Category : Stories

Sub Category : Thriller

 The next morning I found Vada standing in the middle of my lawn. She was staring at the ground below her. As I approached,  I realized that she was staring at a green fish flopping for its life.
"Has this ever happened?"  Vada asked.
"No."  I responded.
 The fish's flopping increased in frantic speed and gurgling noises escaped its mouth. I swear I heard it say run. Vada looked up at me and I could see she had been crying.
"I've been told that my father is coming home tomorrow."
"I thought he was dead."
 She gave me that stern look again. It was as if she needed to consider if she could trust me. I was willing to do whatever it takes to prove that she could.   
"You want to see Fort Doogan? It's our most fortified base. We will be safe there."
  Vada responded with a sad smile, wiping any remaining tears from her eyes, and told me to lead the way.
  Behind the residence of the weird couple, the Doogans, lies a large hill with one side a steep cliff.  On top of the hill are a group of trees that grew into walls of a small castle like shape. It had one entrance and smaller trees inside that grew in twisted ways that created walkways to the upper level.  Vada and I enter the main room that was carpeted with even level grass. It was as if it gets regularly mowed  when it never seen a mower as far as I know. In the middle was a firepit with stumps around it like seats. In the back stands a large board with crudely drawn maps and words at the top that reads "Battle Plans".  I stood there before the board like a general about to make a speech to his troops.
"This is where Tom and I had fended off the psychic demon army of Mrs. Doogan. The witch was very powerful but because of this place, we held our ground and won the day.  You will be safe here as we plan to defeat your father."
 Vada stared blankly at me throughout the whole speech. When she was sure I was done, she spoke up.
"I need to run away."
"What?..."
 I was stunned. Could she mean to the place Tom had gone? I didn't know if I could handle another loss.
"Please, don't go!..I will protect you...I promise."
"I know you want to, but my father is reality, and he can hurt you. I don't want to leave you. So please, come with me."
 Vada's sad look pleaded to my heart. I was deeply frighten of the unknown and my mother's punishment if I were caught. However, I was sure I was in love with Vada now and I would do anything to never leave her side. So I did the dumbest thing a person trying to work up the nerve to do something could do. I chose to procrastinate.
"Ok, we will leave tomorrow night. I'll pack my necessities and meet you here."
"Good, I'll be ready."
 And Vada smiled as if all her problems were lifted off her shoulders. She definitely seemed lighter.
"Now tell me about these psychic demons."
 That night, once again l, I had no sleep. This time it was thoughts of running away that haunted me. I couldn't stop my mind from racing with thoughts of the worse happening. Situations that would be worse than me just getting punished. What if it gets worse for her? The doubt sat like weight in my stomach.
 This time when Vada saw me exit my home, she ran up to me and hugged me tightly. When she pulled away, I saw that her eyes were wide and wild. She grabbed my hand and jogged me all the way to Fort Doogan. She let me go and then paced frantically.
"My father hugged me...He fucking hugged me!"
 Vada dropped to her knees and screamed such a rage that for a brief moment I was afraid. What did this monster do to her? I felt like I did when I watched Tom's father beat his son. If only I could defeat Vada's father, free her from this pain. I went to her, and in a slow manner, I gently put my hand on her back. I felt a minor jolt run through her as I made contact. She then eased her muscles and continued to sob. After a long while, I heard her mumble something.
"What was that?"
 Vada lifted her head up and stared into my eyes. Her eyes were bloodshot and had red rings forming on the skin around each one.
"We need to leave before my mother goes to sleep."
 I was confused. If we left before our parents were asleep, it would be highly likely we would get caught. I tried to explain to her the problem. She wouldn't hear it.
"I got to be gone before my mother goes to sleep. I can't be alone with him."
 I thought about mentioning her mother still being there, but I quickly changed my mind and our escape plans. It seemed that now I had to get past my mother and out to freedom while she was still awake.
 In my room, I had been packing my things when I heard a crashing sound from the kitchen. I went out cautiously to check what's going on. I found my mother furiously taking plates out of the cabinets and smashing them. She then paused and looked at me. Something mad in her eyes said she wasn't all there, but then I never knew her to be all there. She goes from looking at me to the mess she made.
"Did you do this?"
"No mother, I just watched you do it."
 My mother shuffled through the mess, spreading the remains of the plates around. 
"First you leave all day with that neighborhood slut and then you break all my dishes. You have been a worthless ungrateful brat." 
 She grabbed another plate and tossed it at my direction. It missed me and shattered against the wall behind me. I remained frozen in fear. She took that as defiance and rushed over to me. She then slapped me across the face.
"You will learn your place! Clean this fucking mess up and go to bed."
 And with that, she left to go back to drinking and talking shit to the TV. As my last act of subordinance, I cleaned up the entire kitchen. It looked as if it could be a model kitchen for a showroom. I found my mother passed out and so I finished packing, then made my way out.
 The sun had already gone down and the moon was reaching for the peak of the sky. I went into infiltration mode to silently navigate through the trees between Vada and my house. I hid out of sight, but where I could see the back door. 
 Minutes passed that seemed like an hour. The muscles in my legs cramped in my crouching position. I then heard a loud commotion, yelling, cursing, screaming, and then slamming noises. Soon Vada came rushing out the back door. I popped out of the bushes and she ran right past me.
"Run Jim, he is getting his gun."
 His gun? My thoughts were racing again. Why would he need his gun for a runaway daughter? I tried to ask this question but Vada had already cleared out. So I followed. As I made my way into the forest, I heard Vada's father yell out to her.
"C'mon sweetheart, just tell me who this fuck boy is of yours.  You know Daddy should be the only man in your life."
 Vada's father fired a shot from his hunting rifle. I then heard his footsteps as he entered the forest behind me. All three of us were in the thick of the shadows between the trees of the forest...yet, separated.
 It was a good thing I knew the forest well. I could hear Vada's father stumbling and cursing as I navigated through the trees with ease. I needed to find Vada before her father finds her or me. 
 I found Vada pried up against a tree and shivering, even though it wasn't cold. I hurried over to her and grasped both her arms.
"You ok? We got to keep moving."
"He is going to catch us."
"Not if we get to the tree with the sign first. He can't follow us there."
 I wasn't sure of that, but it was our only chance. So Vada got off the tree and we made our way to the tree with the sign. When we reached the tree, a gun shot zipped passed us. We turned around and found that Vada's father had caught up to us. I put my hands up as if it was a stick-up. Vada's father took aim for another shot. This one looked as if it would go for my head. Quickly, I tackled Vada to the ground. Losing sight of us, Vada's father cursed and took steps forward. He tripped over a tree root just above the ground. Vada's father fell to the ground and his rifle dropped away from him. I picked it up and pointed it at him. He propped his upper body up with one arm and then sees me with the gun. He laughed.
"You can't shoot me. You're too pussy to pull the trigger." 
 Vada's father didn't noticed his daughter approach him with a heafty rock in her hands. Vada raised the rock up and then bashed it into her father's skull over and over. Each time came with short burst of screaming as the rock connected with her father's skull. After a while, she let the rock drop from her hands and just stared at her father's twitching body. I could hear her sobbing and then she yelled her last words to her father.
"I HATE YOU!"
 I went over and grabbed her hand. She looked at me and hugged me tightly. We then made our way around the tree with the sign and down the path, vanishing, together forever and never to be seen again.