Sweetheart, West Virginia - 5. Chapter Five

I couldn’t believe who I was seeing. The man himself, Travis freaking Nolan, was standing only a few feet away from us…or was that really him? The blank stare he was giving us was haunting, and when Cash took a step forward as he called the name of Travis, I immediately grabbed his hand and pulled him back. I didn’t completely trust my eyes at first, but when I looked at the missing left hand, and I knew we were dealing with the person who disappeared during prom night five years with only his left hand as evidence of what could’ve happened to him. This was screwed up.

“Travis? Is it you?” Cash called out again as he tried to take a step forward with me pulling him back again.

Travis stood so still as he continued to look at both of us without even blinking. I was getting really scared, afraid that at any moment he was going to spring at us, and we were going to have fight a man with a missing hand.

Suddenly, Travis took a step back and when Cash called out his name one more time, he quickly turned around and sprinted into the depths of the woods.

Cursing, Cash turned to me and said, “Stay here, Ben! I’m going after him.”

Before I could protest, Cash began running in the same direction as Travis, and I just stood there, wondering what the hell I should be doing. I waited for a moment, but thoughts of Cash getting hurt and needing my help was filling my head until I couldn’t take it anymore.

So, disregarding Cash’s orders, I started running further into the woods as well. I called out Cash’s name as I ran through the trees that were becoming denser, and the lack of light from the growing void of the night wasn’t helping me find Cash.

Feeling my stamina draining quickly, I called out for Cash again, and I then tripped over an exposed tree root and onto the leafy ground. As I tried to stand back up, I heard a distant voice. On my knees, I looked around and only saw trees and darkness. I could barely see the stars of the night sky, the tree branches obscuring most of the view. Hearing another voice, I turned around, but again saw nothing. My surroundings then became misty, a fog suddenly forming around me, and I could hear a voice again, then another, and only a moment after I fell did I hear numerous voices whispering in my ears. I was about to piss myself; I didn’t know what was happening and seeing ghostly faces appear in the fogginess caused me to jump back onto my feet and start running. I didn’t know where I was going, but I just wanted escape what I was seeing and hearing. Where the hell was Cash?

I suddenly bumped into something hard, and I fell back onto the ground. I groaned and looked up to see a figure standing only a couple of feet away from me. I then realized that the figure belonged to Travis who started walking towards me, causing me to scurry backwards with my hands and feet, the rustling of the leaves the only noise I could hear other than my beating heart that was vibrating in my chest.

I didn’t know how, but I managed to stand back up and as I turned around to run the other direction, Travis appeared right in front of me. I yelled out in terror as Travis snatched my hair from the back of my head and neared his face to my mine. Terrified that he was going to bite my face off, I struggled to release his hold of me. And when he opened his mouth, I screamed again and that was when a pale mist came out of his mouth and my sight suddenly turned white.

Feeling a strange wetness all over my body, my vision then returned, and I looked around to see that I was swimming in water. Not only that, I looked up and saw that it was daylight, and looking around I knew I was in a lake instead of in the middle of the woods. Was I dreaming right now?

I heard screams, and I turned around in the water to see a few boys jumping off a small pier and splashing into the water below. The boys then resurfaced and started splashing small waves of water at each other, and I realized that these were my friends from the football team. However, they all looked young; none of them were balding or gained a pound of weight since I last saw them during my senior year in my high school. I looked down at my own body and saw that I had less muscle on my torso as I continued to move my feet and hands to keep me afloat in the clear water where I saw that I was only wearing a pair of black swim trunks.

This had to be a flashback of some kind because I remembered this moment perfectly, and that was only because—

“Come on, Trevor! Stop being a pussy!” one of the guys called out to a frail-looking person standing at the end of the pier.

Swimming a little closer, I saw that the person was a younger Trevor who was looking at the water like it was about to reach up and bite him. Now I knew that this was a flashback since I knew exactly what was going to happen next. Looking past him, I saw his mischievous twin brother tiptoeing behind him. I was about to call out to Trevor to look behind him, but it was too late. Travis swiped his foot under his brother’s legs. He then fell off the pier, but not before striking his back on the edge, and I heard a devastating crack sound, whether that was from the pier or Trevor’s back I didn’t know. But I knew the horrific act Travis just committed when Trevor didn’t resurface from the water, and I quickly made my way to the pier. The other guys were calling out to Trevor, and Travis was walking backwards with realization of what he just did dawning on his face.

