Sheep's Clothing by Gary Lewis (dark books to read TXT) 📗

who's bound to answer," he said as he reluctantly pulled his phone from his pocket with hesitant thumbs. "Where you at?" he typed into the chat box before sending it to Vance. "Let's talk," he sent another.

No reply. This is ridiculous. David felt like he could turn himself in for murder that night and the police wouldn't even notice him.

Chapter 5

The moon still lit the midnight sky as Pine Bluff trembled along with the leaves that shuttered in the breeze passing slowly through town from the deep forests.

The scent of freshly cut oak contrasted that of the of the pine forests at the lumber yard. Jerry Haywood was doing his usual security rounds near the sawmill. He had been a security guard there for nearly a decade, but nothing this small-town job could throw at him ever gave him more than a wiggly smirk of his bushy, white mustache.

A grid of high stacked charges of timber, piles of felled forest awaiting export, lined the yellow stripes painted along the asphalt loading zones. Ten-foot metal fencing topped with coils of barbed wire circled around the premises to meet at the shipping and receiving building beside the front gate.

"Kevin! Jason!” Jerry said as he swept his flashlight back and forth around stacks of freshly cut boards. “Where y'all at?" As the shadows shifted side to side, he adjusted his eyeglasses to double check the motion of his light. "Hate training these kids." He lit a cigarette around a darkly lit corner where he leaned back against a wall and exhaled a while cloud of relief in his momentary break from usual duty.

A loud scream ripped the silence apart from the other end of the yard. Grabbing his flashlight and radio, he charged the direction of the shouts. "Kevin! Come in!" he yelled on the radio, turning a corner into a stumble as he tripped over a pile of dead weight on the ground. Face planted onto the cold, rough, concrete loading pad, he picked himself up by his skinned hands, examining his busted glasses as he recollected himself.

Jerry shouted at the sight of what he tripped over. Kevin's torso, head and a leg were slumped into a pile where they had been slung against the wall, evident by the spatter of blood strewn across. His shaky fingers frantically scurried for pieces of his busted radio. The sound of Jason's screams became louder behind him as running shoes clapped across the pavement. As the noise got closer, Jerry quickly turned off his flashlight and crawled around the corner of a pile of freshly cut lumber.

A loud scream of desperation was cut short by a squash and a thud. Then a roaring howl shook the air through Jerry's squatting legs as his back planted firmly against the wall of stacked wood. Jason's voice was now gone and his struggle seemed over. More thumps continued from what seemed like fifty yards away, just beyond a couple lumber piles. He tried breathing as quietly as possible as his head turned to a passing truck’s headlights on the freeway. Nearby, but still far too distant for him to draw any attention. Things got quiet again and a sense of dread came over him as he no longer had a beat on where the commotion was.

Jerry considered scaling the tall fence nearest to his position. Maybe twenty years ago, but not tonight. The only way out would be the main security gate, but only if he could manage to sneak past the direction where Jason's screams had abruptly stopped.

Another loud thud plopped from behind him. Opposite the direction of the gate, but this sounded much closer. He held his breath and bolted for the first pile of lumber then quickly scooted around the corner, pressing his back against it as hard as he could.

The air got quiet once again as he glanced around at the piles of cut wood that filled the lot. Every shadow jolted his heart into his throat as he gathered the courage and dashed over to the next stack. Then another. Each short run brought him closer to salvation. From his new vantage point near the trucking lane, the bright lights of the guard gate shined brightly across the yellow lines on the black pavement where a lifeless, uniformed body was sprawled. The arms were spread across a stream of blood that still seeped in a pool around where Jason's remains laid. It happened closer than Jerry thought. But now the gate held so much promise as he could see he was almost halfway there.

Jerry took one last dash toward the gate. This time he would make it all the way. No stopping points. Only freedom ahead. Freedom. Almost there, his legs were going faster than his lungs and heart could keep up. It doesn't matter. Just a little further. Running and gasping as hard as he possibly could, he finally cleared the gate and punched the button.

He impatiently watched as the beeping began and the gate slowly closed. Jerry went for the phone in the guard shack.

A crushing feeling pressed on the center of his chest. It turned sharp and cold from the left into his neck and jaw before spreading to his shoulder. An agonizing shout came from the center of his being as he collapsed onto the pavement.

After a moment that lasted an eternity in body piercing pain, the feeling returned to his arm and the pressure released. Blue lights flashed from the parking entrance, speeding toward where he still laid beside the guard shack. "Thank God," he moaned.

###

As the moon traversed the sky, the night continued to consume Pine Bluff with a darkness that only hungered for more. It lurked in the shadows between the trees, craving to spread its claw baring grip of death across the town.

It was now four in the morning and Randy Williams was getting ready for his early morning jog. "You shouldn't be out in the dark with the animal attacks," his mother said as he was lacing his shoes. "It's ok, mom. I'll be