there?" he thought to himself. He had felt like a bad-ass
at the time, beating Johnny down like the punk he was, but the more he thought
about it...
"Why did she stop me?" he looked at
himself in the rearview mirror. "Was it because---"
His words were stolen from him as the change
in the road suddenly demanded his attention. The road had curved off to the
left while he went straight, causing his monster Ford to dip down into the
ditch, and then back up into a field where soy beans were growing. Drew's car
dipped down as it went into the shallow ditch and then shot back up as it flew
into the beans. He could actually feel his ass lift off of the seat right
before his head slammed into the roof.
"Fuck!" he yelled, slamming on the
brakes. A broken cigarette hung from his lips as he tried to get control of his
vehicle, it would have been quite comical, if it hadn't been such a scary
situation.
The giant Ford headed straight for a gnarled,
twisted old crabapple tree that stood at the edge of the field.
"Shit!" Drew had managed to slow it
down considerably from the speed he was at when he first flew off the road.
Unfortunately, he still hit the crab tree with enough force to slam his head
into the steering wheel, as his hand smacked the headlight switch. He lost
consciousness as the car engine died and the headlights went out.
As everything went silent, the cigarette
lighter popped out, ready to do its job.
They walked side by side, drinking. Within
fifteen minutes they were walking less than one hundred yards from Drew's wrecked
car. The dark, cloudy sky masked it from their vision as they walked right by.
They discarded two crushed cans of beer like they were aluminum beacons leading
to the wreak, completely oblivious.
The demon followed after them, flowing around
the cornstalks of the first field and the soybean plants of the current field
as a gray mist. It trailed behind, weaving back and forth between the plants as
the teenagers walked down the rows of the crops. The monster wasn't sure if
anything else interesting was going to happen or not, but he had a hunch
something was right around the bend that was going to take things up a notch.
Noticing Drew's wrecked car in the distance, the creature chuckled to himself
at the other two's ignorance of their wounded buddy, well Jake's buddy at
least. That got ideas stirring in its mind dealing with the immediate future.
Jake handed Johnny a new beer as well as
himself, as they walked past their wounded friend and on towards an old,
abandoned house with more history than both of them put together.
"Why doesn't somebody knock this fucking
relic down?" Johnny asked as they moved towards the old building, dabbing
his still bleeding nose with his T-shirt.
"Bad Mojo, supposedly," Jake
answered.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Place is cursed, you remember."
Johnny chuckled. "This is the house
where the little girl was never found, right?"
"That's a funny thing?" Jake asked.
"Well, the parents killed themselves
right after the press started slinging shit, right?"
Jake cocked his head as he looked at Johnny.
"I still don't see what's funny."
Johnny threw his hands up. "They must
have been guilty if they killed themselves, ya dumbshit."
"Spent a lot of time studying the case,
right?"
"Don't have to," Johnny took a long
drink of his beer. "That shit is OJ simple. Just because the glove don't
fit, don't mean I didn't co-mmit murder!" He laughed at his half ass
rhyme.
Jake pulled out a cigarette. "The wife
killed herself, not the husband."
"Bum a smoke," Johnny said, holding
out his hand. It wasn't a question, it was a goddamn command.
Maybe it was everything that had happened so
far that night. Maybe it was how Sarah had reacted to everything Jake had said
or done or not done that night. Maybe it was just Jake getting sick and tired
of Johnny's bullshit. Maybe it was the demon, pressing on Jake's emotions.
Whatever it was, Jake had had enough, and Johnny was
at the time, beating Johnny down like the punk he was, but the more he thought
about it...
"Why did she stop me?" he looked at
himself in the rearview mirror. "Was it because---"
His words were stolen from him as the change
in the road suddenly demanded his attention. The road had curved off to the
left while he went straight, causing his monster Ford to dip down into the
ditch, and then back up into a field where soy beans were growing. Drew's car
dipped down as it went into the shallow ditch and then shot back up as it flew
into the beans. He could actually feel his ass lift off of the seat right
before his head slammed into the roof.
"Fuck!" he yelled, slamming on the
brakes. A broken cigarette hung from his lips as he tried to get control of his
vehicle, it would have been quite comical, if it hadn't been such a scary
situation.
The giant Ford headed straight for a gnarled,
twisted old crabapple tree that stood at the edge of the field.
"Shit!" Drew had managed to slow it
down considerably from the speed he was at when he first flew off the road.
Unfortunately, he still hit the crab tree with enough force to slam his head
into the steering wheel, as his hand smacked the headlight switch. He lost
consciousness as the car engine died and the headlights went out.
As everything went silent, the cigarette
lighter popped out, ready to do its job.
They walked side by side, drinking. Within
fifteen minutes they were walking less than one hundred yards from Drew's wrecked
car. The dark, cloudy sky masked it from their vision as they walked right by.
They discarded two crushed cans of beer like they were aluminum beacons leading
to the wreak, completely oblivious.
The demon followed after them, flowing around
the cornstalks of the first field and the soybean plants of the current field
as a gray mist. It trailed behind, weaving back and forth between the plants as
the teenagers walked down the rows of the crops. The monster wasn't sure if
anything else interesting was going to happen or not, but he had a hunch
something was right around the bend that was going to take things up a notch.
Noticing Drew's wrecked car in the distance, the creature chuckled to himself
at the other two's ignorance of their wounded buddy, well Jake's buddy at
least. That got ideas stirring in its mind dealing with the immediate future.
Jake handed Johnny a new beer as well as
himself, as they walked past their wounded friend and on towards an old,
abandoned house with more history than both of them put together.
"Why doesn't somebody knock this fucking
relic down?" Johnny asked as they moved towards the old building, dabbing
his still bleeding nose with his T-shirt.
"Bad Mojo, supposedly," Jake
answered.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Place is cursed, you remember."
Johnny chuckled. "This is the house
where the little girl was never found, right?"
"That's a funny thing?" Jake asked.
"Well, the parents killed themselves
right after the press started slinging shit, right?"
Jake cocked his head as he looked at Johnny.
"I still don't see what's funny."
Johnny threw his hands up. "They must
have been guilty if they killed themselves, ya dumbshit."
"Spent a lot of time studying the case,
right?"
"Don't have to," Johnny took a long
drink of his beer. "That shit is OJ simple. Just because the glove don't
fit, don't mean I didn't co-mmit murder!" He laughed at his half ass
rhyme.
Jake pulled out a cigarette. "The wife
killed herself, not the husband."
"Bum a smoke," Johnny said, holding
out his hand. It wasn't a question, it was a goddamn command.
Maybe it was everything that had happened so
far that night. Maybe it was how Sarah had reacted to everything Jake had said
or done or not done that night. Maybe it was just Jake getting sick and tired
of Johnny's bullshit. Maybe it was the demon, pressing on Jake's emotions.
Whatever it was, Jake had had enough, and Johnny was
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