Butcher Road

by Jon Athan

  As he approached, Austin held his shirt to his nose and muttered, “What happened to you? How... How the...”

  Austin was rendered speechless, awed by his discovery. Indeed, a man sat in the driver's seat and a woman rested in the neighboring seat. The couple were brutally slaughtered, drenched in blood like if they had emerged from a crimson pool.

  The lanky man was slumped back in his seat. His throat was savagely slit from ear-to-ear. The bloody gash grew thicker due to the weight of the man's head – skin ripping millimeter-by-millimeter. His white button-up shirt and blue jeans were soaked in blood. Through the red garments, Austin could see more puncture wounds. The man was sliced and stabbed. Austin couldn't tell which came first.

  The woman's white dress and brunette hair were also stained with blood. Although he could not see her throat, Austin could see she was stabbed across her torso. He safely assumed her throat was slit beneath her hair. Blood dripped from her upper-body – throat, face, head, it did not matter. She was brutalized by a sharp blade.

  Judging from the droplets of blood oozing from both victims, their deaths were relatively recent. The seemingly simple accident metamorphosed into a grisly crime scene without warning. The violent scene could not be mistaken for a car crash – the theory was outlandish. The couple were massacred like animals at a slaughterhouse.

  Austin leaned towards the vehicle and examined the roadside carnage. He whispered, “Jesus... Someone killed you. I... I don't know what to say to you. I don't know what to do. I've never... I've never seen anything like this before.”

  Austin inhaled deeply, flustered by his inability to act. He glanced at the back seat and furrowed his brow. The leather seats in the back were smeared with more blood. He could see a bloody handprint on the cushion. A person was missing from the scene – possibly two. The young man was not positive, but the possibility pricked at his mind. He glanced around the wagon, but to no avail. There were no other bodies in sight.

  Austin whispered, “Where are you? Where did you go? What happened to you?” He staggered in reverse, getting a better picture of the slaughter. Eyes brimming with tears, Austin repeated, “What happened to you?”

  From over Austin's shoulder, Anna loudly gasped – her breath was vacuumed from her tender lungs. She gazed at the crashed wagon with wide, protuberant eyes. Her eyes practically bulged from her skull. She held one hand to her chest and the other to her mouth. Her expression was blatant – she was horrified.

  Austin turned towards Anna, then he held her in his arms. As his girlfriend sobbed into his chest, panting and sniffling, Austin gently caressed Anna's hair. Although he was able to adjust to the gory murder, he understood the toll excessive violence took on the everyday psyche. Some people aren't built like me, he thought. He offered Anna a sense of security and normality.

  Anna asked, “What... What happened to them? Austin, that... that doesn't look like an accident.”

  Austin nodded and said, “I know, I know. Just don't look at it. Don't think about it.”

  “How can I not think about it? They were... There's so much blood.”

  Anna turned away from the carnage. She placed her hands on her kneecaps and retched. She couldn't vomit, but the sensation echoed through every limb. She was weakened by the mere sight of blood, enfeebled by the gore. She could handle the most extreme horror movie, but real violence was too much to endure.

  Austin gently patted Anna's back and said, “Go up to the road and try to call for help. Try to wave down a car or something, alright? Don't come back down here. I'll come to you. I don't want you to see this.”

  Wiping the tears from her rosy cheeks, Anna asked, “What are you going to do?”

  “I'm just going to check it out a little more. I think there might have been someone else in the car. Someone might be hurt. Go on. Get up there.”

  ***

  Anna trudged up the slope, glancing towards the wagon with each wobbling step. She was bothered by the discovery and haunted by the graphic imagery. Yet, like a nosy driver cruising past a violent car accident, she couldn't help but glance back. A neck made of rubber, she felt compelled to take a final glimpse of the wreck.

  Anna whispered, “I'm sorry...”

  The young woman stumbled towards the center of the road. She stared down the road to her left, then she glanced down the oncoming lane. She could see miles and miles of blistering pavement, but there were no cars in sight. The road was eerily desolate. The massacred couple were left stranded, burning with the torrid heat.

