Nightcrawlers: Reign of Terror

by Ron L. Carter

  Chapter 16

  Cooper decided he would spend some time with Ashley just to take his mind off of killing people for a while. For the next several days he drove into Ridgecrest and spent time with her every day. They went to a few movies and fast food restaurants like they had done before, but mostly they just hung out and spent time with each other.

  It was during one of his visits that she told him he was once again big news with the Sheriff department and the local police for what he'd done. She told him that it was also on the news that Jim Larson had admitted to being part of a vigilante group in Red Mountain. He told the police that his son, that was killed, and the other two guys killed from around the Rand area were also part of the vigilante group that he'd set up. He told them that if they looked around the area, they probably would find Mark Silvers' body because he'd been missing for a few weeks and he was also a member of the group.

  He told the police everything that happened when the group of five men had all gone to the Bailey house that day when Dalton's charred body was found in the ashes of the old Bailey home. He told them that he and some of the other men had shot Dalton before he threw himself into the fire. Now three of the men from that vigilante group had been killed in execution style murders and the other one was missing. He was now scared because he was the only one left of the group. He said he wasn't worried about himself, but he was worried about the safety of his wife. He was begging for police protection for her.

  When the Sheriff department found out about his story they put Jim Larson in jail for admitting to taking the law into his own hands and shooting Dalton. They set up a police protection unit for Jim Larson's wife while Jim sat in jail and waited for his arraignment. He could've bailed himself out of jail, but he didn't want too. He figured he was safer in jail than at home.

  Taking Jim Larson's advice, the law enforcement agencies joined forces and went on a massive hunt for Mark Silvers and anything else they believed might be suspicious. It took several days, but they were finally able to find the decaying bodies of Mark Silvers and Donald Pickens at the bottom of the Silver Dollar mine shaft. They also found old bones and skulls of at least two other people while they were down in the mine.

  When Cooper first heard what Ashley told him he became extremely agitated and angry that Jim Larson was now sitting in jail. Jim was the one guy that Cooper wanted to torture and kill the most. He was just saving him until the timing was right. Ashley was able to get Cooper to relax when she said, "Don't worry about him Cooper, they won't keep him in the jail for very long. He'll be released soon. You just have to be patient, and then you can go after him." Hearing her say that, made him feel a little better and he immediately calmed down. He just had to be patient and wait for Jim to be released.

  He continued to go into Ridgecrest every day and visit Ashley. He was just biding his time for Jim to get set free so he could go after him. Jim had had his wife go stay with one of their kids in another state while he was sitting in jail. He correctly believed the killer wasn't really after her and would only kill her if she got in his way. With her being gone it kept her out of harm's way.

  It was only a few weeks later that Jim was out of jail. Against all his pleas to the Judge he was out while waiting for his trial date. The Judge had the Sherriff department set up twenty four hour protection at Jim's home. When Cooper found out about Jim being let out of jail he was very excited about it. He knew he had to get Jim before the courts convicted him of a crime and he didn't want him sitting in jail or prison for an extended period of time. Cooper smiled and said to himself, "I'm going do my civic duty Jim and save you from all that pain and suffering. I'm going to torture and kill you before you go back to jail."

  When he was back at the shack he lay on the couch and began to plan out his strategy of how he was going to go after Jim. He had to be patient so he didn't get caught. He believed the Sheriff Deputies would eventually give up their surveillance of Jim's house. He knew they wouldn't do it forever. For the next month he drove by Jim's house late at night just to check and see if the Deputies vehicle was still out front. He stayed just far enough away so that nobody ever suspected that he had anything to do with the killings. After the fifth week of driving by about three times a week the Deputies car was gone. He then knew they'd given up their protection of Jim and it was time to go after him.

  He went to visit Ashley and while there, told her he wanted her to drop him and the dogs off in Red Mountain late Saturday night. He told her to tell her Mom and Dad that they were going out on a date so she would be home a little late. He said, "Meet me on the old dirt road that leads to the shack where I can leave my pick-up parked hidden for a few days. Then I want you to come and pick us up out by the old Silver Dollar Saloon at Red Mountain at exactly eleven o'clock on Tuesday evening."

