Escape from Happytown (April Almighty Book 3)

by Tim Miller

  “No hun, settle down. Why would I do that?”

  “Why do you have a dump truck full of dead bodies out there?”

  “I told you...”

  “Yeah, bullshit.”

  She turned and headed to the door when a group of women came storming in, some of them carrying two by fours and crowbars. She grabbed a fork from a table and turned to run toward the kitchen. Agnes tried to jump in her way, but she jammed the fork into her throat without hesitating. Agnes clutched her neck as she gagged and gurgled before falling to the ground. The women gave chase as Isis ran through the kitchen, where she grabbed a meat cleaver before running out the back door.

  Isis ran between houses and turned right as the mob of women pursued her. She ducked behind some bushes as she listened to them screaming and shouting.

  “Come on out bitch! You can’t hide from us!” one of them screamed. Isis had never backed out of a fight, but she knew she didn’t stand a chance against a mob of crowbar wielding bitches. She crept around the house, looking into the window. It appeared empty, so she made her way to the side of the house where she checked the door. It was unlocked. Opening it slowly she stepped inside. Holding the cleaver at the ready she checked each of the rooms.

  “Mommy! Is that you?” a voice called out. She turned as a little girl, around ten years old came running into the room, almost hugging Isis until she froze and looked up at her. “Hey! Where’s my mom?”

  Instead of a reply, Isis brought down the cleaver.

  Chapter 3

  Coy drove the dump truck out past the town limits and to the burial site he’d prepared earlier. This had to be one of the more crude burials he’d ever seen, but the best way he could think to take care of hundreds of bodies. Loading them into the truck had been traumatic though. Especially when he got to Old Man Gunn. His head had been ripped clean off. He found it a few dozen feet away from the body, but it had been smashed like a pumpkin.

  He’d put the clown bodies into a pile and set them on fire. The Funhouse remained untouched. No one had gone inside, and he wasn’t even sure if there were any clowns still in there or not, though he’d doubted it. He thought he’d seen a couple clowns driving away during the fight, but wasn’t sure. Either way, the Funhouse had been silent since that day.

  Then there was that April girl. He’d really liked her, but Mrs. Reynolds wasn’t too happy about her killing most of the town. Sure, the girl was upset at them for dragging them into that place to be tortured and killed. He’d probably be mad too. So Mrs. Reynolds locked her in her barn and turned Candi Jean loose on her. That girl was crazy as hell anyway. They wouldn’t let him go near April after her weird brain sex control powers she could do.

  He wanted to see her though; he liked her, not just because she was pretty. There was just something about her, and when she jacked him off with her brain, that felt really good too. He just didn’t like her controlling him after. Once he reached the large grave, he backed the truck up to the edge and pulled the lever and the bucket raised dumping its contents into the hole.

  Once the truck was empty, he pulled it away and hopped out. It sucked he had to do all the work, but most of the women in town were used to taking care of things at home while the men did most of the hard work. Some of the younger ladies didn’t mind getting their hands dirty; it was just the way of things in Happytown.

  He climbed into the backhoe and began scooping large piles of dirt into the hole. Before long, there was a mound of fresh dirt, marking the mass grave. Once he had it filled in, he parked the backhoe and climbed back into the dump truck, heading back to town. As he pulled in, several women were running through the streets carrying pipes and clubs. He pulled up to Jenny Adams and rolled the window down.

  “What in the hell is goin’ on?” Coy asked.

  “Some outsider bitch came driving through here and disrupted the funeral,” Jenny said. She was waving a metal pipe around as she spoke. He’d never seen her looking so angry.

  “Yeah I saw a car behind me for a bit. Why so mad though? It’s not like we gotta take her to the Funhouse.”

  “It don’t matter. I’m gonna beat that bitch’s skull in!” Jenny said as she ran off. Coy watched as the women ran up and down through the streets. Whoever this girl was, they must’ve been looking for her. He drove the truck down town and parked it. Another woman, Grace Ellis ran up to him.

