Chereads / Never Quit Again / Chapter 16 - Chapter 15: Heart Aches and Psyche Breaks

Chapter 16 - Chapter 15: Heart Aches and Psyche Breaks

Saturday January 19th, 2013 7:00 A.M.

The Woods

A pair of voices were whispering rapidly just a few feet ahead. Samantha could hear the rushed and worked up masculine voice and then the soft and subtle feminine one. "Klyde? Dianne?" It was all she could do to try and see if they were there. Her eyes were open now, yet all she saw was the silhouettes of trees. A morning sun was off in the distance, barely bringing much light to the area she was in. In fact, worry began to hit her too as she realized just where she was. "Where am I?" she felt dirt under her fingers, and her back was up against some old, moist log.

The sounds of birds chirping away broke the boundary she had between being awake and asleep. A clearing surrounded her; it was only a small area. It's probably around fifteen feet in diameter, roughly guessing. "Nice brain you got there." Klyde sounded off to her right. He was only a few feet away, stoking a campfire. Dianne had been cooking what smelled of eggs and bacon. Her stomach actually didn't squirm at all to the sight of this breakfast. Dianne happened to be wearing long tight jeans, and a tied up shirt. Klyde was sporting jean shorts, and a flannel shirt.

Both of which had a pair of hiking boots on, though Dianne's was a bit more girlish. The fire crackled a few inches away from Samantha. The warmth of it hit her right arm, not searing, but noticeable. Besides all of the chatting birds, the whistles of the wind blew through the pine needles of the trees surrounding them. "It's gonna be a slightly chillier day today, I can tell," Klyde muttered. Samantha couldn't tear her eyes from him. There was some sort of blank expression on the man's face. The fire kept glistening off the reflective surfaces of his eyes. "Are you okay?" The words escaped Samantha's mouth, surprising all of them.

The look she received from him was not that of an angry person. She could feel the concern coming from him, even though he never voiced it. The trajectory of his eyes matched that of her stomach. She felt so bloated at the moment, as if she were on a prolonged period. And it seemed like her belly was getting bigger and bigger every single day. "How far along are you?" Dianne asked. She was already sliding a plate of eggs in front of her. The eggs were seasoned perfectly. Each tiny bit that entered her mouth was like Heaven and she loved it.

Even the bacon was perfect. Mostly crispy, with a slight limp. Her stomach accepted the food without regret. "Samantha?" Dianne broke her out of the stupor she was in. The woman was sitting next to her; neither she or Klyde had food in front of them. "Aren't you gonna eat?" she kept chewing the luscious greasy meat, though felt a little self conscious. "No, no. You're eating for two here, this is all for you. Dianne and I will eat later." Klyde rested to her right, draping an arm over his folded knee.

After feeling that slight heat slithering down her throat, Samantha finally answered. "I'm okay, relatively speaking of course. I'm not feeling nauseous at the moment, so that's a plus. My breasts and belly are constantly hurting, but I assume that's a pregnancy thing, I don't know." Just as these words escaped her, something squirmed inside of her. A surge of heat rose up her throat to her mouth. I'm not gonna puke. Not today damn it! The bile went back down; the looks she received from those two, it was nerve wracking. "Are you two okay?"

She felt weirdly happy, and smirked at them. Klyde had already gotten up to his feet and was dousing the fire with some dirt. "I'm fine, are you fine darlin'?" Samantha turned her attention to the woman she began to admire, as she got to her feet. "Yeah…" She was wiping the dirt from herself. "Yeah, I'm fine. Are you ready to explain why we're here honey?" The two of them were locking eyes; a sense of nervousness washed all throughout Samantha's veins. She couldn't rip her gaze away from them, as they stood before the smoldering fire.

Before she knew it, Klyde was offering her his hand. She got to her feet, feeling a little off balance, but he caught her. "You gotta reserve your strength, girl. Prepare yourself and stay close behind me." He entered a little opening in the trees up ahead, with Dianne right behind him. The sun was rising up a bit more, casting an array of heavenly looking lights between all those trees. As she entered that little opening, an unmistakable sound of cars meet her ears. But why am I hearing vehicles? We're in the middle of the woods. She hadn't even realized that they were standing before a small creek.

And it wasn't even until now that she felt the plastic bottle in her hands. It was full of amazing clear water, which she immediately began sipping at. "Th-Thank you," she muttered, but Klyde had already began walking again. Just ahead, she could see a worn down pathway, leading off to the right of the creek. She just barely caught a glimpse of Dianne's shirt before she disappeared behind all the foliage. "Wait up!" she ran as fast as her body would handle, whipped around the bend, and nearly slammed into Dianne's back. "Jesus! Why didn't you…" "Shh." Dianne hushed her.

