The Black Pathway

by Mark C Sutton

  “Yeah, I know… but he’s got that fucking knife.” Gary pointed out.

  “I don’t care, Gary. We’re just going to have to take our chances, hope that we can get the weapon from off him. Look, now’s our chance.” Said Mary. Howard Trenton was moving away from them, facing the opposite direction. “Let’s rush the bastard, take him down from behind.” Mary suggested.

  “Okay.” Replied Gary, but before the pair had the chance to even emerge from the bushes, Howard Trenton had stepped off, sidewards, and was no longer in sight.

  Mary looked at Gary, alarmed.

  “Where did he go? Where the fuck did he go?” She said.

  “I don’t know… he was right in front of us just a second ago.” Gary replied.

  “What are we going to do now?” Mary asked.

  “Well, he couldn’t have gone far.” Answered Gary, climbing out of the bushes. He took Mary’s hand, and helped her out from the undergrowth. “Come on.” Said Gary, moving in the direction where they had last seen Howard Trenton.

  “Fuck, it’s gonna be pitch black soon.” Gary commented; it was a prospect that unnerved him deeply. He wasn’t aware that Howard Trenton was approaching both him and Mary fast, from behind. Howard had dumped Shark Mako not far away. He was now holding the knife in his other hand, and it was raised in the air, ready to be plunged down into the back of Gary Ackley’s neck. The very last thing that Gary heard was a sudden, familiar, fluttering sound in the distance, overheard. The final words he ever spoke were,

  “Can you hear that? Can you hear that, Mary? It’s a helicopter.” Then there was a sudden, savage pain in the base of Gary’s skull, followed by an incredible, blinding light. Gary Ackley’s short time on the Earth was over, but a new journey for him had just begun.

  ***

  Howard Trenton carried Shark Mako over one shoulder, and Mary Broderick across the other; the former was still unconscious, but the latter wasn’t, though she may as well have been. Mary was in a complete state of shock, having watched her friend, Gary Ackley, be butchered to death just moments earlier.

  “Do you want to know something funny?” Asked Howard. Nobody answered him. “We’re only about a quarter of a mile from the Black Pathway. Isn’t that something? If you lot had just reached the trail, you could’ve back-tracked a little, into Knighton. You would have been safe. There wouldn’t have been any of this. What a bitch, eh? I bet you find that annoying, hey Mary?” Howard chuckled to himself. “The place that I’m taking you and Shark to… well, I think you’re gonna like it there. I stumbled across it a while back, in the summer. I’m always doing that… finding stuff. There’s this derelict farmhouse… I won’t tell you where… that I visit quite a lot. Do you remember, Mary, when I told you that I loved decay? Well, this farmhouse, it’s a proper stunner, absolutely falling to bits… an ideal place for someone like me to find some comfort and solace. The building where we’re going to now is similar. I don’t visit it as much as the farmhouse, but then it’s much less accessible, difficult to get to. Which is ideal for us three, as it means we won’t be disturbed.”

  Mary stared down at the ground, blankly, as Howard Trenton continued to talk to her.

  “The good news, Mary, is that you’re gonna get out of this forest alive. That’s something that I’ve already decided on. Unfortunately, the bad news is that your pal here… this feisty little bitch… is gonna have to go, but not until after we’ve all party’d for a while. I promise now though, I’ll make things quick for her, just like I did with Gary. You have to admit, Mary, I made it quick for Gary, didn’t I?” Howard asked. “That was good of me, wasn’t it? See? I can be nice sometimes, even though you probably all think that I’m some kind of fucking monster.” He was met with silence. It didn’t matter. Not to Howard. “Yesterday, I gave away most of my inheritance to a little boy who lives with his mom in Coldsleet. They’re poor… except they won’t be going without any more. I’ve seen to that.” Howard thought briefly about little Jack. “I love that kid. I love his mother, too.” He added. And it was true. Howard Trenton may have been a monster, but his love for Anita and Jack was very real.

  From somewhere nearby, a police helicopter could be heard.

