Sidle Road passes through farm fields dotted by several rental houses on the outskirts of Cullton. With this ruralness comes seclusion, accompanied by a near pitch-black landscape after nightfall. Tonight proves no exception. A would-be stranded motorist’s only saving grace would be the ambient glow of the stars and moon, if they were lucky to have a cloudless night. Pulled off on a flat grassy berm next to one of the last standing cornfields sits a red BMW Z4. Alone in the dark, it sits tucked into the recesses of the field’s shadows, while its occupants watch a darkened house.
Gina watches David eye the house. She doesn’t say a word, but she frequently dabs her tongue over a fresh swollen lip.
“How did she know about this meeting?” asks David. “She has to be in contact with Pete. There’s no other explanation.”
“I told you, I don’t know,” says Gina. “She came to my room during first period and told me what I told you.”
“And she said to tell me it was her who told you about the meeting?” David glares at his wife before refocusing his attention on the house. “I don’t have time for this. The meeting is in forty-five minutes.”
The car’s engine revs to life, and Gina watches David slide the gear shift into DRIVE. “Where are you going?”
“That little bitch wants to play games. Let’s see if she still wants to play her games when it’s in person.” David tromps the gas pedal and tears off the berm. A few seconds later, he whips into the driveway of the house they were watching.
“What are you gonna—”
“Shut up! I told you I didn’t have time for this. Nor the patience. Stay here!” David slaps the gear selector into Park and slides out from behind the wheel. With haste, he heads to the front of the house.
Gina watches her husband wail on the door. After several failed attempts to elicit a response, he resorts to peering in the windows. After a quick glance in the vanity mirror, Gina catches David shifting from window to window until he finally disappears around the side of the house. Several minutes later, he pops out around the opposite side and makes a beeline for the car.
Sliding into the driver’s seat, David drums his fingers on the steering wheel. “There’s nothing in that house. No sign of anyone living there.”
Without another word, David backs out of the drive and points his car toward Cullton High School.
As the car hums along Sidle Road, Gina watches the headlights cut through the dark countryside. Fifteen minutes later she sees the familiar grounds of Cullton High School. Another three minutes pass before they park in a secluded area by the stadium. As quick as the ignition dies, she gets ordered out of the car.
Without a word said, she follows David through a back entrance of the school and to the gymnasium. She arrives at a set of all too familiar double doors and watches as David pushes through. Though immersed with hesitation and nerves, she follows suit.
Even without the full complement of gymnasium lights, the shellacked hardwood floor reflects the maroon and black banners hanging from the ceiling’s steel girders. Gina, already well acquainted with the school’s motivational flare, studies each of the four faces staring back at her. Jeff and Sarah Kesner sit on a partially pulled-out bleacher, dressed in blue jeans and fall jackets and fidgeting with their outfits. Frank and Kelly Suter share a short stack of tumbling mats. Frank wears a wrinkled dark gray suit that hangs loosely around his body. Kelly’s russet, minidress mirrors her husband’s attire. And they both have red, sunken eyes with dark bags as though death itself paid them a visit.
“David,” says Frank. “I didn’t know you were bringing Gina. Do you think it’s wise?”
“She knows,” says David. “I’m not sure how much, but enough.” He places his hand in the small of Gina’s back and gives her a push forward. “There’s more. Alyssa Dietrich knows about this meeting. And I assume she knows about our dealings.”
“How?” says Sarah.
“It’s got to be Pete,” says Jeff. “He was quite taken with Alyssa before he disappeared.”
“He must still be talking with her,” says Frank. “Trying to keep up with what’s going on. Perhaps weigh-in some sort of leverage.”
“Leverage for what?” says Kelly. “Everything—and I mean everything—is in the hands of the state police. So, it’s only a matter of time until they piece it all together.”
Gina’s mind spins, catching tidbits of information. Most of it she already heard from Father Malloy. But hearing it from the mouths of those involved sends a new tingle down her spine. Amid all the chaos, she shoots a sideways glance at David.