  Ashley was excited to be helping Cooper as she jokingly said, "Does that mean we're partners in crime?" Cooper had a frustrated look on his face, "No, you're not involved Ashley and if anything goes wrong, you don't know anything about what happened. Is that understood?" Ashley pouted a little, "Okay, Cooper, I was just kidding anyway. You don't have to get so upset with me." He pulled her over to him and gave her a big kiss, "I'm not upset with you. I appreciate that you wanting to help me, but I don't want you to get involved in that part of it. You're helping me out a lot by just dropping me and the dogs off and then picking us up. That means everything to me." She smiled, "I will drop you off and pick you up on Tuesday Cooper. You can count on me."

  When Saturday rolled around she met Cooper right when and where he wanted. He had a full five gallon can of gas, a three foot long galvanized pipe, a full roll of duct tape and a small bag of dog food. He gave her a quick kiss and had the dogs jump in the back seat as he threw his things in the trunk.

  On the way to Red Mountain Ashley asked him what he was going to do to Jim Larson. He looked over at her and said, "It's better if I don't tell you what my plan is just in case I get caught and they try to tie you to what I've done." She knew that he was just trying to protect her, "Okay Cooper, if that's what you want then I'm okay with that."

  When they got to Red Mountain it was around midnight. He had Ashley drive past Jim Larson house as he and the dogs stayed low in the seat. He saw that Jim's vehicle was in the driveway next to the house and all the lights in the house were off. He had Ashley drive down past Mark Silvers' house and everything was dark there too. He had her turn off the lights to the car as he unloaded all the things he'd brought with him. He had the dogs get out and sit next to him. He then gave Ashley a kiss and told her he would see her Tuesday night at eleven. She told him to be careful as she started up the car and left.

  Cooper taped the dog food and the roll of duct-tape on Samson's back so he didn't have to carry it. He then made his way to Mark Silvers' house. Once there, he watched it for about an hour before he crept around the back and broke a window. He took the duct tape and dog food from Samson's back and laid it aside until he went inside. Not seeing or hearing anyone, he raised the window and sent the dogs in first. He gave them the attack command just in case there was someone hiding in the house. Once it was safe, he left everything he brought with him just inside the back door. He found a place comfortable on the couch and got as much sleep as he possibly could for the night.

  He woke early and started watching Jim's house to see if he could get a glimpse of him. For most of the day Jim would just come out for a short period of time and then go right back in. Every time he came outside he was carrying a rife in his hands and had a pistol stuck inside his belt. He looked around in every direction as if he were looking for someone each time he came out. Cooper watched him for a few days and not much changed with him as he did almost the same exact thing every day.

  As soon as it got dark on Monday night and Jim was in bed, Cooper took the five gallon can of gas, duct tape and galvanized pipe and crept slowly over to
the house. He had the dogs stay low to the ground as he took the cap off the can and slowly poured about three quarters of the gasoline on the outside of the house. He poured it everywhere except the back door. When he was finished he put the can aside and went to the back door. He had the duct tape in one hand and the pipe in the other as he lit the gas on fire and the house instantly went up in flames. In just a matter of a few minutes, Jim came running out the back door just like Cooper had planned. He had his pants and shoes on and his rifle in his hands. He had the pistol in his belt.

  As soon as he had a clear shot at him Cooper stepped out from behind the back door and hit him in the side of the head with the galvanized pipe. He immediately went down to the ground and while he was down, Cooper tied his hands behind his back with the duct tape. He put duct tape over his mouth and picked him up by the back of his belt buckle and started directing him toward Mark Silvers' house. At first Jim tried to fight with Cooper so he hit him again in the head with the pipe. Not enough to kill him, but enough to try and slow him down a little. He again went down, but this time only to his knees. Cooper grabbed him by the buckle again and said, "You try another stunt like that Jim and I'll take you back and throw you in that fire. Do you understand me?" He had the gas can and duct tape in one hand and Jim Larson by the belt with the other and headed back toward Mark's house.

  Just before they got to Marks house Jim tried to break free once again and run. This time Cooper gave the dogs the command to attack, but not kill. He let them rip at Jim's flesh for about fifteen seconds until he was satisfied he wasn't going to try that again. When Cooper picked him up this time he was bleeding from several deep bite marks on his shoulders, head, and face. He laughed, "Man, you are one stubborn old fool. I have you tied up and I have two dogs that can kill you and you're trying to run. What are you thinking Jim?" He guided Jim around to the back of Marks house and quickly pushed him inside. Once he was in the living room he pushed him on down to his stomach and taped his feet together. He then taped his feet to his hands behind his back so he couldn't move.