  “Don’t worry about them, Mary. They’ll probably be scouring the Black Pathway looking for us, except we’re not on it, are we? Fucking coppers… actually, that’s one of my regrets. I know that I’m either gonna be dead or under arrest by the time that this is all over - I’ve got no stomach for going ‘on the run’, or any crap like that - it’s just a shame that I won’t be able to get to that cunt, Tom Grogan. He’d got me bang to rights, Mary, he really had! He knew, KNEW, that I’d murdered Alfie Whitehouse. I guess he had that coppers instinct that they’re always going on about. Who’d have thought that a fuzzy-faced twat like that would be the person to bring my world crashing down, eh? It makes you wonder, doesn’t it, Mary? Jesus, I wish you’d say something. I’m fucking lonely, rambling on to myself like this. Hell, I spend enough time in my own sodding company as it is… that’s all I wanted, Mary. You know… for us two to be together. Well, that’s not strictly true. I had that stuff with Kate Williams going on, too, except that was more of a sexual thing, rather than a proper relationship. The bitch cheated on me, so I…”

  “JUST FUCKING SHUT UP, YOU ANNOYING, SELF-PITYING LITTLE SHIT!” Screamed Shark Mako suddenly, whilst at the same time grabbing, and then squeezing, with all of the strength that she could muster, Howard Trenton’s private parts.

  Howard Trenton instinctively clutched down with both of his hands, letting go of both Shark and Mary. Shark slid from off Howard, so that she was standing right in front of him. She slammed her fist hard into Howard’s face once, twice, three times. He went staggering backwards, dropping Mary to the floor in the process. Shark ran across to Howard, grabbing at his broken arm as hard as she could. His scream pierced the silence of Skerrington Forest. The young woman wrenched down again on Howard’s limb, completely dislocating it from his shoulder. Howard slumped to the floor, clutching at his arm, almost crying with the pain that he was experiencing. Shark ran over to Mary, who was still in a catatonic-like state.

  “We have to run. Now. This is probably our last chance.” Said Shark. Mary stared through her friend, as if she were invisible. Shark grabbed Mary by the shoulders and shook her, roughly. “Did you hear me, Mary? We have to run. Do you understand?” Asked Shark. Mary slowly gazed towards Howard Trenton.

  “He murdered Gary, too.” She whispered.

  “We’ll be next if we don’t run. Are you ready to run, Mary?”

  “I’m ready.” Mary answered. The pair took one last look at Howard, who was in too much pain to do anything, and then they took flight, disappearing into the darkness of the forest.

  “You’re wasting your time!” Howard called out. “I can track you by your scent! Did you hear me, bitches? I can track you by your fucking scent.” He repeated. Howard Trenton began to giggle to himself, before waving dismissively in the direction where the two women had fled. “Get yourselves a good head-start. It won’t make any difference. I’ll still catch up with you. I’m gonna kill you, Shark, and Mary, you’re gonna watch me do it. Then when I’ve finished with your friend, I’m going to fuck you, Mary… fuck you in a way that you’ve never been fucked before!” Howard shouted. Then, for just a brief moment, and for no particular reason, he thought about his cousin, Lucas. The man who’d taken him in when his mother had died. Howard felt a small pang of guilt, before blocking the emotion out, and focusing on catching up with the two girls.

  ***

  Shark Mako and Mary Broderick made their way through Skerrington Forest as fast as they could.

  “We need to head in the direction of that helicopter.” Said Shark. The only problem was that the helicopter suddenly sounded like it was flying all over the place, zig-zagging from left to right in the sky, which made their situation even more confusing than it already was. After some twenty minutes of running after it, th
e sound of the helicopter had completely disappeared.

  “I need to stop for a minute, catch my breath.” Said Mary.

  “We can’t. You heard what that fucking psycho said, he can track us by our scent. We’ve got to keep moving.” Shark replied.

  “Come on, he can’t do that!” Argued her friend.

  “Guess what? As crazy as it sounds, I think that he probably can. I’m not stopping, Mary.” Shark said, firmly.

  “But I’m exhausted!” Mary whined.

  “Better than being raped, or dead.” Shark responded. “If we stop, then that twisted little shit is going to catch us, fuck us, and kill us.”

  “I can’t carry on. I just need a minute, that’s all.” Said Mary, and she came to a halt. Shark stopped running, and began pulling at Mary’s arm.

