Devils that prey, p.1
Devils That Prey, page 1
Devils That Prey
Table of Contents
Title Page
Devils That Prey
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
About The Author
Devils That Prey
A Novel
By
David Washburn
ISBN (TRADE PAPERBACK): 979-8-9866624-0-4
ISBN (eBook): 979-8-9866624-1-1
Devils That Prey
© 2022 by David Washburn
All Rights Reserved
Concept Photography by David Washburn
Cover Design by Usama Zaheen
Edited by Kaylynn Wurzelbacher
THIS STORY IS A WORK of fiction and inspired by an overactive imagination (and let’s be honest, probably anxiety) while driving home from Myrtle Beach, where my family and I stopped to get gas and use the restroom at a very suspicious, outdated, and downright grimy gas station in South Carolina, miles from the highway. The little corners of America that time leaves behind are the inspiration for this novel.
PUBLISHED BY BURN WARD Publishing
INSTAGRAM: @WASHBURNWRITES
Email: DavidWritesStories@gmail.com
Published in the United States of America.
First Edition
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1
⟡
Everyone sits under the warm fluorescent lights as the buzzing from the burning-out bulbs hum a chorus along with the tension in the air. The people in the room sit in silence, darting their eyes to the salt-and-pepper-haired man sitting at the head of a wooden picnic table, eating, as they wait for him to maybe speak. There are at least two dozen people seated at several cafeteria style picnic tables, feasting on meat with their bare hands like chicken wings. No one is speaking, just the sound of chewing and the lights humming.
The tension is thick and some sit, picking at their food with looks of disappointment plastered onto their faces. Others sit there eating their food quickly, as if there may be a prize for the first to finish their food. The man at the head of the table sits stoically, anticipating someone to speak. He shoots glances around the room as if he is challenging someone, anyone, to address the elephant in the room.
One gentleman sitting at a table near him, wearing a red flannel button-up with the sleeves torn off, stares at him, chewing intently as he sticks his index finger and then his thumb into his mouth before wiping it on the front of his shirt. He seems to be enjoying his meal quite a bit as he chases the taste with a big drink from his glass. He places the glass on the table and begins to chuckle to himself. Not loud, but enough to get everyone’s attention as it breaks the uncomfortable silence.
“Something funny?” the man at the head of the table questions, leaning back in his seat with his belly full, eager for the response.
“Yeah. I’m amused. We’ve been doin’ this for a few years now... We’ve done everything you said, we’ve let you lead the way, and he still ain’t here. If it ain’t one excuse, it’s another. When’s he comin’?” the man challenges, as he sits upright, wiping the grease from his mouth and beard.
“I thought you had faith brother, you do have... faith, don’t cha’?” he fires back quickly.
“Now, I’m not tryin’ to question you. I’m just questioning the things you got us doing. You say he is supposed to come, and we just wanna meet him is all.”
The man sits quietly, constructing his response carefully. “I understand. Tonight just wasn’t the night. Something was off. Something has to be off. He should be here. We’re getting closer though, I can feel it.”
“Maybe he just ain’t comin’, maybe it’s us,” the man says, with a ‘matter-of-fact’ tone in his voice.
The man, who seems to be the leader, looks around at the others to make sure that everyone is paying attention. “Just trust me. Follow me, don’t let your faith waver. We’ll keep trying,” he states confidently.
The man leans back and picks the meat out of his teeth with the fingernail on his pinky as he lets the conversation marinate. The others in the room continue to finish their meals and some sit there, awkwardly, finished. No one wants to be the first one to get up. The man sitting at the head of the table scans the room and takes charge by standing first and taking his plate and cup to the sink area. He walks past some of the others who watch him walk toward the sink.
He walks past a pool table. As he nears the kitchen area, he passes an island countertop that has a young blonde girl, lying on a clear, plastic paint sheet. She lies there, crystal-blue eyes wide open, mascara streaks run down her face with bruising and swelling as well. Everyone begins to stand and gather their things and the moment seems to have passed and the tension lets up.
Eight months later...
Busy hands work hurriedly, neatly folding clothes and arranging them meticulously into a gym bag on the bed. A cute, blonde girl, Olivia Rose, stands at the foot of her bed. “... And when is Mike supposed to get here, you said?” she asks.
Her boyfriend Nathan sits in an office chair, spinning slowly, as he tosses a small, colorful foam football into the air, spinning it and catching it repeatedly. “He texted me a little bit ago, on his way now. He’s walking across campus,” he replies with boredom weighing down his voice.
“I hope he takes his time,” she says, pausing as she stands there scratching her forehead, looking around the room unsure what to do next. “Ugh! And I still need to do my hair and makeup,” she hangs her head.
Nathan tosses the football at her, hitting her butt. “Babe. You just need to relax. I think you’re stressing out way more about going home than you were about school.”
Olivia looks up with a grin at Nathan. She picks up the football and tosses it back at him. “Don’t you have anything you need to be doing?”
