So, thanks for the wonderful reviews; keep 'em up. Cheers to all my fellow Pepper fans out there!

Chapter Four

The Evils of the Indigenous Possums

Getting back into Kemper's van was probably one of the worst experiences of my entire life; the stink of the corpse hung in the van, enclosed by the walls and I gagged as I sat down beside Andy, clamping my fingers over my mouth and nose, to keep from throwing up again. Andy placed a comforting hand on my shoulder and I could tell that the stink was getting to him as well. Erin and Kemper both rolled down their windows and for once, I didn't even think to complain about the Texas heat and grit that found its way into the van; anything was better then the smell of the corpse.

Kemper pulled out of the gas station and headed down the cracked road, away from the gas station and toward more rolling, unpopulated, boring fields. "Where is the Crawford Mill?" I questioned, wondering just long I would have to stay in the van. It didn't look promising.

"The lady in the gas station said there'd be a turn off in about five minutes." Andy answered and I realized five minutes was five minutes too long. Maybe I would have been better trying to hitch another ride on the side of the road.

The smell was really getting to me; I gagged and turned my head away, trying to catch some of the breeze coming through Erin's window.

Finally, Kemper spotted the turn off the woman back at the gas station had spoken of and turned onto a dirt road, shaded by leafy trees. The road was bumpy and uneven and the corpse rocked slightly.

"Can you hurry up?" I mumbled, dry heaving. "She's starting to stink back here." That was an understatement.

Morgan rolled his eyes. "No worse then the inside of that store." I gagged again and covered my mouth and nose with a crumpled tissue I had found inside of my purse.

As Kemper continued to pilot the van down the dirt road, the wheels bounced in a pothole, or perhaps ran over something, because the car rocked roughly and the body tumbled over, onto its side, sending a whole new wave of stink coursing through the van. "Oh God." I grumbled and tried to back up a few more inches, anything that would put as much distance between myself and the corpse. Andy covered his nose as well, looking away.

The Crawford Mill finally came into view, though it wasn't soon enough for me. The mill didn't look like any mill I had ever seen, more like an old farm house gone wrong; the building was old and wooden, weathered and falling apart. It was also abandoned, I didn't see any sign of anyone having been there in years and there definitely wasn't a sheriff around from what I could see.

Andy opened the van door and jumped out, turning to help me out of the van, the perfect gentleman. I smiled and took his hand, holding it for a moment before heading away from the van. There wasn't another car around, and certainly no sheriff; I sighed and sat down on the bumper of the van, already weary from the heat.

"Hello?" Andy called, poking around near one of the walls of the mill with the toe of his boot. I watched him, hoping that there weren't any snakes in those bushes; Andy getting bitten by a snake would really make this the worst day of my entire life and it was bad enough as it stood.

Kemper sighed and took his hat off, running his fingers through his hair. "Ain't no sheriff here." He mumbled, gazing toward the sweeping fields that lay before us. I turned to follow his gaze, studying the landscape; there wasn't another horse I could see, just a cluster of woods and more dry Texas grass.

Erin came to stand beside me, leaning against the side of the van and glaring at Kemper; I guessed they hadn't kissed and made up yet. Morgan also looked over at the mechanic. "I say we dump the body." He remarked.

I stared at him in surprise; how could he suggest such a horrible thing? That girl was still a person, or she had been at one point in time and she deserved to be treated like one.

"No!" Erin snapped and everyone turned to look at her.

Morgan narrowed his eyes at her. "I think we should vote on it." He said, though this time he was speaking to Kemper.

"Kemper no." Erin said firmly and Morgan turned to look at her again, saying something about a democracy. I didn't see what democracy had to do with anything; we were talking about the body of a dead girl, not politics. I looked over at Andy, who was staring down at the ground, certain that he would understand how wrong it would be to leave this poor girl here, with her parents out there, wondering what had happened to her.

"I say we dump her." Andy muttered without looking up.

My eyes went wide. "Pig." I accused and Andy actually looked guilty, but he didn't retract his vote.

Morgan looked at Kemper to make the final decision; I had always figured that Kemper was in charge and nothing was done without his consent. Let's see if he sided with his girlfriend on this one and even if he didn't, what was I going to do? Stay here at this shitty, creepy mill and wait around for the sheriff with only a corpse for company? I don't think so.

"Baby, she's dead, I don't think it matters." Kemper said finally, looking at Erin, who didn't look very pleased.

Erin narrowed her eyes. "Well it matters to me, if that means anything." I nodded in agreement but remained silent. She seemed to have this pretty much under control. "That girl has got parents out there that are going to want her back, not just dumped on the side of the road like a piece of trash."

I nodded again. "It's just wrong to leave her." I added. "How would you feel if you died and no one cared?" I looked at Andy as I said this but I really didn't mean the comment to be directed at him. I could tell he felt bad already and I didn't want to make him feel any worse. But I also didn't want to dump the girl here; I'd think about her and her poor family for the rest of my life if I did that.

Kemper sighed. Andy stood up and said, "Fine, let's go find the sheriff," staring at me the entire time. He started off, toward the back of the Crawford Mill, and Kemper and Erin followed after him.

