Headless (2 page)

CHAPTER II

     October 30
th
, 11:34 P.M.

     The small group of friends meander towards the small town. A broken down, splintered wagon sits at the edge of the dirt path one could call a road. A well with cracked bricks, broken awning, and missing bucket sits back in the woods, tangled in years of growing vines. Melody hugs herself tightly, watching the moisture in the air with each of her breaths.

     “Are we almost there, yet? It's cold out here,” she groaned.

     “You really do complain a lot; you know that?” Ray chided, looking at her. “I'm the one carrying this heavy ass thing.”

     He motions to the cooler in his hands.

     “...And almost died,” Paige chimes in.

     “And almost died,” Ray agreed.

     Melody rolls her eyes, putting the hood on her sweater up. As the dirt road made one final turn, the town came into full view. Beautiful old buildings rose two and three stories tall. Several had severe damage, whether from time, weather or fire, they didn't make it out. But others stood this test of time, and they were towering brick and mortar emblems of a bygone era.

     As they reached the town square, Tyler came to a stop. “This is good, I think.”

     The others came to a stop around him. Ray makes a point to drop the cooler as hard as he can. This causes the others to jump, and turn to him. He grins, and shrugs looking back at them, rubbing his hands together. He reaches in the cooler and takes out a beer, twisting the cap off and taking a swig.

     “I want to look around,” Paige whispers, looking at the buildings.

     “We need to build a fire first,” Tyler points out, “It's too damn dark out here.”

     “Who cares? If it rains, we won’t have one anyways,” Paige retorts.

     “Until it rains, I'd like to have some light,” he snips back.

     “Then you build a fire, I'm going to go look around. Anyone want to come with?” Paige looks at both Ray, and Melody.

     Melody has already taken a seat on the cooler, drinking from her bottle of vodka. She's not going anywhere. Ray looks between the others and shrugs.

     “I'll go.”

     “That's the spirit!” She claps enthusiastically.

     She grabs his hands and pulls him off towards the buildings.

     “Hey! Be careful!” Tyler yells after them.

     “Don't worry, I'll protect him!” Paige yells back, before the duo's laughter fades into the distance.

     “I really don't want to fucking be here,” Melody grumbles.

     Tyler looks at her. “You just need to find something to pass the time. It's not so bad.”

     He takes out his phone, and turns the flashlight on.

     “What are you doing?” She asks, looking at him.

     “Going to find some wood to build a fire,” he responds.

     “You’re just leave me here?” Melody whimpers, looking around into the darkness.

     “You're welcome to come with, if you want?” He grins, playing with her.

     “Haul wood? Do I look like Paul Bunyan?” She scoffs at the idea, taking another drink.

     “If Paul Bunyan looked like you, I'd fuck Paul Bunyan,” he notes, chuckling and walking away.

     She stares back in the direction that Paige and Ray had left, taking yet another drink from the bottle.

     “So what do you think happened here?” Paige asked, walking through a large hole that used to be a door.

     “Well, there are rumors, but nobody really knows, honestly,” Ray answers. “Some say it was a plague that made people up and leave, some say it was the fallout from the Revolutionary War. Others have different theories.”

     “Different theories?” she pauses, turning to him.

     “Yeah,” Ray stops, looking up, as he almost walks into her.

     “Like what?” she makes her way through the small cabin home, Ray following closely.

     “A curse,” he responds, picking up a baby doll that has been worn down over the years. “Haunted; death trap; portal to Hell; you name it. The same nonsense someone always spins when it comes to deserted towns.”

     “That's cool,” she responds, grinning.

     “You're really different from Ty's usual taste in women, you know that?”

     “What's his usual taste in women?” She inquires, taking her phone out and shining the light around the house.

     “Uneducated tramps, mostly,” Ray sighs. “Girls hoping to ride his dick to a pro football payday. Can't say too much about them, though. Ty's not exactly a genius in his own right. And his sexual exploits make him a bigger whore than any of them.”

     “If this is your way of trying to pitch your friend to me, it's not working in his favor,” she answers.

     “Nah, not trying to pitch anything. Tyler doesn't need my help getting laid. What about your friend? She doesn't seem very interested, what kind of guy is she usually into?” Ray inquires.

     “Whoever has the biggest bottle of booze,” Paige answers matter-of-factly.

