The Complete Hidden Evil Trilogy: 3 Novels and 4 Shorts of Frightening Horror (PLUS Book I of the Portal Arcane Trilogy)

by J. Thorn

  “No sir-ee. You don’t want that at all, sir,” replied Jasper. He felt the man examining him, pausing. He waited, seeing his eyes lock on the name patch sewn into his mechanic’s shirt.

  “No, guess I don’t, Jasper. I’m Ravna. Nice to meet you.”

  Jasper thrust his hand through the window, fingernails loaded with dark lines of grime. “Nice to meet you, sir. That’s quite a name ya got there. Don’t have many of those below the Mason-Dixon.”

  “I was about to say the same to you,” Ravna replied.

  Jasper took a step back to allow the man to open the door and exit the vehicle. “Travelin’ with your missus?”

  Ravna smiled and nodded his head. “Guessing I should use the facilities too while we’re here.”

  Jasper turned his head sideways. A smile crept upon his face, a white burst except where missing teeth created black holes.

  “Oh, you mean the john! I always fancy at those big Yankee words y’all bring down here with ya. Go ahead, Mr. Ravna. No need for a key. Our facilities are always available to payin’ customers.”

  “Well, I appreciate your hospitality, Jasper. Seems like the reputation of southerners is still good.”

  Jasper smiled. He turned to spit a wad of tobacco juice into the gravel next to the car’s front tire. He pulled a red handkerchief from his back pocket and made a twirling motion with his right index finger. “Pop the hood ’fore you go?” he asked.

  Ravna reached inside the door and felt the latch click. The hood jumped up an inch. Jasper took a step backward and released it without taking his eyes off of Ravna.

  “Much obliged,” he said. He kept an eye on Ravna as he scanned the lot for his lady friend. He knew that he had limited time before suspicion would creep in and take away his advantage of surprise.

  “Men’s room on the same side?” Ravna asked.

  Jasper shook his head back and forth. “Other.”

  He watched Ravna walk toward the men’s room, but his focus remained on the ladies’, where he knew she had gone. Jasper noticed how the man eyed the garage, seeming to catalog and analyze the place. He brushed a nervous twitch aside, waiting to see what Ravna would do next. His eyes fell upon the newspaper dispenser and stopped.

  “Seems like you need a new delivery of papers for your machine,” Ravna said over his shoulder to Jasper, whose top half appeared to be eaten by the car’s hood.

  Jasper lifted his head and brushed his cap back with his sleeve. “Ain’t got much use for written words ’round here. Most folks content to hear the Good Book on Sundays from the preacher man.”

  Ravna stopped and shook his head. Jasper watched as Ravna kept moving toward the restroom.

  “Let me know what you find under there. I don’t want to be driving these mountains at night with an engine light on.”

  “No, sir. You sure don’t want to be stranded in these mountains.”

  Ravna stopped and took a step back toward Jasper. He had to be careful. Gaki would let him play, but not if it jeopardized the plan.

  “What’s that mean?” Ravna asked.

  “Don’t mean nuthin’ but what it means, sir. Folks say the mountains ain’t too happy about being blown apart for the black rock beneath. Hell, some say they don’t even like having folks crossing ’em. Ain’t the way it’s supposed to be and all. At least that’s what some folks say.”

  Ravna laughed, but Jasper knew it was a thin camouflage for the anxiety blossoming in his chest. “Let me know what you find, and please ask my lady to hang by the car. I’ll be back in a minute.”

  “Sure thing, Mr. Ravna. Gaki will wait for ya.”

  Ravna froze in mid-step. Jasper immediately regretted dropping the boss’s name, fearful he had gone too far and jeopardized everything. Ravna took another step toward Jasper, now only a few feet away.

  “What did you say?”

  “I said, ‘Sure thing, Mr. Ravna. I’ll have her wait for ya.’”

  Jasper waited, noticing the way Ravna’s face twisted at the sound of the name. The two men stood facing each other for a moment before Ravna waved an arm at Jasper and trotted back to the side of the building, where he grabbed the rusted handle to the door with “men” scrawled across the top in permanent marker.

  Jasper waited until the door shut before turning back to face the engine. Another smile broke upon his face. “Drew says hello, motherfucker.”

