Return to Hell Texas

by Tim Miller

  He came back near her head and she felt something pressing against the top of her head, something sharp and pointed. Fuck! A nail!

  “Now, this is gonna hurt a bit,” Rufus said. “I don’t think I ever put nails in someone’s head before. I kinda wanna see what comes out. So sit tight.”

  She yelped as he began pounding the nail into her skull. A moment ago she thought she couldn’t possibly feel any more pain, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. The pain was unlike anything she’d felt. Her toes throbbed with intense, stinging pain as the nail entered her head. When it broke through her skull she felt it on her brain. At that point it stopped hurting, instead she suddenly felt dizzy.

  After a few seconds she almost felt euphoric as he began driving another nail into the top of her head. The pounding sounded far away as soon the sharp point was into her brain again. Suddenly she felt like a little girl again. Thinking of playing with her dolls in the park as in her mind’s eye, the only “eye” she had left, she saw stars and rainbows. There was more pounding in the distance. What was that? Thunder? Did a door slam? Maybe her mom was home?

  Soon her own thoughts became an incoherent mess of symbols, images and sounds. Some were pleasant and happy, others were ugly and terrifying. One was the face of a freaky looking redheaded kid. He should be familiar, but was he? If so, why? Lacey no longer remembered anything Rufus had done to her, or her name or where she was for that matter. Lacey’s body lived on for several more days, but Lacey would be gone long before that.

  Chapter 17

  Cole drove into town as Livia pulled in behind him. When he got out of the car she ran out screaming. A few of the townspeople looked around in amusement as Nash came running out to see what the commotion was. When he arrived and saw Oz’s body in the back of the truck he looked at Cole with a mix of fear and confusion.

  “What the Hell happened?” Nash asked.

  “This fucking animal killed Oz! We had this guy stopped all ready to snag him when fucking psycho here pulls up, tells the guy to leave and then kills Oz with his bare hands! Killed him for no fucking reason!”

  Nash looked at Livia and then at Cole.

  “Is that true? You know the rules on killing our own people. You know the punishment too. No exceptions.”

  “They had this guy in broad daylight right at the bottom of the hill. No distance between themselves and the town at all. Yes, I told the guy to leave. Then Oz decided to attack me, which he did. He lost.”

  “Jesus Christ, Cole. What in the fuck is the matter with you? You couldn’t have just scared him a little? Knocked him out or something?”

  “No.”

  “And why not?”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “I really don’t get you sometimes,” Nash said. “You’re so calm all the damn time, but inside you’re like this raging beast.”

  “You people raised me.”

  “That’s fucking bullshit!” Livia chimed in. “I was raised here too!”

  “Yes, but you’re crazy,” Cole said. “I know you people think I’m crazy. Yet I’m the only one in this town who doesn’t act totally on impulse. You and Oz were like a couple of hyenas running loose. Eventually you’d get caught and lead the authorities right here. Either that or lead them here just from being so sloppy and lazy.”

  “Fuck you, Cole! You ain’t in charge here anyway! Nash is!”

  “Everybody just calm down!” Nash interjected. He looked at Oz’s body again and hesitated. “Now, Cole has a point. He’s long been the town’s enforcer. Did Oz really attack him? I’ve never known Cole to lie.”

  “Well kinda, He was just pissed cause Cole interfered with us. He wasn’t going to really hurt Cole.”

  “Well, now that I believe. I’ve seen several men try to hurt Cole and all of them are in the ground. If Oz challenged Cole then the only thing surprising is his body is in one piece.”

  Livia glared at both men with tears streaking down her face.

  “This is such fucking bullshit Nash! Cole is out of control and you don’t have the fucking balls to do anything about it!”

  “Do you want to take a shot too?” Cole asked.

  “Fuck you Cole! And fuck you too, Nash! Fuck this fucking town!”

  “I have it under control, Livia,” Nash said. “This town has been safe a long time thanks to Cole. He’d never betray us or do anything to put us at risk. If he put Oz down, as much as it sucks and as much as we all liked Oz, I have to believe it was for the best.”