Nathan smacks the ball away and hops out the chair quickly and scoops Olivia off of her feet. “I can think of one thing I could be doing,” he says playfully as he plants her onto the bed, leaning over her.
Olivia giggles and wraps her arms around Nathan’s neck and reaches her face close to his. “Oh yeah? What’s that?” she asks with a smile.
He takes a deep breath and with his eyes locked on her crystal blue eyes, he looks at her lips and back into her eyes. “You,” he replies as he leans in for a kiss.
Olivia grabs Nathan’s face as they make out on the bed. He climbs on top of her and his hands are all over her fit body as they start getting really into it. Her hands explore his back and shoulders as they kiss passionately. Nathan pulls away and takes his shirt off and tosses it across the dorm. Olivia sits up and pulls off her gray tank top. They make out passionately, giving into the moment as their heart rates increase more with each kiss. As Nathan begins to pull the bra strap down her shoulder, kissing her collarbone, there is a knock at the door.
Nathan sits up, onto his knees with his eyes closed and a sigh. Olivia sits upright and fixes her bra strap while adjusting herself and smiling. The knocking continues with a playful musical tapping.
“You better get that,” Olivia says with a playful smile as she puts her tank top back on.
Nathan pulls Olivia close to him. “You sure we can’t just make him wait out there?”
Olivia smiles big while she looks into his eyes. She kisses him really softly on the lips and pushes him away. “No, we can’t.”
Nathan looks at her annoyed for a second before he laughs, leans down and kisses her on the lips once more. “One second!” Nathan calls out. The knocking stops and Nathan jumps out of bed and grabs his shirt off of the office chair and he puts it on as he walks to the door.
He opens the door and is greeted cheerfully by a dark-haired man with a short, well-manicured beard, graphic t-shirt, and a bulging backpack. “What’s up my dude?” Nathan jeers as their hands smack and he pulls the man in close, shoulder-to-shoulder, for a bro-hug.
“Nothing much man. Ready to hit the road. How’s it going? How are you guys doing?” he asks.
“Great, come in man,” Nathan insists as he steps aside.
The man sees Olivia standing beside the bed. She runs over to him. “Mike!” she says as he puts his bag down and the two hug tightly. “Gosh I’ve missed you. What’s up?” she asks with a spark of excitement.
“I’ve missed you guys too,” Mike says, trying to match her energy. “Man, school has been... Something else, you know, classes, lectures, essays, no time to do anything, then you do it all again for a different class.” He leans his head way back, looking at the ceiling and lets out a groan.
“It’s crazy to think... this is just the first semester,” Nathan says, followed by a pause, “at South Carolina State,” he jests in a dramatic movie trailer voice.
Mike snickers, “For sure, for sure... Hey, where’s Kris at? I thought I was holding you guys up.”
“I imagine he is on his way and will be here any minute,
“Yeah, he mentioned he had some final basketball thing with his team before the break,” Nathan says.
Mike nods his head and begins to pace around the dorm. “Cool, cool.” Mike grabs a photo of Olivia and Nathan that sits on her bedside in a plain white frame and he studies it. Nathan looks to have just caught her while she ran into his arms and her feet are off of the ground with the two of them smiling at each other in this candid shot. “Are you guys staying with your parents or somewhere else?”
Nathan darts a glance to Olivia. “I think we’re staying at Liv’s place,” he says, like he is tiptoeing around the answer, waiting to be corrected.
She looks at Nathan with a smile and pauses. “...Yeah, if my parents are cool with it, I mean, we’re adults and all, so...” Olivia replies.
Nathan smirks at Olivia with a sense of success.
“Awesome. I am gonna stay with a friend who just got a place for a bit. Visit my parents at some point,” Mike replies.
Nathan walks to the refrigerator and grabs a bottle of beer. He looks at Mike and offers it to him while he twists off the cap to the other one. “Beer?”
“Nah, I’m good dude,” Mike replies.
Nathan stares at Mike in disbelief. “Sober? ...Cool,” he remarks. He then twists the cap off on the second bottle and takes a big swig from one.
“No, Nate. Come on, no pregaming!” Olivia shouts.
Nathan wipes the beer from his lip with the back of his hand and tosses the empty bottle into a waste basket. “What? I’m not driving.”
Olivia stares at him like a dog that stole the food from the owner’s plate when they weren’t looking. “You know how you get when you pregame. Maybe you should wait.”
From outside, there is the sound of a car honking. Mike walks over to the window. “Hey!” he says, waving with excitement. “He’s here, come on,”
Nathan goes to the window and sees their friend Kris leaning against a midnight blue Dodge Challenger with his arms crossed. “Whoa! My dude got a new ride,” he says while he works on the second bottle of booze. He grabs a large duffle bag off of the floor, near the window. “Come on babe.”
Olivia zips up her gym bag and is gathering her things in a rush. ‘Ugh, I didn’t even get to do my makeup,” she says, annoyed.
Nathan kisses her on the cheek in passing, “It’s okay. You’re gonna be in the car most of the time anyway, ...Besides, you’re beautiful without it,” he assures her. He throws the bag over his shoulder and walks out the front door. “Ay Mike, hold up!” he shouts.
