The Country Club

by Tim Miller

  He turned away and tried to push it down.

  “Sorry, I can’t help it.”

  “You’re such a freak,” Sophie said. “I told you he was gross.”

  “Gimme a break, ok? Guys get boners all the time. You just can’t see it usually.”

  “Will you guys all shut up?” one of the girls sitting down said. “Save your fucking energy. Nothing is gonna matter in a while anyway.”

  “Who are you?” Crystal asked.

  “I’m Courtney. This is Denise. We been here a few days, wherever here is.”

  “I know where we are,” Crystal said.

  “What state are we in even?” Courtney asked.

  “State?”

  “Yeah. We’re from California, but they had us in the back of some truck for days.”

  “Jesus Christ. This is Texas, a ways outside of Round Rock.”

  “Shit. There were almost ten of us. But the other night they took a bunch out. A couple guys were here too. None of them came back.”

  Joel stood by watching the conversation. Whatever doubts he had about Crystal’s theory were fading fast. He wondered if Crystal would tell the girls where they were and what was going to happen to them, or if they even should.

  “They won’t either,” Crystal said.

  “So what is this place? You said you knew. How do you know?”

  “I’m a reporter. Well, a blogger, but I investigate stuff. This place is called The Country Club. It’s an urban legend, or thought to be. I was looking to prove it was real.”

  “Well, you know it is now,” Courtney said.

  “Yeah, a lot of good this does me.”

  “So what do they do here? Like sex slaves or something?”

  “Worse. Much worse. Story goes rich guys come here and pay for people, usually girls, who they can torture and kill,” Crystal explained. “It’s pretty awful.”

  Courtney looked around at Joel and Sophie. Joel noticed whatever hope Courtney had been holding onto was now gone. He figured she was resigning herself to living as a prostitute, maybe even hoping she could escape. Joel knew as much as Crystal did, there was no hope for any of them. That was why they took their clothes, to keep them from hanging themselves before they could be utilized.

  Courtney began to cry as Crystal sat next to her and put her arm around her. Sophie had her back to them all staring out of the cage and into the darkness. Joel’s boner finally went away as he walked to his own corner and sat down, putting his hands over his face. He regretted listening to Crystal. This trip had been a horrible idea.

  Chapter 13

  Caleb wanted to go home, but he knew that would never happen. He sat on a bench in the dreary basement as Dutch stepped out. Caleb was tired, hungry and scared. In the past few hours he’d seen things more horrible than he could have ever imagined. After a few minutes, he stood and wandered around the large basement. There was no one keeping tabs on him. They must have figured there was no way for him to escape, even if he tried.

  He walked through some hallways and looked into some of the large rooms. Some of them had old, rusty torture devices. At least he assumed that was what they were. One item looked like a rack, but was covered in rust and corrosion. There was even a guillotine in one room, but it had been taken apart. As he walked in and looked at the blade, it was dull and cracked in places.

  He turned a corner and heard several voices, women’s voices. The only girls he’d seen at this place were the ones being killed. Picking up his pace, he walked toward the sound until he turned a corner to see a large cage. Inside the cage were several naked girls, and one guy. One of them saw him before he could even figure out what was going on.

  “Hey! You! Help us! Please!” the girl yelling was short with glasses. “Let us out of here.”

  Caleb looked around as he ran closer to the cage.

  “Shut up!” he said in a low, but firm voice. “They’ll hear you.”

  “Who are you? Are you one of them?” the girl said.

  “No. Kind of, but not really. I’m trapped here too. I have to clean up their messes.”

  “Why don’t you just leave?” the guy asked.

  “It’s not as simple as that.”

  “Let us out of here. Just open this cage and get us out, we’ll take care of ourselves. No one will know,” the girl pleaded.

  Caleb looked at the large steel door on the cage. The lock was built into the door.

  “I don’t have a key. I have no way to open this,” he said.

  “You have got to help us. I know what they are going to do to us,” the girl said. “You can’t just fucking leave us here.”

