‘Hands Of Vengeance’ ( 2 )

01 Sunday Jan 2023

Posted by stevenjohnno in stories, Uncategorized

Tags

blood, death, horror, murder, revenge, suicide

I have written a brief summary of the first instalment of this story but it would be best if you read Part One before continuing.

Elijah Pope was just 28 years old when he was put to death in the electric chair at San Quentin.

Since the age of eleven Elijah was constantly in trouble with the authorities, breaking into houses while the occupiers were asleep plus other assorted petty crime that earned him nothing but a few stints at juvenile hall.

When he was 23 Elijah was arrested for a series of murders that happened near his home in Manhattan.

At his trial Elijah sat in stunned silence when the prosecution told the court that DNA found at all thirteen murder scenes matched his DNA and Elijah was nonplussed and screamed out ‘I am a petty thief and i haven’t killed anyone, there must be some kind of mistake.’

But after meeting for less than three hours the jury returned and found Elijah Pope guilty of the crime and the judge sentenced him to death.

After countless appeals over three years on 21 August 2022 Elijah walked down the corridor towards the death chamber screaming that he was an innocent man vowing to come back and kill all of the people who have stood by and let him die.

After he was strapped into the electric chair Elijah was asked if he had any last words, looking over to his parents who sat holding hands in the viewing room ‘Mom Dad you have to know why my DNA was found? Do i have a twin brother that i don’t know about, talk to me please’ Elijah pleads but his parents remain stoic and silent just like they have ever since the day he was arrested.

Elijah blood begins to boil, he gives the onlookers a final glance and began affirming ‘I will be back all you motherfuckers and when i do none of you will escape my wrath.’

Warden Ian Baldacci who has been in charge at San Quentin for over twenty years says a silent prayer for the condemned prisoner then flicks a switch causing Elijah’s body into shocking spasms and soon the room is full of smoke and the stench of burnt flesh.

Poe struggles against the wrist restraints twisting his body violently, so violently that soon both hands can’t withstand the pressure and are severed and fall to the floor.

Elijah Pope is pronounced dead at 6.06 pm by the prison doctor.

An hour later after everybody has gone home or back on duty two orderlies appear pushing a trolley holding a cheap pinewood coffin.

The orderlies unbuckle Pope’s body and gently place him inside the coffin then the younger of the two is ordered to pick up the discarded hands which he does with a look of distaste.

The hands are placed on top of the scorched remains and then the coffin is placed inside a white van that the senior orderly drives down to the southern corner of the prison and soon the pine coffin is lowered six feet down into a freshly dug grave.

After the prison chaplain says a few words the hole is filled in and Elijah Pope is left to dwell in purgatory forever.

Four months later just before midnight the earth covering Pope’s grave stirs and soon a finger breaks the surface and surveys the area like a submarine’s periscope.

Satisfied that the coast is clear soon a pair of unblemished hands breakthrough the soil and scurry the fifteen yards over the perimeter fence then they scramble up the weathered stone drop down the other side then hide behind a dumpster until a means of escape comes along.

PART TWO.

‘For God’s sake Miquel can you stop smoking that shit here, what will the boss say when we return to base and the truck smells like a frat house.”

‘Calm down Jimmy it is only a small joint the boss won’t even notice.’

‘A small joint? It is the size of a cigar, wind the window down before i die from marijuana poisoning.’

Miquel Ferria a 39 year old Mexican immigrant and Jimmy James a native new yorker who celebrated his 60th birthday last Wednesday have been collecting the trash for over a decade and even though they might argue and bicker most mornings the unlikely friends get along well enough but when it is 4.30 in the morning tempers can fray.

Jimmy is a skinny white man who is counting down the days until he can retire while Miquel who is big for a Mexican is still thinking the night before where he and his wife Margita made love like a pair of lovestruck teenagers.

‘Snap out of it Miquel, lets finish our run as fast as we can so we can go home and have ourselves an early weekend.’

‘Good idea Jimbo now shut the fuck up so i can concentrate on driving this piece of shit.”

After driving six blocks emptying hundreds of bins the pair arrive outside San Quenton and they both say a silent prayer thanking the lord for letting live outside the walls and not inside trying to survive hell on earth.

Miquel parks the truck and lights up the joint enjoying the smoke distorting his brain ‘Maybe i should drive Miquel the last thing we need is for you to kill us both a week after Christmas.’

As the pair walk around the back of the truck to change positions neither of them notice a pair of hands scurry from a behind a tree and leap aboard clinging on tight to the running board a mere three yards from Jimmy’s scrawny neck.

Two hours later Miquel and Jimmy are weary and wired needing a caffeine and sugar hit so Jimmy parks outside a Wendy’s diner where they unwind with a large coffee and a dozen donut’s.

While the two trash collectors enjoy their down time the pair of hands jump down and just as the sun begins to rise they race across the road unnoticed and soon disappear in the foliage of a well maintained garden bed.

The garden is located on the western side of a huge building no more than ten feet from the main entrance.

The fingers of both hands intertwine hoping that soon they will obtain a host to help in their quest for vengeance.

Thirty minutes later an already weary doctor arrives to start his shift but before he goes inside Docter Edwin Rothchild a world renowned orthopedic surgeon decides to have a cigarette before starting another hectic day.

Taking a seat Edwin starts thinking about a patient of his who has been waiting for a double hand transplant for over six months now.

Patrick Redman lost both hands on a boating accident last August and despite searching all over globe a match has yet to be found.

.Unfortunately for Patrick he has the rare A B Negative blood type so finding a match has become very troublesome.

Edwin shakes the thought from his mind, stubs out his cigarette when something in the corner garden catches his eye.

Bending down for a closer look Edwin’s knees buckle and a tiny voice in the back of his mind tells him to forget what he saw before it is too late but against his better judgement Edwin tells the voice to mind its own business and shut the fuck up.

Not quite believing what he saw Edwin has a closer look and a pair of hands creep forward like and octopus from its secret garden.

Stealing a glance behind him Rothchild picks up both hands and places them gently in his coat pocket then casually walks into the hospital to start his shift at the Marin County General County.

Up in his office Edwin locates a donor organ cooler fills it with ice and gently places the hands inside but the hands have other ideas and spring from the cooler and start to climb up Edwin’s shirt.

Screeching in fright Edwin flicks both hands back into the cooler and quickly closes the lid.

When his heart rate returns to normal Edwin opens the lid an inch and quickly take a blood sample and sends it downstairs for testing.

After doing his rounds Edwin returns to his office and as he eats his lunch he checks for any new emails and immediately his heart begins to race again when he notices an email from hematology.

Clicking on the link Edwin is both glad and frightened when he reads the results, the blood sample is indeed A B Negative, now young Patrick Redman will have another chance to become a whole person again with two new working pair of hands.

After he finishes eating his lunch Rothchild phones Patrick Redman with the good news, spends the afternoon performing surgery then just after six pm he grabs the cooler and heads on home.

At his house Patrick Redman is ecstatic, after months of having his wife Maureen feed him and wipe his butt finally there is a ray of hope on the horizon.

Arriving home Rothchild takes a quick shower then pours himself a large scotch while he prepares a plate of leftover meatloaf.

His wife thirty years Catherine is away visiting her elderly parents in Oregen which is a good thing because Edwin knows that she wouldn’t approve of what he brought home in the cooler.

Staring at the cooler as he drinks a few more stiff drinks Edwin drags himself to bed where he spends a restless dreaming about a pair of hands going on a murderous rampage.

Waking early despite feeling like a steamroller drove back and forth over his skull while he slept Edwin rolls out of bed early ready to face another day.

Entering the living room he is glad to see the lid still in place on top of the cooler then after watching the morning news drinking his first cup of coffee for the day then he grabs his car key and the cooler and drives towards the hospital.

Normally unflappable Edwin is nervous as hell as he walks into the hospital because he knows that shortly he will perform a surgery attaching a pair of hands from an unknown source to his desperate patient which he knows is bordering on criminality but he took an oath to treat his patient to the best of his ability and that is what he intends to do.

He informs his colleagues that a donor was found over night and the hands are a perfect to his patient Patrick Redman who has been informed of the happy news and that his surgery is scheduled for 10 am tomorrow morning and that he is not to consume any food after 8 pm.

Brenda Fellows a tough nurse who has worked at the hospital for over 22 years is skeptical when she is told that a donor has suddenly appeared out of the blue. ‘Doctor Rothchild there is nothing in the system about this donor so i will need the donor’s name, his blood type and which hospital the donation is coming from.’

‘I will need all of this information so i can enter it into the data base so everything is above board, if i don’t receive this vital information by 1 pm then the surgery wont be able to proceed as scheduled.’

‘Of course Nurse Fellows why don’t we step into my office and i will give all the information that you need.’

Rothchild knows that he is currently walking on very dangerous ground, deep down he knows that what he is about to do is very wrong but after taking a deep breath he leads the hapless nurse towards a donor cooler sitting on his desk. ‘Really Doctor this is highly irregular.’

‘Lifting the lid exposing its contents Rothchild beckons Fellows closer and despite her misgivings she leans in for a closer look then before she can scream the hands spring forward wrap themselves tightly around and squeeze.

After their victim is no longer breathing the pair of hands jump down into the safety of the cooler safe in the knowledge that things are about to get a whole lot worse.

Patrick Redman arrives at the hospital two hours before his operation and after checking in he is told to strip naked to put on a white gown with an opening in the back.

Feeling exposed and vulnerable Patrick is allocated a bed, given a pre-op sedative and told to relax ‘It will all be over before you know it.’

After a marathon 14 hour operation Doctor Rothchild thanks the other members of the surgical team. ‘When done everybody as you saw the operation went smoothly, i expect that the patient will gain full use of his new hands in a matter of months.’

Later that morning Patrick wakes in the recovery room feeling a little woozy but his mood picks up when a nurse tells him that his procedure went well and after a few months of rehab he will be a new man.

After he left the surgical ward Doctor Rothchild took the lift up two flights then entered the janitor’s room where he had hidden Nurse Fellow’s body.

Throwing the body over his left shoulder he calmly walks over to the emergency door and kicks it open then he walks another ten yards and stands on the ledge five stories above the ground.

Clutching his passenger tight Rothchild steps forward into oblivion screaming ‘FORGIVE ME PATRICK I WAS POSSESSED.’

Patrick is still flexing his new pair of hands when a young doctor enters his room ‘Hello Patrick i am Doctor Gregg Wilson and i can see that you are making a speedy recovery.’

‘I sure am Doc but where is Doctor Rothchild? I was expecting to see him to drop in this morning while he was doing his rounds.’

‘Ugh sorry Patrick but Doctor Rothchild had to hum step out for a while but don’t worry about that i will be attending to you from now on and i have to say that i am surprised how well you have recovered from such a complicated operation.’

All of a sudden the donated hands start to gesticulate wildly and Patrick is startled to say the least ‘I am not moving my hands Doc they are doing it all by themselves.’

‘What in the fuck is going on? ‘I don’t know Patrick maybe you are having an allergic reaction to your new hands but and this is really weird but i believe that the hands are using sign language.’

After writing down what the hands had to say Doctor Wilson gives his patient a troubled look ‘Don’t keep me in suspense Doc what did my hands have to say for themselves?’

‘I have a deaf sister Patrick so i know sign fairly well and what i am about to say will be distressing but here goes ‘I AM BACK MOTHERFUCKERS AND I AM COMING FOR YOU ALL ONE AT A TIME. SLEEP TIGHT NIGHTY NIGHT.’

‘Who is back Doc ? I don’t understand.’

‘I don’t know what is going on either Patrick, just lie back and try to relax.’

‘After we run a few tests i am positive that a solution for your predicament will be found.’

After a fortnight and countless tests by numerous doctors who find nothing unusual Patrick is told they he will be ready to be discharged in a day or two but he is to report back to the hospital every week for his scheduled physiotherapy.

With a lot of help from his wife Maureen Patrick quickly settles into a routine back at his house.

His hands are strong and healthy with all of the physio and exercise and Patrick can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel and if all goes as planned maybe he will be able to return to his job and provide for his family properly.

After an intense workout Patrick has a shower to take the edge off.

He stands under the hot water for ten minutes washing away the sweat and plenty of painful memories then when he feels cleansed Patrick climbs out and dries himself with a towel and he is happy to see that all of his fingers are all in working order.

Noticing that the bathroom mirror has steamed over Patrick turns on the exhaust fan and as the mirror clears Patrick begins to clean his teeth then suddenly his right hand shots out and writes a message on the glass.

Patrick pulls his hand away from the mirror and reads ‘TIME TO KILL, VENEGEANCE WILL BE MINE’ ELIJAH POPE.

Wiping the words away before he leaves the bathroom Patrick knows that he is in deep trouble, it is the second time that his donated hands have taken on a mind of their own and left behind a cryptic message but first thing he needs to find out who is Elijah Pope.

After asking Mr Google for help Patrick is appalled to see that Elijah Pope was sentenced to death for of series of bloody murders and was executed by the means of the electric chair near enough to six months ago.

‘Just fricking great i have been given the hands from a convicted killer.’

That night as he sleeps the DNA from his new pair of hands continues to intermingle with his own DNA and when Patrick wakes up and rubs the sleep from his eyes.

He kisses his wife good morning ‘Morning sweetie would you like some bacon and eggs for breakfast?”

Maureen sits up and looks at her husband ‘Sure Patrick but your voice is different it is a lot deeper, are you feeling okay?’

‘And your hair is a couple of shades lighter, did you dye it last night.?”

Patrick doesn’t answer but admits to himself that he does feel different and not in a good way.

All he wants to do is go back to the hospital and tell Doctor Wilson and sever his hands and throw them into a furnace instead he walks into the kitchen and starts preparing breakfast and by the time the couple finish eating the bacon and eggs Patrick Redman now occupies a mere 5% of his body while Elijah Pope occupies the remaining 95%.

For all intents and purposes Patrick Redman no longer exists.

Elijah Pope went to his grave condemned for eternity but now he has a chance to make sure that all of the people responsible for the miscarriage of justice will pay a heavy price.

Ian Baldacci the warden at San Quentin prison is relaxing at home after another hectic day not knowing that his life is about to come to an abrupt end.

His wife of thirty years is away visiting relatives but before she left Joan kindly made of few meals and left them in the fridge so all Ian has to is choose a meal and put it in the microwave for a few minutes.

But Ian decides that the mac n cheese can wait a few minutes because he really needs to unwind because it is hard dealing with prisoners on death row who have little hope and no future so what he needs is to have a long hot bath and wash away the anguish.

As he soaks Ian can feel the tension float away and he vows for the tenth time to help Joan a lot more with the household chores.

‘Hello warden enjoying your bath? Startled Ian begins to stand up to confront the intruder but a solid punch to the throat sits him back down quick smart.

‘No need to stand on my account warden just relax and enjoy the last few minutes of your miserable life.’

Struggling to breathe Baldacci take a few seconds in an attempt to gain himself some leeway before he responds ‘Who are you and what are you doing in my house?’

‘You don’t recognize me warden? I can see your brain ticking over but let me give you some help.’

‘Remember back to earlier this year when i was tied to old sparky and then you flicked the switch and sent me on a one way trip to hell but i really missed you so i have come back to talk about old times.’

‘Pope? But it can’t be, i watched you die, you were pronounced dead by the prison doctor and i saw you placed into a coffin and lowered into the ground so go back from where you came from before and let me wake from this dream in peace.’

‘This isn’t a dream warden, now tell me, how do you like your toast light brown, brown, dark brown or burnt?

It suddenly dawns on Baldacci that the freak before him is holding Joan’s old two slice toaster he gave her as a birthday present back in 2015.

Pope plugs in his weapon of choice and asks the warden if he has any last words ‘Listen Pope or whoever the fuck you are just walk away and i promise not to say a word about you being among the living again.’

‘No can do warden, but let me repeat my question, how do you like your toast?’ ‘No on second thoughts there is no need to answer because i am pretty sure that you are a crispy burnt kind of fella aren’t you warden?’

‘Noooooooooo’ Baldacci screams as he tries to catch the toaster but he loses his footing in the soapy and immediately his skin peels away exposing a pink underbelly that jerks and jumps like a macabre puppet on a string before sinking into the supercharged water.

