style="font-size:15px;"> “Great,” said Megan, “it looks we’re the first ones here.”
“I know,” said Marina. “I’ve never seen the mall’s parking lot so empty before.”
As they carried their merchandise and walked toward the mall entrance, two men came out of the shadows, grabbed them and dragged them to a waiting car. Their presents were strewn all over the entrance while the two girls were fighting furiously, trying to get away kicking, scratching and struggling with all their strength. But they were no match for the Johnson boys.
“What the hell do you want?” screamed Megan once they were in the car.
“Shut the fuck up, bitch,” yelled Randy as he punched her on the mouth.
“We just want to have some fun, girls,” interjected Jeffery.
Marina surprised everybody when she unexpectedly swung and caught Randy on the mouth and nose, immediately drawing blood. She could not stand the idea of anyone hitting her mother.
“No!” cried Megan. “It’s OK, baby.” Megan had realized the boys were drunk and knew that any more efforts at a struggle would only aggravate the situation.
The shock of Marina’s punch lasted only a few seconds. No one had ever hit one of the boys before. They went wild and began hitting the girls with such ferocity, but through the struggle, Marina managed to punch and scratch every one of the boys while Megan was pleading with them and her daughter to stop the madness. The drive was quite long and the struggle continued for most of it, and by the time they reached the water tower at the lake, which seemed to be the boys’ favorite dumping ground, Megan and Marina had bruises all over their faces and bodies. Their eyes were closing shut from the swelling as they were being dragged out of the car. They had no more energy to struggle any longer.
“You’ve had your fun,” whispered Megan weakly. “Please don’t hurt us any more.”
“You ain’t seen nothing yet, lady,” answered Randy. “Now comes the fun part.”
“Hey Jeff,” he continued addressing his cousin, “have you fucked an older woman before?”
“Well, I really don’t believe so, but I guess I am about to.”
“Please let my daughter go,” Megan pleaded some more.
“We ain’t letting anyone go, lady,” said David. “I got to have me some fun too.”
At that moment, Megan realized that they were in real trouble; she came to the realization that these boys would actually kill them. She no longer cared what happened to her; she only worried about her precious daughter.
She had a great life and if it was going to end today, at least she would be leaving this place knowing that she had been loved like no one ever had the right to, but her daughter, Marina was only eighteen years old and deserved to experience what she had. No one had the right to take that away from her. And what about Austin, what would happen to him if they were killed today? She knew that beneath the façade of toughness that he projected, he was very fragile and extremely emotional, especially when it came to his family. She remembered how long it took her to nurse him out of the nightmares of his childhood. She was not sure he would survive this. Things like this just did not happen in this part of the country. She was really getting mad and wanted so much for Marina and herself to get through it.
The Johnson boys kept on raping and beating them. They took special pleasures in inflicting pain on the girl. She was the only person who was able to ever take swings at them and actually land a few punches and cause them pain. They continued hurting her even after she lay there motionless and probably dead. When they were finished and were sure they had killed both women, their concern switched to trying to explain the cuts and bruises on their faces. They never gave the girls another thought.
The boys got in their car and drove off and for the longest none of them had anything to say. They had never killed anyone before.
After what seemed an eternity of silence, Randy finally addressed his cousins.
“We have to get our stories straight,” said Randy. “We can’t let anyone know that it was us who did this. This time you know our dads would probably kill us if they find out.”
“Are they dead,” inquired David.
“You didn’t see them moving, did you?” replied Randy. “You saw what we did to them. You were there. Of course they are dead.”
“We never killed anyone before,” said David. “I am scared, really scared.”
“Shut the fuck up, boy! Don’t you ever say a word about this to anyone, you understand me? God help you if I ever find out you did, I will kill you myself,” threatened Randy, giving David a look that made a believer of him.
About a couple of hours later, but what seemed like eternity, Megan opened her eyes as much she could and whispered her daughter’s name, but Marina did not stir. As she was trying to move, looking around, Marina noticed a blurry object next to her and took a while to realize it was actually her purse. She prayed that the boys had not looked inside as she started fumbling for her cell phone, agonizing with every move she made and finally reaching it and immediately calling her husband at home first.
The boys did not touch any of their items; they did not want to be caught with anything that tied them to this crime. No one in the county ever accused the boys of being bright.
Austin picked up on the first ring; he was getting worried wondering what was taking his family so long at the mall. He could swear he heard Megan’s voice but it was so faint he was not sure until he heard her mutter his name ever so faintly that he realized she was hurt. He felt his heart hit the pit of his stomach, thinking they had had a car accident.
“Sweetheart, just tell me where you are and save your strength. If you can dial 911 do so, but don’t worry about it, I’ll make the call myself.” He hung up the phone after she told him where they were. He slipped his shoes on, grabbed the keys to his truck and raced outside the house while he was dialing the emergency number.
“Come on answer, damn it,” Austin swore as he heard the phone ring for the third time.
“911, what is your emergency?”
“My name is Austin Hunter. My wife and daughter are badly hurt. I want you to send an ambulance and the police to the water tower at the lake.”
“OK, Mr. Hunter, we have your wife on the phone right now talking to her and the police and ambulance are on their way.”
After hanging up, Austin realized that the lake was in a totally different direction from the mall. What was his family doing there? He could not shake the awful feeling he had. He was doing 110 miles per hour and, without even realizing, he had picked up two sheriff’s deputy cruisers in his wake, making chase. He was oblivious to everything except where he was heading. Tears were flowing down his face and he was praying that his family would be all right.
“Please God, don’t let them die on me. I have never asked for anything before and I am asking now. Please don’t take them yet.”
They were everything precious he had ever had. He had never prayed before. He just could not lose them. God would not be that cruel. They were the only reason he tolerated life. Without them, life
