What Vengeance Comes

by Strong, Anthony M.

  He sat there for a minute, feeling foolish, and then hauled himself to his feet. Thank god there was no one else around to see his humiliation at the hands of the raccoon.

  He picked up the discarded bag of trash, lifted the dumpster lid, and threw the bag in, slamming the lid closed once more to foil the foraging animal should it try and get back inside.

  He turned back toward the bar, collecting the baseball bat along the way. When he reached the back door he stopped, looking for the furry pest, but saw no sign of the scavenger.

  He was about to go back inside when his eyes picked out something else. Barely visible against the backdrop of the forest, hunched at the tree line, was an unfamiliar shape, large and muscular, with a tapered waist and stout, bulging legs.

  Ed froze, caught off guard, a slow cold dread enveloping him.

  The beast stood statue still, observing him. Even though Ed could not see the creature’s eyes he somehow knew they were fixed on him.

  He glanced down at the baseball bat, his hands tightening on the grip until his knuckles turned white, ready for whatever might come next.

  When he looked up again he was alone. There was nothing lurking at the edge of the woods, just trees and darkness. He backed up, not wanting to be outside anymore. Only when he had closed the back door and ran the bolts across to lock it, did he feel safe once again.

  25

  TAYLOR CASSIDY RAN as fast as she could through the forest, weaving in and out of the trees, despite the fact that her legs felt as if they were made of lead. Through the canopy of branches high above her the reflected light of the moon cast dapple patterns across the ground, providing just enough light to see where she was going.

  Somewhere to the rear she heard the beast crash through the foliage, grunting and growling as it went. It was close now, and gaining by the minute. She could not outrun the beast for much longer.

  Ahead of her, through the tall pines, she saw the car sitting in a clearing. If only she could reach it she would be safe. But the car seemed so far away. She put on an extra spurt of speed, her body protesting the work, and sprinted forward.

  She was almost there when her foot caught a root and sent her sprawling to the ground. She cried out as she landed, the force leaving her dazed and winded.

  It was all the creature needed.

  The beast closed the gap within seconds and then it was upon her, its body pressing her down, its mouth gaping to reveal rows of razor sharp teeth. Foul breath assaulted her nose, causing her to wretch. It raised an arm and slashed downward, long sharp claws opening her throat from ear to ear…

  Taylor sat bolt upright in bed.

  Her eyes flew open.

  A whimper escaped her mouth.

  She looked around in a panic, her heart pounding. For a moment the dream overlapped reality, but then if faded away and the familiar surroundings of her bedroom came into focus.

  It was all a terrible dream. Nothing more. There was no monster ready to rip out her throat. The bedroom was silent and dark.

  She took several deep breaths, willing her heart rate back to normal, then pushed the covers back and climbed out of bed. Her nightgown stuck to her, clammy and wet. A sheen of cold sweat covered her skin.

  She padded to the bathroom and splashed water on her face, studying herself in the mirror for a moment. When she focused on the reflection of the room she half expected to see the nightmare beast creeping toward her, its eyes glowing yellow, but the room was just the same as always.

  She walked back to bed, pausing at the window on the way. Her eyes scanned the darkness of the woodland behind the house. Somewhere out there lurked the monster that killed Jake. That almost killed her.

  She choked back a sob. Just yesterday everything was perfect, Jake was alive, and she was happy. Now it felt as if her world had ended.

  She climbed back into bed and pulled the covers up, wishing there were more of the sleeping pills her mother had given her. She considered going to her mother’s room, waking her and asking for some, since she was not sure she could sleep without them, but then the details of the nightmare came back, the monster chasing her, killing her. She did not want to risk another dream like that. Better to stay awake.

  She glanced at the clock radio on the nightstand next to the bed. The red luminescent display said it was 3:15 a.m. It would be dawn in a couple of hours.

  With any hope of going back to sleep abandoned she padded to the closet, opened it and rooted around until her fingers closed upon the school yearbook she’d thrown in there months before. She pulled it out and walked back to the bed, opening it up and flipping through until she found what she was looking for. She reached out, touching her fingers to the page, to the photo of Jake, his smiling face looking out at her. Despite her best efforts to hold them back, the tears came again.

  26

  SHERIFF JOHN DECKER AWOKE as the first golden rays of dawn filled the bedroom. Next to him Nancy lay sprawled across the bed, the covers half off, caught between her legs. He took a moment to admire her naked body, her perfectly rounded breasts and the gentle curve of her hips as they disappeared beneath the sheets. He remembered what they had done the night before, the way their bodies had become one, and smiled.

  For a moment he toyed with the idea of slipping back between the sheets and curling up next to her, but there was too much to do today. Tearing his eyes away, he sat up and swung his legs off the bed.

  “Good morning.”

  Decker glanced back to find Nancy smiling up at him, admiring his nakedness. “Morning to you too.”

  “Sneaking out in the middle of the night?”

  “It’s 6 a.m. I have to meet Chad over on Route 16.”

  “Now?” Nancy rolled onto her back. “It’s so early. Come back to bed for a bit.”

  “I’d love to,” Decker said. “However, duty calls.”

