Author's Note(s): I decided to do something different for a change. It's not one of my best stories, but I felt like just doing something different. I know Halloween has been over for a while, but I just got the urge to write this. Now this has violence and swear words, so if you don't like those then don't read this. Hope you enjoy it.
SOMETHING TWISTED THIS WAY COMES
By FAH3
1. Cabin in the Woods
My name is Ron Stoppable, and I have done terrible things.
"Ron, wake up!" Josh said, making Ron jump slightly from his deep sleep. As he looked out the window his head had been resting on while trying to force the sleep from his eyes, he could see nothing but the large gathering of large tall trees all around them. He must have been asleep longer than he had thought is they were already so close to their destination. "You okay, man?" Josh asked him.
"I'm just fine. Just didn't get a lot of sleep last night." Ron said as he tried to stretch his limbs without having to spread them out.
"Oh, really?" Josh asked with a raised eyebrow, earning a dirty look from Ron in the process.
"I assure you that Stoppable-san and I did not do what you are thinking, Mankey-san." Yori said as she also glared at the youth that was driving.
"Like any woman would ever want to do anything like that with him." Bonnie muttered under her breath. Yori shifted her gaze to the brunette next to her and had to try her best not perform a karate chop to the spoiled woman's neck. And it was ever so tempting. Just one whack, and the brunette would never aggravate anyone ever again.
Ron tried to move his head slowly in order to get the crick out of his neck from sleeping lop sided for so long and began thinking about the past year. He and Kim were still in touch, but their relationship had been put on hold. She was accepted to a college on the other side of the world while Ron was going to a college in Middleton in order to become a professional cook. He and Kim knew their romantic relationship might end once they got into college, but they couldn't stand letting their friendship end. So the best way Ron could describe the relationship with his most trusted and valued friend would be friends with benefits.
One of the surprising things during his first year at college was that he discovered that Josh and Tara had decided to stay in Middleton for a while, and they were both enrolled at the same college he was. Ron and Josh had a few classes and soon became friends, despite Ron not trusting him in High School because Mankey's name sounded too close to the word Monkey. But it turned out that they had several things in common like video games, music, and other things. Ron was even able to get Josh a job at Smarty Mart so Josh could take Tara out on a few more dates. But to add onto Ron's strange new college life was that not too long after he was promoted to Housewares, Yori had arrived as the new cashier for Smarty Mart as well. Even though Ron was now the Monkey Master of Monkey Kung Fu, Yori revealed that Sensi sent her to America in order to teach Ron how to further control and use his abilities when the situation called for it.
During that time, he and Yori had also gotten to know each other more. He knew Yori had a crush on him and he also had a thing for her as well. But he did his best not to lead her along when they first started working together. The break up between him and Kim still stung and he didn't think he was ready to start dating again. But after some time, he and Yori couldn't fight the attraction that they had for each other, and soon found themselves in a serious relationship. And even though they did spend a lot of time together, Ron was a gentleman and didn't want to force Yori into anything if she wasn't ready.
Ron really wanted to take Yori some place nice where they could just have time to themselves and see how far she wanted to go in their relationship. So when Josh had the idea of going to a cabin he knew about in the woods of Tennessee, Ron thought it would be the perfect place for he and Yori to spend some time together. Of course he wasn't so sure of it now. When they met each other at the Smarty Mart parking lot, Ron was more than surprised to find that Bonnie was there. It turned out Josh found her getting drunk in a bar not too long ago and had apparently fallen on hard times. And since Bonnie was still Tara's friend, he decided to bring the spiteful brunette with them to help cheer her up. Right now, he was just hoping that Bonnie and Yori didn't end up trying to kill each other.
"Josh?" Tara asked him.
"What?"
"How did you find out about this cabin?" she asked him.
"I've got some family that live up here. One of my cousins helps clean the place whenever it's fixing to be used." Josh told her.
"This is a pretty nice spot though. This must be costing you a pretty good chunk of change to rent this place, Josh." Ron said to him.
"Not really." Josh said.
"Not really?" Tara asked him.
"Hold on, Mankey. No landlord lets people stay anywhere for free." Bonnie said.
"Yes, they do. Especially when they don't know that people are staying there." Josh said.
"Do what?" Ron asked.
"Josh! We can't stay in someone else's place!" Tara said.
"I agree with Tara. This feels – how do you say it? Wrong?" Yori asked.
"Guys, it's okay. My cousin tells me that the owner never stays here. And during this time of the year, no one is ever up here." Josh said to them.
"I don't know." Ron said, starting to feel uneasy about this trip.
"Ron, it's okay. We're going to have a nice time up here, trust me. Okay?" Josh said to them. "Besides, we're past the point of no return." Josh said as they came to a large wooden bridge.
"Whoa." Ron said as they crossed it and looked at the view. Ron didn't know if what they were crossing was gorge or not, but it looked like someone had taken a piece of the grand canyon and placed right below them. The view was awesome, but the drop was the one thing that was making everyone uneasy. "Is this the only way in?"
"As far as I know." Josh said as they crossed the bridge and soon found themselves back onto a solid dirt road.
It wasn't too much longer until the dirt road finally began to grow wider and end at a large clearing in the center of the vast woods. In the center of the clearing stood what looked to be a very old and not too stable cabin with a tool shed not too far from it. As Josh turned off the engine and everyone began to get out of the car and let the feeling return in their legs, Bonnie, Ron, and Yori couldn't help but have some concern over the way the cabin looked.
"Are you sure people can live in this thing?" Ron asked.
"Does it even have indoor plumbing?" Bonnie asked. For a moment, she could almost swear that the thing looked like it had been built when Santa Anna attacked the Alamo.
"Don't worry, guys. It's gut plumbing and electricity. We're set." Josh said.
"But are you sure they're enough rooms for us?" Tara asked as they began walking toward the cabin's front door.
"My cousin said they're several rooms in the back. Me and Tara call the one with the big bed!" Josh shouted.
"Oh, and what do you have in mind?" Tara asked her boyfriend.
"What do you think?" Josh asked as he wrapped his arms around Tara's waist and pulled her into a very deep kiss. As they kissed, he couldn't help but slide his hand up her yellow shirt.
"Can you two save it so we don't have to watch?" Bonnie asked as she walked past them and into the cabin.
"Can you mind not being a prude?" Josh asked as he and Tara broke their kiss and soon followed.
Ron just laughed a little as he tried to straighten the blue button up shirt and the brown slacks he was wearing. They had picked him up as soon as he had gotten off of work, and he just wished that he had had time to change into something more comfortable.
"Why do Bonnie and Mankey-san argue so much?" Yori asked Ron.
"Well, Josh and Bonnie used to date. But he dumped her so he could date Kim." Ron told her as Yori winced, now understanding the situation.
"Are you sure we will be able to spend time by ourselves?" Yori asked Ron as they unloaded their bags from the car's trunk.
"I'm sure we will. Which reminds me." Ron said as he reached into his pocket an removed a large flat box that was covered in navy blue velvet. "I was able to get this for you the other day. Think of it as our six month anniversary." Ron said as he handed it to the young woman.
As Yori opened the box, a small gasp escaped her lips. Inside of it was a gold necklace that had the ying yang symbol hanging from it. Part of the symbol was made of gold with a small piece of ivory in it, while the other half was ivory with a small piece of gold in it. Yori couldn't help but smile as a few tears began to form in her eyes.
"You – didn't have to – I do not know what to say, Stoppable-san." Yori said as she looked at the gift.
