Chapter 9

The Pond

Friday night at the Roadside bar and the clock on the wall read a quarter ‘til midnight.

Crystal Piper, drunk and very touchy feely, rubbed her hand down the back of Dan Cooper. Dan, a member of her staff, was almost as drunk as she was and had been coming on to her all night. Crystal was enjoying the male attention.

 image 

 Across the table sat

Shandy Koperski, Crystal’s good friend and co-supervisor from work. Shandy was doting on one of her junior staff members, Mike Reed and Mike had been running his hand up and down her thigh for the last twenty minutes. All four arrived at the bar separately after work and had been drinking since six thirty. They were having a wonderful, fun time and getting more and more flirtatious with each other as the night progressed. The only unmarried member of the group was Dan, who was up for any party, but had no idea his married boss was so interested in him. Both Shandy and Mike were married, but not to each other.

“Let’s get out of here,” Crystal said with a slur. “I want to party somewhere more private.”

Dan smiled and looked to the others to gauge their reactions. He could see by the look in their eyes that they were ready to move the party elsewhere too. “I guess I’m driving,”

Dan said, disappointed. “I have the only vehicle big enough for all of us and I’m probably the most sober.”

“Oh, you big baby,” Crystal said laughing. She leaned in close to Dan and whispered in his ear, “I’ll make it worth your while.” Dan dug into his pants pocket for his keys, giddy with anticipation.

“Where do you want to go?” Shandy asked. “The bars will all be closed in forty five minutes.”

“Screw the bars,” Mike replied. “I know a place where we can go and have all the privacy we want.”

“Where?” Dan asked. “I don’t want to get picked up by the cops.”

“The pond,” Mike said assuredly. “We used to go there in high school and get drunk all the time. There is a lake, picnic tables and plenty of room to park. It’s back behind a windbreak of trees in some rancher’s field.”

“Is there a locked gate? And how far away is it?” Dan asked.

“Don’t need a key; not a lot of people know this place and it’s not that far away. It’s about twelve miles southeast from here. Trust me, I’ve been there a lot and nobody will know we are there.”

“Have you taken women there before?” Shandy asked.

“Yeah. Twenty years ago in high school. And we used it for a place to smoke pot too. You will not be disappointed.”

“Are you sure it’s still there?” Dan asked. “Twenty years is a long time.”

“Let’s go anyway,” Crystal said. “If it’s not there, we can find an old abandoned farm house. They’re all over the place.”

The group paused for a moment to see if anyone else would speak up, then began to gather their things and leave the table. They were close to the front door and it didn’t take long to wave to the crowd and say goodbye as they stepped outside into the warm September night.

“Where did you park?” Crystal asked with an intoxicated Patrickle.

“At the end of the block,” Dan replied, putting his arm around her in an attempt to keep her upright as she staggered down the sidewalk. Shandy and Mike held hands as they followed the two guiding them to Dan’s old Explorer. Shandy checked her purse to make sure she had her cell phone; she thought about turning it off in case her husband decided to call and check on her. He was at home with her two young sons, thinking that she was at a candle party with her friends from work. She had said she would be home late and he trusted her. She figured he wouldn’t call to check, but just in case, she decided she’d turn off the phone and not take the risk. Then it rang with a familiar song.

“Shit,” Shandy said out loud.

“Who is it?” Mike asked.

“It’s Kent,” She replied and listened to the music play while reading Kent’s name on the screen.

“Don’t answer it,” Crystal said in a panic. “Let it go to voice mail.”

“I can’t,” Shandy said. “He knows I always answer the phone.” With that said, Shandy clicked the send button and signaled for everyone to be quiet as they stood outside the Explorer. “Hello?” she asked into the phone.

“Hey, how’s it going?” Kent asked from the other side of the phone.

“It’s fine. We are going to be late you know; we are having drinks after the candle party and we are going to sit around and talk like girls you know.”

“I know, I just wanted to tell you that the kids will not be staying at mom’s tomorrow night. She has to go to the hospital for a few hours Sunday morning and won’t be able to watch them.”

“Oh. Okay. Well, what do you want to do then?” Shandy asked.

“If I can’t find another babysitter, we’ll have to cancel our plans and stay home.” Kent replied.

“You know what?” Shandy asked. “That would be fine with me anyway. I think I’ll be home real late and I will be so tired tomorrow that staying home would be a good idea. We can rent a movie and I can make you and the kids something special for supper.”

“I was looking forward to going out,” Kent said with disappointment. “I never get to go anywhere or do anything. You are always staying late after work or going to some sort of candle, jewelry or whatever party with your girlfriends.”