  Anna sniffled as she pondered the couple's unfortunate demise. She swiped at her nose, then she retrieved her cellphone. She hopelessly tried to block her sinister thoughts. Merely contemplating the pain left her rattled and disturbed. To her dismay, she was still trapped in a dead zone – the bad news continued to snowball.

  As she tightly shut her eyes and stomped, Anna muttered, “Damn it... Damn it...”

  Austin examined the interior of the wagon, gliding his eyes across every nook and cranny. Like a dedicated detective, he was searching for evidence – any evidence. He sought a clue, a spark of hope to ignite his unsolicited investigation. Aside from the plentiful blood, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

  Austin glanced at the windshield, then up at the ceiling of the vehicle. He licked his lips as he carefully leaned into the car. He avoided eye contact with the slaughtered man, leaning away from the bloodied corpse. He gently pulled on the sun visor. A polaroid photograph slipped out, gliding into his hands.

  As he staggered out of the vehicle and examined the photograph, Austin murmured, “Now, where the hell are you?”

  The photograph depicted a happy family. The bloodied man inside the wagon stood beside a brunette woman. Austin could put two and two together. A young, dark-haired girl stood between the pair. She resembled the man and woman – a daughter. Yet, the presumed daughter was not inside the vehicle. The radio broadcast immediately stampeded through his mind.

  Austin whispered, “Human trafficking? Abduction?” He glanced around the desert, peering towards the mountainous region. He said, “I hope you weren't in the car, sweetheart. I hope you didn't have to see any of this...”

  Bewildered by the innocent image, Austin returned the photograph to the visor. He wiped his hands on his jeans, then he slowly departed the crashed wagon. Like Anna, he couldn't help but look back at the vehicle as he trudged up the slope. Perhaps it was the crimson color, but blood was attractive to the human eye.

  Austin asked, “Have you seen anyone?”

  Anna shook her head and responded, “No... No, there hasn't been a single car since we stopped.” She glanced at the dazzling sun as she sniveled. She said, “The sun will be going down soon. There will be even less cars than now, Austin.”

  “I know, I know. Were you able to call anyone?”

  “No. There was no signal over there, none over here... There's no reception anywhere around here. A few meters isn't going to make a difference. We... We have to keep driving. We have to move on and find signal or a gas station or a landline phone. There has to be an emergency phone on the side of the road, right? There has to be something, we just have to keep moving. We can't waste our time standing here doing nothing.”

  Austin stared at the trunk of the wagon, saddened. He said, “You're right. We're not doing them any good waiting around here. Either the cops will find them or someone else will. We'll report it at our next stop. Come on. Let's get going.”

  Crestfallen, Anna frowned as she gazed into her boyfriend's eyes. She said, “Thank you...”

  Chapter Three

  The Hitchhiker

  Austin continued driving, unnerved by the disquieting discovery. He was appalled by the violence, sick to his stomach, but he refused to show his overwhelming fear. He wanted to set an example of bravery during a time of terror. He delved into an atrocious pit of horror and trepidation, but he sought to keep his masquerade afloat. The endless road kept his mind off the ruthless realities of
life – at least for a moment.

  Anna squirmed in the passenger seat, struggling to find comfort. Her skin was crawling, like if cockroaches were scurrying across her body. Brutal murder was not the type of escape she sought from boredom. She tightly clenched her cellphone, checking for signal every other second. There was no reception in the desert environment – one or five miles, it did not make a difference. The attempts were fruitless.

  Anna whispered, “Crappy service... Crappy, crappy, crappy service... 'Most coverage,' my ass.” She glanced back at the rear window, pondering the deaths of the massacred couple. As she turned back in her seat, Anna asked, “What... What do you think did that to them? It couldn't have been an accident, right? I mean, a seat belt can't do that, right?”

  Austin shook his head and said, “I don't know.”

  “You saw them. You were with them for a few minutes. You must have some sort of idea.”

  Austin sternly snapped, “I don't know, okay? I don't know.”

