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  Lucas said, “Check out what they're doing back there, will ya?”

  Nina nodded, then she opened the rear window. She pushed the curtains aside and peeked into the cargo bed, which served as a camper thanks to several customizations. A twin-sized bed, some shelf space with a lamp on top, and a mini-fridge were installed in the camper. A custom battery powered the electronics.

  James and Andrea Stone, a pair of blonde-haired siblings, rested in the camper.

  At twenty-two years old, James was the older sibling. He wore a white tank top, basketball shorts, and tattered sneakers. Sweat glistened on his chest and biceps, drenching his lean figure.

  At twenty years old, Andrea was the younger sibling. She wore a white tank top tied up to her navel, exposing her slim figure. Her short-shorts barely covered her ass, too. Her revealing style attracted more men than a strip club.

  Lucas glanced over at the rear-view mirror and asked, “What's with all the noise? What are you doing back there?”

  “What are we doing? We're dying back here, man,” James responded, laying on the shelf space. “Don't get me wrong, you did a good job fixing this place up. Congrats on that, buddy. But, did you ever consider installing a damn air conditioner? We're going to die from heat strokes back here.”

  “It stinks, too,” Andrea added, resting on the bed. She pinched her nose and shook her head, disgusted. She asked, “Do you have some Febreze or something in here?”

  Lucas said, “I don't just carry a bottle of Febreze in my truck. We're not in a commercial, Andie.”

  “Do you have some perfume in your bag? Spray a little back there,” Nina suggested.

  James said, “No. Don't spray anything. I'm not going to sit back here in a cloud of your toxic-ass perfume without an air conditioner.” He leaned closer to the cab's rear window and said, “Lucas, it stinks and we're sticky because it's too damn hot back here. We need to take a break. We need to find a hotel or a... a... a lake. We need to find a refreshing place, okay?”

  Andrea asked, “Are we even close to anything yet? Or are you still lost?”

  Lucas chuckled and shook his head, amused. He glanced over at his girlfriend. Nina shared the same reaction—a giggle and a shake of the head. Lucas and Nina resembled a pair of parents while James and Andrea filled the roles of obnoxious children.

  Lucas said, “I'm not lost. This is just another empty stretch of road. There's a lot of 'em out here.”

  James tapped Lucas' shoulder and said, “Let's switch. You can 'rest' back here and I'll drive. Come on, man, give me a few minutes of fresh air.”

  “No.”

  “No? That's it?”

  “That's it: no.”

  James huffed, then he said, “You don't even know where you're going, man.”

  Chiming-in, Andrea said, “I hate to say it, but James is right. Well, he's half-right. If James drives, we'll still be lost. Let me drive instead.”

  James said, “You're funny, Andie. You don't know east from west. You'd probably get distracted by your reflection on the mirror and drive us off the fuckin' road.”

  “Fuck off.”

  “No, fuck you and fuck–”

  Shh—Lucas shushed the bickering siblings. He said, “Look. There's some people on the side of the road. We can ask them for directions so you can all stop bitching. It looks like they're having some car trouble, too.”

  Nina stared at the white hatchback parked on the left side of the road. A man and a woman stood near the front of the car while another man appeared to be examining one of their rear tires.

  As Lucas slowed the car, Nina removed her sunglasses and said, “I don't know about this, Lucas. You've heard the stories, you've seen the news. These days, good Samaritans always end up in bad situations. This country is imploding, babe. People are spiteful because of all of the political bullshit that's going on. You don't know these people, you don't know what's going through their heads.”

  “Fuck it,” James said. “Let's stop. We need directions and we need fresh air.”

  Andrea said, “We need to stretch, too. We can't just sit on our asses all day.”

  Lucas glanced over at Nina. He spotted the fear and doubt in her wary eyes. He bit his bottom lip and shrugged, then he pulled into the side of the road. He stopped some five meters in front of the stranded travelers.

  Lucas said, “We're just going to see if we can help them and if they can help us. Okay?”

  Nina sighed in disappointment, then she nodded—okay.