  She looked up at Cole and pointed at him.

  “You better watch your back, mother fucker!”

  “Why?”

  “Huh?”

  “Why watch my back?”

  “Uh. Because.”

  “Because why?”

  “Just fuck you. God you are so literal.”

  “Livia. Listen to me,” Nash said. “Take some time. We’ll hold a special ceremony for Oz.”

  “This asshole better not be there!”

  “Cole won’t be there. Anyway, take some time and gather yourself. Once things settle down you can go back to your old hunts. Either on your own or with someone else. I don’t want you out there now. Not when you’re upset. Can you do that?”

  She wiped the tears from her face and looked at the ground.

  “I need an answer,” Nash said. “And for fuck’s sake, don’t try anything stupid against Cole. I don’t wanna bury you too.”

  “Fine,” she said. “When will we do the ceremony?”

  “We can do it tonight. I’ll have Jade clean him up real good. It will be a nice send off for him.”

  She nodded before turning and walking away. Once she was gone, Nash looked up at Cole.

  “You couldn’t have just brought them back here?” Nash asked.

  “I did.”

  “Alive! Fuck, Cole. The whole town is terrified of you.”

  “They should be. So are you.”

  “That’s not the point.”

  “Yes, it is,” Cole said as he turned and walked away.

  Chapter 18

  “Where are we going?” Garrett asked.

  “After you told me your idea, I had the perfect scenario. So we’re going to talk to her.”

  “Your scenario is a her?”

  “My friend Dede Russell. We used to date off and on. Now we’re just real good pals if you know what I mean.”

  “I don’t think I want to. So how does she factor into my idea.”

  “Just wait. We’re almost here.”

  They pulled into a small trailer park and drove around the narrow road to a double wide in the back part of the lot. The men climbed out as the front door opened. Out of the trailer appeared a beautiful blonde girl. She had on tight shorts and a baseball jersey that would have been baggy on most girls. On Dede it looked like her boobs were about to burst out at any time. The jersey’s V-neck revealed more cleavage than Garrett had seen in ages.

  “I thought that was your car pulling up!” she said as she ran up and jumped onto Doug, hugging him. He hugged her back as she removed his hat and kissed him on the forehead. She jumped down, but kept his hat, pulling it on her head as she walked over to Garrett. She looked Garrett up and down, licking her lips.

  “Who is this handsome fella? You come here wanting a threesome? I mean, he’s kinda old for me but he looks like he’s in good shape. As long as he can get it up…”

  “Look miss…um….Russell,” Garrett said. I’m a Texas Ranger. We’re working on a weird case. For some reason Doug thinks you can help.

  “Ok, here’s the idea. You said you want to bring them to us. Draw them out onto our turf. So Dede here will come with me and we’ll act like our car is broken down out there. We’ll try it in a few places and see if it brings them out. I’ll have my piece on me, and you can be down the road from us. If we run into trouble, I’ll have my gun or you can come running in. These are a bunch of dirty hill people, so I doubt they’re that sophisticated.”

 
Garrett shook his head.

  “Absolutely not. You out of your fucking mind? She’s a civilian and in no way prepared for something this high risk. Too much can go wrong.”

  “What else would you suggest? Your boss said to keep this off the books. On the record no place such as Hell, Texas ever existed at all. Can’t exactly get our anti-crime guys on it.”

  Garrett looked at the ground and kicked a rock.

  “Yeah. I know. Shit.”

  “What do you think Dede?”

  “Sounds fun!”

  “Jesus Christ. You need to know, Dede, what we are dealing with,” Garrett said. “These are ruthless killers. I’ve dealt with them before. They torture people, they skin them alive, rape, mutilate even eat human flesh. This is not going to be a fun field trip. It will be dangerous and you’ll be at risk. He’s talking about using you as bait, basically.”

  “I’m not scared. Dougie Bear will protect me!” she grabbed Doug’s arm and rested her head on his shoulder as he removed the cowboy hat from her head and placed it back onto his own.

  “Dougie Bear?”

  “Just a nickname she used to call me,” he said. His face turning a few shades of red.