  “Well that stinks.” Nancy pushed herself up onto her knees. The sheets fell away to reveal her full nakedness. She grinned. “Are you sure I can’t persuade you?”

  “You are making it very hard to leave.” His eyes roamed her body. They lingered on the neatly trimmed tuft of dark hair between her legs before he looked back up and met her eyes. “I can come back this evening though.”

  “I’d like that.” Nancy smiled. “I should probably check on Taylor anyway. I really hope she’s feeling better today.”

  “Give her a few days. She’s been though a lot.”

  “I know.” Nancy bit her bottom lip. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.” Decker shrugged.

  “Why did you leave me here?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You know what I mean. You left, I get that. God knows your father was hardly easy to live with, but why didn’t you come back for me?”

  “Nancy–”

  “That night at prom, what we did, you were my first. I loved you. I gave myself to you.”

  “I can’t change the past Nancy.”

  “But you can give me an explanation. I waited for months for you to come back and get me. You never did.”

  “I was in a bad place back then.”

  “I need to know John.”

  “Last night you said…”

  “What happened last night, it was fun. I didn’t need to know right then. I do now.” She pulled the sheets up, covering herself. “I can’t let myself fall for you again, not unless I can be sure you will stick around this time.”

  Decker returned to the bed and sat down. He reached out and took her hand. “I should have let you come with me, I know that now. I was young and stupid – I was afraid.”

  “There was no need to be.”

  “I’m back, that’s what matters.” He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it, soft and gentle.

  “Why did you come back?”

  “I realized that what I’d run away to was no better than what I was running from.”

  “Something happened didn’t it?” Nancy said.

 
“My partner was covering for a drug dealer.”

  “He was on the take?”

  Decker nodded. “I found out about it and turned him in, but not before he–” Decker paused, drawing breath. “He tried to kill me.”

  “John, I’m so sorry.”

  “It’s ancient history.” He put his arm around her. “What matters is that I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere this time.”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise.” He pulled her close and kissed her, relishing the sweet taste of her lips. “I lost you once. I’m not going to lose you again.”

  “Good,” she murmured, letting the sheets fall away again, feeling the heat between her legs as john’s hand found her breast.

  “Maybe I can stay for a few more minutes,” he said, pushing her back down onto the mattress. And then they made love again, their bodies dancing a rhythmic beat, and this time it was even better, because she knew he was here to stay.

  27

  BY THE TIME DECKER arrived up at Route 16 Chad was already there, leaning against his cruiser with one foot up like a cowboy in an old western movie. Despite the fact that the sky was a slate gray and the sun was nowhere to be seen the deputy wore his Ray Bans and wide brimmed hat. Decker wondered if his deputy watched ‘Cops’ reruns, imagining himself as the big hero, taking down the drunken wife beater as the guy tried to bolt half-dressed from the back door of some dilapidated trailer.

  “Morning boss,” Chad said as Decker climbed from his vehicle.

  “Morning.” Decker reached into the back of the cruiser and retrieved his jacket.

  “You look tired,” Chad said.

  “Didn’t sleep too well last night,” Decker replied, and it was true. It had been well into the early hours before he and Nancy had finished making love, not to mention their little liaison this morning, but that wasn’t the only reason he had not gotten much sleep. Images of Jake, his body ripped open and torn, haunted his dreams.

  “Me either,” Chad said. “Couldn’t stop thinking about that poor kid.”

  “Yeah.” Decker didn’t want to dwell on it anymore. He would rather think of happier things, like Nancy, and the way she felt as he held her in his arms and made love to her.

  “You want a doughnut?” Chad stuck his head into the car and came out with a brown bag. “They’re fresh.” He opened the bag and pulled out a ring of fried dough, examining it. “At least they were yesterday when I bought them.”

  “No. Thanks.”

  “Suit yourself.” Chad bit into the doughnut and chewed loudly. “So what’s the plan?”

  “I have a feeling our missing moonshiner didn’t just abandon his truck and decide to hide out in the woods. Apparently he was with Terry Boudreaux, who is also missing.”

  “And you figure that since we found that claw the same thing that got Jake might have gotten them too.” Chad popped the last of the doughnut into his mouth and chewed loudly.

  “Maybe. It’s just a hunch, but if so there should be some evidence of it up here somewhere.”

  “Question is, where?” Chad motioned toward the woods. “There must be thousands of acres of woodland all around us. How in the hell are we going to find them?”

  “With a whole lot of luck,” Decker said. “But if I’m right, they won’t be too far from the road. Whatever killed Jake left him where he was. It didn’t drag him off or try to bury him for later. Maybe it did the same with Floyd and Terry.”

  “Boy, that’s a long shot. We don’t even know what got to Jake, let alone its habits.”

  “It’s all we’ve got to go on,” Decker said. “I figure we’ll split up. You take one side of the road, and I’ll take the other. We’ll search an area for a hundred yards in each direction from the spot where the truck was, and two hundred yards back into the woods.”

  “Great.” Chad did not look pleased at the idea of splitting up.

  “Holler if you find anything.” Decker opened the trunk of the cruiser and pulled out the shotguns. He offered one to the deputy. “Better take this.”