"You don't have to say anything, Yori. And you can call me, Ron."
"T-thank you, Ron." She said as she kissed him on his lips as another sign of thanks. "Could you put it on me?"
"I'd love to." Ron said as he removed the necklace from its case while Yori turned around. Soon, the gold chain was attached and hung around Yori's neck as Ron leaned forward and kissed her smooth skin and felt her relax into him.
"I guess coming here wasn't so bad after all." Ron said as Yori turned to face him once more. The necklace really looked good with the faded jeans and the dark green mid drift blouse she was wearing.
"No, it wasn't. And Perhaps, I may reward you even further tonight – Ron." Yori said with a smirk as she grabbed her bag and began walking toward the cabin.
"What does that mean?" Ron asked her as he felt the temperature around him starting to rise.
"You'll see." Was all she said as Ron gulped down the breath he didn't know he had been holding. He quickly grabbed his own bag and closed the car's trunk as he did his best to catch up to the others.
The interior of the cabin was a surprising contrast from its exterior appearance. The floor was polished hardwood, with the walls covered in various photographs and antique wall clock. A large fireplace was at one end of the living room they were in with a stuffed moose head hanging over it. There was also a large leather couch against one wall with a leather chair not too far from it, and a recliner not too far from the fireplace. There were dozens of bookshelves, filled with thick books from top to bottom. In one corner was an antique writing desk with one reading lamp in its corner with a cup full of various pencils and pens. In the northern wall was a hallway that lead to the bathroom and other bedrooms. Several feet down from the hallway entrance was a large window that showed a fully stocked kitchen that was right next to the kitchen entrance. Not too far from the kitchen, almost in the middle in the living room, was what looked to be the entrance to a cellar. There were two metal ring on one side for someone to open the door. There was also a chain that had been run through them with a lock that still had the key in it. But someone had put in two other rings not too far from the door as well. Almost like someone had wanted to keep the cellar locked.
"Wow." Tara said as they all looked at the large living room.
"This is really nice." Josh said as he and Tara headed into the hallway to find a bedroom to claim.
"I think some egg head lives here." Bonnie said as she looked at the various books that sat in the bookshelves.
"What makes you say that?" Ron asked her.
"For one thing, all these books are about ancient civilizations, dead languages, and a bunch of other stuff. Also, there's no TV." Bonnie said as she placed her bags on the floor.
"That may be a problem." Ron said as he and Yori found a room and set their bags on the floor.
"I think that will not be a problem, Ron-san." Yori said as her hand purposely grazed his butt.
"Yori, I like the way you think." Ron said as he began to wrap his arms around her waist.
"I know." She said as she leaned in and grasped his lips with hers.
Ron was enjoying their little private moment together until they heard someone cough from the bedroom's doorway. Both looked up to see Josh with a wide grin on his face.
"I hate to interupt, but the sun's starting to set. Can you help me get a fire going real quick?" Josh asked him.
"Why not? Maybe we can roast some smores later." Ron said as he gave Yori another quick peck on the lips. "Don't forget where we left off." Ron said as he walked out of the room backwards, earning a giggle from Yori.
The sun had fully set only moments ago, covering the entire area in a blanket of night. Josh was adding a few more logs to the fire while Bonnie was looking at a few papers she had found on the writing desk while Yori and Tara were sitting on the couch and talking. Ron on the other hand couldn't help but admire the view of the stars that he could see through the heavy veil of the trees. It wasn't often that he could actually see so many of the stars shining in the night sky. Even though he was born and raised in a city, he enjoyed looking at the night sky whenever he could. Sometimes, it was so much better to be able to see a real night sky instead of the coffee brown one they had in the city.
"What are you looking at, Bonnie?" Tara asked, drawing away Ron's attention from the window.
"I found these on that desk. I don't think we're alone up here." Bonnie said.
"What do you mean?" Josh asked her.
"These are notes someone was taking. A few of them are dated a week ago. I think some egg head was staying here after all, because these look like someone was translating something." She said as she kept flipping through a few more pages and frowned when she saw a strange drawing of a distorted face.
"That does not mean that someone else is here, Miss Rockwaller." Yori said.
"Think about it. The place wasn't locked, there's fresh food in the kitchen and fresh sheets on the bed." Tara said.
"I told you, my cousin helps take care of this place." Josh said.
"But why put food in the kitchen when no one is going to be here? Did you tell him we were coming?" Tara asked him.
"Actually, no. I didn't." Josh said as the gears in his head began turning.
"But there aren't any other vehicles here. And I have not seen any signs that there is someone else here with us." Yori said.
"Right now, I think we should just sleep on it for now." Ron said.
"But what if there is someone else up here? For all we know, they could be lost in those woods." Bonnie said.
"Then we'll look around tomorrow morning. We can't do anything right now with it being night." Josh said to them.
"Mankey-san is right. If we were to try and search the woods now, we may find ourselves lost as well." Yori said.
"Happy now, Bonnie?" Josh asked.
"For now." She said as she put the notes down.
As soon as she did, the floor began to groan slightly beneath them. For a minute, it was like something large had just put its weight and made the hardwood strain. Before any of them had a chance to say anything, the cellar door in the middle of the living room floor flew open with the loose chains that were on it to hit the living room floor with enough force to splinter the hardwood. None of them moved or said anything for a moment or two as they just looked at the open cellar door. None of them knew what had caused that and they all weren't sure on what they should do next.
"What did that?" Ron asked.
"M-maybe it was an animal." Bonnie said.
"An animal? Bonnie, that's got to be the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Josh said.
"Then maybe it was the wind." Bonnie said.
"I stand corrected. Now that was the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Josh said.
"You got a better idea?" Bonnie asked.
"Maybe if you weren't acting like a stupid bitch." Josh said.
"Screw you, Josh! I didn't have to come on this stupid little trip of yours!"
"No, you'd just be at the bottom of a bottle of Scotch again."
"YOU MOTHER FU,"
"Hey, cut it out." Ron said as he looked at the open cellar door. "Josh, let's just go check it out and make sure everything's okay." Ron said.
"Sure. The last thing we'd want is to end up like that cook at the end of the Shinning." Josh said as he and Ron walked over to the opening in the floor and climbed down into the cellar.
As Yori and Tara cautiously stood and waited close to the cellar entrance, Bonnie put the notes she had been looking at back on the desk before she saw something. One of the drawers in the desk was open, and Bonnie could faintly see something. She opened the drawer and began to frown at what she found. As she picked it up, she soon saw that it was a very strange looking book that was bound with some sort of strange and somewhat wrinkled leather. As Bonnie looked at it, she remembered seeing something in the stack of notes. That drawing that had weirded her out. She quickly flipped through them until she found what turned out to be a rough covering of the very book she had been looking at. At the bottom of the rough cover was a word she didn't recognize.
"Did you find anything?" Tara asked, causing Bonnie to look back toward the open cellar.
"Everything looks normal." Josh said as he climbed out.
"But we did find a few things. There was this shotgun down there." Ron said as he handed a double barreled shotgun to Josh. "Careful, man. I think it's still loaded."
"I think you're right." Josh said as he held it and carefully set it against the wall. "What else is down there?"
"Eggh! This thing." Ron said as he handed Josh a very old dagger that had been crafted to look like the upper half of a skeleton with the spine as the blade.
"Wow. An ancient dagger. Do we sell these at S-Mart?" Josh asked him.
"Yeah. On isle fourteen." Ron said as he went back down one more time.
