It is another scorcher in southern Texas not far from San Antonio and ten year old Caleb Matthews is enjoying his summer vacation despite the heat and isolation.

With blonde hair, blue eyes and his favorite pair of faded blue denim dungarees Caleb from a distance could easily be mistaken for a modern day Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn but let me tell that this tiny farm boy from Texas is nothing like the two historical figures he is mean and cruel and is to be avoided at all costs and if you are unlucky enough to get close enough to look deep into his eyes you will see but darkness as black as black can be.

Today Caleb is wandering down a worn dusty track surrounded huge live oak trees towards a creek that meanders through the families large cotton ranch in Dripping Springs.

Due to the drought the creek is but a trickle, Caleb doesn’t notice cause all he wants is to sit in the shade for a while and hopefully a cricket or a cockroach will get close enough for him to snatch up and eat or take home to dismantle at his leisure.

Every now and then a tufted titmouse or a yellow kiskadee would swoop down for a drink but they to didn’t hold much interest for Caleb but just when he was about to head home for lunch when a kite lands twenty feet from with a bright yellow insect in its mouth.

Caleb’s skin tingles with anticipation when the bird dropped its meal on the bank of the creek which was a huge mistake because a young killer like Caleb doesn’t need a written invitation for a chance of a midday snack.

After scaring the kite away he bends down and picks up the struggling insect to devour but something about the black and yellow stripped bug stops Caleb, in his tracks.

After a closer inspection he decides to take his catch home so he shoves it into the bib of his dungarees before heading home.

Along the way the insect recovered from its ordeal crawls out but it doesn’t fly away instead the creature makes its way up before settling on Caleb’s bare shoulder.

At home Caleb is greeted by his ma who astonisably hasn’t noticed that he has a passenger on his shoulder ‘Caleb you really should wear your cowboy hat because after all we are in Texas and more importantly it will keep the sun off your face.’

Caleb nods in agreement as he swallows a bite of his bacon and egg sandwich ‘Okay ma i will but where is pa? I haven’t seen him for a couple of days now.’

He went over to Dallas to buy some parts for the tractor he should be home tomorrow, now take your lunch upstairs while I clean up.’

After picking up his plate Caleb turns back’ Ma why is it so cold in here i am covered in goosebumps.’

Feigning ignorance Mary responds’ Is it cold? Can’t say that I have noticed the thermostat must be broken, when your father gets back I will tell him to fix it.’

Once her son is out of earshot Mary mutters’ Fix it? what a laugh the only thing that that asshole could fix was a horse race and even than the dumb prick still lost.’

After making a cup of coffee Mary unlocks the walk in pantry and gazes happily at her naked dead husband silently swings from a meat hook bolted to the roof.

As sips her beverage the harried housewife sweeps her stringy brown hair back from her face than lets her mind drift back to the fateful day a week prior when her fourth husband Ronnie arrived home in a panic yelling ‘Honey I have lost everything at the races, you will have to sell all of your jewelry to keep the wolves from the door and I will sell my vintage car collection.’

Mary is in the kitchen washing the dinner dishes and after hearing what Ronnie had to say her eyes stared at the meat hook in the pantry left over from a bygone age.

When her husband runs into the kitchen wearing his best business suit Mary grabs him by the shoulders to calm him down’ Everything will alright Ronnie you’ll see, now tell me Ronnie how much do you weigh exactly? Bewildered Ronnie blurts out ‘what does that have to do with anything but if you must know I weigh 190 pounds or thereabouts.’

Mary who only weighs 175 pounds sizes up her target before she pounces on her husband lifting him up off the ground ‘Stop struggling Ronnie, sometimes you act like a little boy, you’d think I was trying to kill you or something.’

On entering the pantry Mary begins to run out of puff but after taking a few quick breaths she lifts her husband’s squirming body a few inches above the hook than with a mighty effort Mary slams Ronnie’s body down onto the meat hook.’ there Ronnie, now that wasn’t so bad after all was it? now you just hang around here for a while and i will go upstairs and ask Caleb if is his up for some chocolate ice cream and I bet he is.’

‘Goodbye dearest hang tight.’

After escaping the arctic freeze downstairs Caleb still a little worried about the whereabouts of his father strides over to the windowsill where his collection of insect body parts sit proudly.