     She comes to a group of broken down furniture, and instinctively grabs a piece to move it out of the way. As she lifts it, a loud chattering screech fills the room, and she screams, dropping the furniture, sending a raccoon running for its life. Paige jumps back, and knocks into Ray, sending them both into a wall. The wood gives way and both hit concrete steps, rolling down a flight, before landing on the dirt below.

     “Mother fucker,” Ray groans out, before realizing Paige is laying on top of him.

     She coughs, waving dust out of her face. She managed to hold on to the phone, and points the light around the space.

     “Are we going to get up?” Paige sighs.

     “I'm already working on it,” Ray quips, looking down.

     Her eyes follow his in between his legs. His hands gripped firmly on her hips. She smirks.

     “You're cute Ray, but not that cute,” She notes, pushing herself up off of him.

     He sighs, letting his head drop back on the dirt in frustration.

     “This cold dirt should help soothe my swelling.”

     “What is this place?” she asks in amazement, and he finally follows her look as she shines the light around.

     There are multiple nooses, and hooks hanging from wood rafters. She then pauses, finding a pillar in the center of the room, with a book laying on it. Ray has climbed to his feet, and joined her in moving closer to the book.

     “I think it's time to go,” he notes, staring at the book.

     “I want to see what it says,” she whispers back.

     “Not a good idea,” he whispers, shaking his head.

     “Aren't you curious?” She asks, looking from the book to him.

     “Not at all,” he adds, continuing to shake his head.

     “Stop being such a baby,” she laughs, opening the book and turning the pages.

     “Please, don't do that,” Ray states, growing more adamant that this is a bad idea.

     “Dude, if you're going to be like this, go back to the others. It's just a book,” she continues glossing over the pages.

     “What does it say?” He inquires, looking around.

     “Nothing, honestly. Most of the pages are faded. Wait,” she pauses, reading.

     “What is it?” Curiosity getting the best of him, he takes a couple steps toward her and the book.

     “Death is not a glorious beginning; it is a bloody ending.”

     “Well, that's creepy,” Ray nods.

     She nods in agreement, “Most of the book is faded, or written in a different language.”

     “Can we go back to the others now?” Ray asks, rubbing the goosebumps on his neck.

     “Yeah, probably a good idea,” she agrees, as they make their way to the stairs.

     She takes one more look at the book before heading up.

     Tyler rips apart a large piece of wood with his bare hands, throwing it on a pile in front of Melody who watches him with glazed over eyes. The nearly empty bottle hangs loosely between her legs. He stands over the pile of wood, fighting with a book of matches, and grunts as he breaks each one. He gets down to the last couple, and finally gets one lit, tossing it in the brush. It catches fire, but not very well.

     “Well, that just won’t do,” he grumbles.

     Flames explode up towards him as Melody spits a stream of vodka into the fire. She laughs as he looks past the flame to her. She gives him a middle finger before taking another drink, swaying in her seat. He chuckles, rubbing his hands together.

     “Hey, you promised fun,” she says flirtatiously, grinning at him.

     “I don't know, they could be on their way back,” he looks around, examining their surroundings.

     “What's life without a little risk?”

     “You think I'm the type to cheat on my girlfriend, with her friend?” Tyler raises an eyebrow, curiously.

      “Do what you want to do,” she slurs back, taking yet another drink but this time inserting considerably more of the bottle neck in her mouth than necessary, letting her tongue work over the bottle neck. This is enough for him, and he walks around the fire, grabbing her by the hand, and pulling her to her feet. She squeals with laughter as she stumbles, but he holds on, keeping her on her feet. He lifts her small frame up, slinging her over his shoulder with a single arm.

     Surely enough, Ray and Paige were on their way back to the campsite. Walking slowly, and enjoying the scenery as they passed the eroded architecture. Lightning and thunder fill the air, as the clouds begin to roll overhead.

     “I don't know how much longer we'll be staying,” Paige noted, staring at the sky.

     “Agreed,” Ray nodded.

     As they reached the fire, they found themselves alone, while the embers burned bright. Ray made his way to the cooler, grabbing another beer from it. He holds one up toward Paige, who shakes her head. That's when the first moan carries through the air. Paige turns to it immediately, but Ray seems to have missed it. Then another blissful female moan, followed by a deep grunt. Paige's steps carrying her towards the tree line, where the well sits that they passed.