Shandy looked over at Mike and felt guilty for a moment. Then she looked up at his sexy eyes and down at his bulging crotch and she got over it fast. “We’ll see,” she said to Kent and waited for his response.

“I’m getting real tired of this shit, just so you know. I can’t do anything without you and you seem to be unavailable more and more these days.”

“Fine,” Shandy said in a pissed tone. “I’ll be home when I get there and we’ll see. If I’m too tired, you can go out without me.”

“I didn’t get married to go out by myself,” Kent replied angrily.

“It’s not my fault you don’t have any friends. Now I need to go.”

“Goodnight,” Kent said with a pissed tone in his voice and hung up. The phone darkened down as the call was ended and Shandy looked back up to Mike who was grinning ear to ear.

“That’s a good girl,” he said and opened the back door of the Explorer for her. She slid in close, rubbed up against Mike and stepped up into the back of the truck, taking a seat. She scooted over and waited for the other three to get in also, leaning forward as Mike put his arm around her. He moved in close and gave her a wet, slobbery kiss with his unshaven, chewing tobacco flavored mouth.

“You are so fucking hot,” Shandy said, rubbing Mike’s chest and moving in for another kiss.

“You two can wait ‘til we get to the pond before you get started. We have all night,” Crystal said looking back at the couple from the front seat. “It’s a nice night out and I think the fun has just begun.”

***

Back at Shandy’s house, her husband Kent flicked on the computer and brought up the g.p.s. tracking program that he had installed the day before. The unit came with a small battery operated tracking device that he had placed into Shandy’s purse, inside the lining. It had only taken him a few minutes to cut the cloth with a razor blade, insert the thumb-sized unit and seal the opening with a little super glue.

The image on the screen updated every five minutes and he had been monitoring her for the last few hours, knowing full and well that she had been at the Roadside bar since she had clocked out from work. Months of late nights at work and hidden texting had led him to believe something was going on and now his suspicions were being verified right in front of him, on his screen. He watched as the updates showed Shandy moving from the bar, onto the highway, then heading south out of town. He wanted so badly to pick up the phone and ask her where the fuck she was going, but he held back and let the tracking unit do its work so he could have proof before he confronted her. Every five minutes, the unit showed her heading further and further south; to where he would find out later. For now, his blood began to boil and he sat there shaking his head, gathering evidence.

***

Mike moved in closer to Shandy who seemed, for a moment, to be lost in a trance. She was staring out the side window of the Explorer as the truck drove further down the highway. It was dark inside the truck, except for the areas lit-up from the radio display.

Outside, it was lit-up from the moonlight, exposing farm after farm as they drove further south.

“What are you looking at?” Mike asked with curiosity.

“Did you ever hear of that ghost story about the farmer who lost an arm out here?” Shandy replied.

“No, I’m not from around here. What are you talking about?”

“I heard about it,” Crystal spoke up, turning around in her seat to look at the couple in the back. “It’s the biggest bullshit story I’ve ever heard,” she stated, still intoxicated.

“There’s no such things as ghosts,” she slurred.

“To each her own, I suppose,” Shandy sighed. “I heard the story when I was a kid and it sounded pretty real to me.”

“Enlighten us please,” Crystal said with a smirk. “We have a few minutes ‘til we get to the pond and Mike hasn’t heard the story.”

Slightly pissed, Shandy spoke up. “It happened back in the forties.”

“Fifties I heard,” Crystal interrupted.

“Forties or fifties, it doesn’t matter. It was a long time ago, ok?”

Shandy snapped. “Back then, there was this farmer who was unloading his corn into an auger and he got too close to the drive shaft of his tractor. The sleeve from his jacket got caught-up in the shaft and it pulled so hard it ripped his arm off, spun it around the shaft and then flung the arm out into a cow pen.”

“No fucking way!” Mike said with a grin.

“Farm accidents happen all the time dipshit,” Shandy said. “I take it you came from the city?”

“Yeah, but still, that sounds a bit far-fetched to me.”

Crystal spoke up to defend Shandy, “My mom is a nurse and I have heard of worse things than that happening on farms. Tractors rolling over on people, people getting electrocuted from power lines, and all sorts of other shit. Farming is one dangerous job.”

“Fine, fine,” Mike said. “Go on.”

“When the ambulance finally got to the scene, they couldn’t find his arm. Not that it would have mattered much back in those days, but they searched and searched and never found it. The farmer eventually bled to death before they could get him to the hospital. They say that he can be seen walking in the fields, searching for his missing arm, to this day.”

“You got that off of Scooby Doo didn’t you?” Mike joked. “Is that the best you can come up with?”

“I didn’t make it up. I heard it a long time ago.”

“Huh. Do you believe everything you hear?”

“I didn’t say it was true. I was just sharing a story to pass the time.”

