The Lights Over Jupiter Point: Book 1 Read online

  "You fucking bitches! I'll kill you for this!" he cursed as he stumbled to the front of the group.

  "You're all nothing but a bunch of sluts! All of you gave up the ass so easily. Just a bunch of bitches pretending you aren't what you are."

  Suddenly Diane hit him with a punch so strong that Tabitha heard his teeth crunch. The man fell to the ground, moaning.

  "Quick! Pick him up! Tie him up on that tree over there," instructed Diane. Two women pinned him against the tree while the other girls ran a long rope multiple times around the tree's trunk, securely fastening him to it. Suddenly, Tabitha became enraged.

  "Take his fucking blindfold off! He needs to see us!" she yelled. Diane nodded her approval, and the woman removed the blindfold.

  "Do you see us now, you sick son of a bitch?" asked Tabitha. She walked up to Mr. Donavan and spat in his face.

  "You killed a piece of me when you raped me," she whispered as she cried. Tabitha stared into his cold brown eyes and wanted nothing more than to end his life. After a few moments, she moved away.

  "Diane. We have to end this. The sun is about to come up," whispered one of the women.

  "I agree. Dorothy, go get the sticks."

  Once again, the brunette disappeared. Seconds later, Dorothy returned to the group with a wooden box. Diane reached into the box and pulled out a machete. Dorothy slowly walked around the group until each woman had removed a knife from the container. When Dorothy arrived in front of Tabitha, she hesitated.

  "I…I can't do this…" Tabitha whispered.

  "Yes, you can," said Diane.

  "This isn't right. I can't."

  "This bastard took something away from you so valuable that you can never get it back! He doesn't deserve to live one more day!"

  Dorothy dropped the wooden box on the ground and pushed Tabitha.

  "You would give him a piece of your body without retribution? Does your womanhood have a discount that any man with power can take whenever he wants? Women like you disgust me!"

  "What?"

  "Women like you make men feel like the rulers of the universe. You sit in your safe little box, witnessing the horrors and pains of your sisters without saying a damned thing about it. Do you think his punishment is about what happened to you? Is that what you think? Mr. Donovan's punishment is about all of the millions of women that have had their souls ripped apart by selfish jackasses like this prick! And I refuse to sit by and let this idiot have one more minute of power over me. So run off, Tabitha. But know that you turned your back on all the abused women in this world. Cling to your pre-programmed ideas of what you should or shouldn't do. Meanwhile, pray to God that the next little girl doesn't fall because you failed to act."

  "I'm out of here!" yelled Tabitha. Just as she turned to leave, Diane stepped in front of her.

  "Oh, no. You can't go."

  "What do you mean? I'm not doing this!"

  "You don't have to participate, but you agreed to come here. That makes you a witness."

  "But…"

  "Just know that leaving has its consequences. There are sisters here that we have to protect. You don't have to participate, but you are going to stay to witness."

  Tabitha finally understood what Diane was saying; if she left, they were going to kill her! She walked over to a tree and sat down, refusing to watch what was about to happen. Diane walked over to her and grabbed a handful of her hair. Forcefully, she turned Tabitha's head towards Mr. Donavan, causing her to scream out in pain.

  "You will watch!" she hissed. A short-haired girl walked up to the naked man and spoke.

  "I had only graduated from high school when I started working at your office. Instead of being an honest role model, you made me suck your dick."

  Mr. Donavan started shaking.

  "Hey, …you wanted to. You could've said no. You stole money, and I could've had you fired! Instead, I let you keep your job! I was good to you!"

  "My name is Samantha, and my wound will hurt the worst," the young girl whispered. She backed away from Mr. Donavan and drew back the machete. There was a dull thump. Mr. Sullivan drew in a deep breath and released one of the most bloodcurdling screams Tabitha had ever heard. Tabitha watched in horror as the man's knees fell inward towards his genitals as if he were trying to protect them – but it was too late. Blood poured from the man's pelvis as if he were a faucet of blood that they opened.

  "Ahhhhhh…. You fucking bitch!" the injured man yelled. Next, Dorothy walked up to him.

