Scary Man
“Did you see him move?!” Gary said.
“Yes, It
moved; because of the wind.” Vince said.
“No. He been moving since he went up on
the stand a few days ago.” Gary said.
“No. Dad put It up a few days ago.”
The brothers head towards the house with
their hands full of groceries.
“Hey! Who the hell put that Scarecrow up
on the east side of the field?! I already put one up in the center the other
day!” Their dad yelled from the field.
“He’s no Scarecrow, Daddy! He’s a Scary
Man!” Gary yelled back with a serious look.
“Stop goofing around and put the food
away, we have shit to do.”
The boys go into the kitchen and start
pulling items from the bags.
“Please, stop with this Scary Man shit. It’s really going to
piss dad off and I’m already over it.” Vince said.
“Last week a man came by, remember?” Gary
asked.
“…”
“Well, he wanted work and Dad told him to
fuck off.”
“…”
“Maybe he is waiting for work?” Gary
suggested
“That is a Scarecrow! That you put up! Dad
didn’t know about it, and it wasn’t me. I’m sure as hell Mom isn’t going to put
up a Scarecrow. She hates those fucking things. Now, put the milk in the fridge
before it sours.” Vince demanded.
“Fine.”
***
The boys been watching the Scarecrow from
the upstairs window all afternoon. If one had to do something, the other would
never lose sight of it.
“Anything happen while I was taking a
wizz?” Vince asked.
“A Crow landed on him and he shooed it
away with his left hand.” Gary said without taking a breath.
“Fuck off. How come something always
happens when I walk out of the room? Go make us some sandwiches and I’ll see if
anything happens.”
Not long after Gary leaves the room, Vince
sees the hat lift up from the wind and observed a pair of eyes looking directly
into his. Running downstairs and pulling his brother by his arm (dropping mayo
in the process) they both sprint outside.
“What are you doing?!” Gary yelled.
“Shut up and come on.”
The boys ran for 3 minutes to the
Scarecrow only to find an empty rack.
“I told you boys I didn’t want that damn
thing on this side. I’m happy you listened for a change and took it down. Can’t
have too many of them up or the Crows will figure it out. We just need a few
and change the way they look every other day so the crows don’t get used to
seeing the same ones and come eat all the corn.” Their dad said.
“We didn’t… take him… down!” The boys said
at the same time out of breath.
“Enough with these games! I been going
since before the sun dragged it’s ass out of bed, and I’m hungry. Let’s go eat,
boys.”
*
They ate lunch at the table and went back
upstairs to watch for the Scarecrow to come back.
“Where do you think it went?” Gary asked.
“Maybe, Dad took him down.”
“Dad would never do something if he told
us to do it.”
“True.” Vince said with wincing eyes. “Maybe
the fucking thing fell off the rack and we didn’t see it on the ground.”
The boys hear a dog screeching in pain,
then silence.
“That was Tuffy! We have to go make sure
he is okay!” Gary demanded.
“It’s too dark now, we’ll have to wait
until morning.”
“We have to. He is hurt and I don’t see
him by his spot. He is ALWAYS at his spot around this time.” Gary said.
“Fine. I’ll bring the bat. Should we get
Dad, or tell Mom?”
“No! They’ll just say it’s nothing and to
go to bed while poor ol’ Tuffy is out there hurt, or worse.” Gary said with
tears forming in his eyes.
“Fuck. Let’s go.” Vince said.
They walk slowly down the old, squeaky
stairs and head out the back door. Avoiding the motion sensor lights, they make
it to Tuffy’s spot.
“His bowl is still full with leftovers. I
already know something is wrong if he hadn’t ate that yet.” Vince said looking
at Gary with worried eyes.
The boys walk around the barn and look
inside.
“Nothing here, just those damn chickens.”
Gary said.
“Let’s go to that Scarecrow’s rack and
look around. That’s where the sound was.” Vince said.
“I don’t want to go by the Scary Man’s
spot. Let’s keep looking over here, that’s too far to go without flashlights.”
Gary said.