“I think you give those boys a little too much credit,” says David. “We’ve stayed ahead of the game this long. We got—” David scans past the Kesners, his gaze landing on the Suters. “What the hell has happened?”
“Have you been living in a cave these past several weeks?” says Jeff. “Ricki Suter was murdered, and Liam Kesner, our son”—Jeff chokes back tears—“is no more. Gone. Vanished. Like he never existed.”
Gina’s eyes widen as she looks at David, who stares at Jeff with a confused expression.
“What is it about this Liam?” says David. “Gina called me this morning about him.”
Jeff locks eyes with Gina. “You know Liam? You knew him? You remember him?” He drops to his knees, and his wife clambers by his side in a heartbeat. Together, they weep and sob as the others stare on.
Gina steps closer. “How many remember him? How many people?”
Sarah looks up through tear-soaked eyes. “Myself, Jeff, and now you. No family members. No friends. There aren’t even any records of him anywhere.”
“That’s not entirely true,” says Jeff. “I believe Father Malloy and Brianna Hatherd know something.”
David takes a seat on the bleachers and looks at Jeff. “Why do you say that?”
“When we were at the state police barracks,” says Jeff, “reconfirming my statement about Frank and Kelly’s absence from the harvest scare park, we saw Brianna and Malloy as they were leaving. Their reactions when they saw Liam in the wheelchair. They knew something wasn’t right. You could see it in their faces!”
David leans back against the wall of bleachers. “So, these two saw a person that you say existed but doesn’t anymore? And nobody else believes this story about this Liam?”
“I know it sounds crazy,” says Sarah. “But it’s true.”
Gina gives Jeff and Sarah a long, hard look. “I believe you.”
“I think you all went off the fucking deep end,” says David.
“How do you explain all the weird shit that’s been going on around here?” says Jeff.
“Every boy that went to the Hatherds’ that night is now dead,” says Frank. “That sounds crazy to you?”
“All of them except two were accidents,” says David. “As for the others, well, Bobby’s is a whole other case. But Ricki’s. His could be tied into Bobby’s. Those two were thick as fleas.”
“It wasn’t,” says Kelly.
“Oh, and how do you know that?” says David.
“I just do.”
“Okay. Well, I tell you what,” says David. “I came here tonight to get our stories straight for the state police. Not to get caught up in a bunch of nonsense. So, if you all don’t want to spend the next ten to a thousand years in prison, I’d suggest we get collaborating.”
“Okay,” says Frank. “What do you—”
A thwack echoes throughout the gymnasium as the set of double doors burst open. Gina’s face lights up as a young brunette woman flies into the room, lands on the floor, and skids to a halt several feet beyond the threshold. Pete Gaskin walks in behind her.
“Bri!” screams Gina. She rushes forward but freezes four feet in front of her former student, the barrel of a Glock 22 pistol pointed at her face.
“I don’t think so,” says Pete. “Back away.”
Gina creeps half a step at a time, back to where David now sits. “You okay?” she asks, bouncing her gaze between Bri and the barrel of Pete’s gun.
“Just some bumps and bruises,” says Bri. She picks herself off the floor and readjusts her maroon sweater. “I should’ve never ventured out. But I wanted to find out what was going on with—” She focuses on Gina’s fat lip and fading facial bruise. Disgust swarms her face as she glares at David.
“You got something you want to say to me?” says David, walking toward Bri.
Bri snarls, and her brow furrows as she pulls back her shoulders.
Pete’s pistol takes new aim, this time at David. “Sit down!”
Without an attempt for a rebuttal, David complies.
“Pete. We’ve been worried sick about you ever since Bobby’s murder,” says Frank.
Gina stands rigid as she pans her gaze from the group to Pete. He looms before the group. His hair an unruly mess, an almost perfect match to his ragged beard. He wears stained blue jeans and a barn coat that appears two sizes too large. And although she tries to suppress her sour expression, Gina breathes a sigh of relief when she observes everyone else’s reaction to the stench emanating from him.
Pete’s sunken eyes scan the group, stopping on Gina. “Where is she?”
“Who?” asks Gina.