     While Paige makes her way around it, she finds an unexpected sight. One of her best friends lying on top of a sweater, the only padding between her skin and the brush. Her boyfriend's massive hands pawing at her large breasts, as he grinds between her legs. Melody bites her lower lip in pleasure, her eyes rolled back in her head, as he reaches down, gripping the back of her thigh, lifting her leg up to insert himself deeper.

     “What...the...fuck...,” Paige manages to blurt out, as her boyfriend rocks on top of her friend.

     Both of them gasp, and look up at the same time. Tyler pulls away, fighting to remove himself from Melody, but her sweats only being pulled around her ankles, and her legs stuck around him have caught him in the position.

     “P, wait, I can explain! She tripped and, and she fell, yeah. That's it,” Tyler finally manages to stand up, zipping his pants up.

     Melody stands up, adjusting her underwear, before covering her mouth.

     “Don't touch me,” Paige hisses as Tyler tries to rest a hand on her arm. She pulls away.

     “Paige, I... I’m so sorry, It's, it's all his fault!”

     Melody tries to embrace her friend. Paige swings, backhanding Melody, who stumbles back, holding her cheek. Paige wipes tears from her face, before scoffing, and walking away. Tyler look at the girl he had just been inside only moments earlier, who glared back at him, still holding her face, before he shakes his head and chases after Paige.

CHAPTER III

     October 31
st
, Midnight.

     Thunder echoed across the sky, as lightning crackled and rain began to pound the dirt. The sky lit up as a bolt of lightning caught a large, old tree on fire. Another rumble of thunder, and another bolt of lightning hits the earth a few feet in front of the tree, as the branches ignite in flames. Slowly, the ground begins to rumble. Dirt shaking and contorting across the ground, as it turns up out of itself, as if a bulldozer were digging out from the center of the earth.

     A massive arm bursts from the dirt, clinching a battle axe with a glowing red blade. The arm slams down on the ground, and the figure lifts itself up from the dirt with relative ease, it rises to it's feet. The massive form stands about six foot, eight wearing a long black coat, and dark revolutionary era clothing. The rain beats down on the massive form as dirt falls from it. It seems to scan the area, however the form lacks eye sight to look with. In fact, it lacks a head entirely. It's first step sinks into the muddy ground, as if it weighs a few hundred pounds.

     Paige storms away from the group as the rain starts pouring down. Tyler stumbles after her, his large feet getting stuck in the dirt and mud as the ground quickly soaks. Melody puts her sweater back on, sitting on the edge of the well, hugging herself. Ray watches as Paige walks down the path heading back towards the bridge, Tyler chasing after.

     “What the hell happened now?” Ray grumbles, before taking a drink from his beer.

     “P, will you stop? Just talk to me, please!” Tyler begs.

     She brushes her wet hair back, before giving him a middle finger over her shoulder.

     Melody pulls a cigarette from her pocket, sticking it between her lips before feeling around for a lighter. She sighs, rolls her eyes and sees Ray standing by the fire. “Hey Roy, do you have a light!?”

     A red glow lights up her face, and she sees the bright heat in front of her. She leans forward and lights the cigarette, taking a deep drag from the butt.

     “Thanks, I...” she starts, turning to the helping hand, finding the headless figure standing next to her.

     Melody screams out in fear, and with a quick snap of its arm, the figure spins the axe, and swings, cutting through her neck.

     Melody's shocked expression is splattered in blood, as her skull spins up into the air, and falls into the well. Her hand shakes, still holding the cigarette. The arm even begins to bring it back up for her to take another hit, before the headless figure brings a heavy foot up, kicking her sternum, and sending the rest of her body down the well, behind her head. The figure turns towards Ray, who stares at it across the fire.

     The axe spins again, and the headless assassin moves for his next victim.

     “Fuck me,” Ray stammers, and he's off running, dropping his beer in the process.

     Tyler finally catches up to his girlfriend, grabbing her arm, and trying to stop her. She rips her arm away from him and turns, swinging trying to smack him. He catches her arm and grips her tightly. Paige and Tyler both stop at Melody's scream turning toward the sound.

     “What the hell is she screaming about?” Tyler sighs, staring back into the darkness.

     “Maybe it was Ray's turn to stick it to her?” Paige snaps.