“Hey, don’t get pissed; I just don’t believe everything I hear.” Mike looked at the upcoming road sign and directed Dan, who was driving. “Take the next gravel road on your right and drive six miles; it should be easy to find once we get close.”

Shandy sat quietly and watched the highway out the front windshield, crossing her arms and fuming. Mike took notice and moved in closer and put his hand on her thigh. She didn’t respond. Mike stroked her thigh, back and forth, looking for a reaction. Nothing.

The truck slowed down and made a right-hand turn onto the gravel road, then picked up speed quickly. Now it was a matter of time before they arrived at their destination and started the after party. “Do you have any beer in here?” Crystal asked Dan.

“No, but I do have a few bottles of Southern Comfort and I think I have some Vodka as well, in the back behind the seats.”

“Awesome,” Crystal replied and slid down in her seat, putting her bare feet up onto the dashboard. “We have all night and I don’t want to sober up too quickly.”

Mike, now concerned that his woman was giving him the cold shoulder, started to think fast to change her mood before they got to the pond. He knew if he tried to placate her about the ghost she would see though it, making things worse, so he decided to change his approach. “I’m sorry,” he stated.

“No you’re not,” Shandy replied. “You are just saying that so I won’t say no later.”

“Come on, it was a ghost story, not like we were discussing cancer or something. Can we let it go for tonight?” he asked.

Shandy remained quiet and listened to the radio, watching the fence posts slide by her window, on the way to the pond. Six miles at seventy miles an hour doesn’t take long and the unmarked entrance to the pond was quickly approaching.

“Slow down,” Mike said. “It’s right there and you can miss it if you don’t look close.”

The entrance to the pond was a rarely used truck path that spurred to the left and ran about a half mile towards a grove of trees. The path was surrounded by tall grass and the ruts were filled with weeds, obstructing the view of the road ahead, so Dan had to take it slow and crawl his way forward.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Shandy asked. “I don’t want to get stuck here.”

“I can put it in four wheel drive if we get stuck; don’t worry,” Dan assured her as he continued down the bouncy, unkempt road on the way to the trees.

It took five minutes, but they finally came to an area where the tall grass ended. They could see the outline of a small lake, surrounded by trees. Dan pulled up and parked the truck about thirty feet from the edge of the water, then turned off the Explorer.

“This is better than I remember it,” Mike said.

Shandy opened her door and stepped out onto the ground to take a look around. “This is nice,” she said, improving Mike’s mood immediately. Mike then opened his door, circled around to the back of the truck and popped open the hatch to retrieve the booze Dan had said was back there. To his surprise, Mike found not only three bottles of liquor, but a half open case of warm beer as well. “Jackpot,” he said to himself and lifted the beer and one of the Whisky bottles out from the back of the truck. He brought the booze around to the front, where everyone was standing, and handed the bottle to Dan.

“Where are the tables?” Dan asked, looking around.

Mike scanned the area and shrugged his shoulders. “It was twenty years ago; be glad the lake is still here,” he said with a Patrickle.

“Great,” Dan said disappointed. “Now what?”

Crystal came up from behind Dan, put her arms around him and grabbed his crotch.

“Use your imagination,” she purred, which perked Dan right up. “Why don’t you and I go for a little walk and let these two have some privacy?” she suggested.

Dan, horny as hell and ready to fuck, said “Let’s grab a blanket out of the truck first. I don’t want to do it in the dirt; I might get a snake up my ass.”

Crystal walked around to the back of the truck, grabbed a rolled-up blanket from next to the liquor bottles and tossed it at Dan. She looked back at Shandy and said, “We have our cell phones, if we get lost. You can come find us, but give us an hour first. I’m not leaving ‘til I get laid.”

Dan and Crystal took off walking alongside the lake, between the water and the trees that lined it. It didn’t take long before they disappeared into the darkness and their voices could no longer be heard. Now it was Mike and Shandy, and all the crickets and frogs, that filled the air with sound.

“What do you want to do?” Shandy asked.

Mike walked up to Shandy, grabbed her by the hips and lifted her up onto the hood of the Explorer. He moved in and leaned on the truck, between her legs. Mike buried his face in Shandy’s chest, making moaning sounds. He wrapped his hands around her soft, supple, round ass and squeezed tight, like making bread dough. He smelled her skin as he started to get an erection.

“Let me help you,” Shandy said and unbuttoned her jeans, sliding them off. She raised her ass off the truck and Mike pulled her pants and panties off, laying them on the ground. In front of him was her hot, wet pussy, ready to eat. “Make this good. I’ve never been eaten on the hood of a truck before,” she said and laid back on the hood, spreading her legs. Mike used the thumb and first finger on his left hand to spread her pussy lips apart, then dove in with his tongue. Shandy moaned and shifted her butt so he could get a better position on her clit. It wasn’t long before she was feeling better about Mike. She was very happy to look up at the moon while her work subordinate had his way with her.

