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After driving for about thirty minutes, they realized they had not seen any signs and the road kept getting smaller and smaller.
"Where the fuck are we?" Tommy asked, staring out the window.
"I'm not sure," Jim answered stepping on the gas. "I must have missed an exit somewhere."
"So what's new?" Tommy asked with a smirk.
Tricia, turned around and gave him a glare that made him uneasy. Sheila, beside him, giggled.
"I'm sorry. Give me the map." Tommy said trying to avoid Tricia's eyes. He hated her because he could not control her. He controlled Jim most of the time using him to provide entertainment for him; going out to hot spots and getting women. Jim provided the financial support. Tricia was not Tommy's gift to Jim. They connected without Tommy's aid.
Jim was slightly overweight and very shy. Tommy usually talked to the girls and made all the arrangements. But Tricia approached Jim on her own. She always had an affinity towards larger men. Not a hundred pounds overweight types, just slightly larger than normal. They had to be well-groomed and well behaved. Jim was both, and smart and very rich. She was entirely comfortable with him. He was her teddy bear. She despised Tommy because he kept trying to get Jim to dump her. Jim would never dump her. She was the first woman he fell in love with and who fell in love with him. She raised his morale and self-confidence. She made him stand up for himself against Tommy. Tommy hated that.
"I think we're in Connecticut. We couldn't still be in Massachusetts, could we?" Tommy spoke unable to make anything out of the map.
"We must be in Connecticut," Jim said looking around. There were trees and mountains all around. No signs. He did not recognize this area at all. This was the first time he drove. Usually he flew but his father had finally bought him a brand new Lexus and he just had to drive it to school. He had driven up okay. Going back was a problem.
"Don't tell me we're lost, guys." Sheila said, glancing around.
"We just might be in Maine," Tommy teased. "Out here in Stephen King territory with all kinds of creatures waiting to pounce upon us."
"Don't say that. You're scaring me!" Sheila squealed. She clutched onto him.
"I was only kidding, babe."
"It's not funny." Tricia said. She hated that Sheila squeal.
They were from Harvard on spring break. Tommy, Jim and Tricia were Harvard students. Sheila was from Boston College. They were going down to Danbury, Connecticut to spend the break at Jim's parents' house. His parents were out of the country so they would invite a few friends and have a party. Tommy, who was a party animal, had arranged it all. He changed girlfriends every other week. Sheila was just one in a long line of ditzy girls from surrounding colleges who hounded the campus for a Harvard man. She giggled at every opportunity and treated him like he was God's gift to women. Tricia despised her. She hated the fact that Sheila had to travel with them. Hell, she was not fond of Tommy either but he was Jim's friend and this was Jim's car they were riding in so who was she to complain?
"I'm just gonna drive straight on until we come to a bigger road or highway. I don't know where we are." Jim spoke softly, definitely ashamed.
"So what's new?" Tommy mumbled as though that was all he knew. He threw a glance at Tricia. She did not even blink.
Jim stepped on the gas and sped down the road. Tricia reached for the CD remote and changed disks. Def Leppard's, Armageddon It blared out of the speakers prompting Tommy to howl in the back. The road soon narrowed forcing Jim to slow down. Trees from both sides seemed to reach out and attempt to touch the car.
They were coming around a bend when something dropped from a tree and fell on the hood of the car. They all screamed as Jim stomped on the brakes. The bundle rolled onto the windshield, paused for a moment then rolled back onto the hood and off to the ground. Doors opened simultaneously as they all jumped out to see what that thing was.
It was a bundle of rugs that lay still. Tommy kicked it lightly. It moved making everybody jump backwards and prompting Sheila to utter an un-Godly shriek. Had Tricia not been alarmed at the thing before them, she would have slapped her silly.
A small hand appeared from the rugs. Then another and a leg. It was a little girl. She removed the rugs from her body and lay there scared.
"Hello, little girl. What's your name?" Tricia asked, helping her up.
"Kata." She answered softly. She was strange. Only about ten or eleven, she had on make-up that make her look like a forty year-old hooker. Red lipstick, black eye shadow and rouge stood out loudly on her face. She had perhaps six holes in each ear with gold and diamond earrings and studs. Her neck and hands were decorated with expensive gold and silver necklaces and bracelets. She wore black knee-length leather boots, green shorts, a white T-shirt with KATA written diagonally on it in bright red stick letters, and a see-through wrap-a-round thrown over her shoulders. What a fashion nightmare, Sheila thought. Kata had on thin leather gloves with the ends cut off so that her fingers stuck out. The nails were painted cherry red and sharpened to points. She wore two belts; one around her waist, the other over her shoulder. Attached to the belts were pouches like those used to carry knives. Sheila hoped there were no knives in those pouches.
