Reunion at Walnut Cherryville (The Eternal Feud Book 1)

by Lauren Salem

  “We live downtown,” I said.

  “So what brought you to a Home Depot that’s so far away from home?” she asked.

  I could ask you the same question. “We were traveling, and we decided to stop and walk around. By the way, I wanted to thank you again for giving us this opportunity. We really appreciate it.”

  “Oh, no problem, I should be thanking you. My house has been a wreck since the divorce, and out of all the things my ex-husband could possibly win in the settlement, he won the maid. Ironic…Good help that speaks English is difficult to find these days.”

  I had probably seen this woman before on my cameras, but why didn’t I remember her? Mrs. Putzer turned on to the infamous Hillsdale Court, and Laura watched anxiously out the window as we passed each neighbor’s house. All of a sudden, Mrs. Putzer began slowing down as Linda Burks, a neighbor of Laura’s family, approached the car. If I remembered correctly, Linda’s husband, Tom, slept with Laura.

  “I’m sorry Mrs. Putzer, I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m not feeling so well. I think I need to use a restroom,” Laura said.

  “Is everything OK, dear?”

  “Could we hurry?”

  “Sure,” Mrs. Putzer said as she waved at Linda and then drove on home.

  When we arrived, we quickly got out of the car and rushed into Mrs. Putzer’s house. Laura locked herself up in the bathroom, and I waited for her outside the door while Mrs. Putzer fixed us a drink. I could hear Laura crying through the door.

  “Laura, what’s going on?” I whispered through the door. “Talk to me.”

  “I can’t be here. Everyone here will recognize us,” she cried.

  “Don’t get upset. That will just make Mrs. Putzer suspicious.”

  “You don’t think she remembers us? Maybe we should run away.”

  Mrs. Putzer walked up behind me with two glasses of ice-cold lemonade. “Would you like some mint lemonade? I made it myself from fresh-squeezed lemons from the juicer, fresh mint leaves, raw sugar, and vodka.”

  I took a glass. “Thank you.”

  “I hope you like it. Is she OK in there? Does she need any medicine?”

  “I’m OK,” Laura said as she walked out of the bathroom, looking refreshed. Mrs. Putzer handed her a glass of lemonade.

  “As you enjoy your drinks, I would like to give you a tour of the house and show you what I was thinking about how we’re going to paint the walls.”

  We followed her into the next room as we sipped our drinks.

  “This is the dining room. Now I was thinking a bold color, something solid that will really make this room pop…”

  When the women talked about fashion and design, all I heard was some gibberish language that I didn’t understand, so I spent most of the time focusing on the hard lemonade. I drank it so fast that during the tour Mrs. Putzer gave us two more drink refills, which were delicious and addicting. The first refill was raspberry lemonade that used fresh raspberry puree mixed into lemon juice and, of course, lots of raw sugar and vodka. The second refill was a peach Long Island iced tea. This woman was amazing at making mixed drinks…or at least I thought she was. I didn’t have much to compare her drinks to because I had never had fruity cocktails before…mostly just beer and cigarettes.

  By the time the tour was over, Mrs. Putzer left us in the bedroom and asked us to do something that I don’t remember before she disappeared somewhere that I don’t remember. Laura and I couldn’t stop laughing, and I had no idea what we were laughing about. Every time we looked at each other, we kept laughing as if everything about the world seemed funny and amusing.

  “Look at that old dude in this picture,” Laura pointed at the wall as she laughed. “I probably slept with him.”

  “He was probably her ex-husband,” I joked.

  Laura struggled to get her balance, so she leaned on me, but I was tipsy as well, so we both fell to the carpet.

  “The people I used to…like how in the world did I ever get through that?” She laughed so hard that she couldn’t catch her breath, and she began to snort or fart (I couldn’t tell which one, but the suspense of not knowing made it even more hilarious).