Olivia smiles and fixes her hair. She grabs her bag and looks around before leaving for a while. As she heads out, she grabs a maroon ball cap from the coat rack and puts it on, she pulls her ponytail through the hole in the back of it and makes sure to lock the door behind her.
As Olivia gets outside the gang is altogether tossing bags into the trunk of the car. The guys are catching up as Olivia approaches. “Wow, very nice car, Kris,” she says sincerely.
“Yeah, yeah, you like it? I just got it. My dad helped me get it. It’s a 2022 model,” Kris replies. “Let me get your bag,” he says as he takes her bag from her. He places it in the trunk with everyone else’s bags.
“Thanks,” Olivia says.
Kris arranges the bags around a spare tire and closes the trunk. The rest of the gang gets into the car, Nathan sits in the front passenger seat while Mike and Olivia sit in the back. Kris slides into the driver seat and starts the car and the engine roars as Kris looks at everyone with a side-eyed glance for approval, pressing lightly on the gas pedal to make the motor yell.
“That’s pretty sweet dude,” Nathan nods, in awe of the flashiness they get to ride around in.
Kris nods with a smirk on his face. “Yeah bro, you guys wanna see how fast this baby can move?”
Everyone is ready to hit the road. Nathan turns the music up as hip hop music and the bass thumps, rattling the frame of the car. Olivia reaches her arms around the passenger seat to put her arms around Nathan very lovingly. Mike reaches forward and massages Kris’ shoulders lightly, “Let’s get it dude!”
The car takes off with the music bumpin’ as the whole gang is together and eager to get back to their hometown to make the most of their summer break. With Olivia’s dorm in the rearview and the road home underneath them, adventure, and hopefully relaxation awaits.
The group has sped through traffic on I-26 North for close to two hours now. The lanes seem to be clogging up with other motorists and things have gone from a smooth eighty-five miles per hour to a stop-and-go fifteen.
“What’s up with the slow down?” Mike asks, as they slowly pass cars in the lane beside them.
Kris rolls down his tinted window and cranes his head out to look ahead. “I don’t know, seems to be a complete stop in the left lane though.”
“Rush hour,” Nathan remarks. “What a bitch.”
“Think we should try to take a different way?” Olivia asks.
“That’s not a bad idea, let me see what the GPS says,” Kris replies as he pulls his phone off of the dashboard and starts playing with his GPS app. “Holy shit!”
“What?” They all ask collectively.
“Says there is a wreck up ahead and the road is completely blocked off.” Kris shows his phone screen to everyone and there is a map displayed with the road they’re on and he zooms out to show that the road is red for over six miles.
Nathan sighs as he leans his head back. “Fuuuuck that, let’s get off at the next exit.”
“Are you all good with that?” Kris asks everyone.
Olivia and Mike look at each other with affirmation. “Yeah, we can use a bit more scenery,” Olivia says cheerfully.
“Alright then, looks like we’re getting off at,” Kris squints his eyes to see the exit sign up ahead. “State Route 49 North, cool, let’s roll,”
“Awesome. I hate sitting in traffic,” Mike snaps.
“For sure, dude,” Nathan adds.
Kris looks at his phone, “Looks like this is going to add about an hour to our drive though,”
“I’m in no hurry,” Olivia responds.
“Alright then. The scenic route is fine by me,”
Kris takes the exit and they are back to cruisin’ under the summer sunshine and humidity. Country roads and rich, green foliage make up a lot of the scenery. The further they get from the highway, the older the houses seem to look. The more fields they see, the fewer cars there are. Columbia feels like a different world from this part of South Carolina.
2
⟡
Olivia sits in the back, quiet, as she admires the beauty of the country, away from the campus, the fancy buildings, the noise, and busy day-to-day routine that she has adapted to. She sits there, tugging at a frayed string on her jean shorts, watching fields and trees zip by. Olivia finds herself lost as she stares at the country green, listening to the soundtrack of her friends laughing and catching up. Farmland and mostly older homes make up the landscape with the occasional veggie stand or aged storefront that isn’t too appealing from the road. Large, hand-painted signs are fixed onto the roadsides advertising fresh vegetables, grass-fed meats, and the less frequent sign that promises salvation.
Her thoughts of being home put an involuntary smile on her face. Nathan is going to be there with her family and everyone she loves. She spaces out, daydreaming of dinner at the table together and enjoying her life. Her younger sister beside her, elated that she is home for the summer. Her mother, at the opposite end of her father, just happy to have the whole family together again. She is sitting across the table from Nathan, admiring his handsomeness as he makes jokes with her dad, probably about sports. He looks over at her at the end of his laughter and the daydream is swept away quickly, completely jarred.
“Yeah! Let’s see how fast this baby can really go!” Kris howls as he swerves wildly into the oncoming lane to go around a small sedan. Kris whips through the minimal traffic, crossing over the yellow lines on the road with no turn signals and reckless abandon. The engine screams as his lead foot sleeps on the gas pedal.
