This chapter is extremely gruesome. If you would like to skip this chapter
and wait for the next one, you are free to do so. I will recap in the next
chapter what is told here.
_-^-_
"I have something that I need to talk to you about," said Stephanie nervously.
"Is it about your show tomorrow?" Fred asked. Steph noticed a hint of fear in his eyes.
"No, nothing like that. I need to talk you about..you."
"Ok, what would you like to know?"
Stephanie paused for a second bracing herself for his reaction, "I need you to tell me why you have to take all that medication Fred."
For a moment, Fred didn't even react. His face the same it had looked before she had asked him about his pills, a small smile. Then his face turned to a face of shame and embarrassment. He slowly turned his head to the floor and stared at it, he felt he couldn't look her in the face. Not now, not after she had found his secret.
"H-H-How do you know about them?" Fred stammered still staring at the rug beneath his feet.
"I found them last night. I found out what they were for as well, from the Internet. Fred, what could be so bad that you have to take pills for it"
Fred felt the familiar tears well up and sting his eyes, blurring his vision. He couldn't tell her. It was too hard to talk about. Though, maybe it would help him to get it off his chest and into the open. And maybe Stephanie deserved to know. Now that they were friends, they shouldn't keep secrets from each other, especially secrets about their families.
"You really want to know?" Fred said, finally looking up at Stephanie. Silent tears were streaming down his face though he didn't notice.
Stephanie looked at Fred. He no longer looked like the strong willed man that she had come to know and in a form love. He looked like a frail child without his mother. She didn't want to cause him this much pain, but she knew she could help him in some way if she knew what was wrong.
"Yes," Stephanie said slowly, "Yes I do."
"Ok, It happened when I turned 18.."
_-^-_
Fred awoke groggily. He felt a bright light tearing at his eyelids. He opened them slowly and stared at the light. It was emanating from the window. Then he realized that he had forgotten to close the window shades last night. He had been far to excited.
For today was his eighteenth birthday. He wasn't expecting anything special but just the fact that today he was going to be 18 made him excited. He slowly got up and sat on the edge of the bed. Fred thought about all of the things that had happened to him in the last 18 years. It had been a road full of detours and obstacles but he had finally gotten here. He had survived the world until age 18.
A feeling of pride rose within Fred at the thought. He had survived. Of course he had been helped out immensely by his family along the road. His sister, Rachel, had always been his best friend and moral supporter. She managed to get him out of his low points and make him smile. His father, Fred Sr., always made him laugh and gave him the best advice. His mother, Vona, had been the best of friends to him. Fred had inherited all of his likes and dislikes from her. They both loved wrestling, football, and sci- fi TV shows.
She had been the strongest person he would ever know. But obviously not strong enough. For although she was strong mentally, emotionally, and spiritually she had not been strong physically. Cancer had taken all that strength and sapped from her body and tore her away from all that she loved. Tore her away from Fred.
When his mother died, Fred had almost died along with her. She had always been his rock, the person who he could depend on when he was in a tight spot. Then the rock had been removed and he had to try to pull himself out of his hole. She had been the one person that would always be there for him and then she just..wasn't.
Fred had been destroyed yes, but he had survived. He had survived to this age of 18 although he knew that part of him was gone. That part, that innocence had left him that winter afternoon when his family was crowded around their leather chair and cried together at the loss of their beloved wife, daughter, and mother who sat in that very chair.
A single tear wove its way from Fred's eye and fell to the rug and absorbed. Fred shook his head viciously, shaking the thoughts from his skull. Today was not a day of grieving, today was a day of celebration. The celebration of his birth 18 years before.
Fred stood and walked out the door of his bedroom. He stepped into the kitchen greeted with the smell of pancake syrup. He took a great whiff of the wonderful smell and let it out with a great sigh.
"You like that smell?" his father said from the kitchen stove, a smile proudly displayed across his face. "I made you a special breakfast for a special day and a special boy..no, I mean man. Happy Birthday son."
With that, he set a big stack of pancakes on the bar where Fred sat. He gave him a big hug and squeezed him tightly. After about five minutes of hugging, Fred's father finally let go and passed him the syrup.
Rachel eventually came in after Fred was half way through his stack of pancakes. She gave Fred a big hug.
"Happy Birthday Bro. I really hope you are happy today," She said in his ear as she continued to hug him.
Eventually she too let go and sat to her own stack of pancakes. Fred finally finished his pancakes with a slurp of milk. After everything was finished and put away, Fred, his father, and his sister sat down in front of the television.
The current TV buzz was the series of murders that were sweeping through the central valley of California. They were in various places and it was scary because it hit very close to home. The murderer killed his victims by dismembering them. The crime scene was always a blood bath when the police came. The killer came to be known as the Blood Bath Bird.