Pete thrusts the pistol forward, extending his arm out to the point of almost locking his elbow. “Don’t play with me!”
“If you mean Alyssa, none of us know,” says Gina. “David and I even went by her place before coming here. He said it was like she was never there.”
Jeff takes a cautious step forward. “Pete? What the fuck happened?”
“That bitch. That fucking bitch!” screams Pete. “I don’t know what happened. I can’t explain what happened.” He lowers the pistol as he takes a step backward. Leaning against the wall, he rubs his free hand across his face. “It just happened.”
“What happened?” asks Jeff.
“She tricked me. The fucking bitch tricked me,” mumbles Pete. “And I know it has something to do with that little bitch!” He raises his Glock again, this time pointing it at Bri. “You won’t believe me. No one will believe my story.”
Gina gasps as she steps forward, forced back once more by Pete’s pistol taking aim at her face.
“Try me,” says Frank. “There’s a whole bunch of fucked-up shit developing. Pete, what happened?”
Pete slides down the wall, letting his pistol fall between his legs. “I thought it was her room.” He shakes his head as if trying to unsee the past. “I thought I was entering her.” He jolts his head back, smacking it hard on the wall. “When the deed was done. When we were finished…I saw Bobby, gagged and tied to the bed.” Releasing the pistol, he drops his head into his hands and weeps.
Gina sweeps her gaze across the group and watches them stare in horror at Pete.
“What happened to Bobby?” asks Frank.
Pete looks up with quivering lips and swollen red eyes. “I strangled and beat him to death,” he whispers with a raspy voice. “Bobby wouldn’t quit looking at me. He stared at me with his mother’s eyes. His mother’s face. It was like Maddy was the one scowling at me. Judging me. I couldn’t stop. All his bullshit. All her bullshit. It just kept running through my mind. It wouldn’t stop!”
Gina glances at Bri before panning around at the rest of the group, stopping on Jeff and Sarah Kesner. “You claim to have a son nobody else knows about.” She shifts her gaze to Pete. “And you claim to have been bewitched, which led to the rape and murder of your son.” She stares hard at Frank and Kelly. “Ricki was found murdered in the woods the morning after the opening night of the scare park. And you asked Jeff to provide a cover story. You know what happened to your son.” She watches Frank and Kelly exchange glances. “Oh my gosh,” she gasps in horror. “You two murdered your son. Are the reports true? Was he disemboweled and dismembered?”
Jeff steps toward Gina as Frank and Kelly collapse in each other’s arms weeping. “I think it’s safe to say something is going on that’s way beyond all of our comprehension.”
“Getting a little ahead of yourselves, aren’t you?” says David. “If this is a retaliation for what happened with the Hatherds, why haven’t I been affected?”
Gina watches Bri’s eyes flare with anger as she steps toward David. As her former student moves beside her, she puts an arm out to stop her. Bri glares at her, and Gina returns it with a subtle head shake and calm gaze.
“You have a hard-on for me, don’t you?” says David.
“That’s enough,” says Gina. “Don’t you think you caused her enough aggravation, pain, and sorrow?”
David turns and looks at his wife. A split second later, the back of his hand connects with her face. The sharp crack of flesh on flesh echoes throughout the gym.
As Gina’s head flies back, she witnesses Bri lunge at David. Before the two of them fade from her view, she sees David ram his foot into her abdomen, thrusting her backward and to the ground.
Pete springs to his feet. “Enough!” He walks over to Bri and yanks her up by the arm. Nonchalantly, he pushes her off to the side as he spins to face Frank. “Is it true? What Gina said?”
Frank’s gaze drops to the floor as he gives a laggard head nod. “We were told it was all choreographed. It wasn’t. It was all a lie. We were tricked into mutilating our own son.”
Pete takes a hard look at the couple. “You tried, didn’t you?”
“Tried what?” says Sarah. She looks at her husband but gets a blank stare in return.
“Several times,” says Kelly. “Each time should have been successful. But they weren’t.”
“Suicide?” asks Sarah. “Were you really going to kill yourself?”