"Are you okay?" Jim asked. He was glad she was alive.
"I'm fine, thank you." Kata replied. She had an accent they could not place.
"Good. Maybe she can tell us where the fuck we are." Tommy said moving closer. Tricia cast a bad eye at him meaning she did not approve of that kind of language around a child.
"Are you lost?" Kata asked.
"Yes," Tricia answered kneeling before her. "Can you show us a way out of here?"
"No, but my papa can."
"Where's your papa?" Tommy asked impatiently. He wanted to be out of here.
"Home." Kata quipped. They still could not place that accent.
"If we give you a ride home, will he give us directions?" Jim asked.
"Yes."
"We're not gonna take her in the car, are we?" Sheila whispered to Tommy though everybody heard her.
"No, we're not gonna take her!" Tricia shouted, brushing hair from her face. "We only almost ran over her but no we should drive while she runs besides us. Why don't you buy some brains, Sheila?!"
"It's okay, honey." Jim gave Tricia a hug. "We're gonna take her home then find the way out of here."
Kata sat between Jim and Tricia. She behaved herself, looking at the instrument panel but not touching anything. The road was so narrow now that they seemed to be pushing through the leaves. Then they came to an opening.
"All right!" Tommy called out. "Civilization."
"As if you know what that means." Tricia mumbled.
It was a wide opening in the middle of a forest about the size of a football field. There were several houses that needed some serious remodeling. They seemed to be made out of wood, mud and grass. Several people came out when they heard the car drive up. They were all gaunt and desperate. Their clothes did not fit. It was as if they all wore hand-me-downs. A man, almost seven feet tall and as thin as a broomstick stumbled forth then stopped. Their eyes brightened when they saw Jim climb out with Kata in tow. Tricia followed but Tommy and Sheila stayed inside. Tommy wanted to get out but Sheila clutched onto him. She was scared of these sickly-looking strangers.
"Excuse me," Jim spoke politely. "Could anyone show us the way out of here? We seem to be lost." They just stared at him as though he spoke a foreign language.
"They don't talk much." Kata said. "Especially when they're hungry."
"Well, I can't help them much." Jim said.
Kata stepped ahead of them then spun around. Tricia noticed a big knife in her hand. It was sharp and shiny. Light reflected off its blade. She played with it moving it between her fingers. She smiled and Tricia noticed that her incisors were sharpened like those of a canine beast.
"Now, who would like to go first? It's dinner time and everyone's hungry" She asked still smiling.
"Honey," Tricia whispered grabbing Jim's arm. "Do something."
"She's just a kid." Jim said. Tommy and Sheila did not see what was going on. They were engaged in a passionate kiss in the back seat of the car.
"What do you want?" Jim asked Kata.
"Food. We want you. You are food." Kata said. The six people behind her; four men and two women, stepped forward at the mention of food. Jim could swear they were drooling.
"I don't think so, little girl..." Jim started but she cut him short.
"You don't wanna choose, I choose her." She pointed at Tricia who stepped back. Kata leapt towards her with amazing speed. She grabbed Tricia's hand. Tricia saw the knife flash before her then her arm was in the air. Kata had separated it at the shoulder and thrown it behind her. A woman grabbed it and started sucking blood and chewing on it. The tall man grabbed the fingers, which were still twitching, and began gnawing at them. Tricia screamed and fell back in shock. Jim tried to bend over her but Kata kicked him in the chest. The kick felt like a truck had hit him. He was thrown over twenty yards back. He tried to breath but felt like his lungs had collapsed. He passed out. In the Lexus, they could not even hear Tricia's scream.
Kata crawled on top of Tricia. Blood was pumping out of her wound.
"Let mama kiss the boo boo away," she whispered then sucked on the blood. She stared into Tricia's eyes which were glazing over. Tricia was growing faint but she could still see her very well. She could see her fiery eyes, her ancient face and her bloodied mouth. "Mama will make all the pain go away." Kata whispered. "Let mama kiss you goodnight." She kissed her on the mouth then brought the knife down hard into her chest. Tricia's body shuddered momentarily then it was still. Kata waved to her family who came scrambling over apparently having acquired knives and axes. She headed for the car.
She crawled on the ground and cut the tires open. Tommy stepped outside when he felt the car move.
