by Frank Cereo
Chapter 11 – Allison’s Demise
I sit in my car and wait about 30 minutes. Then I exit the car and open the trunk. I grab my handgun and a fireman’s axe that I conveniently stole from the motel. I calmly walk around to the side door and put my duplicate key into the lock. I turn the key unlocking the door. I turn around and look in all directions before I push the door open. Once I am on the inside I close the door and lock it behind me. I walk into the kitchen and smell the fast food burgers. I look down and see an unopened double cheeseburger sitting on the table. I start to walk towards the living room that leads to the stairway.
“Fuck it,” I say to myself as I turn back around and grab the burger off the table.
I unwrap the burger and in four bites it’s gone. I throw the wrapper on the table and start to walk towards the stairway. I can hear them upstairs in the bedroom having sex. The springs on the bed are squealing almost as much as Allison is. When I reach the stairway I start up slowly and quietly. I am glad the wooden stairs are covered in carpet. One step at a time I climb with the handgun tucked in the front of my pants and the axe by my side. Half way up the wooden stairs I hear a creaking sound from the step below me. I stop dead in my tracks and wait.
“Did you hear that?” Allison asks her boyfriend with concern.
“I didn’t hear anything? You’re just imagining things.” The man replies.
“There is someone on the stairs.” Allison says in a quiet voice.
I can hear the bed squeaking as I back track down the five stairs quickly and quietly. I move around the corner to a wall adjacent from the stairs. I can hear the man walking towards the stairs. Then the hallway and stairwell lights turn on.
“There is no one on the stairs.” The man says.
“I thought I heard the fifth step creek. That step needs to be replaced. Maybe I’m just hearing things.” Allison replies.
“Hey, I’m going to grab another beer, you want some more wine?” The man asks.
“Sure just make sure it’s the pinot and not the blush.” Allison replies.
The man starts to gallop down the stairs like a horse. I lift the axe to my side and watch the shadow coming down the stairs. I watch the shadow thin down as it moves away from the light at the top of the stairs. When the man reaches the bottom stairs he turns towards the living room where he is greeted by my axe. Blood spatters against the wall and begins to flow down his stomach and legs where it puddles on the floor below him. I hit the man so hard I embedded the axe in his chest. He is lost for words as he stares into my eyes.
“Ugh, ugh,” The man whispers softly.
“Wrong place at the wrong time. You should have picked up some other whore. This one is marked for death.” I whisper in his ear.
The man falls to his knees as I pull the axe out from his chest. Blood starts to pour out of the open wound. The man looks up at me and wonders why.
“Sorry.” I say as I pull the axe back.
“No,” The man can barely say.
I take no mercy as I swing the axe straight down into his skull. The blade sinks five inches deep in the same spot where his hair is parted in the middle of his head. His eyes roll back in his head as he falls over onto the carpet. I watch as the off white carpet turns red as the blood spills from the dead man’s body. I bend down and check for a pulse because I want to make sure he is dead before I claim my prize in the upstairs bedroom.
“What’s taking you so long?” Allison yells from the bedroom.
“Coming,” I say while holding my hand over my mouth to disguise my voice.
I walk up the stairs one step at a time. I can hear Allison moving around on the bed as the springs are squeaking as she bounces up and down.
“Are you ready for round two?” Allison asks.
“I wouldn’t even attempt round one with a dirty whore like you.” I reply.
My voice startles Allison as she rolls over on her back to see who just replied to her. The only light in the room is a small lamp located on the nightstand. She tries to focus in the dimly lit room.
“Who the hell are you and how did you get in here?” Allison says as she tries to cover up with the sheet.
“First of all you know who I am. Secondly with as much as you travel why in the hell would you leave an extra key under the flower pot?” I reply.
“If you don’t get out of here I’m calling the police.” Allison says trying to scare me.
“By the time they get here your body will be stone cold.” I say with a smile as I walk to the foot of the bed.
I look at Allison and she looks at me. I can see in her eyes as she recognizes my face. I can see fear written all over her face.
“I know who you are. I closed out your bankruptcy case because you didn’t pay anything for a few months.” Allison says with a defensive voice.
“I didn’t pay anything because I didn’t have a job. I pleaded and begged with you to hold off but you closed out my case anyway. Thanks to you and a few others I’m living the American dream in poverty, with no job, no house, and most of all no family.” I say in an angered tone.
“Then you should have paid.” Allison says as she moves towards the nightstand.
“That’s as far as you go honey.” I say as I pull out the handgun.
Allison stops dead in her tracks. I walk over to the nightstand and open the drawer. Just as I suspected there is a gun in there. I pull the gun out and point it at Allison.
“Please don’t shoot me. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’ll do whatever you want.” Allison pleads for her life.
“That isn’t going to get you anywhere.” I say
“You know Max is downstairs and if you don’t get out of here he will kick your ass.” Allison says.
“Oh I know Max is downstairs but he isn’t coming up stairs any time soon. Especially not without help.” I say as I pull the axe out from behind me.
“Oh my god what did you do to him?” Allison says as she starts to cry.