Kelly glares at Sarah. “You gut and dismember your son, then come tell me your sanity isn’t pressed.”
“At least people know of your son,” says Sarah.
“You bitch!” screams Kelly.
“Shut up! All of you!” screams Pete. He walks in small circles, the side of his pistol pressed to his temple. Think! Your life took a turn down a one-way street to prison. Or worse. Think of a way to salvage it…if there is one. Nothing. I got nothing. There’s a piece missing but what? “We need a way out of this.”
“I want no part of this,” says Gina. “I’m leaving and taking Bri with me. You people got yourself into this—”
“Sit down.” Using his pistol, Pete motions Gina back toward David. “We’re missing a piece of the puzzle. Malloy. Where’s Malloy?”
“I don’t know,” says Jeff. “I went by the church yesterday to talk to him. I was hoping to find out what he knew about Liam but couldn’t find him anywhere. I only found Father Tidden. And he has no idea of the whereabouts of Malloy.”
“Well, if this all started because of this little bitch,” says David pointing to Bri, “I think we all know what the obvious solution—”
A sharp rap on the gymnasium door silences the room.
Making his way to the doors, Pete busts into the hallway, takes a quick sweep, and pops back into the gymnasium. “No one’s there.”
Pete glances across the faces of the gathered members as they shift in place and throw worrisome glances at one other. Once more, three sharp knocks rattle the gymnasium doors. This time the doors bulge inward, testing the breaking threshold of the retaining hardware.
Agitated, Pete flings a door open and snaps out into the hallway. His pistol held up and pushed away from him, ready to engage any potential threats. But, once more, the hallway remains empty. A gut-wrenching fear swarms inside him as he closes the door and steps deeper into the gymnasium, purposely giving the doors a wide berth.
No one says a word as Pete glances at the worried faces staring back at him. Another knock on the gymnasium doors rattles through the hushed room. Pete’s gaze shifts back to the doors. A second rap comes. Still, no one says a word. With the third knock comes the snapping ping of metal breaking mixed with splintering wood as both doors burst inward, filling the entrance with wood and metal debris.
Turning his face from the exploding doors, Pete witnesses Gina jumping to her feet and rushing for Bri. A split second later, David grabs her arm.
A lone figure strolls through the settling debris, their gaze falling across each person in the gymnasium. Small framed and, without a doubt, recognizable to all those gathered. She’s dressed in blue jeans tucked into a pair of black ankle boots with an open front longline hunter green coat over a white blouse. Alyssa comes to a stop once she clears the debris, her hands tucked into her coat pockets.
“You! You!” screams Pete. He raises his Glock. “Fuck you!” Squeezing the trigger, his cheeks flash bright red when the pistol rings out a harsh metallic click. He pulls the gun into his chest, grabs the slide and yanks it back. The unspent round ejects and the releasing of the slide chambers a new one. Again, Pete thrusts the pistol forward and squeezes the trigger. Yet again, the Glock fails to fire.
Alyssa frees her hands, grabs her coat lapels, and pulls them open to expose her bloused chest. “One more for good measure, Petey?”
Pete cycles the slide and chambers another round. He pulls the trigger. Once again a single metallic click rings out. “Son of a bitch,” he whispers under his breath.
“I think that’s enough,” says Alyssa.
As the words cross her lips, Pete lets out a horrid moan. His fingers spring open, and his pistol drops to the floor. He follows his sidearm and collapses to his knees with a dull thud.
Alyssa steps past Pete as she ventures deeper into the gymnasium. She takes a moment to examine each face before stopping on David’s. “I think you’ve thrown your weight around enough.”
Again, as the words cross her lips, David lets out a blood-curdling scream. His fingers spring open, and he releases his grip on Gina. Hand shaking, he grabs his wrist and rolls his palm toward himself. Horror fills his eyes as he stares at the red, blistering skin.
Gina, still by David’s side, examines her wrist. Nothing. No redness. No burns. No marks are visible. But her husband’s inflamed hand glows like a beacon for all the group to see. Cautiously, she takes several steps away from David while keeping her attention on Alyssa. “Who are you?”