When I swam to the pier, I then dived below and through the red water I saw Trevor. I swam further down and grabbed his arm before swimming back to the surface. Taking back air into my lungs, I called out that Trevor was hurt, and the other guys swam to us, a couple of them lifting themselves onto the pier and assisted in lifting the unconscious body of Trevor onto the wooden structure as well. I told them to turn Trevor onto his front and when they did, I saw a huge gash on the lower section of his back.

“Shit! We need help!” one of the guys shouted. “Someone call nine-one-one!”

“But there’s no reception here!” another person said. “Where’s Travis?”

I lifted myself onto the pier and looked around. I then saw movement towards the direction of where the cars were parked not too far away and knew that had to be him. I bolted on my bare feet from the small pier and followed the movement. Entering the woods, I was quickly surrounded by trees again that were becoming more tightly packed the further I ran, and the Sun’s light was fading away as well. I stopped and knew I was lost since the cars weren’t parked far away at all, and I was beginning to shiver when the temperature around me dropped by at least twenty degrees. Hugging myself, I looked around and wondered where I was now; I was in a flashback and now I didn’t what where I was or what to do.

A scream caused me to turn around immediately, and I looked to see a figure on the leafy ground. I cautiously walked closer to the figure and realized the figure belonged to Travis as pathetically moved himself inch by inch with just his hands as he cried and begged for help. Running to him, I then heard voices, similar to the ones I heard previously when the fog surrounded me. As I crouched down to Travis, I saw more figures, dark ones, walking towards us. Travis pleaded for me to help him with a shaky hand reaching out to me. The figures were getting closer, shouting at Travis with belittlements and berating him nonstop. Travis pleaded again for my help, and I quickly pulled him by the hand, but when he told me that he couldn’t move his legs, I lifted his heavy body onto my back. With his arms wrapped around my neck, I began moving away from the dark figures and went deeper into the woods.

After what felt like a few minutes, all I could hear was the crunching of dead leaves on the bottom of my feet as I continued to carry Travis through the woods, not knowing where exactly I was heading. At least we escaped the dark figures and feeling my stamina completely drained, I lowered my body and Travis placed himself back onto the ground. He was sobbing the entire way and was now sniffling as he looked down; a guy who looked so defeated with his legs looking completely frail compared to the rest of his body. I didn’t know how I got from swimming at the lake with friends to rescuing Travis from dark entities, and all I wanted was to return back to reality from wherever I was right now.

“God, I’m so sorry, Trevor.”

I looked at Travis who pulled his legs to his chests and rubbed them with his hands. He was still wearing his swim trunks and was completely wet.

“Travis?”

“I really wish I could turn back time, Ben,” Travis sobbed as lied on the ground in a fetal position. “Ever since I paralyzed my own brother, I’ve been trying to run away from it all, for all the problems I caused him and everyone else...but I can’t even stand!”

“Where are we, Travis?” I asked as I lied back against the trunk of a tree.

Taking a shaky breath, Travis looked at me and said, “We’re in hell…my hell.”

My eyes widened as I looked at Travis who continued to rub his legs with sobs pouring out of his mouth, and I felt a tightness in my throat from the sorrowful scene I was witnessing.

Taking a hard swallow, I then said, “What do you mean?”

Crying, Travis said, “Ever since I died five years ago, I’ve been reliving the worst thing that I’ve ever done… I think that’s what happens when you commit horrible things and then die without paying your debt. You continue to relive the past, while everyone else moves on into the future.”

I moved closer to Travis and placed a hand on his shaky shoulder. “What exactly happened to you during prom night?”

“I…I don’t know exactly. All…All I can remember is taking Claudia to the same woods where the lake is…the same lake where I pushed Trevor and ruined his life forever… Then the next thing that happened was us running away from someone chasing us. We were holding holds and…” Clenching his eyes shut, Travis continued by saying, “That pain…I never felt anything like that ever.”

“You…You mean your missing hand?” I asked.

Travis nodded. “My hand was cut off, and the last thing that I remember was Claudia screaming… I don’t know what happened after that, only that I must’ve died that night, and now I’m reliving my past and all the horrible things I did, especially that summer day at the lake.” Sitting back up, he then looked at me with teary eyes and said, “I’m sorry that I brought you here. I…I just needed someone to tell Trevor that I’m sorry for what I did, and that I’m happy for him and his new wife.”

Confused, I said, “So, you came back from the dead and watched the wedding from the woods?”

“I…I don’t what I did…but I think my my body is still alive, and I managed to get control of it again. Then I saw you and just—”

Voices were heard once again, and Travis started crying again. I tried to pull him up again, so I could carry him, but he shook his head.

