Mind on Fire

Stepping out of the truck, the killer wasn’t completely unaware someone was watching from a distance.  Sara, one of his abductees, watched pensively from the slits in the walls of the barn.  He slung Tiff’s limp body straddled over his shoulders, and kicked the Jeep door closed.  The dog stood wagging its tail under the porch light as Joe nudged the door open with his boot.  Down the hallway he dumped her on the bed in the third bedroom, cuffed her up, and walked to a side door, then back outside.

He cut through the trees as Sara listened for his footsteps. Celia, now awake, was still in the first bedroom gagged and chained to the board.  There was a sigh of relief from both of them as they heard him walking away from the house and the barn.  They  wondered if he’d brought someone else to the house. Quietly, they waited and listened.

About to give up and return to the house, he saw the flicker of a cigarette lighter, and the inside light of a car come on, then go off as someone exited the car.  Though the moon was not full its light provided a sort of reflective spark in the night

Standing quietly while the faint smell of a cigar perfumed the night air.  It gave him direction in tracking his prey. The small crackling of leaves and branches beneath the visitor’s feet made his arrival all the more exciting.  He was getting closer, rustling the thick bushes that were now slowing down his stride to the lights in the house. 

The dog stood pensive and staring into the night in the intruder’s direction.  Then there was a slight growl.  He leaned over and patted the dog as a signal to wait and be patient.  The dog became quiet but steadily watchful.  Suddenly a flash of light bounced off the trees.  The killer stepped back behind a tree, pulled out a deer knife, and waited.  The clustering noises of the bushes rubbing against the man’s pants became louder with each step.  The dog could hardly contain himself and began to drool and salivate profusely.  Large amounts of thick clear white discharge hung from his jowls as he continued to wait.

The cigar, a sweet cherry aroma faded into the woods. The visitor was now about 6 feet away from the tree that shielded him from the man’s vision.  Within seconds he stepped out blinding the intruder with a flashlight.  At the same time he kicked the hind end of the dog.

“Surprise, surprise,” he said startling the man further.  With that the dog was all over the guy, taking him down, gnawing and chewing his way through arms and legs until there was no fight left.  He bent over and picked up the cigar, sucked deeply to re-ignite it’s fire and headed back to the house as he enjoyed the cigar.  The last time he looked back, the dog had ripped out the throat of the fallen stranger, while his body now lay in the red dirt convulsing uncontrollably.

Passively he whistled then returned to the house.  It was menacing and and could be heard from the darkest corner of the barn. Sara couldn't imagine what tomorrow would bring.