it, sir? We’ve lost men before. We’ll do our best to catch this son of a bitch, you make the call and we’ll do the footwork. We aren’t quitters here, sir.”

Lambert gave him a thumbs up, looking around, and said, “We fan out, if anyone, and I mean anyone, sees anything, you call it in. I don’t care if you aren’t sure if it’s a killer or a rabbit. If you see something you report back. You don’t try to subdue him. Are there any questions?”

One man, an obvious rookie to the department, helping him raised a hand laughing. “Chief, we got Glocks for god sakes. This guy seems to be a pretty big fan of the knives. I think we can take him.”

Lambert walked in a beeline straight for the man much faster than anyone had seen someone his age move in a while. The man tried to back up step, but it was too late and Lambert had him by the front of his shirt, lifting him by his Kevlar vest and tossing him a few feet backwards. The man tried to push up from the ground and Lambert punched him in the face twice, spilling blood from his lip and his nose. Lambert screamed, “That was two seconds you little fuckwad. How’s that gun doing? Still in place by your side, right? Let me repeat myself. Anyone at all sees him or her, whatever this freak is, you fucking call it in.”

The rookie, not knowing to just leave well enough alone, said, “I’m gonna report this to my union rep. You can’t do this shit.”

“You go ahead and do that, son, and you tell Jeff that Chief Lambert said hi. If he looks at you funny just say Nick and the kids say hi. You got any other grievances you want to put out, or are you going to move on and help to catch this serial killer?”

The man went to speak and one of his superiors placed a firm grip on his shoulder, squeezing until whatever the man wanted to say had passed. The rookie nodded and they fanned out, pistols drawn. They took their time waking slowly, trying to be as quiet as possible. The branches painting the forest floor didn’t make anything easy though. Lambert said, “Nulty, DeBryan, you get out there and see if you can catch up to Hardin. There’s nothing smart about anyone running off on their own today. I got a feeling that he is feeling more than a bit guilty about Bynum, which I can’t say I blame him.”

DeBryan and Nulty nodded, they’d worked together for a decade plus and weren’t new to this. Nulty said, “We’ll radio once we find him, Chief. I am pretty sure he can handle himself.”

“Just because he’s big doesn’t mean that sneaky fuck can’t come up on him. Look at Bynum over there on the tree if you have any questions, I’m sure he’s in better shape than all of us.”

DeBryan patted his mid-section. “Well, if he gets me it’s gonna be on the ground, he ain’t lifting this man muscle up.”

Nulty pulled him to get walking saying, “Yeah, your man muscle is from the unrelenting workout of twelve ounce curls. You could get a gold in the Olympics if it was a sport.”

DeBryan said, “Please, I’m already a professional in most bartender’s eyes.”

Lambert watched as his men disappeared into the woods. He walked the line, pointing people in the directions to go. He said, “We need to move on this, gentlemen. We’ve never had a chance to be in the same area as him. We only get day old kills and a nervous nine one one call.” The men all nodded and Lambert went with the last group of men fanning out over a hundred yards. He thought of his granddaughter Lisa and smiled, then he thought about his piece of pie and was sure the little shit had instantly seen a piece missing when she had invaded Tricia’s kitchen looking for a snack of some sort.

Lambert hit his radio, “Hey, boys how you doing on the west end?”

Nulty came back over. “There’s trees, sir. Lots of trees. We haven’t seen anything yet. Don’t worry, we’ll report back if we see something though, I can assure you.”

A branch snapped in the distance and Nulty said, “Sir we might have something. I’ll stay live though. We need to get across this stream and see what it was.”

Lambert asked, “How far have you gone?”

DeBryan said, "Sir, we’ve already made it at least a half mile. We take this serious. He got one of our own, sir.”

“You just make sure that you do.”

DeBryan went to say something into his mic and it only came back as a choking sound. Lambert asked, “What was that son…..son?”

Nulty turned around to see DeBryan and felt his stomach turn ten different ways. DeBryan was standing, but it was only because of the giant standing behind him holding him up. His machete was dripping with fresh blood, and the under belly of DeBryan had been cut from the left of his waist all the way across his belt line and to the back. Nulty whispered, “Oh my god!”

“What, what is it Nulty?”

“Him, sir. He’s standing in front of me.”

“Then shoot that son of a bitch. Shoot him right goddamn now!”

“I can’t, sir. He’s holding up DeBryan, and we are going to need a medic on scene now. He cut him across his beltline. I think that he can pull through though. I don’t have a shot though, sir. He’s using DeBryan as a shield.”