“No. You can’t help me, Ben. I’m forever stuck in this hell. We can try to keep running, but they’ll always find me again.”

“Who are those people?”

“They’re my problems, my regrets…my demons.” The voices were getting louder, and Travis said, “You need to get of here, Ben. Don’t worry about me. Just go.”

“But how?” I said, beginning to panic.

“I don’t know. Just start running. I don’t want you to be stuck here like me. Now go!”

Looking behind me, I saw the dark figures poking behind the trees, which was fear-inducing by itself. I then looked back at Travis who just nodded at me, settled that this was the way his life would continue on.

“I’ll tell Trevor that you’re sorry,” I promised.

“Thank you, Ben,” Travis said with a small smile.

The shouting was so loud, and I started running, leaving Travis to his hellish fate as I heard cries that I knew belonged to him. I continued to run through the woods, almost tripping over a couple of times as space between the trees began to widen. And then I saw shining light from the distance, and I knew that had to be the way of getting out of this hell.

So, I began spiriting towards the light; warmth settling onto my skin and the light becoming brighter the closer I got to it. The light shined the entire horizon, and I was so close to reaching it, but then a dark mass flashed at my direction, and I fell backwards onto the ground. Looking forward, I saw that the dark figure had the shape of a human and as it stepped closer to me, I scurried backwards with my hands and feet.

I then managed to stand back up and instead of running the other direction, I tried to sprint forward, pass the dark figure. However, the dark form somehow manifested right next to me and grabbed me by the wrist. Its touch felt so cold; it was almost a burning sensation as its grip tightened around me. I tried to pull away, but I was locked in place.

“Do you think you can get away so easily?” the deep voice rumbled before cackling. “You’ll make a nice replacement from the other boy I possessed five years ago.”

“Let go of me!” I shouted.

“No…it’ll be you who will be letting go. Now relax.”

The dark figure reached his hands and grabbed my face as I felt my energy and life quickly draining away from my body…but then the light from the horizon shined even brighter and suddenly my vision was engulfed by the same light. Then darkness appeared in my vision…and someone was standing above me. I could hear a muffled voice calling out my name, and when my vision cleared, I then knew who I was looking at.

***

“Shit! Where is he?”

Stopping and looking around the wooded area, I couldn’t find any trace of Travis. I still couldn’t believe the person standing in front of me and Ben was really the man who was presumed dead after taking my sister to prom all those years ago. But the missing hand was a dead giveaway that I was dealing with the man himself who I just lost through these damn thick woods with the darkening sky not helping me either.

I thought about giving up and returning to Ben who must’ve been worried to death about me when I saw something at the distance. Curious, but still cautious, I walked slowly to the thing that captured my attention with the light of my phone guiding me. Approaching it, I saw it was a small, wooden shed with chipped, white paint. I wondered who the hell placed a shed in the middle of the woods where no house was located nearby; not even campers went this far into this part of the woods. However, this was the perfect place for someone to hide.

So, shining my phone’s light on the structure, I walked closer to the door and slowly grabbed the rusty handle before pulling it open. A horrifically rotten stench then invaded my nose, and I had to cover it with the lapel of my suit coat to try to prevent myself from further inhaling the horrendous smell that was flooding out of the shed. And when I shined the light inside, I was shocked to see blood and rotting meat everywhere; everywhere from the floor to the walls to even the damn ceiling.

Honestly, I was about to vomit when I was the carcasses of dead wild animals like squirrels, raccoons and foxes, and seeing a couple of objects reflecting the light of my phone, I pushed myself to step into the shed. Doing so, I saw that the shining objects were the tags of dog collars, and I knew quickly what happened to the missing dogs that never came home. This was sickening, and I wondered if Travis had something to do with this. He was completely dirty when I first laid my eyes on him, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of that dirt was blood from the creatures that he murdered and then mutilated, and God forbid actually ate as well. I even saw some empty meat packaging and wondered if that was stolen from the town’s grocery store.

I couldn’t get out of there fast enough as I slammed the door closed and walked several feet back before daring myself to take a breath. I needed to report this place as soon as possible, but first I needed to find my way out. I checked my phone to see where exactly I was when I heard a scream, I knew immediately that it belonged to Ben. Further screaming automated me to starting sprinting to the source, adrenaline fueling my body as I feared the worst, that Travis returned to Ben and was hurting him like he did to all those animals. I didn’t care that I was bumping into numerous trees, nor did I care that I was ruining this stupid suit with every tear and scrape. I needed to get to Ben before something really horrific happened. I should’ve told him to go back to the planation instead, and I had only myself to blame.