  “Jesus Christ. I don’t like this one bit.”

  “What other idea you have to draw them out here?”

  “Fuck if I know.”

  “It’s that or we go hanging out up in the hills and hope to stumble across them again.”

  “Yeah. I know.” Garrett removed his head and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “All right. Let’s work out a plan.”

  Over the next hour, they sat in Dede’s trailer and went over details. It wasn’t overly complicated, but not as simple as Garrett had hoped. If anything seemed off or if more than one or two of them showed up they’d hightail it out of there in a hurry. Grant still didn’t like it but it was the best they could do. He’d be just down the road in a covered area. He had a good spot in mind. They’d head out there around dusk and act stranded.

  Doug suggested they take Dede’s truck. Hers was a 1995 white Ford Bronco.

  “Jesus Christ. She’s got a fucking O.J. Simpson Bronco,” Garrett said. “And it runs?”

  “Hell yeah it runs! I’m pretty good with cars. Me and my cousin Benny rebuilt the transmission and everything. Inside is just as good as new, too.”

  “Yeah,” Doug said. “She’s proud of the white one. Her dad bought it not long after the whole O.J. chase. Drove it for years and then handed it down to her. She’s driven it ever since.”

  “Well I guess it will have to do.”

  A short time later, Garrett was driving Doug’s car while following the couple in the white Bronco. They got out to the same spot they’d been at earlier and Doug pulled over while Garrett kept driving. He drove another hundred or so yards ahead before pulling off the road behind some rocks. It wasn’t the best cover, but it was getting dark and he turned the lights off.

  He sat there as the sun went down looking through a set of binoculars. It was getting more difficult to see but he could make them out and the white Bronco was visible in the moonlight. A few minutes later, they disappeared inside the Bronco. Garrett had a guess as to what they were doing in there, but he didn’t want to know. It pissed him off that Doug would fuck around during this kind of operation. If those freaks came showing up while his dick was inside that girl, they’d be fucked in more ways than one.

  After a few minutes of them inside the Bronco, he saw movement just to the left. It was a car. More like a Jeep. It was coming down a dirt trail along one of the hills. Fuck! He climbed out of the car for a better look. The Jeep was moving pretty fast. Looking back to the Bronco the dome light came on as Doug and Dede climbed out. Garrett opened the car door to climb back inside, but a huge foot appeared, knocking the door shut. Garrett went to grab for his gun, but before he could there was a knife at his throat.

  “Don’t fucking move, Ranger,” a man’s voice whispered into his ear. “This time you won’t be leaving Hell.”

  Chapter 19

  Doug pulled the Bronco off the road and shut off the engine.

  “So now what?” Dede asked.

  “Now I pop the hood and wait for these weirdos to come to us.”

  “Can we at least let the engine run so the A/C will work?”

  “Well no. We’re supposed to be broken down and stranded. If the car is running then it will look like we’re just sitting here for no reason. We need them to think we are stuck.”

  “Well damn,” she said as he climbed out. She followed as he popped the hood. Dede leaned up against the Bronco as they stood around looking down the road as the sun gradually went down.

  “So where is your friend?” she asked.

  “Garrett? He said he would be behind those rocks off the road just up ahead. He’s a ways up but said he could see us just fine.”

  “Well that’s good I guess. Where will these people be coming from?”

  “Not sure. Down the road or from up in the hills. Maybe both.”

  She nodded as they stood around for almost an hour not saying much. Finally, Dede opened the door to the Bronco and climbed into the backseat.

  “What are you doing?” Doug asked.

  “Oh, just getting comfortable. You should join me,” she said as she pulled the jersey off over her head, revealing her perfect, but large breasts. Her black bra held them firmly in place, until she reached back and removed the bra, tossing it to the floor of the Bronco. Despite their size and the bra being off, her tits didn’t move an inch. Something that always impressed Doug. He’d never seen a girl with tits so big, yet perky.

  It got him every time. No matter how many times he tried to break up with Dede or spend time away from her. One sight of those perfect breasts and he was like deer in the headlights. Before he even realized what he was doing, he was inside the Bronco kissing Dede as if his life depended on it.

