Captive in Terror Orchard

  "Go ahead," Ponge says. "Have some fun."

  31: The Reckoning

  "YAHHHHH!"

  I charge Albert Grech, swinging the pipe at his head. Albert throws up his cane and strikes the pipe so hard that it nearly flies out of my hands. Pain vibrates up to my armpits.

  Whoosh!

  Albert rips the cane at me like a cutlass.

  I stumble back and nearly fall over. Blood trickles down my cheek where the cane has grazed it.

  "Billy!" Cyndy screams.

  I was foolish to rush him. He's too strong to fight head on, but he's clumsy, too, like an elephant stuck in the mud.

  We face each other, holding our weapons two-handed like Samurai warriors. A wild-beast snarl twists Albert's face, and murder glints in his pig eyes. I feel absolutely no fear, only a cold determination to win at all costs.

  I try a side attack, but a ferocious cane slash drives me away again. If Albert rushes me now, I'll be in serious trouble, but he can't manage that.

  "Be careful, ugly man," I say, "you'll get your blood pressure up."

  "Why you ..."

  Albert rips his cane at me again, but misses by a wide margin.

  "That's the best you can do, pig face?" I taunt.

  Then I leap forward and swing at his head. Once more he throws up his cane to block the attack. But my move is only a feint. Half way to my target I jerked the pipe back, then whip it forward, hitting Albert's hands.

  "Ahh!"

  His weapon thuds to the floor.

  Then I am on him, pounding his fat body wherever I can find an opening. Albert tries to flee, but he has nowhere to run. He merely hobbles around in circles, flailing his arms. He tries to grab the pipe, but I jerk it upwards against his chin.

  Thunk!

  His head snaps back like he's taken an uppercut from the heavyweight champion. I swing at the ugly head. He flings up his arms and absorbs the blow. Twice more I clobber his arms, but I can't get to the skull underneath.

  "My arm's broke!" Albert wails.

  He tries to run again, clutching his left arm, and I strike him a vicious blow on his back. He still won't go down! Frustration supercharges my killer rage as I stalk my enemy. Albert slips behind Amitha and tries to hold onto her.

  "Hold it, Billy!" he begs. "Wasn't I always decent to you? It was Amitha who had it in for you. Her and Marnie."

  "Well then, I'll get them next," I say.

  My voice is calm and deadly, an executioner's voice.

  Amitha wriggles away and cringes to the far wall. Albert stands defenseless now, his battered arms hanging at his sides. I pause to enjoy his helplessness.

  "Do it, boy!" Ponge shouts.

  I drive my weapon into Albert's gut with every ounce of my strength.

  Ooof!

  A blast of foul air and bloody spit explodes from his mouth, forcing me back. Albert doubles up in agony and sinks to his knees. I am a mighty avenger, a lord of justice. The little cavern rocks with Albert's groans and the roaring laughter of Gregory Ponge.

  "There's my answer, neighbor!" Ponge shouts. "How do you like it?"

  Amitha and Marnie are shrieking like damned souls. I rip my weapon through the air at them and they both collapse.

  I return to Albert for the final blow. I raise the pipe and take aim at the bald head. The memory of Mom with the tire iron flashes through my mind. Everything goes red, then black. I am no longer in this world.

  "Billy, no!" Cyndy cries.

  Her voice stops me in mid stroke - nothing else in all creation could have done that. My vision clears, and I am back in my hellish surroundings. I stand panting for air, my heart pounding in my ears. Albert Grech kneels before me. I kick his face and he falls back sprawling.

  "Nice work!" Gregory Ponge says.

  His brutal face glows with enjoyment, as if his team has just won the Super Bowl. He grabs Judge Gulp and shoves him toward me.

  "Here's another one for you, boy."

  "Wait!" the judge yelps.

  I come in fast and low, striking Gulp's right kneecap with the pipe.

  Crack!

  Like a giant walnut shattering. He goes down screaming.

  "That's for all the honest people you cheated!" I yell.

  "No! No!" Gulp pleads.

  There's nothing worse than a vicious coward begging for mercy, and I have none for him. I club his other knee.

  Crack!

  "And that's for all the crooks you helped!" I yell.

  Gulp's screams nearly shatter my eardrums.

  "Shut up!" Ponge yells. "You sound like stuck pig."

  Judge Gulp is reduced to a blubbering, pathetic mess.