  “No, Mary, No! We have to keep a distance between us and that fucking maniac. NOW COME ON!” Shouted Shark. Mary pulled her arm away.

  “I just need to rest. I’m not as fit as you.” She tried to point out.

  “For fucks sake. You’re gonna get the pair of us killed.” Spat Shark. Then, from some distance away, they heard a voice calling to them. It was Howard Trenton.

  “Still on your trail, girls! I’m still on your trail!” He shouted. Suddenly, Mary Broderick found her second wind.

  ***

  The young man who, in years to come, would be known as ‘The Butcher of the Black Pathway’, moved ever forwards, through Skerrington Forest. He could feel dampness spreading across his lower back. That fucking knife wound has opened up again, Howard thought to himself. His one arm and hand now hung completely useless at his side, and Howard’s bollocks felt like they’d had an unfortunate accident with a power press. That Shark girl… fuck, she’s got some strength, I’ll give her that much. I knew that she was gonna be a challenge, but for crying out loud… I feel like I’ve gone ten rounds with that huge Russian guy from that ‘Rocky’ movie… actually, his hair was pretty similar to Shark’s. I’ll have to mention that to her, when I catch up with her and Mary again, which I will. I don’t think that they’re too far ahead of me now. They can run all they like, but they can’t do anything about that scent that the pair of ‘em are leaving behind. I can’t fuck around with Shark anymore… as soon as I corner them again, she’s gonna have to be dealt with, and straight away. She’s too fucking dangerous, the silly tart.

  Howard pulled out a pair of earphones from his coat pocket, which were attached to an mp3 player. Time for a nice bit of gentle, ambient music… ‘San Gorgonio’ by ‘X Radius Zero’… not that it’s that ambient, really, but I like it all the same. Howard hit the play button on the small music device. Ah, now this is nice, just strolling along through the forest, surrounded by all these trees and the darkness… just think, the chances are, this time tomorrow night, I’ll either be dead or banged up in prison. I’ll probably never have a stroll like this again. Shame really. Oh well. I’ve always known the score… sooner or later, I was always going to get caught. I wonder if I’ve made the national news headlines yet? Maybe even the international news? If I survive all of this, then I’ll soon find out. I’m not actually sure if I want to get out of this alive, to be honest. I don’t think I’d do very well in prison. Actually, that’s an understatement. I’d be getting the shit knocked out of me all of the time. I mean, I’m strong, but some of the psycho’s you get in the nick… ouch. And let’s face it, I try, but I’m not really much of a brawler. A killer, yes, but not a brawler. Just look at the good-hiding I took from that cunt, Shark, earlier. Nah. I’ll be better off dead.

  The young serial killer warmed to the idea of his own death. Yeah… thinking about it, I should really just do myself in once I’ve had my fun with the girls. I might actually do that; hike up to the top of Knighton Mountain and fling myself off the ridge at ‘Fools Gauntlet’. Or maybe drown in Coldsleet River? On second thoughts, I think I’ll skip the drowning experience, ta very much. Chances are though, the coppers might do me a favour when they catch up with me… some of them are bound to be armed, all it’ll take is one wrong move from me, and they’ll most likely open fire. Now, that’d be a nice, quick way to go, unless, of course, they don’t actually shoot to kill… just fire a round or two at my legs. That’s gonna hurt. Howard looked up, to the sky; it was a clear night, and he could just make out the glow of the three-quarters full moon coming from behind the tree-tops to his left. The temperatures are gonna fucking plummet soon. I wonder how Mary and Shark are going to cope with that? Still, it could be worse for the pair of them. Things could be a lot colder, thought Howard, and this, in turn, made him think about Mandy, his first victim. Not that it was murder… Mandy was an accident… but nobody will ever believe me about that…

  Chapter Twenty Four

  The first death happened when I was thirteen years of age. I was living with mom, and it was before she started getting ill. I’d gone for one of my long walks, this time along the beach in Coldsleet, except, at some point, I’d managed to lose all track of time, and I found myself close to the nearby village of Keln, which is about three miles down the coast. It was about seven thirty, on a warm, early September evening. The sun was beginning to set over the Irish Sea, and I was just strolling along, lost in my own thoughts. I’d got my mp3 player on, and I was enjoying the music coming from it. It was a really nice, tranquil evening. There’d been quite a few people knocking about on the beach at Coldsleet, but as I walked further south, away from the town, there was no-one around at all, which was how I preferred it. So yeah, there I was, just a kid, minding his own business and taking a nice evening walk, when out of thin air popped Mandy, who went and ruined everything.

