They Came After Me Read online

  They Came After Me

  C. S. ALLEN

  Copyright © 2019 Clinton S. Allen

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the copyright holder, except quotations used in a review.

  To anyone who likes B-rated movies

  Chapter One

  In 1997, I was going to college at Leraby College in Maine, studying civil engineering with a minor in history. I’d always wanted to be a builder of sorts when I was younger. I would always be with my dad in our garage, helping him build all kinds of things. Most of the time my dad would give me the tools, and he’d ask me to build something like a wooden box or put together a table that was bought from a hardware store. I would spend hours in the garage learning how to put something together and trying to read the directions. In high school, I signed up for woodshop and excelled in that program. I would constantly try to build something bigger and better because it was fun, and it pushed the limits of my thinking.

  When it was time to graduate high school, I already knew what I wanted to do in life and that was building. I wanted to build something that I could say, “I built that.” When I was accepted to a four-year college and could further my education, I was excited. I met a couple of students who were just like me in the realm of design and engineering during the time I was at college. One of them was Mike Sevey, who was from Indiana. Mike was a computer guy who was funny and would help anyone if they needed it in class. Mike and I had similar backgrounds when it came to our fathers teaching us things. Mike’s dad would have computer parts lying around in his man cave, and when Mike would venture into the room, his dad would put him to work. Mike ended up dating a girl named Emma Wellington, who eventually became my friend as well. Emma was from Maine and was the type of girl who was so friendly that you would swear she was flirting with you. If she had been pretty, I would have given Mike a run for his money. Olivia Heart and Steve Maynard were absolutely two of the craziest people I have ever met. I was introduced to them by the beginning of my sophomore year of college. Olivia and Steve sat down beside me in one of my new classes for that year and drove me nuts. They were both alpha-type personalities and constantly pushed each other’s limits and mine. Olivia tried to outdo Steve by telling him his mistakes in class, and Steve tried to outdo Olivia by being annoying.

  A week before summer break, all four of us got together and planned to go to a cabin on a lake up north in Maine. Steve’s grandparents owned an old cabin that was about seventy-five years old, and we were welcome to use it. What we all didn’t know was that it was never kept up, so we were in for a surprise when we got there. Steve told us that we were going to go to the cabin in his car. He wanted us to pile into his 1974 station wagon that was all restored. Steve had replaced the old engine with a brand new one that looked like you could eat off it. He had chrome and stainless steel everywhere in that thing. He was proud of it and had to show everyone who came around him how loud his engine was. The interior was all redone, thank God. The old seats were vinyl and an ugly pea green. When you sat on the front seat in the summertime, you burned your ass. If you had shorts on, you burned your legs much worse!

  I didn’t like the idea of going in just one car to the cabin. If I wanted to go, I could just leave in my vehicle. But Steve was pretty good at selling his car to all of us. He told us that he knew where the cabin was, he had plenty of room for us to party in before we got to the lake, and he had a great sound system. Plus, he’d be spending money on gas instead of us, we would only spend two days and one night, and he would buy us pizza on the way since it took two hours to get to the cabin. That was a pretty good sell, so we all agreed to use his car to go.

  I called my parents at home in Seatown [pe1]to let them know what my plans were, and that I would see them a little bit later. My parents didn’t seem to mind since I think that they liked me being gone. They were always pushing me to go and have fun away from the house, because once college was over, it was no more fun time.

  The morning that we were all to meet up was exciting. The sun was out, and the smell of summer was just getting started. Steve pulled up to my building with his old car, and the music was thumping like a dance club. No one else was with him, so I was the first to get picked up. Steve opened his car door and jumped out with the music blaring even louder. “Come on, let’s go, man!” Steve yelled, as he waved me to his car.

  It was exciting, finally being free of doing anything from school and off to have fun at a cabin. I quickly got into the front of Steve’s car with my backpack and sat down. Just as I reached to close the car door, Steve took off like a race car. It threw me back, and the door closed on its own. The girls and Mike were on the other side of my building, waiting for us out front of their dorm. Steve was acting like a wild man just released from prison; the music was blasting, he was speeding around the building and then slamming on the brakes in front of our friends. I’m not sure if it was all for show, or Steve was trying to kill me.

  Steve then jumped halfway out of the car without putting the car in park and yelled, “Hey guys, let’s go!” Before anyone could get in the car, Steve’s car started rolling forward, and Steve had to quickly jump back inside to press on the brake. I busted a gut laughing while the rest of our gang piled in the back. I turned the music down while Steve put his car in park. While everyone in the back was getting situated, I turned around and asked how everyone was doing.

  “I brought a roll of toilet paper, guys; I hope that it’s enough.” Emma stated.

  “If it’s not, you all will have to use tree bark to wipe your asses,” Steve replied.

  Mike was sitting next to Emma and said, “That’s my girl right there, always thinking of others,” he said, as he quickly turned and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

  “You’re so gay, Mike,” replied Steve.

  “Maybe if you were as nice as Mike, Steve, then you would probably get laid more often,” stated Olivia.

