by Miller, Tim
Duncan took the next exit onto the access road. Jenny couldn’t tell where they were. There was literally nothing around them. The Taurus followed them but stayed a little further behind. Duncan turned off onto a side road which was much bumpier than the main roads. The Taurus sped up behind them as the Cadillac bounced and jolted the girls around the back seat. Veronica never said a word. She just looked out the window crying the whole drive.
The Taurus was hanging back, no longer trying to ram them. Jenny figured he was just biding his time waiting for them to stop or run out of gas. She couldn’t tell how much gas they had, but knew they couldn’t drive forever.
“Where are we going now?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Just trying to lose him.”
“He’s just going to keep following us. How are you going to lose him?”
For the first time since they captured him, Duncan looked visibly distressed. The fear he showed when they kidnapped him she knew was an act. He hadn’t been scared at all. Once he had them hanging in his death room, he’d never showed any agitation at all. As he was driving though, she could see he was sweating and repeatedly would wipe his face. He was hunched over and gripping the wheel tightly.
Jenny looked at Veronica who was still staring out the window. It was then she decided to take a chance. She launched herself over the seat, grabbed the steering wheel and jerked it to the right. Duncan tried to push her away, but she was lying halfway in the front seat on her stomach. He punched her and shoved her away and she slid back into the back seat.
The taste of blood stung her mouth as her lip had been busted open. Determined not to give up, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, choking him with the small chain. Duncan gagged and gasped as his foot pushed on the accelerator, causing them to speed up.
“What are you doing?” Veronica finally said. “You’re going to kill us all!”
“Grab the wheel!” Jenny said. “Do it!”
Veronica acted as if she hadn’t even heard her.
“We’re going to crash! Stop it!” Veronica screamed.
The car began to swerve as Duncan took his hands off the wheel to struggle against Jenny’s chokehold. They drove onto the shoulder and the wheels caught the edge of a ditch, flipping the car over. The Cadillac rolled onto its roof as it slid in the grass to a stop. Jenny lost her grip on Duncan and hit her head on the roof, sending her into a daze.
She looked around, but saw white streaks and couldn’t focus. Broken glass cut into her back and shoulders as she tried to roll onto her stomach. Duncan was lying halfway out of the car. Veronica was lying halfway on top of Jenny and something was pinning them together. Jenny could hardly move. She heard a car stop and a door open and close.
“Veronica, get off me. You’re smashing my ribs,” she said.
“I can’t. Something is pressing against me.”
Duncan had dragged himself out of the car, and reached back in, grabbing the machete.
“That was really stupid!” he yelled to Jenny. “Why did you do that? You shouldn’t have done that!”
She was able to scoot part way around to see outside. Duncan was standing over the car holding the machete.
“That guy is out there!” she said. “I heard his car.”
“I don’t see him,” Duncan said. “His car is here, but he’s gone.”
Jenny began to worry. She was trapped upside down in a wrecked car with two homicidal maniacs in the area. Maybe they would kill each other, or at the least Duncan will run off and the other guy will chase him. All her fears came rushing back in one instant, however, when the sound of a chainsaw filled the air.
Chapter 20
Duncan looked up to see the man holding the chainsaw coming at him. The man had been hidding behind his car, but he was in full view now. Duncan’s leg was hurt, but he could move around with not much difficulty. He grabbed the machete and stepped away from the car. The man with the chain saw came around the car and looked at Duncan. This was the first time Duncan had a good look at the guy.
The man with the chainsaw was a huge Mexican man who towered over Duncan. The chainsaw looked like something lumberjacks would use. The man had thick, gray hair and a long beard. He lunged at Duncan who jumped out of the way. Duncan kept his eyes on the Mexican’s as the man glared at him, stalking him like a predator stalking his prey. It would just take one good swipe of that chainsaw blade to end it for Duncan. He had seen what the saw had done to the two gangbangers back at the house.
“Who the hell are you?” Duncan asked.
“I’m El Padre de la Muerte, señor.”
“I don’t even know what that means.”
“It means The Father of Death. That is who I am.”
“So why are you here? What do you have to do with any of this?”
“I was hired to kill you my friend. It is not personal. Just business. I have a reputation to maintain however, so I have to cut you to pieces. Please hold still.”
Duncan couldn’t believe he was actually talking to someone as dysfunctional as himself, if not more. The guy was so casual about it, and telling him to hold still and not to take it personal. As if being killed were some sort of business transaction. Though he had said similar things to his victims over the years.
The Padre charged at him again almost catching him with the blade. Duncan swung the machete as a reflex as the saw came within inches of his head. The machete connected with the saw as sparks flew from the two blades. Duncan jumped back as The Padre made another swing at his head. Duncan leaned back as the saw just missed his face. Part of him wondered if he should just turn and run, but with the pain in his leg, he figured he wouldn’t stand a chance.
Duncan’s back was against his overturned Cadillac when The Padre rushed at him again, he ducked out of the way and rolled to the ground as the saw cut through the car’s chassis. Duncan came up on one knee as The Padre ran at him again, this time Duncan lunged at him, and swung the machete as hard as he could slicing into the side of The Padre’s calf. The Padre fell to one knee as Duncan stood and swung the machete at his head, but The Padre blocked it with the saw and more sparks flew from the two men.
