Chapter Twenty Seven: The Hut
The Police Raided the Whole House. Both Rita and Lynn Senior were shocked when the police told them what Lori had done.
"How did things end up with her like this?" Rita cried.
"I never thought she would do something horrible like this." Lynn sr. said.
A police officer came downstairs, holding a small box with gloves over his hands.
"We found the same bullets that we found in the bodies. Swiss 7.5 x 55. GP 11."
"How many?" The detective asked.
"Only one box. It's still closed. 10 rounds."
Lynn took his wife in his arms. The Loud Siblings stood outside, and got questioned by the Police. In the whole street were Police units.
"Did everyone of you know that Lori loud had an Assault Rifle, or any other kind of weapon?" The detective asked.
"No." Lana, Lucy, Lisa, and Luan said.
"Well, she had an old gun. But not an assault rifle." Luna said.
"That long wood thingy in her wardrobe? That need this Metal lip gloss things that are not lipsticks?" Leni asked.
"What?" The detective asked.
"She's stupid." Lola said.
"Where do you think Lori Loud is now?"
"I'm not sure." Leni said.
"She has many friends. Maybe Carol Pringrey." Lincoln said.
"Or Natasha Stevenson." Luna said.
"Miss Pringrey witnessed the murdering, and Miss Stevenson is also wanted, but not found."
Lisa took of her glasses. Everyone of the siblings looked worried at each other.
"This is horrible." Luan said.
"We ain't gonna see her ever again." Leni said crying.
"Or just in prison, for the rest of her life." Lisa said.
Leni started crying even louder. Luna took her in her arms. Every of the Loud siblings looked crying and angry at Lisa. Lisa also had tears running down her cheeks.
"Don't say that… Don't say that I will never see Lori again." Lynn junior said.
"I want my sister back." Lola sobbed.
Lori was gone. Away. Lori already was in Wisconsin. It was midnight. She Left a Blackmarket, and walked to her car.She had Three Bags. One With Clothes for herself, one with Baby Clothes, and one with Clothes for herself and a Toddler. And new License Plates. License S-189. Lori put the Bags in her Car, and screwed the Old License Plates of, and replaced them with the new ones. Then she got in, and put the old License plates under her seat. Lori started her car. As she drove to the highway, the news on the Radio started.
"Breaking news! There was a shooting in Royal Woods yesterday afternoon with seven people dead. The perpetrators are still on the run. The main perpetrator, Lori Loud, was last seen wearing a blue tank top, brown shorts and white shoes. She is seventeen and has Blue eyes and blonde hair. The police are looking for every clue. You can find more information about the perpetrators at Police RW dot com."
"Great." Lori said. "I need to change myself pretty quickly."
Lori saw a Gas Station sign.
"Perfect Timing."
Lori left the Highway and parked on the Gas Stations parking lot. Lori turned the engine off, and took the bag.
"So. Here it ends." Said to herself.
She got out of her car, and walked to the Back of the Gas station, were the free to use Trucker bathrooms were. Lori entered one and locked the door. She took her Clothes off and Looked at her reflection in the Mirror.
"Goodbye Lori. You never were a bad person."
Lori turned on the shower, and started cleaning her hair. Lori washed herself clean. She stepped out of the shower, and took the box with the hair dye. Lori opened the box, and took out a small bottle of hair dye, and a Plastic bag. Lori poured the Hair Dye into the bag, and put her hair in the bag, with the bag over her head. Lori leaned against the wall, and started waiting. She closed her eyes.
"I should have known better… Every time I get told that I'm a good girl… I was told a lie… It was just a lie…"
Lori went in a kind of sleep while leaning at the wall. She was awake for more than one day. She just needed rest, even though it was just leaning against a wall with closed eyes. After an unknown amount of time, she got startled and woke up. She looked around. She was alone. There was nothing that could have startled her. She took the Bag with the dye off her head and hair, and threw it in a garbage bin. Lori went under the shower and then started putting new clothes on. A gray shirt, black jeans, and a brown leather jacket. Lori took the Glasses case out of her bag, and put the Glasses on. She Looked in the mirror. There was a whole other person. Lori now had brown hair, wore the new clothes. This wasn't Lori anymore.
"Hello Jane Schroeder." Lori said to her reflection.
Lori took everything that belonged to her and put it in a bag. She opened the door of the bathroom and walked to her car. Lori sat in, started the engine, and drove again to the highway.
"That went good." Lori said to herself.
An hour later, she noticed that her head was tilting down.