I smiled to myself as I rushed to catch up with Andy; he was a good guy after all, someone I could definitely see myself with. He turned around and held out his hand and I took it, walking close to him through the dry grass, worried again about snakes.

"Do you think there are any snakes out here?" I questioned, looking up at him before looking down in the grass again.

Andy looked at the grass as well. "I don't see any." He assured me and I smiled again. I didn't think I had to worry about snakes with Andy around. I also didn't worry about what other evils could be lurking inside the creepy Crawford Mill; what if whatever had driven that girl crazy lived inside? I shuddered and drew closer to Andy; I really didn't want to think about it.

The part of the Crawford Mill we had come to now was even more unsettling then where the van was parked. All sorts of rusted metal lay around the ground; were objects, naked dolls and animal skulls, hung on the side of the mill. One doll even had cow horns coming from where its arms should be. Whoever created that stuff was definitely one messed up dude.

"So, what now?" Morgan questioned and glared at all of us. He'd made it more then clear that he didn't want to be here. Well, he could go wait in the van for all I cared.

I peered into the darkness that was in the inside of the Crawford Mill and wasn't too keen on going inside; besides, the sheriff wouldn't have any reason to be in there anyway. If he was here at all. We all gathered around in front of the entrance, not really sure what to do.

I continued to stare into the darkness, nearly jumping out my skin when a human sized shadow passed in front of the foyer. I swallowed a scream and shouted, "I just saw something in there!" Morgan was saying the same thing, so I knew that I wasn't crazy.

Andy and Kemper turned to look and I could tell that Andy believe what I said but Erin didn't look so sure. "You guys are just trying to scream me into leaving." She snapped and headed into the darkness.

Kemper tried to keep her from leaving but she would have none of it. She disappeared into the darkness. "Erin," I called after her. "You don't know what's inside there." I was worried about her. Why was she going inside?

I turned to look at Andy. "We should go after her." I pointed out but Andy shook his head and put his arm on my shoulder to keep me from going.

"It's not safe." He said and I knew he was right but that didn't mean that we shouldn't try and stop Erin. Kemper should be trying to protect her not us. But still, Andy's concern of my well being made tiny butterflies flap in my stomach; the good sort of butterflies, not the kind you got right before you got up in front of a bunch of people to give of speech. Or saw a girl pull a gun out from between her legs, for that matter.

Suddenly, Erin cried out, her scream slicing through the stillness of the Texas air like a knife. "Kemper!" Kemper bolted upright instantly, charging into the darkness of the Crawford Mill without a second thought.

I followed after him, worried for Erin (the butterflies again, bad ones this time) and Andy didn't try to stop me this time. Instead, he grabbed a tire iron from the clutter of junk and headed into the darkness behind us. I could hear Morgan grumbling as he stepped into the mill as well, more worried about being left alone then he was about Erin.

Erin was standing, shrouded in shadows, with her arms crossed over her chest. A sly smile spread across her face. "Just kidding." She grinned and I could have killed her at that moment. Didn't she realize how much she'd had us all worried? She was just mad about the whole argument over dumping the girl.

"That wasn't funny Erin." I told her. "I was worried about you." I guess she saw the truth in my face and she looked guilty for what she had done.

If she apologized, I didn't know it because a rattling sound drown out her words and caused me to cry out in surprise. We all spun in the direction of the sound; it was coming from some rusty cabinet, the doors nearly falling off their hinges but concealing whatever was inside making the noise. I grabbed onto Andy and he squeezed my hand; the rattling continued. Whatever inside was trying to come out.

"What is that?" Erin questioned, all serious and slightly scared now, and she rushed over to Kemper's side.

Kemper took a step toward the cabinet but Andy stopped him, handing the tire iron to him. "Okay," Kemper began and turned to look at Andy, Morgan and I. "When I open the door, whatever's inside might jump out. So, just be ready to shut those doors, just in case."

I wasn't quite sure I wanted the responsibility of dealing with whatever was inside of that cabinet but I didn't say anything. Instead, I tensed up and waited for Kemper to open the doors, imagining all sorts of horrible monsters hiding behind that door. Monsters that made that poor girl crazy and tore the rest of her family to pieces.

Kemper reached for the door, I almost told him to stop but figured that that thing was coming out anyway and it was better that we were ready for it. The doors swung open and a creature, more horrible the anything I had ever seen before, screeched like something straight out of Hell and I cried out, leaping forward to slam the doors shut again. The thing continued to squeal and I felt my heart hammer against my chest like it was going to come right up my throat.

Morgan started laughing and Andy did too; Kemper and I turned to look at them and I raised an eyebrow, feeling my cheeks flush. What were the laughing at? Didn't they see that horrible creature inside the cabinets?

"It was a possum." Morgan laughed, sounding relieved. "Just a possum, indigenous to the southwest..."

A possum? That couldn't be right? But then again, that would explain why the thing inside had been kinda small...and white...and it did look like it had a furry nose and whiskers. Maybe it had been a possum after all. Well, that possum deserved to be road kill for the heart attack it had given me.

"Let's get out of here." I mumbled and turned to go. I'd had enough excitement for one day, thank you very much.

Before anyone else could follow me, there was another sound, a heavier, louder, thudding sound that came from behind us. That was no possum. There was something else in here with us.