by S. R. Rashad
Chapter 31
Bambi who?
There are prisons others construct for us, they can be of wood or stone or steel. Then there are the ones we construct for ourselves, slowly and meticulously for years, we build the metaphoric walls locking ourselves in, till one day hopefully, we come to the realization that we need no more prisons, self imposed, real, or otherwise.
A hard night, handing down the traditional VonNetzer discipline onto her stupid halfwitted, but beloved dwarfish son, the one who foolishly broke a major family rule, allowing one of Peter’s playthings to roam free, a severe no no, an infuriated Nancy heads into her sitting room to think, to contemplate her next move, never given to clumsy retaliation, hers is of the cold calculated sort. And despite Peter’s serial killer ways, she is still the more vicious of the VonNetzer clan, enjoying dispensing her own brand of justice, on man, woman or child. But this situation has her very worried and upset. She doesn’t even muster the energy to turn on the lights. She sits in the dark, stewing, plotting, enthroned, enthroned in her armchair, like the blood queen, the monstrous Mary Queen of Scots, ruminating on precisely what measures she needs to take next to ensure things don't turn against her and her family.
The approaching moonlight grabs her attention as it works it's way through the blinds creeping into the darkness of her sitting room, landing on the old tattered and withering portrait of great great grandpa VonNetzer, the original Peter VonNetzer, hanging above the mantle, an omen perhaps. She watches intently as the dark falls away, perfectly illuminating great great grandpa’s cherished winchester above his portrait. With this sign, she knows what she has to do. Great great grandpa killed and buried many a men with that rifle. The VonNetzer clan have always been quick to anger and quicker to retaliation, of the most violent and severe kind. It was only her and Peter’s father who missed this gene for violence, savagery and exacting retribution, entirely, but it landed squarely onto these two bloodthirsty monsters in spades.
She dozed off. She needed the rest from the pain and fatigue. But she is awake now. Hearing the musical neighing of a frightened foal in need of its mother, Jen turns to see the young horse and is happy. She climbs down from the bales of hay which were her temporary respite, and slowly and carefully approaches the young horse. As she reaches out to pet it, hoping to calm it, and in return soothe herself, she looks at her outstretched arm as her gaze stops at her hand, bloodied, mutilated, missing a finger. And she remembers the violent lobbing off that took place not too long ago. Then the cold reality of the situation hits her. This is no fun petting zoo or lovely family trip to the farm. This is the nightmare that is the VonNetzers, a nightmare she's currently in.
Nancy gathers the rest of her children, the ones not locked in the rusty old cage in the basement, having been the cause of her disappointment, and they head out into the heavily moonlit fields to find the loose end before it becomes a problem. She’ll be damned if she’s gonna let one of Peter’s girls bring trouble her way.
Peter, though excited for the chase, is at a loss, not sure where to begin the hunt. He heads toward the highway, hoping to find her wandering along the road, in the cold darkness, in a state of fear. And just the very thought arouses him. ( -- a delight for the blood hunter.)
Okay, she’s back in reality, having the kinda clarity one gets from the feeling of imminent death, Jen knows she needs to get the hell out of there. The horses though pretty, they can’t be her focus now. The barn is not a safe place.
Her son who is an excellent tracker and huntsman, she has take to the woods and fields in his ATV while her daughter drives her beast of a truck on the outskirts, circling the property with the trucks multi-rack lighting, it turns the night into day. And Nancy who is most comfortable roaming the property on her horse, has her daughter drive her to her ranch and stables.
“We are just about there, another 20 mins or so.” He says as Laura's nerves kick into hyperdrive with focused anticipation. The one thing he still hasn't told her, perhaps because he doesn't know himself, is that, the same place they made a temporary home just a few short weeks ago, has now become the hunting grounds.
The brightness of the truck’s rack-lights forces its way through the slits and cracks of the old joinery in the barn’s gappy wooden frame. And now, she hears the loud nosey diesel beast nearing, not sure if it’s friend or foe, she becomes panicked. As the truck stops just outside the barn, she runs to a large crack in the barn wall to peer through. Before she can get a good look, she hears voices, two women talking as one exits the truck. She's sure the one climbing down from the truck, whose voice is getting closer, is Nancy. Now she knows she’s in big trouble. She panics, searches frantically for a hiding place. She sees an old wooden ladder that leads up to a small crawl space in-between the rafters. She quickly and nervously climbs the old ladder, and crams herself into the tiny space between the beams in the ceiling and waits for the pair to leave.
“Okay young lady, you know what to do.” “Yes, ma’am l do.” “Good” Nancy says as she sends her daughter off in her truck. Slinging great great grandpa VonNetzer’s old hunting rifle over her shoulder, she walks over to her favorite filly, stroking it lovingly. “How are you, girl, ready to go riding?” she kisses its mane then heads over to the post where the saddles are hung, and grabs one. She hears troubling noises coming from inside the barn as her youngest horse is still inside making a fuss. The woeful neighing compels her to see what the fuss is about. Laura’s Bambi hears the immense barn door as it’s being slid open and the lights turned on. She begins to hyperventilate. She doesn't know if she can be easily seen with the lights on. She can hear herself breathing heavily which means Nancy may be able to hear her breathing heavily. So she knows she needs to calm herself. She covers her mouth and nose with her unhurt hand and this helps her to calm her breathing, but now her chest feels like it’s gonna burst since her heart is pounding so fiercely. She puts her injured hand on her chest, telling it to not give her away.
