Chapter 1.
Trent hesitated lighting his cigarette as he stood in the alcove of the building, hiding his face under the hood of the jacket he was wearing as a car passed. Not that it mattered much, its passengers were paying him no mind as they hurried along; accelerating their car and speeding along down the strip of pavement taking them away and out of the parking lot. Clearly in a hurry to head to whatever party they were whooping and hollering about as loud music blared through the speakers and they pulled quickly out onto the street taking them far away from the closed down theme park they just left.
Trent huffed in annoyance listening to the punk teenagers pull out onto the street, rolling his eyes and waiting for the complete silence and darkness to follow after their departure before pulling his lighter back out of his pocket. His hands started to shake slightly as he worked to get it to light so he could finally release his balled-up nerves with that first drag of the cigarette hanging from his lips. Once he gets his cigarette lit he's finally able to take a long drag of the cigarette hanging from his lips, holding the smoke in his lungs as long as possible and enjoying the feeling of the rush of nicotine that instantly settles him.
He watched under his hood with half-closed eyes as the streetlights all flicked to life, illuminating the streets and sidewalks around the park parking lot. He steals a glance up as the neon sign just to his left comes to life as well; with a nauseating neon yellow, green, and orange called 'San Fransisco's Amazement Park'. It's an ordinary theme park with gaudy rides, stupid theme park games, and overpriced food and merchandise. The park has been running out of money every year steadily since a couple of different accidents a few years back. The first one in the park's history was when a kid fell off the top of the Ferris wheel breaking his back; faulty safety equipment the report had said. The second accident was the worst, a park employee was cleaning up one night just after closing. She was behind a secure location cleaning up when a piece of hardware had broken off a ride and crushed her. The park security found her the next morning after the parents called complaining she never came home that night, there was no denying the safety issues with the park. With all the bills and lawyers after being sued by the families of the victims as well as the general lack of interest that people were showing it wouldn't be much longer before the park would go bankrupt.
That's when the park owner decided to try something new, with October fast approaching he decided to announce the park was making a comeback with its first-ever Halloween theme park. Calling it 'San Fransisco's Amazement Park of Terrors', he and his investors spared no expense; what they had left of it anyway. Announcing it in every way they can, they've been doing pre-ticket sales for the past month. It's fascinating to Trent as he ponders how many pre-tickets have been sold out already and how many people despite knowing the history of the park are willing to overlook it all for cheap thrills and gore.
He coughs roughly around his almost spent cigarette, as he waits impatiently for his ride to arrive. He was careful to keep his hood up to conceal his face from any cameras (not that they work) and any possible onlookers, not that there is any based on the almost fully deserted parking lot and fog slowly creeping in.
The fog gives off a nice touch to the park, it will have a great atmosphere this Halloween night if the fog comes in like it is now. It has an almost eerily vibe even for Trent's taste, with the parking lot lights reflecting off the dense stuff as it rolls inwards from the coast.
Trent shivers, pulling his jacket tighter again as he pulls out his second cigarette, having put out the first one against the concrete wall and sticking the end of it in his pocket. Getting ready to light this one when he sees the headlights of a large black sedan coming up over the hill ahead of him. Making its way down the street and heading towards the parking lot. He hides closer to the building alcove he's standing in just in case this isn't the person he's waiting for. Not that there would be any reason for anyone else to come to this parking lot at this time of night. He tucks his unlit cigarette and lighter back into his jacket pocket as the car enters the parking lot.
The lights from the sedan get brighter as the car gets closer to where Trent is hiding. He hesitates a second after the car comes to a stop near the alcove of the building he is hiding under. He pokes a bit of his head out and spots the familiar figure of the person he's waiting for sitting behind the steering wheel of the vehicle, he huffs in irritation as he jogs lightly over to the car. The guy behind him waves in apology before unlocking and pushing open the passenger door. He waits patiently for Trent to slide into the seat before taking off out of the parking lot.
"You're fucking late, again, John!" Trent doesn't feel like going about the pleasantries tonight, it's been a long day and he spent too long waiting in that alcove.
"I'm sorry Trent!" His companion says his eyes squint against the light of oncoming vehicles as he makes his way down the street. The theme park disappears quickly behind them as they make their way along the quiet nighttime streets. "I had a slight issue getting our equipment set up, it wasn't as easy as I had thought it would be." Trent's eyes narrow as he looks over at his companion. Really taking in the sight of the man next to him.