  ***

  Lucas and Nina hopped out of the truck's cab. The siblings grunted and groaned as they climbed out of the camper. They walked towards the front of the truck, the blazing sun beating down on the back of their necks.

  As he approached the hatchback, Lucas asked, “How's it going?”

  The man near the rear tire removed his cap and scratched his short black hair. A look of disappointment on his face, he approached the front of the car with his hands on his hips.

  He responded, “Well, it's not going great.”

  “Maybe we can help,” Lucas said.

  The man stared at him with a furrowed brow. He glanced back at his associates. The pair shrugged at him.

  Lucas could see the uncertainty in the man's eyes. He shared the same fear of strangers as his girlfriend. Trust among strangers no longer existed in the hostile world.

  Lucas extended his hand forward for a handshake. He said, “My name is Lucas. It's nice to meet you.”

  The man slowly nodded as he shook Lucas' hand. He said, “My name is Christopher—Christopher Hayes.” He pointed at the woman behind him and said, “That's Kiara, my girlfriend.”

  Leaning on the hood of the car, Kiara Foster smiled and waved at the group. The group simultaneously returned the wave.

  While the others returned to the matter at hand, James ran his eyes over Kiara's curvy figure. The young woman wore a short skirt and a white t-shirt. The simple outfit was attractive.

  Christopher pointed at the curly-haired man behind him and said, “That's Carlos. He's a little down in the dumps, so don't mind his attitude. He doesn't mean anything by it.”

  One-by-one, as if he were calling roll in class, Lucas pointed at his friends and said, “That's my girlfriend, Nina, that's James, and that's Andrea.” He turned towards Christopher and said, “We're on a little cross-country road trip. We've been driving for a while and, well, we haven't seen any signs of real civilization for miles. We thought you might be able to give us some directions or some... some hope. Have you seen any living people around here or are we living through a damn apocalypse?”

  Christopher chuckled, then he said, “No, North Korea didn't nuke us into a post-apocalyptic novel. I've been through this area before. If you're looking for life, you're going the right way. If you keep following this road for a few miles, you'll hit a small town. You can rent a motel there, take a rest... take a shower.”

  Christopher glanced over at James and Andrea, grinning from ear-to-ear. He playfully teased the siblings. James and Andrea looked at each other with grimaces of disgust, as if to say: yeah, we do stink.

  Andrea nervously smiled and said, “That's my brother, not me.” She slinked away from the group, pretending to examine their desolate surroundings. Changing the subject, she asked, “Anyway, where were you guys going?”

  Christopher responded, “We're on a trip, too. We were heading to a film festival, but we got a flat. I think we, um, ran over a bone or something. The tire's all fucked up and...” He laughed and shook his head as he glanced back at his girlfriend—Kiara giggled, too. Christopher said, “And, none of us know how to change a tire.”

  James said, “If you have a spare in the trunk, I can change it for you.”

  “R–Really?”

  “Yeah, sure. You're going to have to drive slow if you're going to drive on a spare, though. I don't know if that will ruin your plans.”

  “No, not at all. You know what, if you change our tire, we'll hook you up w
ith food and drinks. I have a bunch of camping equipment and other supplies in the trunk.”

  “We have some bud, too,” Kiara said.

  Christopher smiled and said, “Yeah, if you want to smoke, we have some weed.”

  Lucas, Nina, James, and Andrea looked at each other. The decision was unanimous: stick around to eat, drink, and smoke.

  James approached the hatchback and said, “Alright, let's see if I can change this tire.”

  Following behind him, Christopher said, “Let me just get all of our crap out of the trunk.”

  Her hands clasped behind her back, Andrea approached the front of the hatchback. She smiled at Kiara, then she turned her attention to Carlos. She was attracted to the young man like a pig to mud. His lean figure, his chiseled face, his curly hair—it all drove her crazy. She wanted to pounce on him, strip him naked and fuck him on the side of the road.

  Carlos cracked a nervous smile, the side of his mouth twitching. Anxiety flowed through his veins, causing him to twitch like a drug addict itching for another hit.