  “Yes, I know. I want to help, but I can’t. I’m sorry.” He started to back away from the cage. The girl grabbed him by the wrist, but he jerked his hand away. “I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can do. Just stop yelling. That will make it worse for all of us.”

  He turned and walked quickly down the other hall, ignoring their cries behind him. If a place like hell really did exist, he was sure he’d be headed there. Even if he did have a key to the cage, he wouldn’t have let them out. Not without finding his own way out first. That was a horrible way to think, but they were strangers. Caleb had no tolerance for pain at all. He’d heard the screams and had seen what was done to those girls. The idea of him going through any of that made him shiver. If he could get them out while saving himself he would, but for the moment he needed to save himself.

  “There you are,” one of the security goons said. “Come on. We have a shipment to unload.”

  “Shipment?” Caleb said, but the goon was walking away.

  He followed behind the guy as they walked toward a large overhead door that rolled up. They were then standing outside on a loading dock. The sun was bright and nearly blinded Caleb who had been down in the dark for too long. There was a large tractor trailer backed up to the dock. One man opened the tailgate to the trailer. In the back was a stack of pallets carrying tortilla chips. Several pallets were stacked to the top of the trailer. A guy drove up with a forklift and unloaded each pallet one by one. As he moved the last one away, Caleb saw the real cargo. There were several women bound and gagged in the back of the truck.

  The goons herded them all out and walked them down through the hallways.

  “Follow us,” one of the men said to Caleb. “And bring your cart.”

  He ran and got his cart and followed the strange parade of prisoners and thugs through the dark passageways until they were standing in front of the cage again. One of the men removed each of their binds, while the others stood by. The large one told them all to remove their clothing and all personal belongings. When one of the girls removed her sweatshirt, she was obviously very pregnant. Caleb figured somewhere between four and six months if he had to guess. A couple of the girls had glasses, and they were allowed to keep those. The man ordered them all to walk by Caleb’s cart and to throw their clothing and belongings into his cart and file into the cage.

  He was surprised that no one resisted. A few cried and tried to beg for their freedom and would ask what was happening. Though he hadn’t resisted at all either, so who was he to talk? Once they were all in the cage, the large man locked it with a big metal key and placed it into his jacket. The man looked at Caleb and nodded to his cart.

  “Take this to the incinerator and burn everything. Their clothes, phones, wallets, purses, anything you find. Burn it all. Don’t dig through it or try to keep anything for yourself either. There’s cameras over there. We’ll see if you do. Understand?”

  “I think so,” Caleb said. “Why burn all their stuff?”

  “I know you only been here one night, but you should know,” the man said.

  “Know what?”

  “These guys,” he said pointing at the cage. “Are being erased.”

  Chapter 14

  Denny was sitting in his room watching TV when there was a knock on the door. After the knock, Dominic stuck his head inside.

  “Mr. Denn
is. Our shipment just arrived. I think you’ll like the selections we have in this one. One of the girls is pregnant even. Not sure if that is something that…um…interests you,” Dominic said.

  “Pregnant huh? That just might liven things up a bit. I’ve been trying to think of a way to spruce it up a bit. I’ll be honest, I love this place, but it gets a bit repetitive.”

  “I understand sir.”

  “I’ll take the pregnant one, and bring me one more. I think I’d like an audience tonight as well.”

  “Most certainly sir,” Dominic said as he stepped out.

  Denny sat there looking at the TV screen but not paying attention. A pregnant girl. He had never had one before. He wasn’t one of those guys with some pregnant chick fetish either. The thought of a woman with child has never aroused him in anyway. Though for what he had planned tonight, could provide some interesting exploration.

  He wasn’t sure how long he’d been spacing out when there was another knock at the door.

  “Mr. Dennis, the ladies are ready for you when you are sir.”