"I'm.. so…"
Lori fell asleep. Her car continued to drive at over a hundred kilometers an hour. It slowly crossed the first lane to the second lane. Then to the third lane. The car slowly entered the hard shoulder of the highway. In this moment Lori twitched scared and woke up. The loud humming noise that was heard from the hard shoulder of the highway woke her up. Lori led her car to the first lane again.
"I need sleep." Lori said to herself.
She tried to keep herself awake. A road sign was showing that a Gas Station was only 15 kilometers away. Lori had to stop there and sleep. But she had to stay awake. And so she tuned in to an Heavy Metal radio station, and turned the volume up. Aggressive heavy metal music played out of the speakers.
"Perfect." Lori said.
Lori drove on. As she saw the light of the Gas station, she left the highway and headed to the parking lot, where she parked her car very careless. She turned of the engine and the radio, crossed her arms and closed her eyes. She didn't dream there. She didn't even sleep so well. Lori was kinda awake while sleeping. The only thing she was aware of was that she was sitting and snoring. Lori woke up. The light of the sun warmed her up. She stood up.
"What a terrible night."
Lori opened the door of her car, got out and locked the car. She went to the bathroom of the gas station, closed the door and started cleaning her face, went on the toilet, and washed her hands. Lori left the bathroom after ten minutes and walked to the gas station shop. It was strange to go in, because the police was searching for her. But since she dyed her hair and wore glasses and different clothes, she didn't even recognize herself. She went to the lady at the checkout.
"Do you have a pack of six two liter bottles of water?" Lori asked.
"Yes. Next to the freezers." The lady said.
Lori went to the freezers and took one of the packs of bottles of water. Lori also took a ready to eat cheeseburger and a sandwich for later. She went to the checkout. The lady scanned the stuff Lori had.
"Nineteen dollars ninety nine."
Lori took out her wallet and gave her a twenty dollar bill. As Lori got the rest of the money back, she took all her stuff.
"Thank you. Have a nice day." The lady said.
"Thanks."
Lori went back to her car, put the food and water on the passenger seat and sat down in the driver seat. She took the burger and started eating it. It wasn't a bad burger. But the cheese tasted terrible. Lori finished the burger and started the engine, and the GPS of her special phone. Lori drove on the highway and crossed them minutes later the border of Wisconsin to North Dakota. It took her one more day to enter the state of Montana. There were mountains everywhere. The special phone led her of the highway. Now she drove on a country road. For two more hours. The sun set started as she drove through a small village, where the country road ended. Lori drove through a mountain valley on a street made of gravel. But it didn't end here. The road became more and more unpaved. It was dark now, and the small village was now almost two hours away from her. Then her Phone said a relieving phrase.
"You have reached your destination."
Lori looked around. A hut made out of wood, one floor height, and a barn next to it appeared in the light of her car's lights. Lori felt uncomfortable as she looked at the Hut. She opened the door and got out. With the light of her phone, she looked at it. A hut made of dark wood. Lori went to the door of the barn. She opened it and saw a pile of wood for a furnace, and wooden boxes, full of potatoes. And there was still enough place for her car and the trailer. Lori got back in her car, and drove carefully backwards in the barn. She shut the engine off, and closed the barns door. Lori lit up the room with the phone light, and looked around. A metal door was next to a wooden door. The Metal Door had letters on it.
"Photovoltaik system control. WARNING! ELECTRIC SHOCK KILLS!"
Lori fearfully opened the door and looked at a switch cabinet with many switches. One was, Main power. She turned it on, and after a small beeping, it showed green lights everywhere. Lori closed the metal door and opened the wooden door. There was a small living room. Lori saw not much. She pushed the light switch and lights went on. A weak light, but it was light. Lori also saw a furnace. And this one was needed. As Lori read on a Metal plate, it was the furnace for the water heater, and it was necessary to make the hut warm. And warm was this hut in no way. It was cold.
"I need to make a fire."
Lori went back to her car, and took the bag with the clothes, her STGW 57 she got from Cynthia, as well as her Karabiner 31 from the trailer and the ammo. Lori put this in the living room and got the fire wood. Lori managed to make a fire. She walked back from the furnace, and sat down in an cold leather chair made of brown leather. Lori noticed a letter on the small table next to the chair. She opened it and started reading.
"Dear miss Schroeder. I will explain the most important things you have to know. The water in the bathroom is drinkable. It comes from an natural source of water. The hot water is only available if the furnace is on. In the barn are eight hundred kilos of Potatoes. In the summer, you need to grow these potatoes. All you have to do is to put potatoes in the ground, and give them enough water. In this area, you don't have signal for TV, Radio or internet. See what you do with your time. Don't leave the region. The special phone can call me anytime. And if you are allowed to come back, you will get a message from me. Take care, and don't die. Agent Miller."