“Stop being a baby. It just fell down. It
did have some pretty cool eyes on it though.”
Sticking to the shadows and making sure
not to step on any twigs, they get close to the empty rack.
“Something is wet over there, Vince. It
looks black in the moonlight. It can’t be oil. Daddy, doesn’t bring his
machines over here on this side.”
They inch closer to the black puddle of
liquid and reach down. Vince dips two fingers in and looks at his hand.
“Fuck, this is blood.” Vince whispered.
“Did you hear that? I heard Tuffy whimper
by the rack.”
They boys look around for 5 minutes until
Gary trips over something.
Vince dips two fingers in and looks at his
hand.
“Fuck, this is blood.” Vince whispered.
“Did you hear that? I heard Tuffy whimper
by the rack.”
They boys look around for 5 minutes until
Gary trips over something.
*YELP!* Tuffy lets out loudly.
“Tuffy!!” The boys say at the same time
while giving him a big hug. They touch and pet Tuffy until he yelps again.
“What the fuck happened to his back leg.
Looks like something chewed a hole in back leg. Let’s get him home and fixed
up.” Vince said.
It takes both the boys to carry him home.
They walk into the door around 1 am.
“Come here! Where have you boys been?! Do
you know what time it is?! I was worried to death!” Their mother yelled.
They put Tuffy on the kitchen floor and
their dad walks in.
“We heard him yelp from our window and had
to find him. Sorry we didn’t tell you, but we knew you’d tell us to go to sleep
and he would have died over night, Dad. Please, don’t be mad, Mom.” Vince said
with Gary nodding his head in agreement behind him.
“Well, damn. Let’s fix this poor old dog
up. Looks like a coyote got his ass.” His dad said as he filled his Zippo with
some lighter fluid.
“He tried to get a few bites in but missed
and bit some hay. We better clear that out before he chokes on it.” Gary said.
“Your mother and I will look after, Tuffy
boy. Come give him a hug and you’ll see him in the morning. We’ll fix him right
up.”
Gary walks to Tuffy. “Sorry we didn’t get
there sooner, boy.” And gave him a big hug.
Vince moves to the side to let Gary pass,
kneels down and grabs Tuffy’s face and kisses his head. “You have teeth, Tuff.
Start using them.”
“Okay, boys. Bedtime. Go…to…sleep!” Their
mother said.
“Yea, and no fucking around. Straight to
bed. Love ya, boys. Good job tonight.” Dad said.
***
“What was that?!” Gary whispered into
Vince’s ear.
“Why are you by my bed? What do you want
now? You heard Dad.”
The door opens and their mother comes
crawling in the room with her throat cut and flooding the floor with blood.
With wild eyes she points downstairs and falls to the floor.
“Mom!” The boys yelled together.
They run to her and flip her on her back
and blood shoots all over them from her open throat. Her eyes are in the back
of her heard and bubbles are starting to come from the wound.
“Get the bat!” Vince yelled.
“Where is it?!” Gary yelled back.
“FUCK! We left it by that empty scarecrow
rack!” Vince said.
They walk slowly down the old, squeaky
stairs and stick to the shadows in the kitchen. They see a large shadow walk by
the kitchen door leading into the living room.
“That’s the Scary Man!” Gary whispered to
Vince.
“Fuck. We need a knife. They are by the
door, so don’t get noticed and get two knives. I’ll stay here and make sure he doesn’t
come from behind us. We’re killing this mother fucker if Dad doesn’t get him
first.” Vince said.
Gary crawling on his belly, well,
slithering more like a snake on his belly, makes it to the knife block and
grabs two, then slithers back to his foul mouthed brother.
“Here” Gary passes Vince a knife.
“What the fuck is this? Why did you get me
a fucking fish filleting knife?”
“I just reached and came back. I have a
meat cleaver, you want mine?” Gary said with tears rolling down his cheeks.
“No. Let’s find Dad. And we need to stay
calm right now and get this mother fucker, clear your eyes, we need to see
where we’re going. Okay, bro?”
