Cheap Thrills (6 Thrilling reads) (12 page)

Twenty Four

‘So you suspect it’s an attack on the President?’ Asks Ricky Pastori as he bites into his lunch at the diner.

Jesse just looks through the window at a woman carrying her groceries into her car. A group of teens are hanging around the car park, standing a few meters away from the young woman. The woman looks rattled and scared. The police instincts of Jesse pick that up pretty quickly as his partner continues to devour his pancakes. Jesse doesn’t blame Ricky for his lack of spatial awareness, but it does grate on him sometimes.

‘Hello, Earth to Mars, any intelligent beings on the surface?’ says Ricky, still trying to get the attention of his partner.

Jesse finally turns to face his impatient partner and points out of the window in the direction of the teens and the woman loading her car.

‘In about three to five seconds that group of teenagers are going to hassle that woman,’ he says

Ricky looks on in intrigue, maple syrup drizzling down his face as he chews on his pancake. At that very second, a few seconds short of the prediction, one of the teen’s in the car park sucker punches the woman so hard she falls into her trunk. The rest of the group quickly rush up to join their companion in crime and slam the trunk down while the woman is still inside. Ricky and Jesse quickly get up from their seats and rush out of the diner, drawing their weapons as they do so. They can hear the woman pounding on the trunk from the inside. The teens haven’t noticed the two police officers approaching as they howl into the mid-day sun in laughter and glee.

‘Freeze, NYPD,’ screams Jesse as he clenches his Berretta.

A few of the teens run away immediately, leaving just two in front of both law enforcement officers. Both young men turn around slowly with their hands raised.

‘No sudden movements, and everything will be okay,’ says Ricky, backing his partner up thoroughly.

‘You heard the man. You move and I’ll blow your ass to the third world!’ says Jesse.

The comment surprises Ricky, seeing the two men look African American. Ricky had never heard his partner being racist before; especially since both of them aren’t even white themselves.

‘Chill man. Don’t say anything that will get you busted,’ says Ricky quietly into his partners ear.

‘Man we aint doing shit officers! You just caught us chilling that’s all,’ says one of the youths.

‘Is that so? So what about the lady you punched in the face? She just fell on your fist?’ asks Jesse

The other quieter youth laughs.

‘What’s so funny?’ says Jesse

‘Man, if she was going to fall anywhere, it would be on my dick,’ the youth says unapologetically

Ricky looks on in shock as his partner walks up to the disrespectful youth and catches him with a stiff uppercut, making the youth land hard on his back.

‘Man, that’s my homie! You just assaulted my dude! What the fuck’s wrong with you? You’re a cop, you can’t do that?’ says the other youth.

‘He just admitted that both of you were planning on raping her,’ says Jesse

Ricky, still in shock tries to defuse the situation.

‘Whatever it is, we need to take them downtown and deal with them properly,’ says Ricky as he pulls out his radio for backup.

‘Don’t touch that radio officer Pastori, that’s an order,’ says Jesse

Ricky complies and holds his gun steady. The woman in the trunk has stopped making noise. Jesse opens the trunk to help her. He sees a beautiful blonde with everlasting blue eyes piercing through him like a dagger through his heart. She doesn’t say anything; she just sits up and watches in dismay. She has a slight bloodied nose. Jesse runs his hand across the woman’s face trying to be comforting.

‘Is everything okay mam?’ he says

Ricky looks on in dismay, not believing what he is seeing.

‘Yes officer,’ she says softly, still looking at him in awe.

Jesse turns his attention to the youth who is still standing.

‘Now I could haul your ass in for attempted rape but I feel a little street justice is in need. What I’m going to do next is drag your ass into the bushes and give you a kicking. Then I’m going to grab your friend and fuck him up too. I’m going to make sure that neither of you can walk for the next six months, and after that I can assure you that if I catch you around these parts again, I won’t be putting the boot to you, I’ll be shoving my gun down your throat and pulling the trigger,’ says Jesse as he grabs the kid by the collar of his T-Shirt.

‘What the hell are you doing Jesse? This isn’t right,’ says Pastori as he keeps his aim on the teen on the floor.

‘Hold onto my gun,’ says Jesse as he cuffs the petrified youth and tosses his firearm on to the floor next to Ricky.

‘Don’t do it Jesse,’ screams Pastori as he kicks the gun under the woman’s car.