Nancy walks across the barn. Unable to see Nancy, Jen is relying solely on her hearing. She listens fearfully to Nancy’s every movement. Nancy stands by her frantic little foal, as she sees the cause for her woes, one of her hind legs is caught in between two boards. Nancy bends down, removes her leg from between the boards and the young horse is calm. She stands and turns for the door when she is hit on the shoulder by debris falling from the rafters, accidentally kicked by Laura’s Bambi, who is, despite the bright barn, still well hidden, above. Nancy looks up curiously and sees nothing odd, but is overcome by a weird feeling. She stops, removes the winchester from around her shoulder and cocks it. The clicking sound of the rifle, underneath her, frightens Jen tremendously but she doesn't make a sound. She lies perfectly still, though her heart rate is off the charts. She knows she better not make any kind of movement, lest she gives herself away. Nancy points the rifle up toward the rafters, searching intently as she looks for trouble, signs of Jen, or any intruder. Nancy moves over, stands by the ladder, focusing her attention to just under where Jen is hiding. Out from the shadows, a raccoon emerges from its hiding place, bolts along the joist over Nancy’s head, then down the wall and out the window. Nancy turns to watch the raccoon leave the barn, then she immediately looks back up to the rafters, still pointing the rifle, waits a few seconds to see if anything else comes crawling out. Nothing does. She relaxes, as her concerns are calmed. She slings the rifle back over her shoulder, turns off the lights, and exits the barn.
As Nancy leaves, Jen’s heart begins to slow, finding its normal rhythm again. Jen wants to come down but decides to wait a little longer. She needs to be absolutely certain the coast is clear. Then her thoughts turn to what Laura said about staying put. She wonders if she hadn’t gone to get the dog food, would she be in this terrifying situation. She also wonders if anyone is around to get her out of it. Does Laura know where she is or maybe the FBI guy? She hates to think she’s on her own, but if it is the case, she needs to be tough. She starts to imag
ine what Laura would do and this helps her to build courage.
They turn onto the main road that runs along Nancy’s property. Driving past the inn, he spots Peter’s truck a quarter mile up the road.
“This was the inn Jen and I stayed in.” Laura says pointing back at it, as she begins to get weirded out.
“Life has a funny way of having things come full circle it seems, eh.” He says in all seriousness.
Now that she is starting to feel courage, she knows she can’t stay in this tiny crammed space much longer. Besides, her legs are going numb. She listens intently. She doesn’t hear anyone outside the barn. So she decides to leave her hiding place, climbing down the ladder, she goes by the barn door, stands there, still listening, and hears nothing. She slides the heavy door open slowly, just enough to see through with one eye. She pans around. The coast seems clear. She waits for her legs to regain their strength. Then without hesitation, she pushes the door open, and runs as fast as she’s able across the open field of the small ranch. As she gets to the gate, she triggers the motion detectors and the whole ranch lights up. Shit! She says but still not wanting to stop and no longer caring to waste her time with being afraid, she hurdles over the fence quickly and keeps running with purpose.
Nancy is on her horse in one direction and her son on his ATV in another. As the brightly lit ranch can now be seen from anywhere on the property, they both spot it, and hurry over.
The male monster, the blood queen’s beloved brother, hunting along the main road, hearing a car coming, quickly slips off the open road, as he spots them approaching. He moves into the dark, into the cover of the trees and brush and watches.
Jen is not looking back, running at full speed unknowingly right toward Nancy’s son’s on-coming ATV. She stops, as she spots its lights coming up the trail and heads into the trees, moving quickly into the thick brush. Driving as fast as the off-roader would allow, Nancy’s boy moves quickly past Jen hiding in the brush as he is focused on getting to the ranch. But the lights on his four wheeler are bright enough for this experienced tracker to notice her fresh tracks leading away from the ranch. He turns around in haste, doubling back, to where the tracks end in the brush.
Peter spies from behind the trees, as they stop their car just across the road from his truck and turn off their lights. This car must be looking for him he knows it. He is only armed with a small hunting knife, so he wants to play this one carefully.
She is well hidden but she can see him sitting there on his ATV on the path just outside the trees. He pulls out his phone, calls his mother to let her know, then he takes out his cattle prod. He prefers it to the stun gun, for the quick subdue. “Hey, I know you're there!” He shouts into the trees where she’s hiding… “My mother wants to talk to you.” And by talk he means kill. Jen knows this as she doesn't make a sound. She remembers seeing films where someone would throw rocks or something off into the distance to divert their attacker’s attention. She believes she is just brave enough to try it. She crawls down low, inching her way across the dirt and grass, moving slowly and quietly closer to him. See grabs a heavy branch and continues to move closer. And as she gets close enough, she tosses a few rocks just off from where she is. It gets his attention as he climbs off his all-terrain and moves toward the rocks as they hit a few trees several yards off. Laura’s Bambi, in un-Bambi like action, is right on top of the distracted son, coming up quickly from behind, she hits him as hard as she can with the branch, knocking him down and without hesitating, she hops on his ATV. Not familiar with riding one, it takes a second for her to figure it out. She does and speeds off. But, she’s not able to get far as Nancy comes riding up and unloads the winchester, hitting her and the vehicle. The ATV comes to a stop and like that, Jen is an unwilling guest of the murderous VonNetzers again.