  Steve shook his head and then went down an imaginary checklist for us to answer to. “I have food in the red and white cooler for all of us to have tonight, Mike has the utensils and paper plates, Olive Oil has CDs and the CD player, Emma has the toilet paper and first aid kit for whatever reason, and you, William, have the mixed bag of chocolate candy. Everyone has what they’re supposed to have, right?” We all agreed and nodded. Steve then yelled, “Let’s get the hell out of here then!” Again, Steve took off like a maniac, tossing all of us back in our seats. I quickly put on my seatbelt out of fear, and I heard a few clicking of seat belts behind me.

  As we drove down the road with the music back up to ear-piercing level, everyone seemed to be having a good time. Steve was shouting about all the money he had sunk into his old car and how awesome it sounded inside and out to me. Emma and Mike looked to be in love, holding hands and talking about whatever. Olivia chimed in with us in the front whenever she could.

  About an hour into the drive, Steve turned down the music. “Did anyone bring drinks?” Steve asked. No one replied. “Well, there ya go, I saved the day again. There’s a store coming up, so William will be buying the drinks, and I gotta go water the trees.”

  I was about to make a comment, but Steve looked over at me and smiled, while cranking the music back up. I just grinned and shook my head.

  When we pulled over to the convenience store, I asked Steve if anyone had brought charcoal or even a grill. “Shit, no one thought of that,” Steve replied. “Hey guys, we need to get charcoal and maybe a grill if the store sells them. Can we all pitch in to get this stuff?” Steve asked us.

  “You�
�re so dumb, Steve,” Olivia replied.

  Steve then turned around and looked at Olivia and replied, “Just get your money out and help before I leave you on the side of the road, punk.” Steve walked around to the side of the store to go water the trees while the rest of us went inside. I did a bee line straight for the coolers to buy the drinks while the others went looking for the grill and charcoal. I ended up grabbing water, sodas, and a family size bag of chips.

  On my way over to the register, Steve came up from behind me and slapped me on the ass while my hands were full. “Good game, Will!” Steve said loudly, as I almost dropped everything on the floor.

  “Damn, Steve, you scared the shit out me!” I yelled. Steve went off to join the others while I made it to the register. As I paid for everything that I had picked up, the rest of the bunch was on their way to check out with the charcoal and had found a small portable grill. Emma had found an inflatable beach ball, and Olivia found a board game for all of us to play.

  “What did you find there, Olive Oil, a game to play?” Steve asked.

  “Yep, I found an adult board game, looks to be fun,” Olivia replied.

  Steve then looked at Olivia in all seriousness and said, “You do know that this game is about spinning a little arrow on a game card and having sex, right? I mean, if you spin it and the arrow shows to stick a certain male body part into a certain orifice of the opposite sex, I’ll be looking for you.”

  “Shut the hell up, Steve, you’re so immature for your age. Go sit in that stupid-looking car of yours and wait for the grownups to come out,” Olivia said sarcastically. We all looked at Steve and laughed and made slight remarks.

  Steve then just looked at us standing in line and said, “Okay, I’ll go, but remember I have the car,” while waving his car keys around while walking out.

  “That bastard didn’t give us any money for the grill, did he?” Emma asked.

  When we walked out of the store, Steve had the hood up on his car and was tinkering around with the engine while it was running. “What’s up, Steve? Anything wrong with the car?” I asked, while walking to the front of it.

  “Nope, I’m just tuning it up a bit and looking at my new performance computer chip,” Steve replied.

  “You got one of those computer chips that increases your horsepower, Steve?” Mike asked, while putting groceries in the back of the car.

  “Damn right, man, this V8 engine is going from a five-point-oh engine to a five-point-two. Listen to this bad boy,” Steve stated, while reaching over the engine to make it roar louder.

  I think we all thought the same thing, as we looked at each other, while Steve was playing with his car. I looked over at Emma and Mike and they were grinning and Emma rolled her eyes back. Olivia, who was standing next to Steve, just shook her head as if to say what we were thinking.

  After we put everything in the car and sat down, Steve shut the hood and jumped into the driver’s seat excitedly. “We ready to roll?” Steve yelled, as he looked in the rearview mirror. We all nodded.

  Hey, that reminds me, you said inside the store, ‘remember I got the car’ and showed us your keys. What if you didn’t have your keys?” Olivia asked Steve. “I got a spare under my floor mat just for that occasion. Now, let’s get the flock outta here!” Steve yelled. “Don’t get us all killed, hot rod,” Olivia stated as she reached to turn on the radio.

  It took us about twenty more minutes to finally find the right road to the cabin. We turned down an old dirt road that looked like it hadn’t been traveled on in years. It was washed out in a lot of areas and was a bumpy ride to say the least. Steve was trying his best not to hit any major potholes, but he ended up having to hit one. “Shit!” Steve yelled, as we bounced up out of it.

  I felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. Trees, shrubs, plants of all kinds, birds flying about were seen as we traveled down the road. In some areas of the woods, the sun peaked through, making sunbeams of light hit the ground. I had a feeling of peacefulness as I looked out the window.

  “Are we there yet, Steve?” Emma asked. “My neck is about to break if we keep zigzagging and dropping into holes like we have.”