  She pulled his shirt off him, running her hands down his chest and over his shoulders while he kissed along her neck. She reached up for a second and turned on the radio and hit CD. The sound of Billy Idol’s “Cradle of Love” filled the Bronco as Doug kissed along her breasts, taking his time sucking on each of her nipples. He’d bite down on each one, gently at first but then harder. She squealed as he did so.

  Dede reached down and undid Doug’s jeans, sliding them down. His cock was already rock hard. She stroked it, running her fingers along the tip. It throbbed and twitched at her touch. Doug undid her shorts and pulled them down, her panties sliding off with it. He reached down and massaged her clit with his fingertips. Her juices soaked his finger as she moaned and giggled. She took the tip of his cock and pressed it against her clit, moving it up and down, teasing herself with his hardness.

  Unable to take any more, Doug slid his cock inside her as her eyes went wide and her mouth hung open. He tried not to come too soon as she was so soft and tight. As many times as they had had sex over the years, she always managed to stay as tight as the first time. As he thrust his cock in and out of her, she moaned and squealed as he grew harder and harder with each stroke.

  “Oh my God, Dougie! Oh yes! Fuck me, Dougie Bear! Fuck me good! Holy shit!” she cried out as he grunted and worked his cock, sucking her tits, pulling on her nipples with his teeth as he pounded away. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold out.

  Turned out he wouldn’t have to. The sound of a vehicle approaching caused him to stop and look out the window. There was a jeep racing down from the hills as bouncing headlights drew closer, illuminating the Bronco.

  “Fuck!” Doug yelled as he climbed off of Dede and pulled up his jeans.

  “Why’d you stop? What’s going on?”

  “Get dressed! Hurry! They’re coming! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

  As he pulled up his pants, his sidearm and holster and slipped off his belt while they were in the throes of passion. In his panic, he didn’t even notice as he threw his shirt on and climbed out of the Bronco. Dede climbed out
as she adjusted her shorts. Once her shorts were on right she reached in and pulled the jersey back on, bypassing her bra as the Jeep reached the bottom of the hill and pulled up to the Bronco.

  The Jeep continued to run as the driver and passenger doors swung open. Doug took a deep breath as he reached to his hip and for the first time realized his gun was missing. He looked at the Bronco realizing it was too late for him to go for it.

  “Howdy folks!” the driver of the Jeep said. He was a large man but something wasn’t right about his face. It looked weird, almost plastic. In the dark it was hard to see. From the passenger side, a teenage boy emerged.

  “Uh, hi,” Doug said.

  “Looks like you folks are having a little trouble.”

  “Yeah. Think it may have overheated. Not too sure, I’m not great with cars.”

  The tall man stepped closer as Doug took a few steps back Dede reached up and began squeezing his hand. For the first time, this whole mess was real to her. Shit had just gotten real as Hell for him too.

  “Well maybe Rufus here can take a look at it. He’s young but he’s really good with cars.”

  The boy walked up and started looking under the hood. The tall man moved closer. As he stepped into the headlights, Doug could see he had on some kind of mask. The hair on Doug’s neck stood on end as Dede squeezed his hand tighter, squeezing his arm with her other hand. Doug struggled to swallow. All he could think of was the gun on the floor of the Bronco. It was just inside the door. All he needed to do was make a quick reach inside and he’d have it.

  He hated to make any quick movements, but as it stood now, they were completely vulnerable. He took a deep breath and wrestled his hand free from Dede’s grip as she looked at him with an almost hurt expression. He nodded trying to assure her things were ok. The man in the mask looked at them before glancing at Rufus when Doug made his move.

  He opened the Bronco door and reached into the back seat. He felt the gun’s grip just on his fingertips when the door slammed hard, knocking the gun free and hitting him in the side of the head. He was off balance when the door opened again and struck him again and again. Several times the car door smashed into him, until he was in a foggy daze. The masked man pulled the door open one last time as Doug stumbled away from the Bronco. The man struck him in the back of the head, knocking him to the ground.