"This is disgusting," Fred's father commented at the current press conference being held on TV, "What would drive a man to be this disgusting and gruesome?"
"Lots of things, most likely insanity," Fred replied.
"Whatever," Rachel says, turning the TV off, "Today will not be filled with blood and gore. Today is your birthday and we want positive thoughts not negative ones."
Fred just nodded his head and smiled up at his sister. She was 4 years older than him and always trying to be positive. He loved that in a person.
"Yeah your right."
"Now, I want you to go and take a shower. Sean will be coming along shortly. Remember he wanted you to pick out your present with him?"
"Yeah, I'm going."
Fred rose from his chair and walked lightly to the shower. He knew that today was going to be a day full of surprises.
_-^-_
By the time Fred had gotten finished with his shower and dressed, Sean had been waiting for 15 minutes.
"Took you long enough. What did you fall in?" Sean said as Fred entered the living room.
"Oh, shut up," Fred said, jokingly.
Fred's father and sister approached from the kitchen and each hugged him in turn. Fred felt something in those hugs. It wasn't the usual love that he always felt when they hugged him either. It was like they were clutching him to stop him from moving. Like they were trying to keep them there with them.
"I love you son," Fred Sr. said as they hugged desperately, "You've grown up so fast. I just wish your mother was here to see you. She would have been so proud of you."
He let go and Rachel embraced him quickly, and with the same desperation. "You've always been my best friend along with my brother. I love you with all of my heart," Rachel said before letting him go.
"I love you too, both of you," Fred said not being able to think of anything else to say.
"Well you two had better get going, your wasting daylight," Said Fred's father, quoting John Wayne.
"Yeah," Sean said going to the door with Fred following.
"I love you, see you in a little while," Fred said, turning back, looking, and waving at the two of them.
"I love you too, bye," said Rachel
"Bye, I love you too," Said Fred Sr.
Then Fred slipped out the door. Following Sean to his truck.
_-^-_
Sean and Fred turned onto the main road that turned off to their street.
"Again, thank you so much for the video game," Fred said with a smile as he looked at the plastic covered case.
"Your welcome, again. Hey even the elderly have to have fun, huh?" Sean replied, glancing at his friend.
"Shut up wise ass."
They finally turned to their street and were blinded by lights. The lights came in three distinct colors. There was the white light that came from camera lights. And then there was lights that sent shivers of fright down the spine of both Sean and Fred, the red and blue of police lights.
The two kept driving and had to stop because of two roadblocks in their path. They both got out of the truck and approached the nearest police officer.
"Officer, what's going on?" inquired Fred.
"Oh," The officer said turning to face them, "There was a murder down the street and we're trying to keep the press out. You know, they say that it was the Blood Bath Bird who did it."
Fred felt an icy cold shiver run down his entire body as if he had been touched by death. He started to breath heavy and shake.
"W-W-Which house was it?" Fred stammered out.
"Oh, it was that one down the street."
The officer pointed down the street, and Fred literally felt his heart jump into his throat. The house the officer had pointed to was Fred's home.
Fred started to run without even a second thought. He heard the officer shout something at him, but he couldn't hear anything except for his heart pumping blood into his veins from his throat. He ran with a power he didn't know he possessed. Before he knew it, he had pushed his way to his front lawn and almost to the door.
But before he knew what was happening, someone got in front of him and Fred barreled into him. This left Fred sprawled on the ground and trying to quickly get up until he was pushed down by the other man.
"Hey boy, what are you doing?" said the obvious police officer that held him down.
"I live in this house. I have to see what happened," Fred managed to get out while struggling
"Trust me you don't want to see it."
Fred stopped struggling and found a new plan. He quickly gave a hard kick to the groin to the man on top of him. This sent the officer off of him with a groan. Fred got to his feet and ran straight to the open doorway of his home.
What he saw upon entering the living room would scar him for most of, if not, his entire life. All that was in the realm of his vision was blood and parts. Body parts. They were lying everywhere and Fred felt himself not able to look away.
He saw arms, legs, torsos, and entrails. He quickly through up on the rug, finally able to look away. When he looked up, the fireplace came into his line of sight. The picture that he saw now would forever haunt him until the day that he died.
Among the body parts and insides, there were no heads. The heads had been saved for a much more disgusting purpose. They were all stacked into a pyramid on the fireplace stage. And they were all faces that he knew.
They were friends of his. Ones he had known since he had come to Madera. People he had known since the third grade. All his friends were scattered about his living room. Mutilated.
The top of the pyramid was what really capped the nightmare that Fred now lived within. The two heads that were the top of the pyramid, was his sister Rachel's and his father Fred Sr.'s.
Fred's head spinned and everything grew dim. He fell to the ground backwards and lay there on his back. The last thing Fred saw before he passed out was a floating balloon that had words printed on it. It said
Happy 18th Birthday.