Pope walks away careful not to slip on the wet floor, he stops and savors the smell in the bathroom a mixture of boiled lobster and pork.

He closes the front door of the warden’s house behind him satisfied that one of the assholes who mistreated him is no longer walking this earth..

At 8 am the following morning a police cruiser arrives at the wardens house to do a welfare check after concerned neighbors called to complain about the stench.

Receiving no reply after repeated knocking a uniformed officer enters the premises and following the smell he locates the warden’s body floating face down in the bathtub.

Racing outside the officer calls in for backup before vomiting six breakfast burritos onto the manicured front lawn.

10 minutes later a couple of detectives arrive at the crime and after sidestepping the mexican offering they enter the house of horrors.

Eric Robinson and Marc Freed have been partners for just on twenty years and in that time they have come across a lot of grisly cases but what confronted them that morning will be permanently imprinted in their minds.

Robinson a huge black man standing 6′ 7″ surveys the scene and notices the toaster in the bath and at first glance it looks like a possible suicide ‘What do you think Marc suicide?’

Freed a skinny white man just six weeks from retirement isn’t so sure ‘I hope it is Eric because it will save us a lot of time not having to look for a killer but why the toaster when there is a hair dryer and an electric razor sitting on the cabinet within easy reach from the bathtub?’

‘Good point Marc lets seal the scene off from nosy reporters or neighbors and let the CSI people do their thing.’

Two days later the detectives our in their office doing paperwork when their boss lieutenant Norman Parsons enters holding a manilla folder that he throws on Robinson’s desk.

Parsons is a young upstart just 34 years old who has risen through the ranks faster than a speeding bullet. ‘Let me fill you in before you read the report but you won’t like what i have to say.’

‘DNA and fingerprint evidence was found at the home of warden Ian Baldacci and they match perfectly to one nasty individual named Elijah Pope.’

‘Elijah Pope’ Freed mutters ‘I know that name but i can’t for the life of me i can’t place him.’

Parsons jumps in before Robinson has a chance to respond ‘Elijah Pope was convicted eight years ago of multiple murders and sent to death row at San Quentin.

‘Despite pleading his innocence i ten different appeals he was electrocuted by the electric chair on the 3 April this year.’

What? Robinson screams ‘How can a dead man leave DNA and fingerprints six months after his death?’

Parsons hold up his hands to stop further outbursts ‘I have asked the commissioner to put in a request to have Popes remains exhumed but in the meantime go and ask Pope’s family if Elijah has a twin brother who might be out for retribution.’

Because of the weird circumstances the exhumation was fast tracked and under leaden skies the coffin containing the remains is brought to the surface loaded into a white van and driven to the medical examiner’s office.

Dr Winston Churchmill who has been working for the county around the same time that Noah started to build his ark pulls on a pair of gloves and orders that the coffin lid be removed and two younglings quickly bow to see command.

But Churchmill orders the pair to stand back ‘Well well well will you look at that.’

Everyone in the room lean forward and Churchmill continues Do you notice the splintered wood that was broken from the inside almost like the body inside was trying to escape.’

The coffin lid is dragged away revealing the skeletal remains, Churchmill does a quick examination and tells his rapt audience ‘Everything appears to be normal except for two minor details.’

Robinson and Freed who until point remained silent can’t stay quiet no more ‘Spit it out Doctor what are the minor details? Freed whispers ‘I am glad you asked Detective because it is really quite simple, the hands the deceased hands are missing.’

Sitting in the corner of the room Parson’s know that he needs to contain the news to this room before someone spills the beans because the last thing he needs is for the residents of New York city to start panicking and spreading unfounded rumors making the job of the police force even harder than it needs to be.

‘Listen up everyone what the good doctor has revealed is to stay behind these four walls and i warn you all if i hear a whisper about a pair of wandering hands roaming the city i will come down hard on whoever leaks any information understand.’

What Parsons doesn’t know is that the pair of hands have already found a host who at this moment has already located his next victim and Pope want stop until he has killed all of the motherfuckers who sent him to hell.

You have all been warned.

THE END

Part Three coming soon.

Thanks for taking the time to read this story and could you please make a donation to go towards my goal of becoming a fulltime writer Thank you Steven.

‘Hands Of Vengeance’

16 Friday Sep 2022

Posted by stevenjohnno in stories

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

blood, electric chair, execution, horror, murder, wrath

‘For fuck sake i will gladly strap myself to the electric chair just to get away from all you dumb motherfuckers.’

‘The warden told that he would personally ensure that last meal on this godforsaken planet would contain every morsel of food that i asked for.’

‘I specifically asked for three cheeseburgers, large fries, six pieces of fried chicken a pan sized pepperoni pizza and a large coke to wash it down with but what do i get one lousy burger three chicken wings and a slice of pecan pie.’

‘Oh yeah and a can of fricking pepsi, if i wanted a motherfucking can of pepsi i would have asked for a can of motherfucking pepsi and where in the fuck is my motherfucking pizza?’

Robert Jenkins has been a guard at San Quentin for just on twenty years he has come across lots of mean nasty individuals and when they arrive on death row most of them calm accepting their but the prisoner in cell12 Elijah Pope is still a surly bastard even after nine years spent on death row and Jenkins even though he would never admit it is scared shitless of Pope who is built like a quarterback with a face criss crossed with scars from countless street fights.

Yelling through the bars of his cell Pope continues his tirade ‘Guard guard i refuse to eat this shit, go tell the warden that if he wants to fuck with me come tomorrow when he flicks the switch and sends me to hell i will take him with me and Jenkins you come along for the ride if you want and we will have ourselves on huge human BBQ and invite that asshole Guvnor Hylan to breakfast.’

Standing 6′ 9” Jenkins sighs and walks the thirty yards from the control room to cell 12 and even though the gentle giant is scared he goes on the offensive raking his baton along the steel bars ‘Settle down Pope and eat your dinner because in a little over nine hours you will be nothing but a crispy critter getting what you truly deserve so shut the fuck up and jerk off into the toilet for all i care.’

‘Don’t complain to me this isn’t some swanky hotel, you are on death row for a reason so button your lip and go out with what little dignity you have left.’

Pope stares back at the huge white guard in anger ‘That is easy for you to say Jenkins but i wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth or a gold dildo up my butt so spare me the pep talk so let the warden know that i will see him bright and early tomorrow and when i begin to broil and bubble i will send smoke signals of hate to all the motherfuckers who put me where i am now.’

‘I survived this world for 28 years and after i am electrocuted tomorrow i will become the master of sparks and come back to destroy all who has mistreated me.’

Jenkins adams apple bobs up and down in fright as he listens to the evil fucker talk but he works up the courage to reply’ The only person who has ever mistreated you is yourself, all of your wounds are self inflicted, you committed your heinous crimes nobody else.’

‘Goodbye Pope i hope that you die fast in the morning and i pray for the families of all of the innocent victims you preyed on.’

Pope is a small man standing 5 foot tall and weighing a measly 180 pounds with dark brown skin he is a picture of innocence, if he walked by you you would never suspect that your life could be taken by him in a flash but looks can be deceiving.

He might look like a choirboy but he is anything but.

Pope first came to the attention of the authorities at the age of thirteen when he attempted to rob a convenience store, when the owner of the store fought back only to be attacked by the skinny teenager to an inch of his life.

Pope spent three years in juvenile hall for the bashing and the time spent in jail did nothing to stop the wayward teenager cleaning up his act in fact when he came out Pope was a hardened criminal ready to fight the world and everybody in it.

He was released into his parents custody and Elijah surprised them by going back to school where he knuckled down got good grades behaved himself, he grades for good enough for him to enroll at college when he planned on studying electrical engineering.

But beneath the angelic facade Elijah was still a troubled teenager and when Mary Jane Perkins, the popular girl at school refused his invitation to the prom stating ‘I don’t date anyone below my social status especially a black with no manners or any type of future and really no fucking idea at all of what it takes to impress a girl like me.’

Immediately Elijah’s blood began to boil and a red mist descended clouding his vision’ I am sorry that you feel that way Mary Jane i really am because when people put me down and think they are better than everybody else i tend to strike out and put them back in their place.’

‘Be careful what you say to me Mary Jane because i might just snatch your life away before you know it.’

Mary Jane’s brain tells her that she is in mortal danger and maybe she should get the fuck away from the situation Pope strikes and using both of his hands he begins to squeeze the life from the school girl but suddenly the pressure is released and Elijah whispers in her ear. ‘Don’t say a word Mary Jane because if you do i will return and you want will die a painful slow death you fucking bitch.’

As soon as Elijah walks away Mary Jane slumps to the floor in relief, she knows that she is very lucky to still be alive.

After taking a few deep breaths Mary Jane has a look around to make sure that she is alone then after walking out of the school’s back gate Mary Jane decides to take a short cut along the railway track so she can get home quicker and tell her parents what Elijah Pope did to her.

Lurking just twenty yards away a killer with over twenty victims to his credit follows Mary Jane.

He had been stalking the blond haired beauty for a week waiting for the perfect moment to strike and add another notch to his belt.

The killer saw and heard everything that went down between the blond and the boy named Elijah and in that moment he knew that he had found the perfect patsy to frame for his past murders and the one that he is about to commit.

Mary Jane is thinking about how good it will feel when Elijah Pope is brought to justice, she is so caught up in her thoughts that she doesn’t notice a man sneaking up behind her.

Suddenly a pair of hands completely cover her nose and mouth and despite a desperate struggle Mary Jane is no match for a killer who has had lots of practice taking the lives of girls whenever it takes a fancy and now he has someone to take his place on death row.

Laughing all the way the killer finally locates a pay phone and calls the police telling them that he saw a black boy arguing with a white girl near the basketball courts at the high school ‘I saw them officer and i heard her say the name Elijah, please hurry she might be in danger.’

Hanging up the killer walks away satisfied that he will never be prosecuted for his crimes.

Elijah arrives home still on edge after his encounter with Mary Jane but after eating a large portion of Macaroni and cheese he settles down to watch some baseball on the large screen TV.

When the game finishes he takes a shower before retiring to his room to play a few games on his laptop but five hours later just on midnight he is rudely awakened by two police officers placed in handcuffs and informed that he is under arrest for the murder of Mary Jane Perkins and the suspected murder of twenty other victims in downtown Manhattan.

‘What are you motherfuckers talking about i haven’t killed anybody, when i left school Mary Jane was still alive i swear.

Across the street the killer watches the police car drive away with the kid in the back seat, the parents quickly follow a minute later than the killer after making sure that all of the neighbors have gone back inside their homes walks down the side of the Pope residence and enters through an unlocked window.

Working quickly he plants the clothes and shoes that he wore when he committed his crimes in the boys closet and exits the home and walks away just before a squad car arrives and the house is sealed closed to hold all evidence inside.

A year later at his trial 18 year old Elijah Pope is shitting bricks, he still can’t comprehend why he is being called a serial killer when he hasn’t killed anyone.

His lawyer Paul Drew fresh out of law school is completely out of his depth and Elijah knows that he is in deep trouble because it is obvious that the judge doesn’t like him and the prosecutor a long time trial lawyer named Daniel Hopkins can talk the talk with the best of them and he seems to have the juror’s wrapped around his little finger.

‘Your honor the evidence is overwhelming, first we have the fingerprints of the defendant found on the throat of the last victim Mary Jane Perkins plus the clothing and shoes where the DNA from twelve of the other victims was found present.’

‘Your honor the killer can be no other than Elijah Pope, the prosecution rests its case your honor.’

Elijah can’t contain himself any longer, jumping to his feet he screams out ‘What a load of fucking shit, Mary Jane was alive and well when i left and i wouldn’t be caught dead wearing clothes like those.’

Judge Walter B Carruthers is a crusty old man who has ruled over his domain with an iron fist bangs his gavel furiously ‘Young man this is your first and final warning, sit down and keep your mouth closed or you will be gagged and restrained, do you understand?’

Elijah knowing that his life is on the line sizes up the judge’ I am an innocent man you old fool, the evidence is crap but you refuse to listen so why don’t you take that gavel and shove the pointy end right up your a ‘

A prison guards hand covers Elijah’s mouth muffling his final word but everyone in the courthouse knew what the prisoner was suggesting.

‘Take him back to his cell until the proceedings are over’

Elijah is dragged down to his single cell and an hour later his lawyer arrives and tells the stunned teenager that he should ready himself if the verdict doesn’t go his way’ But i am innocent i tell you, why doesn’t anyone believe me ?’

‘Elijah the evidence is overwhelming the DNA of multiple victims was found on the shoes and clothing found in your home, your fingerprints were found around the throat of Mary Jane Perkins.’

‘I know, i admitted that i did try to choke her but i couldn’t go through with it, Mary Jane was alive and well when i left her, alive i tell you, why can’t you do your fucking job and get me out of here?’

‘Elijah don’t forget that your DNA was also found on the bodies of the victims and it matches the DNA found on the clothes and shoes, i am sorry Elijah but there isn’t really much i can do but if you are found guilty i will appeal so try to stay positive.’

‘Before i go Elijah can you explain how a person who looks a lot like you was captured on CCTV nearby the murder scene of fifteen of the other victims?’

‘Come on Elijah give it up, plead guilty and you will escape the death penalty.’

‘I refuse to plead guilty to something that i didn’t do, i will take my chances thank you very much.’

After his lawyer leaves Elijah lies down on his steel cot to think ‘I am an only child or i should say i thought i was but what if i have a twin brother and he was put up for adoption and has now returned to make his life a living hell? But if that was the case surely my parents would have said something?’

A week later Elijah is found guilty and a year later he to sentenced to die in the electric chair.

At precisely 4.30 on the morning of 21st August 2022 Elijah Pope looking bewildered and lost shuffles out of his cell on death row flanked by six prison guards.

Fully shackled in leg irons Pope is lead down a long corridor to his final destination.

Most of the other prisoners on death row call out their farewells whilst the more subdued inmates remain silent thankful that i get to live for another day.

Entering a small room Pope is strapped to the electric chair by leather cords.

He is aware of the twelve witnesses sitting ten feet away, two of being his parents who he spoke to yesterday and they assured again that there is no twin brother but now as he looks over at his mom and dad they avoid making eye contact instead the middle aged couple hold hands and pray that their son and pray that he doesn’t suffer.

At 4’58 Warden Ian Baldacci a cruel bitter man who at 38 years of age has executed a dozen prisoners looks at the phone on the wall have expecting it to ring but as the seconds tick past it remains silent.

A minute later he asks Pope if he has any last words ‘I surely do Warden, Everybody knows that i am not an angel but i didn’t commit the crimes that i arrested for and let me tell you now Warden Baldacci if you execute me this morning i will come back and kill every last person that put me in prison.’

‘Mark my words when i return the blood the flow and run down the streets and empty into the mouths of my ancestors who will spit it back into the faces of my enemies.’

The twelve witnesses are visibly shaken by the outburst and cower back in fright.

Even the warden is disturbed by Popes words and when the clock ticks over to 5 am he gladly flicks the switch sending the evil fucker down to hell where he belongs.

Instantly Pope is slammed back and a few whiffs of smoke escape from his mouth and nostrils and his skin begins to blister and blacken.

Convulsing violently the electrical charge travels through his body reaching bone causing the marrow to boil.

The leather restraints bite deep into Pope’s wrists and when the skin and surrounding tissue melts the restraints cut all the way through causing both of his hands to cauterize and fall to the floor of the execution room.

Thankfully the curtains on the window of the witness area had already been drawn so Popes parents never saw the dismembered hands hit the ground or their son take his final breath.

At 6.07 am Elijah Pope is pronounced dead by the prison doctor Marcus Clark who despite seeing many dead persons he is shocked at the state of Pope’s body and of the two severed appendages still twitching on the floor near his feet.

After the smoke and the smell of death dissipates Popes body is unstrapped from the chair and the remains are carefully placed into a body bag by two prison orderlies, the younger of the two has the ghastly task of picking up the severed hands before gingerly placing them on the chest of their owner.

An hour later the two orderlies return to the execution room after dining on a huge breakfast of bacon, eggs and overcooked sticky pork ribs.

They put the body bag into a cheap pine coffin sitting on a gurney, the pair wheel the burnt remains outside to a waiting van.