  "Everything happens to me!" he wails "I just want to run an honest county and do what's right by the people!"

  I kick a clod of dirt into his face. "Here's something else for you!"

  Gregory Ponge steps forward and puts the gun up against my head. With his other hand, he snatches the pipe away. Marnie rushes to the fallen Judge and strokes his white hair.

  "Oh Judgie, Judgie!" She looks up at me with murder in her eyes. "You monster!"

  "Stuff it, you old witch," I say.

  "You can't do this to me," Gulp moans. "I run this county."

  "Really?" Ponge says. "I've been talking to Sheriff Fergueson. He's as fed up with you as everybody else is. He'll cover for me, all right."

  Lying on the dirt floor, squirming with pain, Gulp begins to shrink - like a punctured air mattress - until he is just a pathetic, little old man.

  "Okay, the fun's over," Ponge says. "Everybody into the tunnel!"

  He turns toward Mrs. Ponge.

  "I think it's time we got a divorce, Honey," he says. "So you get in there, too."

  "What?" Mrs. Ponge gasps.

  "You heard," Gregory says, "and take the girl with you. Sorry, Cyndy, but I can't have no witnesses."

  Fury erupts in my heart. I jump at Ponge and try to wrench the pistol away. His arm feels like an iron bar. I attempt to pull him off balance, leap up and strike his face with my head. He reaches around with his other hand and smacks my head with the pipe.

  Everything goes black.

  ***

  I blur back into consciousness to find Cyndy at my side. She strokes my hair and kisses my battered face.

  "Oh, Billy!" Tears are running down her cheeks. "I'm sorry I said all those cruel things. I love you so much."

  My head is exploding, but for an instant, all seems right with the world. I manage to sit up and wrap my numb arms around her.

  "Move it!" Ponge bellows.

  "No way ..." I struggle to get my jaw working again. "I'm not going in that tunnel. You'll just have to shoot me."

  "Me too!" Cyndy cries. "And you can go straight to Hell, Uncle Gregory."

  "Okay." Ponge aims his gun at me. "You did good, boy. This won't hurt at all."

  We squeeze our eyes shut and hug each other. The gun fires.

  32: Finish

  A heavy thud.

  I'm dead, I think, my body has fallen and I am free of it.

  Well, it's been quite a show.

  "Help me ..." someone gasps - Professor Rackenfauz!

  I open my eyes to an incredible new situation. It's Gregory Ponge sprawled on the floor, not me, and Dr. Rackenfauz is holding him by the legs.

  It takes me another second to pull my mind back into my body and figure out what's happening. The Professor must have flung himself down the steps, knocking Ponge over from behind. The pistol went off and tumbled onto the floor.

  "Stop him!" Rackenfauz says. "I can't hold on."

  Ponge is crawling toward the gun, dragging the Professor along with him. I try to move, but can't. Sally Ponge is also reaching for the gun. Cyndy tackles her.

  Gregory Ponge is nearly free. Acting on pure adrenaline autopilot, I fling myself across the room and jump on him, wrapping my legs around his waist.

  "Get the gun, Cyndy!" I yell.

  Demonic power surges thr
ough Ponge, jolting me like an electric shock. He soon breaks my hold and knocks the Professor aside as well. He starts to rise, but I kick his legs out from under him.

  Nearby, Sally and Cyndy struggle for the gun.

  I grab Ponge by the hair and try to get a choke hold on him. I look around for more enemies, there are none - Albert and Gulp are crippled, Marnie has thrown herself over the Judge, and Amitha has simply collapsed.

  The whole bunch of hair I'm holding pulls out, like grass coming out of wet ground. Gregory shoves a hand under my chin, knocking my head back and breaking my grip. I try to grab him again, but he kicks me aside and rises to his feet, huge and terrible.

  "I've got it!" Sally Ponge shrieks, holding up the gun.

  "Not yet, Auntie!"

  Cyndy lunges forward, throwing her weight behind a hard uppercut to Sally's jaw. Sally flails her arms and goes down, the gun flies out of her hand.

  The Professor, who has crawled up onto the steps, catches the pistol in mid air. Then, with a smooth motion, like some rodeo gunman, he fires.

  "Ah! Ah!" Gregory Ponge screams.

  He hits the dirt and flops around like a beached fish. Then he scoots away on his rear end, frantically examining the long, bloody rip in his shirt.