Klyde was crouching just a bit ahead. A wide gate was visible, made of old wood and it was ajar. Samantha could see a bit of what looked like a log cabin off in the distance. More sounds of cars went off to her left; they were unmistakably vivid. Through a small opening in the woods to her left, she watched vehicles rush on by. "Where are we?" She tried to keep her voice down. Dianne ushered her down to a squatting position, just as Klyde reentered their little group. That concerned look he had was still there, but this time it was laced with excitement.

"It's time I explain what we're doing here, girl. You see that cabin right there?" She nodded, still not taking her eyes off of that man. He was only a foot away now, and an aroma of mint wafted into her nostrils. "Corey Smith - the man who raped and impregnated you - is residing at said cabin. It belonged to the Smith family, back when his mother was very young. His mother is a political figurehead now, so she wanted the public to think her son was still serving time for the despicable thing he did to you… Sorry, I'm losing track of thought."

"That's understandable. I don't like Corey either." Her hands rested on her belly, which still felt somewhat squishy, yet firm to her. She couldn't keep her eyes off that man however, who had a tear in his eye. "Where's Dianne anyways?" As Samantha heard her own question, a wave of excitement and nervousness washed over her. It was as if Klyde's own emotions were embedding themselves into her. Though there was a slight bit of worry and sadness in the back of her mind, with a hint of fury. It was a small spark of it, but it was definitely there.

"She needed a break from all this, girl, pay attention though." Her heart jumped just as she realized how close they were to the gate now; it was only inches away. "How…? How did…?" "Shhh," Klyde quieted her down. The gate creaked a bit as it opened, but they entered the clearing anyways. The grass was slightly unkempt and a giant pile of ash could be seen off to the right. She also saw a pile of logs resting just behind the cabin, in front of a back porch. She and Klyde were half way across the lawn already. Samantha felt her ears perk up as she heard something loud booming from that cabin.

"The bastard's watching sports while I'm standing here, pregnant. What the fuck?" There's that little bit of fury I felt. But where'd it come from? She kept racking her brains about this, not even realizing that she and Klyde were now resting beside the cabin. They were on the right side, just next to a medium sized propane tank. It was rusty and weathered from the years of element damage, but still stood strong. For some odd reason, this was making her feel prideful. How something so old; so destroyed, could still stand after all these years, she had no idea.

The sun had risen a bit more, now casting those lights into that clearing. She and Klyde had made their way up to the right corner of the cabin up ahead. A window was cracked open, and she heard Corey speak. "Why'd I do it? Why'd I rape her?" The sound of a can being crushed and thrown, hit her heard. Her heart was actually throbbing from sorrow. "Don't you start pitying the man, girl. Remember, he raped you. He made you want to leave college." Klyde's right. I can't let my conscience get in the way of Karma's work.

Klyde had gotten an old bucket and stood up on it, to peer through the window. Samantha's felt a shiver rising up her spine. Goosebumps were all over her arms, and even parts of her face. "What's he doing?" she felt herself asking. Though she didn't feel like herself when she asked the question. "The bastard's sitting in front of some big screen television. There's beer cans all over the floor and he's muttering incoherently to himself," Klyde replied. "Wanna see?" He was already hoisting her up on the bucket, and instantly she saw all of the cabin's interiors.

A massive room was in the front, with a t.v. mounted to the far side wall. She saw the unmistakable build of Corey sitting on the couch. A table rested in the middle of the room, and a kitchen was at the far left corner. He was watching what looked like a boxing match, but it was the same fight over and over again. A random, lanky white man had just knocked out his opponent - a tall dark skinned man with the same lankiness - and it kept repeating. "Why'd I do it? Why'd I rape her?" She saw the can being thrown behind him, and a new one cracking open.

He's gonna give himself alcohol poisoning if he keeps doing this. Despite all he's done to her, she still felt bad for the guy. "Why're you feeling bad for him?" Dianne's voice cracked through her mind like a bolt of lightning. She nearly fell off the bucket, though Klyde caught her mid fall. "Whoa, girl!" She felt the grass meeting her feet, and then Dianne's worried face met her eyes. "I'm so, so sorry! I left for a bit when I heard something going on out in the woods. It sounded as if it were at the base of the hill, but I knew you needed help more."

"I'm not gonna leave you like that again, I promise," Dianne added. Whether it was her reassuring words, or her apology, something broke inside of Samantha's brain. She felt the tears issuing from her eyes before she could even stop them. The woman was embracing her; a sense of warmth spread throughout her. It was like a shot of whiskey in the middle of Winter, and she loved every bit of it. "It looks like the poor bastard just passed out," Klyde muttered. She saw that he was back on the bucket looking through that small window again.