"What the hell is going on?" He asked at the sight of people making a meal out of Tricia. Jim lay on the ground across the yard.
"You're next." Kata spoke from behind scaring him. He swung around to see her all bloody with a knife in hand. Sheila stepped out of the car.
"What's going on?"
"I think they killed Jim and Tricia." Tommy said. Sheila saw how they were hacking Tricia's body to pieces and screamed. Tommy backed off as Kata stepped towards him.
"Get away from me you little punk." Tommy shouted with a rasp. He was frightened.
"You is dead." Kata spoke slowly with emphasis. He did not see any of her cronies coming to her aid. She could not kill him alone. She was only a kid.
"Put that knife away!" He ordered.
"Make me, bastard." She said with a growl. Her face was contorted in a serious frown; the eyes dark and deathly.
He kicked meaning to hit the knife out of her hand. She was swift, stepping back and using her left hand to help his foot swing further up. He went flying in the air. Came down hard on his back. But Tommy was a football player. He had fallen harder before. He was shocked at her strength but he was not going to let a ten year-old kid whoop his ass no matter how strong she was. Before he could get up, she was upon him.
"What would you like to give up first? An arm, a leg or your dick?" She asked sitting on his knees. He kicked hard. She went flying four feet in the air but then landed on her feet unscathed. "That wasn't very nice." She smiled, licking blood from her chin.
Sheila had locked herself in the car. Jim slowly regained consciousness feeling a tremendous weight on his chest. He tried to raise his head but let if fall back when he felt a sharp pain in the back.
"I choose." Kata told Tommy. She sprang at him and disconnected his leg at the knee pants and all. He yelled in pain as the leg was thrown over to the hungry cannibals. She pushed him back to the ground. "Now you die." She cut his jugular and opened her mouth as blood sprayed out. She drank it with a gurgling sound. She bit into his neck and sucked him dry while he slowly died.
Part of Kata's 'family' moved on to the second kill as she walked towards the car. Sheila cowered in the back seat whimpering. Kata tried to open the door but it was locked. She drove a fist into the front left window. The glass exploded inward. She reached in, unlocked the door and climbed in, closing it behind her.
"Hello, sweetheart," she called out merrily. "Time to die!"
Sheila pushed back into a corner.
"Please, leave me alone. I don't wanna die. Please."
"Oh, shut up, bitch!" Kata said. "It's not like you have a choice. Everybody dies sometime. So why not be a good girl and die for a good cause. You got healthy boobs. I love boobs. So sweet." She made sucking noises. Sheila was wide-eyed and teary. Hair was matted on her wet face.
"Leave me alone!" Sheila screamed. Kata kicked the door open and grabbed her by her long hair. She dragged her towards her late boyfriend who was being cut into pieces that were carried into the houses. Sheila threw up at the sight of blood and body parts. She was going to faint.
"Help me, God, please." She begged.
"Shit. What were you saying back there?" Kata asked fiercely. "That I shouldn't ride in the car. Who the hell do you think you are, bitch? Now Kata is in charge. Kata is going to make a meal out of you."
Sheila whimpered softly. Suddenly she gained energy and fought back. Kata slapped her hard across her face. She fell back down. Kata sat on her chest. "Now you die." She said before driving the knife through Sheila's left eye. Sheila shook beneath her and died shortly thereafter.
"Let's eat!" Kata called out.
Jim stood up slowly and shook his head. Fear crept into him when he realized what had happened. He staggered towards the car, fumbling for the keys. Kata let him get in and try to drive. The rims dug into the soft ground. The car moved a little but got stuck. She walked over and knocked on the window. He shoved the door open knocking her off her feet. He tried to run away on foot but she leapt upon his shoulders. She wrapped her legs around his arms pinning them to his sides. He could not move them at all.
"Let me go, please." He begged. "I won't tell anybody, I promise."
"I don't care about you telling somebody about us. I just can't let this much food escape. We don't get visitors often you know."
"I don't want to die." He pleaded.
"Why does everybody keep saying that? Why do you think that death is such a horrible thing. Do you think it's worse than being on this forsaken planet? Try living here a thousand years and you'll wish you were dead."
"I don't care. I just don't wanna die like this."
"There's no good way of dying, you big pussy. Death is death. Die with dignity like a man." With that she hastily pulled out a knife, decapitated him and jumped down. His body stumbled forth, the arms flailing then it fell on the ground. She opened up his abdomen and drew out his liver. Kata loved liver.
She chewed on it as she walked to her dwelling as several men pushed the Lexus into the woods.
A good
day's work. Very good.
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