***

Fifteen minutes later, Dan was enjoying a blow job from Crystal, lying on the blanket in a clearing near the edge of the pond, when his cell phone lit-up with a text message. He begrudgingly picked up the phone and read the message from Mike. “Shandy wants to go back into town.” Dan shook his head in disbelief and texted back, “I’m getting a blow job. You can wait,” The next message read, “Your keys are in the Explorer; can we take it? You can get a ride home from your brother later.”

“What’s going on?” Crystal asked with her hand still firmly around Dan’s cock.

“Shandy wants to go back to town,” he said in disgust.

“She’s a girly-girl, doesn’t care to rough it; might mess up her hair,” Crystal laughed. “Let them take the Explorer. I can get us a ride home later.”

Dan texted back, “Go ahead and take the Explorer. Leave it at my house when you are done.”

Mike, still dripping cum from his penis, smeared it on the phone from his fingers and looked over to Shandy. She was still in the back seat of the Explorer, with her knees up in the air, spread apart and dripping goo from her wet hole onto the seat. “He says ok,” Mike informed Shandy.

Shandy slid across the leather seats, on the wet cum, then slid her feet onto the ground.

“Sorry my ass is so fat that I can’t fit in there, but I prefer a bed.”

“Where do you want to go?” Mike asked. “We can’t go to your place or mine.”

“I have my debit card; we can get a hotel.”

“What about your husband? Won’t he be curious? Doesn’t he expect you home sometime soon?”

“He is a clueless idiot. I could tell him I was Mary Todd Lincoln and he’d believe me. He trusts me.” Shandy grabbed a McDonald’s napkin from inside the Explorer and wiped her crotch as clean as she could get it. She then gathered up her clothes and put them back on. “By the time we get to the hotel, you’ll be ready to go again. This time we can take a shower first and then spread out on the bed. I love hotel sex; I don’t have to clean up afterwards.”

“How often do you do this?” Mike asked.

“As often as I can,” Shandy replied. “I hope you can cum more than once a night, unlike my lame husband Kent. I want to walk with a limp when I get home, if you know what I mean.”

Mike, now semi-dressed, hopped into the front seat of the Explorer and started the engine. He put the vehicle into drive and followed the path back to where they had come from. It was easy to follow the path of bent grass. In a few minutes, they were back on the gravel road. A few more and they were on the highway, heading back towards town to get a hotel room. Mike was very happy; he could go all night and now he had his chance.

***

Dan closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of the night as Crystal continued to bob up and down on his cock. Abruptly, he heard a noise from the brush to his right and immediately sat up, concerned someone was going to catch them having sex on private property. Crystal raised her head and looked at Dan, who was scanning the area like an antenna. He motioned for her to stay quiet. The sound started again, only this time it remained constant and sounded like footsteps in the tall grass behind the grove of trees.

Was it Shandy or Mike looking for them? Was it the owner of the property? Neither of them knew who or what was behind the trees, but Dan pulled up his pants, snapped them shut and pulled up the zipper. He rolled onto his abdomen and signaled for Crystal to do the same, so they wouldn’t be seen.

The sound continued around the outskirts of the small lake, stopping in a small clearing about a hundred yards away. In the moonlight, Dan noticed something he hadn’t seen before: a jumbled pile of buckets and canisters, with a large bucket just visible through an opening in the brush. “It’s a fucking drug lab,” he whispered.

Crystal, now terrified of being caught, looked around for a way to get back to the road.

Her heart pounded and she started to panic. Dan looked back at her and motioned for her to be still.

“Don’t move,” he whispered, “and don’t say a word.”

Crystal lay silent in the grass and put her head down on her arms trying to block out what was happening. For what seemed forever, she slowed down her breathing and tried to pretend she was invisible, not making any noise or movement. In the stillness of the night, over the sound of the crickets and frogs, she could hear the stranger knock a canister over, onto the ground, with a hollow bang. Her heart stopped for a moment as the night went silent again. Not able to take it anymore, she whispered to Dan, “What’s going on?”

“He dropped something. I think it’s a meth lab.” Dan replied.

“How do you know?” Crystal asked.

“They sometimes make it outside in a secluded spot, where they won’t have to worry about the chemicals. It’s not the best way to make meth, but they have less of a chance of getting caught, and of harming themselves, in the fresh air.”

“Now what?” Crystal prodded.

“Fuck if I know,” Dan replied, pissed.

“What will they do if they catch us?” Crystal asked.

