Good Home Cookin': A Novel of Horror Read Free Page B

“lesson”
from his father.
    The improvised spike strip was draped
across the highway, waiting to deliver to him his next victim.
Using the tools his father kept in the old shed and bits of metal,
glass, and thick nails, he had created his own unique version that
worked surprisingly well. There was that one incident, near the
beginning, where his contraption had failed miserably, enacting
quite the beating from his father. Bed bound for a few
days.
    At twenty eight, Gabe didn’t know
anything other than working for his parents at their restaurant.
His job was simple: to provide the meat. He’d watched his father
round up hitchhikers and the like, but as of late hitchhiking was
going out of fashion. Gabe was proud of the fact that the current
method they employed was his brain child. His baby.
    It was one of the few times his father
had said the four words he yearned to hear: I’m proud of
you.
    The only time to put the strip to use
and avoid any unwanted attention or notice was at night. Less
traffic meant the chances of being spotted were significantly
lower. Gabe had no trouble subduing travelers. At six feet, three
inches and two hundred and thirty five pounds… he could hold his
own. The gender of the unfortunate person made little or no
difference, but he did tend to hope that the person was of a
huskier stature. They were able to get more out of them.
    No headlights approaching in either
direction. Crossing his legs, he averted his eyes to the stars once
more, listening to the engine of his truck tick as it idled down.
It was tucked away off the side of the road so that drivers coming
from either direction wouldn’t notice it. A memory from years
before crawled its way to the surface of his mind.
    * * *
    “ Do you think you can
handle it by yourself Gabe?”
    His father was entrusting the
important task of finding their supply of meat to him. The norm was
for him to accompany his father, observe him, and do the heavy
lifting. Gabe nodded his head eagerly and couldn’t help but be
thrilled at the chance to prove himself to Jameson, who expected
nothing less than perfection from his family. His mother’s smile
boosted his confidence and reassured him.
    “ Well, get to it
then.”
    Gabe had roughly three
hours to find someone and bring them back to the restaurant. They
opened at ten and it wouldn’t do well for business to have screams
coming from the back room. No need to
worry Mr. Thomas. That’s just your entrée refusing to
cooperate.
    It didn’t take too long to find either
a hitchhiker or someone broken down on the Alley. It wasn’t a
question of if but more so of when. Due to the lessons high school
provided, Gabe had become a master at wearing masks. Having
practiced smiling in the mirror long enough… eventually it became
an involuntary function such as breathing.
    The headlights of the truck captured a
figure walking along the shoulder with a bag over one shoulder.
Gabe pulled up next to them and rolled the window down. The figure
turned towards him and he nearly swallowed his tongue.
    She was undeniably beautiful.
Sparkling green eyes, shoulder length chestnut brown hair, light
tan face. She was wearing a dark blue tank top, and a black skirt
that ended a couple of inches above her knees. The words he wanted
to say wouldn’t come. A small part of him urged him to roar off
into the night, leaving her behind. There would be someone
else.
    “ Are you going to offer me
a ride or just sit there staring at me?”
    Even her voice was lovely.
    “ Sorry. Yes, of
course.”
    She tossed the bag into the bed of the
truck and eased herself into the truck. Now he was fucked. How
could he tell her to get out of the car and not look like an
asshole? He was at war with himself and picturing his dad’s angry
visage did wonders for narrowing down his options. She maneuvered
herself in the seat, getting comfortable before offering her
hand.
    “ I’m Megan.”
    “ Gabe,” he responded after
a slight pause.