Feud — Flavor Sterlot

Another Twisted Short Tale

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A shotgun blast broke the stillness of the dusty July morning. Echoes of the noise drifted back from across the valley while a brief puff of white smoke arose from a clump of saw greenbrier before disappearing.

Standing on the gravel road, Tilda Houser looked over in shock before she finally collapsed to the ground, holding her side. A moment before, she was jogging on an old road near her house. Now, her efforts to stop the bleeding were in vain since half of her side lay splattered across the road from the buckshot.

The vegetation parted as Noah Smith emerged with a cocky grin. As he ambled toward the road, he broke open his double-barreled shotgun, which flicked out the empty cartridges. The gloves he wore made sure his fingerprints remained undetected from the spent cartridges. When he reached his victim, he noticed one earbud she wore lay on the ground next to her. He crouched down next to her and picked up the earbud which he tossed over his shoulder. The chewing tobacco juice streamed from his lips as he spit over the groaning woman.

“Said I’d get you for what you did to Adam. You demons aren’t taking over this part of the world, no siree! Just like the old days, my grandad’s old shooter works just fine on filthy spawns.”

The man gave her a smirk with his thin lips while he stood and inserted one fresh cartridge after another into the shotgun. He closed the gun with a snap, then rested the weapon between his underarm and his forearm. The killer watch impassively as the woman in the road rolled over with a convulsive movement to stare up at him.

“That lesbo bitch of yours is next — I’ll finish it,” Noah spat another stream of juice, then continued. “My papa like to say the devil loves screams before he takes ’em to hell!”

Tilda grinned unexpectantly as she looked to her left. The dying woman’s smirk caused the man holding the shotgun to feel a cold sweat in spite of himself.

“She’s protected. I — I’ve made sure! Goddess and a Horned God watch over us. You’ll see him soon enough!”

Tilda looked over at the empty tree line in the distance. Noah glanced over, half expecting to see someone standing there. He spit over the woman again in disgust.

“Just like a devil’s spawn to blaspheme like that when I’m doing right.” Noah sneered as he patted his gun. “I don’t see your weirdo friends helping you now! I’ll get your Abbie the same way.”

“You’re fucked, you can’t touch her, you damned creep — you’ll die while she watches.” Tilda lashed out, then coughed.

“He promised!”

She slowly weakened as her blood bubbled from the open wounds in her chest. For the first time, Noah noticed the pentacle necklace worn by the woman as it creeped along her neck with each ragged breath. It confirmed her vile nature.

“I knew it. Foul bitch, you wear the sign of ol’ Nick himself.”

Tilda glanced down as she weakly tried to pick up the blood-stained medallion. Finally, she held it with her fingers, then a relieved look fell across her face.

“You think a Wiccan is a devil worshipper? Damn, you freaks are crazy.”

Her glassy eyes stared at him; a sneer came to her lips.

“Still, I put that scumbag Adam put in the pen. I’ll let you in on a secret. He never raped me!”

The woman gave a knowing smile. Noah scowled, then spit on her chest, his tobacco juice joining the blood. He immediately regretted it since his DNA was on her now. Noah silently reassured himself.

They’ll never find the body before she became nothing but a skeleton.

“Stupid bitch. Adam told me he never touched you. I heard your lies in court. Why’d you think I killed your ass? You were dead when you smiled coming out of the courthouse.”

“No, you’re screwed now, Noah Smith,” her eyes lit up as she looked back at the tree line. “Abbie’s protected. Come to me, my horned god!”

A second later, a sudden convulsive movement shook her body, then her eyes slowly opened again. They showed Noah the dead eyes of a corpse. With a grunt of satisfaction, the killer shouldered his gun.

“Satan’s got no power here. I’ll kill your abomination and it’s done. Our family always wins over evil!”

After dragging Tilda’s body through the ditch, Noah pulled out the phone from her pocket. Then, he dumped the corpse into a vine-filled depression a dozen paces off the road. Within a few weeks, the evidence of the murder would consist of nothing more than bones and lead. Once the animals picked the body clean, there was no fear of punishment for his crime. Noah read the book and Corinthians is clear. What those women did was against natural law, no matter what the state said. Besides, the bitch had it coming for what she did to his brother.

A family always sticks together in his small town. The newly elected sheriff’s last name was Smith, so Noah gave a satisfied nod to the corpse’s concealed placement. Then, the man started walking back to his place with a long effortless stride. The only thing to worry about was the dead woman’s relatives and friends. Noah doubted they knew her jogging route. The route changed daily after Tilda suspected Noah was watching them. Abbie wouldn’t figure out she’s missing until after dark.

Noah smiled to himself. They might look around some and talk with the sheriff. The sheriff’s deputies would drive around, but not along this road. There was only Smeet’s shack was at the end of this road and the locals hated going close to the old hermit’s place. Noah remained confident nothing would come of the search for Tilda. He already had an alibi lined up with the help of his cousins.

Yes, Noah reflected as his long strides carried him along the road, which had cedar trees covering much of the hillside. Halfway back to the main road where his hidden truck waited, the killer turned off the dead woman’s phone and pitched it into a water filled culvert.

“Good luck trying to trace her phone now!” A calloused chuckle followed.

As Noah walked out of sight, a tall, thin man stepped out of the nearby tree line. Puffing on a pipe, he walked closer to the body. He wore a pair of worn overalls, a plaid shirt and a shabby straw wide-brimmed hat. When the man reached the remains of Tilda Houser, he continued to puff on his pipe, which cast a foul-smelling black smoke around him.

“I’m here!” the man said. “Just not as you expected.”

As he stood there, he nodded occasionally while he listened. His dark eyes gradually gained an amused expression. He pulled the pipe from his lips.