I continued sprinting until I saw Ben…with Travis! I saw the bastard pulling Ben by the hair and as his face neared Ben’s, I reacted at the speed of light. I struck my elbow against the side of Travis’s head, and he immediately fell to the ground. Ben fell to the ground as well, and I hastily grabbed him and pulled him away from Travis. Several feet away from that man, I crouched to Ben who had his eyes closed, but thank God he was still breathing and didn’t look injured. I gently tapped his cheek a few times and called out his name, and I breathed out with relief when he opened his eyes.

“Ben? Are you okay?” I asked worryingly.

Groaning, Ben placed a hand on his forehead and said, “I…I think so.”

I helped Ben sit up, still keeping an eye on Travis who was most likely knocked out by my attack. “Are you sure?”

Ben nodded and looked at Travis before his eyes widened. “Shit… Is that Travis?”

“Yeah. What was he doing to you?”

Ben groaned again and covered his face with a hand before saying, “I…I don’t know. I…I just want to go home.”

I nodded and helped Ben back onto his feet. I then approached Travis’s unconscious body and beyond my better judgement, I decided to lift the man over my shoulder. Ben wondered if that was a good idea since I knew that at any moment Travis could awaken and try to do something drastic. However, I couldn’t let someone go who was missing for five years, presumed dead and changed the town of Sweetheart forever. So, I assured Ben that I could handle it as we trekked our way back to the plantation, which took about five minutes, Ben’s phone helping us reach the place without any trouble.

By the time we came back, all the wedding guests and the bride and groom themselves were gone, and the only people who were there were the plantation owners who were stunned to see a shirtless man with a missing hand slung over my shoulder. They quickly called the police right after I asked them to, and the police and other emergency personnel arrived in less than five minutes due the urgency of finding the police sheriff’s son after five long years.

I gave my statement to my fellow police officers, the flashing lights of the police cruisers making the front of the plantation look like dance club. During that time, Ben was being checked by ambulance paramedics, and after they told me that he was completely fine. I offered to drive him back home, but he said that he was okay with driving himself. I was worried that something happened between him and Travis, and he was too scared to tell me. However, he was wasn’t injured in any way and Travis was strapped down to a stretcher with several police officers surrounding him, so he wasn’t going anywhere.

However, I insisted that I walk Ben to his car, which was a short distance from all the police business. He was quiet during our walk and when he got into his car and started the engine, he looked at me through the open door and smiled at him, which gave me a fluttery sensation despite the whole debacle that we just experience at the woods only a half an hour ago.

“Will you be okay?” I asked, not stopping myself from expressing my concern for Ben.

“I’ll be okay, Cash. Don’t worry. I just need time to…think all of this through.”

“I understand. Just drive home safely, okay?”

“Yes, Officer Monroe,” Ben said amusingly.

Reaching for the handle of the car door, Ben then paused before reaching the lapel of my suit instead and pulling me forward. He looked me in the eyes before pressing his lips onto mine, and I had to admit, that kiss felt wonderful. Through the bullshit Ben and I just went through, I was amazed that a simple kiss could revitalize me, especially from a man who I once despised. Now I couldn’t wait to see him again and maybe lay my lips on more than just Ben’s after I sorted through all the mess we’ve just encountered.

Ben licked his lips after pulling back, and he smiled at me. I smiled back and after a moment of mutual silence, we said our goodbyes before I closed his car door for him. I then watched as his car drove out of the dirt driveway and disappeared into the night. I walked back to the bustling activity happening at the front of the plantation house and saw Zoe in her police uniform who was towards me with a stern look on her face.

“So, Cash, let me get this straight. You were at the woods behind the plantation and encountered a man who was presumed dead for five years and managed to find him at the same day as his twin brother’s wedding. Am I correct here?”

“I know it sounds crazy, and I wish I was making it up. But you must’ve saw the person on the stretcher…that’s the missing man,” I stated.

“Yeah, the one with the missing hand, I know. Man, if I knew that this is the kind of trouble your town was involved with, I would’ve told my husband to move us somewhere else entirely,” Zoe said, shaking her head.

I had to chuckle at that statement and then said, “Then you’ll want to move to the other side of the country after the shed I found in the woods is investigated.”

Zoe raised an eyebrow. “What’s in the shed?”

