4 comments/ 10773 views/ 5 favorites The Atherton Job By: Wolfblackthorne This is a follow up to the story Tangled. hope you enjoy reading. Prologue Denise McGrath stopped her car at the edge of the forest, near the beginning of a well known trail. She got out and unloaded her camping gear from the trunk, checking it for the third time that day: tent, flashlight, food, book, medical kit, bug spray. She wasn't used to camping, but her counselor said it would be a good chance for her to de-stress and get over her divorce and to relieve the stress her work. She hefted the pack onto her shoulders and breathed out a sigh, "Well here goes nothing." She locked the car, looked at the forest and then started hiking down the trail. She found some footprints in the dirt, and that made her happy, knowing others were somewhere around. She went about a mile and then decided to look for a good camp site. She soon located a small clearing and dropped her pack and began setting up her tent. Once her gear was in order, she sat down against a tree with her book in hand and began reading away her troubles and worries. "This might just work," she thought as she listened to the near silence of the forest. When the sun began to set, she gathered wood and built a small campfire. She ate and then when the fire burned low, she went into the tent and climbed into her sleeping bag for the night. Lying in her bag listening to the sounds of the forest, she thought, "Everything has gone really well, at least so far." She drifted off into a contented slumber. She awoke to the sound of screams coming from somewhere in the forest. She thought, "What was that?" She listened carefully and heard the screams once again. Her next thought was to call the police, but then she remembered where she was and that she had phone. Her counselor had said that she should leave the world behind for this trip. She decided she'd go find out what was happening and with a curse, grabbed her flashlight and followed the trail toward the sounds. She eventually found the remains of a campsite; a few torn and slashed tents in a small clearing around a burned out fire pit. She looked at the wrecked tents, and found them stained with a dark smear, which she recognized immediately as blood. Stepping back, she looked around more carefully and found nothing. She stiffened with fear. What the hell had happened here; it looked like something out of a bad slasher flick. She found a set of footprints leading away from the trail she had followed in and decided to follow those. Every few yards, she came upon a drop of blood, a bit of torn clothing or discarded gear and she assumed she was following a wounded person. She gathered her courage and continued on. The trail continued for several hundred yards, perhaps even a mile and terminated in a large clearing with a small abandoned house. With her light leading the way, she stepped into the clearing and began to move toward the house. A noise behind her made her jump, and turn, but she was already too late. Someone struck her from behind knocking her flashlight out of her hand and knocking her to the ground. She started to turn, but then felt something sharp pierce her neck and then she felt heavy. The last thing she thought was, "what the fuck," before darkness took her and she knew no more. Chapter 1 Trees stood silent vigil as far as the eye could see; green landscape unbroken except for a small clearing near its center. Birds chirped and flitted amidst the trees. Sunbeams shined through breaks in the emerald canopy, lighting the red, brown and yellow leaves scattered on the ground. In the clearing were remnants of a long abandoned lodge. Its grey stone chimney long bereft of fire, stood in stark contrast to the deep greens and browns of its surroundings. A wide smile formed on Dwight's face as he lowered the camouflaged binoculars, letting them hang loosely at his chest. He grinned, excited about the discovery, and then he turned and ran down the ridge straight to his battered jeep. Dwight jumped in and soon the vehicle sped off down the trail and toward this latest find. The roar of the engine broke the peaceful silence of forest as Dwight sped off. His excitement made his driving sloppy and on more than one occasion he nearly crashed his jeep into a tree. The jeep continued onwards, flying over an embankment to land hard on the ground beyond and then crashing through a pair of small bushes to emerge in the clearing. Dwight slammed on the breaks, and skidded to a sliding stop. He jumped out of the still running vehicle and landed flat-footed on the remains of what once was the cabin's driveway. His worn grey leather boots crunched dry leaves and small twigs as he made his way toward his find. His eyes widened upon nearing the building, seeing that it was much larger than expected. The cabin appeared to be two stories with what looked like a small window at the very top which was either the attic or a small room. A large window took up much of the first floor although dust, dirt and cobwebs covered the glass, making it impossible to see through. Dwight walked around the house, his mind racing with the hope that he could see inside and perhaps see something valuable inside. To his delight, he found a small deck leading to the back door. Dwight went up the three small steps and over to the window by the door. The glass in this window too was marred and obscured by cobwebs and other debris to see inside and he sighed and was just about to turn and go back around when he spotted a small unblemished pane in the corner of the window. He knelt down to look into the cabin. Dwight saw that the place appeared to be abandoned. Cobwebs and dust covered the furniture that he could see. It looked as if no one had been inside for quite awhile. Dwight's heart soared; this was his first big score. He couldn't wait to tell his pals in town about this. He stood and gave himself a congratulatory fist pump as he started back across the deck but then stopped. If he wanted to really impress his friends he would need proof, not just his word. He would have to steal something and take it back for the others to see before they would believe him and help him steal what remained in the house. He rolled his eyes at the irony but didn't worry overmuch; the task seemed simple: just get inside. Dwight turned and went to the back door. The door looked like solid oak with old style metal hinges. Apparently the owner had a flair for old fashioned things, Dwight thought. Dwight reached down and turned the doorknob, finding it difficult but amazingly, unlocked. 'Today is definitely my day,' he thought as the door swung open. His joy was short-lived as the door stopped after an inch and refused to move further. He cursed and stepped back from the door. He didn't see a chain on the other side so maybe something was blocking it. Deciding upon this explanation, he put his shoulder to the door and grabbed the knob. He wasn't muscular by any means but at close to 290 pounds, when he pushed, the door moved and he could hear something sliding backwards. He kept pushing until the door was open enough for him to squeeze inside. Once inside, he noticed what had given him such a hard time. A heavy burgundy cabinet sat against the door. Inside it had glass shelved filled with assorted expensive glasses. The glasses were not what caught and held his eye; on the third shelf sat a tall silver statue of a mounted cavalryman. The statue looked old and from what Dwight could tell, genuine and valuable. His eyes lit up with dollar signs as he stared at the statue. This would make his friends believe him. They would come back for sure. Dwight didn't bother looking any further and wasted o time before opening the cabinet door and grabbing the statue, careful not to accidentally break it. It weighed at least eight pounds, making him feel that it was genuine silver and reassuring him of its value. Holding the statue with both hands, he moved around the cabinet and back out through the door. Once outside, he closed the door behind him and made his way down the steps and around the front of the cabin to his jeep. 