“Now you know, don’t you?” he chuckled. “Well, a deal is a deal. She’ll live like I said!”

His gravelly voice echoed slightly amid the stillness filling the area. With a nod, the man trudge back to the line of trees.

~~~

A week later, Noah sat in the local bar owned by a cousin. As he expected, Tilda’s disappearance remained the talk of the town. Since it was a small community, nothing much kept the rumors from reaching everyone quickly. He overheard some of the bartender’s conversation at the other end of the bar. The contents went along with his plans. After all, Noah planted rumors about the two women fighting and Tilda leaving town. Now, he suppressed a grin when he overheard the others talking about it.

Also, his cousin kept spreading the word that Noah had nothing to do with the murder since he was with two other cousins fishing out at the lake. It was the same story they told the sheriff when the fat man came by with investigators from the state capital. Noah knew cell phones can’t track down the whereabouts of people if you leave them in your truck at the dock. Thinking of the rouse made him grin briefly.

This is kind of fun!

Noah enjoyed the thrill of the hunt since he was a young man. Now, his prey waited for him across the street. His gaze went to the window. Noah adjusted his angle to align perfectly his view to the coffee shop across the street. The business showed new paint on its exterior front unlike most of the other buildings on the street. Years of migration away from the farms left the town dried up and tired looking.

Inside the other building, Noah occasionally saw a familiar woman working behind the counter. Satisfaction filled him when he noticed Abbie Houser’s worn-out expression. The woman’s round face went with her overweight body. Her blue eyes looked tired, and she kept glancing at the customers inside. There was a look of despair hidden behind her smile when a customer came to the counter.

She thinks I did it, but everyone is a suspect!

He enjoyed watching her suffer. But he didn’t see the amount of despair he hoped for. The unexpected outpouring of support from many locals surprised him as they stopped by the shop. Several of the church leaders formed search parties. Outraged by the sympathy expressed in the community, Noah found himself furious at those who joined with the devil.

Abbie and Tilda established their coffee shop when they arrived a few years back. Tilda was from the community, born and raised. She dated Adam before she took off for college. When she arrived back married to another woman, most people said nothing about it. Small towns accept people trying to grow their dying communities. Many considered the ladies nothing more than a couple of city dwellers trying to get out of city problems. The women’s business turned into a hit. He shook his head while wondering if he should have burned out Abbie and Tilda’s business from the beginning.

Of course, when Adam Smith stopped by for donuts and coffee, he tried to rekindle their relationship. The trouble started at that point. Tilda rejected him multiple times, always saying she was married to Abbie. Still, his brother continued to stalk her. The escalation started on a bright sunny Sunday when Noah walked into the shop and warned the women to leave town. Quickly, the hostility grew when Adam heard about the incident. Due to his fixation on Tilda, Adam told Noah to stay out of it. His brother truly believed he would win the woman over to his side. Noah tried to get him to see the error. He pointed out the women were part of the devil’s plan. He tried to draw his brother away from the abyss only to have Adam reject Noah’s help.

“Brother, remember the Book of Leviticus,” Noah said one day. “Both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them! Together, we must put it right.”

However, Adam refused to consider Noah’s push to eliminate the women. Instead, his obsession eventually won out. Sure, his idiot brother got drunk with some of his friends and they stopped by the women’s house. Yeah, they shouldn’t have threatened the women. One of Adam’s friends raped Tilda. Adam had nothing to do with it. Noah learned afterward that Adam passed out on the floor before the rape.

Noah believed in retribution and consequences. The actions of his friends went against the book and the law. He saw that and knew they deserved punishment. However, those women lied about his brother’s involvement. Their injustice to his brother needed correction and penance as well.

I carry divine revenge for their sins!

When he glanced across the street again, he nodded his head toward his next victim. A grin came to his face’s face when he recalled shooting Tilda. Her shocked expression replayed nightly, and the image sent tingles through him. Noah knew he’d get the same intoxicating feeling once again.

The man took another drink from his mug when he thought about his brother in prison. In his mind, it wasn’t right for the two unnatural women to be free while Adam dealt with his problems inside a cement cellblock. Noah’s car repair business suffered from the backlash of Adam’s actions. Lawyers called it a hate crime. However, Noah knew where the blame really belonged. It was right across the street.

Noah gripped the handle of his mug tighter. The whole notion really burned deep inside the man when he saw how the lawyers acted with the judge. In his mind, the trial was a farce. The entire system made Noah burn with a raging fire. Nights of meditation and analysis while reflecting on the words of the wrathful god finally convinced him to take calculated action.

Maybe I should take care of the judge after this?

A person walking into Abbie’s business interrupted Noah’s thoughts. He was a familiar figure around the outskirts of the town, but it was highly unusual for John Smeet to enter the town. While Noah watched him, he chuckled to himself. Smeet certainly wasn’t scary looking in daylight. He looked like most of the poor farmers. But no one ever saw him drive into town. Apparently, he walked for miles to get his feed for the chickens, which filled the scrabble ground outside his shack.

However, the strange recluse who lived in a rundown shack scared most of the locals. The parents made sure the children never went around his place. Smeet had no friends, and his neighbors were afraid of him. He would show up at odd times around the area, usually when something bad occurred. Some in town called him Old Scratch because of rumors about the sounds and smells around his shack.

While the thin man continued to puff on his pipe inside the store, Noah watched with growing interest. The woman’s expression went through a range of emotions while they spoke. Then, his blood went cold as both of them turned to look through her front window. Noah felt their eyes staring at him. Defiantly, he calmly lifted his mug of beer while he nodded in their direction. An icy chill went down his spine and Noah turned away from their stare.

Did Smeet see me kill Tilda?

When he looked up again, Smeet was leaving the coffee shop.