The Writers' Circle

Mary strolled down Claybourne Avenue, having finished work for the evening.  Her job at the office supply store didn't pay much, but then again, she didn't need much.  She was living her brother's house while he was away working on an oil rig.  Her mother had set everything up before he left.  She only had to worry about her personal needs.

    She preferred this arrangement rather than living in her parent's house.  She had the run of this place.  No interference from her aging parents. She didn't miss bickering about her "weird and chaotic lifestyle" with her mother. 

"Young girls like you shouldn't be all over town at all hours doing God knows what." her mother scolded. 
"You are always at the bars dressed like a tramp." nagged her mother. 
Mary always fought back. 
"Maybe I wouldn't be dressed like a tramp if you stopped Uncle Fred from treating me like one when I was 11!  But oh no, you and father wouldn't beleive me. How could he molest his own niece and blah blah blah." Mary would point out.

"Just wanted attention you would say.  My own father wouldn' speak to me for years because of it.  He was supposed to protect me!"

Her parents had enough finally. Mary's mother decided a change of scenery and a job would bring stability and purpose to Mary's life. She arranged for Mary to move her brother's house while he was away and secured her a job at her friend's small store.

              Mary wasn't in any particular hurry as usual. She gazed at the bushes, the trees, the middle class homes, and the finely manicured lawns as they slowly scrolled by.  She hummed quietly to herself, swinging her small purse around, lost in the anticipation of another night of self-government.  She ruled her own life now. No interference from "Mother". She never talked to neighbors or even checked the mail. Nobody bothered her. All was perfect.  

            She pictured her evening as a movie night. Yes, a movie and maybe some popcorn would keep her company this evening. 

"Hmmm, maybe a good horror movie." she wondered aloud. 

Jeff skulked in the bushes.  Having been fired from every job he ever had, Jeff realized that "self employment" was the way to go. Today, he was scoping out houses in the area for the one man moving company he incorporated. Of course, the owners of the house didn't know their belongings were about to be "moved" and where they were going, but hey, business is business.
  He was never a socially gifted person. He was a loud bully, bragged constantly, and was a compulsive liar. These traits alone made people hate him but it was his well-honed sadistic nature that made people truly loathe him. His preference for beating people rather than talking to them was well known.  If his sarcasm and snide remarks weren't knocking people down, his fists' were. So cruel was his nature, it fueled rumors was that he was responsible for the 3 young men that had gone missing in town over the last few weeks.  Some people just presumed that they ran into Jeff at a bar, pushed him too far somehow, and Jeff just "took care" of it.

            Jeff silently surveyed the darkened house from the bushes.  No beware of dog signs, no lights on, and no car in the driveway. The mail box was full. It was a sure sign that the occupants were away.

"Perfect." he thought.

             It was perfect all right. Well, perfect except for one thing. Mary. As Jeff moved to the front door with lock picks in hand, Mary walked up right behind him. She hadn't noticed him there, her attention devoted to her key ring she had dropped on the driveway, her fingers fishing around for them in the dark.

            Jeff wheeled around as he heard the keys jingle. In one swift movement, he pinned Mary to her front lawn, his hand covering her mouth so she couldn't scream. 

            "Well, well. It looks like some entertainment has arrived." he sneered. Mary was white as a sheet. A look of terror had replaced her smile. She found it hard to breathe with 250 pounds of crushing weight lying on top of her. She froze.  Flashbacks of Uncle Fred lying on top of her in the tree house in the backyard came rushing back.  Fred's threat was still fresh in her mind.

             "Don't make a sound.  Tell anyone and they will never believe you. Your mom and Dad will drop you off in the woods for being a bad little girl.  A dirty little liar."

            Jeff removed the keys from her hand. He guessed correctly that the key with the "H" scratched on it was the house key. He quickly unlocked the door dragging Mary's stiff form inside. 

 He stopped just inside the kitchen to close the door behind him.  He released his grip on Mary.  She was relieved that he let go.  She thought that she was going to die.  Jeff rose to his feet, locked the door, and began undoing his belt.  He sneered at Mary.  He enjoyed how weak defenseless she seemed, lying on the hard floor before him. 