_-^-_
"I have something that I need to talk to you about," said Stephanie nervously.
"Is it about your show tomorrow?" Fred asked. Steph noticed a hint of fear in his eyes.
"No, nothing like that. I need to talk you about..you."
"Ok, what would you like to know?"
Stephanie paused for a second bracing herself for his reaction, "I need you to tell me why you have to take all that medication Fred."
For a moment, Fred didn't even react. His face the same it had looked before she had asked him about his pills, a small smile. Then his face turned to a face of shame and embarrassment. He slowly turned his head to the floor and stared at it, he felt he couldn't look her in the face. Not now, not after she had found his secret.
"H-H-How do you know about them?" Fred stammered still staring at the rug beneath his feet.
"I found them last night. I found out what they were for as well, from the Internet. Fred, what could be so bad that you have to take pills for it"
Fred felt the familiar tears well up and sting his eyes, blurring his vision. He couldn't tell her. It was too hard to talk about. Though, maybe it would help him to get it off his chest and into the open. And maybe Stephanie deserved to know. Now that they were friends, they shouldn't keep secrets from each other, especially secrets about their families.
"You really want to know?" Fred said, finally looking up at Stephanie. Silent tears were streaming down his face though he didn't notice.
Stephanie looked at Fred. He no longer looked like the strong willed man that she had come to know and in a form love. He looked like a frail child without his mother. She didn't want to cause him this much pain, but she knew she could help him in some way if she knew what was wrong.
"Yes," Stephanie said slowly, "Yes I do."
"Ok, It happened when I turned 18.."
_-^-_
Fred awoke groggily. He felt a bright light tearing at his eyelids. He opened them slowly and stared at the light. It was emanating from the window. Then he realized that he had forgotten to close the window shades last night. He had been far to excited.
For today was his eighteenth birthday. He wasn't expecting anything special but just the fact that today he was going to be 18 made him excited. He slowly got up and sat on the edge of the bed. Fred thought about all of the things that had happened to him in the last 18 years. It had been a road full of detours and obstacles but he had finally gotten here. He had survived the world until age 18.
A feeling of pride rose within Fred at the thought. He had survived. Of course he had been helped out immensely by his family along the road. His sister, Rachel, had always been his best friend and moral supporter. She managed to get him out of his low points and make him smile. His father, Fred Sr., always made him laugh and gave him the best advice. His mother, Vona, had been the best of friends to him. Fred had inherited all of his likes and dislikes from her. They both loved wrestling, football, and sci- fi TV shows.
She had been the strongest person he would ever know. But obviously not strong enough. For although she was strong mentally, emotionally, and spiritually she had not been strong physically. Cancer had taken all that strength and sapped from her body and tore her away from all that she loved. Tore her away from Fred.
When his mother died, Fred had almost died along with her. She had always been his rock, the person who he could depend on when he was in a tight spot. Then the rock had been removed and he had to try to pull himself out of his hole. She had been the one person that would always be there for him and then she just..wasn't.
Fred had been destroyed yes, but he had survived. He had survived to this age of 18 although he knew that part of him was gone. That part, that innocence had left him that winter afternoon when his family was crowded around their leather chair and cried together at the loss of their beloved wife, daughter, and mother who sat in that very chair.
A single tear wove its way from Fred's eye and fell to the rug and absorbed. Fred shook his head viciously, shaking the thoughts from his skull. Today was not a day of grieving, today was a day of celebration. The celebration of his birth 18 years before.
Fred stood and walked out the door of his bedroom. He stepped into the kitchen greeted with the smell of pancake syrup. He took a great whiff of the wonderful smell and let it out with a great sigh.
"You like that smell?" his father said from the kitchen stove, a smile proudly displayed across his face. "I made you a special breakfast for a special day and a special boy..no, I mean man. Happy Birthday son."
With that, he set a big stack of pancakes on the bar where Fred sat. He gave him a big hug and squeezed him tightly. After about five minutes of hugging, Fred's father finally let go and passed him the syrup.
Rachel eventually came in after Fred was half way through his stack of pancakes. She gave Fred a big hug.
"Happy Birthday Bro. I really hope you are happy today," She said in his ear as she continued to hug him.
Eventually she too let go and sat to her own stack of pancakes. Fred finally finished his pancakes with a slurp of milk. After everything was finished and put away, Fred, his father, and his sister sat down in front of the television.
The current TV buzz was the series of murders that were sweeping through the central valley of California. They were in various places and it was scary because it hit very close to home. The murderer killed his victims by dismembering them. The crime scene was always a blood bath when the police came. The killer came to be known as the Blood Bath Bird.
"This is disgusting," Fred's father commented at the current press conference being held on TV, "What would drive a man to be this disgusting and gruesome?"
