Chapter 3: The Church
After a while we stopped for a bathroom break, Trish and I went out into the field while Darry stayed by the car. I'm the only one who remembered to bring toilet paper, so Trish was a little jealous that she didn't think to get anything to wipe with, but oh well, you snooze you lose.
"Okay, name it!" Darry called out to Trish.
"What?" Trish asked.
"When we made the rule, you have to call it as soon as you see it?" Darry said.
"Would you give it up already?" Trish called.
"No, cause the rules always been the first person who calls it gets it." Darry explained and that was the actual rule even though Trish was trying to cheat him out of a point.
I was already back at the car having finished before Trish. Darry was sifting through the bags trying to find another bottle of water. He also stuffed all his dirty clothes back into the garbage bag he brought them in.
"You talk to mom lately?" Trish asked as she finished relieving herself.
"I told her we'd be home for break." Darry replied still searching for water.
"She sound weird?" Trish asked.
"What?" Darry asked not understanding the question.
"Did you listen to her voice?" Trish asked slowly like he was stupid.
"Could you specify please?" Darry asked in the same tone, "you drink the last water? The last one was mine." he whined. He stuffed more dirty clothes into his bags just as Trish got back to the car. I chuckled a little when she saw him do that and proceeded to berate him for it.
"You are class act, you know that?" Trish said sarcastically.
"Well you guys live off campus. Ever try to do laundry in a dorm? They don't steel they dye pink. I've got like 12 pairs of rosy pink jockey shorts." Darry explained. I noticed Trish grab the pine scented air freshener from the rear-view mirror and I chuckled when she chucked it into the bag with Darry's dirty clothes.
"Well maybe they know something about you, you don't 'hi mom, haven't seen you in forever, here's my dirty shorts." Trish acted out a comedic scenario.
"It's for her not me." Darry said.
Trish just gave him a look that said 'bullshit'
"What? I have to bring home laundry, if I don't, she gets depressed." Darry explained.
Trish just continued to stare, and it was at this moment I decided to cut in and explain how Darry is correct.
"Trish, she thinks we don't need her anymore. That's why he does this." I said. She just looked at me like I was crazy. Darry and I looked at each other and smile.
"We're serious." Darry said.
Trish just giggled and turned around to close her door and me and Darry did the same. While we did this, Trish and Darry started their classic insult game. It was always fun to listen to their insults and see who would mess up and repeat what was already said. This time as Trish stuck her head out the window after her insult of 'ass kisser' Darry muttered 'butt picker' but Trish heard him anyway and exclaimed that he lost. We all got a good laugh as we pulled back out onto the highway.
As we continue down the highway, we keep talking about our mother. Specifically, her happiness since we've all left the nest. Trish says she's not happy like she used to be, and Darry follows up with that fact nobody is happy like they were in the past, but he stops in the middle of his sentence while looking to his left.
"Hey… it's 'beating you'" he says, and we all look to where he's staring only to see something truly disturbing.
We see, what appears to be a man in a dark hat and trench coat, taking something out of the back of the truck and dumping it down a large pipe. I look a little closer and notice that the things he is dumping are wrapped and roped in sheets with red stains on them. This fact creeps me out to no end, but it gets worse as we drive further away from the building, I look at the man and see that he appears to be smiling and sniffing the air for some reason and that just scared the living shit out of me. When he is finally out of view, we all turn to each other and know we're all thinking the same thing.
"What the hell was he doing." Trish asked in a scared tone.
"He dropped something down that pipe." Darry said stating the obvious.
"Wrapped in a sheet." I said completely freaked out.
"Wrapped and roped in a sheet." Darry added.
"Wrapped and roped in a sheet with red stains on it." Trish added the final bit.
"Just get us out of here!" I yelled, not being able to take it anymore.
"Grab my cellphone." Darry said with slight panic in his voice.
"Where?" I ask searching.
"It's in the gym bag." He said.
I fish in the gym bag and quickly find the phone. I hand it to Trish since she is not shaking as bad as I am. She quickly starts to dial but stops when she looks out the back window. I look to see why and soon wish I hadn't. The truck came speeding around the building and through the grass back onto the road.
"Oh Jesus." I muttered quietly, but Darry heard me anyway and looked back.
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me." He said starting to panic even more.
We all heard the blaring horn of the monstrous truck and soon fear is kicking in. We also hear the phone start beeping and when Trish looks at it, I can tell by the look on her face that it is dead. Darry was the only one to have a phone and of course it fails at the worst possible time.