  “Very good. That was fast,” Denny said as he stood. He walked out of the room and headed up to his usual work room, or play room as some members called them. He didn’t really have a name for it. It’s just where he did his thing, whatever exactly his thing was. When he opened the door, there were two girls strapped to chairs. One was the pregnant girl. Dominic wasn’t kidding, she was pregnant alright.

  The other girl was much more petite, with wavy dark hair and glasses. Her nose was bigger than he usually liked, but the rest of her looked good.

  “Hello ladies,” Denny said as he walked around looking at the pregnant girl, running his hand over here bare tummy. The girl tried to wiggle away but barely moved as whimpers escaped her throat. He reached up and pulled the tape off her mouth. “There you go. That’s better. What’s your name?”

  “Elizabeth,” she whimpered.

  “Hi Elizabeth. I’m sorry you ended up here.”

  “Where am I? What is gonna happen to me?”

  “You’re in a very special place,” Denny said as he ran his fingertips over each of her nipples. “As far as what is going to happen to you, I’m not gonna lie. It’s gonna hurt. A lot.”

  “Why? Just let me go!” She started to cry as her voice grew louder.

  “Now don’t start screaming. That shit drives me nuts and I’ll have to tape your face back up.” He stood and walked over to the other girl. She yelped as he ripped the tape off her mouth, but wasn’t crying.

  “And who might you be?” he said.

  “Crystal,” the girl said flatly.

  “Crystal. I think I heard them talking about you. You’re that blogger aren’t you?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Right. Well you were looking for The Country Club. Looks like you found it,” he said as he held his arms out. “So is it what you thought it would be? How you liking our accommodations so far?”

  “Fuck you.”

  “You’re a firecracker. I like it. Though I’m sure the tough talk will go away before long. It always does. Too bad you won’t be able to write about it, or post some pictures on your blog.”

  She didn’t reply as he looked her over and nodded.

  “Fortunately for you, you’ll get to watch first. I’m going to take good care of our friend Elizabeth here.” He walked to the cupboard and dug through the items. He came back with a hot plate and a frying pan. He plugged the plate into the wall as he positioned the pan on top of it and picked up a knife from the table.

  “Ok, Elizabeth I need to warn you. I’m not an actual doctor. But I think we need to deliver that baby. Call it an emergency C-section. Except I don’t have any anesthesia. Sorry.”

  “No! Not my baby!” she screamed as he slid the knife just below her belly. He made an incision lengthwise almost six inches long as she struggled against the restraints, screaming. Crystal was screaming behind him as well. Perhaps having two girls at a time wasn’t the best idea.

  Once he made the incision, he reached into the incision until he felt the baby. He grabbed its arm and began to pull. With his other hand, he grabbed it also and pulled until the baby’s head was visible through the opening. Once he pulled it all the way out, it wiggled and moved in his arms.

  “Oh my god! My baby! My baby!” she cried. “Please! Let me have my baby!”

  “Oh I will. Just a moment,” he said.

  He used the knife to cut the umbilical cord. This was his first time delivering a baby. He had to admit he was rather impressed with himself. Carefully he sat the baby on the table on its stomach. Elizabeth was still screaming and crying. Denny patted the baby on its back as he took a quick look and noticed it was a boy.

  “He’s fine,” he said to Elizabeth. “You’ve got a big baby boy.”

  “Oh my God! Please! Give him to me!”

  “Be patient,” he said as he picked up the meat cleaver from the table, and quickly chopped the baby’s head off. He swung the cleaver with so much force, the baby’s head shot off the table and rolled onto the floor.

  “No!” both women screamed.

  “Did you see that?” Denny said. “His head took right off. Things about the size of a baseball too.”

  “You sick fucker!” Elizabeth screamed. “I’m gonna kill you! I’ll kill you!”

  “Oh, I don’t think you will,” Denny said as he bent over and picked up the baby’s head and dropped it into her lap. “There, hold that for me.”

  She screamed again as he used the cleaver to chop off the baby’s arms and legs. Using the knife, he peeled the skin off the arms and legs and placed it into the frying pan. The meat sizzled as he stirred it around.