  "You accused me of stealing, even though you knew I was innocent. And for that, I take your fucking hand!"

  Dorothy walked around the opposite side of the tree, where Mr. Donavan's hands were tied.

  "God! No!" Mr. Donavan screamed out. Dorothy peeked from behind the tree at the injured man.

  "God?! Now you want God? Ain't that a bitch?"

  Dorothy swung the machete into Mr. Donavan's wrist, and his hand dropped to the ground.

  “AAAAAAAAAH!”

  One of the older women walked up to Mr. Donavan and slammed her machete into his chest.

  "That's for getting me fired and making my sick mother lose our home! Suck this dick, motherfucker!"

  One by one, each of the women let their voices ring out in violent slashes into Mr. Donavan's body. By the time the last woman hit him with her machete, Mr. Donavan was a whimpering corpse barely dangling on the tree. Diane walked up to him and grabbed a fistful of hair.

  "Ladies," she said to the group. "Let's put this pathetic piece of shit out of his misery."

  All of the women began hacking at the man as one collective group. Blood splashed into the early morning air as each of them took swing after swing. One swing cut off his leg. Another decapitated him and sent his head rolling down the hill. Another caused his intestines to spill out of his stomach onto the ground. The women kept hacking at the corpse until all of their furies were gone. After a while, there was nothing but a pile of mush left where Mr. Donavan had been standing. Finally, Diane stood up, out of breath, and covered in blood. As she cleaned her face, she spoke to Tabitha.

  "You didn't have to do anything," she exclaimed as she turned to face her. "Now, all we have to do is…."

  Diane frantically looked around. Tabitha was gone!

  Chapter 31: The Souls of Tabitha and Trevor Pt. 6

  The Thirst of Trevor

  It was the middle of the night when Trevor woke up. Tabitha hadn't moved since he tucked her into bed. After kissing her gently on the cheek, he rolled out of bed and walked into the kitchen. Trevor opened the refrigerator and grabbed the carton of orange juice. For some reason, he had an uncontrollable thirst that he couldn't explain. He gulped the orange juice until the container was empty. For some reason, drinking the orange juice made him thirstier. He grabbed a bottle of water, twisted off the cap, and drank it until it was empty. Still, his thirst was there. He grabbed another bottle of water and emptied it. Still thirsty. One by one, he went through all ten bottles of water like he had been walking in a desert. Soon Trevor was reaching for the milk. Next, he was drinking leftover soup. Soon the refrigerator was empty. He ran to the countertop and grabbed the bottle of vegetable cooking oil, and started guzzling it. The thirst was becoming more abundant. Unable to control himself, he ran into the living room and smashed wine bottles onto the wooden floor. As the wine and glass spread out across the floor, Trevor fell on his stomach and began trying to lick the liquid from the floor. Shards of glass cut his tongue. Still, he slurped at the liquid like an animal. As the blood from his tongue began pouring out of his mouth, he began trying to drink that too. Finally, he raised himself onto his knees and crawled into the bedroom. He jumped onto the bed and crawled up to a still sleeping Tabitha. Suddenly, he slapped her face and made her scream. A long red tongue shot out from his mouth and went into hers. Soon he was drinking her spit, her moisture, her blood.

  "Aaaaaah!"

  Trevor sat up suddenly in the bed and looked around. He saw that Tabitha wasn’t
in bed.

  “Babe? Are you in the bathroom?” he asked out loud. He climbed out of bed and walked into the kitchen. Remembering his nightmare, he turned away from the refrigerator and walked to the living room. He laid down on the sofa and closed his eyes.

  "She's gone, you know," a voice said from the corner of the room. Trevor rubbed his hands across his face in frustration.

  "Yeah. I know."

  Mateo's green eyes lit up underneath his hat. He walked over and sat down in the chair next to the sofa.

  "If she kills him, it's out of my hands."

  "But is there a way for you to intervene? Stop her before she gets there?"

  "I do possess that power. Unfortunately, I cannot cross Zagan again."

  "Zagan. What a fucking bastard."

  "I can't cross him, but you can."

  Trevor sat up.