  Austin tightly gripped the helm and bit his bottom lip. He was agitated by the simple questioning. Anna was not the problem, her voice was not vexing. He could never despise his girlfriend. He simply didn't want to contemplate the heinous possibilities. He grappled with his mind, but the question dominated his thoughts. The idea stabbed at his tender brain for miles. Who killed them?

  Austin said, “I'm sorry. I just don't know. It was bloody and it was violent. It was very violent.”

  Anna turned her attention to the road and said, “It didn't look like an accident. I guess I should be asking 'who,' right? Who could have done that to those people? I mean, I didn't see it like you, but it was all red. It was all blood and...”

  Austin interrupted, “You get any signal yet?”

  Anna lifted her phone from her lap, gazing at the large screen with vacant eyes. The same mundane symbols could not conjure excitement within her petite body. There was no service for the last mile of the road trip. The circumstances did not seem likely to change within the next mile, either. The pair were driving through barren territory. The couple were better off hoping to catch and train a pigeon to send a message than to use a phone in the middle of nowhere.

  Anna responded, “I don't think we'll be making a call any time soon. Should I try your phone?”

  Austin nodded and said, “Sure, it's in my back pocket.” As he leaned towards his left and beckoned to Anna, he said, “I don't think it'll make much of a difference since we're on the same damn service, but everything's worth a shot.”

  As Anna retrieved the sleek black device from her boyfriend's pocket, Austin stepped on the brakes. He slowed the car to a leisurely roll, carefully driving onto the side of the road. Anna glanced at Austin with a furrowed brow. Austin's narrowed eyes were locked on the rear-view mirror.

  Anna bit her bottom lip, then she said, “Please, don't tell me it's another accident...”

  Austin shook his head and responded, “No, no. Look, it's a hitchhiker. I think he's hurt. He's... He's bleeding.”

  Anna glanced over her shoulder, peering through the rear window. A man shambled down the road, swinging his right arm and gripping his stomach with his left hand. The man stood a towering six-four, lean and sturdy. He wore a filthy brown checkered button-up shirt. The shirt was stained with blood at the stomach. His blue jeans were also stained with dirt and droplets of blood, and his brown boots were begrimed.

  As she gazed at the man with inquisitive eyes, Anna said, “Just keep driving.”

  Austin said, “Yeah, I will, but... do you think he's seriously injured? Do you think he might have been in that accident?”

  “I don't know, but I have a bad feeling about all of this. Believe me, I'm not a stuck-up bitch. I don't want to leave him behind if he's innocent, but I'm... I don't know, I'm scared of him. He could be anyone, Austin. I think we should keep driving.”

  Austin nodded and said, “Okay, okay. Let's just get a good look at him, then we'll drive off.”

  Anna frowned as she stared at the man. The wounded hitchhiker stopped fifteen meters from the sedan. The man had slick black hair with strands dangling every which way. His vibrant blue eyes could be seen from afar, glowing like beacons in a dark abyss. He had a groomed beard covering his well-defined jawline. Despite his injuries, the man was surprisingly suave and debonair. If it weren't for his wounds, he'd be a fairly handsome and charismatic man – a pretty boy.

  Anna asked, “Why is he just standing out there? What the hell is he doing?”

  Austin whispered, “I have no idea.”

  Austin and Anna stared at the rear-view mirror, watching the man with narrowed eyes. They examined each minuscule movement, watching every repetitive breath. The couple patiently waited in the comfort of the sedan's air conditioning, but the man did not move forward. The hitchhiker stood in solidarity. He tightly gripped his wounds and his body bounced with each heavy breath, but he did not approach. The reaction was strange, out-of-character for a hitchhiker.

  Austin turned towards Anna and said, “Go ask him if he needs a lift.”

  Wide-eyed, Anna asked, “Are you kidding me? Look at him. He's standing out there like some sort of creep. You want to invite him into our car?”

  “My car. He's bleeding, Anna. He's not acting right, sure, but it's probably because he's bleeding out. He's out there in the sun, roasting in the heat for crying out loud. What do you expect? You want him to come prancing over here?”

  “I expect you to act a bit more rational at a time like this.”