'Wait until they get a load of this,' he thought as he put the statue on passenger seat and headed back to town. Chapter 2 "Yer tellin' me you found that out in the woods all by yerself?" Cutter O'Leary asked. Dwight nodded, quivering in his chair with excitement over what he'd found. Cutter eyed the statue carefully, lifting her lifting her feet the table where she'd sat and listened to his tale of the cabin in the woods. Cutter brushed away a stray lock of red hair from her face, lips pursed in thought, her eyes glancing at the overexcited man and then returning to the silver statue. She inspected the statue further with her hands, feeling the weight. "It's not that I don' believe there's a cabin out there, I just don' believe 'twas you that stole it," she remarked. Dwight's excitement diminished a bit at her comment and a bit of a frown formed on his face. "Honest I went in and took it myself!" he rebuffed Cutter's remark, his voice rising a bit too high and drawing attention from others in the bar. Cutter scowled and slapped the stout man over the shoulder. "Ack. Pipe down ye baboon. Ye want ever' one to hear and go looking and spoil it?" Her Irish accent flared up in her anger. Dwight replied in a quiet voice, "No, I don't." "Then keep yer voice down an' go get me another beer. Make yourself useful while I call in the others." Dwight winced at her words but he rose from his chair and shuffled over to the bar like a beaten child. Though he was more than twice the size of the woman, he knew better than to argue with her. He as well as every other drunk and low life in Bannon's bar knew of Cutter's reputation with a knife. He knew he'd better just do as she asked and not risk losing his manhood, or worse. The word around town was that she had cut up three young men to pieces with a hunting knife a few years back, served eight years behind bars. Word was that she had been caught eating the victim's severed ears when the authorities caught her on scene. When he got back to the table with the beer, she was already putting her cell phone back into her Jean jacket pocket. She scowled at him again and ripped the beer bottle from his hand. "It's good to know I can count on ye for something," she snarled before taking a deep draw of the beer. Dwight stared in silence, taking her abuse as usual, since she and her crew were the only group of lowlifes that would accept a loser like him. He sat back down at the table and waited for her to say something not wanting to incur more of her wrath. "Boys will be ere in the hour," she said more to herself than to him. Dwight nodded in acknowledgement though he doubted she noticed or cared. "So they believe me?" he blurted. "No they don't. Not yet. We're going out tonight to that cabin an' yer gonna show us this place. If it's there and if it's abandoned like you say, then we'll believe you." Dwight's spirits lifted despite the contempt in her voice. "It's there. I'll show you and all the boys too." "It better be or you'll be finding another crew to scavenge with," she threatened. Dwight's face went white and he shifted in his seat at that, "Don't worry you'll see." Caleb and Jacob Hannity pushed through the doors and scanned the crowd in the bar. The brothers dressed in black coats, faded dark shirts, jeans and weathered boots. Though that's where the similarities between them ended. Jacob stood a foot taller than his short and more muscular sibling. Jacob's oily black hair curled in the front, while Caleb's hair was a short shorn dirty brown. The pair made their way through the sea of tables to where Dwight and Cutter sat. Jacob flashed his wide, black-toothed tobacco chewer's grin at Dwight in a way that made Dwight shudder and quickly avert his gaze. Jacob ran a hand through his hair and tugged at his belt while enjoying Dwight's discomfiture. The brothers were quite well established as cutthroats in their own right. Many at the bar knew of their exploits and those with half a mind avoided them unless they had the appropriate cash on hand for a job. Caleb pulled two empty chairs over to the table and sat in one of them. "So what's this we hear of fatty finding something worth taking?" Caleb asked as his brother sat down beside him. Cutter smiled, seeing the rest of her band arrive. She pointed to the silver statue sitting in the middle of the table. "Come to me with that and a story of an abandoned house he did." Jacob looked at the statue a moment, then turned his attention to Dwight and sneered. Dwight gulped and tried to not look frightened while gathering the nerve to defend his claim. Dwight piped up." I did find the statue. And I know where we can get more things. It's a place off in the woods below the ridge." Cutter lashed out and struck Dwight with a vicious backhand across the face that snapped the man's head to the side. "Shut up would you? I told them already. Don't need everyone knowing about it," she snarled. The brothers laughed and grinned while Dwight rubbed his stinging face. No one at the table batted an eye or spoke up in Dwight's defense; as usual he was on his own when faced with Cutter's temper, so he just sat still and tried to rub feeling back into his cheek while the others plotted in hushed tones. Chapter 3 Just after sundown, they left the table and went out to the Hannity's battered grey van. Jacob and Caleb, took the front seats leaving Dwight and Cutter to sit in the back. With anyone else, Dwight would've argued this as a bit unfair but not with the Hannitys, who kill when it suited them. The brothers were known for smuggling and slitting the throats of people who stood between them and what they wanted. Dwight decided it would be more beneficial to his if he didn't complain about seating. He climbed in and shut the door as the engine rumbled to life. He barely got settled on the floor, before Jacob threw the van in reverse backed out hard. Ignoring Dwight, Cutter and the brothers discussed what they would do once they got to the place Dwight had described, outlining their plan of attack and what each would do. Dwight sat in silence, bouncing every time the van went over a bump in the road. He didn't need to discuss his role with the rest of them. He knew what it was. It never changed. Cutter, Jacob and Caleb were killers and while they didn't mind doing the dirty deeds they didn't like doing heavy lifting and tried to avoid it if they could. Dwight on the other hand, wasn't opposed to roughing up or breaking an arm to get his point across if need be but he didn't kill anyone and so the others thought him weak compared to them and assigned tasks such as being look out or carrying things like bodies or loot. The sun had set by the time the dirt road disappeared completely and the ridge