Allison can see the axe is covered in blood. Her eyes are wide open as she starts to slide to the right side of the bed.
“If his name is Max then he is like a Maxie pad, covered in blood.” I say as I start laughing out loud.
I wait patiently for Allison to get off the bed. Then I ran towards her as Allison dives back on the bed and tried to crawl across. I grab her by the ankle as she tries to kick to get away.
“Let me go you fucking son of a bitch.” Allison yells in fear.
“Shut the hell up before I put a bullet in your head.” I say as I put her gun against her ribs.
“What do you want from me?” Allison yells.
“Revenge, you were part of the scheme to ruin my life so I will ruin yours.” I say in a meaningful tone.
Allison starts to kick and crawl off the other side of the bed. I still have my hand around her ankle as I pull her back onto the bed. I tuck the gun back into the front of my pants as I grasp a hold of the axe. I lift the axe above my head with one hand and hammer it down into the back of her right thigh. Blood sprays up in the air, on me, and onto the bed.
“Ah shit, ah god that hurts.” Allison yells down into the mattress.
I pull the axe out and Allison screams again. Blood pours out like a gusher. Allison grabs onto the back of her leg to try and stop the bleeding. Her hand covers in blood rapidly for I must have hit a major artery.
“Please help me.” Allison screams.
“No I don’t think so. I think I am going to watch you bleed out. It’s kind of what you did to me.” I say as I sit on the edge of the bed.
Allison struggles to hold the wound together. I watch on with interest as Allison’s blood seeps into the flowered sheets below. Within a few minutes Allison’s movements slow down. I can see the blood circle is about three feet in diameter. I would have to say at least two pints of blood has already escaped her body. I grab a hold of her arm and lift it up and let go. Her arm flops down on the bed and comes to a rest. I walk aro
und to the side of the bed where Allison’s head lays with her left ear facing the ceiling. Her eyes are open as she blinks them once very slow. Allison looks like she is on drugs with glassy eyes. Her breathing is labored and slow. She looks at me with one last ditch effort.
“Help me please,” Allison says in a whisper.
“You see Allison there is no help for you. Go to hell, directly to hell, do not pass heaven for evil isn’t allowed.” I whisper in Allison’s ear.
I can see the fight is gone and she is surrendering to death. I really wanted to make her suffer but the axe went too deep and ruptured a major artery. All in all the end result is achieved. I remain at Allison’s side until her breathing ceases. I check for a pulse and then I leave the house. I had already checked out of my motel so I headed for the highway. My new destination is St Augustine, Florida. At the first rest area I changed out of my black coveralls and grabbed a soda and pretzels out of the vending machine. I went back to my car and recline my seat.
“We’re half way there. Time to take a nap and when the sun comes up I’m headed to the sunshine state.” I say to myself as I put a pretzel twist into my mouth.
I keep the radio on as I enjoy the pretzels and soda before calling it a night. The pretzels are very salty so I open up my 20 oz. Pepsi. I take a swig when my cell phone rings. I look at the screen and I can see it’s the unidentified number calling in. I just don’t understand why my wife would be using this phone to call me. Another thing is every time she calls me it’s after I just murdered someone. I am leery of taking the call because there is something wrong here but I just can’t pin point it yet. So I answer the call hoping it will answer my questions.
“Hello my sweetheart that abandoned me and left me in my time of need.” I say.
“Freddy where are you?” the woman on the phone says.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I ask.
“Please come back to us now. I am sorry about the letter” The woman says.
“No, I’m heading south and you can take that two different ways because Satan and I are working together.” I reply.
Then I feel something warm on my arm. I look down and there is nothing there. This sends a chill down my spine. I look around the car and outside and there is nothing there.
“Who are you and what do you want?” I yell into the phone.
There is no answer as the woman must have hung up. This isn’t just a coincidence or is it. Can this person know what I’m doing and are they watching me? I get out of the car and walk around the rest area looking towards all the parked cars. I am looking for something out of the extra ordinary. To my surprise all the people in the cars are covered up and sleeping on this cold night. After I finish my rounds, I go into the men’s room and take a piss. When I finish peeing, I head back to my car where I get in and cover up with my hoodie.
“There is more going on here than meets the eye. Someone is following me and I need to eliminate that threat before I finish getting even.” I say to myself like an evil entity may be haunting me.
It takes me a little longer to fall asleep because there is a lot going through my head. I feel restless even though I am exhausted. Every time I close my eyes I relive my life over and over again. I try different scenarios in my mind but the outcome always remains the same. Here I am out on the road hunting down the people that ruined my life.
Chapter 12 – On the Road Again
The next morning I am up early and on the road. I need to stop to fuel up and grab a cup of coffee. Then I see a North Carolina State Trooper sitting at the convenience store pumping gas in his cruiser. I mind my own business and start to pump gas into my own car. I try to make sure I don’t make eye contact with the trooper as he finishes pumping gas and gets inside his cruiser. He seems to be curious towards me because I can feel him staring at me. He is wearing the mirrored sunglasses so I can’t tell where he is looking. When I finish fueling I go inside the store to pay for the fuel and get a cup of coffee. I walk over the table and pour the coffee into a Styrofoam cup. I make sure I grab the largest size because I am in dire need for caffeine. I add my milk and sugar and I head to the counter to pay for the gas and coffee.