"S-Mart?" Tara asked Josh.
"It's sort of an inside joke. The place is called Smarty Mart. And when you say S-Mart, it almost sounds like smart." Josh explained, but saw the blank look on all the girls faces. "It wasn't that funny anyway. Anything else, Ron?" Josh asked.
"Yeah." Ron said as he climbed out of the cellar and closed the door behind him. "There was this old tape recorder." Ron said and handed it to Josh.
"Hey Ron, you took Latin in High School, didn't you?" Bonnie asked him.
"Yeah, why?" he asked her.
"What does this say?" Bonnie said and pointed to the phrase that was at the bottom of the rough cover.
"Weird." Ron said as he looked at it. The main reason he had taken Latin was because he though it had to do something with Mexico, and hopefully food. He was lucky he had gotten any passing grades at all, but he could at least read some of the Latin language. "I think it says – Necri something – Ex – I can't tell what the last part is. I can't really read the handwriting at all." Ron said. "Why did you want to know?"
"Because I think it has something to do with this book." She said and handed it to him.
"Freaky." Ron said as he looked at the book and flipped through the pages. "It's not English. I don't even think this is in Latin." Ron said as Yori looked over his shoulder.
"How about we see what's on the tape?" Josh asked them.
"Don't, Josh. Everything is really starting to make me nervous. And this isn't our stuff." Tara said.
"Tara, it's okay." Josh said to her and hit the play button on the tape recorder.
"Log entry number two for Dr. Mark Knowby, professor of Ancient History. I believe I have made a very significant find in my travels to Eastern Europe. Along with the help of my daughter Shelia and her boyfriend Drew, we found the ancient ruins of the castle of Candar. Inside the rear chamber of the castle we found something incredible. Necrinomicon Ex Mortus. Roughly translated, it means 'Book of the Dead.'" The recording said, causing Ron to flinch a little as he looked at the book he was holding. For an ancient book, it sure didn't look that old. Tara, however, was starting to feel a cold shiver all through the cabin.
"My studies of it so far have revealed that the book is bound by human flesh, and its pages have been written in human blood."
"GROSS!" Ron shouted and threw the book onto the writing table. Bonnie began to shiver and stepped away from the book she had found. The reason it looked it had a face was because it did!
"For many years, this book has been believed to only have been a myth, and not to have ever really existed. To prevent my colleagues from stealing it, I brought the book with me to this remote cabin while my daughter continues to search for pages that are missing from the book. So far, my translations are that the book speaks of a spiritual presence. A dark spirit that resides in the forests and the dark regions of man's domain that can be given license to posses the living when the passages are read aloud. Included here are the pronunciations of the passages."
"Stop the tape." Tara said as her breathing quickened as she began to shake.
"Tara, are you alright?" Josh asked her.
"Kunda, Astrata,"
"Please, stop the tape." Tara said as she started to quiver even more. If she hadn't known any better, it was like she could feel something cold start to surround the cabin.
"Montos, Egrates, Gout"
"Tara, you're shaking." Bonnie said as she began to worry about her friend.
"Nosferatus, Gonda, Amontos, Gon."
"Shut it off!"
"Gon."
"Shut it off!"
"Gon."
"SHUT IT OFF!" Tara screamed as loud as she could, covering her ears as she did so.
The lights went out as several of the windows shattered as the sound of a large crack and snapping echoed outside. It almost sounded like someone had just fired a shotgun through the world's largest amplifier. As soon as the lights returned, Josh was holding Tara tightly as Bonnie shut the tape off. Yori was in Ron's arms, but all of them were worried about their blonde friend.
"I'm sorry, Tara. I should have listened to you." Josh said to her.
"I want to go." She whimpered.
"What?" Josh asked her.
"Please. I just want to get out of here." Tara said as she began to shake so badly that it almost looked like she was freezing to death.
"But it's so late. Tara,"
"We'll leave." Yori said. "If she is adamant about not staying here, we should obey her wishes."
"Good idea." Ron said.
"I'm with them." Bonnie said as she continued to worry about her friend. She didn't know what it was, but this entire place felt suddenly different to her all of a sudden.
"All right. Everyone pack their things. We're out of here." Josh said.
"How are you feeling, Tara?" Bonnie asked from the back seat as they drove down the dirt road.
"I'm okay for now. I'm sorry for freaking out back there. I just kept getting this horrible feeling every time that tape said one of those words." She said to all of them as she began to feel embarrassed for the way she had acted earlier.
"What do you think blew out those windows?" Josh asked them.
"Maybe the wind blew some of those tree branches into the house?" Ron asked aloud.
"Who cares. Once we get out of here, I'm going to order room service." Bonnie said.
"You might have to settle for – what the hell?" Josh asked and stopped the car.
"Why have we stopped?" Yori asked.
"You better get out and take a look." Josh said to them.
They all piled out of the car and saw what Josh had been talking about. The bridge that they had driven across earlier was now destroyed. The center looked like it had been ripped completely away with what was left had been all broken and twisted. The size of the gorge was too great for them to try and jump it. And they didn't have any rope for them to use. Even if they got across, it was too far to walk back to the nearest town. At that moment, Ron could only think of one thing to say.
"We are so boned."
2. What the F was That?
Ron had managed to get the fire going in the fireplace again as all of them tried to stay close together in the living room of the cabin. Josh and Bonnie were trying to calm down a very terrified Tara. As Ron made sure the fire was going on its own, he joined Yori on the couch.
"How is she doing?"
"She is very afraid, Ron-san. I wish there was something more that I could do, but I do not know how to help her." Yori said.
"Yori, have you ever heard of this so called Book of the Dead in any part of Japan?"
"I have not. I tried to contact Sensei to see if he knew, but I can not reach him."
"What about my communicator?"
"It does not work either. I have tried to contact him through the meditation technique he taught me before leaving Japan, but something is blocking me. I am starting to become very worried." Yori said.
"We can't do a lot right now. How about we all just try to get some sleep for now. Maybe we can find some way to get out of here tomorrow morning." Ron said to her.
"That may be for the best." She said as she stood and walked over to the huddled trio. Josh and Bonnie nodded and soon helped Tara to her feet. She clung to Josh for dear life as they made their way to the bedroom they were staying in. "Ron-san, aren't you coming to bed as well?"
"Yeah. I'm right behind you." Ron said to her and watched as she disappeared into the hallway. After she was gone, Ron began to look through the pages of the strange book one more time before closing it and shivering as he looked at the cover. He let out one more long sigh as he stood and placed the book back on the writing table before heading to the bedroom he was sharing with Yori.
Everyone was now tucked under the covers in the bedrooms as the breeze outside blew through the trees and piles of dead leaves. None of them had bothered to change clothes since they wanted to try and find another way out of the cabin as soon as the sun had risen. However, Tara was sleeping very restlessly. Images of the book kept flashing through her mind as well as other horrible things while the words the recording had spoken echoed in her mind. The images were getting worse and worse as her breathing became more and more labored as sweat poured off of her body.
"Join us."
The words made Tara bolt her eyes open immediately as she gripped the sheets tightly in fear. She looked to her boyfriend that was laying next to her and saw that he was still sleeping. It took her a moment to finally speak, and hoped she had only imagined what she had just heard.
"Josh? Are you awake?" she asked him. Mankey said nothing as he continued to sleep effortlessly. "Josh. Please say something." She asked him.
"Join us." A distant voice whispered, making Tara cringe.
"Hello? Bonnie, was that you?" she asked, but only hear silence. "Ron?" she asked as she still heard nothing but the wind.