Suddenly, a huge hand reached down from Crystal’s right, grabbed her by the cuff of her pants and lifted her into the air. She let out a scream as she rose, ending up face to face with a seven-foot ogre. Dan rolled over onto his back, attempting to get up until the ogre stepped over and put his boot on Dan’s right leg, pinning him down.

Crystal screamed one more time, then she stopped and panted as she hung from her belt, dangling towards the ground.

“What are you kids doing here?” the ogre asked in a low grumbled voice.

“This is private property; you are trespassing.”

“How did you get over here so fast?” Dan asked.

“I’ve been watching you two since you got here. That’s my brother over there making the racket. Clumsy ogre.”

“I’m sorry,” Dan stated. “We came out here to drink some beer; that’s all.”

Crystal, now with blood rushing to her head, began to squirm. “Let me down!” she yelled and the ogre placed her slowly onto the grass below. She spun over and sat on her butt, with her hands behind her, looking up at the ogre towering above her.

“Who are you?

What are you going to do with us?” she asked defiantly.

“Don’t know,” the ogre replied. “I’ll have to ask my brother what he wants to do. He never lets me do anything unless I ask him first. He’s sort of a prick that way.”

“We didn’t see anything,” Crystal said. “Let us go so we can get home. I’m sorry for trespassing.”

The half brother of the ogre walked up to the threesome and stood tall, with his arms folded, as if in charge. “What did you find?” he asked his half brother.

“These two spying on us.”

“We weren’t spying on you!” Crystal spoke up. “I have no idea who you are or what you are doing here. We came here to have sex, ok? Nothing more. I could care less about your drug thingy lab or whatever.”

“My name is Allan,” the ogre with arms crossed stated. “This is my half brother Toolshed.”

“Toolshed? What kind of a fucking name is that?” Dan asked, still pinned to the ground.

“His parents weren’t very imaginative I guess,” Allan the ogre said with a smile.

“I didn’t ask you for your name,” Crystal barked. “Please let us go and we won’t say a word.”

Allan looked over at Toolshed and unfolded his arms, putting his hands in his pockets.

He looked around and thought for a moment, then slowly turned in a circle, checking out the area for anyone else who might be hiding in the grass. “Any others?” Allan asked.

“Two others left in an Explorer about twenty minutes ago,” Toolshed replied. “I didn’t see anyone else but the four of them.”

“Anyone know you’re out here besides them?” Allan asked Crystal.

“Yes, I told everybody I knew exactly where we were going and if we don’t come back, they will come here looking for us,” she replied, bitch-like.

“We seem to have a problem,” Allan stated. “If I let you go, you will rat us out on our meth operation. That means that me and my brother over there will have to pick up and move everything to a different location, and this has been our perfect spot for nine years.”

“We won’t say anything,” Crystal pleaded.

“If that were the case, we wouldn’t need to hide the lab,” Allan replied.

“People love to talk and you will talk and me and my brother will end up in the state penitentiary, cleaning toilets for the next twenty years.”

For the next five minutes, Allan stood and thought in silence. He looked around, shook his head and racked his brain for an idea to fix his problem. Killing the couple would be an easy fix for now, but would bring unwanted attention to the location and to him and his brother. Plus, Allan wasn’t a killer; he was a chemist and a rapist.

He had no desire to kill anyone, let alone a young couple who were only out for a good time. His brother, though, was a different story.

***

Two thirty in the morning and Kent had driven thirty miles to the location where his hidden g.p.s. tracker had last marked Shandy’s whereabouts, the Hidden Inn Hotel, on the north side of town. He pulled up to the front door and parked under the awning, double checking the readout on his cell phone. In disgust, he got out of the car and entered the building. He approached the check-in desk which, to no surprise, was empty. He looked around and knocked on the counter, taking notice of the signs for free continental breakfast starting at six and a rack of brochures for local points of interest.

“May I help you?” the desk clerk asked rounding corner, from the hallway, into the lobby.

“I’m sorry, but at this hour there is no one to unclog the toilets, so I get stuck doing it.”

“Yeah, I have an odd question for you,” Kent stated, taking a deep breath. “I am looking for my wife and I think she’s in your hotel.”

“Guest records are confidential,” the clerk stated as he walked around Kent and entered the office. “I can’t give you any details, company policy.”

Kent stood there and thought for a minute. He knew his wife was clever, because she had been pulling this stunt on him for a year now, but this time he wasn’t leaving until he got his answers. He hadn’t noticed her car outside, but the tracker led right to this building and it was embedded in her purse. The readout on the phone wasn’t precise enough to pinpoint which room, so he needed the clerk to open up. Then it came to him.

“You take credit and debit cards right?” Kent asked the clerk.