            "Every dog has his day Baby." he said cocking his head to the side.

He pulled out a butcher knife from a block on the counter.

            "Scream and I'll crush the life out of you and chop you into tiny bits of fresh bitch." he grunted.

Mary nodded weakly.  It was still dark but she could make out his jeans dropping to the floor.  Mary looked up at Jeff as she slid her hands under her skirt to pull it up.  Jeff paused and gazed at her.  He was surprised that she gave up so easily.

            "Glad to see that you know how to play this game." Jeff said. "Things won't be as hard for you this way.  Well, one thing will be." He laughed as he uttered the words.

            Mary began to say "Please don't hurt..". Jeff suddenly gasped and doubled over.  Mary had dropped her hands from her skirt to the floor to gain power for her kick upwards.  Jeff slowly crumpled to the floor beside her clutching his groin.  Mary dove for the basement door near by, flicked the light on, and ran down the stairs.

            "You're' going to pay for that bitch!" yelled Jeff as he pulled his jeans back up and followed Mary down the steps.  Mary stopped at bottom of the stairs in front of the circuit breaker panel and looked up at him.  When he was halfway down the stairs, Mary flicked off all the breakers.  Darkness fell over the house, and Jeff fell down the stairs. Jeff moaned as he struggled to his feet.  He followed the sound of Mary running across the cement floor in the inky blackness.  

"Cripes. Who blacks out their basement windows?" he thought. He renewed his chase after his elusive prey.

            "Here bitch, bitch, bitch.  Got a treat for ya."  

            He heard a door open ahead.  Jeff made a bee line for the noise, crashing into Mary at full speed.  She bounced off the door casing and landed on her back in front of Jeff.  She crawled backwards like a crab on her butt as he came through the door.  Jeff got on his hands and knees, barking and snarling at her as he crawled towards her.  His eyes glared at her.  An evil grin crept over his face. He could make her out now, his eyes finally adjusting to the darkness.  

            "We'll just have to make sure that you don't fight back anymore!" he hissed.  He could just make out a baseball bat hanging out of a sports bag next to Mary.  He reached for it.  There was a sickening thump as wood contacted flesh and bone.

             The blindfold was on tight, as were the ropes that tied the wrists to the arms of the chair.  Light was now cascading through the basement as the breakers were flipped back on. It reflected off the blade of the butcher knife as it flashed through the air.  Steel met flesh, carving a letter deftly into the skin.  Screams shattered the quiet that had reigned for the last few minutes.  The point of the butcher knife lifted the blindfold up gently allowing light to assault pupils.
  Mary slowly looked around.  Sweat beaded down her forehead as her gaze rested on the far wall of the basement.  Jeff followed her eyes and focused on the wall as well.

"Oh my god" he mouthed.

 Jeff yelped in pain, straining against the ropes as Mary finished carving the word "pig" into his chest. Mary wiped the sweat from her brow.

Jeff could barely make out three young men gagged and tied to some metal shelving that was bolted to the far wall. They were almost naked, as he was now, except for the various cut marks, bruises, and gags.  Their groins were mutilated by slashes and various sharp objects were hammered into them. The words "pig" and "dog" were carved all over the three hapless men.  They stared blankly back at him. 

She suddenly grinned and leaned towards Jeff grabbing his face with her hand.

            "Wow.  That was hard work dragging your fat frame into that chair.  I worked up quite a sweat.  That pisses me off!" she yelled.  Her grin was replaced by a look of rage.  

She screamed, "Three things dumbass!"

            " One.  I have more than one bat moron!"

            "Two.  Pigs like you and these three idiots should never touch a woman!" 

             She suddenly wheeled around and walked towards a video camera setup on a tripod.  She pressed a button. The record light came on as she picked up a hammer and some four inch nails lying on a small table next to it.  She slinked towards Jeff.

            "And three.  Like I said to your fellow actors here.." She gestured at the men on the wall.

            " Welcome to my horror movie.  Want some popcorn?"