came into view. A mixture of browns and dull reds, the ridge was once a mountain that had eroded until all that remained was a jagged cliff that that dropped down to a forest below. From atop of the ridge one could see for miles, making it a favorite spot for hikers and nature photographers as well as hunters. The van turned to the right, going down into the valley floor. Rocks and dirt crackled under the tires as the vehicle approached the forest edge. The brothers gazed through the windshield at the trees. Each one seemed to grow right next to another preventing taking the van into the forest. With an annoyed grunt, Jacob put the van in park and turned off the engine. He opened his door and announced, "Everyone out! We're walking the rest of the way!" Dwight opened the back door and climbed out, followed by Cutter who sneered at him. The brothers gathered their weapons and other gear as they exited the van. "Looks like you'll be showing us first hand after all," Cutter said. Dwight shut the doors and walked around the van. Caleb was standing in the open driver's side door, fitting what Dwight could only guess was his assortment of knives. He slammed his door shut after shoving a couple of small flashlights in his coat pockets. "This place better be there and it better be worth it," Caleb threatened. Dwight held up his hands defensively. The last thing he wanted was to have one of the brothers mad at him before they had even gotten to where they were going. "It's there... I promise," Dwight reassured the cutthroat. Jacob and Cutter came around the other side, Jacob with a shotgun over his shoulder and Cutter carrying Gods knew what weapons. The three of them walked into the forest while Dwight wisely followed a few steps behind. Beneath the thick forest canopy, the evening gloom became gloomier. Leaves and branches crinkled and snapped with each footstep. The group soon came to a large decomposing stump and stopped. Cutter turned to Dwight, "Alright, up in front ye idiot! Show us where this place is or I'll cut yer balls off and leave ye 'ere bleedin'." She licked her lips slowly, savoring that thought. Dwight blanched with fear but he was determined not to be neutered on the spot. Quickly he led them in the direction he had gone before. Before long they came upon the clearing Dwight had been to earlier. He stopped and tried to make out the outline of the two floor cabin in the darkness while the other three kept walking towards the abandoned house. "Well what do you know fatty wasn't lying," Caleb remarked. Dwight rushed over to catch up to them. "Told you it was here!" he replied a bit too confidently. The other brother shot Dwight a withering look, motioning with the barrel of his gun that promised a new hole to breathe through if he spoke another word. Dwight wisely heeded the warning and went quiet. Cutter actually smiled in appreciation for once. "Well you were right," the smile disappeared turning into that familiar scowl, "Now get to work getting us in." Dwight motioned for them to follow as he went around the side of the cabin. Caleb pulled a long hunting knife from his belt and followed, Jacob and Cutter in tow. They found Dwight already on a wooden deck, shoulder pressing into a door. Dwight grunted and with a push, the door opened. Caleb walked up behind with knife in hand and peered into the dirty window. Dwight took a step, meaning to go in but Caleb stopped him. "Wait. How do you know it's abandoned?" he eyed open door suspiciously. Jacob and Cutter walked up behind Caleb looking somewhat perturbed at his brother's hesitance. "What's the fucking hold up?" Jacob asked his brother. "This seems a bit too easy if you ask me. Stinks like that one job we had down in Texas," Caleb replied, "You remember the warehouse we stole those barrels from? Seemed empty when we went in but it wasn't?" Jacob nodded. "Yeah, I remember that place. There was a squatter in there. He thought he could make us leave and he could keep what was stored there to himself. He thought wrong. Had him strung up by his ankles and his intestines strung out all over the floor we did." "Yes and we had to leave the state because of that mess if you remember it right," Caleb chided his brother. "Can't do business with a whole state after us. How do we know there ain't squatters in here?" Caleb pointed at Dwight with his knife. "Yeah, how do we know there's no one home fat ass? Did you bother to check?" Dwight eyed the knife cautiously but stayed calm. "There wasn't anyone in there when I broke in. I swear. The place looked deserted." "If it's so deserted," Cutter interrupted, "Then you go in first. See if anyone is home." The brothers nodded their agreement and Caleb handed Dwight one of the three flashlights he had brought with him. "Fine, I will but I'm telling you no one is here." Dwight said as he turned towards the door. The Atherton Job Chapter 4 Just as before the place was quiet as a tomb. The furniture was as it had been when he had broken in earlier, only this time the darkness made it creepy. The eerie silence was broken when floor creaked as he walked into the room. "Hello? Anybody home?" Hearing no answer, Dwight took a few more steps then turned back towards the others waiting in the doorway. He waved them in. Cutter drew a long serrated knife from her boot then came inside while Jacob and Caleb followed, their flashlights searching the room. The three of them walked down a narrow hallway, passing by a staircase that led upwards while Dwight moved further into the cabin finding the kitchen. Dwight looked around the kitchen. The wooden table was covered with dust. Its three chairs had cobwebs between their legs. The sink was full of rusted dishes. The stove and the refrigerator beside it were rust covered as well. It was plain to him that no one had been there for a long time so he moved on to the next room. Caleb handed one of the two remaining flashlights to Jacob then headed up the stairs while Cutter and Jacob remained together. The two of them noticed the dusty and dirty pictures that lined the walls as they searched. He moved closer to one to read the caption. "The Atherton Family," Jacob said. In the picture was a young girl standing behind an older man and woman sitting on a blue couch covered in flowery designs. "Says 'ere this was taken a little over a year ago," Cutter said. She looked at several more but the thick dust made them unreadable. She shrugged, "Oh well, less we have to deal with. Looks to me like they're gone." "This place is empty and there ain't nothing worth anything here," Jacob complained. Cutter was inclined to agree but kept walking, leaving Jacob standing by himself in the hall with the light. She found herself alone in what she thought was the living room. Her knife gripped tightly in her right hand as she narrowed her eyes to see in the gloom. With her left hand she felt blindly as she moved around, walking step by step until her foot hit something hard. She searched with her left hand and found something soft and made of cloth. It felt like furniture of some kind and seemed to curve as her hand traveled down. She smiled as she felt soft cushions of some kind, her hand ran along one cushion until her fingers touched something round. Further inspection revealed a hole -- no, two holes in the middle. Cutter dipped her fingers down into one of the holes. Her body tensed as they touched something wet and squishy. Her stomach