  When I say that Mandy popped out of thin air, I didn’t mean it literally. I actually stumbled across her, near some rocks, as I negotiated the bend around Keln Point. Mandy was a little bit older than me; I later found out that she was sixteen years of age at the time of her death. She was just there, right in front of me, washed up on the rocks, face down, her upper body lying across the pebbles, but her legs half-submerged in a large rock-pool. Mandy was wearing a small, pale blue bikini. There was a fucking crab, just walking, as bold as you like, across her lower back, and it looked like it was about to take a chunk out of Mandy’s skin. I don’t like crabs at the best of times; they remind me a bit of spiders. I walked over to where Mandy was lying, and kicked the creature from off her. It scuttled away, but that didn’t stop me from picking up a few pebbles and throwing them at it, just for a bit of fun. The crab disappeared into a large clump of seaweed, and it was then that I turned my attention back to the teenage girl who was lay out in front of me.

  I knelt down beside Mandy, and checked her pulse. She had one, but it was pretty faint. Her face was tinged blue, and I guessed that she’d had some sort of accident out in the ocean, and almost drowned. I gave her a little shove in the back, and sure enough, she coughed up some seawater. Throughout all of this, Mandy was out of it, unconscious. Now, anybody else would have just gone off to find help, but not me. No, I decided that I was going to try and help her, right there and then, except I didn’t really know what I was doing. I grabbed Mandy’s hands in mine, and then stood up, dragging her lower body from out of the rock pool. She started shivering with the cold, and that’s when I decided that I’d lie down next to her, in order to warm her up. And that was a really bad idea.

  I picked Mandy up in my arms, and carried her over to some sand-dunes nearby. She was beautiful… when I look at Mary, I see Mandy. They’re very similar in appearance. I placed Mandy down on the dune, so that she was lying on her back, and sat next to her for a few minutes, just looking at her. Then I started touching her. I ran my fingers through her long, dark hair, but I quickly stopped doing that, because it was soaking wet, and there was sand and stuff stuck to it; the texture offended me a little, if I’m being honest. Not Mandy’s hair, you understand, but everything else, especially the wetness and that gritty sand. I couldn’t help but notice that she was… we
ll, you know… big… in the chest. I tried to stop myself, but I ended up running the palm of my hand across her tits. I felt the hardness of Mandy’s nipples, underneath the bikini top, and, well, you know how it is, I started to get aroused. I bet you think that you know what happened next. But you’d be wrong.

  I know that I’ll go down in history as being an evil little cunt, and nothing more than that. Let’s face it, it’s what the people want! Black and white, no grey areas, everything clear-cut, no messy bits, please. That’s what they’ll get… Howard Trenton, the cold, heartless killer of the Black Pathway Trail… the devil personified… and all of that sort of shit. Except it ain’t always like that, things aren’t so simple as what people would like them to be. I’ve killed a lot of people, and will continue to murder, if I don’t get caught, but I’ll tell you something else, too… a concept that might surprise you. There is some goodness in my soul. It’s not all completely black. Sometimes, I can do the right thing, and for the right reasons too, and not just out of self-preservation, or through some hidden agenda. So I’ll admit it. For a few minutes, out on those sand dunes, with Mandy, I seriously, SERIOUSLY, considered just taking her. It would have been a cinch! She was spark out, half-dead, probably fucking comatose, Mandy would never have known. Yet I never did. Apart from those few seconds, where I felt Mandy’s breasts through her clothing, I never laid a fucking finger on her. I could have. But I didn’t. And that’s because some sort of moral code, deep down inside, emanating from a decent, wholesome part of my soul, buried under all of the other nasty, vicious shit, emerged to the fore. Like I said, it’s not always black and white. It doesn’t work that way.