  "How?"

  "If you can get there before he does, maybe you can stop it."

  "Stop what?"

  "Her involvement in the murder."

  "Where is it going to happen?"

  "Jupiter Point."

  "When?"

  "In a few minutes."

  "How do I get there?"

  Mateo pointed to the front door, and the metal structure turned to green liquid.

  "Walk through the portal to get to Jupiter Point."

  Trevor stood and walked to the door. Before walking through, he turned to Mateo.

  "I know you kill people. I feel it."

  Mateo smiled.

  "I am forced to do these things. But none of that is your concern. Think of it all as a part of your dream."

  "What happens if I don't get there in time?"

  Mateo turned serious.

  "She dies."

  Trevor shook his head.

  "I appreciate your honesty. Thanks for helping."

  Trevor walked through the portal and disappeared. The portal remained open, and Mateo stood and walked towards it.

  "He won't make it. Once again, I have to intervene. I can't knowingly allow the death of an innocent."

  Seconds later, Mateo entered the portal, and it closed.

  Chapter 32: The Souls of Tabitha and Trevor Pt.7

  Trevor woke up, face-down on the pavement. After wiping the gravel from his face, he stood up and looked around. He was in a parking lot. Although it was dark outside, Trevor could tell the sun would be up in a few minutes. He noticed a sign at the edge of the parking lot and walked over to look at it.

  Jupiter Point Parking

  "What the fuck?" he asked out loud. "How the hell did I get here?" He asked as he racked his brain, trying to find a rational explanation for being at Jupiter Point. The place was a full thirty-minute drive from his house. How could he have gotten here? Did he sleepwalk? Had he been hitchhiking in his sleep? Frustrated, Trevor spun in circles looking around the parking lot for anything that would explain his presence. Suddenly, he stopped and focused on the vehicle parked on the far side of the lot.

  "What the fuck is she doing here?" he asked himself. It was Tabitha's car. Suddenly he saw a shadow standing on the driver's side of the vehicle. It was Tabitha.

  Chapter 33: The Souls of Tabitha and Trevor Pt.8

  Tabitha's Escape

  As soon as Tabitha saw the first woman hit Mr. Sullivan in the testicles with the machete, she took off running. She completely hated Mr. Sullivan's guts and what he had done to her, but there was no way she could watch the women dismantle the man. No way. She didn't want any part of that. As soon as she was far enough from the group, she removed her shoes to limit the sound of her steps. The sound of the women chopping into the man's flesh made Tabitha ignore the briars and stones ripping at the bottoms of her feet. His screams seemed to give wings to her flight, and she never looked back. All she could think of was getting back to Trevor. He would know how to extract her from this mess.

  Although she ran in the direction of where she parked her car, Tabitha had no idea of where she was. As soon as she climbed one hill, she descended into a steep trench. As soon as she made a left turn, she had to make a right turn to correct her direction. It wasn't long before she was completely lost. The fog had become so dense that it felt like Tabitha was walking through cotton.

  "What was I thinking?" she said as she began climbing another steep hill. "I should've stayed in bed with Trevor."

  She was sure her feet were bleeding now. They itched like crazy, and every step she took felt like she was walking on a bed of nails. She paused and looked up into the sky. The light was beginning to shimmer through the branches. If Trevor weren't awake now, he'd be in a few minutes. She had to get home. Slowly, painfully, Tabitha started running again. She tried to block out the pain from her aching feet by thinking of her plans with Trevor.

  "We have so much to do. We're buying a new house soon!" she whispered enthusiastically. Seconds later, her heart sank in despair. The words sounded ridiculous. Here she was, lost in a forest thinking about buying a house.

  "How absurd," she mumbled.

  There was a ruffling of leaves on the path behind her. Tabitha paused and listened, afraid to turn around. Nothing. After a few seconds, she turned to look behind her. There was no one. She waited a few seconds more and listened quietly. Once again, nothing.

  Satisfied that no one was following her, Tabitha turned around to continue on her trek. Her face smacked against the chest of a tall man standing in her path. Tabitha stumbled back and started screaming. The man waved his hand in front of her face, and her voice fell silent. Tabitha continued trying to yell, but nothing was coming out. Suddenly she heard a voice speaking inside her head.