turned upside down right as the bright light from the other side of the room flooded over her. She squinted into the blinding light. "Lower the damn torch, I can't see!" she growled. The light lowered down to the floor. Cutter blinked a few times and then she could make out Dwight standing in a doorway with the flashlight. She scowled. "What are ye trying to do? Blind me?" "No, honest, I just walked in and was wondering why you were poking that corpse's eye out," Dwight answered sheepishly, "Corpse? What are you on about?" She was confused but then she looked down to where she'd placed her fingers remembering how it had felt. She jumped back wide-eyed as she saw her fingers were knuckle deep in the eye socket of a dead body. She yanked her fingers out revealing the wet, gooey remains of one of its eyeballs. Seeing the always tough and rugged Cutter in a fit of fear brought a spate of laughter to Dwight. He covered his mouth with a hand but not fast enough to avoid being seen. Cutter eyed him coldly and then without warning, her fist shot out and slammed right into his nose. Dwight winced and yelped and then felt the trickle of something wet and knew then his nose was bleeding. "OW! Son of a--!" he wailed in pain. "OH shut up you big baby!" Cutter smacked his shoulder to silence him. The corpse was wearing bloody, torn hiking clothes. The flesh that remained on its stripped bones appeared to be covered in small bite marks of some kind. "What's all this racket?" came Jacob's voice followed by his approaching footsteps. Jacob looked around in annoyance and anger at the sight before him. His eyes widened as his gaze fell on the corpse on the couch. Before either of the two could answer, wood boards above them creaked as if something was moving somewhere upstairs then it stopped. All three stood and listened in dead silence. Cutter swung the butt of her knife down and connected with the back of Dwight's head a she was bending down to pick up his dropped light. "Thought there was no one here?!" she snarled. Dwight whimpered and went down on one knee, his left hand covering the back of his head to fend off any further blows from the wicked woman. After a moment, he rose to his feet and looked at Cutter with a red, angry face, "I told you there wasn't anyone here you dumb bitch," he exploded, having taken his limit of abuse from her for the day. Cutter narrowed her eyes at him but before she could act, Jacob beat her to it and rushed forward and grabbed Dwight by the throat, squeezing the breath out of him. "Watch your fucking tongue or I'll rip it out of you, you fat, worthless bastard!" The anger drained from Dwight's face as he struggled to breathe in Jacob's viselike grip. For a lanky guy he sure was stronger than he looked. Dwight gasped for breath, only managing a whimper in response. Jacob dropped him to the floor with a loud thud. His arm landed on the corpse, the weight of him pulling it onto his body as he fell. Dwight shrieked as he stared straight up into the rotted face of the corpse. Cutter and Jacob shared a laugh at his expense then turned to try to learn who was upstairs while Dwight coughed and struggled to free himself from under the hiker's remains. Chapter 5 Upstairs, Caleb searched, oblivious to the noises of his comrades below. He stood in one of the bedrooms, his flashlight lighting a room made for a young girl. A twin bed draped with a pink comforter sat against one wall. A desk sat in a corner, half covered by dusty books piled next to a laptop covered in cobwebs and showing signs of long disuse. He swung his light around catching sight of a few trophies for various achievements on a shelf and finally he found a stuffed unicorn covered in more cobwebs and dust staring blankly at him from a wooden rocking chair in the far corner by the closet. Finding nothing of worth, Caleb turned and headed back down the hallway he had come down and headed to the other direction hoping to find the master bedroom. The hallway planks creaked as he passed several family portraits along the hallway walls by hall bathroom. He ignored these and walked into the bedroom at the end of the hall, swinging his light around the room. Caleb's light hit something gold and sparkly. He grinned, thinking, 'Jackpot.' He had finally found something worthwhile. Walking across the room to inspect his find, he heard soft crunching noises under his boots. 'What the hell was that?' It sounded as if he was walking on peanut shells or something. He forgot about that as his eyes zeroed in on his find, a large gold necklace with a ruby brooch lying in an open jewelry case on the bureau. The ruby was as big as a quarter and adorned by gold trim. His mind filled with thoughts of the riches he'd make selling it. Next to it, he found an assortment of rings, gold earrings and other small jewelry. "Hey! I found something," he yelled out to the others, "Come up and look at this!" He reached into the box and scooped up the ruby necklace to show the others. This would fetch a pretty good price. As his hand dipped under the necklace into the pile, he felt a sudden sharp sting on his hand. Caleb winced and jerked his hand back, "What the fuck?" He turned his hand over in the light, seeing two small reddening holes on the back of his hand with yellow, translucent fluid mixing with the blood. 'Had something just bitten him?' Cursing, he reached into the box and snatched up the necklace by the chain to avoid being bitten again. Caleb met the other three at the top of the stairs, dangling the ruby necklace proudly from two fingers in front of them. "Look what I found" Jacob's eyes widened seeing the size of the ruby inset into the necklace his brother held up. Seeing how it glittered in the flashlight, Cutter pushed forward from behind Jacob to get a better look. "Where did you find that?" Jacob asked. "All we found so far was a corpse in the living room." "In the bedroom down the hall," Caleb said, "Whole box full of goodies in there. Something bit me though when I reached in," he said while showing his wound to his brother. "A corpse? You went and killed someone without me?" Cutter pushed past the brothers and went down the hall towards the bedroom while Jacob answered, "No, it was already dead when we found it," Jacob shook his head. "We let Dwight have a bit of fun with it though." Jacob grinned then broke into laughter, "Come on, can't leave Cutter alone in there too long, she won't leave us anything." Caleb joined in the laughter then slapped his brother's shoulder. He dropped the necklace into a pocket for safekeeping and led the way back to the bedroom. They found Cutter already poking the contents of the box cautiously with her knife. She turned hearing them come in and shook her head. "Ain't nothing in here but jewels," she informed them. With that, she plunged her hand into the box and pulled out a handful of glittering treasure. Jacob's eyes lit up seeing what she held while Caleb looked on confused. "Whatever bit me must've came out when I left," Caleb said, looking at the oozing wound on the top of his hand. He moved his hand slowly, noticing that a tingling sensation from his fingers to his wrist as if someone had put his hand to sleep. The skin around the bite marks had begun to turn black and peel and fall off and the holes still oozed yellow pus. His brother nudged him on the shoulder with his flashlight, bringing him back to what was going on. Jacob set his shotgun