He's a heavier build man in his late thirties, Trent can see the grey starting to grow in his beard. It creates silver streaks in with the black of the hair, same as his thick black hair. He styles it back, yet despite that Trent could tell he was working hard earlier because a few strands had fallen into his face as he stares ahead of them, he's careful to stay at the speed limit to not draw any attention to the black sedan. He has a more drawn-back face, wrinkles appearing on his forehead and around his mouth, as he frowns staring straight ahead, his complexion slightly tanned by the sun after years of working outside for many hours. His face is square with smaller brown eyes with a thin mouth that's hidden almost completely by the thick black and grey beard.
Trent glances out of the windshield, watching as a light drizzle starts to hit the glass and creating a blur of the lights before the wipers go into full effect. He glances back once again at the man sitting next to him and watches the man intently as he goes from staring out the windshield to looking over at Trent. He laughs shakily as he turns the wheel to go down a side street, trying to get off the main road.
"Why do you keep staring at me, Trent." He tries to sound casual, but Trent can hear a tremble of, almost fear or nervousness in his voice. Like he doesn't understand why he is being stared at so intently and not feeling comfortable under the scrutiny. Trent stares a few more seconds longer taking slight joy in watching the other man sweat a little bit more before smirking and looking away again. Taking out his cigarette from earlier and lighting it. He takes a long drag, once again enjoying the taste and rush of nicotine before rolling down his window slightly and breathing out a cloud of smoke. He doesn't rush to roll up the window, enjoying the feeling of the coolness of the rain as it hits his face. It makes him smirk before rolling the window back up again and passing the cigarette to his friend in the driver's seat.
The man hesitates half a second before taking it eagerly and pulling a large drag from it himself. He holds it in longer in his lungs, his larger frame expanding with the inhale as he quickly lowers his window and blows it out of the car. All the tension from before dissipates as the nicotine takes effect and he relaxes a bit, laughing as he hands the cigarette back to Trent who takes it with a nod. "Thanks for that Trent, I really needed that."
"Nah, no problem brother. We have got a long night ahead of us tomorrow and we have to make sure everything is ready. We can't fuck up with this one," he stops and licks his lips for a second before continuing, "Jason is counting on us." It feels like a weight on his chest as he says their brother's name out loud.
Trent grits his teeth, grinding his jaw as he thinks of his poor baby brother rotting in a prison cell. Arrested on false pretenses and treated like common scum that they found on the bottom of their shoes.
On the day his brother was sentenced, he made a promise to himself and to his brothers; he would do whatever he found necessary to get him back. He would destroy anyone and everything in his path; that was the oath he kept all these years and it was the oath he was working towards fulfilling. It's been five years now and he finally found the opportunity he needed. He's got the equipment all set up, his plan is ready and he was going to make them pay; they were all going to pay for what they did to his family.
He glared out the passenger window of the sedan as they turned down another side road. His eyes scanned the familiar tree line as they drove down the road before spotting the familiar divot in the tree line. It was a narrow dirt road and half hidden behind the large trees that surrounded the road on all sides. There were also no markers indicating the dirt road either which helped deter people from getting curious. The only slight indication of anything being there was a 'No Trespassing' sign that was off to the side of the entrance. To keep people away from the area, Trent and his brothers hung up a few signs on that side of the road to keep away any unpleasant visitors. Jason added a few bullet holes in them as well. As he put it, it gave them a nice horror movie touch.
He took one last drag of his cigarette as the sedan weaved through the woods on the little dirt road before finishing its trip next to an older two-story cottage-style house at the end of the road. He waited a few seconds as his brother got out of the car, his large frame causing the car to lift slightly with the loss of weight. His brother isn't fat, actually the exact opposite. He's a very fit man with a bodybuilder-style frame and the weight to go with it, he puts a lot of time into making sure he maintains that look as well. Whereas Trent himself is leaner, with just enough muscle to give off the tough guy persona without having to spend all that pointless time working out and lifting weights like this brother. Jason is the same way as well; he prefers a healthy lifestyle. He avoided anything that could 'mess up his temple' as he would often say.
Jason used to say with all the bodybuilding, John gave up all his brains in trade for brawn. 'All brawn and no brains.' That's what Jason used to say, and probably still does but Trent doesn't know for sure. He shakes his head of the thoughts creeping up and slides out of the car. He follows his brother to the back of the sedan. He helps grab a couple of bags out of the trunk before heading up towards the house. He hears his brother shut the trunk harshly behind him as he makes his way up the steps onto the porch, briefly setting the bags down so he can take the key out of his pocket.