  “You seen her?” Grace asked.

  “The outsider girl?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I don’t even know what she looks like.”

  “Like some city rocker chick. Jean shorts, black shirt, ponytail. Has tattoos on her legs, the dirty skank,” Grace said.

  “Nah. I just got back from burying the bodies. I missed all this commotion.”

  “I found her!” someone screamed a few houses down. “I found her! She’s...” The scream was cut off. Everyone ran in that direction as Coy followed along. He was mostly curious as to what the commotion was all about. They arrived at one of the houses where the front door was open.

  “They’re fucking dead!” someone screamed. Coy pushed his way past and into the house. The first thing he saw was the little girl; he couldn’t remember her name, but the child lie on the ground with her face split open. Chunks of brains and skull oozed out of a hole where her face used to be. Not far away was another woman. She was lying on her side, with her head at an awkward angle. Her head was that way because it was almost chopped off. It clung to her neck by a few pieces of skin and muscle.

  “Jesus Christ!” Coy said. “What happened?”

  “That outsider bitch killed them both,” Jenny said from behind him.

  “I see that. Where is she?”

  “She ran off again.”

  “Well shit. We better find her,” he said as he turned.

  “I’m gonna get Zeus so we can find this bitch.” Zeus was his German shepherd. Coy had gotten him as a puppy and had taught him to track. As far as he was concerned, Zeus was as good as any police dog. After what he just saw, he wanted to get his hands on that bitch himself. He couldn’t get the image of that poor little girl with her face split open out of his head. Who would do something like that?

  The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Over the past few days, he’d seen more blood, guts, and dead bodies than he’d ever cared to. But this, children? It was too much. Once he got home, he sat down and put his head in his hands. Over the past few days, he hadn’t stopped to think about all that had happened. Suddenly it was hitting him all at once. He took some deep breaths as he went out back where Zeus was running around. The dog ran up to him as he knelt down and scratched the dog’s ears.

  “Hey boy! How’s my big boy huh?”

  Zeus panted as his master scratched his ears and neck.

  “You wanna go hunt down a bitch for me? Do ya? Yeah, let’s go boy. Let’s go get her.”

  Chapter 4

  April had to think. That Candi Jean bitch would be back anytime and God knows what kind of horrors she was about to unleash. The ties on her wrists were cutting into her flesh and blood seeped out of the wounds. She could barely feel her fingers at this point. No way was she slipping her hands out of that mess.

  There had been a bunch of screaming and yelling from outside earlier. It was a bunch of women. She had no idea what they were screaming over, but it had quieted down for a moment. April wished more than anything that her ability worked on women as well as men. Maybe there was a way, but she had no idea how. She barely understood how it worked on men.

  There was some more banging around outside when the door swung open again. Candi Jean had returned. This time she was carrying a duffel bag. Fuck.

  “Ready to play bitch?” Candi Jean said. “We’re gonna have us some fun! At least, I’ll have fun. You, not so much.” She dug through the bag and took out a large dildo. Actually, calling it large was an understatement. The thing was huge. “You’re about to get fucked,” Candi Jean said.

  April wasn’t
about to let her come near her with that thing. As Candi Jean came closer, April waited until she was right in front of her before lifting both legs and kicking Candi Jean in the stomach, knocking her across the room. Candi Jean dropped the dildo as she fell. What little sense of satisfaction April may have had was short lived, however. Candi Jean quickly jumped to her feet.

  “That was really fuckin’ stupid,” she said as she walked up to April again, this time from the side and punched her in the face. April’s teeth clacked together as her vision went blank for a second. It came back, but she was woozy and seeing stars. Before she could say anything, Candi Jean punched her again. This time she almost lost consciousness. That was the last thing she wanted to do. No telling what Candi Jean would do to her if she passed out.

