Barns, Blood and Rock and Roll

by Joe Zito

  “Easy now baby,” Lauren told the man with her arms wrapped around his neck. She said it with a smile that said she was glad he wanted her so bad but also with a slight shock at his abruptness. It didn’t take long before she gave in to his cave man like sexuality and indulged herself as well, driving her tongue hard into his mouth. She could feel herself getting wet. Their lipstick stained faces rubbed against each other with force and the man started to unzip his jeans. Lauren took him in her hand. Her jeans were already lowered and she guided him inside her. He fucked her hard up against the wall with the stink of his whiskey breath blowing in her face, the stench of her cigarette breath in his. Two barflies caught in the web of alcohol and loneliness. His thrusts were hard and Lauren held the back of his head keeping her eyes locked onto his and then he pulled out and ejaculated onto her stomach. Her glistening female wetness clung to his cock. He put his head onto her shoulder as he breathed deeply in and out. It was a little quick Lauren thought but she still got her fix and that’s all that mattered.

  The man said something but Lauren couldn’t understand what he was saying with his face buried in her sandy blonde hair laying over her shoulder.

  “You say something baby?” She asked. “Oh I see, you want more don’t you. Well I’m yours all night if you want.”

  His muffled voice mumbled out something incoherent again.

  She patted his back and laughed. “You ok? Don’t be shy now, I….”

  He lifted his head off her shoulder and looked directly in her eyes. His hair and face were greasy from sweat.

  Lauren immediately felt a slight edge of fear from the look in his eyes which was a complete turnaround from only a few minutes ago.

  Her smile faded.

  The man spoke. “I said,” he paused and an evil smirk rolled across his face like a thunder cloud over the sun. “I said now I have to kill you.” He licked his lips.

  She only had a split second to suck in a gasp of horror before he forcefully covered her mouth with his hand.

  “You just be real still now little lady and maybe you’ll be all right, ya hear.” His deadly, lying eyes told her she would be dead soon no matter what.

  Laurens eyes were wide and full of terror. Her mind let loose a whirlwind of thoughts. I’m too young to die. I’m never going to see Michael again. I wonder if he’ll notice that I’m gone. This can’t be happening. Oh dear god it’s the rapist everyone has been talking about. He’s gonna stick a knife up me just like that psycho did to poor Amy Smith three years ago.

  “Ya know, I’ve been watching you for a while now.” His hand was still over her mouth. Lauren could truly smell his sour breath now that her haze of sex had dissipated.

  “You’re different from the other ones. You’re special. And I’m gonna treat you just right.” He winked at her. “You’re probably guessed by now who I am. You know I’ve been makin’ headlines lately. Hell, I’m the biggest thing in this town since the Bludenhale massacre of 1974, shit.”

  Laurens eyes filled up with tears of fear listening to the man speak. Her heart was pounding away in her chest. She thought she was going to have a heart attack. Little did she know that the serial rapist fuck had been watching her for the past two weeks, hiding amongst the crowd, going unnoticed every Friday night as she slithered like a snake in heat on stage.

  He reached into his inside coat pocket and pulled a gun out. Its thick, black steel was sinister looking and now Lauren truly felt like she was going to have heart attack at the sight of it. She moaned in terror.

  “See now, things have been gettin’ a little shady in this town. So it’s time to bail out and I sure would like some company for that long road trip ahead of me. I’m headin’ west all the way out to sunny California. Now we’re gonna head up front and you ain’t gonna make a sound ya here. The old tubby grey haired fella out there is gonna help me with some funds to get me outta of this town courtesy of this.” He waved the big, black gun around in front of Laurens face. She moaned again and was still trembling like an autumn leaf in the wind. “One peep from you and your pretty face is gettin’ a gunshot makeover ya here.” He looked deep in her eyes and a twisted smile formed on his face. “Damn I can’t wait to have you again. Let’s go.”

  They slowly started walking up front. He was behind Lauren and had the gun pressed into her back. His hand was covering her mouth. As they entered the bar area, she could see Jack wiping down the bar. He looked up when he saw her and the white towel he was using fell from his hand at the sight of the man now holding the gun flush against her head. Jack held his hands up in surrendering motion; his mouth ajar with shock. Laurens eyes were wide and glistening with tears.