  My body felt tingly, and my hands were curious. “You’re beautiful,” I said, right before our lips met. As we kissed, we became liberated from our clothes. I was Christopher Columbus on a ship ready to explore the wonderland that lay before me. The crimson tide was high, and the sea was wet, but my men were able to dock the ship.

  Chapter 22: Johnny

  My head began to clear from the fog, and I could hear a rowdy audience chanting “kill them dead” as I opened my eyes to an empty, dark prison cell. I sat up, peered out the right side of the barred door, and saw a live audience enthusiastically watching an empty stage with six chairs. I could only assume that Walnut Cherryville had recaptured us, but I didn’t clearly recall what happened. All I remembered was that I was in the hospital looking for Veronica with a nurse. Where was Veronica? Was she OK? I peered into the cell across from mine and saw Laura sleeping in a fancy dress. The majority of the cells were to the left of me, so I tried to look down the hall for Veronica, but I could barely see anything between the flickers of light from this obstructed view. All of a sudden, a guard walked by, escorting Veronica to the stage with her hands cuffed behind her back.

  “Veronica,” I shouted.

  She looked at me…afraid. The guard forcefully pushed her down in the chair before he restrained her with a rope. We gazed at each other until another guard opened my cage and pulled me up to my feet. “Walk to the second chair,” he said after he cuffed my hands behind my back. He escorted me across the stage, and the crowd went wild. Everyone was shouting at me, and I couldn’t understand anything they were saying. The guard sat me down next to Veronica, tied me to the chair, and left to escort the next victim.

  “I’m sorry,” I said while looking out at the crowd.

  “It’s not entirely your fault,” Veronica replied. “I convinced you to do it, too.”

  “Everyone wanted to leave, so we left.”

  “We took a chance, and it failed.”

  “The only thing left to do is say our goodbyes.”

  “And hope that God will spare our lives.”

  The guards tied Laura down to the chair next to me.

  Veronica and I looked into each other’s eyes. “I’m sorry for disappointing you and giving you false hope.”

  “I’ve always had faith in you. I knew that if there was anyone out there who could help me, it would be you.” Veronica gave me a slight smile behind her tears.

  “I’m going to die in a Michael Kors dress…My life is complete,” Laura said.

  “I’m sure you don’t mean that,” Veronica responded.

  “Well, it was one of the things to do on my bucket list.”

  “I’ve never heard of someone making a bucket list before they graduated high school,” I commented.

  “You do when you have HIV and you might die before you turn thirty.”

  The guards dragged Vincent from the cages and strapped him into the chair next to Laura.

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” I said.

  “At least I got to think about and examine what I want out of life.”

  “I love you, Laura,” Vincent announced.

  Everyone sat quietly for a moment and listened to the roar of the audience.

  “Please don’t say that,” Laura responded.

  “Why? It’s OK if you don’t feel the same way. I was hoping that one day you would, but now that day will never come.”

  The guards brought Collins out of the cages and tied him into the last chair next to Vincent.

  “It was nice knowing you all,” Collins said. “I guess it’s time for us to go our separate ways.”

  “No, it’s not our last time seeing each other. I believe that we’ll see each other in heaven,” Veronica said.

  The stage lights dimmed, and Jock Jams’ “Are You Ready for This” began to play over the s
peakers. It was so dark without the stage lights, I couldn’t see anything. All of a sudden, a stage light beamed brightly on the stage floor and revealed Kenneth Quinton, wearing a sleek black suit with white pinstripes over a white button-down shirt and glittery red tie. As he danced to the music, the crowd cheered him on, and the guards from backstage joined in as part of Kenneth’s opening number. Watching the muscly guards perform cheerleading moves was rather amusing, but I was in no mood to laugh. I couldn’t tell what kind of dance Kenneth was doing. It seemed like a varietal mix of popular dance moves throughout time blended together to form something that just looked like Kenneth gloating. At the end of the dance, the guards stacked on top of each other to form a flight of stairs that Kenneth climbed. He reached the top of the stairs during the last note of the song.