I looked around and placed a hand on Zoe’s shoulder before moving us further away from the commotion. “It…It was horrible. There was blood and rotting flesh everywhere, and I believe Travis was responsible for all of that.”

“God All Mighty. That’s so screwed up,” Zoe admitted. “And that Ben guy saw that too?”

“No. He was somewhere else, and when I heard screams, I knew that Ben was in trouble. Travis found him, and I don’t know what he was doing, but he was grabbing Ben by his hair before I knocked him unconscious with my elbow.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t kill him,” Zoe snarked.

I rolled my eyes. “Anyways, I prevented Travis from hurting Ben, and then I carried the bastard back to the plantation with Ben by my side.”

“Wow… What were you and Ben doing at the woods in the first place?” Zoe asked.

“Oh, we were just…”

“Don’t lie to me, Cash,” Zoe said with her arms crossed.

“Is it really that important? I mean I just found a man who was missing for five years and could be involved with the recent thefts of a grocery store and the deaths of pet dogs.”

“No, but you’re my friend and as a friend I just want to know why,” Zoe said gently.

I sighed and looked up to the starry night sky. “I…We were just talking, and one thing led to another and…we ended up making out.”

Zoe took a step back. “Shit! Really? I thought you were planning to kill Ben and bury his body in the woods.” I give her deadpan look, and she chuckled before saying, “Okay, maybe not that dramatic…but that’s more believable than what you just told me.”

Looking down, I said, “I know. It’s…It’s complicated, okay? I’m still figuring it out myself. And with the whole finding Travis Nolan alive thing happening right now, that’s my primary focus. And I’m sure our kiss is the last thing that Ben’s concern with as well.”

“Well, okay. I understand. But when this thing dies down, we have to talk about it.”

I chuckled and shook my head. “You really aren’t from around here. This is going to be the headlines for the town’s local news for the next several weeks. Everyone’s going to be talking it by tomorrow morning, and there’s no stopping small-town gossip.”

“I guess I still have a lot to learn small-town life then,” Zoe admitted.

I patted Zoe’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you out.”

“Such a man,” Zoe joked.

Zoe and I talked further about what I just went through in the woods, thankfully putting away the whole making out with my sister’s former fiancé for now. I then talked with a few police officers about the shed again, making sure that they would investigate it before I decided to leave the plantation. I drove back to my house and finally back in the comfort of my home, I stripped off the suit in the bathroom that was connected to my bedroom and decided to take a much-needed shower before I went to bed.

Turning the water on to full blast, I allowed the torrent of water to crash against my thick body that was sore from having to carry more than one-hundred-fifty pounds over my shoulder. With my body completely wet, I then grabbed a bar of body soap and began lathering it all over my body. Even as the warm water caressed my skin and caused me to feel drowsy, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about Ben again and how I wanted more than just a kiss that we had before he drove away. I wanted to do so much with him, so many dirty things, and the fact that he used to be my sister’s fiancé made it even more exciting. It was dangerous territory that I was exploring in my mind as I thought about what Ben would look like with that perfectly tailored suit stripped from his body as I stroked my thick cock with the soap providing plenty of lubricant.

I pressed my back against the shower wall as I continued to fantasize about Benny the Bratt lying on my bed as I kissed his lips, his cheeks, his nipples, his navel, and all the way down to his hardened cock that was weeping with precum and begging to be touch. I could see Ben begging as well, pleading actually for me to give him the pleasure that he so desperately wanted. I then gave him what he wanted and as he moaned shamelessly into pillow, I moaned myself as I cum in the shower. My body shook as the orgasm ripped through me, and I was literally seeing stars as my orgasm lightened to a gentle haze. God, I felt so screwed up for thinking about Ben like I just did…but I couldn’t help it as I became enraptured by the man who I was supposed to hate.

Outside of the fantasy I just envisioned with Ben completely naked and under my control, I also wanted to know more him as a person. I already knew that he was a photographer, a very experience and well-known photographer back in the city, and I wanted to know everything else about him and his photography. And I wanted to know what his life was like before he moved into Sweetheart with his uncle and aunt. I wanted to know what he planned to do after goes back to the city, what his favorite food is, what his favorite show was, even what his favorite color was.

I wanted to know it all, and I knew that Benjamin Bratt was going to be the death of me. I really needed to reevaluate my intentions with him before I even talked to him again. And with the whole Travis returning from the dead, I really needed to focus on that first without my love life getting in the way of maybe solving the case involving my sister. That was more important to me, and no one was stopping me from seeing this investigation to the end. I only hoped that everything went as planned. But things never did.