down against the bureau and began filling his pockets with whatever he could grab while Cutter was admiring herself wearing a pair of jade and gold earrings. Even though there had been a few hiccups, this job and been a bit too easy, Caleb thought. Usually they would have had some sort of challenge or at least someone to rough up or knock out but this job was different. He shrugged and shook thought from his head. He and his brother would get paid. That's all that mattered. Reaching in his pocket, Caleb pulled out the ruby brooch to savor his treasure. He turned away from the others and walked to the doorway. Facing the hall, he flashed his light on the necklace and watched the light glittering off the gold and reflecting in the ruby's prisms. "Oh, you've found mother's necklace. I forgot how beautiful it was. Please put it back," said a soft voice. "Say what?" Caleb shook his head as the voice startled him from his stupor. He flashed his light down the hall and found to his bewilderment a young woman with long golden hair standing in the hallway wearing nothing but a white night gown that draped on the floor. 'Where had she come from?' He blinked several times and rubbed his head. It was then he noticed his arm felt numb now. He rubbed his head again as a wave of dizziness hit him and vision blurred, despite the light of his torch. "Who are you?" "Please put it back," the young woman repeated, ignoring his question. "No it's mine!" Caleb shoved the necklace into his pocket. The outburst made his ears ring and the dizziness return. So much so he had to brace himself on the doorway. He groaned and felt the numbness from his arm in his chest. What the hell was wrong with him? It couldn't be from such a little bite could it? He shook his head and when he looked up gain she was not there. "Hey! Where did you go?" Caleb looked around and then screamed as he saw the girl transform. Chapter 6 Two new arms burst from her gown and two more legs shot down from the bottom. Arms covered with coarse hair and tipped with sharp claws. Caleb's mind was so addled he wasn't sure if what he was seeing was real or if he was imagining things. That changed quickly. "Who am I? I'm Annabelle!" The girl shrieked as she charged. Caleb saw a sharp edged claw swinging at him, as the spider woman charged. In his surprise, he managed only to get to bring his numb hand up in a feeble attempt to ward it off. He need not have bothered, for the claw changed direction before it even came close and tore into his hip. Caleb howled in pain as he felt the sharp claw twisting inside his leg. Blood sprayed on the door and walls as she ripped the claw backwards and Caleb fell to the floor, writhing in pain. The last thing he saw before he blacked out was two black eyes peering at him from above. He thought, 'How did a girl grow four extra limbs?' Jacob and Cutter grabbed for weapons and turned when they heard Caleb's scream. They saw the claw rip out through the side of his leg and they saw him fall to the floor, blood pooling quickly around him. Jacob dropped to his knees to help his brother, while Cutter pushed forward, pulling Jacob's pistol from the back of his pants and firing at the creature with the ruby pendant dangling from a blood covered foreleg. Her first two shots went wide of their target. The third grazed one of the creature's lower arms. It flexed its legs and leaped, turning in the air and landing right in front of Cutter. "Ack! What the hell are you? Be a good girl so I can make you dead," Cutter said, while struggling to keep up with the creature's movements. By the time, Cutter got her gun level with the creature's forehead it was too late. It lashed out with its razor sharp foreleg, the edge slicing cleanly through flesh and bone and severing Cutter's head before the woman even had time to see it moving. Her blood sprayed upward and then in a wild arc as her body fell to the floor. Jacob dropped the shotgun and tried to pull his brother's limp body back into the room so he could close the door. Annabelle lifted a bloody claw to her lips and licked the edge, savoring the taste of blood. She chuckled as she watched the man's attempt to defend himself, it would be futile. She'd come back for him later. "I asked him to put it back." Her voice then changed to a ravenous fury, "But he didn't want to listen and decided to argue instead. You all seem so tasty and I'm so hungry, I think I'll keep you forever." She laughed, sinking her spider forelegs into Cutter's corpse before climbing to her lair in the attic. Annabelle licked her lips. This would be a tasty morsel for her and her babies well, she thought. The pieces left a bloody smear in its wake as it was yanked up into the ceiling and through the hidden door to the attic. Jacob picked up Caleb and held him in his arms. Tearing off his shirt, he tried to plug the wound and wrap it to reduce the bleeding. Caleb had lost so much already, his skin was beginning to pale. Jacob's mind raced, 'How had this heist gone so wrong so quickly? Where the fuck was Dwight? What the hell was that thing? Where had it come from? Where had it gone? It was probably behind the door waiting to gut him and rip him to pieces. Could he even get past it with or without Caleb?' Jacob reached back for his pistol, but then remembered that Cutter had taken it before she'd been cut down. He cursed loudly realizing it must still be in the hall along with that monster. Remembering their other partner, he yelled, "Where the fuck are you Dwight?" Jacob picked up the shotgun from the floor and pointed it at the door just in case that thing tried to barge its way through. "Well least I'm not totally defenseless," he said to the limp body of his brother in his lap, "If that thing comes in here, I'm gonna blow its frigging head off." Chapter 7 Dwight's went to search the basement. It was a block cellar, obviously long unused and a wet and moldy smell filled the air. He saw a few cardboard boxes that had been subjected to too much moisture and had begun to sag. There was a rusty metal trunk to the right. A quick search showed nothing of value in the boxes or trunk. Dwight turned left and looked around, his flashlight illuminating walls covered in webs from ceiling to floor. When he looked up he saw several circular globes of webs hanging from thicker strands. "Okay now this is getting a bit weird," he muttered, turning to the right. He followed the wall until it ended at a corner. He stepped around the corner and the path ended abruptly in a mass of thick webbing. Among the webs, Dwight saw several pods, which stood at least a foot and a half taller than him. Dwight tried think of their scientific name, but soon gave up. "Ok, scratch weird, it's really, really weird," he said. He was about to give up and go back upstairs to tell the others when he thought he saw a person hanging on the wall, pinned spread eagle by thick webbing . He froze and watched, thinking it must be a trick of the light. A cold shiver ran through him when he realized it was a person hanging in the webs. It was so still, he assumed whoever it was, was dead. Then suddenly, it moved. He screamed in terror and fell backwards onto his ass, heart pounding in his chest as he sat paralyzed with fear. Dwight gasped and caught his breath. His right hand fumbled around for the light. Finding his flash light, swallowed and forced himself to his feet. A quick look with the light showed a small