Duncan swung again and The Padre blocked it again. He made one more swing at the Padre’s face. This time as the Padre moved the saw up to block, Duncan kicked him in the chest, sending him toppling to his back. The saw flew out of The Padre’s hands as Duncan immediately went for his face. The Padre’s eyes went wide as the large machete cut into The Padre’s skull. His body twitched and Duncan pulled the blade out. It was lodged, so he had to put his foot on the man’s chin and force it out.
Blood oozed from the opening in his skull. The Padre was still alive, reaching one hand wildly behind him as if he were grabbing for the saw. Duncan swung the blade at his head several more times until his face was nothing but a bloody mess of flesh and tissue. Only one of his eyes could be seen as the other had either fallen out, or was swelled shut behind the mass of blood meat.
Duncan turned to the car, and saw both the girls had somehow gotten out during the struggle. They were running away at about thirty yards away, not too far. The ground out there was hard and rocky, and they were barefoot and probably wounded. They wouldn’t get far as long as a car didn’t stop for them. Duncan ran after them, hopping on his bad foot as he carried the bloody machete at his side.
One of them looked back and saw him, and they both sped up their pace. He kept his same pace, and was still closing some distance. He was maybe ten yards away when Jenny turned and screamed at him.
“Leave us alone! Please! Just let us go!”
“I can’t do that now! You know that,” he said as he got closer.
They were along the shoulder of the road. The sun was just peaking up in the distance, but it was still plenty dark. A car came over the horizon approaching them. Jenny ran into the middle of the road, sprinting toward the car. It was a pickup truck. The man pulled over at the sight of two, bloody and naked girls in
the middle of the road and Jenny hopped into the bed of the truck. Duncan pursued as Jenny helped Veronica climb into the truck bed. Duncan ran up and took a swing at them, but the driver had already peeled out and left him standing there.
***
Jenny couldn’t see the driver inside the cab, and didn’t care. As long as he could get her away from this place. As far away as possible. They were going down the road back toward the crash site. She saw the overturned car lying just off the road. Veronica was sitting in the bed of the truck, hugging her knees to her chest. Suddenly Veronica started screaming. Jenny turned around and saw a huge man, whose face was mutilated and covered in blood running toward the truck and waving a chainsaw.
Chapter 21
The man with the mangled face ran just in front of the truck as the driver tried to avoid him, and cut into the cab with the chain saw. The saw became stuck in the metal but the man didn’t let go. He let himself be dragged alongside the truck as he struggled to get the door open. He managed to get it open and he pulled himself inside. Once inside the truck on the passenger side, he was able to get the saw out.
Jenny looked through the rear window in horror as the mangled man sawed right through the driver’s head. The cab filled with blood as the truck jerked hard to the left. Jenny grabbed onto the side as the truck drove nose first into the ditch, slamming to a stop. Jenny bounced hard in the back of the truck and Veronica flew into her. She jumped out of the truck as the large man with the chainsaw began to pursue her.
Veronica struggled getting out of the truck. Jenny looked behind her when she heard Veronica scream as the chainsaw blade burst through her chest. The man picked her up off the ground with the saw and ran the blade through her chest, all the way through her head. Jenny turned to keep running through the field. There was a small barn about a dozen yards away. She ran behind the barn and stopped to listen.
It had grown silent. She didn’t know if he’d turned off the saw, or if he’d left. Though she seriously doubted he’d left. Slowly, she crept to the edge of the barn and looked around the corner. There was no sign of him. Careful to mind her footsteps, she crept to the other side and looked around that corner. Just as she turned her head, the huge man’s mangled face was inches from her. The chainsaw roared to life as he lifted it over his head. She turned and ran back the other way and back toward the road.
Her feet were raw and bloody from running barefoot over the hard, rocky ground but she had gotten a second wind as she picked up speed. She was smaller and faster than the chainsaw guy and she hoped to use that to her advantage. The pickup truck was a short distance away. It was stuck in the ditch, but it wasn’t a large ditch. Since it was still running, she hoped she could back it out and get out of there.
She was quickly approaching the truck, as she tried to ignore the burning in her lungs and legs from all the running. The man with the chainsaw was a good twenty yards or more behind her. She got within fifteen feet of the truck when Duncan appeared from behind the truck holding a shotgun. She dove to the ground, but he wasn’t aiming at her. He was aiming at the chainsaw guy.
Duncan fired, hitting the man in the leg. He stumbled and slowed down, but kept coming. Quickly, Duncan racked another round and fired again. This one hit him dead center. The chainsaw guy flew backward as his feet left him, landing flat on his back. Duncan kept the gun pointed at him as he walked up to the man’s body. He kicked the large man, but there was no movement. Duncan sat the shotgun down, and picked up the chainsaw, revved the engine and cut the man’s head off. Jenny figured this time he wasn’t taking any chances.
She climbed into the truck and pushed the driver’s body out. As she put it in reverse, she stomped on the gas and the engine revved and the wheels spun. The truck however, didn’t move. She put it in drive and accelerated forward, but that didn’t help either. A shotgun blast went off and her driver’s side mirror exploded. She looked up and Duncan was approaching with the shotgun pointed at her. Fuck!