  “Holy jesus christ,” Jack said slowly.

  “Open the register now!” The man yelled forcefully, wasting no time in getting down to business.

  “Ok, ok, it’s all yours buddy, but please don’t hurt Lauren.” Jack told him in a pleading voice.

  “Shut up old man! Don’t tell me my business. Open the goddam register!”

  With shaking hands, Jack opened the register. There was still a lot of money in there. He was just getting ready to put it all in the safe. The safe. Jack prayed that the man wouldn’t be smart enough to ask about the safe in the back office next to the outhouse.

  Jack nervously pulled all the available cash from the register. Two large bundles filled his hands. He looked at the man as if to ask him what to do next.

  “You set it down right there on the bar and back the fuck away nice and slow.” His eyes burned into Jack.

  The rapist still had the gun pressed into Laurens head and his hand covering her mouth. She shook and made a light whimpering sound. Jack put his hands up again in a surrendering kind of way; his eyes never leaving the rapist. He began moving away backwards very slowly from the register but with the quick reflexes of someone half his age, he grabbed the 12 guage rifle sitting right under the register and cocked it.

  “Shit you stupid old man!” The rapist scowled and fired his gun. The bullet blazed past Jack, sparing his life. Instead it shattered the mirror behind him along with a plethora of whiskey bottles. The sound of glass shattering was harsh and deafening. Lauren released a startled horrifying scream. Jack fired back. The bullet only grazed the arm of Laurens captor but it was enough to knock him backwards making him lose his grip on her. She fell forward onto the floor.

  “C’mon Lauren, quick.” Jack urged her to get up and get behind the bar so he could protect her. She only had a few seconds to raise herself up and get herself to safety before the rapist realized he wasn’t dead and tried to fire back. As she pushed herself up from the floor a loud blast exploded from behind her and Jacks skull exploded into a shower of brain and bone. He immediately collapsed over the bar, and died instantly. He was with Amy Smith now. Her picture lay scattered among the shards of broken glass.

  As Jack flung forward onto the bar with the rifle still in his grip, it dropped to the floor in front of Lauren. The shock of seeing Jacks brains blasted all over the bar immobilized her. Do you have the will Lauren to stay alive? She could see the gun well within her reach. But her mind was frozen with fear. All she had to do was just reach out and grab it. And then she heard the click of a trigger being pulled behind her.

  “All hell lady, it sure is gonna be lonely on the road. Too bad for me I guess.”

  Lauren could hear the man moving towards her as she lay on the floor, Jacks rifle in her view. Time seemed to have slowed down, but in a split second she saw in her mind’s eye the man pulling the trigger and her head exploding into a thousand pieces.

  She knew she had to get Jacks rifle but the shock of the devastating moment was keeping her from doing so.

  “Go on and get it dollface. I wanna see ya crawl!” The rapist menacingly commanded her. Her heart froze at the sound of his voice. His right hand covered the wound where the bullet had skimmed his arm as he stumbled towards her. No time to think. Just move Lauren. Go. Hurry. Do something now!


  As if waking from a daze, she finally turned her head slowly around and saw the man right behind her. Her eyes widened at the sight of the gun giving her a much needed reality check. She flipped around fast, facing her killer. Her bottom plopped on the floor hard as she turned herself over. And surely she would feel the pain later. The rifle was right behind her. She moved her hand around to grab it, not once taking her scared and tired eyes off the man. Strands of sandy blonde hair curtained her eyes. Lauren’s hand felt the wooden shape of the rifle and quickly grabbed it.

  “There ya go. Good girl. Go on and grab it.” The look in the rapist’s eyes was demented.

  She pointed the rifle right at him but he just threw his head back and laughed. She’s never fired a gun much less ever held one in her life.

  “Ya gotta cock it first lady.” He roared out more laughter.

  Just shoot him! Shoot the fucker now! Lauren yelled inside her mind.