“In due time,” says Alyssa. “Don’t be afraid. I will cause you no harm. But you will bear witness to their wretchedness.”
Alyssa watches Gina glance about the room, searching. Once her gaze lands on Bri, she glances back, a look of affirmation on her face. Alyssa gives Gina a subtle nod and watches her join Bri.
“Have you not punished us enough?” says Jeff, stepping forward. “When is it going to be over? When?!”
“Oh, my little simpleton. You think this is my doing?” Alyssa lets out a boisterous laugh. “Ultimately, well, all this is your own doing. Right?”
“You murdered my son!” screams Kelly. “You tricked us!”
“Well, now, that’s going to be a hard one to sell to a jury. Isn’t it?” says Alyssa. “Besides, technically, I wasn’t there. You and Frank are the ones who carved up Ricki.”
“You bitch!” screams Frank. He hoists himself off the mats and rushes Alyssa. Four steps into his charge, he’s thrust backward by an unseen force. The momentum sends him crashing into the mats, causing them to tumble to the floor with his wife.
“You came here just to taunt and torture us?” says Sarah.
“Oh, no. Your trail to repentance has just begun,” says Alyssa. “But we are here for closure of one.” She watches as all attention shifts to Bri. “Does anyone wish to step forward and enlighten Brianna Hatherd with the truth?”
“They don’t need to,” says Bri. “Father Malloy already confessed the truth. He told me why my father was murdered and why Danny was raped. Greed. They are nothing more than common thieves who enabled others to murder and rape.”
Head held astutely, Alyssa strolls among the gathered. “Has anyone told you why they”—Alyssa pans her open hands out to her sides in a gesturing manner—“sent their sons?”
“No.” Bri holds on to Gina, who clings to her in return. Both women stare at Alyssa with puzzlement on their faces.
“David sent them,” says Alyssa. “Oh, they all agreed to it, but it was his idea.”
“But why?” asks Gina.
David lets out a defiant laugh. “I had nothing to do with Brad’s murder or the rape of Danielle.”
The Suters and Kesners glare at David. “Maybe not physically,” says Jeff. “But it was your idea to send them.”
“Prove it!”
“My, my,” says Alyssa. “Appears someone didn’t get the Code of the Wretched handbook.” Facing the two innocent ladies, she grabs hold of Bri’s attention. “You see, as David has already stated, by not having a direct link to the boys, his involvement would be harder to prove. But what he fails to mention is that he was all too aware of Bobby’s temperament. The reality of it, he was counting on that hot headedness. Perhaps not as radical as what actually happened, but nonetheless.”
“But why?” says Gina.
“He wanted Brad Hatherd to pay. Maybe it was his jealousy over Brad’s close friendship with you. Maybe he secretly admired Brad’s strength to stand against all you. Or maybe he was just pissed someone had the nerve to disrupt his perfect little world. But have no doubt, ultimately, he was afraid of Brad and in no way wanted to confront him. Definitely not alone. That’s why the ultimatum was given with all of you present,” says Alyssa as she pans her hands around the group. “Unlike Jeff, who confronted Father Malloy one-on-one, David took the cowardly way out. He conceived a plan that sent the boys. Oh, sure, the idea that six disgruntled youths would attack Brad and Danny was plausible. And certainly, no one in town would ever suspect the sons from the town’s pillar families to be in any way responsible or involved. Especially with the chief of police on his side to ensure the investigation was handled properly. More importantly, to David, the plan also left him blameless with an avenue of escape, or at most, with minimal repercussions.”
“You fucking son of a bitch.” Pete leaps to his feet and charges as the words spew from his mouth.
David rears back and stumbles into the bleachers. Startled, he hastily raises his arms in front of his face.
“Petey,” says Alyssa. “Now, now.”
And Pete’s charge halts three steps before he reaches David.
Feet fumbling about, David fights to compose himself as he steps away from where Pete stands frozen to the floor. A slight chuckle erupts from within as he fans his blustered hand. “Yeah, Petey. Now, now.” He glances around the room smiling at those gathered. “Lucky for me, huh. I don’t have a son,” he says in a mocking tone.