“Get out of the truck, Jenny!” he yelled.
“Fuck you! Just let me go!” she screamed.
“You know I can’t do that. Get out!”
“Then fucking kill me!”
He fired another shot, hitting the door. She jumped at the sound and opened the door, stepping out with her hands up.
“Good girl,” he said. “Now, walk across the street.”
He walked her across the road toward the other guy’s Taurus which was also still running. She was kicking herself for not going for that car instead of the truck. She could have made it easily. As they approached the car, he had the shotgun pressed to her back.
“Why can’t you just let me go? You promised us. Darren even gave himself up to you. He let you kill him.”
“I know, I know. I fully intended to let you go, I really did. But things have changed now. This chainsaw guy and all this other craziness. It changes everything. I have to leave my home now, and my job. I have to disappear. You think I want to do that?” he said.
“So? I can leave too. I’ll just disappear. I robbed the damn bank. You think I’ll run to the police?”
He stood there as if considering it for a moment, but shook his head.
“I just can’t risk it. Besides, when it comes down to it, I’m a killer. Given the opportunity to kill, I will, every time.”
He leaned into the car and popped the trunk.
“Ok, I know you’ve had several bad car rides today. But I need you to get back into the trunk. In you go.”
“Fuck you. Just shoot me,” she said. At this point, she truly didn’t care anymore. Getting shot to death was about the most appealing thing to her besides being let go, and it didn’t look like that was going to happen.
Duncan smiled and shook his head.
“I like your resiliency. You’re a tough girl. You’re tougher than Darren or Michael.” Before she could reply, he raised the butt of the shotgun and struck her in the face. She toppled into the trunk. He closed the trunk the same time everything went black.
Chapter 22
Jenny bounced around in the trunk as Duncan drove to wherever they were going. She tried to decide what she was going to do. There was no way she’d let him kill her, not now. She had been through too much and survived too much to just lie down and die. Her body was so sore and tired. She ached from head to toe, from hanging on that hook, the running, the fighting, being hit in the face repeatedly. She’d suffered more abuse in the last twenty four hours than she had her whole life.
The car finally stopped and she heard the engine turn off. She waited awhile for the trunk to open, but it didn’t. She felt around for something, anything she could use to surprise him with. This had been that crazy Mexican guy’s car; he had to have something in there. And she was right. There was a crowbar near her feet. She was curled up, but not enough to reach it. Gripping it with her toes she tried to slide it up to her hand. Slowly it inched closer until she could feel it with her fingertips.
She walked her fingertips down the bar until she was able to wrap them around it. It felt good in her hand. The cold, thick steel rested in her palm as she tightened her grip. Finally she heard footsteps just outside the trunk. The key slid into the lock as she placed the crowbar just behind her back, still holding a firm grip. Just as the trunk popped open, she launched herself out, swinging the crowbar and striking the man in the side of the head. He tumbled backward, as she landed on top of him.
“Whoa, easy, easy!” another man yelled pulling her off. She was screaming and flailing as the man picked her up off the ground. “Calm down!” he yelled. “It’s ok! No one is gonna hurt you!”
She looked at the man on the ground who was rubbing the side of his head. It was a cop. The guy holding her was a cop. She stopped flailing and he finally sat her down. The other walked over to her and put a police jacket over her shoulders. It felt good to finally have some kind of clothing on. She pulled it closed around her and held it tight.
“What the hell happened
to you?” one of the officer’s asked.
She looked around and realized her surroundings. They were downtown, sitting in the middle of the street. There were pedestrians who had stopped and were looking on. How long had she been stuck in the trunk? The sun was out and shiny warmly.
“That guy, he took me, and my husband. His name is Duncan.”
“Kindcaide. Yes we know. He robbed that bank. Looks like he was a really sick mother fucker. I’m sure you already knew that though. Let’s get you out of here,” the officer said.
He took her to the police station. A secretary had found her some clothes from the lost and found. It was nothing fashionable, but it covered her at least. A short detective came out and sat down with her.
“Hello,” he said. “I’m Detective Ramos. Maybe you can help us piece together what happened? We found Kincaide’s car and searched his house. It was really horrible.”
She told him everything, except for her role in the bank robbery. She said Duncan had kidnapped the three of them and tortured them and how the Mexican gang guys showed up shooting, and then the big guy with the chainsaw, the car chase and everything. Turns out, the police already had their own theory as to what had happened.
They believed Duncan had been laundering money for the cartels, but something went wrong. So he staged the robbery, but was also a serial killer on his own on top of all that. So he took the money and everyone was coming to him to collect. It wasn’t the tidiest theory, but she was happy to only be seen as a victim in all of this. After this experience, she would never think of robbing anyplace ever again.
Once she made her statement, they took her to a local women’s shelter. It took a few days for everything to sink in. The first thing was realizing she was safe. Duncan and the chainsaw wielding lunatic were gone. They never did tell her that guy’s name. Wherever Duncan was, he was on the run and for the time being, wasn’t planning on coming for her.