dark-skinned woman, almost completely covered in webbing and hanging a foot or so above the floor. His impulse was to just up and leave, this place was creepier now than when was struggling with a corpse earlier. He didn't know what had made these webs, or captured the woman; he honestly didn't want to know. But even as his mind told his feet to run, he found himself stuck there watching the woman in the webs. Before he knew what he was doing, Dwight found himself clawing and pulling at the webs holding her. "Hold on. Oh why the fuck am I doing this?" he said to himself. "Since when do I help anyone?" After several moments of clawing and tearing away the thick webs that kept the woman bound, she started to fall loose. Her eyes opened, she blinked twice and then with a groan she fell towards the floor as the last of the webbing came loose. Dwight caught her and held her on her feet. She coughed and gagged, and then pushed away, steadying herself. Dwight shined the flashlight on her face to get a good look at her, "Who are you?" he asked? "Denise McGrath," answered the woman shielding her eyes from the light," You mind pointing that somewhere else? Who are you?" "Oh sorry!" Dwight pointed it down away from her face. He could see she was of African ethnicity. Her eyes were a deep brown and her hair had been buzzed short to look tough but professional. She wore a dark blue shirt and khaki pants, albeit covered in webbing. "What are you doing down here lady" Dwight asked. "I was camping and I heard screams and followed them, and then something hit me from behind and next thing I know I wake up here," Denise explained. She winced and rubbed her neck, "Damn something must've bit me or something. What about you? Got a name?" "D. . .Dwight," he stuttered, uncertain whether he should tell her, being as he was here to rob the place. "Well D. . . Dwight," she mocked, "Let's get the hell out of here, okay?" "Sure thing. This way," Dwight turned and led the girl back the way he'd come. He'd almost put his foot on the lowest step when he heard her curse behind him. He turned and shined teh light down over her legs so not to blind her again. "What's the matter?" "Just my neck is sore," Denise searched her pockets then began to tear at the webs still sticking to her. She sighed in frustration and gave up. The Atherton Job "Let's go upstairs," Dwight suggested. 'Oh fuck me what am I gonna tell the others?' He was mentally kicking himself with every step. He tried to maintain calm, but inside he was almost in a full blown panic. "By the way, do you know what the fuck those things are down there?" she asked once they reached the living room. "I dunno, something like a spider's web and egg pods or something. I don't care. I just wanna get the hell outta here," he replied, looking around for the others. Something wasn't right, Cutter should be yelling for him to do something by now, but there was nothing going on at all, nothing but silence. A chill ran up his spine and he nearly fainted when Denise grabbed his shoulder and screamed. He followed her eyes and pointing hand to the corpse on the floor and said, "Yeah, she's dead, I saw that when I came in. I don't know what killed her." Denise's investigative instincts came back and she bent down to inspect the body. "Something really nasty happened here, that's for sure, this is probably whoever I heard scream in the forest. Dwight was still wondering where his accomplices were and as he looked around the room, he half expected them to jump out and start yelling at him at any moment. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he noticed something red dripping down the steps. His eyes went wide as he realized what it was. "What are you looking at?" Denise called from the living room. "Well I was looking for my friends," he replied, thinking that 'friends' is not a word he'd use to describe the Hannity brothers and especially not for someone like Cutter. But he couldn't just leave without knowing what happened to them. If he did, they'd find him and kill him for skipping out on them. "I think this is blood on the stairs here," he said after his reverie. "Blood? Let me look at that," Denise walked over to where he stood and peered at the rivulets of crimson dripping down the steps. Dwight tilted his light up the stairs and they looked up wondering what was up there. "This place is just getting weirder," Denise said shaking her head. "Well, it looks like we go up if you wanna keep looking for your friends." She began going up by ones and twos, carefully avoiding the blood. "Up?" Dwight repeated, and then scrambled to catch up to her. "Wait for me!" Chapter 8 After one or two steps he was right behind her, mentally wrestling with how to explain why he was with someone to the others. He gulped, knowing his companions, they'd probably kill her on the spot. At the top of the stairs, they found more blood pooled on the floor. Dwight shined the light both directions but saw nothing. Denise started down the hallway to the left, but stopped when something wet landed on her shoulder. "Something wet just fell on me." "What?" "Something wet just fell on me. Shine your light up," Denise told him. Dwight did as he was asked and their jaws dropped at what they saw. A long trail of blood went along the ceiling ending right over Denise. A few strands of what looked like red hair stuck to the ceiling. Their eyes followed the trail several times, each wondering what could have left it. "That hair looks familiar but what's it doing on the ceiling?" Dwight thought aloud. He shivered hoping it was not what he thought it was. "You know whose hair that is?" Denise asked. "Yeah. Think I do" "Well whoever it is, they sure ain't happy now." A twinge of fear entered her voice," Times like this I wish I had my gun." "Your gun?" Dwight asked. "I'm a part time private investigator," she replied. Moving slowly, they followed the blood trail down the hall towards the closed door. The closer they got to the door, the thicker they trail of blood became until it ended in puddle that went under the door. Bits of hair and flesh floated in the puddle. "I don't like how this is looking. I really don't like how this is looking," Dwight couldn't stop his voice trembling. "Neither do I but. . ." "Who's out there? Who's that! Speak up or I'll blow a hole through you and the door!" came Jacob's voice from the other side. "Oh shit! Jacob wait! Don't! It's me, Dwight!" he answered while stepping back from the door. This was not good at all. Jacob might blow them away even knowing who it was. "Who the fuck is that?" Denise asked, pressing herself to the right hand wall trying to get out of the line of fire. "He's my fri. . . er, one of the guys I came here with," Dwight explained. He looked back to see her flattening herself against the wall. He would've done the same except with his size, he doubted it would help. "Jacob? What's going on? Let us come in," he yelled. "Us? Who's with you? Thought you said it was just you? I'll blow your head off if you're trying to pull one on me you motherfucker!" Dwight heard the sound of a shotgun being pumped and readied. "OH FUCK! Jacob wait, I found a woman downstairs. She was tied up and I got her out, we don't have weapons. Come on man, just let us in!" A long, tense silence followed before they heard, "Alright come in. Slowly now! And If you let that THING in here I'm gonna fucking kill you," Jacob yelled back." Now both