  "If you want to live, you will come with me," the voice whispered. "Listen."

  "She's over here!" a voice screamed. Tabitha's eyes widened. It was Diane.

  "Follow me," the man's voice said inside Tabitha's head. Slowly, Tabitha climbed to her feet and began walking behind the man. He turned to walk downhill for a few steps before stopping. Tabitha tried to speak to the strange man.

  "Who are you?" she asked. The sound of her voice startled her. "How can you…"

  "We don't have a lot of time. He's approaching."

  "Who's approaching? What's your name?"

  "My name is Mateo. The one that wants to take you is named Zagan."

  "Zagan?"

  "If you don't do as I say, you will be dead in 3 minutes."

  Tabitha yanked on Mateo's arm.

  "Dead?! What the hell is going on?"

  "When you went to the meeting with the girls, you walked into Zagan's sight. He'll take the souls of everyone at that meeting."

  "Me too? But I didn't do anything!"

  "Which is the only reason I'm helping you. Quick, close your eyes, and give me your hands."

  Reluctantly, Tabitha placed her hands in Mateo's.

  "What are you going to do?"

  Mateo ignored her.

  "Close your eyes for 10 seconds. I know you’ll want to open your eyes but don't. If you open your eyes before the time has elapsed, Zagan will find you, and there will be nothing that I can do."

  Reluctantly, Tabitha closed her eyes and began counting backward in her head.

  "9…8…7…6…5…"

  Finally, Tabitha reached zero. When she opened her eyes, she was standing in front of her car. Tabitha quickly jumped into the front seat and started the vehicle.

  "Please be asleep. Please be asleep," Tabitha said over and over as she peeled out of the parking lot towards the road leading out of Jupiter Point. As she turned on the road heading to her home, she failed to notice the man chasing her car.

  "Tabitha! Tabitha!" yelled Trevor. But it was too late. She turned the corner and sped away.

  "Damn!" he cursed and flopped down in the grass on the edge of the parking lot. He pulled out his cell phone and called her. After a few moments, she answered.

  "Hello?"

  "Tabitha, where the hell are you?"

  "I'm on my way home."

&nb
sp; "Answer me! Where are you?"

  "I told you. I'm driving home."

  "From where?"

  There was a slight pause.

  "From where Tabitha?"

  "Jupiter Point."

  "What the hell were you doing at Jupiter Point?"

  "I'll explain everything when I get home."

  "Don't bother."

  "What?! Please, baby. Don't do this."

  "No. That's not what I mean. I mean, I'm not at home."

  "Where are you?"

  "I'm at Jupiter Point. I saw you leave the parking lot."

  "Jupiter Point? But…"

  "Just come back and pick me up."

  "You didn't drive? How did you get there?"

  "I'll be in the parking lot."

  Trevor hung up the phone and looked into the forest. Although he could feel the morning sun burning his shoulders, he still felt afraid of the woods. Something evil lived in there, and he didn't want to venture inside. Ever. Trevor stood up and brushed the dirt off his jeans. After looking around for a few minutes, he pulled out his cell phone and started playing a game of Scrabble.

  Chapter 34: The Souls of Tabitha and Trevor Pt.9

  "Spread out! Find her! She couldn't have gotten far!" yelled Diane. The group of women all went in opposite directions and started searching for Tabitha. Diane stayed in front of Mr. Donovan's corpse, cursing in frustration.

  "Shit! I knew she couldn't handle this!" she whispered. Diane walked over to the smoldering fireplace and kicked dirt on it. After it was out, she flopped down next to it. She looked over at the pile of bones that was Mr. Donovan's body.

  "So…how was your day, Mr. Donovan?"

  Suddenly, she burst into laughter.

  "Looks like you picked the wrong bitches to fuck with," she said as she hurled a stick at his dead body. There was movement high in the tree where the women had tied Mr. Donovan. Diane looked up to see a giant snake slithering down the trunk of the tree towards the bones.