Carefully, Tara slowly got out of the bed so she wouldn't wake Josh and made her way to the living room. The only light that had been left was the small reading lamp on the writing table and the dying embers of the fire in the fireplace. She could hear the scrapping of tree branches as the bent in the wind and the rustle of trees, but everything else was still. No one else was up, and the rest of the cabin was empty. For a minute, Tara began to wonder if she had been imagining the voice that she had heard. Maybe her nerves were beginning to play tricks on her. As she walked further into the living room, she heard some of the wood creak. But it wasn't the wood in the floor. It sounded like the wood in one of the walls behind her. Tara looked behind her, and saw the stuffed and mounted deer head on the wall. As she looked at it, she began to feel uneasy. It looked like the deer's eyes were gazing right at her. It even looked like they were following her as she moved. But that wasn't possible. The eyes were made of glass. At least that was what she assumed until she swore she saw the deer head blink its eyes.
"Join us." The voice whispered again and made terror tremble with fear. This time, it sounded like it came from outside.
"Hello?" she asked once more, but heard nothing but silence. Tara gulped hard as she began to wonder if there was someone out there. Tara made her way to the front door, but was hesitant about opening it. Instead, she just looked through one of the closed shutters of the living room window. With most of the windows broken, Josh and Ron had closed all the shutters to keep the insects and the wind out. She gazed through the tiny space in between the planks of wood, but she couldn't really see anything. She didn't want to, but it looked like she might have to open the front door. Just a quick peek, and then she'd close it.
Tara grasped the knob and began to turn it. So far, she couldn't hear anything else. She turned the knob the rest of the way and opened the door. What greeted her was nothing. All she could see outside was the car they had driven in and the wilderness that surrounded them. It was all quiet, which was one of the things that scared her. She couldn't even hear the sounds of any bugs outside. She couldn't hear the sounds of moths flapping or even mosquitoes buzzing by. She couldn't even hear the sounds of grasshoppers chirping. It was all silent.
"Hello?" Tara asked again as she looked outside from the doorway. "Is there anyone here?" she asked.
"Join us." The voice whispered like it was traveling with the wind.
"Are you the guy that was here?" she asked him.
"Join us." The voice said again, but louder.
"Look, if this is your idea of a joke, this isn't funny!" Tara called out.
"JOIN US!" the voice said even louder.
Tara was about to close the door when her eyes caught something in the moonlight. Something was moving in the trees, but she couldn't see what it was. But then she heard the sound of wood groaning like bones that were being used after years of inactivity. That was when she realized that there wasn't something moving in the trees. It was the trees themselves that were moving!
"JOIN US!" the voice said even louder.
Tara screamed as a tree root shot out from the ground and firmly wrapped itself around her ankle. The root jerked the young woman off of her feet, causing her head to slam against the hardwood floor before it began to drag her away. Tara was dazed for a moment before she realized what was happening. Tara screamed again as she flipped herself over and tried to grasp the dirt of the cold ground as she was being dragged into the woods. As she was being dragged past the car, she quickly grasped one of the wheels and held on for dear life. She could feel the root trying to drag her away even harder. It almost felt like the root was fixing to pull her leg out of her socket, but she wouldn't let go of the tire. Tears were falling down her face as she began to cry while complete and total fear gripped her like a clamy frozen hand.
"JOSH! HELP ME! RON! BONNIE!" Tara was screaming for dear life as the trees sounded like they were laughing and calling to her at the same time. All she wanted was for them to let her go. "JOSH! SAVE ME!" Tara screamed as she tried to look back to the cabin.
Her eyes widened in horror when she saw the door of the cabin. Standing in the doorway was her, but it was also something else. By the light of the living room and the moon, she could see a look of sinister malice on its face while it smiled at her. The other version of her waved at her before slamming the front door closed while several more roots bolted from the ground and wrapped themselves around Tara's legs. With one massive pull, Tara lost her grip on the tire while her nails scratched it the rubber deep enough for air to begin seeping out.
"JOSH!!!!!!" Tara screamed as she was dragged deeper into the woods. Her terror filled screams echoed into the night, and soon faded as she was dragged deeper into the darkness of the Tennessee woods.
Ron squinted a little before he finally opened his eyes and saw the light of the morning sun fill the bedroom. He stretched one arm, his legs, and arched his back as he noticed a weight on his left arm. As he looked at what was sitting on it, he smiled as he saw Yori sleeping soundly and curled up to him. She was a very beautiful woman, and seemed even more lovely as she slept soundly next to him. He loved Kim, he always would. But you could never love person the same as another. But he did know as he lay in that bed that he did love Yori. He just he hoped he loved her enough, because she deserved so much better than him.
"Should I keep my eyes closed?" she asked him.
"How long have you been awake?" he asked her.
"Not long, but I enjoy how you watch me." She said as she opened her eyes and smiled at him. "Do we have to get up now?" she asked him.
"Not if you don't want to." Ron said as he leaned down and kissed her softly against her warm lips.
As they kissed each other, they began pressing their bodies harder into each other. Ron could feel so many curves of her body as he held her while she could feel him respond to her. Ron's hand held the small of her back and began to slowly drift down the curve of her spine. His hand could feel the rise of her hips and was almost on top of her backside as someone began knocking on the door.
"Talk about bad timing." Ron said as he and Yori broke apart and sat up. Yori was trying to straighten her clothes as Ron tried to hide the obvious evidence of his excitement. "It's open!" Ron called out.
"Morning, guys. Have you guys seen Tara?" he asked them.
"Ron-san and I just woke up." Yori said.
"She wasn't in bed with me, and she's not anywhere else." Josh said.
"That doesn't make sense." Ron said as they got up. "Are you sure she just isn't in the bathroom?" he asked him as they followed him into the living room.
"I checked, but she isn't in there." Josh said.
"What are you going on about?" Bonnie asked as she entered the living room and let out a long yawn.
"We can not find Tara." Yori said.
"You don't think she went out into the woods, do you?" Bonnie asked.
"No. Tara is smarter than that." Josh said. "But maybe she slept in the car. Remember how freaked she was after we played that tape? She might have gone to the car." Josh said as he opened the door and stopped as soon as he did while Ron ran to the car.
"She's not in the car. And it looks like we've got a flat as well. Ron said as he looked back to the porch. "Josh?" Ron asked as he walked back to the house and saw Josh bend over and pick up something.
"This is Tara's blanket. She always takes it with her if she's spending the night somewhere. She told me is keeps her from getting homesick." Josh said.
"I remember. Whenever we had a sleepover, she would drag that thing with her everywhere. Even to the bathroom." Bonnie said.
"But why would she go out into the woods?" Josh asked as he looked at the gathered group. Josh noticed that Ron looked up from the blanket for a moment and saw his eyes widened. "Ron?"
"Ron-san, what's wrong?" Yori asked him.
"I think I found Tara." Ron said as he pointed out into the woods.
Everyone turned to where Ron was pointing and were shocked at what they saw. Tara was staggering back towards them from the woods, but she didn't look good. Her hair was a mess and covered with twigs, leaves. And dried mud. Her yellow shirt and acid wash jeans had been ripped and torn in several places while her body was covered in dirt and dried mud. One eye was black and bruises were forming all over her. She also had several cuts all over her arms and legs, with several all over her face that had scabbed over not too long ago.