"Lots of things, most likely insanity," Fred replied.
"Whatever," Rachel says, turning the TV off, "Today will not be filled with blood and gore. Today is your birthday and we want positive thoughts not negative ones."
Fred just nodded his head and smiled up at his sister. She was 4 years older than him and always trying to be positive. He loved that in a person.
"Yeah your right."
"Now, I want you to go and take a shower. Sean will be coming along shortly. Remember he wanted you to pick out your present with him?"
"Yeah, I'm going."
Fred rose from his chair and walked lightly to the shower. He knew that today was going to be a day full of surprises.
_-^-_
By the time Fred had gotten finished with his shower and dressed, Sean had been waiting for 15 minutes.
"Took you long enough. What did you fall in?" Sean said as Fred entered the living room.
"Oh, shut up," Fred said, jokingly.
Fred's father and sister approached from the kitchen and each hugged him in turn. Fred felt something in those hugs. It wasn't the usual love that he always felt when they hugged him either. It was like they were clutching him to stop him from moving. Like they were trying to keep them there with them.
"I love you son," Fred Sr. said as they hugged desperately, "You've grown up so fast. I just wish your mother was here to see you. She would have been so proud of you."
He let go and Rachel embraced him quickly, and with the same desperation. "You've always been my best friend along with my brother. I love you with all of my heart," Rachel said before letting him go.
"I love you too, both of you," Fred said not being able to think of anything else to say.
"Well you two had better get going, your wasting daylight," Said Fred's father, quoting John Wayne.
"Yeah," Sean said going to the door with Fred following.
"I love you, see you in a little while," Fred said, turning back, looking, and waving at the two of them.
"I love you too, bye," said Rachel
"Bye, I love you too," Said Fred Sr.
Then Fred slipped out the door. Following Sean to his truck.
_-^-_
Sean and Fred turned onto the main road that turned off to their street.
"Again, thank you so much for the video game," Fred said with a smile as he looked at the plastic covered case.
"Your welcome, again. Hey even the elderly have to have fun, huh?" Sean replied, glancing at his friend.
"Shut up wise ass."
They finally turned to their street and were blinded by lights. The lights came in three distinct colors. There was the white light that came from camera lights. And then there was lights that sent shivers of fright down the spine of both Sean and Fred, the red and blue of police lights.
The two kept driving and had to stop because of two roadblocks in their path. They both got out of the truck and approached the nearest police officer.
"Officer, what's going on?" inquired Fred.
"Oh," The officer said turning to face them, "There was a murder down the street and we're trying to keep the press out. You know, they say that it was the Blood Bath Bird who did it."
Fred felt an icy cold shiver run down his entire body as if he had been touched by death. He started to breath heavy and shake.
"W-W-Which house was it?" Fred stammered out.
"Oh, it was that one down the street."
The officer pointed down the street, and Fred literally felt his heart jump into his throat. The house the officer had pointed to was Fred's home.
Fred started to run without even a second thought. He heard the officer shout something at him, but he couldn't hear anything except for his heart pumping blood into his veins from his throat. He ran with a power he didn't know he possessed. Before he knew it, he had pushed his way to his front lawn and almost to the door.
But before he knew what was happening, someone got in front of him and Fred barreled into him. This left Fred sprawled on the ground and trying to quickly get up until he was pushed down by the other man.
"Hey boy, what are you doing?" said the obvious police officer that held him down.
"I live in this house. I have to see what happened," Fred managed to get out while struggling
"Trust me you don't want to see it."
Fred stopped struggling and found a new plan. He quickly gave a hard kick to the groin to the man on top of him. This sent the officer off of him with a groan. Fred got to his feet and ran straight to the open doorway of his home.
What he saw upon entering the living room would scar him for most of, if not, his entire life. All that was in the realm of his vision was blood and parts. Body parts. They were lying everywhere and Fred felt himself not able to look away.
He saw arms, legs, torsos, and entrails. He quickly through up on the rug, finally able to look away. When he looked up, the fireplace came into his line of sight. The picture that he saw now would forever haunt him until the day that he died.
Among the body parts and insides, there were no heads. The heads had been saved for a much more disgusting purpose. They were all stacked into a pyramid on the fireplace stage. And they were all faces that he knew.
They were friends of his. Ones he had known since he had come to Madera. People he had known since the third grade. All his friends were scattered about his living room. Mutilated.
The top of the pyramid was what really capped the nightmare that Fred now lived within. The two heads that were the top of the pyramid, was his sister Rachel's and his father Fred Sr.'s.
Fred's head spinned and everything grew dim. He fell to the ground backwards and lay there on his back. The last thing Fred saw before he passed out was a floating balloon that had words printed on it. It said
Happy 18th Birthday.