"The point of having a portable phone, idiot, is that it works when you need it." Trish said scared and pissed off.
"I have a power cable for it." Darry remarked trying to be calm.
"Yeah, and I have a cigarette lighter that doesn't work." Trish said sarcastically as she threw the phone back into the gym bag.
"Oh, god damnit what did I say?! My car! We should've taken my car!" Darry said all calmness flying out the window. Trish keeps looking out the back window to keep an eye on the truck and by the look on her face I can tell it's most likely gaining on us.
"He's coming up right on our ass." Trish said with shock in her voice.
Against my better judgment, I looked out the window to see that Trish was right, the truck is coming up on us unnaturally fast. Even though Darry probably has the gas peddle floored, this monster of a vehicle is gaining with very little effort and all the while blaring its haunting horn. I try not to look afraid, but something in me is telling me that I need to get as far away from this place as I possibly can and that is putting my flight response into overdrive. I manage to quell the urge to escape the car and fly away somehow knowing that would lead to more trouble, but the feeling was still there. I look at Darry through the rear-view mirror and see the panic on his face and I also see him hitting the steering wheel as if that would make the car go faster. If I was in his position, I would probably be doing the same thing, so I don't blame him.
"What the hell's he got in that thing?! He's got it souped up or something!" Darry yelled in full blown panic.
Trish and I both look to see the truck almost right on us. We looked to each other with wide eyes and then look to Darry.
"Darry?" We say to alert him. We look back to see that the truck appears to be speeding up, if that's even possible.
"He's coming up right on our… ass." Trish said slowly not believing what she was seeing. At that same moment the truck rammed the back of our car, sending me forward and Trish grabbing hold of me to keep me from being injured. When the truck hit us, Darry and Trish were also jerked forward, and the car swerved into the other lane and when Darry recovered, he immediately turned the steering wheel to keep the car under control. Trish held me tight as the truck backed off a little before coming back for a second blow.
"YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND!" Trish screamed, her grip on me tightening as well as my grip on her tightening. The truck hit us a second time sending everyone forward and again causing Darry to have to get the car under control. At this point I am on the verge of tears. I have never been so frightened in my entire life.
"WHAT THE HELLS YOUR PROBLEM!" Darry screamed trying his best to avoid another collision.
When the truck hit us a third time, we swerved into the other lane and the truck followed our every move. Once we recovered, Trish let go of me and I gripped the seats for dear life. I notice Darry panicky yelling for the truck to go around us, but it seems intent on running us off the road this time. For some reason I felt a chill run down my spine, but I paid it no mind because of the situation we were currently in. I see the truck drive up next to us and Trish stick her head out slightly.
"WHAT THE HELLS THE MATTER WITH YOU!" She screamed at the top of her lungs even though she knew she wouldn't get an answer.
The truck retreated to get behind us again and when it did Darry started swerving all over the road in an attempt to avoid the demented driver. At this point I am in tears and about to hyperventilate, but luckily Trish sees this and grabs me, holding me as close as she can with the seat in the way. I grab her as well, like she will disappear if I let go again. Suddenly, we feel Darry jerk the car and we look up to see what he's doing.
"Darry what are you doing?!" I ask in panic and confusion.
"Hang on!" Was all he said.
"Just don't kill us ok?" Trish said, tightening her hold as we all prepared for what Darry was about to do.
Next thing I know is we're swerving off the road and through a wooden fence. It was a bumpy ride, but it potentially saved all of our lives. We all take a moment to calm ourselves down and me and Trish let go of each other and look at Darry seeing him as equally shocked from the whole ordeal. I look behind us only to see the truck disappear into the distance. Trish and Darry get out of the car to assess the damage while I stayed in the car to try and make sense of the situation. I know that it's common sense to assume that guy came after us because we saw presumably him dumping bodies down that pipe. Even though that most likely is the reason they chased us, I couldn't shake this terrible feeling that they were chasing us for the sheer thrill of it. When I hear the car crank, I look up to see Trish in the driver's seat testing the ignition. I look back to see Darry messing with the trunk, maybe making sure it stays closed since it got a direct hit from the truck.
"It sounds ok." I heard Darry say. Trish looks at him with a 'really?' face.
"What?" Darry asks.
"Like any of us would know." Trish said stating the obvious. She was right about none of us really knowing how to fix a car.
"I know a little." Darry said trying to be helpful.