  Andrea said, “Hi.”

  Carlos stuttered, “H–Hey.”

  “You okay? You look really nervous.”

  “I–I'm okay. I'm just... I always look nervous.”

  “Don't lie to the girl, Carlos,” Kiara said. She leaned closer to the pair and explained, “Usually, Chris and I go on these film festival trips alone. This year is different, though. You see, this year, Carlos broke up with his girlfriend so we thought it would be a good idea to bring him out here with us so he could get his head straight.”

  Andrea smirked and said, “Well, I think I can help with that. I'm good at head. I mean, I'm good with heads.”

  “Oh, you're a wild one. I like you,” Kiara said, giggling.

  Christopher walked to the side of the hatchback, lugging a set of camping chairs. He said, “It's going to get dark in an hour or two. I was thinking: we're all hot, we're all tired, maybe we should sleep out here tonight. You guys can sleep in your camper, we can sleep in our car. We can watch each other's backs and save some money instead of renting a dirty hotel room.”

  In an uncertain tone, Lucas responded, “You want to sleep out here tonight? On the side of the road?”

  “Yeah. I don't think there are any laws against it. Besides, I haven't seen a cop for miles. Have you?”

  Lucas took his cap off and ran his fingers through his hair. He glanced over at Nina, hoping for some guidance. His girlfriend only offered a pout of her lips and a shrug—it's up to you. He didn't exactly distrust Christopher, but he didn't trust him, either. They were complete strangers.

  Christopher said, “Like I said, I've got some camping equipment in the car. We can start a bonfire, drink some beers, smoke some weed. Shit, man, we can even eat some s'mores if you're into that. We can set-up a tent, too.”

  Andrea said, “I think it sounds like a great idea. A tent sounds cozy... and private. Right, Carlos?”

  The group shared a laugh—amazed, amused, and delighted. Trust was a notion of the past, hardly practiced by strangers, but the group had chemistry.

  Lucas said, “Alright, alright. We'll stick together. Yeah, we'll spend the night here.”

  Chapter Three

  Scary Stories

  The group sat on folding chairs around a bonfire on the side of the road. A small tent stood behind them. The summer heat lingered despite the sun's departure.

  Nina rested her head on Lucas' chest as she stared at the dancing flames. Christopher wrapped his arm around Kiara and rubbed her shoulder. Andrea and Carlos cuddled together, whispering words of passion and lust at each other—they quickly hit it off. James sat by his lonesome, a beer clenched in his right hand.

  Christopher said, “So, we only drove for, like, four or five hours before we got that flat. Before you drove up, we were thinking about walking to the nearest town, but that's like thirty minutes away on foot.”

  “Where did you say you were going?” Lucas asked.

  “A film festival. We try to go to a few festivals every year. I like 'em, Kiara likes 'em... It's something good for us.”

  As she caressed Christopher's cheek, Kiara said, “It's really good for Chris. You know, he wants to make a movie someday.”

  “A movie?” James repeated in an uncertain tone. He took a swig of his beer, then he said, “That's ambitious, man. But, don't you think it's a little too ambitious?”

  Christopher responded. “I wouldn't say it's a goal. It's just a... a dream.”

  “Well, keep dreaming and maybe it'll come true. Maybe.”

  Lucas chuckled, then he said, “Stop being such a douche, James.”

  “I'm not being a douche. I'm saying it could happen. Maybe.”

  “Just shut up already, man.”

  Interrupting the small argument, Kiara asked, “Anyway, what are you guys doing out here? You on some sort of spiritual journey or something?”

  Nina responded, “I guess you can say it's something like that. We're on a cross-country road trip. The type you take before you become an 'adult.' At least, that's what Lucas keeps saying.”

  Lucas leaned forward in his seat and explained, “I just want to do something before I really go out there and start working. I figured a cross-country trip in a car would let me see more of these great United States. But, so far, I've mostly seen empty roads. Empty roads and dead animals on the sides of those roads. I guess we're in the, um, abandoned parts of the country. You know, the places that people forgot about... It kind of makes me want to go to Supai, Arizona just to feel real desolation or just to... to get away from all of the bullshit.”

