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‘It had been four
weeks ago tonight since the last killing.’ Thought young Joel Montierff a
news reporter for The Phoenix Sun Times, as he set his
suitcase in the back of his station wagon, and shut the door. The echo of the
door had not yet died in the deserted parking lot when Joel recalled that it
was on a night very much like this night when another young reporter from
back east had been mysteriously mauled in the back of his station wagon just
a few miles outside of Tucson, Arizona. The young reporter from somewhere in
New York, State had made the sixteenth mysterious death within a twenty-mile
radius of Tucson, Arizona. There had been a rash of mysterious killings for
the last sixteen months---one every month on the first day of each month. Every death had been
identical in nature, they were all young men, in their twenties to early
thirties. Up until the news reporter from back east, they had all been young
Air Force men from Davis Moffit Air Force Base near Tucson. All the men were
found in the back seat of their car or station wagon totally nude, with their
throats mauled by what looked like some vicious animal attack which had
ripped their throats open. ‘It had to be a horrible way to die’ thought Joel
as he sat down inside his vehicle in preparation to head for Tucson to cover
a breaking news story there. It was raining harder
now as he pulled out of the parking lot onto the wide street of downtown
Phoenix. Joel thought as he drove along with the wipers keeping rhythm to the
raindrops. ‘How much this night reminded him of that one case he had been
sent to cover’ he thought, as he drove deeper into the ebony of the night. It
had been raining that night also, when the Arizona State Police had found the
nude and mauled body of that eastern reporter in his back seat. “Mauled by
some kind of wild animal was their official report”. There had been many
questions raised though about all of these killings. True, all evidence
appeared like some kind of attack by a wild animal. Like the blood splattered
all over the interior of the vehicle, and the ripped throats. However, no one
had figured out how the animals had escaped from the locked vehicles with all
the windows rolled up? But, the biggest mystery of all was---who had put a
black ribbon on the chest of every one of the young, nude and very dead
victims? Joel had been driving
just under an hour and a half---when he wheeled his wagon off the highway
into the parking lot of an all night diner to grab a quick cup of coffee, and
take a bath room break. As the young man entered the diner he was warmly
greeted by a burley man behind the counter watching “Barreta” on the tube,
who ask him. “Need some hot coffee
young man?” Joel answered, with
enthusiasm. “I sure do! It’s
raining like crazy out there!” The burley waiter
replied with the seasoned voice of a desert dweller. “Yeah I know, it’s
not a fit night for man nor beast out there tonight.” The small talk went
on until Joel had finished his third cup. An as he was getting ready to
leave. The burley man made a statement that sent chills up, and down Joel’s
spine. “You watch out young
man! Tonight is the night for another death! It has been four weeks ago
tonight just after midnight; you know?” But Joel had an
assignment to cover, and he had to get to Tucson. Even if he was afraid as
hell about going back out there on that dark, and lonely highway alone. He
had his radio cranked up about as loud as it would go---just to keep his mind
off things like killings. As the young news reporter drove along he thought
back on his failed marriage of only two years to a lovely blonde named
Samantha. They had a good marriage for the first few months or so until she
went to visit her family back in the mid west. From then on it seem like she
was distant and different toward him. Until it finally came to an end, and
they were divorced. He was totally lost in both good and bad memories of
their marriage--- until, suddenly, he caught a glimpse of something just down
the highway about a hundred yards or so. It looked very much like a woman
along the side of the highway hitchhiking. He was now close enough to make
out the object. And indeed it was a young lady standing out in the rain
trying to get a ride. Joel had no second thoughts, or fears, as he pulled to
a stop alongside the woman and invited her to get in out of the pouring rain.
She slid into his front seat without a word, drenched to the bone from
standing out in the rain for who knows how long. He could see from the
dome light before she closed the door that she was a very lovely lady with
long, jet black hair. And even though it was soaking wet it still hung fully,
and well below her shoulders---as she shut the door, he heard her say. “Oh, thank you so
much for stopping to pick me up.” They both introduced
themselves to each other and made small talk for the next few miles when she
suddenly, and out of the blue said to him. “Will you be my lover
tonight?” “I need a companion for this
night!” Joel heard himself
answer the hypnotic voice. “Sure I would love to
be your companion tonight.” As he though. ‘This
is a beautiful woman, and after all I have been divorced for six weeks now,
and haven’t even had a date, let along an affair. What harm could it do?’ Her reply came to the
young man, very much like he hoped she would respond. “There is a rest area
just down the highway about two miles---if you will pull in---way in the back
area---you will never be the same afterwards!” After that kind of
response Joel lost all reasoning, he had no thoughts like. ‘How did she know
of the rest area down the road?’ or ‘Why was she standing out in the rain
back there without any car around?’ All he could think of was hurry to the
most remote part of the rest area, and have passionate sex with this gorgeous
female. The ignition switch had no more than killed the engine when the
lovely black headed female said. “If you will climb
into the back and take off all of your cloths, I will join you just as soon
as you are ready to become mine tonight.” Joel never questioned
the woman’s motives who had now cast an un-revokeable spell over him. He slid
over the back of the seat and prepared for what he thought would be the best
night he had ever experienced with any female. And as the unsuspecting young
reporter then said to his supposed lover. “You can join me
now.” He watched in the
faint light cast from a distant park light as the nude and lovely female
slipped over the back of the seat with a feline’s quickness. Joel also caught
a brief glimpse of her smile in the faint light. But, Joel saw something
else! Victim number seventeen saw the gleam reflected from the park lights on
her razor sharp steel teeth, and that her hair was no longer jet black but
instead hung in long blonde curls. His screams went
unheard though! “No, Sam nooo.” To late for Joel---she had now ripped his
jugular vein, and was viciously stripping his neck of all its flesh. He could
not resist her strength---she was much too strong for him. Joel now knew who
had killed the other sixteen un-suspecting young men. And as victim number
seventeen lie there with his yet warm blood of life draining from his body.
He knew that it had been his ex-wife who had killed all of them. And, just
before he slipped into the eternally dark abyss of death. He thought, ‘What had she become?’ But Joel would never know the answers, to yet,
two remaining questions: Who would be the eighteenth? And, who would be
the one that would first see his black ribbon, tomorrow? |
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Black Ribbons by Ken Harrelson copyright 2005 |