"Car makes a strange noise you just get a new tape, Darry you told me." Trish said, unamused.
"Told you? I learned it from you." Darry said, almost jokingly.
At this point we are all ready to get the hell out of there and get home. After being chased twice by some psycho in a beat-up truck I didn't think I could take much more unexpected events. I waited for Darry and Trish in the car and as Darry approached the passenger side, I couldn't help but think he is getting a really stupid idea. I decided to listen in to what my siblings were saying and even though I knew I wouldn't like what they were saying, I had to know.
"WE WERE JUST ATTACKED, DARRY!" Trish yelled.
"And you don't even wanna find out why?" Darry argued.
As my siblings argue about whether or not to go back and investigate the pipe, I was still trying to shake the feeling of terror I also hoped Trish would win the argument and we could get the hell out of here. There was just something about that place that made a cold shiver run up my spine. I felt like there was something in there that I did not want to witness, and would no doubt bring more harm then good to us. At this point, I had tuned out my older siblings' argument and tried to calm myself down by attempting to rationalize the situation. I tried to convince myself that we were chased simply because we witnessed that guy throwing what were obviously bodies down the pipe, but the way he was sniffing the air as we passed made me believe something else was in the works. I was so caught up in my own thoughts, that I didn't notice my brother and sister get back in the car and that we were on the road again. When I did notice and look out the window, I realized that we were headed in the opposite direction and this made me panic.
"Guys… why did we turn around?" I asked, fearing the answer.
"We're going back to the pipe." Trish said with an anxious tone. My eyes widen and I could tell from her voice that this was all Darry's idea. I tried to calm myself but fail miserably.
"Why are we going back Darry? You know what we saw, and you know that this is a bad idea." I tried to convince him to turn the car around and get us the hell out of there, but he proceeded to explain his reasonings and my instinct to help someone in need kicked in before I could stop it. I, reluctantly, agreed to go back but like Trish I would stay in the car.
W e drove the short distance from where we crashed back to where we saw the man throwing the bodies down the pipe. As we pull in, we see that the old building is a church or used to be one. It looked like it had been abandoned for years judging from the disrepair but still looked rather sturdy. Darry got out and looked around before Trish's inner mother hen took hold and she got out too, leaving me in the car alone. I watch them walk around for a bit before Darry points to something and they both disappear behind the other side of the church. They were only out of sight for a few seconds before my anxiousness and curiosity got the better of me and I decided to leave the car to stay with my siblings. I run around the church to find them staring down the pipe and walk over. As I was walking, I notice a horrible smell coming from the pipe, I knew what it was without having to see it, but there was another faint scent. It smelled kind of earthy and usually I like the smell of earth but there was something off about it that I couldn't put my finger on.
"Oh God." Trish said covering her nose and mouth.
"Sure, doesn't look like a sewer pipe." Darry said doing the same.
"Yeah, doesn't smell like one either." Trish agreed.
"Can you see anything in there?" I ask just wanting to get out of here.
D arry tried to see but it was too dark, so he told Trish to get a flashlight out of the car. I wait with Darry while he yells into the pipe to see if he gets any sort of response, I hoped he wouldn't so we could leave but fate had other plans. As Darry and I began to walk away and back to the car we heard a low yelp come from the pipe. I stop and stare straight ahead in fear while Darry bolts back to the pipe and yells. Trish is coming back with the flashlight and Darry ushers her over quickly. I regain my composure and rejoin my siblings at the pipe and listen to Darry ask if anyone was down there, then he decides to climb into the pipe much to mine and Trish's dismay.
"Darry don't even think about it!" I protested.
"I heard someone." Darry argued.
"DARRY!" Trish yelled louder.
"Just let me get a little way in." he continued.
"You are NOT going down there!" Trish said through gritted teeth.
"I'm not!" Darry assured.
He climbed up on the pipe and told me to grab his feet and Trish to hold on to me. I took a hold of his feet and he inched his way deeper into the pipe. He looked around for about a minute before I threatened to let go and go back to the car. Not two seconds after my threat, he starts kicking and screaming about rats and with no thanks from gravity, Trish lost her grip on me while I held firmly on Darry's feet and then he sent both of us down the pipe. We slide down a good ten feet before we drop to the floor which was another ten feet. We hit the ground hard but thankfully we didn't get seriously injured. I landed on Darry, so he got it worse than me, but I figured he deserved it for making us come back here. I slowly get up and try to make the soreness in my muscles go away. I look myself over and see that I have a scrape on my right cheek; it stings but it wasn't bad. I also saw that my pants were torn across my right knee. I hear Darry groan and I roll my eyes and go to help him up, meanwhile I can hear Trish yelling for us outside.