"What do we do then?" Samantha asked. Dianne had taken another bucket and started watching through the window towards the back. "You should take a look in here, honey." The curiosity was impalpable; Samantha had to see what the man kept in this room. She hoisted herself up to the glass, being met with a large, semi-unkempt bed. Beer cans lined this floor as well. Boxes upon boxes of pizza lay stacked over to the far left corner, where the entrance to his bathroom was. She could just make out the toilet in the back, which had numerous amount of roaches scurrying around.

"He's letting himself go," she whispered. She heard Dianne's sigh of approval. "Hey, you may wanna get a look at this," Klyde called out. The sun was already rising up over the tree tops, warming that chill Samantha felt on her face. Klyde was already pulling her over to the porch, and had her look through the right window. Corey was shirtless and in his underwear. Sweat was matted to his face, and stomach. She saw that he had stubble growing all over his face. "How fucking long was he in there?" "I don't know, girl. I was wondering the same thing. Guessing by the stubble, perhaps a couple of weeks?" Klyde's answer seemed to matter of fact to her.

He must have seen the confusion, because he gave a slight chuckle. "I'm just guessing Samantha." She didn't buy it. Everything about this stake out they were doing felt as if she were left out of a loop. It was as if the two of these people she admired so much, were already here. "You answered that question pretty fast there Klyde." The fury that rested in the back of her mind was growing. It engulfed the entirety of her mind, making her stomach tie up into a knot. "You need to calm down a bit there, girl." The way Klyde backed off, gave her a sense of happiness and power.

"Perhaps it's your hormones?" Just that question alone caused that fury to become more than a spark. It covered all of her insides, licking them with that ever growing fire. "Klyde, honey, you shouldn't bring up a woman's hormones when she's well… hormonal," Dianne muttered. Samantha saw her cowering a bit off the porch. As if the look of terror she displayed, poured a bucket of water all over her, the flames were snuffed out.

Her anger was quickly replaced with a deep sensation of depression. That was the only way she could figure why she felt so sad and lost. Within seconds the porch floor met her butt, and her face was buried behind her hands. The warmth of her palms met her eyelids, hugging them like a mother does a child. A certain coolness caressed her shoulders. She didn't know if it were the two she followed here, or a slight breeze in the morning. "Look at me, girl." Klyde whispered in her right ear; a slight feeling of a father's love was laced in his voice.

When she lifted her head, they were no longer in front of the cabin. In fact, they were all walking back through the gate, and up the pathway. "How the fuck did we get here?!" "Shh," Dianne said behind her. Samantha heard the creek up ahead, as the water billowed over those rocks. It was somewhat soothing, though she still couldn't shake how they got to this spot. "Look at me," Klyde said again, she did as he asked. Though she wanted all of this hell to be over with. She wanted nothing more than to wake back up in her dorm room, worried and prepared for her finals.

Yet her she was, pregnant and in the middle of the woods, which happened to be behind the cabin her rapist was staying at. She was talking to two people she'd never met before. That was when the image of that torture room came back into her mind. They had just gotten back to their camp spot, where Dianne sat on a long blanket. "Don't worry about that room, honey. We won't need it anymore," she said. The softness of that blanket welcomed her chilled legs, but her mind wouldn't stop thinking of that room. "She's right, girl. Don't worry about that room, it's no longer important," Klyde stated.

He was poking at a lit fire already, preparing it for something. Samantha didn't know what it was, though she didn't care. It was that room; it was always that room. She couldn't shake the thought of it. "I thought that room was important, girl, but it isn't anymore. Now…" Klyde broke off, sighing towards the floor. The knot that was in Samantha's stomach lightened a bit. "Let's just drop it for now, okay?" Dianne asked. Samantha wanted to keep discussing this situation, but decided it was best to do as the woman asked. She just nodded, not knowing what to say or do anymore.

All she knew was that Corey lived in this cabin. She knew that these two wanted him to feel how she felt and that he deserved to be punished. She also knew that she was quickly becoming a soldier of karma, whether or not her mind, body and soul were prepared for it. Klyde kept on poking at the fire, while Dianne started to hum to herself, leaving Samantha deep in her corrupted mind. Something wasn't right, she could feel it. Right then, right there she felt her mind break a bit. Though no one ever taught her what it was like to have your psyche crack, Samantha could feel it.

There's nothing we can do anyway. We're were here in this forest after all, waiting to exact revenge on Corey Smith. That poor sap resting on the couch, with nothing but his beer and his thoughts. He has all the time in the world to feel bad for what he's done, but he still needs to be punished. Samantha thought. Even still, tears welled in her eyes. The last bit of her innocence was breaking away as some sort of darkness was swallowing her soul. A certain type of chaos that refused to let up, no matter how much she battled it. She knew there was no turning back now and it hurt like hell.