All of them ran toward her as fast as they could to help her. None of them could believe at how horrible she looked. It was almost as if she had tried to get into a wrestling with a wild boar and it ended in a stand still. As soon as Josh got to Tara and tried to touch, she began screaming as loud as she could. Josh tried to talk to her, but she kept hitting and scratching at him. It looked more like she was trying to fend off an attacker the more she screamed and fought.
"TARA! TARA, STOP!" Josh shouted as he she clawed at him every time he got close. Finally, he wrapped her tightly in his arms as he could and tried to talk to her over her shouting. "TARA, IT'S ME! IT'S JOSH!" he shouted and saw that her screaming began to die down as she opened her eyes again. "It's Josh." He said to her again.
"Josh?" she asked as she looked at him. It was as if she was trying to make up her mind on whether or not he was real or not. "Josh?" she asked him again.
"Yes. It's me." He said to her.
No sooner had he said those words, Tara began to cry uncontrollably and went limp in his arms. Josh held her tightly and did his best to keep her from falling while she buried her head in the crook of his neck and continued to cry.
"Tara, what happened to you?" he asked her.
"The trees. The trees." She kept saying, but couldn't say anything else over her crying.
"Let's get her into the cabin." Bonnie said as Josh lifted Tara in his arms and began to carry her back.
Josh was rubbing his face as he sat on the couch while Ron was in the kitchen and fixing them something to drink. Ron looked at him through the opening in the wall and couldn't help but feel for him. Every time he and Kim went on a mission and she got hurt, he felt so worried that it made him sick. But Ron knew what had happened to Kim, they still didn't know what had happened to Tara. She was a complete mess, and Bonnie and Yori were trying to calm her down and clean her up. One thing was for sure was that they had to get out of here now. For all they knew, that doctor or professor that was here may have gone nuts and did that to her. Ron let out a slow sigh as he brought the two root beers into the living room and handed one to Mankey.
"It looked like you needed something." Ron said.
"Thanks." Josh said as he sipped the drink while Ron sat down next to him. "You do know I brought some booze with me, right?"
"Yeah, but I don't drink." Ron said as he gulped down part of his.
"Coming up here was a bad idea, wasn't it?" Josh asked him.
"I don't know, man. It sounded like a good idea at the time." Ron said to him.
"I have to be the worst boyfriend ever to let this happen."
"No you're not, Josh. Look at me. I really pulled some boneheaded stuff when I was dating Kim."
"But when she went missing, you went after her. Hell, you even went into space for her! All I've ever done is take her dancing." Josh said as he sipped his drink.
"When she gets herself together, we'll find a way out of here. I mean, whoever built this place had to have thought of a way to get out here if the bridge was out." Ron said.
"Ron, we're deep in the heart of redneck country. The only thing worse than being stuck here would be being stuck in the East Texas woods." Josh said.
Ron was about to think of something else to say when Yori stepped out from the hallway. Both of them stood to their feet when they saw the nervous look on her face.
"How is she?" Josh asked her.
"She will be fine for now, but she is still very scared." Yori said to him. "Forgive me if this question is too personal, Mankey-san. But I need to know if you and Tara have recently – made love?" she asked him.
"No, we haven't. Tara is really set on waiting until she's married before going that far. Why?" Josh asked her, but the look on Yori's face said it all. "Please tell me she wasn't."
"My medical training is limited, but it appears that she was raped." Yori said to him.
Josh looked upset and angry to a point that it looked like his head would cave in on itself. All he could do was collapse back onto the couch and bury his head in his hands while Ron tried to process what he had just heard about his friend.
"Does she know who did it?"
"That is what's troubling me, Ron-san. She keeps saying that it was the trees that hurt her."
"The trees?"
"Yes. Ron, the marks on her were not made by a person. And from what Bonnie and I saw, it looked like some branch was used on her." Yori said to him.
"Yori, you don't believe trees actually did this to her?"
"I am not sure, but we have seen stranger things."
"Can she walk?" Ron asked her.
"She can, but she refuses to go near the trees. She will not leave this cabin."
"Then that puts a cramp in trying to find a way out of here." Josh said as he tried to stop himself from crying.
"Josh, why don't you go talk to her and send Bonnie out here?" Ron asked. Josh did what Ron said without even asking twice while Yori looked at Ron for a moment.
"Ron-san, what should we do?" she asked him.
"If she's not going to leave, we're going to make sure that whoever did this to her can't get in here. I'll go into the shed and see if there's some wood and tools. We're going to board up the windows and keep the shotgun close." Ron said to her.
Drew Lipski wasn't used to wearing normal clothes anymore. There were just some days he longed to wear his dark blue lab coat once more, but he couldn't. He signed a written agreement to congress that his days of world domination were over. Instead, he joined the work of his girlfriend's father over in Eastern Europe. He was very surprised to discover that her father was very well respected archeologist, and even more so when he asked for their help. He knew his girlfriend had a degree in teaching, but she was also skilled in archeology. Since he could no longer try and make plans to bring the world to its knees, he thought he would tag along and see what her father was like and what he had been studying. He was pleased when he found that it was rather fascinating to look for ancient relics. But ever since Dr. Knowby had found that book among the castle ruins, he and Shelia had been worried about him.
Knowby didn't trust some of the others in his field sincee many were mainly concerned with their reputations and fame. He wanted to begin translating that Book of the Dead he had found before word had gotten out that he had discovered it. But Sheila knew her father well and was scared he might do something stupid that could get himself hurt. So while Sheila wrapped up things in Europe and tried to locate the missing pages from the Book of the Dead, Drew agreed to come back to America and find her father. It wasn't too long after he came back that he found out that the good doctor was staying at their old vacation cabin in Tennessee, but he hadn't been able to reach him at all. It had been over a week, and he was starting to get a little nervous from the lack of contact. But thankfully, Sheila was coming home, and knew where this cabin was. Hopefully, they could talk some sense into her father. So now he was waiting for Shelia's plane to arrive so they could head out there and see what he was up to.
Before he had even realized how much time had past, he saw that people were already exiting the terminal. Her plane must have landed while he had been in deep thought. That usually happened when he started thinking about something. In fact, that's how Kim Possible had defeated him on more than one occasion. If it hadn't been for Shego, he'd have been fried ages ago. Of course, Shego no longer went by her old name anymore. Now she just went by her given name.
"Shelia!" Drew called out as soon as he saw her long black hair and her pale skin.
"I was wondering if you'd be here on time, Dr. D." she said as she walked to Drew and gave him a large hug. There was once a time she couldn't stand being around the blue skinned man. She was surprised how much she had missed him when he left before she did to find her father.
"How was the dig? Did you find anything?" he asked her.
"Take three guesses." Shelia said with a smirk on her face.
"You found them?!"
"Perfectly intact. I swear, it looks like they haven't aged a day." She said as they walked to get her luggage. "Any luck with dad?"
"He's in Tennessee, but I can't get a hold of him." He said to her.
"That old cabin. It figures." She said as she began to look for her bags. "That whole area is a dead zone, Dr. D. I hope he's been able to translate the book. I'm not completely sure, but it looks like the pages I found a very important as well."
"Maybe we can translate them on the way to Tennessee." Drew said.
"Maybe. One thing I was able to translate was a story about a hero."
"A hero?" Drew asked her.
"Yeah. I might have mistranslated it, but it says he fell from the sky. What's weird is that the drawing of him looks familiar."
"Maybe your father will be able to tell us something." Drew said.
"I just hope dad's okay." She said to him as she began grabbing her bags.
