Night of Vengeance (9 page)

Chapter 24

     Melissa enjoyed watching the man burn in the truck behind them. His screams were the sweetest sound she had heard all night. Before the night began, she was a naïve little girl hoping to enjoy a Valentine’s Day dinner with her boyfriend. Now, that little girl was dead. She didn’t know who or what she was now, only what she had to do.

     Chad was such a scumbag. Why hadn’t she seen it before? The way he cowered to those men and just handed her over to save his own ass. The sick fuck looked like he was being turned on watching those animals rape her. She had some things in mind for him. The thoughts scared her. Twelve hours ago, such horrible things would have never crossed her mind. Now, it seemed like the only things that made sense. Not only did they need to be done, but she was looking forward to it.
She couldn’t wait to see his expressions change or to hear his screams.

     Then there was Amy. The girl seemed like her just a few hours before. Even after
the ordeal Melissa had saved her from, she had this innocence about her. Yet Melissa felt a bond with her. She’d never had many female friends for some reason, but in just a few hours felt closer to Amy than she had to any other girl.

     “There’s a warehouse up here,” Randy said. “I don’t think we have enough gas to get to the city. We have less than a quarter
of a tank.”

     “Then stop at the warehouse. I’m surprised it’s not burned down with everything else
,” Melissa said.

     Randy pulled the truck in and parked next to the building. They grabbed Chad out of the back who looked like a silver duct tape mummy. He made muffled screams as they dragged him inside.

     “Holy shit!” Amy yelled. “What’s that smell? Ugh!”

     The odor stung Melissa’s nose as they got inside. She looked around and saw
a carcass hanging from a hook toward the back of the warehouse.

     “What the fuck is that?” Amy asked.

     “Not what, who?” Randy said. “It’s a human body. Or was. Someone fucked him up.”

     He walked closer and looked at the pieces of clothing on the floor
. He noticed the shirt had a badge and name tag on it.

     “Holy shit,” Randy said. “This was the sheriff. Someone took their sweet time with him.”

     “Shit,” Melissa said.

     “What?” Amy asked.

     “Those assholes that started all this, the bikers or whatever they were. Look around here.” Melissa pointed at the stacks of empty crates. Some still had some weapons in them and sticks of dynamite in others. “This is where they staged before the attack. Like their headquarters.”

     “Which
likely means that they’ll be back,” Amy said.

     “If they’re still alive. We already killed a bunch of them.”

     “How many do you think there are?”

     “Too many,” Randy said. “We should get out of here.”

     “I thought we didn’t have enough gas.”

     “We don’t but
we need to get as far away from here as we can. Maybe we can make it to the highway and get a ride,” Randy said.

     “Right. Look at us, dressed like we are and soaked in blood. I’m sure someone would pick us right up
,” Melissa mocked.

     “Ok, then we steal a car. But we have to get the fuck out of here.”

     The sound of a car pulling up stopped them. The engine was loud and rumbled to a halt. Melissa’s first thought was to hide, but their truck outside and Chad all taped up on the floor made that pointless. There were three of them, all armed. They could take whoever it was that was pulling up. The sound of a car door slamming came from outside, and they heard footsteps along the gravel approaching.

     The door swung open as a man stepped inside. The man looked haggard and tired. He had long, stringy hair and a scar down the side of his face. He looked at Chad taped up on the floor and then looked at each of them.

     “Well,” he said. “Looks like I’m just in time for the party.”

Chapter 25

     Colt looked at the three in front of him and the guy taped up on the floor. The man and two girls all looked like they’d been through a war.
All of them were soaked in blood. The taped up guy looked like the kid Clay had with him earlier.

     “So who the hell are you people?” Colt asked. They were all pointing guns at him.

     “We’re the ones pointing guns at you. Who the fuck are you?” one of the girl’s said. She was wearing one of Joe’s denim vests.

     “I see you have my friend’s vest on. Any idea where he might be?

     “He’s dead. Lots of people decided to fuck with me tonight. All of them are dead.”

     “Wow. You must be a tough girl
,” Colt said.

     “Answer my goddamn question. Who the fuck are you?”