The Blonde woman watches on in amazement as Jesse drags the pleading teen off into the bushes. The crackling of the twigs on the floor as Jesse and the young man enter the brush is loud and deafening at the same time. What follows is a beating that is audible for a few seconds. The teen’s cries turn into gargles as the sound of blood in his throat accompany the sound of coughing. A few more seconds go by, and the sound of the beating continues until nothing but silence surrounds the air. There are no more screams from the teen in the bush, just the sound of heavy breathing. Some more rustling is heard as Jesse comes back from the brush, covered in dirt and oozing with sweat. He has an unapologetic grin on his face as comes for the second teen.

‘Dude, come on. You’ve taught them a lesson. They know their actions have consequences. Don’t get yourself into trouble Jesse,’ says Ricky, slightly shaken up by what he is witnessing.

‘Do you honestly think these fuckers are going to say one word? I knocked the other guy’s teeth out, I’m going to do the same to this prick,’ he says while dragging the groggy teen by the scruff of his neck.

The woman continues to watch as the same scene unfolds once more. Another few minutes pass by. The bushes move some more, and Jesse comes back out, this time a little dirtier than before. He approaches the woman who is still sitting in the trunk, dismayed but appreciative of the fact that both officers were in the vicinity.

‘I could have been raped?’ she says, quite unsure of the reality she finds herself in.

‘Anything could have happened mam, it’s just lucky the right people were around,’ says Jesse, extending his hand out towards the woman.

‘Are they dead?’ she asks while accepting Jesse’s hand and pulling herself out of the car.

‘No, just beaten up. They’ll live. Hell, back in my day, school fights were more impactful than any of the beatings those two have gotten. Today will be a day they will remember. You should never lay your hands on a woman, especially one that’s so beautiful,’ he says, smiling at the blonde.

Ricky remains with his hands firmly on his gun, unsure whether or not to remand his partner for the assault on both teens. Suddenly there is a loud beeping sound in the bushes.

‘What the hell is that?’ asks Ricky.

‘Probably one of their beepers or something, I’ll go and have a look,’ he says

Jesse walks over towards the bush and gets within a few meters of it. Suddenly an explosion erupts through the bushes and flings the officer back a few meters, landing on top of a car windshield, cracking it like ice under immense pressure. The explosion is followed by another, flinging the woman and Ricky to the ground. A scattering of leaves and dust float in the air as the sound of car alarms and fire peppers the midday air blocking out the sun light a blanket of cloud.

‘Fuck, my ears,’ says Jesse to himself.

He looks around and notices the bush in which he had beaten the two potential rapists was on fire. He quickly puts two and two together, and realises he could be dead if he was in their when they combusted.

‘Is everyone okay?’ asks Ricky as he gets up

‘I’m okay,’ says the woman

Jesse gets himself off the hood of the car he landed on. He falls on his knees and wheezes for air.

‘You okay man?’ asks Ricky as he races towards his partner.

‘Yeah, just got the wind knocked out of me,’ he says

‘What the hell was that explosion?’ he asks his partner

‘Looks like the rumours were true,’ says Jesse, answering his partner’s question.

‘What rumours?’ asks Ricky

‘That we are all going to die,’ says Jesse.

Twenty Five

‘You finished beating the shit out of that Militia guy?’ asks David as he hands Ray a sip of water from his bottle.

‘Yeah. The guy isn’t saying shit. He said there were three guys with him. That’s it. He won’t tell me where they are or what their plan is. He seems like the real deal. I broke six of his fingers and he still isn’t saying much,’ says Ray

‘They all end up talking Ray, no matter what, everyone talks’

Both men look at each other for a few seconds, contemplating whether or not to continue beating their captured prisoner. Suddenly they hear the faint sound of a conversation in the distance. They look up and see Mitch sitting up, talking to the captured man. They both rush on over to deal with both men.

‘So that’s why they knocked me out I guess. What about you? Why are you tied up like a dog?’ asks Mitch as he smiles at the worn out looking prisoner.

‘I was sent here to kill the survivors. That’s why I’m here,’ says the Militia man.

‘Well, we all have a purpose I suppose,’ says Mitch

Both Ray and David reach the two men and grab Mitch and drag him away from the prisoner.

‘I guess we will speak later,’ says Mitch as he is being dragged, his feet kicking up dust and dirt from the mucky sewer floor.

‘You need to shut your mouth! We will deal with you later,’ says David as he pushes Mitch into the furthest corner of their underground camp, at least two hundred meters away from the prisoner.

‘Where’s the girls?’ asks Mitch

‘Your daughters are being taken care of. Donner is looking after them. This is no place for two little girls to witness their daddy being held against his will,’ says David

‘My daughters?’ says Mitch, still confused from his sedative shot.

‘I told you where they are, stop repeating yourself’

Mitch starts to laugh uncontrollably. David looks at Ray and signals another shot to calm Mitch down. Just as Ray is about to stick Mitch with another shot, he hesitates.