     “P, I'm sorry. It was a stupid mistake. I didn't mean too,” Tyler whispers, a look of sincerity on his face.

     “Ty, take your fucking hands off me,” she hisses.

     His grip tightens. She brings a knee up between his leg, and he groans out in pain, as she connects with a low blow. He lets her go immediately, and stumbles back.

     “By the way, Mel has syphilis. Glad to see you weren't wearing a condom. Enjoy, asshole.”

     Tyler groans, unable to talk. She shakes her head, pushing him back into the mud, as she wipes wet hair from her face, and continues walking.

     “Paige, wait,” Tyler gasps after her. He rolls over, trying to push himself up off the ground, still holding his groin in immense pain.

     Ray treads away from the headless figure as it walks towards him purposefully. He's fast, even in the muddy sludge he's running through.

     “Help! Someone help me!” Ray screams.

     The headless figure brings the axe back, and let's go, sending the blade spinning through the air. Ray groans out in pain, as the axe sticks into his back, and he falls forward, lying in the mud. He reaches back feeling the hot blade stuck in his spine. The headless figure doesn't lose a step as it continues to close the distance between Ray and itself.

     “No! No!” Ray screams out, begging for mercy as the figure grabs the handle of the axe, dragging Ray back through the muck, towards the campfire.

     The figure's strength is impressive. Supernatural, even, as he hauls the kid along. Ray drags his fingers through the dirt, leaving a trail in the rain and mud. As they reach the fire, the headless murderer flicks his wrist, lifting the axe and Ray slips off the blade, falling into the fire.

     The young man flails about, screaming in agony, as his attacker steps forward, placing a giant boot on his back, pushing him further down into the flames and embers, Ray's flesh crackling as it ignites. His head rises up out of the flames, hair burning, flesh melting and the headless murderer lifts its axe, bringing it down into Ray's skull. It yanks the blade from his body, and walks away, the fire doing no damage at all to the monster's clothing or body. It heads in the direction of the bridge.

     Tyler moans, pushing himself to his hands and knees. He coughs, getting to his feet, and grabbing his groin again.

     “I'm going to kill her,” He grumbles.

     He leans against a tree, bending over and catching his breath. As he does so, the blade from the axe sticks into the tree where his head had just been. Tyler stumbles out of the way, turning to the axe. He turns his attention to the headless behemoth standing in front of him. His look of shock proves that Tyler rarely sees anything that rivals his size, or physique. He stares at the stump of a neck, blackened and scabbed over.

     “Impressive costume, asshole. Just thought you'd hang out here waiting for some kids to wander along to scare the shit out of?” Tyler inquires.

     The headless figure stands in front of him, motionless.

     “Hey, dickhead, I'm talking to you,” Tyler gripes, as he smacks the headless figure on the shoulder with a meaty hand. It doesn't budge. “You think you're scary, don't you?”

     This time Tyler pushes the figure in front of him, and while it stumbles back a couple steps, it's relatively unphased. This surprises the all-star athlete. With its empty hand, the headless figure pushes Tyler back, and the force sends him flying, as he lands hard, rolling backward. Tyler groans, spitting some mud out as he lies there. He slowly climbs to his feet, holding his shoulder. The headless assassin spins its battle axe. Tyler eyes it.

     “Alright,” Tyler concedes. Without hesitation, he reaches to his waist and draws a snub nose revolver, aiming it at his opponent. Without hesitation he unloads the cylinder of ammunition into him. With each gunshot, the figure stumbles back. Tyler advances on his opponent with every shot.

     As he empties the rounds in his gun, he stares at the figure bent over in pain, a satisfied smirk on his face. This immediately changes to a look of disbelief, as the headless figure stands upright, facing back toward it's victim. It's body motions as if it takes a deep breath in, and it turns the axe, taking a step towards Tyler. Shock turns to fear, and Tyler is off and running.

     Paige continues along the winding path, through the dark trees. The flashlight on her cell phone providing the only light, other than the occasional flash of lightning, as rain continues to pour down. Her face is etched in both pain, and sadness; her eyes puffy, and red.

     The rain was helping to hide the tears, but this had already been a traumatic night. Between thunder claps, she heard the gunshots from Tyler's gun behind her. She paused to look back, unable to see anything in the darkness past the light of her phone.

