On a rainy day in September, Tim was waiting for his girlfriend Julie in his car. She stepped out of the hall and he marveled how she took each step carefully avoiding the worms. He drove his car slowly along side her slowly puffing in his cigarette. Each puff he blew out filling his somewhat messy car with smoke.
“Hey, Julie!” Tim yelled out.
Julie turned around with a big smile on her face.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. Her whole body seemed to express her joy at seeing him and she nearly skipped over to his car.
“I’m bringing you to the party,” Tim said unlocking his doors.
Julie hopped in.
“You know I can’-” she began but he kissed her and her talking stopped mid sentence. She started kissing him back.
When they broke apart she smiled, “You know you’re a bad influence on me.”
“Well, I am almost twice your age,” Tim said.
It was true, she was 18 and Tim was nearly 30. He’d been working as a manager at a home depot for a good while. He was finally getting his act together and he knew she was the one for him.
“I have to study,” Julie replied.
“I never studied and look where I am today,” Tim said proudly.
Her brow furrowed and she sat there silent for a moment.
She smiled, “Fuck it! Let’s go.”
As they drove to the apartment they turned on the radio to rock. Then it happened, the radio started playing their song.
“Your a good girl, come on and grab me, it’s gonna get nasty!”
The two began to jam out to the song as they worked through each sub division towards their final destination. The party house.
As they pulled up, Twiggs, as they called their friend was walking inside from his car.
Tim stuck his arm out the window of his car while he was driving by and knocked Twiggs on the back of the head. He’d slowed down before he did it. It was a bit of a mean prank.
“Who the hell-” Twiggs began.
“Oh you cheeky bastard!” Twiggs yelled smiling.
Julie and Tim laughed as the car rolled to a stop and they popped out of the car and walked over toward Twiggs.
“Hey you cheeky bastard,” Twiggs said reaching his hand out to Tim. They performed their pracitced ghetto handshake that had various bumps and taps and Twiggs opened his arms up for the hug. “It’s been awhile bro!”
“That it has bro!” Tim replied.
They were silent for a moment and Tim said, “Julia this is my best friend Twiggs, Twiggs this is Julia.”
Twiggs reached out his hand to try a more basic ghetto handshake and Julia stared at it.
Twiggs said, “What’s wrong, haven’t you ever shook someone’s hand before?”
Julia reached her hand out and shook his in a firm business handshake.
Twiggs cracked up and started laughing hard.
“Is this the girl that you want to spend you life with bro, wow she’s such a proper girl, eh?” Twiggs said laughing.
Tim shot him a look and Twiggs said, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m Twiggs, nice to meet you Julia. Any friend of Tim is a friend of mine.”
Tim reached out and shook her hand business style.
“Thanks, it’s nice to meet you as well,” Julia replied in her normal formal tone.
Not even a second passed before Twiggs whipped out a bag of weed from his pocket.
“Bro, I have a half pound!” Twiggs said.
Tim smiled, “It isn’t going to smoke itself.”
The three of them headed inside.
As they opened the bag and started to fill a bong, Tim asked, “Where did you get all of this?”
Twiggs replied, “I stole it from the junkies down the street.”
“What do you mean stole?” Tim asked a look of concern splashed over his face.
“Like, I went in, took it and left,” Twiggs replied.
“Shit man, what the hell, why would you do that?” Tim asked, his face betrayed his shock.
Julia began to fidget, she was getting uncomfortable in the situation.
“Dude, relax. They will never know it was me,” Twiggs said as we leaned back in his recliner.
*knock knock knock
“Shit!” Tim said.
“Relax man, it’s probably the lady next door complaining about the leaves!” Twiggs said he had clearly taken a few puffs before they got there. His eyes were red and not a thing in the world would upset him.
Twiggs walked up to the door slowly and put his finger on the latch. He peeped out the eye hole and couldn’t see anyone.
“Shit man, I don’t see a soul,” Twiggs said.
*knock knock knock
The rapping came agan.
Twiggs opened the door and yelled, “What do you want!”
The voice of a shrill old woman screamed back, “You let your leaves get all over my damned lawn again!
“I’ll handle it, get the fuck out of here!” Twiggs yelled.
“You’d better or I will call the police on your smoking ass!” the woman replied.
Twiggs walked back in and sat down smiling, “See, I told you, there’s nothing to worry about!”
*knock knock knock
Twiggs got up again clearly pissed.
He ripped open the door and said, “I thought I told you to-“
*Pop pop pop pop pop
Gunshots echoed through the room.