  “Welcome, Walnut Cherryville citizens,” Kenneth announced from the stair top. “I only have one question for you…Are you ready for the first-ever, live-studio-audience Chair Trials event?”

  The crowd cheered and applauded like they were at a rock concert.

  “Congratulations to all those who were accepted to participate in the audience tonight,” Kenneth said as he walked down the staircase. Once he reached the bottom, the guards left the stage. “For those of you who are watching from the glass house, I’m sorry you couldn’t make it, but I have good news for you. Chair Trials is going to be filmed before a live-studio audience for five consecutive days!”

  The crowd roared.

  “Yes, I knew you’d be excited. To be a part of the audience next time, please use ComCon to apply, and if you’re accepted, you will receive an email containing your ticket to the live show. Tonight will be an exciting night that’s full of surprises…This is no ordinary Chair Trials…This week will be an extraordinary Chair Trials!”

  The crowd went wild.

  “Can you feel the heat coming off this electric chair?”

  “Yeah,” the audience cheered.

  “Now, tonight we’re going to get to know our contestants and, as usual, vote for one to be killed in the electric chair, but tomorrow we’re going to get a little more creative. We’re going to have the contestants physically and mentally compete against each other through a series of games until there is only one contestant left. Instead of the electric chair, the last contestant will receive an old-fashioned community stoning where the live audience gets to participate!”

  The audience roared with excitement.

  “I mean, what better says that we have a strong sense of community than a good, old-fashioned stoning?”

  Everyone clapped.

  “Those that abandon my family, our family, this community, get sacrificed!”

  “Kill them dead,” the audience shouted.

  “These people have wronged us,” Kenneth preached as the spotlight shone on the five contestants. “They abandoned the family. They slapped us across the face and said ‘hey, I don’t care about you!’, and they used their trickery to escape right under our noses! How do you all feel about that?”

  “Kill them dead!”

  “What should we do to them?”

  “Kill them dead!”

  “Then let’s begin. Contestant number one, Veronica from food services, was charged with abandonment. Veronica, how long have you been with us?”

  Veronica’s eyes were glossy as she gazed out into the seemingly quiet audience. She looked nervous. “Cinco o seis años.”

  “I’m sorry, Veronica, but not everyone can understand you. I know you know English,” Kenneth replied.

  Veronica started crying and now couldn’t formulate words in either English or Spanish.

  “Come on, we don’t have all day. Are you going to answer the question or what?”

  Veronica shook her head but remained speechless.

  “So you like waterworks? Guards, bring out the tank!”

  The guards rolled in a glass tank that was large enough to have a pool party with at least six people. The tank was filled with water about a third of the way up. Two guards lifted Veronica’s chair into the tank while another guard brought in a hose. The waterline reached Veronica’s knees, and when they turned the hose on, it quickly rose.

  “I told you that this Chair Trials would be full of surprises,” Kenneth said. “Once you answer all my questions, we’ll turn the water off, otherwise you’ll drown. It’s as simple as that. How long have you been with us?”

  “Enough, stop torturing her,” I blurted out. “Turn the water off!”

  “Oh, don’t worry, Johnny,” Kenneth replied. “You’ll get yours.”

  “Five or six years,” Veronica said, forcing words out through her tears.

  “See, that wasn’t so hard. After all this community has done for you, why did you choose to abandon it?”

  “You’re a monster.”

  “I can make this water flow faster if you want. Now answer the question without making remarks about your future governor.”

  “What’s the point? I told you my answer, and it’s not good enough for you.”

  “Sounds like our first contestant is a little hostile,” Kenneth joked, and the audience laughed. “That just means it’s time to push the bar on the fun-o-meter! This is something new we added to Chair Trials that will allow the live audience to decide the fate of our contestants. Here’s how it works: I will ask you a question with multiple-choice answers, and the live audience will respond using the keypads behind the chairs in front of their seats. Now, for the question: what should we add to Veronica’s tank of water? A: Ice, B: Snakes, C: Sewage, or D: Cow’s blood. Vote on your keypads now!”