“Yes, sir, we do,” the clerk replied.

“Can you do me a favor and see if my debit card has been used in this hotel tonight? I’m not asking for names; I just want to know if my card is in your system.”

The clerk though for a second and pondered calling his district manager for advice, but decided against it. This guy was only asking if his card was used and was in the system. It wasn’t like the guy was asking for a customer’s name, so he decided it was alright to find out. “Name on the card and card number please?” the clerk asked.

Kent gave his name and card number, after retrieving the card from his wallet. The clerk tapped some keys on the hotel computer keyboard and stood back looking at the screen. His eyes lit up as he came across the number in question and gently bit his lower lip with his two front teeth. “Yes, as a matter of fact, your card is in our system,” he replied. “We had someone come in, about forty five minutes ago, and check-in with that exact number.”

“Which room is it?” Kent asked.

“I can’t give you the room number. I can only tell you the card is in our system.”

Kent quickly thought again and came up with a smarter idea. “My card was stolen and I need to get it back. Tell me the room number, so I can go get it.”

“You said it was your wife a minute ago.” the clerk puzzled. “Are you saying your wife stole your card?”

Lying, Kent replied, “Yes. We got into a fight and she took off with the card. I need to get it back. As far as I am concerned, that room is mine and I want a key.”

The clerk, now faced with the fact that the man in front of him was the owner of the account, put his hands on the counter and hung his head as he thought of what to do.

“This might be a matter for the police,” he stated, looking back up at Kent.

“You are right; it very well may be a matter for the police, but that doesn’t change the fact that I should get a key to the room I am paying for!” he said in a louder, but still somewhat restrained, voice.

“Maybe I should call to the room and have her come down here.” the clerk said, reaching for the phone.

“No, please do not call her. She is up there with another man, using my debit card that she stole from me. As a man, do me a favor, give me a copy of that room key and let me take care of this myself. I promise nothing bad will happen. I just need to talk to her and get my card back.”

The clerk, empathetic to his appeal, stepped back from the counter and reached for a blank card key. He punched a few buttons on the computer, then swiped the key to put the correct room number code on it. He swiped it again, to check to make sure it was coded correctly, and handed the key to Kent. “Room one twenty, bottom floor, end of the building on the west side. There is plenty of parking along the side of the hotel, if you don’t want her to see you coming. If I hear even a peep from that room, I am calling 911, got it?” the clerk asked.

“Got it,” Kent replied, taking the card key from the clerk. He headed back out to his car, giddy with anticipation. Quickly, Kent ran around to the driver’s door, got in and started the car. He slowly moved out, heading in the direction the clerk had instructed him to go, and watched for the room numbers as he went along. One twelve, one thirteen, one fourteen and so forth, until he came across room one twenty, which had the lights on but the curtains closed. He parked right in front of the door and reached down and pushed the trunk release. The trunk door opened with a clunk and a smile raced across his face.

***

Inside the hotel room, Mike lay naked on the bed, still wet from the shower he took with Shandy. She was now toweling off in front of the mirror. He was reaching for the remote control when he heard her say, “Don’t you dare touch that television. That was only number two and I am getting at least four before we leave this place.”

Mike rolled back onto the bed, letting the remote control stay where it was. He watched Shandy, now dried-off, approach him naked in the hotel room light. She had nice big breasts, a round feminine ass and a shaved crotch, which Mike had visited many times already tonight.

“Move over,” she said as she crawled onto the bed on all fours, then spun around with her ass hanging in the air facing Mike, like a bitch in heat. “I want it this way, this time,” she said and spread her legs wide enough for Mike to move in behind her.

“I’m sorta limp right now,” Mike stated. “I can’t get hard on demand like I used to, especially after two times.”

Shandy slowly spun around and ran her hand up Mike’s thigh, then grasped onto his limp penis and began to pull on it like a rubber chicken neck. Over and over she went until she noticed a slight feeling of erection. Then, she put it in her mouth and began to stroke it with her tongue. In less than thirty seconds, he was hard enough to do the job.

She again turned around and put her ass up in the air, burying her head in a pillow, waiting for Mike to penetrate her pussy with his cock. Instead, she heard a click as the door to the hotel room opened and in came her husband Kent, wearing a fully functioning WW2-era flame thrower on his back. In his left hand was a grenade and in his right was a Glock 40 mm pistol, with a round chambered and ready to fire.

“What’s going on Shandy?” Kent asked watching Mike back away from her ass. Shandy sat back on her heels and raised her head, exposing her large breasts and the various sex marks Mike had left on her from the night.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Shandy asked. “How the Hell did you find me?”

Kent, with a smile on his face, checked the flame thrower with a short burst that lit up the room. It sent a wave of heat to Mike and Shandy, causing them to shut their eyes from the flame. “Who is this?” Kent asked.