Crawling toward the dining room by the
fridge, Vince puts his hand on something soft and wet. Letting his eyes adjust,
he sees its Tuffy with blood coming from his head.
“It hit Tuffy. His head is bleeding.”
Vince said to Gary.
“You mother fucker!” Their Dad screamed
from the back room and the boys hear wrestling around. Running towards the
noise, Gary drops his meat cleaver. Making into their Dad’s room, they see
their Dad on top of a scarecrow punching it.
“Dad!” The boys yelled.
“Get the shotgun from under my bed! Hurry,
he’s strong. I can’t keep him down.” Dad said.
Gary went straight to the shotgun and gave
it to Vince since he already knows how to use it.
“Now shoot this son of a…” Their Dad
stopped talking and slumped over.
Watching their father slump and roll over
on his back; they saw his guts spill on the floor with a look of horror on his
face. His eyes screamed, RUN! The Scarecrow stood 7 feet tall and looked down
at the boys with an insidious smile. Vince let off one shot and left a hole in
the Scarecrows body.
“SHOOT HIM AGAIN!” Gary said immediately.
The Scarecrow took a step towards the boy
and Vince pumped the shotgun and let out another shot, pump it again and pulled
the trigger watching the Scarecrow fall on their father.
“We need to call 911 and check on Mom, right
now!” Vince screamed in a voice he didn’t recognize.
The boys (slipping on blood) ran into the
kitchen.
“Call 911 and I’m going to check on mom.”
Vince said.
Running up the stairs and sliding next to
his Mother, Vince puts his head on her chest to listen for a heartbeat; he doesn’t
hear one. She is already cold and face pearl white. He holds her tight and
begins to sob.
Dispatcher:
911, what are you reporting?
Gary: Our
parents are dead!! So is Tuffy!!
Dispatcher: Calm down. Tell me what happened and
where your parents are.
Gary: They’re dead! The Scary Man did…
The phone goes dead and there stood the Scarecrow in
the kitchen doorway with the end of the phone line in its hand. Roots and
sticks replacing the holes that were tore apart from the shotgun blasts. Gary
screams for Vince as the Scarecrow grabs him. Vince comes falling down the
stairs, twisting his ankle on the last step.
“Help Me!” Gary yelled for his brother.
The
Scarecrow is on top of Gary with it’s eyes glowing and light coming from it’s
hands. Vince grabs the meat cleaver off of the floor and swings as hard as he
can at the shoulder of the Scarecrow cutting it clean off. The lights went dim
in it’s eyes and picked up the arm and let roots reattach to it’s shoulder.
Gary was able to slide to the side and was ready to get a push off the floor to
run when the Scarecrow grabbed his ankle.
“Do something!” Gary yelled.
Vince ran to the other side to cut that
arm off when he got hit in the face by the Scarecrow and fell on the floor
knocked out. The Scarecrow lifted it’s hand and every finger formed a wood
spear woven from roots. Getting ready to force it’s spear into Gary, Tuffy
jumped through the air and latched onto the arm of the Scarecrow, freeing Gary.
Tuffy ripped off the right arm and ran across the kitchen to check on Vince,
ran back and latched onto the other arm of the Scarecrow ripping it off from
the elbow.
Waking up from all the noise, “Get the
lighter fluid and spray it all over him, I’ll get the grill lighter.” Vince mumbled.
With Tuffy tearing at the Scarecrow’s
legs, Gary is spraying it all over with the fluid.
“Stay back!!!” Vince yelled while holding
a grill lighter and a can of his Mom’s hairspray. He lit the lighter and
presses down on the hairspray nozzle engulfing the Scarecrow in flames. It took
off into the living room, setting everything on fire before making it’s way
back to the boys in the kitchen.
“Let’s get out of here!” Vince said.
“Tuffy, come on!!” Gary called to the dog.
Watching the Scarecrow collapse in the
kitchen, they run out the back door.
They stand there watching the horror of
their house burning down with their dead parents inside. Petting Tuffy, Vince
says, “With nothing left of that Scarecrow, they’ll think we did it.”
All three look behind them as the lights
and sirens come closer.
The
End