  He did not hesitate, climbing into the driver’s seat and shoving his head beneath the dashboard, his fist coming away with a ball of colored wires. With a pair of wire strippers, he cut two and touched the bare copper together, generating a spark. Jasper touched them again, this time plunging the gas pedal to the floor until the engine came to life. He slammed the car into drive without taking the time to close the hood. The vehicle chewed through the loose gravel as Jasper drove it around the other side of the station and through the opening of an old barn that looked ready to slide off its foundation at any moment. His eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness as he killed the engine and jumped from the car, and he pulled the barn door shut as the dust rose and billowed about the pumps. He would have to hope it settled before Ravna came back out.

  Next, Jasper ran through the garage and pushed the panel at the back of his office. The woman lay on the floor, unconscious and vulnerable. Jasper turned the nozzle tight on his nitrous oxide tank tucked inside the wall, always fearful of overdosing his treat so that she would not wake up. He looked at her for a moment before Gaki’s face appeared.

  “Can’t even take one little break with that fucker,” Jasper said. He slid his arms beneath the woman’s and dragged her backward through the hidden door. The fragrance of her shampoo made him wince with a carnal craving, and he dropped her to the floor and pushed the second panel open, the one he had spent an entire weekend making, cursing Gaki and the fact that he would not be receiving a piece from the highway that day. The overwhelming odor of filth knocked him back. Jasper grabbed the woman and pulled her into the restroom that would have become a handicapped-accessible one, had he gone legitimate. Instead, it provided a cell of sorts. He stepped out and closed both hidden doors before sprinting back around to the side of the building. Jasper made sure the unmarked door was locked, and he grabbed the “out of order” sign that was leaning against the cinderblock foundation and hung it from the ladies-room door that Karen had originally entered, leaving it unlocked and empty. He stood back, knowing Ravna would be out any moment, and ran to the pumps. When Ravna reemerged, Jasper was waiting.

  ***

  The Yankee had eventually gone down like they all did. Jasper had yet to be beaten when it came to fisticuffs. But the end of each fight brought a level of anxiety, as well. Jasper hated going to the cave, but he hated the grunt work even worse. Ravna had put up more of a fight than most did, but in the end, Gaki was in control. He wished they would realize that. It would make his job so much easier.

  “Get them there.”

  Jasper nodded, standing over Ravna, now splayed and unconscious. He could not help but think of the treat he hoped to receive if Gaki turned the woman over to him. The voice dissipated deep within the cave, and Jasper felt its presence subside. He knew he could leave Ravna to go to the truck, but thought that binding his wrists and ankles would be insurance. The last thing he could afford was to have either of them escape before he could take them to the house. Gaki’s threats were real, and Jasper had no intention of testing boundaries.

  He walked through the darkening woods, the sound of crickets swelling in a unified crescendo. Jasper pushed down the trail and then cut through until he was staring at the back of his service station. The truck sat at an angle, windows half-down like sleepy eyes. Jasper started the engine and checked the glove box for the extra set of chains he kept there. A padlock with a key protruding from the bottom sat on the floor next to a hamburger wrapper and an empty beer bottle.

  Gaki was gone. Jasper could feel it. Ravna remained on the ground where had he left him, with a line of d
rool dripping from the corner of his mouth. Jasper grabbed Ravna’s ankles and dragged him to the back of the truck. He had dropped the tailgate and backed into the clearing enough to put Ravna in there without too much extra effort. He took the chains and wrapped them through Ravna’s ankles before snapping the lock shut on the eye hook connected to the bed. Even if Ravna awoke or was faking it, he would not make it more than two feet from the truck. Jasper bent down and lifted him underneath the shoulders until his body rolled off the tailgate and into the bed. He wound another set of chains around the man’s wrists, opened the padlock, ran the hook through the chain, and locked it again. Jasper tugged on the chain in several places to make sure it was tight. Ravna moaned but did not open his eyes. Jasper slammed the tailgate shut, taking a red bandana from his back pocket and wiping the cool sweat from his forehead.

  “Let’s go see how your little pussy cat is doing,” Jasper said, walking around and climbing into his truck, the tail lights flickering red like the devil’s eyes.