  By then Jim's house was starting to burn to the ground as neighbors had come over trying to fight the fire. Cooper looked over at the burning house and laughed, "Wow! You should see this Jim. It's a pretty good show. Your house looks just like a Christmas tree on fire." By the time the fire trucks got there the house was gone. Cooper just sat and watched it burn and laughed the entire time.

  Later on, when everyone had left, he went over to Jim and ripped the tape from his mouth. "If you even make a sound without me asking you to I'll have the dogs kill you." Jim didn't listen to what he just said and tried to yell out. Cooper put the tape over his mouth once again and had the dogs attack him. After he called the dogs off he laughed and said, "You're one dumb S.O.B. Jim. You've got to be the craziest and dumbest one of all your vigilante buddies. You're just plain stupid."

  While he lay there bleeding over most of his body from the dog bites Cooper said, "I guess you know by now that I'm the guy that killed your son and your entire vigilante comrades. I assume you know why I killed all of them? You and your group came to our place and didn't even know if we had done anything wrong. You just assumed we did and started shooting. You shot my brother Dalton in the back and he wasn't even armed. He then threw himself into the fire of our house so you guys couldn't have the satisfaction of retrieving his body. My question to you Jim is, why would you shoot someone that isn't armed, and in the back, if you didn't even know for sure he did something wrong?"

  Cooper ripped the tape to once side of Jim's mouth so he could talk. He quickly blurted out the words, "We had a pretty damn good idea it was you boys that killed our friends." Cooper said, "That was a huge mistake on all of your parts, wouldn't you say, Jim?" Jim clinched his teeth and angrily said, "If you take this tape off of me I'll rip you from limb to limb." Cooper laughed out loud, "Oh, you big stupid dummy, you don't have to worry about that." Jim yelled, "You're just a crazy psychopath that loves to torture and kill people.” Cooper chuckled and replied, "You're right, but I never would've killed you, your son and your friends if you would've just minded your own business and let the law take care of things. It wasn't your fight. That's what the law is supposed to do, not people like you and your friends that shoot first and ask questions later. Me and my brother were twins and we did everything together but you and your buddies took all that away from me. I hope you're proud of yourselves for killing an innocent person. My brother never killed your friends, -- I did." He then put the tape back over Jim's mouth again. He laughed, "We're going to sit here for the rest of the night and through most of tomorrow and then we're having a Weenie roast, just like I did with Kerry." When he said that Jim started squirming around and trying to get free. Cooper just watched and laughed at him.

  The next day Cooper wanted to torture Jim a little more so he let the dogs attack him two more times that day. After the second attack he was starting to lose a lot of blood and Cooper was starting to become afraid that he might die before he had a chance to roast him. He lifted up Jim's head and said, "Don't you die on me Jim, we still have our Weenie roast to do. I don't want you to miss that!"

  When it was dark enough he went and got the gas can and poured what was left in it all over Jim's body. Jim was wrenching in pain as the gas hit the fresh dog wounds. Cooper let it soak in real good before he had the dogs go outside. He poured a little gas in a jar and stuffed a rag in it. He went over to the stove and turned on all the gas valves in the kitchen and left the duct tape and gas can near the stove. He stepped out the back door and lit the rag on fire and threw it on Jim. The gasoline immediately caught fire went up with a gush and engulfed Jim and everything around him.

  By the time he made it about half way back to where he was to meet up with Ashley the house blew up from the leaking gas he'd turned on in the kitchen. He turned around and smiled as he watched a large ball of flames shoot up in the air.

  Ashley was waiting for him as he and the dogs made it back to their meeting place. He opened the back door and let the dogs in as he jumped in and quickly gave Ashley a kiss. "Thanks for being here."

  It was almost midnight by the time they made it back to Cooper's truck. When they got there he kissed Ashley a few more times and told her he would come to Ridgecrest in a day or so and spend some time with her. They both quickly left in opposite directions as he went back to the shack.

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