"DARRY! KAREN!"
"OH GOD GUYS TALK TO ME!"
"GUYS SAY SOMETHING!" Trish yelled down the pipe.
"We're fine Trish." I answered her as I helped Darry get up. He cut his hand on the way down and I also noticed he lost his shoe. We look around and we see it hanging from the pipe.
"Oh, you suck." Darry said referring to Trish
"Oh God, I am so sorry." Trish apologized.
"I bet you are." Darry mumbled but Trish heard anyway.
"I am, I don't know what happened you were kicking…"
"Not as sorry as I am." Darry said.
"Hey, there were rats coming at my face."
"They were running at me too Trish."
They continued to bicker, and I just tuned them out and decided to look around a little and I soon regret it. Not a few feet from where we fell was what was obviously a body. I was instantly frozen in place. I couldn't even force myself to move at this point, all I knew was that I had to get out of here as fast as I could. I don't know why I felt such an intense urgency, but my instincts were telling me that we shouldn't be here. I don't know how long I stared but I was finally freed from my paralysis when Darry gripped my shoulder. He had apparently retrieved his shoe and then noticed that I was being extremely quiet and then followed my gaze and went quiet as well. At this point we are both staring at the body when we hear Trish demand an answer from us.
"We found our body." Darry said in a shocked tone.
"You what?" Trish asked more than a little spooked.
"We found our…" Darry started to say before I felt a hand grip my foot and I immediately freak out.
"AHHH! JESUS! GET OFF! GET OFF!" I screamed kicking the hand off.
I back up and Darry kneels down to rip the sheet off to reveal the poor young man beneath it. He took deep breaths and stared at me and Darry in what looked like surprise. I could have sworn that when he looked at me, there was a tinge of fear but quickly disappeared when he noticed how shocked I looked. The boy then proceeded to grab at his chest and stomach and Darry then rips the sheet further to reveal a horrible image that I won't soon forget. The poor boy had a huge incision going from the middle of his chest down to his stomach and it looked like he was stitched up with twine. This almost makes me physically ill but thankfully I stop myself from throwing up. The boy leans up and tries to say something, but we can't make it out, I think he said 'hide' but I'm not sure. We lean in to try and figure out what he's trying to say, but his breaths stop, and we see that he has died. I am saddened by this,this; he couldn't have been more than 17 years old. Whatever this poor kid went through, he didn't deserve to die like this, but I'm slightly comforted knowing that he didn't die alone.
Me and Darry look at each other with sad eyes but knowing that there is nothing we can do we stand and start to look for a way out. I watch as Darry goes back to the pipe and tells Trish to go back to the car and wait. He tells her to flag down anyone and tell them to get the cops out here right away. I walk a little way into the next part of the basement and see many horrific looking things on a table. There are knives, rolls of twine and thread, bottles filled with what looks like blood, and bone fragments. I back up and bump into Darry, I turn and see him shine the flashlight on the table. Now I can see everything in greater detail and the first thing I notice is the large carving spanning the length of the table. It showed a winged beast with claw-like appendages sprouting from its head. Seeing this image sends a huge shiver down my spine and I'm immediately afraid to be here. Darry seems to sense my unease and puts his free arm around me for comfort and guides me away from the table and deeper into the room to what is hopefully the exit. We are about half wayhalfway through the room when Darry stumbles and notices his shoe came untied and he lets go of me to tie it. As he is tying his shoe, we see something drip on to it, at first, we think that it's water but then more drips down and it has a weird yellow tinge to it. Darry gets suspicious and when he's done with his shoe, he points the flashlight upwards and we both wish he didn't. There were bodies everywhere, stuck to the walls and ceiling and each other. It was the most gruesome sight I have ever seen and at this point I couldn't help but throw up right then and there. Darry quickly grabs me and we both head to the stairs as quickly as we can, but as we get to the stairs, we see something that makes us question the story we heard about Kenny and Darla. We approach the two corpses that are holding hands and see the woman had her head sewn back on and a ring on the man's finger. I look closer and see that the ring says, 'Wheaton Valley class of 78'. Me and Darry look at each other in shock as we now knew the true reason behind Kenny and Darla's disappearance.