  After a minute or two, her vision started to clear. She tasted her own blood inside her mouth as well feeling blood oozing from her nose.

  “You done being stupid?” Candi Jean asked. April just glared at her. “I asked you a question bitch!”

  April stared, for a moment and then spit a wad of blood and saliva into Candi Jean’s face. The girl took a step back, first in shock, then rage. April knew it was stupid and she was about to really get it. But there was no way she was going to let this cunt break her.

  Candi Jean wiped her face off before digging out a large plastic bag. April immediately knew what she was going to do, and began to struggle. There was no way she was moving though. Candi Jean took the bag and circled around behind her.

  “You think you’re funny bitch?” Candi Jean said.

  “Fuck you.”

  “Yeah. You’ll wish you just let me play instead of acting like a stupid cunt.”

  “I’m going to get out of here. And I will cut your tits off and feed them to you,” April said.

  Candi Jean just laughed at the threat.

  “Now that is funny. That’s funny as shit. You ain’t goin’ nowhere,” Candi Jean said as she put the bag over April’s head. April took in a deep breath as the bag went over her head, but in a few seconds she was running out of air. She finally tried to take a breath only to get nothing. Struggling against Candi Jean, she whipped her head from side to side, trying to create an opening for air.

  Her body violently reacted by jerking and kicking all over. The only thing that mattered was a breath of air. She had heard drowning was the worst way to die. Suffocating was pretty fucking bad on its own. She began feeling lightheaded as she continued gasping desperately for air. Finally Candi Jean lifted the bag from her head and air filled April’s lungs. She took several deep breaths as her eyes came back into focus.

  “You like that shit bitch?” Candi Jean asked. “You learning some manners?”

  April began to speak but it came out as a whisper.

  “What’d you say?” Candi Jean asked.

  April repeated it, but her voice was barely audible. Candi Jean leaned in closer.

  “Speak up bitch! You talk like you got a dick in your mouth.”

  April turned her head around and bit into Candi Jean’s nose. The girl screamed as April sank her teeth in and blood filled her mouth. Candi Jean struggled against her, swinging and punching wildly but April didn’t loosen her grip in the slightest. Finally Candi Jean was able to wiggle her way out, but only after leaving a chunk of her nose in April’s mouth.

  Candi Jean stumbled away with both hands over her face.

  “You bitch!” she screamed. “You fucking bitch! You bit off my nose!”

  April spit the chunk of meat from her mouth and looked over at Candi Jean.

  “Yeah I did. And you taste like shit you inbred fuck,” April said.

  “My nose! You fucking bit off my nose! I’ll kill you! I’ll fucking kill you!” she screamed as she ran out of the barn. There was a trail of blood marking Candi Jean’s path once she was gone. April felt somewhat amused at herself; she was able to fuck that girl up so badly she ran off crying. No doubt she’d be back and likely kill her, but April no longer cared. After everything she’d been through in the past week, death would be a welcome relief.

  The door to the barn creaked open again as April braced herself for another round of Candi Jean. Except it wasn’t her. It was a different girl. This one obviously wasn’t from around here.

  “What in the fuck?” the girl said.

  “My thoughts exactly,” April answered.

  “Why are you all tied up and naked?””

  “I can tell you’re not one of these assholes by the way you’re dressed. So since you’re not here to kill me, could you cut me loose please? Before psycho comes back?” April said.

  “Is this what they do when they catch you?”

  “Among other things. Cut me loose please?”

  “Oh, right,” the girl said as she looked around until she found a knife in the bag. Walking over to April she cut the ties off her wrists. April lowered her hands, rubbing them together as feeling slowly began to return.

  “Thank you. We gotta get out of here,” April said.

  “Shit. I came in here to hide.”

  “Yeah, bad idea. This whole town is fucked up. We need to get out of here. Do you have a car?”

  “Yeah. Its downtown if we can get to it,” the girl said.