  He then pointed his gun right at her and moved in closer to her; close enough for the barrel to meet her forehead. Should have shot him sweetheart. You missed your chance.

  Her eyes closed tight and squinted when the gun touched her head. If she could only figure out how to fire the rifle.

  “Now this is what we’re gonna do. You’re going to stick the tip of that pretty little rifle right inside your pretty little mouth. That way the cops will be able to put two and two together and see that this little mess here is just your garden variety murder suicide. Get what I’m sayin’ sugar.”

  “Go on now. Put it in there. I would just blow your damn brains out but I ain’t ever seen anyone kill themselves before. Might be kinda neat.”

  Her tear soaked face was a mask of horror, sickness and despair. Is this how it’s going to end? Death by forced suicide, she thought.

  “Do it now!” He yelled. A small spray of his spit hit her in the face. Sobbing lightly to herself she slowly put the tip of the rifle in her mouth.

  “That a girl. Taste nasty I bet,” he said looking deep into her eyes, those sad, sad eyes.

  “Now pull that trigger.” He said just above a whisper with his face right up to hers.

  Yeah, pull that trigger Lauren. Make it easy on yourself. This is your way out. No more hangovers, no more one night stands, no more feeling like the loser that you are and drowning yourself in whiskey every night, no more guilt about how horrible of a mother you are, no more wondering and hoping that your son still loves you, no more, no more, no more!

  Screamingsoulteethbitedownhardonblackmetalsuicideblondesaysshoot

  Something inside Lauren came alive, awakening with great realization. She didn’t want to die. Her life was a downtrodden mess of guilt, whiskey and lonely sex but deep inside among the sadness, she wanted to live. Without thinking she slammed the backend of the rifle hard up into the rapists chin, making his head jerk up fast and then down again. It was just enough to make him fall back but then Lauren immediately thrust the rife into his chest. He exhaled a gasp of air as if he lost his breath from the hit. He tumbled back onto the floor from his squatting position. Stunned, he growled in pain while holding his bloody chin.

  “You stupid bitc….”

  His words were cut short when he came lunging at Lauren with his hands reaching for her neck. A loud metallic click sound was quickly followed by an ear deafening blast from the rifle Lauren was holding. The shot hit him in his chest. He stopped dead in his tracks with his arms outstretched in a crucifix form; a ghastly look of confusion and open mouthed surprise lay upon his face. She shot him again and he fell back onto the floor; his dead eyes staring lifelessly at the wooden ceiling fan spinning around on the ceiling. A thin line of blood exited from his mouth and he was no longer a threat to Lauren and the town of Bludenhale.

  The clock on the wall showed 2:20 a.m. and Lauren Hill sat up against the bar with the rifle in her lap; her head leaning down to her right. She was exhausted, more so mentally than physically. After she had shot the man who tried to kidnap her and do god knows what else to her, she sat alone in the club where she had worked for the past ten years going over the horrifying incident in her mind. The jukebox in the corner began playing Ballbreaker by AC/DC. She always made sure Jack stocked the jukebox with plenty of AC/DC because that was her favorite band since she was sixteen. She kept telling herself that she had to get up and call the police. But she couldn’t move. She didn’t know if she had the strength to do so. But really she didn’t think she had the will. Maybe I should have taken that sick fucks advice and pulled that fucking trigger, she thought. But then she heard a voice calling her name from somewhere and it was then that she realized she did have to will to get up and move on and clean out her attic full of despair and hopelessness.

  Her son Micheal stopped dead when he walked in on the scene that his mother just endured. “Mom?” He said with a crack in his voice. She covered her mouth trying to hold in the overwhelming feeling of relief of seeing her son standing in front of her. He went to her and she put her arms out to him. He slowly helped her up and she looked into his eyes. He looked back at her as if his heart was broken seeing her in this horrible situation and then she cried deeply, falling into him.