The sun had set once more, covering the land in night once again. Tara had been sleeping all day which had given all of them time to board up the windows using the wood that they had found in the work shed. By the time they were finished, Tara had finally moved herself to the couch while Ron had fixed them something to eat. But with what happened Tara, everyone wasn't really that hungry. Especially Josh, who sat near one of the boarded windows with the shotgun close beside him. Josh was mad as hell for what happened to Tara. And a part of him was hoping that whoever attacked Tara would show themselves again. That way, he could see what damage a shotgun would do when you shoved the barrels down someone's throat and pulled the trigger.
Ron on the other hand was looking at the tape recorder as it sat on the desk, right next to the book of the dead. Everything about that book was giving off a bad vibe which made him feel like someone had just walked over his grave. He couldn't be sure or explain why he felt this way, but something told him that the book might be one of the reasons Tara was attacked last night.
"Are you all right, Ron-san?" Yori asked him.
"Yeah. Just a little nervous." Ron said to her.
"So am I. My efforts to contact Sensei have still failed."
"My communicator is still on the fritz too." Ron said as he removed the device from his packet and tried it one more time.
"Ron, may I ask you something?" Yori asked him.
"Sure."
"Do you think – that we may have summoned something when we played that tape?" she asked him.
"I don't know." Ron said as he looked at the tape. "Wait a minute. We didn't summon anything." Ron said as he walked to the desk and grabbed the tape player.
"What do you mean?" Josh asked as he and Bonnie looked at him while Tara kept her head bowed low with her blanket covering her.
"That guy was up here before us. If that thing worked, it was that quack who summoned it when he made this tape. There might be something else on this tape that can help." Ron said to them.
"Only one way to find out." Bonnie said as they all gathered around Ron while Tara remained on the couch. Taking a quick deep breath, Ron hit the play button.
"It has only been a few hours since I read aloud the first passages of the demon resurrection incantation. I have seen the shadows move in the night. Something stalks the woods outside, and I fear it may be trying to kill me. May God forgive me for what I have unleashed upon this world. May God forgive me."
"That doesn't sound too promising." Bonnie said as Ron stopped tape.
"We've got to find a way out of here. I don't know about any of you, but I think this is a load of horse shit." Josh said to them and saw Tara was still in the same position on the couch with her head bent downward. "Tara?" Josh asked, worried about her mental state as he walked back to the couch and knelt beside her.
"Tara, Are you all right?" he asked her as he placed his hand on her shoulder.
Tara's arm shot forward from underneath the blanket faster than was humanly possible, her hand latching itself around Josh's throat and began to squeeze. Ron rushed to them as fast as he could and tried to pry Tara's fingers open, but the wouldn't budge! It was like her hand had turned into a bear trap. As Ron tried to pry her hand open, the young blonde woman flung both Ron and Josh to the other side of the living room as if they were nothing more than rag dolls. Yori quickly rushed to Ron's aid as Tara stood up from the couch, bit something was different. The way her body was moving looked more like a puppet moving when its strings were being pulled. As the blanket fell away, everyone screamed in horror as they looked at her face.
Her eyes were now glazed over with a milky white film, almost like they were dead. The eyes had sunken deeper into their sockets as her cheekbones had broadened to such a degree that the flesh on her face had torn and was bleeding. Her lips were so dry that every time she moved them, they would crack and bleed as well. Her teeth had gone from white to a putrid shade of yellow with her gums reseeding. The rest of her skin was also pale and chalky gray, like the skin of a dead corpse. A hideous, beast like snarl escaped from her throat as she growled at all of them.
"You have disturbed our sleep."Tara said with a deep and unnatural voice. It was so full of menace that it sounded like it belonged to the comic book villain Venom.
"Tara? What's wrong with you?" Josh asked as they all backed away from her.
"One by one, you will all die." It growled and tried to claw at Josh's face. "You will all be dead by dawn."
"What the hell is going on here?!" Bonnie screamed as they tried to keep their distance from her.
"I think she's possessed!" Ron shouted.
"Possessed by what?!" Josh shouted as Tara leapt at him and grasped him in a bear hug. Josh began to groan in pain as her arms tightened around him like the coils of a python. All of them could hear his bones start popping from the strain she was putting on him. "Tara, stop! PLEASE! You're hurting me!" Josh pleaded with what used to be his girlfriend.
"Tara is dead. And soon, you'll join her!"
"STOPPABLE, DO SOMETHING!" Bonnie shouted at him.
"Let me think!" Ron said as he racked hi brain, and noticed that Tara was standing in front of the cellar door. "Bonnie, get that doo to the cellar open."
"What?"
"Just do it." Ron said. As Bonnie tried to sneak behind Tara, Ron quickly turned to Yori. "Yori, remember one of the tricks I told you that the football team would play on me?" Ron asked his girlfriend.
"I remember."
"Get behind Tara, and croutch down." Ron said to her.
"I think I understand." Yori said and quickly readied herself as Tara was focused on trying to strangle Josh.
"HEY! TARA!" Ron shouted, gaining her attention. "Is that your facee, or did your neck throw up?" he asked her, and couldn't help but shiver as her distorted face scowled at him and began to snarl. As she let Josh drop to the floor, she turned and focused her attention to him.
"After I trash your ass, I'll slit your little girlfriend's belly open." Tara said in her unnatural voice.
"Over my dead body." Ron said as he felt part of the mystical power flow through him.
As Tara moved for him, Ron took a step forward and kicked Tara squarely in the chest and heard several ribs in her sternum break. As Tara began to stumble backwards, Yori crouched behind her and caused the possessed woman to fall over backwards and fall through the cellar steps and land on her back on the cellar floor. Quickly, Ron, Yori, and Bonnie closed the cellar door and placed their weight against it. Even with all three sitting on top of it, Tara was trying to force the door open and almost knocking them off with each blow she gave it.
"JOSH! LOCK IT! LOCK THE CHAIN!" Ron shouted as Josh was rubbing his soar throat and trying to figure out what was happening. "JOSH!" Ron shouted again, and forcing his friend to act. Josh quickly looped the chain through the other set of rings and made the chain tight as he put the lock through two of the chain links and closed it before yanking out the key. All of them quickly backed away from the cellar door as Tara continued to pound against it and scream bloody murder.
"What the hell is going on here?!" Josh shouted.
"I have no clue, but I think we've stopped her for now." Bonnie said.
Yori then began to scream in pain as she collapsed to the floor and grasped her ankle. Ron gasped in horror when he saw why. Tara had been able to pry the door open enough to reach her arm through and had stabbed Yori in the ankle with what looked like a make-up pencil. Ron grasped her in his arms quickly and carried her away from the cellar door as Tara's arm clawed at the spot where Yori had been. She was clawing at the floor hard enough to actually leave claw marks from her nails.
"YOU HAVEN'T STOPPED ME! YOU JUST DELAYED ME MOMMENTARILY! YOU'LL ALL BE DEAD BY DAWN!" Tara screamed at them.
"FUCK YOU!" Ron shouted as he carried Yori back to their bedroom with Josh and Bonnie close behind.
"Bonnie, where's that First Aid kit?" Ron asked her.
"In Josh's room."
"GET IT!" Ron shouted at her. As soon as she was gone, Ron began looking at her ankle.
"How bad is it?" Josh asked him.
"It looks like it went through the bone. I don't think it hit any major arteries." Ron said as he looked at it and tried not to make it worse.
"I've got the kit." Bonnie said as she sat next to Ron and opened the kit as fast as she could.