The van is driven 500 yards down to the cool dank southern corner of the prison.

A deep hole was dug two days prior to the execution and now with little ceremony the coffin is lowered into the dirt and whilst a Chaplin says a few words over the deceased grave the Warden Baldacci walks back and forth over the freshly filled hole ‘You are where you belong Pope, now my your black heart and soul quickly find hell and stay there for eternity.’

Three months later under the cover of darkness a single human finger pokes through the surface of an unmarked grave located at the southern corner of San Quentin prison.

Two pristine hands suddenly emerge and scurry over to the prison wall and climb the ten yards to the top where they slip through the razor wire then drop down onto the grass on the other side of the wall.

The hands hide in the grass waiting for some sort of transportation to take them on the first step of their journey where they will travel the long bloody road seeking vengeance.

THE END.

I hope you liked reading my story, if you have the means could you please make a donation because one day i wish to be able to write fulltime, any donation large or small is greatly appreciated. Steven.

‘Bag Of Tricks.’

10 Friday Jun 2022

Posted by stevenjohnno in stories, Uncategorized

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Tags

blood, horror, lake macquarie, mental asylum, morriset, spells, witch

The water of Lake Macquarie usually shimmers and shines under endless summer skies with spectacular sunsets transcending from a dusty pink to burnt orange but the last couple of years the residents have endured nothing but gloomy weather that reflects the mood of the people.

Along with the rain Covid has kept the tourists away leaving the locals isolated indoors away from their family friends and work colleagues.

But one of the locals really couldn’t care less if she never spoke to another person ever again, Eleanor Bana lives alone in a ramshackle old house on the edge of the lake and she only ventures out to go shopping or to her place of employment the recently reopened psychiatric hospital at Morriset where she works as a nurse.

Eleanor is a tall striking woman in her early thirties with a fair complexion, jet black hair and her intense green eyes could most likely stare down a charging rhino.

If she put in an effort when she was younger Eleanor could have made it big as a model making huge money in Paris, London or New York but instead Eleanor down plays her looks dressing in drab clothes wearing little or no makeup.

When she does go shopping she wears steel capped Doc Martin boots and hides behind a pair of cheap sunglasses to ward off any potential interaction with other shoppers.

Eleanor also loves venturing out at night during thunderstorms carrying a metal tipped umbrella that she holds above her head to attract a drone of lightening to jolt her heart and shower the sky with sparks of the tempest.

Eleanor Bana enjoys the darkness morbidity and blood but she isn’t a vampire but she might well be Lake Macquarie’s first witch.

Five nights a week just as most residents are setting their alarms and going to bed Ellie as she calls herself comes into her own.

Midnight is known as the witching hour and that is the time she clocks on at work to begin an eight hour shift at Morriset hospital where she wanders the wards bringing doom and gloom to the patients unfortunate enough to be under her care.

The psychiatric facility opened its doors again after falling into disrepair and decay with the only residents being mobs of kangaroos and ghosts.

After the refurbishment the local member of parliment hailed the hospital as a blessing for the mentally ill but the ghosts of the past who haunt the wards will beg to differ.

When the clock strikes midnight Ellie starts her shift and at this time of night she is the only nurse working on the second floor and that is exactly how she likes it.

She begins by pushing her dispensing trolley from room to room checking to see if the patients have been prescribed their medications and to see if they are resting peacefully and thankfully at this time of night most patients are deep asleep so Ellie can perform some procedures that would be definitely be frowned upon by the hospitals board of directors.

At 3am after her first break of the evening quickly goes into the staffroom and grabs an item from her locker.

The item in question is a scuffed medical satchel that looks as old as time itself and if Ellies grandfather is to be believed the satchel once belonged to Lucifer.

Ellie was given the satchel 8 years ago by her maternal grandfather when she graduated as a nurse with honours.

Ernest Brunt was a well respected GP who worked out of the same surgery in an inner suburb of Sydney for 53 years.

He carried the leather satchel everywhere he went because to Ernest the satchel was very special he called it his little bag of tricks.

After the graduation party Ellie went back home and carried the little bag of tricks upstairs to her room.

Eager to have a look inside she sat on her bed and opened the bag but was disappointed to find it empty but an odour emanated from the red velvet lining hitting the back of her brain like a brick.

The smell of death and disease at first repelled Ellie but after a few seconds she stuck her head over the bag and took a deep breathe.

Instantly the smell of danger hit the back of her throat and Ellie took a few steps back and was tempted to give the bag back to her grandfather but a dark corner of her mind told Ellie to treasure the gift she was given.

After retrieving her bag of tricks from her locker Ellie placed it on a nearby bench and rummaged around to make sure that nothing was missing.

The bag contained an assortment of medical items you would expect to find vials, bandages, latex gloves. scissors etc but also present were a dozen specimen jars, various syringes and Ellie’s favourite tool a razor sharp scalpel.

But it is the specimen jars that interest Ellie the most because they contain body parts floating in an alcohol solution that Ellie began to collect on her very first shift at the hospital six years ago.

Each jars contain foreskins, clitoris’s, different coloured eyeballs, finger and toenail clippings, hair samples and various other body parts.

Most of the samples were taken from the recently departed who she found down in the morgue on her weekly visits but tonight Nurse Bana has other plans.

As she admires her souvenirs Ellie feels her knickers getting moist and she is tempted to rub at the tender spot causing the annoyance but she has business to attend to so she closes the bag and walks out of the locker room.

In room 10A 19 year old Andrew Nugent is asleep completely unaware that evil has just entered his room.

His eyes flutter as he dreams about the good times before paranoid schizophrenia destroyed his life.

Smiling as he sleeps Andrew recalls memories of his mum and dad and playing with his baby sister but soon his dream will turn into a nightmare.

Ellie is pleased to see that the patient is sleeping because normally he is highly agitated and needs a constant cocktail of drugs to keep him calm.

Even though the patient is strapped to his bed Nurse Bana knows that he could still be dangerous so she administers a sedative then checks his vitals to make sure that he is stable because the last thing she wants is for a patient to die on her watch because then there would be a investigation.

Putting on a pair of latex gloves Ellie grabs the scalpel from her bag she lifts the patients gown to check if his is uncircumcised or not.

Smiling Nurse Bana covers the flaccid penis in alcohol to prevent infection then moving quickly in case a cleaner appears Ellie holds the foreskin firmly and stretches it out like a turtle neck and with a quick cut she severs the morsel and drops it into a specimen jar.

Working expertly Ellie applies some dissolvable stitches and barely five minutes after attending to her patient she leaves the room to complete her rounds.

Andrew Nugent has no idea that a tiny piece of him is gone forever but at least he survived the night relatively unscathed.

Two hours later Nurse Bana decides to take an early break because she doesn’t get along with any of the other night shift staff but when she enters the canteen she is annoyed to find a few tables already occupied.

Ignoring the other people she puts a bowl of spag bol in the microwave and after four minutes her meal is ready.

When she turns around the six pair of eyes that were watching her quickly turn their attention back to their mobile phones.

As she eats Ellie scans the room, two female cleaner sit huddled together over in the corner near the coke machine and seated next to them four burly male orderlies who are usually loud and boisterous remain silent.

After devouring the spaghetti Ellie searches her bag of tricks looking for an apple she packed at home, pushing aside the specimen jars and zip lock bags containing the ingredients for potions and spells Ellie has planned for the weekend.

Taking her her bite of her apple the young orderly who only started working at the hospital a week earlier decides to open his dumb mouth ‘Hey Nurse Ratchett why don’t you come over here and wrap your mouth around this lump of meat.’

Looking daggers at the loud mouthed orderly who leers back at her cupping for crutch ‘Come on Ratchett and swallow my load’

‘I am not into pimply faced overweight nineteen year olds who are hung like a cashew so why don’t you go away and play with your crayons.’

The cleaner snigger but the orderlies are not amused especially Reynolds the victim of Bana’s acid tongue who attempts to bring her down and lucky for him his three workmates hold him because they have seen Bana’s bad side so they remain tight lipped and watch the evil nurse leave the canteen but Reynolds cant hold his tongue and whispers towards the retreating back ‘I will get you for that you crazy cunt’.

Forgetting the idiots Ellie’s mind drifts back to the night of her graduation when her grandfather gave her the special present.

After thanking her parents and friends for coming to her party Ellie walked into the loungeroom where her grandfather was waiting.

Ellie has always been her favourite so he hugs her tight and wishes her all the best for her future endeavors.

‘Happy graduation Eleanor i trust that you have had a great day.?’

‘Sure thing grandpop but i can see that there is still one gift that i haven’t opened yet.”

The grey haired old man smiles at his grand daughter and hands her a big gift wrapped box.

Ripping the wrapping paper to pieces Ellie is eager to see what her grandpop bought her because he always seems to know what she wants but when she opens the box she is disappointed to see an old battered medicine bag inside but she quickly hides her feelings and gives the old man another hug ‘I love it grandpop thank you’.

‘I know that it mightn’t look like much but this bag has been handed down from generation to generation and was given to me when i graduated in 1950 by my own grand father Sir Reginald Shaw.’

Drawing his grand daughter close to him the old man whispers in her ear ‘This is no ordinary bag Eleanor, carry it with you where ever you go and it will keep you from harm and guide you on your journey through life.’

‘Now listen closely Ellie because this is very important, if you rub the brass plaque on the top of the bag you will have the power to hypnotize people and get them to do whatever you wish but also Ellie be very wary because it is said that the devil himself sometimes resides inside the bag and if he grabs hold of your mind Eleanor then nothing can save you from evil Ellie nothing.’

Ellie was of the opinion that her grandpop had probably drunk a few too many glasses of sherry so she smiles at the gentle old man and thanks him for the great gift and promises to be careful.

A week later Ellie is up in her room reading Stephen King’s novel ‘Cujo’ and even though it is a good story she begins to think about the bag she got for her birthday.

Putting down he book she opens her wardrobe and grabs the handles and puts the bag on her bed.

Made of high quality leather with brass buckles and trim the bag looks just like an old medicine bag should look like but Ellie decides to take a closer look to see if what her grandfather told her makes any sense.

She notices a small brass plaque on the top bearing her grandfathers name Marcus Ignatious Graham Bana esquire.

The brass plate is a little tarnished so Ellie spits on a corner of a handkerchief and begins to rub and this is the moment when her world changed forever.

As she cleaned the plaque the cowhide began to shimmer in waves of different colours and emotions and at first she smiled in joy but as she rubbed further the colours stop sparkling but transform themselves into deep browns black and despite knowing that she should heed her grandfathers words and be very careful Ellie looks into the depths of hell and her soul and innocence enter the darkness never to seen again.

As the blackness engulfs her Ellie opens the front of her pyjama pants and rubs and rubs until she is sated.

A month after her encounter with the orderlies Ellie receives a phone call at 6pm by her only friend at the hospital, head nurse Susan Bellamy ‘Ellie the director wants you to come in immediately, i know that your shift starts at midnight but the arsehole wants to see you pronto.

‘God Ellie what have you done now?’

‘Nothing Susan i swear, i have been behaving myself, it is probably just a misunderstanding.’

‘Okay but he is in a shitty mood so please get here as quick as you can and don’t antagonize him any further.’

Ellie parks her car in her usual spot twenty minutes later walks up two flights of stairs down a long corridor and knocks on the directors door.

Dr Percy Grainger is 60 years old tall and thin with sparse black hair, people have compared him with the actor John Cleese but until Cleese Grainger is never in a good mood and rarely smiles.

‘Come in Nurse Bana this want take long.’

‘Take a seat, but before i start with the reason why you have been summoned tell me why do you carry that hideous case with you wherever you go?’

‘Before Ellie can reply the balding prick ploughs on ‘You are not a doctor nor will you ever be so from now on i order you to put the bag in your locker when you arrive or better still throw in it the rubbish, it looks like something Jack the Ripper would carry on his murder spree.’

‘I will have you know that this medicine case was given to me by my grandfather who was a prestigious doctor in Sydney a way better person than you will ever be, furthermore Dr Grainger this bag is precious to me and i carry it to protect me from creatures like you.’

Grainger smirks like a toad that just swallowed a fly ‘I should of fired you as soon as you sat down Bana but i wanted to give you enough rope to hang yourself with and you have come through with flying colours, thank you Nurse Bana.’

You were observed entering room 10A at 5am 20th August where you performed an unauthorized circumcision on patient Andrew Nugent causing him needless pain and anguish.’

‘I only learnt of this a few hours ago, had i been made aware of this indiscretion earlier you would have been shown the door immediately.

‘Nurse Bana your employment has been terminated forthwith so go and clean out your locker then you will be escorted by security of the premises.’

Ellie picks up her bag of tricks and places it on her lap and she slowly begins to rub the brass plague bearing her grandfathers name ‘First of all my actions weren’t needless because his foreskin will be me perform my witchcraft along with all of the other samples that i have collected over the years.

‘You will destroy all of the evidence that you have against me and you will keep your mouth or i will cut out your tongue and shove it down your throat.’

‘So do we have an agreement Director Grainger.’

While his nemesis was giving her demands Grainger watched as she rubbed the plague, he sat transfixed staring deep into the polished leather.

As he minds eye sunk deeper and deeper into the abyss he saw an old man that looked a lot like him swinging from a branch of a gum tree located outside his home at Wangi Wangi.

‘I will ask you again Director Grainger do we have an agreement.’

‘Of course we do Nurse Bana you are a valued member of the team here at Morriset Hospital and hopefully you will continue to work here for many years to come.’

Bana gets to her feet quickly followed by Grainger who offers a hand to shake but it is ignored.

Like a little boy lost in the woods Grainger Grainger looks frightened not quite knowing what is happening.

Bana walks out happy that she has out maneuvered Grainger but she also knows that the spell she put on him want last long.

Lost in her thoughts of how she will rid herself from Grainger permanently Ellie doesn’t hear the footsteps of four men who are sneaking up behind her but when she finally realizes that she might be in danger it is far too late.

A hand covers her mouth before she can scream then she is dragged unobserved into an empty storeroom.

Her captors throw her to the ground and tie her hands to a metal downpipe then they gag her with a rag the leader slaps her face a few times to get her attention ‘Hello Nurse Ratchett remember me?’

With blazing eyes Ellie looks up at Reynolds the young stupid orderly that she ridiculed a few weeks back’ Cat got your tongue Bana? Oh sorry i guess you can’t say much with your mouth full can you.’

‘Did you think that you could bad mouth me and get away with it? Well let me tell you that by the time that i am finished with you you will be a broken shell begging for mercy.’

The other three orderlies aren’t keen on sticking around to see what happens next so they make an exit ‘Do what needs to be done Reynolds but make it quick, we will return with a basket and wheel the bitch down to the incinerator and watch her burn.’

When he is alone with his victim Reynolds pulls a knife from his jacket and approaches ‘I am going to fuck you every which Ratchett you crazy bitch and when i get tired of you i will gut you like a fish but i will make sure that you are still alive when i throw you into the fire.’

Ellie knows that she hasn’t got much time if she is to survive but she also knows that Reynolds has the same IQ as a bag of nails so all is not lost yet if only she can gets her hands on the bag of tricks.

Trying to remain calm Ellie looks around the small space only to find that the leather satchel has been kicked into a corner out of reach ‘Shit.’

Part two is coming soon so hang tight.

THE END.

Thanks for taking the time to read my story and i hope that you liked it, so please leave a comment and also if you have the means could you please make a donation, large or small it would help me fulfill my dream of becoming a fulltime writer Thanks again Steven.

Rocking Horse ( Chapter Two )

21 Saturday Aug 2021

Posted by stevenjohnno in stories

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Tags

dunnedoo, fantasy, love, outback, rocking horse, sydney

In the first installment i introduced you to to six year old Cindy Watson who lives with her parents on a small at Dunnedoo which is located just west of the middle of nowhere.

Living out in the sticks leads to a sense of isolation and for Cindy and her parents the boredom causes tension and arguments and so to escape the confines of the farmhouse Cindy often went out to the front verandah to ride an old wooden rocking horse.

As she rocks back and forth the little girl drams about riding the horse into the nearest town to rob a bank so she can make life easier for her parents plus she gazes off into the distance she wonders what lies beyond the horizon.