  Silence befell the group after Lucas' speech. They thought about their lives, they thought about the world.

  As he stared at the fire, Lucas smiled and said, “I would have traveled the world instead, but I don't have that type of money. And, if I ever get that type of money in the future, I think I'm going to be too busy to travel anyway. You work all day to make money, but you don't have the time to spend it or you barely make enough to live. That's life, right?”

  “Enough,” James said, blatantly irked by the depressing conversation. He said, “We get it: life sucks. Let's move on from this depressing crap and talk about something else. Let's, um... Let's tell scary stories.”

  “Scary stories?” Kiara repeated.

  “Yeah. I mean, we have a bonfire right here, a tent back there... We're basically camping, aren't we? You can't go camping without telling a scary story. Come on, tell me a story, guys. Tell me a... an urban legend.”

  They all glanced at one another, smiling and nodding. Scary stories seemed appropriate in the barren environment.

  Lucas said, “Okay, alright. Have you guys heard of La Llorona? That's, um, the Weeping Woman or Crying Woman in English. In the story, the ghost of a woman who lost her children would–”

  “Heard it,” James interrupted, his arms crossed. He shrugged and said, “Come on, man. You told me that story when we were in elementary school.”

  Christopher said, “I think I saw a movie about it.”

  “How about the Slit-Mouthed Woman?” Nina suggested. “Once upon a time, a woman was caught cheating by her husband. Her husband used a pair of scissors to cut the woman's cheeks from ear-to-ear. He asked her–”

  “I've seen a movie about that, too,” Christopher said.

  The group hissed and booed, tired of the interruptions. At the same time, they had heard most of the classic urban legends already. Only a pinch of originality could spruce up the night.

  Christopher took a puff of his blunt, then he passed it to Lucas. Lucas stopped smoking after high school. However, since he was heading to the police academy in the fall, he figured one final puff wouldn't hurt. He inhaled deeply, then he passed the blunt to Nina. Nina didn't mind the smell, but she never smoked. The blunt finally reached James.

  As the group continued smoking, Christopher said, “I've got a story to tell. It's not exactly an urban legend, but it
's a story—a creepy story.”

  As he exhaled a cloud of smoke, James said, “Go for it.”

  “Alright. Well, I heard it happened in a place like this—Middle-of-Nowhere, Texas. Well, I guess I should say it 'happens' because it's still going on. People come here for work, usually prostitution or drug peddling, but they never go back. They vanish and they're never found. They say it's because of a deranged serial killer who lives in a hut in the hills... Hills like the ones around us right now.”

  With a slight smile on his face, James asked, “How would anyone know that if they never go back? They've never been found, right?” He laughed, then he shouted, “Plot hole!”

  “Well, there was one survivor—a woman. She made it out and she made it to the police. She told them her story, but, before she could lead them to the hut, she killed herself. On her suicide note, she said she couldn't go back to that place. The things she saw there... It was so horrific, she just decided to end her life.”

  “Well, what did she see?”

  “You sure you wanna know?”

  James nervously smiled and said, “Don't leave me hanging, man.”

  Christopher took a sip of his beer as he glanced around the group. All of their eager eyes were glued on him.

  Christopher said, “She saw a madhouse. She saw her friends dying the most painful deaths. She saw torture unlike anything she ever witnessed before in her sheltered life. People getting skinned with cheese graters, teeth being pulled out with hammers, fingernails being ripped from their fingers with pliers... The most fucked up part is: the killer did it so he could drink their blood. Yeah, he drank the blood of all of his young female victims believing it would make him powerful. Fuckin' psycho, man...”

  Nina grimaced in disgust. She asked, “You're saying he drank their blood to become more powerful? Why would he even think of something like that?”

  “God told him to do it... or something like that. You know how it is: crazy people do crazy things. They don't need a logical reason.”

  Shh—James held his index finger over his lips and shushed the group. He leaned forward in his seat and stared at their vehicles, then he glanced back at the tent.