  "The next bullet goes through your head, mister," Rackenfauz says.

  "Yes sir!" Ponge thumps against the back wall. "Don't shoot, p-please!"

  Sally follows him, helped along by several hard kicks from Cyndy. I want to laugh, but the effort is way too much for me. Cyndy comes back to my side.

  "Are you okay, Billy?" she says.

  "Yeah, great."

  She helps me to sit up. I notice the handful of Ponge's hair I'm still clutching in my hand. My stomach heaves.

  "Ugh!"

  I throw away the disgusting glob.

  Then a terrible thought barges into my mind. Is the Professor really on our side, or does he plan to kill us all so as to have no witnesses for his revenge? How many bullets are left in that gun, anyway? The same suspicions seem to play across Cyndy's face.

  "Get ready," I whisper in her ear.

  The Professor stands up on rubbery legs and braces himself against the wall with his left hand. His eyes look blankly about the room, then they settle on the weapon in his right hand.

  "What a beautiful Luger automatic!" he says. "Excellent balance. Yes, yes, very fine - collector's grade."

  He stares at the gun, head nodding. His hand slides a few inches down the damp wall. He is obviously exhausted and confused. Gregory Ponge starts creeping forward. I'm in no condition to fight anymore, so I throw in 100 percent with Rackenfauz.

  "Look out, Professor!" I yell.

  Rackenfauz snaps back to alertness and aims the pistol at Gregory Ponge, who falls over backwards.

  "I won't warn you again," Rackenfauz says. "Another move and you're a dead man."

  "Y-yes sir!" Ponge blubbers.

  Rackenfauz hefts the gun, the dazed look comes back into his eyes.

  "Yes ... superb condition," he says. "Manufactured by Krieghoff, I believe. What a find!"

  "Professor!" Cyndy and I both call.

  He looks our direction, as if he is seeing us for the first time.

  "What are you two doing there?" He says. "Get over here and help me."

  Cyndy moves to the Professor's side and places his free arm over her shoulders. I drag myself up. Every inch of my body howls with pain, but I manage to grab hold of the pipe. Using it more as a crutch than a weapon, I stand guard beside Dr. Rackenfauz.

  The two groups - decent people by the steps and monsters at the back wall - stare at each other across the dirt room.

  "You know I'm an expert shot, Albert," Rackenfauz says. "So tell those others not to try me."

  Groaning and gasping, Albert struggles to his feet. He wipes some slobber from his lips and fixes burning eyes on the Professor.

  "Rackenfauz!" he gasps.

  "Yes, it's me, Albert. Back from the dead as it were."

  "They told me you ran off to South America!" Marnie cries.

  "I didn't, obviously," Rackenfauz says.

  "Well, I'll be ..." Marnie says.

  She looks down at Judge Gulp, who is lying on the floor nursing his busted knees, then she turns back to Rackenfauz.

  "Don't think I'm coming with you, Jonathan," she says. "My place is with Judgie."

  "That suits me fine," Rackenfauz says. "I wouldn't take back a snake like you for a billion dollars."

  Dismay spreads over Gulp's face.

  "Oh, no Marnie, I wouldn't hear of it. Please go."

  Marnie stamps her foot.

  "No, I won't!"

  Gulp is sure having a bad day. I almost feel sorry for him, but not quite. Now that the fond reunion is over, Rackenfauz gets down to business.

  "You all have the same choice you gave these kids," he says. "The tunnel or a bullet. You first, Albert."

  "Wait!" Albert wails.

  Rackenfauz levels the gun at Grech's head. "Three seconds, Albert. One ... two ..."

  His finger tenses on the trigger. The others shrink back, leaving a clear field of fire. The last wooziness has left Professor Rackenfauz. He stands strong and firm now, like a cold-blooded executioner.

  "All right, I'm going!" Albert says.

  He hobbles toward the tunnel, feeling his way along the slimy dirt wall. He stops at the entrance and peers into the dark. An evil glow shines on his face.

  "Come on, Amitha," he says, "maybe this won't be so bad."

  They enter the tunnel together. Silence. Then a huge, violent slurping sound. Their muffled screams die quickly.

  Rackenfauz motions for the Ponge to go in next.

  "Looks like the divorce is off," Cyndy says. "You two sure deserve each other."