of you get in here before I change my mind. "A real friend you got there," Denise muttered quietly. "What thing is he talking about?" "I dunno. Think it has something to do with how I found you downstairs?" Dwight asked. He reached out and slowly turned the knob, allowing the door to swing open by itself. Inside, he saw Jacob sitting on the edge of a bed, cradling Caleb's upper body in his lap with one arm and aiming the shotgun at the door with the other. Tentatively, he stepped into the room. "Her too," Jacob pointed at Denise with the barrel of his gun. She complied, Jacob following her movements with the gun. She closed the door behind her and stood beside Dwight, both of them covered by the shotgun. Dwight gulped but said nothing. Jacob's eyes locked onto Denise with suspicion. Jacob kept the gun and one eye on Denise the other on Dwight. "Why the fuck are you with someone we don't know." Jacob's face twisted in rage and he leveled the barrel at Dwight's face. Dwight shuddered and knew this was it; Jacob was going to shoot him right here and now. He waited for Jacob to pull the trigger. But he didn't. Instead he rammed the metal barrel into the bridge of Dwight's already broken nose. Fresh blood poured from Dwight's nostrils. "I asked you a question, fucker!" Jacob demanded. "He found me in the basement," Denise interrupted, "He brought me upstairs because we saw blood dripping down and smeared all the way down the hallway to the door. We just wanted to know what the fuck was going on and to get out of here." Dwight nodded his agreement while holding his bleeding nose. "She was just there, I rescued her and we came up to find you." Jacob sat down on the bed and seemed to mull it over in his head and after a moment, lowered the gun. Jacob sighed and the anger seemed to rush out of him. His eyes went down to look at his wounded brother. Jacob started, "Me, my brother, Cutter and Dwight came here thinking it was gonna be an easy score. Dwight told us this place was abandoned and just full of stuff waiting to be taken. Well it's full alright but it ain't fucking abandoned! We found a bunch of jewelry and stuff but then this thing, we thought it was a girl, came out of nowhere and attacked my brother. And then it chopped Cutter's head clean off and I dunno what happened to her body because I closed the door and hunkered down with my brother here, but instead of coming through the door, the damn thing went away. I don't know where it went but I fucking swear it's somewhere in this house just waiting for us." Denise turned to Dwight in surprise, "You? You came to rob this place? Why didn't you say anything about a robbery?" Dwight's face blanched. There went his cover. "Because you're not in the gang and I didn't want you in the way and I didn't want you killed if Jacob or one of the others found you." Jacob looked up at Denise. "Which would be correct, normally I would've blown your pretty face clean off but right now considering I need to get me and my brother out of this room alive, I'll make an exception." "What do you mean?" Dwight and Denise asked in unison. "Well seeing as I can't carry my brother and shoot that thing if it comes back, I need Dwight to carry Caleb. And you," he pointed at Denise, "can watch my back and make sure we all get out of here alive. Got it?" "Yeah I got it," Denise nodded. "Except, I don't have a gun. Whoever you say attacked you, attacked me a day ago and I just woke up in the basement tied up in some kind of web." Jacob swore under his breath. "I guess we will have to try and make do with one gun then. Cutter took my spare and the thing made off with her body and my gun." Denise nodded and looked down into the dying eyes of Caleb then back up at Jacob, "Your brother needs a hospital right now if you want him to survive." "It's settled then," Jacob stood up. He checked the shotgun and saw that it was fully loaded. Holding the flashlight under the shotgun he walked to the door. "I'll go out first you two follow." Chapter 9 Jacob opened the door, and flashed his light down the hallway. His nerves were on the verge of being shot so he had to focus to keep his hands from shaking. He expected the thing to pop out right there and gut him but what he saw surprised him more. "That's odd." "What's odd?" whispered Denise who was right behind Jacob. "There's a ladder leading up into the ceiling right at the top of the stairs. It wasn't there before," Jacob answered. He took three slow steps then paused and motioned for the others to follow. "Come on, we'll have to go around it." "What if the creature is up there?" Dwight grunted. He was struggling with the weight of Caleb in his arms. "Motherfucker, don't you think I haven't thought about that," Jacob turned and shot back, "I haven't even gotten to it and already you're trying to jinx me. We don't know if it's up there or not!" "Guys, calm down. We need to focus if we're going to get out of here," Denise said, trying to be the diplomatic one. Her stomach turned in knots as she followed. She couldn't help but think about what Dwight had said. 'What if it was up there?' Jacob heard a faint groan from behind as he stepped closer to the ladder. In the light, he could see it was just an old wooden folding ladder. Small metal springs and bolts glinted in the light. The ladder was long enough to reach from floor and disappear into what must be the attic. He held his breath, keeping an eye open for any sign of the monster, he saw nothing and all he could hear was the sound of their own breathing and the creaking floor. When all three reached the ladder, Jacob looked up, pointing his shotgun into the darkness, ready to shoot if the creature appeared. He turned to look at the others behind him. Dwight stood quietly holding Caleb while Denise was holding Dwight's flashlight so they could all see. "I don't see it anywhere, do you?" Jacob whispered. As they shook their heads, he turned his attention back to the attic. He motioned with one hand for them to go around him and down the steps while he kept the gun trained on the opening. Denise and Dwight stepped around Jacob and started down the steps, Denise cautiously leading the way. They were four steps down when Denise stopped and looked back up. Jacob still stood at the top, keeping his attention on the opening in the ceiling. "I don't think it's coming back." he said, lowering his weapon and turning to join them. Just then, four arachnid-like limbs shot out from the attic and latched onto Jacob before he could take a step. The sharp blade ends sank deeply into his midsection and back. He screamed in pain while Denise screamed in terror as she turned to see the creature easily lift Jacob into the attic through the hole, but not before it leveled its black soulless gaze at Denise. It opened its mouth and hissed, revealing large white, dripping fangs. Jacob's legs kicked uselessly in the air as he was lifted up. Screams of pain filled the air as he disappeared into the darkness above. Sounds of flesh and clothing alike being torn apart mingled and were soon followed by a new stream of blood. The shotgun fired once but then clattered down from above landing in the pooling blood on the floor. The screams from above stopped and another stream of blood ran from the attic opening. "Run Dwight! Run!" Denise screamed. Denise abandoned all caution and barreled down the steps as fast as her legs could carry her. Dwight's boots thundered down the