Six years later and nothing much has changed way out west, Cindy’s parents still argue about money and she still rides the rocking horse but not as much as she used to but when she gets a hankering she climbs onto the horse dreaming about visiting the big smoke one day and if she had a bad day at school she will ride that rocking horse like she she in the saddle of a Melbourne Cup winner.

She she rocks her worries away Cindy has no idea that a young local aboriginal boy named Warren Mundine has been watching her from behind a gum tree just beyond the boundary fence.

He knows that the girl is unhappy so every night after the lights in the house are turned off he would wait an hour before sneaking up onto the verandah of the Watson household and sprinkle magical twigs and potions handed down from the spirit people all around the rocking horse.

Then he would walk a short way into the desert and perform a ceremonial dance asking the spirits to make the girl happy so she can achieve her goals and maybe just smile once in a while.

Three months later whilst he was performing the corroberee Warren lifted his arms to the sky, twisting and twirling in the red sand he asked the spirit people for help and to his amazement a small eddy eddy appeared in the red sand a few metres from where Warren stood.

Slowly the small dust whirl grew in size until it developed into a mini tornado a tornado that seemed to have a mind of its own.

The twister spun faster and faster than all of a sudden it changed direction heading straight for the Watson farmhouse, Warren watched in amazement as the funnel of sand measuring about 20 feet tall climbed the front steps and with a WHOOSH the sand tornado disappeared up the nostrils of the rocking horse.

Six hours later Cindy quickly finishes a huge bowl of rice toasties then she wanders out to the front verandah for a quick ride on the rocking horse before the school bus arrives.

‘Good morning Lightning, i hope that you weren’t to cold last night maybe i should buy you a blanket?’

It soon dawns on Cindy that she just called the rocking horse Lightning, where did that come from? Was there a storm last night?

Taking a seat near the back of the school bus Cindy remembers a dream that she had last night.

She pictures in her mind a small aboriginal boy with magical powers who whispered in her that she didn’t have to worry anymore ‘everything will be alright’

As the bus winds down the long dusty outback road Cindy looks out the window hoping to catch a glimpse of the boy who appeared in her dream but she soon realizes that she is being stupid ‘It was only a dream silly and my dreams never come true’

After another boring day at school where she received a very poor report card Cindy boards the bus to make the return trip back home.

An hour later as the bus arrives at her home Cindy gathers up her school bus and walks towards the front of the bus and to her surprise the boy from her dream is sitting behind the driver.

The boy turns around and their eyes meet, Cindy cant believe that the boy really exists ‘Come on Cindy this is your stop’ the impatient bus driver utters ‘Off you get, i need to get the other kids home before it gets dark’

Cindy quickly exits the bus but she cant resist a quick glance behind her and to her disappointment the seat behind the driver is empty.

As she takes a snooze on the lounge before tea Cindy’s mind imagines that Lightning comes to life and rears up on his hind legs leaving behind a steaming pile of rocking horse shit ‘Come on boy lets ride all the way to Sydney and start a new life in the big smoke’

In another corner of her mind thoughts of a small aboriginal boy continue to linger.

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ.

26 year old Cindy Watson turns of the alarm on her mobile phone and begins her morning routine, as she pees Cindy vaguely remembers dreaming about a rocking horse that she used to ride when she was a child.

She still lives at Dunnedoo just a few kilometres from her parents farm, her rubs her ring finger that is devoid of any adornment but hopefully one day she meet the right man and settle down to a quite life full of kids and happiness.

In a storage facility on the other side of town a dusty old rocking horse sits forlorn and forgotten.

It has been fourteen years since anyone sat in his saddle fourteen years locked up alone in the darkness.

His black eyes continue to stare at the roller door hoping that one day they will open so that he can run in the sunshine once again.

CHAPTER TWO.

Three doors down from the storage facility a young man is looking under the bonnet of an old ute in an attempt to fix a problem with the fuel pump ‘Hey Warren when you are finished can you come give me a hand with this Toyota because i cant find where all the oil is coming from’

The apprentice mechanic rolls his eyes in exasperation, Mr Turner might be a good boss but he couldn’t fix a car if his life depended on it ‘Okay boss give me ten minutes and i will be with you’

While he cleans up after Warren Mundine looks at himself in the mirror, he combs his hair and walks out the door with a smile on his face because today is the day where he he promises himself that he will finally ask Cindy Watson out on a date.

Warren like every man in Dunnedoo Warren has gone to the local pub to sink a few beers with his mates and have a flutter on the ponies and today will be no different.

At home he applies a shitload of old spice to his face then after grabbing a small satchel he heads out hopeful of a happy reunion of sorts.

At the pub Cindy is busy behind the bar serving the locals their beer of choice, she wasn’t supposed to work today but one of her work mates called in sick so she was offered an extra shift which she gratefully accepted because the money will come in handy.

As she is figuring out how to make a cocktail for a tourist Cindy doesn’t notice Warren take a seat at a corner table and even if she did she probably wouldn’t of recognized him anyway.

Warren orders a schooner of black from another bartender then he goes back to his table hoping that a few sips of beer will drown the butterflies that are fluttering around his stomach.

The upends the contents of his satchel on the table and arranges them to his satisfaction.

None of the other patrons take any notice the collection of twigs and branches but they hold a special meaning for Warren because the satchel made from a kangaroo’s scrotum has been handed down from generation to generation and now Warren has procession of the ancient relic.

The twigs and branches are also the same ones that he scattered on the front verandah of the Watson farmhouse fourteen years ago.

Behind the bar Cindy is struggling, a busload of tourists just arrived and they are mighty thirsty, at the other end of the bar Sandra Smith, a local legend, who has been pulling beers since Jesus was in nappies smiles at Cindy ‘ Don’t worry love, once we have served this lot things will settle down and we can have a smoko’

Cindy will be glad to take a break, it is almost 9 pm and the temperature is still 37 degrees.

An hour later Cindy pours herself a large gin and takes a seat near the bar, grabbing a handful of nuts from a bowl she begins to relax after being on her feet all night, as she unwinds a smell wafts over and awakens memories from her childhood when she used to ride a rocking horse and dream about moving to the big smoke.

Scanning the room Cindy spots a man sitting by himself at a corner table and even though she is sure that see has never seen him before she somehow remembers him from a distant memory from the past.

Intrigued Cindy nervously wanders over to the table and immediately notices the assortment of twigs and leaves arranged on the table.

Hello Cindy take a seat and i will tell you why i am here, my name is Warren Mundine and we have never been officially introduced but when we were kids i used to visit your dreams when you were unhappy, i danced the corroberee in the sand outside your parents place and asked the spirit people for help to end your sadness’

‘I spread these same twigs and leaves around your rocking horse and while you slept i whispered to the dreamtime to make the wooden horse real and it worked Cindy the rocking horse snorted a shitload of sacred sand and started to gallop around your yard’.

Cindy empties her glass of gin before replying’ Warren i know that you probably mean well and i do admit that i used to dream about a small aboriginal boy who used to ride the school bus and hang around the shadows outside my parents farm and sure i did wish that i could ride Lightning away from Dunnedoo and ride all the way to Sydney’

But when she said the word ‘Lightning’ Cindy immediately went back to her childhood and she realizes that what Warren is saying might actually be true’

‘I am not a liar Cindy that rocking horse is out there somewhere, why don’t we ask your parents maybe they heard or saw something back then and kept quiet about it, they might have put the rocking horse in storage or something’

Sorry Warren but my parents were killed in a car crash a few years ago on that bad bend going into Merriwa so it looks like what you think happened when we were kids will stay buried’

Now i need to get back to work, i suggest that you just get on with your life and forget all about the rocking horse and childhood dreams’

Warren is disappointed by Cindy’s reaction but he isn’t one to hold a grudge so he finishes his beer gathers up satchel and heads out the door, next week he will come back because in all the excitement he never got a chance to ask Cindy out on a date.

But as it turns out Warren didn’t have to wait a week because when he finished work the following day Cindy was outside waiting for him, ‘I am sorry for being a little short with you last night but your story about the rocking horse threw me for a loop’

That is alright Cindy, why don’t we grab some fish and chips and go down by the river and i will tell you everything i know’

‘Sounds good Warren but if this is to be our first date i am telling you that i cant be bought by a plateful of greasy food’

Cindy’s smile tells him that maybe the ice maiden might have a soft side after all.

The pair of oddballs settle down on a bench having small talk for a few minutes but when Cindy is about to explode she throws her remaining to the seagulls who always seem to know when a free meal is coming. ‘Alright tell me your story’

‘It all starts when i was about 11 years old and i was walking past your place and i saw you riding a rocking horse, my family lived nearby a i used to pass your farm all the time hunting for snakes and lizards for my dad to cook and every time i saw you you looked sad so i decided to do something to make you happy and Cindy you said that we both dreamt about the rocking horse but that isn’t true because i never had a dream about Lightning Cindy i created him’

Cindy rolls her eyes ‘pray tell me how you performed this miracle and if you turned a wooden horse into a real horse why are we looking for a rocking horse and not a real horse’

For a moment Warren is stuck for an answer ‘There is for need to be mean Cindy you wanted to hear my story so be quiet because i haven’t finished’ First of all i think that the reason i am looking for a rocking horse is because Lightning only exists when you are sitting on his saddle and when you dismount he goes back to being a rocking horse’

Warren tells her about how he scattered the twigs and leaves around the rocking horse then he danced a corroberee until a dust eddy eddy arrived and vanished up the nostrils up Lightning turning him into a real horse.

Cindy closes her eyes as she listens to Warren narrate the story and she is instantly taken back to her childhood for a minute or two ‘I believe you Warren but where could Lightning be now, i lost interest in him as i got older maybe my parents have a storage locker somewhere in town or they also could have sold him and if that is true than i am sorry to say he could be anywhere in the country, where do you think he is Warren?’

‘I don’ know Cindy my family and i moved out to Bourke to start a new life, i only just moved back to town a few months ago’

‘ And now that i am back in Dunnedoo all that i have been thinking about is you and what ever happened to Lightning’

Melting further Cindy reaches out and grabs hold of Warrens hand ‘Don’t worry Warren together we will find that rocking horse and i have been thinking about you to because when i dream about riding Lightning to Sydney you were hanging on tight behind me but when i have the dream it was back when we were kids’

‘Hey i have an idea’ Cindy laughs ‘Why don’t we post on Facebook’looking for a lost rocking horse, answers to the name Lightning’

Warren laughs as he gazes off into the distance, who knows but maybe one day we will ride the fuck out of here.

The following day the pair meet up at the local bowling club for a few drinks and to discuss their future but soon the topic returns to that rascal of a rocking horse ‘Tell me Warren why is Lightning so important to us?’

I am not really sure Cindy but that rocking horse brought us together in a crazy kind of way plus it was obviously special to you when you were a youngster , so it would be good to find Lightning and have him sit front and centre on your front verandah’

‘Me personally i want to spread my magical twigs and leaves around Lightning and watch him come back to life once again and what happens after that is in the hands of the Gods’

I sure would like to see that Warren and i might be able to help. last night i was going through some of my parents old receipts and i came across a piece of paper that i think might help’

Reaching into her handbag Cindy places a tattered receipt on the table ‘The ink is faded but it looks like it says ‘Safe n Secure’ 22 Black Stump Crescent Dunnedoo.’

‘I don’t know where Black Stump Crescent is Warren, have you heard of it?’

‘Yeah it is on the other side of town in the industrial estate but i am positive that it was destroyed by fire just before i moved but maybe the owners were able to save some of the contents of the units’

‘I can’t think of any other storage places in town Cindy but of course they could of moved to Merriwa or or some other town nearby also the owners could of retired but don’t despair Cindy i, Jesus what am i talking about my brain must be full of cobwebs, there is a storage place just down from where i work’

‘It is a long shot but we have to start our search somewhere so Cindy i propose that first thing tomorrow morning we pay them a visit’

For once in her life Cindy is lost for words, she can feel her quest slipping away but where there is life hope remains.

Warren picks up Cindy early the following morning and drives the short distance to ‘Store n Forget’ only to find it closed for the weekend ‘How stupid, you would think that Saturday and Sunday would be two of there busier days’

‘Yeah it is weird Cindy maybe they are closed because someone took a sickie today but hang someone just came out of the office’

An old man with long grey hair approaches them ‘Jesus is that Moses looking for river to part?’jokes Cindy.

‘Haha good one, i think he probably inside chiseling out a few more commandments’

‘What can i do for you two today? I am the caretaker of this fine establishment, names Joe Mac Curty by the way’

Cindy hands him the old receipt ‘My parents had a storage unit out at Black Stump Crescent that burnt down and i am hoping that you know if the owner is still in town or what happened to the contents of the units’

‘Well well missy today must be your lucky day, i used to work out there at ‘Safe n Sound’ and i can tell you that i was good mates with your father back in the day and his shed survived the fire and i believe the contents are in unit 26 and once again your luck holds because in two weeks time because the unit hasn’t been accessed for years it was going to be sold to the highest bidder’

‘That is great Joe, if you have a spare key i would like to see what’s inside’

‘Sorry i can’t do that without some sort of legal documentation plus you will need to supply a birth certificate or simply wait two weeks and put in a bid’

‘Please mister i just need to take a quick peek inside, there might be an item in there that has a lot of sentimental value for me’

But MacCurty isn’t about to change his mind anytime soon ‘If it was up to me i would open it for you but if my boss found out he would lynch me on the nearest tree so i suggest you get all the required legal papers and come back next week’

Warren can see that Cindy is close to tears so he leads her away ‘It is okay Cindy we will get the papers tomorrow and come back and see if Lightning is in there’

Then just as Warren is about to drive away a series of loud bangs erupt from the back of the storage place ‘Holy shit’ old MacCurty yells ‘That sounds like it came from your parents unit, what did they have in there, dynamite? Come on lets go take a look’

Cindy and Warren wait while the old man unlocks the fence and then they follow him around the back and when they arrive they see a few dents in a roller door like it has been kicked from inside then with an almighty crash the roller door collapses and a huge stallion races towards the trio.

Lightning nuzzles Cindy’s face in happiness at finally being free but the excitement is too much for Joe and he takes a seat on the ground ‘How did a horse survive on there without food all these years plus i heard heard a peep’

‘Ah i was expecting to find a rocking horse inside but um maybe there was a few bales of hay in there as well who knows, but i am just glad to find Lightning before it was too late’

Cindy climbs up onto the saddle and tells Warren to drive to her place and she will follow but Lightning has other ideas, he unfolds a pair a wings and takes into the sky and barely fifteen minutes later he flying in a holding pattern 10,000 feet above Sydney.

Cindy can’t believe how big the place and she almost falls out of the saddle as she begins to choke on the smog and pollution ‘Jesus i am sure glad that i don’t live here’

She gently rubs the stallions neck ‘home boy’ Cindy knows now that Dunnedoo is her home and always will be and her desire to move to the capitol is gone in an instant.

Warren is waiting for Cindy in her front yard and soon a huge horse makes a perfect landing twenty metres from where he stands and Cindy gingerly climbs down from the saddle.

After a quick embrace Cindy announces ‘Warren i now know that here is where i belong and i want to live in this house until i die and hopefully you will be by my side every step of the way’

‘You know i will Cindy, i love you with all my heart, lets get married as soon as we can and settle down and start a family of our own’

Lightning neighs in annoyance at being ignored but Warren and Cindy are keen to start their family straight away so they rush inside the house throwing off their clothes on the way.

When they emerge emerge early the next morning they aren’t all that surprised to see an ordinary rocking horse sitting on the front verandah swaying back and forth in the breeze.

THE END

Thanks for taking the time to read my story and if you have the means could you consider making a donation large or small so that i can fulfill my dream of becoming a fulltime writer. Thanks again Steven.

‘Camel Toe Joe’

05 Saturday Dec 2020

Posted by stevenjohnno in poems, stories

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Tags

australia, bush, bushranger, camel, camel toe, gold, stockade, Victoria

A little known Australian bushranger with the strange moniker of Camel Toe Joe has been on my mind a lot lately.

He doesn’t feature in any historical records that i have seen ( in fact historians will tell you that he never existed at all ).

Plus if you search the web for any references to Camel Toe Joe you will see more than you bargained for.