  After the Ponge disappear, Marnie helps Gulp into the tunnel without so much as a glance at her former husband. More slurps and screams. Then quiet falls on the cursed place.

  All of them had moved with terrible dignity. They'd almost seemed eager to go - as if they were entering their true home.

  "That's the end of that," Rackenfauz says.

  "Hooraaay!" Cyndy and I cheer.

  "We've got one more thing to do," Rackenfauz says. "Then we'll get out of here."

  33: Victory Day

  Following Dr. Rackenfauz's instructions, I venture into the Grech basement and retrieve a large jug of blackish liquid. The thing is heavy, but I'm so wired that I scarcely notice the weight as I lug it upstairs and out to the front lawn. Dr. Rackenfauz is waiting for me there.

  "Dump it into the feeding tank, Billy," he says. "That'll poison their medicine supply."

  I reattach the handle - my glorious sword of vengeance - and pull the tank lid open. Foul stench pours out.

  "What's in that stuff, Professor?"

  "You don't want to know, Billy," Rackenfauz says. "The trees must have it in order to develop their sap, but now they can't, even if somebody tries to feed them."

  I scale the stepladder with the jug of poison and dump it in. Another awful stink fills the air. I could sure use a gas mask!

  This terrible job finished, I slam the tank shut an go back into the Grech house.

  I am packed within two minutes. In a few more I have washed up and changed clothes. Then I bolt down the stairs and leave the death house for the last time, making sure to knock over Amitha's tea cups on my way out. They make a wonderful noise shattering on the wood floor.

  Despite my injuries, I move fast, pumped up as I am with pure joy. I keep the metal pipe to use for a walking stick, and to remind me that I should never give up, no matter how tough things might become.

  Cyndy is waiting outside with the Professor, a knapsack slung over one shoulder. Poochie capers around them, and his tail stub wags at supersonic speed.

  "What kept you?" Cyndy asks. "We haven't got all day, you know."

  I laugh. For the first time in my life, I feel totally happy. Cyndy is the most perfect
girl of all time. I try to kiss her, but she pulls away.

  "None of that now," she says. "We'll see about later."

  "Okay, I'll remember that."

  "This is a fine day for a journey," the Professor says. "Of course, any day is fine to leave this place."

  "You've got that right," I say, "but what will happen to those trees?"

  "They can't survive without their medicine," Rackenfauz says. "That first crop of oranges will rot soon, and there won't be another one. Then the trees will wither and die."

  He looks toward the orchard a long moment and shakes his head.

  "I wish we could stay long enough to destroy them," he says, "but I think the sooner we get out the better."

  "No argument there," Cyndy says.

  "Now, if you two will please assist me, we can get going," Rackenfauz says.

  We stand on either side of the Professor and take hold of his arms. With my free hand, I use the metal pipe to steady myself. We head south down the road as Poochie dashes on ahead.

  I never imagined that the Earth could be so wonderful. The clean country air loaded with pollen tickles my nose. The sun warms my injured spirit - even the flies buzzing around seem magnificent, like golden hummingbirds. We walk until the raspberry patch is far out of sight, then we stop to rest.

  I pull out my cigarettes, but they have no appeal any longer. I toss the pack into the ditch.

  "Smart move," Cyndy says.

  "Getting back to your earlier question, Billy," Dr. Rackenfauz says, "I'm not really sure how long it will take for those trees to die out - with all that fertilizer we gave them."

  "Couldn't have happened to nicer folks, either," Cyndy says.

  "Perhaps it was a mistake to send them in like that," Rackenfauz says. "I just couldn't shoot them in cold blood, though."

  "You did the right thing," I say. "This way nobody can tie you to those killers."

  "Well, I'm certain you're right, Billy," Rackenfauz says.

  We get going again. The Professor seems to gain strength with every step. He carries himself erect now, hardly leaning on us anymore.

  "This is truly a blessed day," he says. "I have lived to see my greatest errors put right. How many men can say that?"

  "Not many, I'd imagine," Cyndy replies.

  "You'll be going back to your family, Cyndy?" Rackenfauz asks.

  "Oh, yes, Professor, absolutely."

  "And you, Billy, what are your plans?" Rackenfauz says. "Will you try to find your mother?"

  I think a while before answering. "No sir, not yet. She's got lots of serious problems to work out before I can see her again."

  "Come with me, then," Rackenfauz says.

  "Where to?"