  “Hell if I know where we are. All I know is that the cabin is down this road from what my grandmother said,” Steve replied.

  “I have to pee really bad so I hope we’re close,” Olivia stated.

  “Just throw your dick out the window and go, Olive,” Steve sarcastically said.

  Olivia grinned and then shoved Steve and said, “And you have a pussy!”

  We all laughed a bit until we heard and felt a crunch under the car. We all made a comment at the same time, wondering what that noise was, and we looked at each other.

  Steve stopped the car and got out to look under the vehicle. “Fuck! I just rolled over a rock that hit my damn oil pan!” Steve yelled.

  “Is it leaking or just dented?” Mike yelled out the window.

  “It looks like a nice big dent!” Steve angrily yelled back.

  “That’s all right then. You can replace that pan later; it won’t hurt anything,” Mike stated.

  Steve got back into the car red-faced and slammed his car door. We kept quiet for about ten minutes until we pulled up to an old log cabin.

  “Is this it, Steve?” Olivia asked.

  “Yeah, this is it from what I was told. My grandmother said that the road stops at the cabin, and there are no other houses on the road.” Steve parked the car in front of the cabin and turned off the engine.

  “This looks like some scary looking cabin. How old is this cabin again, Steve?” Emma asked, as we all stayed in the car, looking at it.

  “I second that shit,” I said to Emma.

  “I think the last time my grandparents used this place was about three years ago from what I was told.”

  “Yeah? I seriously doubt that, Steve. There are small trees growing through parts of that old-ass porch. Let’s go get a hotel or stay someplace else. This place gives me the creeps,” Olivia stated.

  “Who’s the pussy now, Olive?” Steve commented.

  Mike opened his door and got out. “Let’s just go look around and find the lake that’s supposed to be out here,” he stated.

  All of us got out of the car and started to walk around the area together. The cabin was really old looking. Moss, dirt, cobwebs, spiderwebs, bird droppings, birds’ nests, a cracked chimney, a cracked front window, tree leaves, and pine needles littered the roof and front porch. The cabin had to have been vacant for many years or just neglected when it was used. I walked toward the front door with Steve while Olivia, Mike, and Emma passed by to look around the back.

  “You got a key to the door, right?” I asked Steve.

  “I believe I do, it’s under the front doormat,” Steve replied, while racing up the two steps to the door. Steve and I looked at the bottom of the door, and there wasn’t a doormat anywhere to be found. “Oh shit,” Steve said, while looking around the porch.

  “Oh, shit is right,” I replied. “Why don’t you call your grandmother and ask her if there’s any other place that a key could be,” I said to Steve.

  “If the wind blew away the mat, then maybe the key slid off the porch somewhere. Take a look over there on the left, and I’ll look around over here on the right side,” Steve replied.

  I went looking around the side of the porch, sifting through leaves and an old water hose. “Nothing over here that I can find, Steve,” I stated.

  “I can’t find anything over here either for Christ sakes!” Steve responded angrily.

  “Well, maybe one of these windows might be unlocked,” I stated.

  “Shit, good idea. Let’s check around the cabin together,” Steve responded.

  We walked together to one side of the cabin, and none of the windows were unlocked. As we walked to the back side, we could see a part of the lake about ninety to hundred feet away. Some of the brush and trees were hiding the nice view. “Well, what do you all think so far?” Steve asked
everyone in the back.

  “I can’t get a signal on my phone,” Emma said.

  “This place is old as hell, Steve, and even smells old,” Mike stated.

  “Yeah, and it has a crappy view of the lake; I thought you said it was on the lake,” Olivia replied.

  “It is a nice view if you clear the brush and bushes out of the way. You should have seen my grandparents’ pictures of this place; it was beautiful.”

  “When, in the 1950s?” Olivia asked.

  “Well, if you don’t like that, then you won’t like that we can’t get in because the door key is missing,” I stated.

  “Well shit, I may have to break the door down,” Steve replied. “We’re not going back home after coming all this way.” The door was weathered and dry rotted quite a bit. After turning the doorknob, Steve shoved his shoulder into the door, and the doorjamb broke free. “Ta daa! The hero fixed the problem!” Steve stated, while pointing at the inside of the cabin.

  “Ta daa! The idiot would have had a key to open the door!” Olivia replied, as she walked past Steve to go into the cabin. We all got a good laugh as Steve invited the rest of us in.

  The inside of the cabin smelled like old, wet, musty wood[pe2]. There were cobwebs at every corner of the cabin. Dust was on everything, and the furniture was probably from the 1970s. The hardwood floor seemed to have had its better days, but now it looked like it was rotting. I looked up at the ceiling, and there was some mold and water ring marks. There was definitely a lot of neglect going on in the cabin. Even though it was about one o’clock in the afternoon, it looked like it was much later inside the place.

  “Let’s open some of the curtains and get some light in this place, guys,” Emma said, while walking over to a window.

  “By any chance, did any of us think to bring a flashlight for when it gets dark?” I asked. I then looked over to Steve, and he shook his head no.

  “I have a lighter for our grill; maybe we can find some candles in the kitchen drawers,” Olivia stated.