I don’t think it is right for this Australian legend to remain virtually unknown to his fellow countrymen and the world at large so i have taken it upon myself to set the record straight and write all about his exploits and adventures to the best of my ability.

Joseph Markham is thought to have been born on or about the 2nd June 1831 at his families homestead on the banks of Lake Wendouree just outside of Ballarat Victoria.

His father Stephen Markham was a violent hard drinking man who also happened to be the local pastor.

From day one he completely ignored his responsibility as a parent leaving the upbringing up his son to his long suffering wife Betsy.

From the age of five Joe begin to run away from home to escape his fathers hard nosed attitude but he always returned when his stomach needed filling.

A poor student Joe struggled at school, he tried his best to get a good report from his teacher but his mind would wander and his eyes constantly gazed outside the classroom window trying to picture what lay over the hills beyond Lake Wendouree.

The teacher a mean old battle axe named Beatrice Coltrane would cane Joe for not paying attention and for fighting with the other children.

At home his father would beat his son in an attempt to rein in his wayward ways but Joe wasn’t to be shackled and be just your average schoolboy and a week before his 15th birthday Joe paced a few belongings, saddled up his fathers horse and rode off into the night.

It would twenty years before he saw his parents again.

Joe didn’t have any plans or ideas of which direction he should head nor for that matter what it took to survive out in the back of beyond.

But the horse seemed to know where it was going so Joe sat back and even though he was afraid the ginger haired skinny teenager rode high in the saddle like a nobleman on his way to meet the queen.

Every hour or so he would stop to rest his aching joints and to give the horse a well earned drink.

Up in the trees the Cockatoo’s and Galah’s were waiting for the sun to rise keeping an eye on the stranger in case he would leave any crumbs for them to swoop on come dawn but unfortunately for them Joe only had a small piece of sausage leftover from his last meal at home.

As he ate Joe also had an eye out for any danger from snakes plus from the native aborigines who were known to be hostile towards the white folk.

Joe rode into Bendigo on the morning of 29th July 1846 still unsure leaving home was a good decision but at the same he was determined to find his own way in life.

He tied his horse outside a general store that had a sign on the front door ‘help wanted enquire within’ but than he thought about his parents back home especially his father who Joe knew relied heavily on his horse so he untied the colt pointed back the way from where they came. ‘say hello to ma and pa for me boy’ then he slapped the horses rump.

Once he knew the horse was homeward bound Joe stepped into the general store to enquire about the job.

Noticing an old timer the counter he sauntered over’Hi mister my name is Joe and i am here about the job, i know that i am small for my age but i am as strong as an ox and i can work from sun up to sun down’

Joe has never worked a day in his life but he can lie with the best of them.

When no reply was forthcoming Joe had another look at the old man ‘Jesus he looks older than Moses, i hope he doesn’t drop dead before he gives the job’

‘Thanks for your concern young fellow, my name isn’t Moses and i can still rattle the bones of any of the young ladies in the whorehouse across the street’

My name is Clarence Denning the owner of this fine establishment, be here 6 o’clock sharp and we will see if a little runt like you can walk the work or just talk the talk’

Joe is still trying to figure out what ‘rattle the bones’ means so it takes him a few seconds to reply ‘Ah thanks mister but i don’t own a watch but maybe there is a rooster around these parts who could wake me up?’

‘I dont quite know how long i will be in town for because i have plans on becoming a famous bushranger one day’

Chuckling heartily Clarence told Joe that there is a room around back that he can use until he hones his bushranger skills.

Joe worked at the Bendigo general store for almost three years helping Mr Denning load wagons with sacks of sugar, flour and salt plus barrels of kerosene and crates of beer and whiskey.

It was hard work but Joe built up his strength and inner resilience, his hands bled and back ached a bitch but he never once complained.

Every night as he slept Joe dreamt about robbing banks, hiding out in the bush and maybe rattling a few bones himself.

His name would feature on the front page of every national newspaper from Melbourne to Sydney and all godforsaken places in between.

Then on the morning of 14th September 1850 Joe’s life and the nations coffers were bolstered.

It was just another average Victorian morning, sunny with a chance of rain, the kookaburra’s and crow’s were greeting another day screeching and chatting amongst themselves.

‘Jesus who needs a freaking rooster with these noisy birds are around’ joe thought as he helped load the first wagon of the day, then the mundane was broken when Mr Denning noticed a cloud of dust approaching from the west.

‘Be ready to run inside Joe we might have ourselves some trouble’

Ten horseman rode into view waving their hats screaming at the top of their lungs ‘What are they saying Mr Denning?’

When the men hurtled past the store to became clear to all and sundry what they were excited about. GOLD GOLD GOLD

There is gold in them there hills.

Over the following months Bendigo was swamped with people from across the country and overseas all with one thing on their minds.

Strike it rich on the goldfields and go home a happy man.

After working his fingers to the bone in the general store joe has no great desire to go digging out in the goldfields under the blazing sun.

When he was a young boy his mother would read him about pirates robbing and pillaging out on the high seas.

They had names like Blackbeard, Calico Joe and William Kidd, names that have stood the test of time.

Joe knows that if he is to become a famous he will have to come up with a name fitting the position.

And as fate his last day that he worked for Mr Denning a suitable name was unwittingly thrust upon him.

While he was stacking the shelves with canned goods a commotion outside caught his attention ‘ Come take a look Joe’ Mr Denning called from the front window ‘Have you ever seen a camel before?’

‘Shit a shingle boss i don’t even know what a camel is’

‘There is no need to cuss young man come take a gander’

Joe couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw this large awkward looking animal with knobbly legs and two humps on its back trotted past the store.

Sitting between the humps was a man with a long black ponytail wearing a white dress.

‘Who in the fuck is that man Mr Denning?’

‘I told you before Joe that i want put up with any fucking swearing in my presence, but to answer your question i think his name is Mr Long who has come all the way from China to make his fortune like everybody else but he was railroaded by Samuel Carruthers, now the chinaman is now nothing than a cook and odd jobs man for Carruthers and his gang of thieves’

‘Carruthers is a mean nasty son of a bitch who owns most of the land around these parts, he exhorts money from the miners who dare search for gold even if they don’t encroach on his land’

‘Sounds like robbery to me Mr Denning plain and simple’

Then and there 19 year old Joseph Markham decided that when he becomes a bushranger he will teach Carruthers a lesson and give all the money back to the miners, less a finders fee of course.’

An hour Joe was sitting outside the store on a well earned break when he noticed Mr Long leading the camel towards him.

Once the animal was tied to a post Mr Long asked if he could buy some two sacks of salt and one sack of tobacco. ‘Sure thing Mr Long but before we go inside can i take the camel for a ride? Are the humps full of water or milk?

While he talked Joe began walking towards the tethered beast ‘Not so close, camel mean will kick’ Mr Long warned Joe but it was too little too late.

‘Sorry but i have never seen a camel before, it sure is ugly though, i bet it would scare the feathers from the birds and cause the roo’s to run for the hills’

The camel sensing that it is being put down by the camel waited until his antagonist was within range then without warning delivered an almighty kick that connected with Joe’s jaw but lucky for him it was only a glancing blow, if it wasn’t Joe would be getting measured for two caskets, one for his body the other for his head.

As it was the camel’s toe left a three inch long groove from hid bottom lip to below his chin.

The gash was looked puffy and swollen but at the same time was oddly alluring.

After applying fifteen stitches to Joe’s wound the town’s doctor offered some free advice ‘You will probably have a scar for life and if i were you i would give that camel a wide berth from now on’

Through his pain Joe managed a reply ‘Thanks for your words of wisdom doc but i intend on showing that camel that it made a huge mistake and i intend to teach it some manners’

Upon leaving the surgery Joe was confronted by a very apologetic Mr long ‘Sorry sorry for your injury, my camel did very bad thing, how can i make it up to you?’

Joe thought for a second ‘You can do two things for me and than we will be even’.

‘First when you leave here today i want to go with you and secondly i want to apologize to the camel for getting on it’s bad side’

‘Huong Long gave Joe a wary look ‘Please camel very dangerous, maybe you write letter and i give it to him?’

‘Don’t worry Mr Long i promise not to get to close’

On seeing Joe approach the camel flexed it’s muscles and wriggled it’s toes in anticipation of drawing more blood.

Joe stopped ten foot from the crazy beast ‘I am very sorry for calling you ugly but now i can see that you are even uglier than i first thought plus i just got a whiff and i have to say that you smell like a wombat has crawled up your huge arse and died’

Mr Long rushed forward pushing Joe out of the way of a massive golly of saliva the camel spat ‘You call that an apology? You crazy now you and camel are mortal enemies, like elephant camel never forget’

Once it had recovered from the insults the camel lowered itself to the ground and Mr Long climbed into the saddle then he urged the camel forward ‘You coming or not? And don’t get too camel or he will kick you again plus stay down wind because if he farts you will never remove the stench from your nostrils’

On the journey to the gold fields Mr Long told Joe that he came to Australia with his sixteen year old daughter Knot Fu Long with plans of striking it rich with gold so that they could return to china and live a happy life but that his plans were shattered by a very bad man.

Mr Long clearly distressed paused to catch his breath but Joe took pity on him ‘It is okay, my boss told me how Carruthers is ruling the gold fields with an iron fist but rest assured that when we arrive i will do everything in my power to bring him down’

Please Mr Joe Carruthers has many soldiers and if you cross him it will only make matters worse for Knot Fu and me’

I might be young but i promise you that when Carruthers falls from his perch he will be in no position to harm anyone’

Along the way the camel continually farted and belched whilst giving Joe the evil eye just daring him to come closer.

Joe ignored the camel and was relieved when just before dusk the three weary travelers arrived at the gold fields.

Looking around Joe couldn’t believe the size of the place and even at seven o’clock at night there was a hive of activity.

Gold fever was in the air and Joe almost stumbled from its euphoric effect ‘Father father over here’ Joe turned to see a young girl running toward them. Welcome back father who is the stranger with you? And what happened to his face?

Be quiet Knot Fu, this is Mr Joe from in town who came along for the ride plus he also wants to help us get from under the scourge of Carruthers and his soldiers’

Mr Long suddenly stopped talking and gazed over at a huge house on the far side of the fields ‘That is where Carruthers lives, Knut Fu and i are forced to live there as servants while he plunders the plot that i paid for out of my life savings, but it isn’t only me, all the miners pay Carruthers 10% and if they don’t pay or try and cheat well they disappear never to be seen again’

Joe is seething with rage and the gash on his chin begins to weep and pulsate.

The apprentice bushranger rubs the tender spot not noticing Mr long and his daughter whispering and laughing Hey Mr Joe i was just telling Knot Fu how the camel kicked you and well, here Knot Fu butted in giggling ‘You camel toe Joe’

And so on the evening of 3rd March 1847 the legend was born.

‘Where in the fuck have you been you old chinese cunt, do you think that i run my business on Peking time?’

‘Well let me tell you that i don’t now pray tell who is this boy with you, maybe he could help you and your scrawny daughter help to make my life more comfortable?

Joe eyed the old man astride his horse with contempt ‘My name is Joseph Markham and i am here to help Mr Long out from his predicament’

‘ Perhaps you would be kind enough to give him back his mining rights so that he can dig for gold free from greedy arseholes like you’

Carruthers face turned beet red his eyes bulging not quite believing what he just heard.

The burly 6′ 3′ two hundred pound stand over merchant doesn’t take kindly to anyone upsetting his apple cart ‘Look around you young man i have over fifty men under my command and this very second they have their rifles aimed in your direction’

‘Throw him in the stockade and perhaps as he rots away young Joseph will learn to keep his mouth shut’

Mr Long and his daughter can do nothing to help Joe as he is dragged away by three henchmen to an unknown fate.

The camel stamped his feet in frustration at the apprehension of his adversary who he has grown to admire because the little shit can take a kicking and keep on ticking.

Then things take a turn for the worse as his master and child are forced at gunpoint back to the big house.

Unnoticed by Carruthers or any of his soldiers the camel trots over into the undergrowth and almost immediately begins to formulate a rescue mission.

THE END.

Chapter two coming soon.

Thanks for taking the time to read my story and please if you have the means could you make a donation that i can finally reach my dream of becoming a fulltime writer. Thanks again Steven.

‘A Little Place Called Hell’

23 Friday Oct 2020

Posted by stevenjohnno in stories

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Tags

abuse, blood, crazy, hell, horror, murder, sever

36 year old Alison Reddy takes a deep breath and slowly exhales.

Sitting in the back seat of her battered old chevy wagon her two children have been squabbling since she strapped them in and drove from their home in Lincoln Nebraska.

Now four hours later Alison is about ready to explode ‘If you two don’t quieten down right this minute i swear i will turn the car around’

‘I know that you are excited to visit gran and pop but you need to settle down or i will tan both of your hides like i did last week remember?’

Nine year old Molly and her six year old brother Kevin instantly sit up straight in their seat and rub at old and new injuries but the bruises inside will be forever out of reach.

Alison looks back at her offspring in the rear view mirror and is pleased to see them behaving for once without her needing to raise a hand.

Ever since her husband Randy walked out a year or so back Alison has tried her best to be a good mom but it isn’t easy being a single parent.

A whimper of fright from the back seat brings her back ‘Sorry Kevin but you know that mommy likes her peace and quiet so be a good little boy and soon we will stop for lunch and you and Molly can order whatever you want’

Alison drives down the highway gripping the steering wheel like she is trying to strangle it ‘God why did my parents feel the need to move all the way down to Florida to retire for fuck sake’

Stealing another glance at her children and is shocked to see them covered in cuts and bruises looking like the living dead.

Running a hand through her long greasy hair the harried mother does what she has always done in times of stress, she takes a long pull from a bottle of gin that was sitting in the console within easy reach.

Molly and Kevin notice their mommy drinking from a bottle and know that no matter if they behave or not there will be trouble.

The two abused souls slide down in their seat trying to disappear but trouble has a habit of finding you wherever you choose to hide.

Replacing the cap Alison dares another look back at her children she is pleased to see that they now look fresh faced and rosy cheeked ‘Almost there kiddo’s’

Molly and Kevin smile back but the smiles are etched deep with past pain and sorrow.

Ten minutes later she veers off the highway and drives towards a town called Seabridge, which is strange because Seabridge didn’t appear on her navigation system but she could with something to eat so Seabridge it is.

Rounding a bend Alison barely glances at a sign on the side of the road but that glance was enough to make her heart turn to stone.

Slamming on the brakes the chevy skids to stop fifty yards past the sign. ‘Stay in the car children i just need to have another look at the sign back there, i wont be long’

In the back seat Molly and Kevin shimmer and shine in a ghostly manner disappearing for a second before reluctantly returning.

Alison approaches the sign in trepidation but she knows what she saw so this time Alison takes a good hard look.

WELCOME TO HELL

BURN WITH ME ALISON

THE DEVIL.

Pop – Too many to mention.

Alison knows that she has to get out of here before it is too late so after running back to the car she screams at the back seat occupants ‘OK kids buckle up tight i um just remembered that i left the back door unlocked so i need to go back before someone breaks in’

‘Mommy just call Mr Jones next door’ Molly pipes up ‘He can go over and lock it and we can go see gran and pop’

Yeah mommy’ Kevin butts in ‘But please i need food and i need it now’

Alison isn’t listening because she has more pressing issues at hand like how to escape from hell and live to talk about it.

She knows that she will more then likely end up in hell but she isn’t quite ready yet but after checking over her shoulder for oncoming traffic Alison knows that she has no choice but to drive into hell.

Behind her the road has vanished leaving nothing but darkness blacker then black.

Two hundred yards down the road Alison is surprised to see what appears to be an ordinary main street you would see in any small American town except that there are no cars in sight and the sidewalks are pedestrian free.

Thankful that the kids don’t seem to notice that they are in mortal danger Alison and she can’t really blame them because for all intents and purposes hell looks like a ghost town.

Looking down to the end of main street searching for an escape route but there is nothing to see except a thick black fog.

‘Just put your foot down and drive all the way into hell Alison because that is where you belong you evil bitch’

‘You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t murder me and your own parents and because of your petty jealously and lust for money’

‘Thankfully the kids escaped from the abuse and are somewhere safe away from your evil presence’

Alison’s skin crawls at the sound of her dead husbands voice coming from the backseat.

