Sunruined: Horror Stories Read Free Page A

shovel.
    He reached back for it as the driver said, “You know, you kids got a funny way of showing gratitude.”
    Chris quickly grabbed the shovel and, with his hands somewhere around the middle, wielded it in front of him.
    “Okay, guys,” he said. “Stop the van. We wanna get out.”
    Chris met the driver’s shaded eyes in the rearview mirror as the man said, “I think you might wanna put the shovel down,” and then nodded to Thing Two in the passenger seat.
    Thing Two held a gun on Chris.
    The driver said, “We’re gonna go find the June tree. We know right where it’s at and we need you to help us dig it up. There’s a fella back in Preston that’s gonna pay us big bucks for this and you guys are comin along to tell em it’s real. That is, if it’s even there. If it is real.”
    Nie sensed Chris’s powerlessness as he lowered the shovel.
    The sun had all but left the sky and the van seemed way too dark, charging toward the gold powder harvest moon.
    “We ain’t got long to go,” the driver said. “You two better just sit back n relax.”
    Nie shot Chris a look that said, “We’re in deep shit.”
    Chris nodded, reached over and put his hand on her knee. The touch didn’t comfort Nie nearly as much as she would have liked.
    The van slowed down to turn right and Nie pulled the handle of the sliding door. It was locked even though the lock switch itself said it wasn’t.
    Damn child safety , Nie thought.
    The van turned into a heavily wooded area, making it seem even darker than it actually was. Thing One pulled the van into a gravel turn-off and cut the ignition.
    “You all wanna grab that shovel and pot and shit from back there?”
    Nie grabbed the shovel and the empty black plastic pot. Chris grabbed the bag of soil. It was heavy and warm. Thing One and Thing Two got out of the van, came around and unlocked the door.
    If the twins didn’t have the gun, Nie was sure they would be able to outrun them. They were so short and plump, Thing Two looking pitiful with the trickle of blood oozing down from his mustache.
    “Now, we’re gonna take this here trail. You guys don’t wanna try nothin, ya hear?” Thing One said.
    He turned and stepped into the woods, Nie behind him, Chris behind her, Thing Two bringing up the rear.
    Nie couldn’t believe any of this was happening. She tried to think of something, but the red streaks of panic blazing through her head made it difficult.
    She and Chris had darkness, the cover of the woods, a shovel and speed.
    But the twins had the gun. Damn the gun. Could they even shoot the gun? They seemed to have some inept quality about them. She doubted their marksmanship.
    They traveled in their single-file line down into a gully, crossed a moss-covered wooden bridge and started up the other side.
    She decided the best thing to do would be to create chaos.
    Quickly, she grabbed the shovel with both hands and let the pot drop. She raised the shovel. It was much heavier than she expected and rather than bringing it down on Thing One’s head, she bashed him in the shoulder.
    Her plan was to turn and run, charge through Thing Two before he could figure out what was happening and just hope Chris had enough sense to follow her as fast as possible.
    The blast from the gun shot her plan to hell.
    The body in the trail prevented her from running back the way they had come.
    It was Chris, face down, the back of his head a glistening mass.
    She froze. Stood there screaming.
    “Shut her the fuck up, Vinny!” Thing One shouted from the ground.
    Thing Two shifted the gun to his left hand and drove his right into her mouth, dropping her onto Chris, her hand coming down in his wound, sick and warm and wet.
    Thing One was over by her side now, his hand wrapping up in her hair.
    “You really fucked up, bitch,” he said. “And now your boyfriend’s dead.”
    Too afraid to scream, Nie blathered softly toward the moldy smelling earth.
    “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” she said.
    “You