Shandy sat still and looked into Kent’s eyes, waiting for the rage to come and the fire to consume her, but he stood there, calm and cool, and waited for his answer. Maybe, she thought, if she was honest, she might make it out of this alive. “His name is Mike,” she replied.

“Mike? How do you know Mike?”

“He is one of the guys I supervise,” she replied.

“You are fucking one of your employees?”Kent asked. “Usually that works the other way around. I’ve never heard of the woman boss fucking the male subordinate.”

“How do you like her Mike?” Kent asked, looking at the man now sitting on the edge of the bed. “Is she a good fuck? I wouldn’t know anymore; she quit putting out for me a year ago. I get more affection from my cat.” Kent said with a Patrickle. Mike said nothing and looked away from Kent, at the cell phone that was buzzing with a new incoming message. Everyone in the room could hear the sound and Kent spoke up, “See what it says.”

Mike picked up Shandy’s cell phone and read the message, “Help! Come get us before they kill us.”

Chapter 10

Open Season

 Two hours prior, back at the Roadside bar, it’s half past midnight and there is still a pretty good crowd drinking, dancing and having a good time talking with friends. The bar is designed in an L shape with the drinks served up front around the bar counter and tables set up in back for larger groups. From the back table section, the bar was out of sight of the customers sitting at the stools, and each section had it’s own bathrooms. It was almost like two buildings in one.

The front door opened and three men, dressed in what looked like police uniforms, entered the bar wearing badges that said, “Game Warden.” The men, all in dark grey, wore mirror sunglasses even though it was dark outside, and attached at their hip was a pistol, baton and a set of handcuffs. The men approached the bar and signaled for Linda the barmaid to come over and talk. The music in the front of the building wasn’t nearly as loud as it was in the back and talking over the sound wasn’t too difficult. Linda approached and stopped at the counter across from the officer closest to her. “What can I do for you?” she asked.

“We’re here to do a spot inspection,” Roger Acorn, game warden replied.

“Are you the owner of this establishment?” he asked.

“No, that’s Shawn, let me get him for you,” Linda replied nervously and turned to find Shawn. She made some waving motions towards the back of the building and a small thin man walked around the corner and made his way to the three men waiting at the bar. “Shawn, these men would like to talk to you.” Linda said

Shawn, much shorter and thinner than the three men he was standing next too looked up and said, “I’m the owner, is there something wrong officer?” he asked.

“We are doing compliance checks, nothing out of the ordinary. We heard there may be some illegals in the area and we want to make sure you aren’t harboring them.”

Shawn, surprised by the game wardens comments and a bit shaken replied, “I can’t keep my eye on everyone that walks into my bar. I’m not harboring anyone, feel free to look around but don’t blame me if one slips in.”

“The law is clear on this,” the game warden stated. “Anyone found with a vampire in their establishment, after sundown, during hunting season will be held accountable and will be charged with harboring an illegal. It is your responsibility, under the law, to take a state approved training course on identification, and put in screening methods to make sure no illegal gains entry.”

Shawn hung his head down and looked away knowing full well he hadn’t taken the course and had no procedures in place to check for vampires. It was one thing to keep from selling alcohol to minors, it was another to keep vampires, who for the most part looked human, out of his bar. “Do you know how much it cost’s to put in equipment to scan for vampires? I barely make enough on my margin to pay my light bill and my help let alone do your job for you.” Shawn said pissed.

“Take it up with your banker,” the game warden stated. “Now that I have told you why we are here, we are going to do a spot inspection. How many exits do you have?”

“Three, one at the front door you came through, a fire door at the back and another fire door back where we store our liquor.”

The game warden pointed at one of his men and at the door they had came through and without saying a word let him know this was his door to watch. The other man was directed by a point of a finger to guard the door at the back and this left the game warden free to roam the building keeping an eye on the bar in case anyone ran towards that door. “You close at two right?” the game warden asked.

“Yes,” Shawn replied.

“Ok, I have to ask this first before I start. Do you have knowledge of any vampires currently residing in this building at this time?”

“No,” Shawn said shaking his head.

“Failure to report is a one year stint in the jail so one more time, do you have knowledge of any vampires currently residing in this building at this time?”

Pissed Shawn stated firmly, “No! I work for a living, I don’t run a boarding house for vampires!”

“Alright,” the game warden stated and turned and began to slowly walk along the bar towards the tables in the back keeping an eye out for any presumptive signs of a vampire. The mirrored sun glasses allowed him to look without being seen and gave most of the patrons the creeps as this bug eyed animal cop walked among them like a wolf in a sheep pen.