  ***

  He decided to leave Ravna in the truck while he gathered up the woman. Sure, it would be fun to make him watch, but the man was still unconscious, and dragging him out of the truck felt like more work than it was worth. Jasper pulled his pickup back into its concealed spot behind the building and checked the chains once more. He saw a red welt forming on Ravna’s chin and smiled. “Got me one serious roundhouse. Wouldn’t ya say, sir?”

  Ravna did not answer.

  Jasper smiled and raised both hands in front of his face, his feet dancing in the dirt as he ducked and juked. He threw punches into the air as Ravna remained motionless in the truck.

  “I coulda been a champ,” Jasper said before dropping his hands to his sides, feeling the can of chew in his pocket. He flipped it out, knocked the can with two fingers, and opened the lid, reaching into the lower half of the can for his packed tobacco. “Dip?” he asked, tilting it toward Ravna. Jasper shrugged. “Suit yerself.”

  He dropped a wad of bitter leaf into his lip and turned to walk back to the garage where he had Karen tied up. “I think I like you Yanks better this way, ya know, not talking. Don’t have to listen to your condescending bullshit no more.” Jasper waited a moment as if Ravna would answer. He laughed and began whistling again as he headed toward the garage.

  ***

  “Please let me go.”

  “Can’t do that, darlin’. The boss has plans for you.”

  “Please, I promise I won’t tell anyone. We’ll leave and never come back, never speak of this, I promise,” she said, face turned up as he peered down from the floor.

  Jasper struck up another verse of “Yankee Doodle Dandy” as he turned on the hydraulic lift. He climbed down into the pit until he sat next to Karen. The smell of her sweat combined with motor oil made him close his eyes. He pictured Gaki’s face and knew he had to be very careful. He could not afford to lose control like he had with the coed from Alabama. That mistake could have cost him dearly, and he felt fortunate that the boss had been able to overlook it.

  “What are you doing to me?” Karen asked.

  Jasper smiled, punching more buttons on the machine used to help mechanics do their repairs underneath the vehicles.

  “Gonna survey your undercarriage, check your fluids. Gotta make sure you pass state inspection, right?” He winked and pulled Karen from the corner, sitting her on the middle of the lift. With a set of bungee cords, he tied her ankles to the lower corners. Once those were secure, he did the same with her wrists until she lay in an X across the lift, face up and staring at the ceiling of the garage, now fourteen feet above her.

  “I remember having to climb underneath, back when I was a little teenager. Yep, my daddy did all of his work like that. You’d have to drive the car up on blocks and then get yerself in there. ’Fore the company pulled out of town, he was making enough to buy one of these little gems. We had to have Fergie come in with his backhoe and dig out the garage floor, but it made things so much easier. I could stand underneath the car to change the oil. Imagine that.”

  Jasper looked and could tell that his history lesson was being ignored by Karen, now lying on the cold, steel plates of the lift with her eyes closed.

  “I’m sorry, honey. Am I boring you? Would you rather talk politics or fashion? I keep forgetting us southerners got no culture. Shucks, we’re nothin’ but tobacky-spittin’ fools! Ain’t that right?”

  Karen turned her head to face him, opening her eyes. “Please let me go.”

  Jasper clapped his hands together and hit the power button on the lift. Karen rose on the steel rails, her body approaching the level of Jasper’s eyes. He stopped it when her face was inches from his. “Ain’t my call, darlin’. Got to do what the boss man says.”

  Jasper walked beneath the lift and looked up at Karen’s naked body. His tongue licked the corner of his mouth, and he reached to adjust his crotch with one hand. He reached up and used a finger to stroke her skin from the middle of her back down to her ankle. Karen squirmed beneath his touch.

  “You and me are gonna play later, that I guarantee. For now, I gotta tug one out into the grease pit to make sure I don’t do nothing stupid with you before we see Gaki.”

  Karen closed her eyes but could hear the sound of Jasper’s overalls dropping to the floor of the metal pit.

  ***

  He did not bother with the cleanup. Gaki would have to take her the way she was: bruised, filthy, and now smelling of used motor oil. Jasper was glad he had been able to restrain himself and still have a little pleasure before they reached the house. The magazines would only satisfy a man for so long.