After unlocking the front door, he tosses the bags onto the floor beside the couch that's sitting on his left before turning to face John just as he walks in and locks the door behind him. He eyes the bags of stuff and equipment his brother brought in from the trunk, placing it down next to the bags Trent brought in and tossed carelessly by the couch.
"You got everything set up and ready to go for tomorrow?" He knows the answer, but he wants to hear it from John anyway. He watches his brother nod in answer, "Yes Trent, I followed the instructions you gave me to the letter." He smiles widely at him, and Trent rolls his eyes skywards.
"Latter, John." He can't help but chuckle, even slightly at the confused look on John's face. "What?" he asks, pure confusion in his voice.
"It's not letter… it's latter. I followed your instructions to the latter." He shakes his head at the total look of confusion on his brother's face. "It's fine John, just take me to where you set up everything. I want to double-check things before tomorrow night."
John nods eagerly before escorting Trent down the small hallway away from the kitchen/den. This hallway takes them up a set of stairs that leads to the second floor which is just as big as the bottom floor. It never really looked at it from the outside, but from the inside the cabin always had a way so feeling a lot bigger. The first floor contains a master bedroom, kitchen, den, and living room. There was a small door just off the kitchen that led to a sunroom, with framed glass windows that overlooked the backyard. The second floor had three bedrooms and two small baths, while off to the side of the third bedroom, there was a second set of stairs that led to a finished attic.
Trent and John walked up the stairs, listening to them creak slightly under their weight, moving slowly almost like they were avoiding making too much noise. As they got to the second floor, Trent looked around apprehensively watching the dust particles dance in the low lights of the bulbs hanging from the ceiling.
They both hesitated as they passed the door on the right, as they always did; it was Jason's room. Trent pressed his hand lightly to the door, suppressing shivers at the memories of the younger versions of themselves running around in these rooms and halls. He heard a small noise and out of the corner of his eye he could see a look of sadness wash over his brother's face, however it disappeared just as quickly as it arrived when he saw Trent staring. Trent leaned forward and patted his brother's arm gently before walking ahead of him, his resolve strengthening at every step up the attic stairs. He opens the door with a loud bang, feeling the anger boil inside of him as he walks inside. He can barely hear his brothers' footsteps dredge slowly up the stairs, hesitation as he doesn't want to get in the way of his brother's anger. He instead lingers by the door choosing to watch his brother go about the room in an almost manic state of mind.
Trent turns on the lights of the attic, yanking almost violently on the rope chains attached to the bulbs. They swing violently from side to side at the action and Trent takes the time to scan the equipment all set up just the way he had asked. He walks around and inspects everything. He inspects everything from top to bottom before walking around to John and hugging him tightly, feeling the anger from before disappearing slightly and replaced with eagerness. "Good job John!" He yells loudly as he spins around on his heel before walking over and surveying the best part of his plan, the camera that's sitting in front of a single lone wooden chair in the center of the room.
He walks around the camera to the chair, running his fingers along the high wooden back and then down the sides. He rests his hands against the arms of the chair and feels the weight of the leather straps attached to them, pulling each one to ensure they are tight and ready to go. 'This time tomorrow it will be occupied. When the time comes he will lose what he holds dearest to him and I will have my brother back. Just you hang on little brother, we will see each other again soon just like I promised.' Pushing himself away from the position he found himself in which was half leaning against the chair. Trent slaps his hands together, looking over at John and grinning before turning back one last time to finger one of the leather cuffs almost delicately before swinging around once again and walking towards the camera. He turns it on with a push of a button and he steps back slightly, making sure his face is in full view. He smiles, with an almost predator-like gleam in his eyes as his pure white teeth glimmer in the light that's hanging precariously above his head.
"Welcome to hell, Captain Leland Stottlemeyer," Trent can't help but put on a show as he half yells the statement at the camera. He leans forward then almost suddenly, shaking his hair and letting the black locks fall into his face. He pushes his face as close to the camera as he can and flicks his tongue out before licking one whole side of the glass. His tongue leaves a wet trail as it slides from the top of it to the bottom before he then steps back to stare thoughtfully at the camera almost like he is admiring his work. He raises his arms then, like a ringmaster welcoming the crowd to the show. "Welcome to hell!" He laughs wholeheartedly after that statement with his head falling back and his frame moving with the sound. He stops after several seconds of maniacal laughter, straightening back up before walking back over to the camera and shutting it off without another word.