     “My name is Colt. Colt Stillman.”

     “Colt Stillman?”
the man said. “You’re Colt Stillman?”

     “Who the fuck is Colt Stillman?”
the girl in the vest said.

     “I am,” Colt said. “He knows who I am.”

     “He was sheriff here a long time ago. I was in high school. He went to prison for killing the mayor’s wife,” the man said.

     “I didn’t kill her. The mayor killed his own wife and set me up for it. I tried to help him cover it up, which was my mistake. Then he turned on me. The whole fucking town turned on me. So off to prison I went for twenty years. I got out yesterday and came back here, but I brought hell with me.”

     “You started all of this?” the girl said. “These thugs running around town, the guns, dynamite, and the fucking rape? That was you?”

     “I didn’t do all of those things, but yes. They were my men. The town had to pay for what it did to me
,” Colt said.

     “What the fuck? I was a baby when you went to prison you ass! I had nothing to do with what happened to you. Shit! I got fucking gang raped
repeatedly. My family is probably dead. The whole town is burned to the ground over an old grudge?” the girl screamed.

     Before Colt could reply, sirens sounded in the distance.

     “Looks like the cavalry’s here. Took them long enough,” Colt said. “So you gonna kill me? Get it over with. I hadn’t planned on living through tonight.”

     “Go figure. Where were the fucking cops when it mattered?”

     “One of them is hanging up over there,” Colt said pointing at Briggs’ body.

     “Get down on the ground and toss any guns out you have on you
,” the girl ordered.

     “I’m not gonna do that,” Colt said. “You are welcome to shoot and kill me. But you’re not gonna tape me up and torture me.”

     “I told you to get on the ground dickhead,” the girl said.

     “I’d do what she tells you. She’s not fucking around
,” the man said.

     “Oh I’m sure of that. I saw what she did to my brother down the road
,” Colt said. The girl looked confused for a moment. “The burning truck down the road? That hairy guy inside was my brother.”

     “Your asshole brother raped the shit out of me, had about twenty other people rape me and burned down a restaurant full of people, so I hope he rots in hell. Now get on the ground!” She fired a shot, hitting Colt in the shin. He tumbled to the ground, holding his leg. The sirens grew louder.

     The girl walked over to him, as he reached for his own gun. She ran over and kicked it out of his hand and stood on his wounded leg. He screamed in pain as she grinded her heel into the bullet wound.

     “You fucking bitch!”
he yelled.

     “You’re gonna be the bitch before we’re done
, though I should thank you. I was a scared little girl before the night started. Tonight I learned something. I learned you have to be ruthless.” She lifted her foot and stomped on the wounded leg, causing another scream.

     The other girl walked over and kicked Colt in the face. He felt his nose break as it crunched against her boot. Blood sprayed from his nose as the vest girl stomped on his leg again.

     “Goddammit! What do you want from me?” Colt yelled. “I told you why I did this shit! Nothing you can do about it now. Torturing me won’t change it.”

     “No, but it will make me feel a lot better. I’m sure you felt good after you had fun with Briggs. Did that undo your prison time?”
the girl asked.

     “No, it didn’t. He was a worthless fuck. I thought if I killed him and killed everyone in town I’d feel vindicated. Then the cops would show up and I’d die in a shootout with police. But they never came, not until now
,” Colt said. “So just get it over with. I didn’t picture getting killed by a crazy girl with a gun, but do it. It’s better than going back to prison.”

     The girl stepped off his leg and looked at the man.

     “Bring Chad over here. Tape them up together,” the girl said. “Help him out Amy.”

     The two of them taped the two men together. The other guy, Chad kept crying and sobbing as they taped them together.
Their backs were against each other, both their heads taped together. Colt sat there and thought how the night hadn’t gone the way he’d planned at all.

Chapter 26

     Randy tried to remain cool as the sirens grew louder. The two men were duct taped together on the floor. The older one, Colt, acted like he didn’t care. The other guy wouldn’t stop crying and blubbering. Randy wanted to just shut him up once and for all, but Melissa wanted him alive, so there they were. At first the girls had taken him hostage. He could have gotten away several times over by now, but he could tell they were good kids. Just like him, they had some scores to settle.