  Ellen Sue goes to hell

  In the summer of 1976, Ellen Sue was fucking her uncle in the ladies restroom of Wyatt’s Gas-n-go on 350 south just as a black ’65 Buick Skylark shrouded in smoke and burnt to high hell pulled up to one of the gas pumps outside. Her fifteen year old vocal chords sprung from her throat as she yelped out loud as he banged her from behind. Her blonde hair bounced in the dark of the restroom as he cupped her ample round bottom with his grease soaked hands. He pulled out of her jail bait cherry and popped all over her back as she yelped high and loud one final time and he sounded like an eighty year old man trying to touch his toes.

  “You remember what I told ya now. This is just between you and me and none of your mama’s business ya hear,” he said as he zipped up his ugly brown khaki work pants.

  “Uncly Wyatt,” Ellen Sue said as she plopped her bare bottom down on the toilet seat, “You really hurt my girl parts this time.” Her knees touched together as she talked. Her voice suggested she was from Tennessee rather than southern Indiana.

  “Oh now sissy girl. Don’t tell me you can’t handle all of ol’ uncle Wyatt now.” He laughed and grabbed his junk as he spoke.

  Sounding a little let down Ellen Sue said, “I didn’t have the big feel good either like my girlfriends at school talk about. You mind if I finish?” She looked up at him with a half smile and big eyes.

  “Suit yourself sweet cheeks. I gotta see what this jackweed wants out here. Can’t they see the closed sign.”

  He left her to herself in the dark and smelly restroom where she masturbated and then peed. The sink was out of commission so she was unable to wash her hands when she was done. Her stink would be attached to her all night. She slipped on her Kiss Destroyer jersey and grabbed an orange soda from the fridge in the back. She made her way to the front where her uncle was standing by the cash register and staring out at the smoldering car sitting under the bright white lights. She hopped up onto the counter and took a drink of her orange soda and said, “I can’t believe you think I would be that stupid to tell my mama what we was doin’ every Friday night.” He didn’t respond to her yapping. “Hello, are you listening to me?”

  Then without looking at her he crossed his arms and said, “What in the sam hell is that out there? Lookit.”

  “So, it’s just a car. Big deal,” she said in a snotty tone.

  “Did I fuck you blind girl? Look at that thing. It’s all smokin’ like it’s been set on fire or somethin’,” he said pointing at the window.

  She took another drink of her orange soda. A flash of heat lightning spread across the night sky and a rumble of thunder boomed from far away.

  “Well you best get out there and see what they want, sounds like a storm is comin’.” Ellen Sue said.

  Her uncle told her, “Shit, I ain’t goin’
out there. We’re closed anyways.”

  “Just go see what they want. Maybe they want their windows cleaned or somethin’,” she said.

  “Girl, do you have a rock for a brain?”

  She jumped of the counter and rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’ll just go out there ya chicken shit!”

  Uncle Wyatt grabbed her arm. “Whoa now, just hang on a second. I’ll never hear the end of it from your momma if I let somethin’ happen to you. Ok, goddamit I’ll go out there. Just stay put ya here!”

  She gave him a pissy smile that pissed him off even more. He went behind the counter and picked up the ball bat on the floor.

  “What the hell are you gonna do with that?” She asked.

  “Don’t worry sweet cheeks, it’s only for protection. We don’t know who could be out there.”

  She rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, “Oh, sorry. And stop callin’ me sweet cheeks.”

  “Be still butter cup. I’ll be right back,” he told her.

  “Dumb son of a bitch. Good thing you fuck me good,” she muttered under breath as her uncle pushed through the glass front door.

  Another flash of lightning lit up the sky revealing black and blue clouds similar to the hellish picture on Ellen Sue’s Kiss Destroyer t-shirt. Uncle Wyatt stood motionless for a moment as if stalling to go any further. The smoldering car looked menacing to him, as if it drove itself right out of hell.

  “You better be lost or have a damn good reason for stoppin’ here,” he said to himself. A line of sweat dripped down his forehead. He could feel himself trembling ever so slightly. He was man enough to fuck his fifteen year old niece without fear of the law finding out or even her mother, but not man enough to admit that he was scared of the smoking, demonic hunk of black metal in front of him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Ellen Sue through the front window. She motioned with her hands for him to move. He did but not without mouthing some obscenity at her to which she couldn’t hear or understand.