     “What the hell is that idiot doing, now?” She exhales, shaking her head.

     She stood there another moment as the gunshots ended, and then started walking again. As the outline of the bridge came into view against the skyline, her mind filled with a bit of relief. So much was pouring through her head at the moment, she couldn't shake the desire to just sit in the car, away from everyone for a bit.

     “God, why did this have to happen?” She spoke out, glancing up at the sky.

     There was, of course, no answer. No resolution for her broken heart in her simple question. She understood; she wasn't an impatient believer. What she didn't notice, however, was the sound of sloshing footsteps as Tyler ran after her. He could make out the light from her phone in the darkness, and ran with all of his might towards that point in the darkness.

     “Paige! Paige!” He screamed, chugging along.

     She could barely hear his voice over the rain, but rolled her eyes, assuming he had come back to talk more. The kid never learned his lesson. What Tyler wanted, Tyler got. Her friends warned her, and she didn't listen. He'd keep at this, until she finally forgave him.

    
Or until you get the restraining order taken care of,
she thought, grinning to herself.

     “Paige, run!” He screamed louder, getting closer to her.

     She looked over her shoulder, thinking this is what she heard, but it's not likely. Tyler doesn't run from anything. She continued on her determined path, having no interest in talking more with him. She'd get to the car and lock the doors, until he went away. Imagine her surprise then, as he actually ran past her, waving his arm as he did.

     “Run!”

     She watched him, dumbfounded, as he hauled ass towards the bridge. If it weren't for the glowing edge on the blade of the axe, the black figure of the headless murderer would have been barely visible in the darkness as it stepped out of the tree line between them and the bridge. Tyler slid to a stop, falling on his ass as the axe swung for his neck, barely missing its target.

     The headless figure advanced on Tyler as he sat back on his palms in the mud, but the kid turned, climbing to his feet as quickly as he could, slipping and sliding as the attacker drew his axe back for the death blow. Tyler launched himself away, grabbing Paige who stood there, in horror, and Tyler spun, placing the girl between himself and the killer.

     The headless figure actually paused at this lack of honor. There was a hesitation in its step. It lowered the blade, tilting to the side, as if it were an inquisitive animal, trying to understand it's master's commands. Tyler gasped for breath, bent down to Paige's shoulder, as he shook his head, trying to get his system back under control.

     Paige's hands raised up, staring at the killer in front of her, unsure about what was going on. Tyler's fear of this individual was enough to make her petrified, too. She hadn't even realized that the massive man she called her boyfriend was using her as a human shield; she couldn't take her eyes off the third party in front of them.

     “What the fuck is going on?” Paige questions, not taking her eyes off the figure.

     “I have no clue,” Tyler whispers. “But on three we're going to run, got it?”

     “Yeah,” she nods.

     “Alright, one...two...” and Tyler pushes her towards the headless figure, taking off running past them.

     As Paige stumbles forward, the killer lowers the axe, turning it inward and swings upward, splitting Paige's skull from her chin to her scalp, nearly all the way to the back of her head. Her body flies back into the air with the force of the blow, the phone flying from her hand, and she lands in the mud twitching, as rain pours into the crevice that used to be her pretty face.

     Tyler breathes heavily as he reaches the bridge, looking over his shoulder as the figure fades into the darkness. The creaking wood thundering beneath his gallop. And then there was nothing under him. He fell head first into the same hole he had saved Ray from. His strong grip catching himself at the last second, it took all of his strength to keep his body from falling into the darkness beneath him. He heard the rush of the water, but saw nothing.

     His legs swayed in the bridge above him, searching for anything to give him leverage. He whimpered as his wallet and keys slipped out of his pockets, falling into the darkness below. A clap of thunder filled the air, and then an eerie echo followed. The echo of heavy footsteps on the bridge, walking very slowly. Methodically.

     “I don't want to die tonight!” Tyler screamed out, crying.

     As much as he cried, the footsteps came closer, and closer. Then a thud, and scraping as the axe drug along the wood. As they got louder, and sounded only inches away, they came to a stop. The silence immediately became unbearable, as Tyler fought to pull himself up. The headless figure stood over the flailing twenty-something, as he barely held on. It pushed a boot forward, tipping Tyler further into the hole, and as Tyler's legs went vertical, the headless killer brought the axe up, and split the athlete at his groin.