"Okay." Ron said as he took a deep breath and looked at Yori. It broke his heart to see her grimacing in so much pain. "Yori, I've got to take it out. So this is really going to hurt." Ron said to her.
"Pull it out fast, please." She said to him.
Ron gripped her hand firmly in his as he tried to get the courage to do this. He had always been a bit squeamish when it came to things like this, and didn't even know if he was going to be conscious after he did this. What the hell was he thinking? He would do this for Kim in a heart beat, so he was going to do this for Yori. He had to grow a pair of brass ones and he had to do it now.
"On the count of three." He said as he gripped the pencil with his free hand and heard Yori whimper. "One. Two."
Ron swiftly yanked the pencil out without even saying three and quickly held Yori in his arms as she screamed again from the pain. Bonnie acted quickly in trying to bandage the wound as best as she could. Ron just held Yori and let her lean against him as she began muttering something in Japanese that he didn't understand. He wasn't sure, but he thought she might have been cursing him out for pulling that stunt. And right now, he wouldn't blame her if she was. After several moments, Yori was trying to breath normally as she sat up and looked down at the dressing that had been applied.
"Are you okay?" Ron asked her.
"I – I am fine, for the moment." She said in a very shaky voice.
"Okay." Ron whispered as he stood up. "Josh and I are going to make sure that – whatever that is – is still locked in the cellar. Bonnie?"
"I'll keep an eye on her." She said.
Ron and Josh entered the living room and made sure to stay clear of the cellar door. They could hear her moving around down there, even snarling. So far, it looked like the chains were still in place and wouldn't let Tara escape. So far, that was a small relief to them. The only question was what were they supposed to do now?
"Ron?"
"Yeah?"
"What the fuck was that?" he asked him.
"The truth?"
"Yeah."
"I think we've summoned something evil that just possessed your girlfriend and skewered mine in the ankle." Ron said to him.
"Okay. Just wanted to be sure." Josh said and jumped as Tara began to claw at the cellar door again. "Isn't there something we can do?" Josh asked.
"I don't know. Right now, our safest bet is to keep the doors locked, keep the boards on the windows, and pray." Ron said.
"What about weapons?"
"There's the shotgun. Yori found a box of shells for it when we were in the work shed. And we brought in that chainsaw to cut the wood with." Ron told him.
"Good. Now we just have to wait until morning and get the hell out of here." Josh said.
"What about Yori? We can't leave her here. She can't walk."
"Then one of us will carry her. But what about Tara?" Josh asked.
"If she's normal in the morning, we'll take her with us. But if she's still like that?"
"What? We leave her?"
"Josh, I don't know what else to do!"
"Don't you have that monkey thing?"
"I don't think it can perform exorcisms." Ron said as he looked at the cellar door again. "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"Silence. She stopped." Ron said. In all the adventured he had been on in his life, he knew that sudden silence in a tense situation was usually not a good sign. "Bonnie, how's Yori doing?" Ron asked, but heard nothing. "Bonnie?"
As Ron made his way to the hall, a balled fist hit Ron in-between his eyes and sent him onto his back. As he tried to shake the stars from his eyes, he heard a very unnatural snarl as Josh began to scream. Ron looked up and immediately tried to back away and get to his feet at the same time. Bonnie stood in the doorway with the features of her face now looking exactly the way Tara's had.
"Look who's evil now." The possessed Bonnie said as she smiled and exposed a set of teeth that looked black and almost rotting in her mouth. "Who's a stupid bitch now, Josh? WHO'S A STUPID BITCH NOW?!" she screamed as she glared at Josh.
Ron had gotten to his feet and rushed to the corner near the front door where the shotgun sat. Ron quickly had the gun and aimed it at the possessed cheerleader, but he couldn't bring himself to pull the trigger. Distorted features or not, he still saw someone he had went to school with. Someone he had still considered a friend, despite all of her mean comments and the way she had treated him and others. There was also the fact that Ron just couldn't bring himself to hurt another living thing. It just went against everything he believed in.
"SHOOT HER, RON! SHOOT – IT!" Josh screamed.
"I can't! She's a friend!"
"Some friend! You've never even heard from her until I found her drunk in a bar three days ago!" Josh shouted.
Not knowing what to do, Ron quickly tossed the shotgun to Josh and got out of the way as soon as he caught it. Josh aimed the rifle at the monster in front of him, but he couldn't pull the trigger either. He was having the same problem as Ron. She was a friend, and another living person.
"What's wrong, Josh? Can't get it up like that time we tried to sleep together?" Bonnie asked.
"Bitch!" Josh said as he aimed and fired the first barrel.
Blood flew as the buckshot tore and ripped through flesh and bone at close range. A visible hole was now in the center of Bonnie's chest as she staggered backwards and wiped the blood from her face. Both Ron and Josh looked on in horror as they could actually see what was left of her heart still beating and pumping out blood inside of her body and making blood flow all down her chest. She looked down at the wound for a brief moment before looking back at Josh with a very angry look and another snarl. Josh pulled the trigger again, firing the other barrel and watched as her throat exploded and sent her flying backwards and out the front door.
Josh quickly dropped the gun as he just looked at the spot where Bonnie had been standing moments ago, and saw the blood that was on the floor and on some of the walls. Josh fell to his knees and began to hyperventilate as he kept seeing what he had done to her replay over and over again in his mind. Ron felt like he was going to be sick as he saw all the blood that had spilled onto the floor and fought hard to keep the food he had eaten earlier down. Ron had to make sure that Bonnie was actually dead though. He didn't want to see what damage the shotgun had made to her, but he knew that he had to see that she wouldn't try to hurt any of them again. Ron stepped around the blood like it was toxic waste, trying not to pass out from just looking at it. He was forcing himself to look toward the front door and at the porch, but he didn't want to see Bonnie laying there. Slowly, Ron made himself look, and blinked. She wasn't there!
Ron ran out onto the front porch, but he couldn't see anything! There had been some blood that had been pooled on the porch, but the trail of it looked more like she had been dragged away. But by what? There was no one else out here. Then he remembered what Tara had been telling them all day. That the trees were alive and that they had attacked her. Could they have dragged Bonnie's body away? Not feeling safe again, Ron quickly slammed the front door closed and locked it as he turned and saw Josh was slipping into shock.
"Josh? Come on, man. Snap out of it." Ron said as he walked over to where Josh was sitting.
"I killed her. I can't believe I killed her." Josh whimpered.
"Josh, she was possessed. She – she wasn't Bonnie anymore." Ron said, but he wasn't even sure if he believed what he was saying.
"Ron, what have I done? I just blew away my ex-girlfriend!" Josh said and began to look terrified and panicked at the same time.
"SHE WASN'T BONNIE! YOU KILLED A MONSTER, NOT YOUR EX-GIRLFRIEND!" Ron shouted at him, trying to make him snap out of it. "Damn it, Josh. Yori would have taken care of her if she could have. Oh, God. Yori!" Ron said as he ran into the hallway and into the bedroom where he had taken Yori.
Ron sighed in relief as he saw Yori laying on the bed asleep. He quickly checked her bandage and saw that the bleeding had stopped for now. He pulled the covers over her so she wouldn't get cold and gently kissed her on her forehead. He just hoped she could sleep through this until morning. The last thing she needed was to go through anymore of this. Satisfied that she was okay, Ron tried to leave the bedroom as quietly as he could and made his way to the living room. Now he had to try and snap Josh out of his funk. As Ron stepped back into the living room, he couldn't find Josh. He wasn't sitting where he had been, and he couldn't see him anywhere else. Ron quickly went into the kitchen, but he didn't see him in there either. As Ron stepped back into the living room, he noticed something important. The front door was wide open.