  “I am acting rational. You know I'm scared of horror movies. Yeah, yeah, it's funny. But, I'm adding everything together. I saw blood in the back seat of the wagon. That man is bleeding. He's bleeding a lot. And, I mean, there's two of us and only one of him, right? What can he possibly do to us in that condition? Huh? I'm trying to be a good guy here.”

  Anna rolled her eyes and scoffed, “Good guys always get killed by bad guys. You should know that by now.”

  Austin ran his fingers through his hair and sniffled as he glanced back at the man. The hitchhiker did not move an inch. The mysterious man coughed and grunted, but he stayed in place like a dog waiting for permission to move. From every logical corner, the man seemed harmless – injured, respectful, and handsome. What's the worst that can happen?–Austin thought.

  Anna said, “Listen, I understand you want to be a good guy, but what if... what if he was responsible for that car wreck? Huh? What if he's really dangerous? Are you willing to risk both of our lives for some stranger?”

  Austin licked his lips, then he said, “Okay. We offer him a lift and, if things don't work out, we ditch him at the nearest gas station. Hell, if I think he's dangerous, I'll kick him out in the middle of nowhere, I promise. Sound good?” Anna hesitated as she glanced back at the man – injured, respectful, handsome, and dangerous. Austin said, “You can keep your eyes on him the entire time. Give me a little nudge the moment you feel unsafe and we'll dump him. I mean, the man could die out here if we don't help. He could be innocent and he could die because of us.”

  Anna sighed, then she said, “Fine, fine. You're going to do whatever you want to do anyway. I can't stop you. But, you better bet I'm going to keep my eyes on him, even if you think it's rude. I don't care. I'm not going to take my eyes off that man.”

  “You can be as rude as you want to be. I just want to help him out and get to the bottom of that crash...”

  Austin pushed down on the steering wheel, honking the shrill horn. He glanced back at the man and furrowed his brow. The hitchhiker started walking towards the car, moseying at a snail's pace. The man was oddly polite, waiting for an invite before approaching. His demeanor was not common for a hitchhiker.

  Austin whispered, “He's a little strange, I guess...” As the hitchhiker approached, Austin asked, “You okay out here? You need a lift?”

  The man smiled and responded, “I'm a little scratched up, yeah, but I'll live. I can sure use a lift, though, if you don't mind me taking
you up on that offer.”

  Austin stared at the man's bloodied shirt, examining the damage. Looking through the holes on his shirt, he could see several wounds on the man's abdomen – puncture wounds and small scratches. A stabbing immediately came to mind, but he wasn't certain. It must be wounds from the broken glass, he thought.

  Austin said, “We can give you a lift as far as we go. You mind if I ask your name?”

  With a charismatic grin plastered on his face, the mysterious man responded, “Dante. Dante Hooper.”

  Chapter Four

  Road Talk

  Austin stared down the empty road, watching for any oncoming vehicles. He modestly attempted to cover his anxiety, playing the role of a secure and knowledgeable captain. Anna leaned on the passenger seat door and stared at the rear-view mirror. She watched their guest with a keen eye. Her blatant suspicion was impolite, but she was more concerned with her safety than her mannerisms.

  Dante sat towards the center of the back seat. He stared down at his wounds, grimacing with each bump on the road. He did not bother to secure himself with a seat belt. The belt would only aggravate the bloody injury. He appeared lost in his thoughts – lost in the pain. Although he was certainly uncanny, he did not seem malicious. He wasn't a caricature spawned from a horror movie.

  Breaking the silence, Dante asked, “So, what are your names? I told you mine, I figured you'd tell me yours. You know, we can get friendly and all.”

  Austin nodded and said, “Yeah, sure. My name is Austin and this is my girlfriend Anna.”

  Dante watched Anna through the rear-view mirror. He said, “I don't know if you overheard me when I introduced myself to your boyfriend. My name is Dante. It's nice to meet you, ma'am.” Anna did not respond. Dante glanced down at the blood oozing from his stomach and said, “I'm sorry about the blood. I'll try not to get any on your seats. I can be a little messy at times, but this... I don't really know how to deal with this.”