  “If you hear me fire this you’d better come running.”

  Chad took the gun and hitched it over his shoulder.

  “Same here.”

  “I’ll take the left side.” He walked off toward the woods.

  Decker watched him depart, and then headed in the other direction. He stepped from the blacktop onto the grass and was soon surrounded by tall pine trees.

  Once he was under the canopy of the forest, Decker found himself wishing he hadn’t suggested they split up. The woods felt oppressive, claustrophobic and eerie.

  He lifted the shotgun and made sure that the safety was off, and then moved forward at a snail’s pace, keeping the gun high lest he come across anything unexpected. Walking slowly, he looked for any signs of the moonshiners, or a large animal, but saw nothing out of place.

  He pushed onward, weaving around fallen branches and tree trunks, stopping every few minutes to take stock of his surroundings. As he went he kept a careful eye on the ground to make sure he was not stepping anywhere that he shouldn’t. The last thing he wanted was to get bitten by a coral snake.

  When he reached the furthest point of the search area he turned and moved back along the same line, but further in. Still there was nothing. He was about to turn again and complete another leg, when the sound of Chad’s voice, faint but unmistakable, carried on the breeze.

  Decker picked his way back to the road and crossed over, entering the woods on the other side. It didn’t take him long to find the deputy.

  “I think I’ve found something,” Chad said, motioning toward something small and black on the ground a few yards ahead.

  Decker bent down and examined it, realizing with a jolt that he was looking at a man’s shoe, complete with the foot still in it. A bloody stump left little clue to the whereabouts of the rest of the owner. “Dammit,” Decker mumbled. He’d hoped he was wrong about the moonshiners. “Let’s keep going.”

  “You don’t want to call for backup?” Chad asked.

  “What backup?” Decker raised an eyebrow. “We’re the only two cops in the whole town.”

  “I know.” Chad looked disappointed. “I was just hoping you might want to bring in the Staties or something.”

  “Hell no,” Decker said as they moved slowly forward. “State troopers? You don’t think we can handle this ourselves?”

  “Maybe not.” Chad froze, pointing.

  Decker followed his gaze. The sight before them made him thankful he hadn’t bothered with that doughnut. Sprawled on the ground between two large pines was Terry Boudreaux, a silent scream etched on his face. His neck was ripped open, with a large chunk missing. Below that his body was a jumbled chaos of raw bone and guts.

  Decker skirted the body. The cloying, sickly sweet odor of decay hung in the air and he fought the urge to gag. Flies buzzed around the remains, happily laying their eggs. Decker swatted at the closest insects, shuddering as they landed on his arms and face. Chad followed up the rear, almost bumping into the Sheriff in his haste to move past the corpse. Not that it helped him much.

  A few yards to the right, Floyd Benson looked at them with the dull eyes of a corpse, his insides spilled onto the soft earth.

  28

  ED JOHNSON AWOKE in the dim light of his upstairs room above the County Line Saloon. He rolled over and laid on his back, where he stayed for several minutes, unwilling to move, his mind still half submerged in sleep. His thoughts turned to the night before, to the shape watching him from the edge of the forest. Despite the passing of the hours he still felt a glimmer of fear when he remembered it. Maybe it was just the news report about the death of the teenager up at Sullivan’s Pond, or maybe it was something more, but he had a bad feeling.

  It was not a bear looking back at him, that much he knew. In fact it reminded him of something that happened years before, when he was just a kid playing out in the pine woods behind his grandmother’s house.

  It was the
summer of 1975. He was walking back from a stream that meandered past the property, his fishing pole over his shoulder, with a couple of small catfish in a bucket. It was a glorious summer day, with blue skies and a gentle breeze that took the edge off the stifling Southern Louisiana heat. He listened to the birds in the branches high above as they called to each other and sang. He watched squirrels play, hopping from tree to tree and scurrying around chasing each other, all the while chattering in excitement.

  And then, in an instant, everything changed.

  A silence fell over the forest. The birds stopped singing. The crickets ceased their chirping. Even the sun seemed to know when to hide and slid behind a cloud, casting everything into dull shadow.

  At first he didn’t notice anything amiss, didn’t comprehend the sudden hush that had descended over the woods, he just kept on walking along, oblivious to all but the pail of fish that would cook up great for supper.

  But then he heard a twig snap. It was nothing more than a single sharp crack, but it filled the void and focused him upon the surreal silence of his surroundings.

  He stopped and stood still, his ten-year-old heart pounding in his chest like never before. A crawling, creeping sense of unease enveloped him.

  Something moved off to Ed’s left.

  He turned to look. As his eyes adjusted to the gloom between the trees and he saw something he would never forget.

  It stood hunched over, occupying the space between two tall pines, an arm holding on to each, long claws gripping the trunks of the trees.

  It studied him with hooded eyes that burned yellow as sulfur.

  Ed dropped the bucket of fish. He knew he should run but his legs refused to move.

  The creature took a step forward.

  Ed found his legs. He let out a piercing scream, a shriek that reached notes high enough to make a choirmaster dance with joy, and took off through the woods.