“Good morning, I have thirty five dollars in gas on pump 7 and this here cup of coffee.” I say as I reach into my pocket for cash.
“Morning,” The cashier says with attitude.
I ignore the man as I hand him two twenty dollar bills. He takes the bills and throws my change on the counter. The change rolls off the counter and onto the floor. I take the two dollar bills and leave the two dimes and two pennies on the floor. I know the trooper is outside and I don’t want to make a scene. I start to walk away and the cashier starts to put up a fuss about the change on the floor.
“Aren’t you going to pick up the change?” The cashier says like he is a big shit.
I turn around and face the eighteen or nineteen year old boy. He is wearing an old baggy t-shirt with a pair of jeans with more holes than I can count. He has metal earrings in his face and lips. His hair is greasy and unwashed. I guess this is cliental you get nowadays to work in low paying jobs.
“First of all you threw the change on the floor. Secondly it isn’t worth the fuss of picking it up. Thirdly you better mind your own business.” I say as I turn towards the door again.
“I am not cleaning up your mess.” The kid says with a snotty tone.
“For twenty-two cents, it can stay there.” I say as I continue to walk away.
“If you don’t pick up the change I am going to make it your problem.” The kid says.
At this point, I have had just about enough of this kid’s shit. Just because he is having a bad day doesn’t mean he is going to ruin my day. Just before I turn around I see the state trooper pull out of the parking lot. I just stand there and watch the trooper turn onto the on ramp to I-95south. Then I turn around and walk towards the kid behind the counter. One good thing is there is no one else in the store or gassing up. When I approach the counter he pulls out a nightstick.
“Pick up the change or I will teach you a lesson.” The kid says.
“All this for twenty-two cents. I sure hope you know how to use that nightstick because if I get a hold of it your mother isn’t going to recognize you.” I say as I walk up to the counter.
“Oh yea, here take this.” The kid says as he swings the nightstick towards my head.
I use my peripheral vision and duck out of the way. I jump back up and before he can swing it again, I grab the nightstick. He tries to pull it back but I am too strong for his chicken arms. Slowly I twist the nightstick in his hands. He tries to push back but he doesn’t have the strength. I keep twisting until his wrists are getting ready to buckle and that’s when he lets go. The kid backs up against the back counter as I jump over the counter. I push the stick under his chin and pin his head against the cigarette rack.
“Is this what you wanted?” I yell in the kids face.
“I’m sorry, please let me go.” The kid pleads.
“Its fucking garbage like you that’s pushing the country to hell. I came in here minding my own business. All I wanted was a fucking cup of coffee and you have to give me attitude.” I say as I put one of my fingers into the ring in his lip.
“Please don’t,” The kid screams like a little girl.
“I will make a deal with you. In about a week or so I will be coming back through here. I want to see a clean cut kid dressed in half way decent clothes with no face jewelry.” I say as I pull the ring a little more.
“Whatever you want man. Just don’t hurt me” The kid says.
“But I am taking this one as a souvenir.” I say as I pull the ring out of his lip.
“Ah shit, fuck me.” The kid yells in pain.
Blood pours from his lip onto his old t-shirt. The kid grabs a hold of his lip crying as he tries to stop the bleeding. I put the ring in my pocket and start to walk away with the nightstick in my hand. I take a sip of coffee as I walk out into the cool
brisk weather. I get into my car and head south on I-95.
“I bet that kid wasn’t expecting that.” I say as start to laugh out loud.
I set the cruise control at 70 miles per hour. I sit back and listen to the radio while I drink my coffee. I don’t get ten minutes down the road when I hear sirens. I look in my rearview mirror and see a trooper behind me with his lights on. First thing I do is look down at my speedometer and see I’m only doing the speed limit. So I put my blinker on and pull over to the side of the road. I put the car in park and put my hands on the steering wheel. I look through my rearview mirror and watch the trooper’s actions. I have to figure that little bastard at the convenience store called me in. That would be the worst scenario but I could not believe the police were onto me and my get even scheme. The anticipation is killing me as I watch the trooper get out of his car. He walks slowly and I can see him looking at the rear end of my car. I roll the window down as he approaches the side of the car. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest.
“License and registration please.” Trooper Edwards says as I look at his name tag.
“Sure, no problem.” I say as I reach into my back pocket to get my wallet.
I pull both the registration and license out and hand them to the trooper. He looks at both of them to make sure they haven’t expired.
“Do you want to know why I pulled you over?” Trooper Edwards asks.
“Yes sir I would.” I reply
“I noticed when you pulled into the convenience store that your right side brake light is out.” Trooper Edwards states.
“I’m sorry officer I didn’t know.” I reply.
“No, I didn’t think you would. I’m going to let you go this time with a citation. Please get that fixed as soon as possible.” Trooper Edwards says as he hands back my license and registration.
“Thank you,” I respond as I put my license and registration back into my wallet.