With gentle arms draped over his children Randall Reddy sneers back at her ‘Your time to burn is nigh Alison and i hope that the fire consumes your soul forever and a day’

‘Fuck you Randall i should of killed you before i got pregnant with your spawn’

Crying tears of joy and acceptance Alison puts her foot down and drives all the way into hell to meet her maker.

‘Wake up you evil fucking bitch’

The strung out female patient sleeping in room 219 on the lower level at the New Brunswick Mental Facility opens her eyes and looks up at a huge menacing figure staring down at her with contempt.

Darnel Brathwaite is an african american nurse who has been attending to his patients needs and helping them in any way he can.

Perhaps helping isn’t the word that the patients themselves would use when describing Darnel’s conduct but Brathwaite couldn’t give a shit what they think of him.

All he is thinking about is helping the crazy lady in room 219 depart this world and get buried deep where the bugs and worms can eat her flesh to their hearts content.

Darnel has helped over 100 patients in various facilities nationwide reach the other side so the lady in room 219 shouldn’t prove to difficult to send on her way.

But first why not have a little fun?

Alison Reddy struggles to get comfortable as the buckles and straps and buckles of her straight jacket bite into her skin.

Her mind is hazy and she is having trouble focusing on the huge cruel nurse in her room but through the haze she notices a syringe in one of his hands and a manilla folder in the other.

‘Glad you could join me Alison, it is almost 9.30 and my shift ends at midnight,i will go home to my cat and a six pack of beer and you will also be going on a journey but before you leave let me read you a bed time story’

This story i am sure you have read many times before but never mind let me read it again so you know exactly why you need to go on a one way trip’

‘On 20th January 1984 Mary Lou Reddy gave birth to a healthy baby daughter who her husband Ben insisted be named Alison after his favorite grandmother who he loved very much.’

‘Alison was a happy normal toddler but when she started school began to show a cruel streak by physically abusing the other students and teachers’

You were immediately removed from school and sent to this facility where you received shock treatment and for a few years your behavior returned to normality’

Braithwaite pauses briefly to adjust himself ‘A week before your twelve birthday you came home from running an errand where after devouring a huge slice of chocolate cake your loving mother made for you ‘

‘You returned her love by picking up a knife and stabbed her 32 times’

‘Then you went out to the garage where your father was working beneath his beloved 57 Pinto’

‘With wicked intentions you wound down the jack slowly crushing your own father slowly until he died an agonizing death’

Once again the excited nurse pauses this time to release his member that he slowly begins to stroke.

‘After murdering your parents you were sentenced to a maximum security institution for dangerous juveniles in upstate New York where you were treated for your maladies’

The governor of the state believing that you were completely rehabilitated released back into the community on 1st July 2009 and you laid low for a while behaving like a regular person but you and i both know different don’t we Alison?’

The patient in the straight jacket smiles at the story teller with a grin that almost causes him to lose rhythm but Braithwaite continues to choke the chicken even as the smirk on the patients face tells him that trouble is afoot.

You befriended a young man named Randall Reddy at church who had no idea that you were a murderer and an evil demon and you didn’t tell him did you Alison?

This time Brathwaite avoids eye contact but the stroking intensifies’

Braithwaite in his haste to spend an evening of fun failed to make sure that the he tied the straight jacket securely and now Alison even in her sedated state has managed to slip an arm from the restraint.

Now the evil killer is just waiting for the right moment to strike.

‘Not long after meeting Reddy you were pregnant with your daughter Molly and three years later you gave birth to a son who you named Kevin’

‘For ten years you lived in suburbia with your family and everything appeared peachy on the outside but they weren’t were they Alison?”

‘In the decade you lived in Lincoln twenty three people who lived within a ten mile radius from your home disappeared’

‘These people were completely innocent and didn’t deserve tp come in contact with you’

Brathwaite has almost reached the point of no return and his breathing has become erratic ‘Your husband Randall never knew who you really were and on his 31st birthday you shot him in the head and ran naked onto the street which is why you currently a resident here’

‘Thank God your children have had their names changed and are in a place where you will never find them and hopefully they will grow to be good people despite having you as their mother’

‘Do you have anything to say before you begin your travels?

Alison motioned for the nurse to come closer and Brathwaite despite all of his training leans in close beating his meat at a furious pace.

Alison launches forward and bites down hard on the nurses nose and after a few shakes of her head the morsel is ripped free.

Braithwaite despite being three times the size of the patient offers little resistance and soon goes into shock and is now at the mercy of the crazy women in room 219′

Alison gets to work, first she shoves the nose down the nurses throat then using the metal tip of a felt pen she found in the nurses pocket Alison severs the shriveled penis from the shell shocked nurse and it to is forced down his throat.

Finally Alison empties the contents of the syringe into his thigh and soon the nurse is dead.

With her heart beating strong in her chest Alison feels exhilarated as the taste of the nurses blood refreshes memories from her past.

Now she has the taste again Alison needs and wants more blood on her hands but first she will need to escape from this shithole.

So she settles down to think of a way out of here.

Ten thousand miles away down in Australia two two teenagers have no idea that their birth mother has just killed again and is thinking about holding a family reunion.

THE END.

Thanks for taking the time to read my story and please if you have the means could you make a donation so that i can finally become a fulltime writer. Thanks again Steven.

‘Roadkill ( Mantlepiece of Death ) 2.

22 Saturday Aug 2020

Posted by stevenjohnno in poems, stories

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Tags

blood, horror, murder, roadkill, supernatural, taxidermy

In the first installment i introduced you all to Myron Oxenford a 58 year old old eccentric who called rural Mississippi home.

He was employed by the county to clear the highways and byways from any animal unfortunate enough to be killed by passing trucks and cars.

A loner at heart Myron enjoyed driving around all day listening to country music as he goes about his job,scraping up the roadkill all over the couty.

An amateur taxidermist Myron every now and than would take the freshest and least damaged carcasses home to his cabin in the woods where he would stuff the creatures and place them on his mantlepiece.

The pelts he would dry near the fire whilst some of the meat was thrown on the skillet the choicest cuts were put into jars and pickled for winter.

All in all life has been good for Myron Oxenford, so far.

One summer night Myron drank a few jars of moonshine and woke feeling like a skunk had slept on his tongue but he was still keen to add to his collection.

Even though he knows that he really shouldn’t be driving Myron backs out of his driveway on a mission.

A few weeks back a stranger he met at a bar offered him a shitload of money to make his wife disappear, an offer Myron couldn’t turn down.

Ten minutes he notices his target jogging along the side of the road on her usual morning constitutional.

Sally Nulksteader never knew what hit her when she was hit by Myron’s pickup and thrown down a small embankment.

Her husband told Myron to leave Sally’s body at the scene so that it will look like your everyday hit and run but Myron can’t resist temptation so after scrambling down the slope he carried the body back to his truck.

Sally Nulksteader will soon take pride of place on his mantlepiece of death.

Arriving home Myron’s blood is pumping full throttle and he knows that he has dug himself a hole that he can never escape from but at the same time he has in his possession the ultimate display specimen.

For three hours he drank shine as he sharpened his trusty knife on a whetstone.

Finally he stood and got down to doing what needed to be done, he skinned the carcass threw some meat on the skillet and pickled the rest.

Unbeknown’s to Myron for the past five months a lone house fly has been buzzing around his cabin as he slept feeding his drool to an eagle and a misshapen cougar that he couldn’t stuff properly.

The two roadkill victims have been sitting on the mantle for months but the precious liquid the fly has been feeding them has moistened their organs and slowly but surely life is being restored.

On his last day on earth Myron woke to a commotion coming from the living room and goes to investigate.

The cougar bounds from the mantlepiece and kills the roadkill merchant with a single bite to the back of the neck.

When the big cat has eaten his fill the eagle swoops down and picks at the bones and remaining meat.

Myron Oxenford now resides in hell well and truly stuffed.

PART TWO.

Brett Nulksteader looks up at the clock for perhaps the tenth time in the past five minutes.

His wife Sally left for her morning run an hour ago and hopefully by now the deed has been done and she wont be returning.

But he waits until mid morning before he calls the police to report her missing.

The desk sergeant at the Holbrook police station tells the obviously distraught Mr Nulksteader ‘Listen Sally has more than likely stopped for some shopping or is visiting a friend’

‘We are new to the area sergeant Murhpy so Sally has had a chance to make any friends and her handbag is here so she has no money on her’.

‘Plus why doesn’t she answer her phone? I am telling you something terrible has happened’.

Please Mr Nulksteader try to remain calm because i am sure that Sally will walk through the door at any minute but if she hasn’t returned by tomorrow we will launch an investigation’

After smoking cigarette after cigarette Brett can’t stand the tension anymore and he really needs to know if Myron came through for him and with no phone reception out in the woods Brett has no alternitive but to drive out there.

Jumping into his car Brett decides to travel the route that Sally normally goes on her run every morning and a few miles from home he notices a huge wet patch on the side of the road glistening in the morning sun.

Trembling with excitement he pulls over to have a closer look, maybe the blood is from a deer or moose but than Brett notices a running shoe a few yards down an embankment.

After spending a few minutes searching no body is found and shaking with fury Brett knows that Myron must have taken Sally back to his cabin.

‘Why couldn’t the asshole just follow the plan?’

At this point Brett should of just driven out to Myrons place but his ego wouldn’t let him so he calls the cops and tells them that he has found what he believes is his wives running shoe down an embankment on Potters Road.

Ten minutes later a squad car arrives and two uniformed cops climb out.

The elder of the pair introduces himself ‘Good morning Mr Nulksteader i am sergeant Coverdale and my partner is corporal Bolin i understand that you have found what you believe is your wives shoe?

Yes officer i reported my wife missing this morning after she didn’t return from her run’

‘Where is the shoe Mr Nulksteader just point where it is’ Coverdale demands.

‘Um sorry but i picked it up and put it on the front seat of my car’

‘You really should of left it where you found it’Bolin pipes up’Now you have trampled over the scene of an accident and potentially a crime scene’

‘Sorry officer but i was just hoping to find Sally alive and well so i wasn’t thinking about a crime scene’

Bolin a slight native american relents a little ‘I understand Mr Nulksteader, we will organize a K9 unit but in the meantime just take a set in the back of the squad car while my partner and i have a look around’

Brett nods his head and takes a seat, he watches the two cops intently hoping that they don’t find any evidence linking Myron to the scene because Brett knows that the old timer would turn on him in a heartbeat.

On a rocky outcrop a mere twenty yards above the two cops a misshapen cougar sits on his haunches ready to pounce.

The stitches that Myron applied a few months back are starting to come apart and the creatures insides are beginning to poke through.

The deranged big cat is hungry but he is wary of the human activity so he turns tail and slinks away.

A K9 unit arrived soon after and six bloodhounds started running around in excitement waiting for their handler to give them the command to seek.

The handler a grumpy old army veteran named Dru Standridge has been helping the local police for years helping to locate many folk both dead and alive.

Stanbridge who some say resembles the old cowboy actor Walter Brennan reaches into a coat pocket and takes a long drink from a flask.

His dogs are going ballistic as he leads them to the blood stain and after a quick sniff the bloodhounds get their bearing trot off in an easterly direction.

In the back seat of the cop car Brett Nulksteader rubs sweaty palms on his jeans when he realizes the dogs are heading towards Myron’s cabin.

All he can hope for is that Myron has disposed of Sally’s remains out in the sticks someplace where the dogs will lose the scent and his wife will never be found.

Six weeks prior Sally was taking a shower when her cell phone rang, Brett let it ring but it is unusual for Sally to receive calls late at night so he answers and listens to the message’ Hello sweetheart i cant wait to see you again tomorrow and we can make love again and again.’

Brett deletes the message and waits to confront his wife when she has finished.

But as he waits Brett blood boils in rage and he comes to the decision that she has to go permanently and the the old man he met in the bar a few days later while drowning his sorrows.

The stranger was none other then Myron Oxenford the towns roadkill merchant and amateur taxidermist.

After hearing of his drinking buddies martial problems he agrees to make her disappear forever’ Give give me $20,000 and you will never see her again.

‘OK but make sure that she is buried deep so the wildlife can’t dig her up because if her body is found you and i will both go to jail for a very long time’.

‘Don’t worry Brett you can rely on me to do the job’ Myron responds then the two strangers went their seperate ways.

Of course Myron had no intention of burying the body, he has always wanting a human trophy to sit on his mantlepiece plus the $20,000 being an added bonus.

Now as the police cruiser follows the dogs out to Myron’s cabin Brett shakes his head at his own stupidity.

How could he have been to reach out to a total stranger to kill his wife?

15 minutes later the dogs are sniffing and whimpering outside the cabin’s front door.

When the cops arrive Brennan has bad news’ Judging by the way my dogs are reacting i am positive that you have a deceased person inside’

Coverdale and Bolin were both hoping that Sally Nulksteader was in some sort of accident and is laying in the brush somewhere waiting to be found but the dogs led them straight here so both officers draw their weapons and Coverdale being the senior partner knocks on the door.

Suddenly the blood hounds start howling and begin to round in circles with their tails between their legs ‘Officers there is something inside that is scaring the dogs maybe you should ring for backup’

‘Control your animals Mr Stanbridge’ Coverdale orders but the huge African American soon shuts up when an evil stench descends upon all present.

Officer Bolin fresh out of the academy takes charge ‘Stanbridge help is on the help so please take your dogs bacck to your van and get the fuck out of here’

The dog handler is now visibly shaking’ Officers please listen to me, i have never seen my dogs act this way before, i am telling you that something terrible has happened inside the cabin so we should go back to your car and wait for the backup to get here’

The only reply is an agonizing scream AARRRGGGG ‘Get this fucking thing off me’ Bolin and Stanbridge watch in astonishment as the huge officer is dragged away by a mangy deformed cougar.

Bolin Can’t get a shot off in fear of hitting partner but soon it is too late when with a bite to the back of his neck the big cat kills Coverdale.

There is no way in hell that Bolin is going to let the cougar eat his partner so he takes a few tentative steps forward to put the cougar down but the cat moves fast and Bolin joins his partner on the ground with his throat ripped open.

The officers blood mingles together and the dogs run to the hills scared out of their minds.

Stanbridge scrambles into the back of the cruiser next to Brett’ Holy fucking shit did you see what that cougar did to the cops? plus there is something worse inside that cabin’

All Brett can do nod his head and try to squirm out of sight then his eyes drift over to the cougar that has dragged one of the cops bodies over to an oak tree where it is feeding with relish.

‘Jesus on a stick’ Stanbridge screams’ We need to get out of here right now before that cat finishes it meal and comes looking for dessert’

Pointing a bony finger the old man croaks’ The keys are still in the ignition so climb over and drive as fast as you can’

Brett is tempted to do what the old codger says but he has to make sure that his wife and Myron are dead and if they are still he will finish them off before a troop of cops get here.

With both his Myron and Sally unable to speak against him his murderous plan will remain a secret.

Calm down Stanbridge i need to go inside and find my wife to make sure she is safe and sound’ Stanbridge knows that there is no way that anyone is safe and sound inside that cabin but the old man is beyond caring.

Brett looks over to the cougar munching on what looks like a femur bone and is confident that the cat wouldn’t leave a fresh kill so he steps outside’ Just stay calm until reinforcements get here but i need to find me wife’ and with a quick glance at the contented cat Brett hurries over to the front door of the cabin and luckily it is unlocked.

The stench of blood and human waste hit him in the chest like a tidal wave and for an instant he is tempted to escape but he has to make sure that no one is alive to tell tales so he takes another step inside.

A lone fly sits on the mantlepiece watching the intruder with interest, the insect has been lapping up the blood and other liquids from the body of the taxidermist as it slowly begins to decompose.

The fly has been drip feeding the liquids into the mouth of the stuffed and stitched human sitting pride of place beside him on the mantle just like it fed the cougar enjoying a meal outside and an eagle perched up on a shelf above a dresser.

If the fly could smile it surely would because yesterday the human’s heart began to pulse slowly.

Now the female is primed and ready to give her husband a welcome he wont forget in a hurry.