  “Now this smells delicious. I’ve only eaten human a few times. I’m not some cannibal mind you. Doesn’t mean I don’t like a treat once in a while.”

  Elizabeth was no longer screaming, she was sobbing uncontrollably and sounded like she was about to hyperventilate. He picked up a piece of the cooked meat and tasted it.

  “Mmm, this isn’t bad. Not a lot of flavor though, could use some seasonings. Very tender like veal. Here. Try some.”

  He walked over to her with a piece of the meat in his bloody fingertips. She became alert again as he walked toward her.

  “Get away from me! Get that away from me!” She tried to turn her head, but couldn’t with the straps. He tried to push it into her mouth, but she pinched her mouth shut. Denny took his other hand and chopped her in the throat, hard enough to stun her and make her gasp for air. Once her mouth was open he stuffed the meat into her mouth and forced it shut. She struggled against him, trying to open her mouth, but couldn’t. After several minutes, she finally swallowed.

  “There you go. Not bad huh?” he said.

  “Leave her alone you sick mother fucker!” Crystal yelled from behind him. “Just kill us already if you’re going to kill us.”

  “I can’t do that yet. I just started dinner. Don’t worry. We have plenty of time.”

  Chapter 15

  Crystal almost threw up after watching him eat that baby. She closed her eyes, not wanting to see anymore, but she could still hear and smell it. The horrible thing was, it smelled like sausage as he cooked the baby’s flesh. It made her stomach growl, since she hadn’t eaten in several hours. The sick fucker even fed that poor woman some of her own baby. Right away she realized The Country Club wasn’t at all what she thought it was. It was much worse.

  This guy, Denny he called himself, already knew who she was and almost everything else about her. She couldn’t believe she’d played right into their hands so easily. She had been so desperate for answers, she’d have done anything. Her chase was going to cost her and her friends their lives, and some horrific suffering on top of that. Her thoughts turned to Sophie and Joel and if they had done anything to them. They were still in the cage when the men came and got her.

  The cooked baby smell subsided finally, and she opened her eyes. Denny was sitting at the
table drinking a beer. The baby’s carcass was in a heap of bones and tissue on a plate next to him. Off to his left, the recently pregnant woman was crying and sobbing softly. Denny turned and looked at Crystal.

  “Oh you’re awake. I thought maybe you had fallen asleep. You missed dinner. Not one of my better dishes, but got the job done. There wasn’t much to go around anyway,” he said as he pulled a trash can to the edge of the table, and swept the baby’s remains into the can.

  “You’re not gonna get away with this,” Crystal said.

  “Actually I will. You should know more than anyone how long this place has been here. I heard Davy Crockett may have been a member.”

  “Yeah, I doubt that.”

  “You never know. Just think this place has been here for that long, and no member has been arrested yet. You may have noticed in your search for this place, we have a bit of support from some higher authorities.”

  “Doesn’t mean you can’t die,” she said.

  He laughed as he walked toward her.

  “That’s a good one! I like that! I’m glad you’re with us though. You can watch the next part before I start on you.”

  She didn’t even want to know what he was talking about. Maybe she should close her eyes again and make him think she’s asleep. He’d get bored with her and send her back to the cage. That was unlikely though. He seemed to enjoy making her watch his sick show. Denny walked over to the wall and pushed a button. On the speaker a man’s voice came over it.

  “Yes Mr. Dennis?” the voice said.

  “Could you bring me one of our little friends from the lab please? I want to try something.”

  “Yes sir. Right away.” The box clicked off.

  Denny sat at the table for a few minutes when the door opened. A man handed Denny a shoebox. Once the man left, Denny got a sewing kit from the cupboard and sat down next to Elizabeth.

  “Ok, I want to be fair. I’m not a selfish person. I took something from you, so now I need to give you something back,” Denny said.

  Elizabeth turned her head and spit right in his face. Denny’s back was to Crystal, so she couldn’t see his reaction.