     “We can’t stay here, we have to move
,” Randy told them.

     Melissa didn’t respond, she was on her knees with a knife, carving something into her boyfriend’s chest. The kid screamed as blood ran down the tape and into his lap.

     “There, not bad,” Melissa said, admiring her own work. Randy couldn’t read it with all the blood.

     “Did you hear what I said?”
he said. “Police are coming. We have to get out of here.”

     “He’s right,” Amy said. “We should go.”

     “Yeah. Let’s go,” Melissa agreed.

     They walked out the front toward one of the pickups. In addition to the sirens was the
whooping
sound of a helicopter approaching.

     “Shit,” Randy said. “Let’s split up. I’ll take the road. You guys go behind the warehouse. There used to be a dirt road that runs back there. It should still be there. Take Colt’s truck.

     “Good idea,” Melissa said as they ran to the other pickup. She looked inside and gave Randy a thumbs up when she saw the keys were still in it. The girls climbed in and started the engine.

     “Keep your lights off. They won’t be able to see you as easily!” Randy yelled. Melissa gave another thumbs up and drove the truck around the back with the headlights off. Randy climbed into his truck and started it. Looking out the window at the warehouse
, he took a deep breath. This had only been one night, but it felt like he’d lived several lifetimes. The man that he’d been the previous morning was dead.

     He didn’t even know who he was now. Part of him loved who he’d become, but the rest of him feared it. Somewhere along the line, he’d reached a breaking point. He’d killed people in horrific ways. Ways he’d never imagined himself capable of. When the police went through the town, would they find evidence against him? Would he go to prison? Perhaps the town was such a mess, they wouldn’t be able to prosecute anyone, though that was unlikely.

     The sounds of the sirens and helicopter grew louder. As he backed out of the parking lot, he could see flashing lights just down the road, dozens of them. He pulled out of the parking lot and sped toward the lights. He picked up speed and turned his headlights on. The police cars were at least half a mile away. The helicopter circled overhead as he raced toward them. He looked at the clock on the dashboard. The girls would be at a safe distance away by the time he was done.

     Several of the police cars screeched to a halt just in front of him. An officer ran out across the road, and then ran off the side of the road. Randy accelerated as the other police cars pulled off the road out of his way. He wasn’t sure why they weren’t doing some kind of road block. That is, until he hit the stop sticks. All four of his tires blew out as the truck fishtailed from side to side. He tried to keep control but at his speed it was impossible.

     He slammed into one of the police cars and bounced off another as the truck spun around several times, slid off the road and landed sideways, on the passenger side in a ditch. Randy was thrown around the cab, banging his head on the windshield and steering wheel. When the truck stopped on its side, he was lying against the passenger door. Blood was running down his face and the side of his head throbbed.

     He gathered himself, found his gun and slowly climbed out of the driver’s side window. As he emerged, there were several police cars, flashing lights and cops with guns pointed at him. All of them were screaming. He couldn’t make out the words exactly, except that it was something like “Put the gun down! Drop the gun! Get on the ground!” Not that it mattered.

     There was a younger cop just a few feet away from the truck aiming a shotgun at him. Randy pointed the gun directly at him. He never intended to shoot, but the kid was extremely quick anyway. The young officer fired the shotgun hitting Randy in his left shoulder. The blast bent him over backwards as he was half out of the vehicle’s window. With that shot however, the rest of the officers opened fire, peppering Randy’s body with bullets.

     Finally, he collapsed back inside the truck’s cab, staring up at the sky. The sun was just starting to come up. Through the cracked windshield, he could see the sunrise in the distance. It would be his last sunrise. He smiled as blood filled his lungs and even more poured into the truck’s cab. By now, the girls should be safe. Never in his life had he been the hero. He had always been the one needing saving, or worse, the scapegoat.

     Despite all the terrible things he’d done this night, he finally got something right. While he didn’t get the girl, he still saved her. He saved two of them, at least he hoped. As he took his last few breaths, he died content knowing he wasn’t dying a coward. Even though it was the end, he finally stood up for himself and went out in the blaze of glory that most men only dream about.