The fly rubs it’s wings together in anticipation of another fresh blood meal and it wont be long before it can dig in.

Hello Brett where in the fuck have you been?’

Brett’s head snaps around at the sound of his wife’s voice ‘Up here darling i now reside with the dead and the damned ‘ Brett looks up to see Sally looking like she has been sewn together by a drunk DR Frankenstein.

‘Sorry that i am not looking my best but i was run over by a truck, stuffed and stitched like a christmas turkey and displayed up here on the mantle like a whore in a cathouse so forgive me if i am no longer to your taste but i will savior your demise.

It takes a second or two for Brett’s brain to comprehend what the creature said to him and before the words sink in Sally springs down slamming him to the floor knocking the wind from his lungs.

While her husband struggles for breath Sally rummages around in Myron’s taxidermy kit until she finds a needle and thread’ Now hold still Brett as i sew your murderous words closed forever more and i warn you dear that if you move i will snap your neck like a chicken’

She then proceeds to use the needle and thread sewing her husbands mouth until it like the stitches on an all game baseball.

Brett gurgles in total terror and soon the fly enters the fray.

It hovers around Brett’s left nostril before settling on an eyeball then it finds its way inside his skull and begins to vacuum the vital fluids from his brain.

In a few hours Brett will be left in a permanent state, the hateful husband will spend the rest of his life under care never to utter another word.

As he dies the eagle swoops and begins to pick at the flesh but Sally screams’ No leave him be there will be lots of food for us in the future mark my words’

Police sirens are getting louder so Sally opens the front door and hurries past a terrified Dru Stanbridge still seated in the back of the cop car terrified out of his wits.

She strolls over to the cougar resting after consuming his large meal and scratches the kitty behind the ears .

The cat is annoyed having its sleep interrupted but instantly gets to its feet and follows his fellow roadkill survivor out into the night where they soon vanish from view.

After walking a few miles in a tangle undergrowth they are soon joined by a bald headed eagle that flies from tree to tree leading the way.

A fly lands on Sally’s shoulder and settles down for a long trek.

The gruesome foursome steadily stroll toward destination unknown so please keep your doors locked and your windows shut.

Part Three coming soon.

THE END.

Thanks for taking the time to read my story and please if you have the means could you make a donation so i can finally reach my goal of becoming a fulltime writer. Thanks again Steven.

She Dug Me Up

20 Saturday Jun 2020

Posted by stevenjohnno in stories

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

blood, cruelty, death, horror, magnolia, monster, revenge, winter

My name was Norman Babbage and i am currently residing four foot beneath the surface in my own backyard.

Th worms have been very busy today, I sense and feel them as they squirm and wriggle between my ribs, turning my rotting flesh into nutrient rich compost.

I have been down here in the dank damp earth for two weeks now ever since my wife Maureen split my head open with a hammer while i slept.

After committing the dastardly deed the murderous bitch wrapped me in the bed sheet, dragged me down the stairs and out into the backyard where under the cover of darkness she rolled me into a hole that i had dug a few weeks prior.

My killer told me that she was planning on buying a few magnolia trees to screen our house from the neighbors and silly me believed her.

Maureen and i had been married for only five years and in that time her love for me descended into a cesspool of hate.

We met at a local bowling alley where we got to talking and i soon forgot all about the game, it was love at first sight.

Maureen was big even back then and easily out weighed me by thirty pounds or more, she had long blonde hair and a pleasant smile.

Before i knew it we had convened to a motel room where we made love until the sun come up.

As the two of us drank our coffee the next morning Maureen called me ‘Stormin’ Norman’ and said i fucked like a love struck teenager.

Than she grabbed my hand in a vise like grip and uttered the words ‘You are mine now Norman, you can never leave me’

I should have walked out there and then but i didn’t think she was serious but she was, deadly serious.

Maureen was 23 years old and i had just turned 25.

Six months later we were married and moved into a house at 343 Hillside Drive Glendale California.

The first year of our union was fairly smooth sailing but i had noticed that Maureen was very clingy and would hardly let me out of the house unless i needed to use the bathroom or when i went to work at the post office.

When my shift was over Maureen would be waiting outside in her old Corolla and soon i began to feel like a prisoner in my own home.

If i said that i was thinking of going for a few beers with my work mates Maureen would tag along and make the situation very uncomfortable and soon my friends stopped asking me to go with them.

I grew increasingly anxious and that is when i first thought about leaving my wife and getting my life back.

Maureen must have sensed my unease because one night a week or so later i was in the bathroom shaving before i went to work when she sidled up behind me and at first i thought she was after some loving but i was sorely mistaken.

‘Don’t even think about leaving me Norman because if you do i will hunt you down and drag you home’

‘Have a good hard look in the mirror Norman, go on you ugly little excuse for a man, remember Norman you are mine and the only way you will leave me is in a pine box’

I look in the mirror and i don’t like what i see, Maureen is right i am a geeky looking man your typical nerd plus i am also a coward so i don’t say a word as i change into my work uniform and silently get in her car and she drives me to the post office. ‘See you after work Norman, remember i will be waiting’

For almost another two years i put up with her mental and physical abuse but my frustration was about to boil over , i couldn’t deal with her shit or stay silent any longer so the bitch came home from grocery shopping i was going to confront her and demand a divorce.

Maureen arrived home in a foul mood as usual ‘Norman can you get your finger out of your ass and give me a hand around here, i am tired of being your slave’

I now realize that i should have moved out while she was gone but i needed to confront her face to face ‘Maureen i am leaving today and i won’t be back,you have made my life a misery and i can’t take it anymore’

‘Sure thing Norman pack your bags and get the fuck out of here’

That wasn’t the reaction i was expecting but i quickly threw a few things into suitcase and headed towards the door when Maureen called from the kitchen ‘I can drive you to the bus station if you like but i forgot where i put the car keys’

I look at the hall table where she usually leaves her keys but they aren’t there maybe she left them on the coffee table.?

As i turn to have a look WHACK WHACK WHACK I didn’t feel any pain as the rolling pin cracked open my skull and i believe that i was dead before i hit the floor.

Nor did have any comprehension as my body was dragged out into the backyard and deposited into the hole that i had dug for Maureens Magnolia tree’s.

The Magnolia’s were delivered yesterday waiting to be planted into the ground and now that my body would provide them with essential nutrients i am sure Maureen will fill in the hole and i will disappear forever.

When i was covered by dirt and the moonlight was blotted out for the final time i didn’t bat an eyelid or shed a single tear.

For all intents and purposes i am dead.

The worms are having a fine old time feasting on my decaying flesh and every now and then i would get a drenching when Maureen watered the magnolia’s to make sure the tree established and my memory would stay buried for eternity.

But all of my wives efforts would soon come back and bite her on her huge oversized ass.

As i lay in the dank damp ground the roots of the magnolia weaved between my bones supporting me like an old friend.

For Maureen the situation will soon become very grave, very grave indeed.

Maureen Babbage is sitting out on the back porch enjoying a cup of coffee and a cigarette.

It has been a week since she buried her husband and she knows that sooner or later someone will come looking for him.

Yesterday she rang his boss at the post office and told that Norman had run off to New York with a girlfriend so don’t expect him back anytime soon.

Plus hopefully it will be a while before the cops come snooping around because Maureen has plans to move down to Mexico and start a new life.

Stubbing out her cigarette she wanders into the yard to do a spot of gardening’

The magnolia trees are settling in nicely and hopefully the roots are digging deep helping the worms to dispose of Normans carcass.

Grabbing the hose she gives the trees another good soaking ‘Sorry Norman but if anyone was to end our it would be me and not a spineless piece of shit like you’

‘Now be a good boy and give the bugs a good feed so my magnolia’s can grow big and strong, something that you never were and never will be.’

Four feet below the deceased Norman Babbage soaks up the water that flows past his half devoured tongue.

As the precious liquid permeates into his system his ears listens to the stinging words coming down from above.

Norman chews on a root and digests the protein with gusto because he knows that even though he is still dead one day that bitch will walking and breathing will be brought to justice.

A few days later Maureen is beginning to show some signs of stress.

The Magnolia trees are starting to look unhealthy particularly the one she planted above Norman’s corpse.

Surely Norman’s rotting flesh and the copious amounts of water it has received the trees should be thriving so why are they dropping leaves.?

As she smokes another cigarette Maureen sneaks glances out to her magnolia’s like a mother wolf eyeing her prey.

She knows that somehow her dead husband is responsible for her misery.

Even in death the asshole continues to curse her life ‘Why can’t the bastard just up and die already?’

Night after night Maureen goes out to the porch and every night her paranoia cloaks her in a thick black cloud.

The coffee has been replaced by a bottle of gin the customary cigarette glows like a firefly as she draws in the soothing smoke.

As she swallows a mouthful of gin she picks up a krispy kreme donut and the ever expanding Maureen inhales the sugar in one breath.

Through bloodshot eyes she scans the backyard for any signs of activity but for now the coast is clear.

Another donut is about to be dispatched when the voice of her long dead mother enters her alcohol soaked sugar laden brain ‘Maureen you know that you should never have done what you did, but drinking gin and eating donuts wont undo the deed’

In defiance Maureen empties the bottle in one gulp ‘Fuck you mother and the horse you rode in on’

Remember Maureen that you have always been a big girl but now you are fat and if you continue in your ways, well i am afraid for you Maureen’.

Cut back on the alcohol and sugar and don’t let the darkness infest your brain and everything will be ok’

Goodnight sweetheart don’t let the bed bugs bite’

Maureen shudders as the old bitches voice fades away ‘Thanks for the advice Mom but why don’t you just fuck off and stop interfering’

When no reply is forthcoming Maureen opens another bottle of gin and has a long swallow than she stumbles off to bed ‘It isn’t the bed bugs i am worried about mother it is what lays beneath the magnolia’

As the murderess sleeps she moans with a mixture of pain and pleasure but soon the noise transcends into a snore that causes all of the dogs in the neighborhood to scurry away and hide.

Out in the backyard the leaves from the magnolia trees continue to drop and beneath the surface the roots have evolved , now instead of soaking up the water and nutrients and feeding the tree they now direct all the life giving goodness into the blood and bones of the slain human.

Soon the decaying flesh will renew and his tormented mind will mend and seek vengeance.

The following days continue to be a bane of misery for Maureen.

She now enjoys a liquid breakfast lunch and dinner and the donuts and cigarettes are constant companions by her side.

Deep down she knows that Norman is still to blame for all the wrongness in her life, so tomorrow she will go and buy herself a spade ‘OK motherfucker so you want to play? Now it is my turn’

Next morning Norman is enjoying a bit of peace and quiet relaxing as his body continues to heal when he feels a disturbance in the soil.

A glint of metal catches a dead fish eye and a smile of sorts forms on his face ‘Good god the stupid bitch is digging me up to make sure i am still down here’

When the sun hits his body Norman he doesn’t react ( because he is still technically dead) ‘Jesus Maureen you have really let yourself go, now go away and eat another donut but leave some room in that ample stomach because soon i will be force feeding you a shit load of trouble’

Maureen looks down at her still dead husband and a smile cracks her face as she refills the hole ‘How could i have been so stupid to believe that Norman had somehow come back to life and was responsible for my misery’

Satisfied that her husband is down in the hole where he belongs Maureen heads inside for a well earned drink.

The fog thickens outside the Babbage household, winter is almost here but Maureen is sleeping nice and cozy in her bed.

She doesn’t feel the cold snap approaching or see the magnolia roots creeping around the backyard whilst they wait for their master to give the order to strike.

As she dreams evil thoughts Maureen is oblivious that her life is about to turn into a living hell.

When dawn arrives the birds are chirping feverishly as the eat all the fruits and berries they can manage before they fly south for the winter.

As they fly from tree to tree the birds give the magnolia trees a wide berth because they know that death is lurking below.

Maureen wakes to the sound of the birds eating a little too loud for her liking ‘Shut the fuck up you feathered assholes can’t a person get any sleep around here?’

Knowing that she wont get back to sleep Maureen sticks a foot out from beneath the blankets and once satisfied that it isn’t too cold she climbs out and waddles towards the bathroom.

Out beneath the magnolia Norman is waving his arms around conducting the roots into a well orchestrated frenzy.

He knows that despite his recent rejuvenation his time is limited because once the ground the ground freezes the magnolia will become dormant and he will die again.

Now Maureen has to join him in his grave before it is too late so he plucks one thick root with a bony finger and the root slides up the stairs seeking its victim like a mamba stalking its prey.

Maureen rubs the sleep from her eyes as she on the toilet doing her business.

Then she lets out a strangled scream as a magnolia root appears beneath the bathroom door ‘What in the fuck?’ Maureen whispers as she tries to push herself away from the intruder but there is nowhere to go.

Maureen nervously tinkles every last drop of urine from her body as she stares at the crack beneath the door and for a minute it looks like the root has gone and Maureen prays to the heavens vowing never to drink another drop of gin ever again.

She stands to adjust her clothing when the root one inch round shoots through the narrow opening and wraps itself around her left ankle in a death grip and pulls her off her feet.

There is no way the Maureen is going to fit but the root really couldn’t give a shit and it yanks with all its might and both of Maureens legs snap with a wicked snap that sends all of the birds outside to wing and they take off towards Mexico at break neck speed.

Th bathroom door splinters and Maureen explodes out into her bedroom where she desperately tries to grab something to stop herself being dragged to her doom but the root is having none of that and pulls her across the carpet like a dog pulling a sled up in Alaska.

Maureen becomes aware that her sweat pants and undergarments are wrapped around her knees ‘Please at least let me pull up my pants so if i am to die at least i can leave this world with some dignity’

From out in the garden there comes a muffled reply ‘You haven’t got a dignified bone in your body Maureen, all you have ever done is look out for yourself and treat other people like shit’

‘And if there is a God Maureen you will never get to meet him because you are going to hell where you will burn for eternity’

Maureen sobs in terror at the sound of her dead husbands voice but even with two broken legs and a tree root wrapped an ankle her meanness surfaces ‘Well if it isn’t stormin’ Norman back from the grave, see you soon and when i get my hands on you i will kill you again motherfucker’

The root tightens its grip and Maureen gets the message and clamps her mouth shut for the first time in her life.

But it doesn’t last for long because when she starts to descend the stairs in screams in pain and total terror.

BIONK BIONK BIONK

The back of Maureen’s head strikes the first three steps and she bites her tongue and blood clouds her vision, only twenty two steps to go.

BIONK BIONK BIONK

Upon reaching the bottom step the voice from beyond decides that this is the perfect time for another chat ‘Sorry about that Maureen that last step was a doozy’

‘Soon we will be together once again but i am sorry to tell you that it will be a brief reunion.

Maureen’s tongue is bloody and swollen but she still manages ‘FOOK YOU NORMAN’

As she is dragged past the vegetable that Norman planted a couple of years ago Maureen grimaces in pain but remembers that the pumpkin’s were plentiful and made excellent soup plus the tomatoes were plump and tasty.

She offers no resistance as she is pulled along the well manicured lawn.

Her fingers and thumbs leave ten shallow furrows in the grass that would be ideal to plant cucumber and maybe some radish and chives.

Maureen sigh’s in frustration ‘If only i was a better person then Norman would still be alive and i wouldn’t be in this this predicament’

In his crypt beneath the magnolia Norman gets little comfort from his wives torment as the root delivers her faster then the post office ever could.

He sits at the entrance propped up by a tangle of roots, his decaying body now resembles a bloated spider waiting to devour its next meal.

Hello Maureen sorry to drag you away from your beauty sleep bur it wasn’t working anyway’

‘Come join me, I promise to make to quick and painless;

Maureen doesn’t argue or complain as her husbands bony hand grips her wrist and guides her over the threshold.

The couples flesh and memories seep down into the earth where they blend together in a mixture of oil of water, damned to rest together in turmoil.

THE END.

Thanks for taking the time to read my stories and please if you have the means could you make a donation so i can finally become a fulltime writer, Thanks again Steven.

‘Rocking Horse’

09 Saturday May 2020

Posted by stevenjohnno in stories

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Tags

australia, dreams, dreamtime, dubbo, dunnedoo, hopes, pub, rocking horse

Six year old Cindy Watson is curled up in her bed afraid to make a peep.