steps as he followed close behind. Denise heard him panting, but didn't stop to catch let him catch his breath. In her terror, her police training and preparation fled her mind and all she could think of was getting out of that house. Without looking back, she fled to the front door, yanked it open bolted out into the darkness. Moonlight pierced through the forest canopy, somewhat aiding her flashlight in illuminating a path for her terrified flight. She could hear horrible scratching the ends of the creature's legs made as it rushed down the steps behind them. She didn't know where it was but it was getting closer and coming fast. "Hold on," Dwight panted, struggling to keep up "I'm coming! Don't leave me here!" Dwight was struggling to keep up with Denise. He looked back and his eyes widened in terror, seeing black eyes full of murderous hunger looking right at him. His face paled and only the threat of imminent death kept his legs moving. He kept running, dodging trees and low hanging branches. He could hear the thing behind him, coming closer and closer. "Oh fuck. Oh fuck. I don't want to die." He whimpered repeatedly. Denise zig-zagged past tree after tree, the flashlight bounced wildly ahead of her as she ran. She heard steps behind her and tried to speed up, was it the creature or was it the sound of Dwight's boots behind her? A low tree limb came into view, and she ducked just in time and then turned to look behind her. Dwight was coming, Caleb still in his arms. He was struggling and panting hard. She yelled, "Hurry, Dwight." Denise saw that the creature was no longer behind them. Where had it gone? She didn't want to find out. She turned and started running again, with Dwight beside her this time. Soon the trees thinned and they reached the edge of the forest. Denise shone the light ahead and saw something metallic beyond the trees. "There's something ahead." she said, gasping for breath. "What?" As she got closer, she realized that the metal was the grill of a vehicle. Denise slowed down to avoid crashing right into the vehicle. "It's a van!" she cried out ecstatically. She ran to the driver's door, hoping it was unlocked. "A van? The van!" Dwight cried out right behind her. The ache in his legs disappeared when he saw the familiar grey paint of Jacob's van. He was exhausted from carrying Caleb but he held on to the motionless body. He heard Denise open the driver side door. His hope died as the realization hit him. The keys were back in the woods, somewhere in that house, with Jacob's dead body. "Wait! Denise! We don't have the keys!" he yelled, going to the passenger side. Dwight opened the side door and dropped Caleb onto the van's floor. He turned to Denise and said, "I just realized I don't have the keys." Denise was already in the driver seat, bent under the steering wheel. He could not see her hands but he could tell she was doing something. "What are you doing," he asked? "I don't need keys. I'm hot wiring this bitch so we can get the hell out of here." she said as she worked. She fumbled around for a few moments touching wires together until finally something sparked. "Alright!" Dwight climbed into the passenger seat, completely exhausted. "How do you know how to hot wire a car?" "A trick of the PI trade," she flashed a smile as the van started, then sat up and shifted into reverse. "Oh." Dwight looked at her and smiled. "Let's get out of here." Denise smiled back as the van reversed. Then something slammed into the van, rocking it. The windshield shattered into a thousand shards. Denise screamed as four long, black limbs burst through and grabbed Dwight. Dwight screamed in pain when a claw stabbed into his left shoulder. "Mine!" Annabelle snarled furious. Annabelle snarled, spitting foam into Denise's face. Her human hands and legs kept hold on the van, while her arachnid limbs were pulling Dwight from the seat. Dwight was screaming, punching uselessly at one of the black spider legs with his good arm. Dwight twisted in pain as second claw dug deep into the side of his chest. His head slumped and he went limp. "Dwight," Denise screamed! Frantically, she looked around for something, anything that could be used as a weapon. She'd had enough of this monster already and it was time to fight back. She saw a on a large shard of glass on the dashboard and she grabbed it and with a scream of defiance stabbed it right at Annabelle's face. The spider girl whipped her head toward the sound. The shard sank deep into one of its eye sockets. Annabelle twisted away and screamed in agony while Denise tried to gouge out an eye. All eight of her limbs curled protectively around her body as she attempted to shield herself from Denise, but Denise kept on, cutting deep into the creature's face. Annabelle let a sound that was a mixed scream and a snarl, neither of which were human noises. Her bulk shook in her rage and her flailing legs drove Denise back into the seat gasping as the air was forced from her lungs. The creature lashed out, viciously smacking Denise across the face and knocking her head into the driver's window shattering the glass. Denise, dazed from the impact, felt the creature's claws grasping her and then she felt a sharp stinging pain in her neck. Then she felt and saw nothing. Chapter 10 Denise's eyes fluttered open, or at least the left one did, the right being swollen shut. Blurry images wobbled into focus and she immediately understood she was no longer in the van. Something was moving back and forth in front of her, something very large. She closed her eye, and then opened it, hoping clarity would return. 'What the hell was it?' Her head still hurt like hell but finally the ringing stopped. She blinked several times and then saw what was moving in front of her. She screamed. Dwight's body or what remained of it, hung from a thick cord of webbing in front of her. His face was frozen in a twisted horrid scream, his eyes wide in terror and his arms and chest covered with deep lacerations. Bone showed through tattered flesh. A tear streamed from Denise's good eye. All that remained of his abdomen was a hollow cavity. His legs were mangled as well, lacerated and appearing half eaten. A hard knot grew in her throat and she let out a wail of anguish. She hadn't known him long enough to call him a friend but he had helped her escape. Anguish and tears gave way to anger, a cold rage boiled up inside her as she stared into his lifeless eyes. She would kill this creature. She had to. Something moved, making a noise beside her. Fear gripped her and she went silent, hoping it wasn't the creature come back for her. Nothing moved, nothing happened and after a minute, Denise tried to turn toward whatever was moving but was unable to move. She knew immediately that she was tied up in strong thick webbing again. The thick strands crossed her chest and tied her to a wall. More webbing held her arms and legs wide apart. As she looked she realized that not only was she tied to the wall, she was naked, her shredded clothing piled at her feet. Denise turned her head to the left to see what was next to her. In the dim light, she saw that it was a girl, a young girl, probably in her early twenties. The girl was alive and squirming. She too was naked and secured with webbing around her chest, arms and legs. Her arms and legs bore cuts suggesting an attack, but otherwise she appeared to be okay. She was whimpering and struggling to free herself.