Julia sat on the couch shocked and Tim jumped up and ran into the other room.
Three men masked in red bandanas walked into the room. “Where’s the pot!” one of them yelled.
“pot..” Julia stammered out.
One of them lurched forward and grabbed her by her hair, “Where the fuck is the pot!?” He asked again forcing her head upward by her hair.
Tim burst into the room with a shotgun and fired hitting one of the goons in the chest. He fired again hitting the arm of another. Two more of them ran into the room and the one that was holding onto Julia’s hair ran forward and grabbed Tim.
“You think you can fuck with us man? You’ve got another thing coming!” He yelled.
“Get the axe from my car!”
“Nooo!” Julia began to cry.
“We’ll deal with you in a moment little bitch,” one of the new red bandanna men said.
She looked down at the guy bleeding out and nearly puked. Another Red bandanna stepped in the room and stepped on the downed man’s chest. There was a crunching sound as the man’s ribs broke.
“Oh shit, what happened to him?” asked the new arrival.
“He got shot, what do you think.” answered another of their gang.
The axe was raised, and Tim yelled, “Mother fuckers!”
The axe swept down and struck him in the neck. Blood spurted out and Tim screamed.
The axe went up again and dropped again. He continued it over and over until Tim’s mutilated head finally severed from his body. Julia vomited. She didn’t want to be here. She wanted to be studying in her house right now!
Tim’s blood pooled across the floor seeping in between the floor boards. One of the red bandannas picked Julia up and dropped her on the floor. The back of he head was pressed into Tim’s warm blood.
He started pulling down her jeans.
“Noooo!!!” Julia yelled.
Another Red bandanna entered, “Dude, what have I told you!” he said.
The jeans were pulled down to reveal her panties.
“Dude, what have I told you!” he repeated.
“Fuck off!” The redbandanna on top of her said.
*pop pop
“You listen or you die bitch!” the first red bandanna replied.
He walked over and offered her a hand.
Julia looked up at him with hope rekindling in her eyes.
“A girl like you is clearly meant for someone like me!” he said.
Julia had a sick feeling in her stomach.
“I just saved you, at least you could give me a kiss,” he said.
Julia looked at him and said, “Please no.”
“Is that the way you treat your knight in shining armor?” he asked.
The man who he shot groaned and police sirens could be heard drawing closer.
“Grab her!” someone yelled and they ran to their cars.
They opened the trunk up and shoved the kicking and screaming Julia inside.
She sat there motionless inside the trunk as the car started and took off. She was assessing her situation and looking for a way out. She thought of her cellphone, but it was in her pants back in the house.
A few tears escaped her eyes and she pinched her own arm. Focus she thought. Her eyes narrowed and she saw the interior of the back light.
“Are you doing alright back there my little princess?” asked of of the monsters opening the mini door from the cabin to the trunk and pinching her butt.
They shut the cabin door.
Julia kicked the light. Once, twice and a third time. As her foot hit for a third time it slid through knocking the light into the road. She grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around the edges of her foot. If they arrived at their destination she would be dead. She had to make someone notice her before hand, but not them. If they found out she was doing this, they would kill her right away.
The hatch opened. “What was that sound little princess? Were you trying to break free?” asked one of the red bandannas.
“n..no..,” julia stuttered out. She was honestly scared to talk and in this case it would serve to her advantage.
“Remember, your ass is mine!” he said and closed the door again.
A few minutes passed and the car lurched. There were comments like, “Shit, what the hell, and damn that guy!” from the front. Julia pulled her foot in as she heard people stepping out of the car. It was still completely black in the trunk, but she covered the hole.
She heard a muffled, “What the hell man!”
“Why the fuck is there a foot sticking out of your car?” the man said.
“A foot? I think you imagined that, there is no foot!” the red bandanna said.
Julia yelled out, “Help me!”
“I’m coming,” the man yelled.
*pop pop pop
There were three gunshots and neither the red bandanna nor the man who was going to help her could be heard. The car started and the motor gunned.
The door was going to open any second and they were going to shoot her.
Julia closed her eyes and prayed and the car came to a stop.
The trunk opened an a big pair of strong arms lifted her out and placed her on her feet.
“Former Sargent John Millar of the marines at your service,” he said.
Julia hugged him and cried into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her in an attempt to comfort her. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“I took care of the guys and-” he began.
She kissed him and he was silent. “Thank you!” she said again, this time much louder.