Lori looked at the fire and put the letter back on the table.
Lori closed her eyes.
"I'm so tired… tired of myself."
Tears started flowing down her cheeks.
"I destroyed my life… my family…"
She started sobbing.
"I'm sorry mom.. I'm sorry dad… I'm so sorry Leni… I'm so sorry…"
Lori covered her face with her hands.
"I'm such an evil person… I hate myself… I hate myself!!!" Lori yelled.
Lori breathed heavily.
"I miss you Bobby… Im sorry… I'm sorry that I can never be with you again… And that I have to raise our child without you as father…"
Lori remained silent for more than an hour. She had to ignore the thoughts in her head. But there was one thing she didn't get out of her head.
"I'm pregnant…" Lori whispered.
"I'm… p-pregnant…"
"I messed up…"
Lori felt a tiredness, that made her feel helpless, and sick.
"I can't be a good mother… it's just not possible…"
Loris mind started drifting away.
"I'm so tired… I wanna sleep forever."
Lori fell asleep. Lori woke up. She was freezing cold. No wonder, because as she looked out of the window, snow fell down. Lori stood up and looked out of the window. The Valley of the mountains started to become white. But Lori saw something interesting. A hut at the other side of the valley. Directly across the valley. Lori went trough the door in the barn, and took wood, wich she used to fuel the fire in her furnace. Lori walked trough the whole hut. It had a Kitchen, a Small bathroom with a bathtub, and with warm water, if she made a long burning fire in the furnace. And, a bedroom, with a wide bed, that was made for two people. Lori went in the bathroom, and used the toilet. After washing her hands, she went back in the barn, and took some of the Potatoes. Lori went back in the kitchen, and looked for a pot. She found one. Lori opened the water tab. The water smelled awful at first. But then, it turned clean. Lori filled the pot, put it on the kitchen furnace, and put the potatoes on it.
"I need more wood." Lori said to herself.
She went back in the barn, and took again wood. She did the same thing she already did with the Living room furnace, but now in the kitchen. After some time, the potatoes were cooked. Lori poured the water into the sink and waited for the potatoes to cool down a bit. Then, she took a potato and bit it.
"Not bad…" Lori said while chewing the potato.
Lori ate all of the potatoes. After that, she put the pot on the kitchen counter and went back in the living room, where she put her bag the night before. She took out a big, thick jacket. It was brown and had fur on the inside. Lori put it on, closed the zipper and went outside trough the barn. It was terribly cold outside. Snow was falling, and the air was dry. Lori walked to the backside of the hut. A dark tan forest was beginning a few meters behind the hut, and went on uphill, until the fog made it impossible to see. Lori turned around, and walked back to the front of the hut. There she saw the other hut again. It was a bit smaller. But, there was something odd. The chimney was releasing smoke, and trough the small windows was light visible.
"Is there someone?" Lori asked herself. "I should check that out later."
Lori turned back and walked back to her barn, and walked back in the living room, wich was comfortable warm now. Lori went to the bedroom, and laid down on the bed, with open jacket, looking at the ceiling.
"It started at this one day."
The memory of the day Lori met Natasha the first time went trough her mind. She said the words she said to Natasha.
"May I sit next to you?" Lori felt an inner pain.
"This was the biggest mistake I've ever made." She closed her eyes.
"Since I know Natasha, everything got worse. Now I don't even have a family anymore."
Another memory of her doing handwork as a little girl with Rita went trough her head. Lori missed her mom.
"I miss you. I'm so sorry mom…" Lori said almost crying.
Lori kept laying there. In the evening, she got up. She had to. Or otherwise she'd have been become crazy. Lori took the thick jacket on again, and got out. The hut on the other side of the valley was still visible. But there was something new. At a Flagpole was now a Flag. Red, blue and white, with a two headed, white eagle on the left side. And this flag wasn't there before.
"There is someone."
Lori went downhill. It was difficult, because the ground was slippery. Down in the valley, Lori had to jump over a small creek. Then she walked uphill to the hut. When she stood in front of it, she looked at the Flag. It was hard, because snow was falling in her face. But the Lori didn't know the Flag. Then she walked to one of the two windows of the hut. She peeked a look trough. There was someone. A man. In his sixties, wearing a thick blue wool sweater, and beige pants. He had white, very thin hair. He sat at a Table, and held playing card in his hands. Behind him at the wall hung another flag, the same that hung outside at the flagpole. And there was a portrait of a man. On the picture frame was something written in letters wich Lori wasn't able to read.