Now, from across the road, not more than a hundred yards, they watch Peter’s truck as Peter, from behind the trees, less than a hundred feet away, in the darkly covered brush watches them.
"So, Laura, let me ask you. Are you gonna be an asset or a liability?"
"What the hell are you talking about. A fuckin' liability. I'm nobody's fuckin' liability, mister!"
"So you wanna go check the car, then, if you're gonna be an asset?”
Is he kiddin’ me? This guy is no special forces. This guy's a pussy. Maybe he's not even really into girls. And he’s way too cautious for my taste, bordering on the paranoid.
"And what are you gonna do? Sit here and knit?" I say as I've had it with this guy.
"No, Laura. I'm gonna keep you covered."
"Covered? Is that so?"
"Yeah, I got you covered. Remember, I’m a trained sniper. I work better this way."
"So, I should trust that?" Didn't you hit everybody but your target last time. I wanna say so bad but I know better than to agitate him.
"Ok. Cover me." I say as I exit the car. I think I just have to figure I'm on my own. That's ok. Fuck this guy, whatever. I have to concern myself with Jen. That's why I'm here anyway.
As Laura exits the car, it begins to rain, a little at first, then there's a thunderous down pour as she gets just a few feet away from the car.
He's glad Laura came along. He has a good feeling it all ends tonight. The doctor must be stopped. He vowed that there will be no more innocent killed but if there absolutely has to be one, he's okay with it as long as the doc goes down too.
Shit! As I step out, the rainstorm begins. This is just my luck. Now, I'm cold, wet and a little ticked off, maybe even a lot ticked off. Mister badass gets to stay out of danger, and all nice and dry in his comfy car, while I'm getting soaked, heading over to look into a creep’s creepy car, perfect, fuckin’ perfect. Stupid me, I do this on a dare. What is this high school. Still, I head toward the doc's sitting truck. I move slowly, and with a bit of caution. Not knowing what to expect, I pull out my new friend, the badass 40cal. semi automatic, turn on the laser sight and point it at the doc's truck. And as I get closer, I find that I'm not nervous or afraid but something else is happening, the world around me seems to change. I can hear sounds more clearly. My eyes become more focused. I'm more alert and I can feel every drop of rain, every distinct droplet, as all my senses heighten. It feels amazing and eery all at once. The body's warrior sense my dad called this state. He said whenever he was in the heart of combat, it was as though everything around him slowed down, the world became almost still as his senses and instincts took on a life of their own. In a world of dangerous things and predators, this is Nature's way of ensuring that we survive whatever pitfalls come our way. It makes us more aware of our mortality and also seems to double our natural senses and abilities. We become aptly ready to take on danger. Fight or flight? I choose fight.
I lean over looking into the truck as I’m feeling more assured, more confident and more up for the task, but there’s no one there. The truck is completely empty.
A concerned and motherly Nancy rushes over to her son as he staggers onto a tree, pulling himself up. “John, dear. Are you alright?” “Yes, I'm fine. I think.” He says as he rubs his hurting head, barely keeping his balance, feeling a little queasy from the possible concussion.
Nancy doesn’t like seeing her son hurt. Her anger builds. She aims her attention and rage at Jen.
“Young lady! You are very naughty! Very very naughty!” She yells in a high pitched fever. Then in a heightened state of furious anger, she grabs Jen by her hair, quickly and forcefully, yanking the bleeding and hurt Jen off the ATV, tossing her onto the ground. Jen lies on the ground pressing her hand firmly against her gunshot wound, looking up at an infuriated Nancy, in shock, remembering how just a few weeks ago, this was the same woman who showed her and Laura such great hospitality and country friendliness as her brain is failing to make the connection between what was then and what is now.
Through the heavy down pour, Laura sees the dark road becoming brighter and brighter as the rain in front of her begins to glisten from the oncoming lights emanatin
g from Nancy’s beast of a truck, as it rapidly approaches.
Nancy lords over Jen as the rains begin. The enraged blood queen feels herself getting soaked. Then the rains, the torrential down pour, reminds her of the cleansing power of water. Now, she is overcome with a wonderful idea. She will cleanse herself and her lands of this wretched girl and this wretched night.
“Get up! Come on, get up! On your feet, young lady!” She yells.
Jen gets up slowly. Although she’s shot, hurt, soaked and bleeding. She is not afraid anymore. She obeys Nancy's command but she looks at Nancy in a different light. She now simply sees an evil old bitch who wants her dead and this infuriates Jen. She’s not Laura's Bambi anymore. She is angry and not willing to die by the hands of these maniacs.