“Then fucking move until you do have a shot. Damn it Nulty, we aren’t going to fucking ruin this opportunity. You make something happen. You didn’t see where he came from?”

“Sir, I don’t think at this point and time it really makes a lot of difference does it?”

“No, I assume not.” Lambert said, slowly thinking about how he could get to his men. He flicked his radio to medical on nine and reported to send two ambulances and a coroner's out to the scene to pick up the victims.

Nulty started to slowly circle, but the man kept DeBryan in front of him, stepping into a small circle. Nulty ignored the fact that he was in one foot of water. Nulty, having no clue about the man other than killing was his thing, said, “Hey, it isn’t too late. You can let him down and go in peacefully and we can all live through the day. Why don’t you put him down and come in? You don’t want to kill anyone else do you?”

The man stopped walking and held DeBryan to the side for only a moment, nodding his head yes, that he most definitely wanted to continue killing and that he was not done by far yet. DeBryan, who was just barely conscious from the blood pouring down the front of his pants, yelled, “Would you fucking kill him already? Please shoot this son of a bitch and do it now, damn it!”

Nulty whispered as if only the two of them could hear it, “There isn’t a shot Mark, trust me I want to shoot him.”

The man held up a finger going back and forth in a shame on you gesture. The man made the machete disappear behind his back and came back ripping up the remaining skin that was keeping DeBryan’s organs on the inside where god intended them to be. Nulty saw this and screamed, “No!”

He had a front row seat to his own snuff film. DeBryan’s stomach emptied onto the ground in front of him. His intestines and stomach lining landed on the ground. His stomach, which had been quite full, now looked depleted of everything. The stomach lining fell to the ground puncturing on a stick and sending a rancid smell into the air, making DeBryan and Nulty both begin to gag unstoppably. The killer lifted a much lighter DeBryan now and ran him into Nulty, who had forgotten he was in water that was only getting deeper as he had tried to get a shot. DeBryan’s weight was enough to knock him off of his feet. Nulty disappeared only for a moment underneath the water. He opened his eyes and all that he could see was DeBryan sitting atop of him, dead and growing cold with the water from the steady stream.

Nulty pushed him aside, coming up for breath with his pistol still in his hand. He shot out of the water sucking in sweet air, which instantly burnt his lungs. He looked where he thought that the man would be and saw nothing but guts and blood on the ground. He turned his head to sit up fully and saw the man standing in front of him. He brought up his pistol to aim, wanting to at least get off a Hail Mary shot, but the man brought the machete down once. Nulty screamed as his hand was now gone, and watched as his hand, still clenching the gun, floated down the stream.

Nulty’s clenched his teeth saying, “Just fucking do it you piece of shit. Come on you coward.”

The man knelt down, pushing Nulty down into the water. He held him there just below the brim of the water. Nulty became hard to see the lower he put him in the water. Nulty’s blood covered the stranger in his blood hitting him with the stump of his hand and the one still attached. Nulty’s air supply did not last long before it started to slowly be released and then completely. The stranger stayed hunched over him until there was no life left within his body, stroking the hair from his face so he could see Nulty’s dead eyes staring back at him. He let go of his shirt and let him float away into the nothing.

Ten minutes later

Hardin sat on the edge of the woods watching the house as told. He hit his radio and said, “Sir, he just went into the house. I’m moving in, if you aren’t close?”

Lambert said, “We are trying to find DeBryan and Nulty. I think he might have gotten them.”

“Send who you can, I don’t trust this son of a bitch for a minute. If this is his house or someone else’s, he’s still got other exits to leave from. I'm not going to give him that chance. I can’t lose him Chief, not after all this. We can’t go through everything just to end up losing him. I’m going in.”

Lambert went to say something else but Hardin hit his radio off button not wanting the chatter to come through. Lambert cursed as they were running through the woods in a mob of officers looking for the man. They stopped abruptly when Nulty went past him. Lambert jumped into the water, stopping his body and jumping when his hand floated past him. He knelt in the water, not caring about getting wet. He hung his head as he pulled Nulty from the water and to the edge. He noticed the man had sliced two upward cuts on his cheeks giving him the forever impression that he was smiling even into the afterlife.

Lambert pulled him up to the side of the bank and said, “We get this fucker. We don’t separate again for anything. We need to find this house and we need to do it now. Hardin just went in cowboy with no backup and he needs someone to watch his six."