  “Sixty seconds,” a robotic woman’s voice announced through the speakers. As the countdown clock ticked, she announced how many seconds remained every ten seconds. It seemed like the votes were being cast through a computer system that collected them in an offstage room. “You have selected…Cow’s Blood.”

  The water stopped flowing, but the hose still remained connected to the tank. About a minute later, the tank started filling up with cow’s blood. Veronica peered down at the bloody water before taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. She mumbled something to herself.

  “What are you saying, Veronica?” Kenneth asked.

  “A prayer,” she answered.

  “That’s silly to think that God will help you.”

  “There’s nothing silly about God protecting his children. You may have stolen my life, ruined my family, and forced me to work for you, but I have one very important thing that you don’t have…faith.” The bloody water approached Veronica’s shoulders. Even though she was almost completely submerged, she didn’t seem frightened anymore.

  “Don’t be silly, child! If I wanted to drown you, there is nothing that God could do to stop me.”

  “God can do everything and anything he wants, and if he chooses not to save me, then that must mean he has other plans for me.”

  “Do you think you’re going to heaven?” Kenneth asked as the water reached her chin.

  Veronica tilted her head back and enjoyed her last few breaths of air. Right before her head became completely submerged, she held her breath and closed her eyes.

  Watching Veronica drown and knowing that there was nothing I could do to save her was agonizing. My entire body was roped to the chair so tightly that turning my head was the widest range of movement I could make. I imagined bashing the glass in, but in my current situation that was not possible. I couldn’t believe Kenneth was taking it this far. This was insane…The government must have been really angry with us.

  “If you kill her now, what’s the fun in that? It’s too easy.” I said. My friends turned their heads to give me confusing looks.

  “What are you doing?” Laura whispered. “Don’t promote him to torture her more than he already has!”

  “I like the way you think, Johnny,” Kenneth responded. “You’re right; we should have more fun together before you leave.” A guard handed Kenneth a baseball bat, and he took positi
on to swing at the tank. After three practice tries and Veronica turning pale, Kenneth swung at the tank and broke the glass.

  Veronica gasped for air as she swung her hair out of her face. The water rushed off the stage and flooded the audience, who screamed and panicked like Godzilla was crushing their town.

  Godzilla magically appearing and crushing Walnut Cherryville would be a miracle. He could probably crush the whole thing with just one stomp.

  Many of the women in the first five rows squatted on their seats to prevent getting cow’s blood on their shoes.

  What if they had picked snakes? Was Kenneth going to let snakes roam around the audience?

  The audience now seemed more shocked than excited.

  “Oh, come on,” Kenneth said to the audience. “Don’t be such sourpusses! It’s just a little water. Ladies, put your feet on the floor!”

  The ladies in the first five rows hesitated before they slowly dropped their feet on the floor.

  “Now we can continue with eager contestant number two, Johnny from laundry services, who was also charged with abandonment.”

  “Excuse me, how could we be charged with abandonment if we didn’t go to court?” I asked.

  “I ask the questions…not you!”

  “I’m just curious as to why we didn’t go to court before we came here.”

  “It doesn’t always work like that. If you were caught abandoning the village, I could kill you whenever I want without a trial.”

  “Then why don’t you,” I asked.

  “Are you sure you want to egg me on this way?”

  “Why do you have to play with your food before you eat it?”

  “For the entertainment, of course; people love reality television.”

  “Who says?”

  “All of them,” Kenneth replied as he pointed to the audience. “They all applied willingly to watch you suffer because they feel strongly that you should pay for what you’ve done to them.”

  “And what have I ‘done to them’ to make them feel this way?”

  “Abandoning Walnut Cherryville is like running away from your family. We gave you everything, and you are still ungrateful. Would you bite the hand that gives you bread? All that we asked was that you participate in our community. Did you realize that when you don’t work for a day, a friend has to work double shifts to pick up the slack? That’s what you’re doing to them. You don’t care about anyone else but yourself. I welcomed you into my home—”