Sitting on his power chair next to one of the far tables in the back, Gary Jones, the four hundred and thirty pound diabetic vampire sat telling jokes and having a great time with his friends. He knew full well it was hunting season and that he was not supposed to be indoors between sundown and sunrise according to the law, but he didn’t give a shit. He didn’t think of himself as an animal that should be hunted, he thought of himself as a person with some self worth. At his age, he knew how to hide his vampire appearance pretty well, but everyone in the bar knew Gary and knew what he was but since he was one of the most loved individuals there, he was pretty sure no one would rat him out to the game warden. Although the occasional drunk might open his mouth at the wrong time, Gary had a lot of friends and they would do almost anything to stand up for him. At least he hoped so.

The game warden walked over to Gary’s table and pulled out a chair and sat down. The game warden looked over his shoulder for a moment and looked at his deputy standing guard at the fire door and then turned his head back to face Gary who was sipping on a beer. Three people sat around the table with Gary and all of them became quiet when the game warden sat down. Why in the Hell did he sit here and at this time ? They thought in their inner monologue, something was up and they felt very uncomfortable with this officer sitting next to them.

“What can I do for you officer?” Gary asked with a Patrickle. His fangs carefully covered with his tongue speaking almost like a ventriloquist dummy.

The game warden sat silent, folded his arms and looked at Gary through his mirrored sunglasses. Gary felt like he was getting a medical exam and smile left his face and he put down his beer and checked the battery left on his power chair.

“There are three things in this world I am very good at,” the game warden said in a low monotone voice. “One is knowing when to take a shit, two is marrying two faced whores, and the third is vampire identification. I currently don’t have to take a shit, my whore wife is at home with her boyfriend, and I have a very funny feeling about you.”

“What? Just because I’m fat and use a power chair you think I’m a vampire?”

“No,” the game warden replied. “These sunglasses I’m wearing have a thermal readout and for some reason, you don’t shine like everyone else in this room. You almost blend into the wall. You’re chair is putting off more heat than you are.”

“That’s a medical condition,” Gary replied lying through his teeth. “My diabetes lowers by overall temperature. I have to use a heating pad sometimes to keep myself from freezing.”

“Diabetes’s huh?” the game warden said unimpressed. “Are you type one or type two?”

Gary, shocked that the game warden would have any knowledge of diabetes and that he would call him on his claim swallowed hard and thought for a second.

“Type two,” he said with a grin.

“Type one myself,” the game warden said. “Been on insulin since I was a kid. Right now I’m on a pump and it keeps me pretty regular.”

“So you know what I’m talking about?” Gary asked.

“Not at all,”

“You don’t get the chills?” Gary asked.

The game warden reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a small device that looked like a cell phone. He aimed the front of it at Gary and pressed a button. A few seconds later he heard a beep and a readout displayed seventy six degrees. “Wow, you must be pretty chilly,” the game warden said with a smile. “What sort of diabetes do you have that makes you room temperature?”

Gary, knowing he was caught leaned back in his chair and looked over at the deputy standing by the fire exit. He looked back at the game warden and asked, “Now what?”

“State law states that no vampire can be indoors from sundown to sun rise from the months of September to November during hunting season. Are you unaware of this?”

“No, I know the law,” Gary replied.

“Does the bar owner know you are a vampire?” the game warden asked.

“No, he has no idea.”

“Harboring a vampire indoors at night during hunting season is a felony.

Why would you put him through this?”

“I said he didn’t know who I was !” Gary snapped back.

The game warden sat silent staring at Gary through his mirrored sunglasses. “Who else in here are vampires?” he asked.

“You got the fucking radar detector sunglasses, you tell me,” Gary replied. “You picked me because I’m the fat fuck with the power chair and can’t run away. Good job Barny Fife, you should be cop of the year!”

The game warden slowly took off his sunglasses and set them on the table with a smile on his face. “These glasses are ten dollars at the Dollar store, they don’t have any thermal reading, they are so cheap they leave marks on my nose.”

Gary, dumbfounded that he was just duped into telling the game warden he was a vampire became pissed and slammed his hands down on the table knocking over a beer bottle sending it crashing to the floor. “What was that thing you pointed at me?”

Gary asked pissed.

“My cell phone dumb ass,” the game warden said laughing. “I knew you were a vampire because the lady at the gas station told my you were. She said I couldn’t miss you because you were the only guy in the bar with a power chair over four hundred pounds.”

“Yeah, well, you have no proof. Only a DNA test can prove anything and unless you have a mobile lab in your car, you’re shit out of luck.”

“I don’t need proof,” the game warden said defiantly. “All I need is reasonable suspicion to haul your ass down to the law enforcement center and I think I’ve met that criteria.”

 To be continued...