Her parents are out in the living room having another argument about money ‘ Bob why can’t you get off your big fat arse and get yourself a job? you have a family to support in case you haven’t noticed’

‘Give it a rest Gail, you know that i have a bad back and the doctors all told me to take it easy for a while’

‘Christ Bob it has been over nine months since your accident and i notice that you don’t have any trouble bending down to get a beer from the fridge every hour’

‘Please Bob first thing tomorrow morning go into town and see what jobs are going because the money i make at the supermarket is barely enough to put food on the table let alone pay the bills’

The summer of 1976 in North West NSW Australia is stifling and Gail Watson is frazzled trying to cope with the heat out in the middle of nowhere plus trying to make ends meet because of a good for nothing husband who just wants to sit around drinking all day.

When they were married seven years ago in Sydney Gail was a striking 20 year old who worshipped the ground that her husband walked on.

He was a stockbroker with a bright future and she planned on becoming a nurse but a few months after the wedding Gail fell pregnant and Bob had the great idea to move out to Dunnedoo to escape the rat race.

But now Gail is struggling to cope with no relatives to lean on for support and Bob promising future turning into dust.

Cindy finally drifts off to sleep around midnight but it is a restless night for the little girl because her parents constant arguing has been giving her nightmares.

At 8 am her mummy shakes her awake’ Wake up Cindy, time to get out of bed and have some bacon and eggs before school and we both know that you wouldn’t want to miss the bus don’t we?’

Mother and daughter share a quiet smile because they know that Cindy would rather ride for rocking horse all day. ‘Five more minutes please mummy’

‘Now pumpkin you can have a quick ride because the bus comes’

Even though a strong breeze would probably blow her over Cindy scoffs down a huge breakfast before she scampers out the front door to be greeted by her rocking horse that takes pride of place in the corner of the verandah.

The horse is old with chipped paint and a broken stirrup but to Cindy he is her whole world.

She loves nothing more than to rock back and forth with the wind blowing her long ginger hair into a tangled mess.

Patting the horses neck Cindy whispers’ One day we will ride all the way to Dubbo and rob a bank just like the bushrangers did back in the old days’

‘I will give every cent to mummy and daddy so they would stop fighting and perhaps find time to give me a baby brother’

A flash of yellow catches and reluctantly Cindy climbs from the rocking horse and races down the driveway to catch the school bus. ‘ Goodbye mummy see you this afternoon’

She is a pupil at Dunnedoo Public School and Cindy is a good student popular with the teachers and the other students ( all nine of them ) but sometimes her mind will wander and Miss Walpole an old battle axe with the temper of a mule would scold her ‘Miss Watson please try to concentrate on the lesson because if you don’t you will fail and never amount to anything of substance’

A few of the other kids laugh at Cindy’s discomfort and she is tempted to give them the finger but decides to ignore the brats and knuckle down until she can go home and ride her rocking horse.

Cindy Watson has just turned twelve and she is no longer the tangled haired first grader with a fondness for ice cream and chocolate.

Now she is almost a teenager who started to attend Dubbo High School two weeks ago, she is sill shy and to her annoyance she has a nasty pimple in the middle of her forehead and a pair of braces on her teeth.

But on the positive side her father has given up the drink and returned to work and her mother is now the manager of the supermarket.

So the Watson household is a happy place to be and Cindy likes her new school despite being teased by the school bully Elizabeth Hardcastle.

She still rides the rocking horse most days which gives her a chance to unwind and think of ways to bring her tormentor down.

The latest is to replace her lip balm with a tube of super glue which should keep the arsehole quite for a while.

But deep down Cindy knows that she couldn’t hurt anyone else no matter how nasty they are so she closes her eyes and rocks back and forth until the tension drains from her body.

Just then her mothers voice breaks the spell’ OK Cindy it is time to come inside for your bath young lady and if you behave i will let you watch The Brady Bunch while you do you homework’

Cindy sighs in frustration, dismounts and gives her rocking horse a friendly pat ‘Goodnight Lightning i will see you in the morning’

At the sound of the screen door slamming a quiver runs down the flank of the horse and his tail flicks in anticipation.

Unbeknowns to Cindy a local aboriginal boy has been watching her as she rides her rocking horse like a jockey steering home a Melbourne cup winner.

14 year old Warren Mundine knows that the girl has a desire to move from Dunnedoo and try her luck in the big smoke.

Every night for the past month he has waited until the lights were extinguished for the night then he would sneak up onto the verandah and sprinkle sprigs of Banksia and Bunya Pine all around the feet of the rocking horse.

And under the light of the moon he would perform a ceremonial dance that his ancestors have done for thousands of years.

Adorned in ochre and lithe of limb Warren would dance for hours until the sun started to peek above the horizon.

Black clouds gathered in the dawn and soon thunder boomed and lightning lit up the rocking rock that began to sway back and forth of it’s own accord.

‘Lightning by name Lightning by name’ the lad whispered before disappearing into the landscape like a ghost from the past.

Cindy wakes early and after a quick breakfast she races outside for a quick ride outside but something is different this time.

The rocking horse is surrounded by leaves and twigs that must have blown onto the verandah in last nights storm but they seem to have placed in some sort of pattern.

Climbing onto Lightning Cindy forgets about the plant arrangement when she recollects a dream she had just a few hours ago.

She dreamt that her rocking horse grew a pair of wings and like Pegasus he took flight taking her away from Dunnedoo as he flew to every corner of the world giving her a glimpse of what she is missing out there in the big wide open.

Also in the corner of her dream a small aboriginal boy appears out of nowhere and he climbs aboard Lightning and together they ride off into the sunset.

Cindy shivers in the morning air as her eyes gaze out past the front fence where orange dust twirls in the wind.

The aboriginal boy looked so real could he really be out there somewhere?

After another day boring day at school Cindy is anxious to get home and ride her rocking horse.

She squeals in delight when the bell rings and quickly boards the bus as it prepares to make the daily grind from Dubbo back to Dunnedoo.

In her hand she clutches a report card and it doesn’t make for good reading, C in English, D in History and a big fat F in Maths.

She is tempted to throw the card out the window but the headmaster informed all of the students at assembly this morning that their parents were expecting to receive a report card today so Cindy hangs on to it and thirty minutes later the bus pulls up outside her front gate.

As she meanders down the aisle she spots an aboriginal boy sitting near the front who looks vaguely familiar.

When she reaches his seat Cindy glances over and gasps out loud ‘Holy shit it is the boy that appeared in my dream last night’

Warren smiles in recognition and he knows that tonight is the night to kickstart a thousand tomorrows.

Cindy walks inside and hands the report card to her mother and after grabbing a huge slice of carrot cake she goes out to the verandah where her rocking horse waits’ Hello Lightning why don’t we ride all the way to Sydney because i have a feeling i am about to get yelled at’

As she rides Cindy thinks about the boy on the bus today.

She is positive that he doesn’t attend her school so why was he sitting on the bus and also he seemed to recognize her like they have met before.

Her mind is thinking overtime so she doesn’t notice the horses hooves jitter as he readies himself for a gallop but she soon gets the drift as Lightning rears up onto his back legs and after leaving a steaming pile of rocking horse shit behind the wooden horse takes off down the driveway.

Cindy loosens her grip on the reins when Lightning slows down to a canter to get his bearings.

After flaring his nostrils to taste the air the manic steed takes off in the direction of Merriwa.

The lonely schoolgirl laughs out loud knowing that soon she will be living in Sydney surrounded with friends living the dream.

In her excitement Cindy fails to notice a small aboriginal boy running behind Lightning but he cant keep up and soon he vanishes from view.

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ

26 year old Cindy Watson hits the snooze button to silence the annoying sound that wakes her up every morning.

As she gets dressed she vaguely remembers dreaming about the rocking horse that she used to ride when she was a kid.

Cindy still lives in the same house that she grew up in but sadly her parents are no longer alive to offer guidance to their only child but their presence lingers in every room even though it has been eight years since they perished in an awful car accident.

As she goes about her morning routine Cindy talks to her parents without even knowing she is doing so.

At 8.30 she locks the front door and walks the short distance to the local pub where she pulls beers for the locals and travelers alike,

As she wipes the bar clean only half listening to a story from one of the regulars Cindy will often gaze out the window thinking about what her life would have become if she ever worked up the courage to leave Dunnedoo.

But at the same time Cindy loves her sleepy little town and really wouldn’t want to live anywhere else but hopefully one day she will meet a man and settle down to life in the country.

She takes one last look outside and remembers a saying from long ago ‘It doesn’t matter how close you get to the horizon because it will always remain in the distance’

In a storage facility on the other side of town a dusty old rocking rocking horse sits forlorn and forgotten.

It has been fourteen years since anyone has sat in his saddle, fourteen years kept in the darkness.

In all of that time his wooden black eyes have stared at the roller door daring it to open.

But the rocking horse knows that sooner or later the door will open and the sun will stream in and he will run like he has never run before.

Three doors down from the storage place a man in his late twenties is bent over the bonnet of an old Holden ute trying to fix a faulty brake cable ‘Hey Warren when you have finished over there can you give me a hand with this Toyota?’ ‘No worries Nigel i will only be a minute’

The man straightens up and looks longingly at the pub up the road.

Sure it would be nice to sink a few schooners but the main reason to visit the local is to walk inside and walk up the courage to ask Cindy Watson out on a date.

THE END

Part Two is coming just hold your horses.

Thanks for taking the time to read my stories and please of you have the time could you make a donation so that i can reach my goal of becoming a fulltime writer . Thanks again Steven.

Roadkill ( Mantle Piece of Death )

11 Saturday Apr 2020

Posted by stevenjohnno in stories

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

america, bald eagle, blood, cannibalism, cougar, murder, roadkill, taxidermist

As soon as the sun disappeared below the horizon a family of raccoons scampered from the safety of their burrow on the endless search for food.

The mother raccoon keeps an eye out for predators while her two youngsters dig for worms and grubs whilst the male raccoon runs over to a nearby creek in the hope of catching a fish or two to feed his hungry brood.

After ten minutes the father raccoon grows increasingly frustrated when he fails to catch anything but then he suddenly remembers a spot downstream where he caught a huge catfish a while back.

But to get there he has to cross a gravel road , he has traversed this road on many occasions but this time the little rascal is in mortal danger.

Just as he stepped onto the road a pickup truck travelling at speed hits the tiny creature killing him instantly.

The raccoon is one of man animals that will killed on the roads across america today, roadkill on a massive scale.

58 year old Myron Oxenford has been employed at Bilford county Mississippi for just on forty years and he takes great pride in his job.

Every day except for the lords day he drives his pickup around the county scraping roadkill from the streets and depositing them to the side so other animals don’t get killed as they eat the kill.

Myron is a big man who some say resembles Kenny Rogers having a very bad day.

Today Myron is is a good mood as he picks up his keys for another day of keeping the streets of Bilford county clean and tidy and even though he probably wont admit Myron has a strange fixation for roadkill.

An hour into his shift Myron is cruising down a backwater road when he spots a dead raccoon in the middle of the road fifty yards ahead.

The raccoon is still relatively fresh and its skin is undamaged perfect for Myron’s weird hobby.

He is an amateur taxidermist and this critter will give him hours of stuffing pleasure.

At 3.30 pm Myron heads home with another collection of animals to keep him fed for weeks.

Most of them are to mangled to be stuffed and mounted except for the raccoon who looks like it could still be alive if not for a broken neck.

Myron skins the motley crew of squirrel, rattlesnake,gopher and groundhog and chops the meat into bite size pieces and throws it into a huge pot along with a few cups of broth and salt and pepper.

As he waits for his meal to cook Myron places the unfortunate raccoon’s pelt onto an armature stand and begins to stuff it with materid’s that are supposed to bring life back to dead animal but Myron’s taxidermy skills are below par so now the raccoon resembles a misshapen creature from an Edgar Allen Poe novel.

After decades of drinking over proof moonshine Myron brain has turned to mush and now he believes that if he talks to all the stuffed animals that decorate his cabin that one day they will all come back to life and run back into the woods alive and kicking.

So he always leaves a window open in case that day eventuates.

What Myron doesn’t know is that for a few months a tiny field mouse has been coming into his bedroom while he sleeps and has been drinking the pools of drool that collect on his pillow every night

Homer Simpson himself would be proud at the amount of saliva that dribbles and the mouse takes great joy in drinking the liquid and running out into the living room feeding the precious fluid into the mouths of the stuffed and mounted animals that sit on shelves and in particular the rodent feeds a bald eagle and cougar that sit on top of a mantle piece.

After indulging in a few too many jars of moonshine Myron wakes with a throbbing headache and a mouth dryer than the Saraha Desert.

So Myron drinks another jar to keep the gremlins at bay then after a shower he feels healthy enough to go about another day.

He grabs a glass of water before leaving the house but stops in his tracks and stares long and hard at the bald eagle on the mantle piece that he stuffed and mounted a few months ago.

His eyes must be playing tricks but he could have sworn that the eagle moved its wings a second ago but Myron has a laugh when he feels the breeze coming in the open window so he closes it and goes off to work.

26 year old Sally Nulksteader is out enjoying an early morning run along a back road grateful for an opportunity to get out in the sun while her husband Brett looks after their twin boys who turned one back in July.

Her track shoes hit the road hard as Sally runs around a bend but she doesn’t hear anything but the soothing sound coming from her ear bubs.

Sadly She will never touch her boys or hear their laughter ever again.

Myron is still feeling a little queasy as he drives a too fast around a sweeping bend.

His eyes widen is dread when he notices the lady running on the side of the road and he screams in horror when he feels her body under the wheels of his pickup.

‘Holy fucking shit’ Myron whispers not quite believing what has just happened.

He can still taste the alcohol on his breath and knows that he would be well and truly over the limit so he puts his foot down to flee the scene.

But than a voice whispers in his ear ‘What are you doing Myron? I prime piece of roadkill is there for the taking so go back and take it home and it will become your masterpiece’

Myron slams on his brakes reverses back and throws Sally Nulksteader’s body in the back of his pickup.

And to give himself an alibi he calls his boss and tells him that he has the flu and will spend the day in bed.

Myron spends an hour carefully removing the skin from the body of his first human display item.

He drapes the skin over an armature stand and leaves it to dry while he cuts her flesh from her bones and throws the tidbits into the pot with a few carrots and onions .

The unused meat in placed in sterilized jars and placed in his pantry where it will come in handy when the cold weather hits.

After eating his first meal of human flesh Myron grabs a jar of moonshine and goes into his room for an afternoon nap.

After waiting an hour to make sure it is safe the rejuvenated eagle swoops down from the mantle piece and begins to rip pieces of meat from the human skeleton littering the living room floor.

As the eagle eats gaining strength with every bite the cougar stays in place because it has another victim in mind.

A few hours later Myron staggers from his bedroom with the taste of human flesh still in his mouth and he is eager for another meal.

Then from its perch on the mantle piece the cougar springs down knocking Myron to the floor.

The big cat could just bite the back of its victims neck killing it instantly but the cougar wants this human to suffer so all it does in sit on the stunned man.

The eagle swoops down and using a piece of sinew it sews Myron’s mouth closed and ties his hands behind his back.

Then the raptor tears both eyeballs from their sockets and swallows them whole.

Myron writhes on the floor in agony as the raptor and cougar begin to feed.

The pair eat slowly at first but the blood soon awakens their taste buds and they get down to business ripping Myron apart eating him alive.

The amateur taxidermist screams in silent agony as the animals that he stuffed and mounted months ago finally put him out of his misery.

Now Myron Oxenford is the one who is well and truly stuffed.

THE END.

Thanks for taking the time to read my stories and please if you have the means could you make a donation so that i can finally reach my goal of becoming a fulltime writer. Thanks again Steven.

stevenjohnstonblog

~ Short stories about anything and everything

Category Archives: stories

‘Hands Of Vengeance’ ( 2 )

‘Hands Of Vengeance’

‘Bag Of Tricks.’

Rocking Horse ( Chapter Two )

‘Camel Toe Joe’

‘A Little Place Called Hell’

‘Roadkill ( Mantlepiece of Death ) 2.

She Dug Me Up

‘Rocking Horse’

Roadkill ( Mantle Piece of Death )

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