  “Shit. We’ll figure something out.” April looked around for something to wear so she wouldn’t be streaking through town. Unfortunately there was nothing in the barn for her to put on. “Fuck it. Let’s get out of here. I’m April by the way.”

  “Isis. Nice to meet you, I think.”

  Chapter 5

  Grant Storm sped along the back roads, getting closer to his destination. This one should be easy. He was certain she had no idea what she was, or that he was coming. Those were the easiest to get close to. This girl’s name was April Kennedy. He glanced down at the folder on his passenger seat and pulled out her picture. She was a looker, there was no doubt about that. He’d been tracking neuropaths for thirty years. This one was the most attractive by far and the most dangerous.

  Most neuros had the ability to control minds, that’s what made them neuros. This one has a sexual component to her, one like he’d never seen before. In the past two years she’d taken out two small towns on her own. It was his job to make sure it was her last.

  How he located her was a sordid and complicated tale. Most neuros come into their abilities by accident and have no idea how to control it. From there it’s just a matter of time until word gets back to the Trackers whose job it is to find and eliminate them. A lot had changed over the years. In the early days, Trackers would capture them to be studied. Most of the time with horrific results.

  The worst was back in the eighties in the old Soviet Union. One of them had gotten away and was captured by the KGB. As one would expect from the Soviets, they tried to turn him into a weapon. The neuro killed dozens of soldiers before they finally put him down. After that, it was decided they were too dangerous. Death was the only solution

  The Trackers were above and beyond any government. Most governments didn’t even know they existed. They operated in the shadows, yet in plain sight all around the world. Grant mostly covered the southwest United States and California. Occasionally he’d bring in other Trackers if things got too crazy. Most of the time he did just fine on his own. The key was getting close to them before they knew you were there. If they saw you coming or if you made your move and failed, they had you. He’d seen many Trackers fall to neuros over the years. It was never pretty. One neuro made a tracker cut his own face off and eat it. No thank you.

  No one knows exactly where neuros come from. Their abilities are genetic and usually take hold in early adulthood. It almost always occurs during or after some severe trauma or crisis. So it’s possible there are neuros out there who live their whole lives and never know it and never gain their abilities. In April’s case, her captivity would have been more than enough to launch her ability.

  His last bit of information he’d gotten on April was she was locate
d in some backwoods town called Happytown. For some reason he imagined the place was a miserable little hell hole. Most small towns were, at least underneath. They put on a nice façade of being the next Mayberry. But beneath the surface, there was always something much darker. Happytown would be no different.

  After a few more miles he drove past the Happytown city limit sign. As he cruised through the little downtown area, it didn’t look much different than all the other small towns he’d visited. This place was much quieter though. At one corner there was a large group of women gathered around. Many were holding bats, axes, and one had a rake. April was here all right. She had to be. He pulled up to the women and turned off the truck.

  Every one of them stopped and glared at him as he climbed out. He put on his Stetson and stepped out of the pickup.

  “Afternoon ladies,” he said as they looked him up and down. He adjusted his aviators as he walked toward them. “I’m Grant Storm. Texas Rangers.” He took out his badge and I.D. and held it up to the women. It was all fake, but would check out if someone were to look into it. He had credentials for almost all major law enforcement agencies.

  “What do you want?” one of the older women said. “No one here called the law!”

  “No ma’am. But the law is here regardless. I’m looking for this woman.” He held up April’s photo. Immediately he saw the recognition in their eyes. They tried to mask it, but it was there. He was sure of it.

  “No sir. None of us seen that girl. We don’t welcome outsiders here. Not even the law,” the woman said.

  “I can tell you this. I’m not leaving until I find her, and I know for fact she’s here. So if you don’t care to help me, I’ll look around myself.”

  “I don’t think you wanna do that Ranger. The law leaves us alone and we tend to our own affairs. That’s how it’s always been.”

  Grant looked around for a moment and considered the situation.

  “Where’s all your men at?” he asked.