  Jasper glanced into the rearview mirror as the blue, plastic tarp flapped in the wind. He caught glimpses of them beneath it, but not enough for any other possible motorists to see. “Shit. Like there’s gonna be anyone else out on these roads but me. This town ain’t nothing but ghosts now. How fucking fitting.”

  Jasper spat a wad of tobacco out of the window and turned the volume up on the stereo. Another metal song burst through his one good speaker, the double-bass drum hammering through his skull.

  He navigated the truck through the lonely roads, rolling the window up slightly and then laughing. He imagined his playmate in the bed of the truck, freezing her ass off. Her bare ass. Her soft, curvy ass.

  “Fuck!” he screamed. “You know how hard this is for me,” he said, somehow believing Gaki could hear him.

  He pulled into the driveway of the house, the neighborhood still silent. The September sun had sucked all of the moisture from the late-summer rains, leaving the weeds brown, brittle, and dead. Jasper left the pickup and walked to the back door, where he removed the padlock. He grabbed the handle of a rusty wheelbarrow with a flat tire from among the weeds and pushed it to the back of the truck. Jasper ripped the tarp off and saw Karen’s eyes bulging from her sockets, her gag now soaked with saliva.

  “I know it’s supposed to be ladies first, but it’ll be easier if I just dump him in the basement before coming back for you.”

  Jasper unlocked Ravna’s chains and pulled him off of the open tailgate until he crashed down into the wheelbarrow. He fought the broken, cracked driveway, but managed to take Ravna to the door, lifting the handles and dumping him onto the floor. Jasper grabbed Ravna’s ankles and dragged him into the kitchen.

  “Wait there until I get your pussy cat inside. Then I’ll take ya downstairs and get ya nice and cozy.”

  Karen remained in the bed of the truck, her eyes beady and snapping around in her skull.

  “I know I can’t take that gag out yet, although there ain’t nobody within miles of this place. I guess you could scream your head off, and, as they say in the scary movies, nobody would ever hear you.” He laughed at his own joke. “Now I’m gonna remove the chains from your ankles and you’re gonna limp. Got that?”

  Karen did not move.

  Jasper reached over and grabbed her left breast. He twisted Karen’s nipple until he heard her wince
behind the gag. “Got that?”

  This time, she nodded.

  “Good.”

  Jasper unlocked her ankles and slid her off the tailgate. She stumbled when her feet hit the ground, so Jasper grabbed her by the elbows.

  “Whoa, whoa. Take it slow, darlin’. That ankle ain’t right for wear.”

  He guided her toward the back of the house, her bruised body shivering in the chill of the night. Jasper helped her through the room and up the steps. He avoided looking at the holes in the plaster, hoping they would not return tonight. When he had steered Karen to the top of the steps, he kicked the bathroom door open with his boot.

  “I’m leaving you in the tub,” he said. “You do whatever it is you need to in there. I ain’t coming back up so you can tinkle. Understand?”

  Karen nodded.

  Jasper dropped her into the cracked porcelain. He wrapped the chains around the feet of the tub and left the bindings on her wrists and ankles. “We got a date, you and I. Wear something sexy.” Jasper shut the door, heading downstairs to attend to Ravna.

  ***

  “That’s quite a lady ya got there, sir.”

  Ravna looked up at Jasper as he came down the steps. The dust in the basement fluttered through the weak light. Ravna caught a whiff of sulfur mixed with ages of decay. He pulled hard at the ropes, feeling the hemp rubbing his skin raw. “You need to be put down.”

  “Like a dog,” Jasper said, smiling.

  “Where’s Karen?” Ravna asked.

  “Where’s Karen? Where’s Karen? Where’s Karen? What you should be askin’,” said Jasper, “is where is the boss. That’s the question you need to be askin’.”

  Ravna glanced up at the doorway to the kitchen, where he swore a shadow moved on the wall. Jasper saw Ravna’s eyes and shook his head.

  “This house is filled with sickness. I would know, since I’m the one that put most of them in there. I’m surprised that they haven’t come out to play yet. Maybe the boss is keeping them in their place. Y’all know how tough it is to get women to do what they’re told.”