Like Pete, Gina stands frozen next to Bri. Her face beams with sorrow as she stares at David. Tears well up in her eyes.
“Save the cinematics,” says David. He dismisses Gina with a snarl. “I think this meeting—”
Alyssa steps to David and stops an easy arm’s reach away. Instead of making an aggressive move toward her, she watches as he shifts backward. The corners of her lips pull into a subtle smile while she takes David’s good hand in both of hers. “Listen to my voice. Gaze upon my face. And feel the warmth of my hands,” she says in a soft and soothing tone as her fingers caress his hand.
David smirks. “Hey? What the—” He blinks rapidly as he tries to pull away but can’t. “What the hell is going on? I can’t see! Everything went black!”
“As you have said so mockingly, you do not have a son,” says Alyssa. “Tell me, how is—”
“My hand!” screams David. “The pain is gone.” He jerks his head side to side as he pumps his fingers. “I can’t feel…anything! What the fuck are you doing to me?”
Alyssa drops his hand. “David,” she whispers in the same soft, soothing tone. “David?”
“What! What have you done to—” Still standing in front of Alyssa, David opens and closes his mouth, but no sound spews forth.
“David? Daaavviiid,” sings Alyssa.
What?
“David?”
What? What the fuck do you want? What the hell are you doing to me?
“Can you hear me?”
Yes! Yes, I can hear you. What the fuck are you doing to me?
Alyssa leans into David’s ear. “Can you hear my—” voice?
David stumbles backward, trips over his own feet, and flounders into the bleachers. His arms and head smack against the wooden benches as his mouth continues to open and close, mimicking a goldfish out of water.
Alyssa glances over her shoulder at Jeff and Sarah who stand shoulder to shoulder with Frank and Kelly. Together, the two couples stare at David, faces strewn with horror. Even Pete, now able to move again, backs away from her, his movements slow and wary. She continues to pan her gaze and tilts her head as she focuses on Gina and Bri. They stand apart from the five wretched souls but close enough to witness the events unfolding. Alyssa raises an eyebrow at the looks of empathy mixed with disdain Gina throws to David.
She follows Gina’s gaze back to David. She still cares for you. Even after all your beatings. Your lies. Your outright treacherous behavior. She still loves you. And you willingly threw everything away, for what?
What have you done to me? I can’t see! I can’t feel or hear anything! I can’t speak! David lies on the ground, his arms and legs flailing about. Hello?
I’m here, comes Alyssa’s voice.
What have you done to me!
Oh, my dear friend, comes the soft, soothing tone of Alyssa’s voice. You will remain this way until your death. Which will be many, many…many years from now.
Nooooooo!
Oh, I’m afraid so. The next time you hear. Feel. Smell. Touch. Speak. See. The next time you will experience any of these pleasures, will be when I come to collect you at your death. Farewell, David Eugene Wentz.
Nooooooo…
Alyssa swings herself around to confront the remaining group as they all shift backward in a synchronized wave.
“What are you going to do with us?” asks Pete.
“I’m not going to do anything with you,” says Alyssa. “You all are granted long lives.”
No sooner does Bri open her mouth, Alyssa watches Gina’s hand cover it.
“Oh, have no fear,” says Alyssa, sliding Bri a sideways glance. “It’s not the out you’re thinking.” She glances back at the five and smiles. “A lifetime of nothing but remembrance. Ah, now, doesn’t that sound just peachy?”
Bri scans the group, where haunting stares mixing with whimpers and sobs answer back. She slowly shifts her focus to Alyssa. “Who are you?”
“Oh, all in due time.”
“No,” says Pete. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Bri, please, go to Danny and wait for me,” says Alyssa. “I will explain there.”
“But—”
“Take David’s car. I don’t think he’ll have a use for it any longer. Leave via the access lane that links up with Hostetler Road. Keep your lights off until you’re off school property.”
“What about—”
Alyssa tosses a set of keys to Gina and gives her a wink. “Go. And be quick about it. We are about to have company.”