‘Come on boy! Give it to me good, like we did to your people in the cotton fields!’ says Mitch

‘Give it here, I’ll do it,’ says David, grabbing the syringe off Ray.

‘Just before you do knock me out, where are the girls?’ asks Mitch once again

The groggy incoherent state Mitch is in is annoying Ray.

‘We fucking told you, your daughters are with Donner,’ says Ray

‘Just don’t listen to him, he’s playing with us,’ says David

‘They aren’t my daughters,’ says Mitch quietly, shocking both men.

‘What do you mean?’ asks David

‘They aren’t my daughters….’ He repeats

David kneels down to Mitch’s level and grabs him by the scruff of the neck.

‘You’re their uncle?’ Asks David

‘No…They’re my play things….’

Both David and Ray look at each other in shock.

‘What?’ asks Ray ‘Your play things? What the hell is that supposed to mean?’

Mitch starts laughing once again. David loses his temper and punches Mitch.

‘Answer the fucking question!’ shouts David

Mitch wipes the blood off his face and looks up at David. His eyes burn with the reflection of the fire from the blazed oil drum a few meters away.

‘What’s a matter David? You never fucked a little girl before? You look the type…Hell I should know,’ says Mitch

Both David and Ray don’t know how to react to Mitch’s provocative words.

‘You’re fucking with us! You’re lying!’ Says David

‘Why would I lie about such a thing? I killed the girl’s parents and took them for myself. I thought why not? They could come in handy in a world where everyone is dead. You got to repopulate the earth somehow,’ says Mitch, laughing uncontrollably once again.

David and Ray’s worlds come crashing down as they look on at Mitch. Time seems to stand still as Donner approaches with the little girls smiling and giggling amongst themselves. Mitch winks at Donner as he licks his lips once more. The sadistic smile on his face makes David and Ray gobsmacked at the ghoul of this man. Whatever happens next, Ray knows that humanity or survival won’t come into the mix.
Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.

Luis Samways

Beacon of Light

Episode Three

One

Mrs Novik opens her eyes to see the vast blanket of black sky around her dancing in the atmosphere. She’s just woken up. Her back is killing her as she lies down in the dark and dirty dumpster.  She heaves herself up and takes a look around her surroundings. The crisp air is biting at her face, making her cheeks rosy and cold. She coughs and the air around her is peppered with the condensation in her mouth. Bellows of muggy air congest with her warm mouth as the air surrounding the idle skip is akin to a smoker’s room. She puts her hands on the side of the dumpster and lifts herself up. She’s now standing in the midst of the dirty contents of the dumpster. She marvels at the filth surrounding her. It makes her stomach feel queasy as she stares at the left over rotten contents of food and baby dippers. She can’t quite believe she slept in the dumpster but she knew that the cold was far too much for her to survive without any sort of warmth. You’d be surprised at how warm a dumpster full of putrid smelling garbage is. There’s just something about sleeping in a trash pile of human waste that makes the body feel uneasy.

Mrs Novik bends over the skip and heaves her chest as she starts to vomit. She doesn’t know why the hell she is vomiting but judging by the circumstances, she has her reasons. She continues to chuck up all sorts of liquid vomit for a few more minutes. She starts to realise that she hasn’t eaten anything in a couple of days. The fact that she is vomiting anything at all is a miracle. She needs to get to Starbucks or a Wal-Mart. She knows there may be some left over supplies that some people looked over. You can usually find some tinned onions or something along those lines. Whatever she finds. She knows not to be picky. The apocalypse doesn’t allow for a menu of delicatessen. It only gives you whatever supplies the world didn’t want, and unfortunately for Mrs Novik, the world seems to want a whole lot of supplies at the moment, so she figures she better get her ass down to the nearest store and see what she can scavenge.

She pulls herself out of the dumpster and breaths in the air around her. After spending much of the night in the skip, the air outside of the trash ridden box smells especially fresh. She doesn’t feel as bad now, even though a few seconds prior she was chucking up chunks. She looks around the small alleyway she is standing in and sighs. She sees a small craggy footpath in front of her. She follows it with her worn out feet. She stumbles for a few seconds and sees a small opening. She sees tall buildings poking through the opening she is about to walk through. She steps off the small pathway and onto a main road. She’s out of the alleyway as she looks around at the beaming skyscrapers surrounding her. She’s made it to Albany, but doesn’t know how far she going to make it through the city. She looks left and right and then decides to go straight on. She sees a mass of stationary cars on the main street; some still have their doors open, others have their trunks open. She decides to stop near the first car and do some rummaging. If she is going to find anything in this city, then an abandoned car might be the best bet.