"JOSH!" Ron shouted as he ran to the door.
Ron was only a few inches from the door before it closed by itself and locked, causing Ron to slam into it face first and fall tot he floor. Ron quickly wiped his nose that was hurting and saw a small blood trail on the back of his hand. Ron got back to his feet as he tried to wipe the blood away and could hear Tara laughing from underneath the cellar door. The sound of her distorted laugh was as annoying as the sound of nails on a chalkboard.
"All your friends have deserted you, Ronnie. You've let everyone down."
"Shut up." Ron said as he walked back toward the chair.
"Join us." Tara said.
"No." Ron said as he took a seat in the chair.
"Join us."
"I said no."
"You'll join us, Ronnie. You're already loosing your mind."
"Like hell I am!"
"Are you sure? Are you even sure you're really here, or that I'm possessed?"
"You're not Tara." Ron said to himself as he tried to think.
"Ron, help me! Please! Let me out of here! I'm so scared!" He heard Tara say in her normal voice.
It sounded like her, she even sounded terrified. So much of him wanted to unlock the chain and let her out. No, it couldn't be that simple. Could it? Maybe it was really her. Maybe it did leave her. But why now?
"Drop dead." Ron said and looked away from the chained cellar door.
"How do you know that you didn't just witness your friend commit cold blooded murder! For all you know, you're tied up in a fucking nut house right now!"
"WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP ALREADY, YOU EVIL BITCH?! I AM NOT GOING TO JOIN YOU! YOU HEAR ME?! I WON'T!" Ron shouted.
"Yes you will. Piece by piece, sooner or later, you will join us. We've already got your hand." Tara said.
"What?" Ron asked, unsure of what she was talking about. "What did you just say?"
"We got your hand."
"My hand?" Ron asked as he looked at both of his hands. So far, they both looked completely normal. "Like hell you do. See? All normal!" Ron said as he shot both of his hands toward the cellar door and wiggled his fingers.
Ron lowered his left hand, but his right hand stayed up and continued to wiggle its fingers. Ron tried to bring his hand back down, but he couldn't. It was as if something else was controlling it. Ron's eyes widened as he saw that his hand began to change in front of him. It began to look more like it was infected as what looked like dark veins began to appear and spread all through it. As it began to move on its own accord once more, Ron quickly grasped it by the wrist and tried to keep it away from him as he heard Tara starting to laugh.
"You bastards! YOU DIRTY BASTARDS! GIVE ME BACK MY HAND!" Ron shouted as Tara's laughing continued.
All around him there was laughing. The stuffed moose head was alive and laughing at him hysterically as all the books covers were opening like mouths with laughter coming from them as well. The lamp on the writing desk was even moving up and down with the bulb flashing as a strange laugh even came from it. It was like the whole cabin had come to life and was laughing at him. Everywhere and all around him was nothing but laughter. Even though it couldn't make a sound, he could even feel it going through the motions like it was laughing.
"SHUT UP!" Ron screamed as loud as he could as it evolved into a full blood curdling scream of its own. Each breath he took was to continue the scream more and more to drown out the laughing and to make it stop. His throat soon felt raw and began to hurt as he finally stopped his screaming and began taking deep breaths to try and calm himself. As he did, he heard nothing but silence again. The laughing had stopped. Even Tara was no longer laughing or trying to claw at the cellar door anymore. Ron took a few more breaths to try and calm his nerves before he raised his hand upward, keeping a firm grip around the wrist. It wasn't moving, but it still looked like something from a hospital doctor's nightmare.
Dark veins were still visible with the skin having a sickly yellow tint to it. Even the fingernails were starting to look darkened with fingertips starting to turn into a blackish purple. Was it even possible? Was it actually possessed? As if an answer to his own question, his right hand broke free of his grip and began to squeeze his throat as tight as it could. Ron could his airway being crushed as his own hand tried to strangle him. Ron grabbed his hand again by the wrist and began to pull as hard as he could. HE was able to pull his hand away from his throat, but it was trying to break free and go after him again. Desperate to try and make his hand stop, Ron ran to the kitchen entrance and began to slam his hand against the doorframe and wall as he could in an effort to break it. He could still feel the pain as he tried to injure himself and soon stopped as it became too much. This gave his possessed limb enough time to grab Ron by his hair and yank him to the floor in an unwilling flip.
Ron's entire backside hurt as he felt his hand scramble around him. What was it trying to do now? It almost felt like his hand was trying to drag him. Ron grasped the countertop with his good hand to try and pull himself up when he felt porcelain break over his head. Ron grimaced in pain as he forced himself to stand and saw his possessed limb grasp one of the plates from the sink and bash him across the head again.
"You little bastard!" Ron shouted as he felt another plate break over his head.
Ron was staggering as he felt blood begin to flow from his forehead. His head was killing him as he felt another plate being smashed over his head, followed by another, and another, and another. Ron was having a hard time staying awake now as he felt several other cuts on his face begin to bleed. As Ron tried to steady himself again, he felt a half-empty beer bottle smash over his head and began to blackout. Ron tried to grasp onto Anything as he began to loose consciousness, but only succeeded in pulling out one of the drawers as he fell to the floor face first. As Ron lay unconscious on the floor, his hand was still moving and searching for a weapon. How it was able too see was unknown, but it found a weapon it knew would kill the young man it was attached to. Among the utensils that had been scattered to the floor when Ron fell unconscious was a very sharp meat cleaver laying only a few feet from Ron. Using every ounce of strength it had, the possessed limb began to drag the unconscious Ron across the floor. Through the scattered shards of broken porcelain plates and shattered glass from the beer bottle, it pulled Ron's body and itself along. It wasn't that much farther until it could grab the meat cleaver. Just a few more inches until it reached its goal. Its fingers were almost brushing against the cleaver's handle, which thrilled the monstrous limb.
The hand stretched its fingers and began to pull itself one more time. The hand began to scream in pain as the blade of a large carving knife went through the palm and nailed it to the floor, letting crimson red blood flow down the sharpened knife's blade. Ron was grimacing in pain as he looked up and tried to push the blade further through his own hand. The pain was incredible, but he did his best to bite through it. As Ron let the knife go and rose onto his knees, his eyes widened as he saw the chainsaw not to far from where he was laying. He knew what had to be done. It was insane and a last resort, but he was already partially mad and didn't care. He reached over and grabbed the chainsaw's handle and drug over to him. Holding it firmly with his left hand, Ron leaned down and pulled the cord with his teeth and smiled in a mad sadistic glee as the motor started and the deadly blade began to spin. The hand screamed even louder as it realized what Ron was about to do, not believing what the young man would ever actually do something like this to himself.
"Who's laughing now?" he asked as he raised the chainsaw high and began to laugh maniacally. "WHO LAUGHING NOW, ASSHOLE? WHO'S LAUGHING NOW?!" Ron shouted as he brought the blade down in the middle of his forearm and screamed in pain as the blade tore through flesh, muscle and bone. Blood was coating Ron's face as he screamed in agony but continued to push the blade downward through his arm.
TO BE CONTINUED . . . .
Disclaimer:
Based on "Evil Dead: The Musical" and the Evil Dead trilogy created by Sam Rami. Evil Dead is owned by Universal Studios, and Kim Possible is owned by Disney. I work with neither and wrote this for fun.