"Слободан Милошевић."
The man stood up, Lori backed away from the window, but in a way so she still was able to see the man. He walked to the other side of the table, sat down, and took another pile of cards. He looked at the cards, and laid one down. Then he stood up again, and sat down at his original chair. Then he did the same with the first cards again. Lori backed away again. She hid behind the wall.
"I think he's crazy."
Lori said to herself. Suddenly the door opened, and the man Pointed a Kalashnikov at her. Lori froze and pulled her hands up.
"What you doing here?"
The man asked with a strong slavic accent.
"Don't shoot. I was alone. And saw your hut. I wanted to knows who lived there." Lori said.
"Not convince me. What reason?"
"I live in the other hut. I'm wanted and my family hates me. Please don't shoot me and point the Kalashnikov don't."
The man looked at his rifle.
"This not Kalashnikov. This Zastava."
"Please point it down. Or… shoot me… My life is already ruined…" Lori said, thinking of the things that happened the last few days.
He pointed his rifle down.
"I feel pain of you. Do you come in?" Lori lowered her hands.
"Okay… I can't loose much anymore…"
Lori followed him in the hut. He closed the door and put his Zastava on the table.
"Zastava M70. Good friend for years. What name of you?"
"Jane. And what is your name?"
"Slobodan."
"From wich Country are you?"
"Србија."
"What?"
"Србија."
"Serbia?"
"Да."
"I don't understand you."
"It Srbija. You right."
"So you are from Serbia?"
"Да."
"Why are you here and not in Serbia?"
"First, I will hear why you here. Then I tell story from me."
Lori sat on a chair at the table.
"I meet a friend. We were good friend. But then, bad things happened. And, to make things better, we had to do bad things. And now, im away. Wanted by the police, and here because the FBI wanted it this way. That's my story in short."
"Hmmm…"
"And now tell, Slobodan, why are you here?"
"This long story. Long time, I was no Serb. I was Yugoslav. You know what is Yugoslav?"
Lori shook her head. Slobodan sat at the chair on the opposite side of the table, and looked at the ground.
"Many years ago, there was country. Name was Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia was many countries. Srbija, Hrvatska, Bosna, Crna Gora, Makedonija, and Slovenija. Country was good. People happy. There was Leader. Name was Josip Broz Tito. Tito was good man. Held Yugoslav people together. Tito died. And without Tito, Yugoslavia got sick. Slowenija set free. Then Hrvatska. War started. Bosna… I was in Bosna… Friends and family was enemy now. Only Srbija and Crna Gora fought against Muslim Bosna. Srpska was to be bring back to Srbija. Everything Broke. Then, war in Kosovo. I was in Kosovo. Because President Slobodan Milošević led us to Kosovo to bring back. Amerika and NATO bombed Beograd. I had wife. Wife and kids die of Bomb. CIA eventually captured me. I was bring here to wait. CIA Forgot me. I life here now."
Lori deeply felt bad for him.
"I'm sorry…"
"No sorry of you. You not guilty."
Lori looked down. She never heard of these wars. She looked at Slobodan.
"When was this? When did these wars happen?"
"Yugoslavia broke in 1991. Wars were ten year's. In 2001, I came here. This ten years ago."
"Ten years?" Lori asked confused.
"It year 2011 now." Slobodan said.
"No. It's the end of 2022. Didn't you know that?"
"Forgot time of me."
Both looked at the ground. Both kept being silent, and just sat there. Eventually, Lori looked at the window. It was already dark outside. Lori got up.
"We are both lost souls… For you it was Yugoslavia, for me wrong decisions… If you want to find me, I live in the hut on the other side of the valley. Bye…"
Lori went to the door.
"Ћао Јане."
"At least I understood that. Ćao."
Lori left. She walked down the valley, and reached the creek. The snow falling turned into a Blizzard, and Lori didn't see more than ten meters. She jumped over the creek and walked uphill, until she eventually reached her hut. Lori entered the Barn, got some wood for the Furnace, and entered the Living Room. She put one half of the wood in the furnace, and the rest of the wood she put in the furnace in the Kitchen. She fired it up, and Cooke again potatoes. When the potatoes were done, she took the pot with her to the Leather chair, and sat down. She started to eat the potatoes. Alone, in a cold hut in the mountains of Montana. The only thing that didn't make her feel as cold as the mountains, was the fire in the furnace, which Lori was watching. Lori never thought that a fire would be so important for her.