Soon he is joined by the yellow jacket and all thoughts about his pa are put on the back burner.

Caleb is happy to see that the wasp has recovered after almost being devoured by the hungry kite and his smile widens when his friend takes flight again circling his room to strengthen its wings.

After looking over to make sure that his bedroom door is locked Caleb reaches under his bed and pulls out an old green hold all that he found hidden in an abandoned barn.

Expecting to find a shit load of boring papers or maybe some old vinyl records imagine the surprise Caleb had when he opened the bag to see three gleaming human skulls surrounded by packing material.

‘What you been up to Pa?’ Caleb wonders as he strokes one of the skulls tenderly ‘When you come home pa and when I am bigger we should team up and become one of the worst killer duo’s the world has ever seen.’

Downstairs Mary has got off the phone with an auctioneer who is in the process of selling her jewelry and all of Ronnies cars and when he said that the sale of the cars should have been done with Ronnie himself present Mary offered him a huge commission which quickly shut him up but Mary knows that one day will talk so when all of the money has been deposited into her account she will to pay him a friendly visit.

A couple of days later Caleb is sitting at the kitchen table a huge plate of scrambled eggs and a few slices of a weird tasting bacon substitute ‘Ma what is this bacon substitute actually made from?’

‘I’m not quite sure honey probably tofu or something but don’t worry if you don’t like it I will cook you something else but I must say that it is an acquired taste but the texture reminds me of a meal of spicy canine i ate in Thailand years ago.’

It takes Caleb a few seconds to understand what his mother just said but when he does Caleb races towards the bathroom as fast as his little legs will take him. ‘I am joking Caleb’ Mary laughs at her fleeing son but her face suddenly hardens ‘Toughen up Caleb or I will leave you here hanging beside your father.’

After returning from the bathroom Caleb tries to dodge his mother but she smiles sweetly and hugs him tight’ That joke was in poor taste Caleb and I apologize from the bottom of my heart.’

‘Now what are your plans this morning?

‘I was thinking that I would down to the creek and catch myself a huge bass or two.’

Without waiting for a response Caleb rushes outside grabs his fishing pole and wanders off towards the creek.

Just as he about to reach the track the wasp makes an appearance landing on his masters shoulder’ Hello buddy I thought that you were gone for good so welcome back.

Realizing that he hasn’t named the wasp yet Caleb thinks for a moment before remembering one of his pa’s favorite TV shows from when he was a kid ‘Welcome Back Kotter’

‘Come on Kotter lets go catch us a fish or two because I am getting mighty tired of eating the mystery meat that ma has been serving up lately.’

The water level of the creek is still too shallow for catching good sized fish but Caleb knows that further downstream is a big lagoon but it is mighty close to the neighbors fence line but it is a risk worth taking.

He just hopes that he doesn’t run into the pair of redneck cousins that live in a ramshackle shack located a mere 100 yards away as the crow flies.

Leroy Croce is an 18 year old albino with pink eyes like a rat but he is built like a sumo wrestler in training so he isn’t one to mess with.

His cousin Angus on the other hand is as skinny as a rake and stands an even 6′ with jet back hair that Caleb heard comes from a Native American who passed through town 14years ago leaving a stain on the earth behind him.

After baiting a hook with two juicy worms Caleb casts deep into the lagoon then sits back to wait but after twenty minutes he is getting mighty frustrated so he grabs his pocketknife and begins to sharpen the blade keeping one eye on his fishing line.

Once the blade is honed to perfection Caleb starts to doze off not hearing the freaky cousins as they sneak up behind him ‘Well well well Leroy this pecker head has decided that it is wise to fish in our lagoon, what do you think we should do with him’

‘Leroy has no idea what his cousin just said so he grunts a reply whilst struggling to stop his huge belly from dragging along the ground.

Angus is clearly the leader so Caleb focuses is attention on him and all the fear has gone that he had for Leroy and Angus is gone now that he has seen the pair up close ‘First off numb nuts you are trespassing on my families land and two I don’t take kindly to being threatened by the likes of you and lard ass over there, now fuck off back to your reservation so I can get back to my fishing.’

‘Whoa strong words little man now go sit on that log and open up because are about to suck on some prime indian cock.’

Pretending to be interested Caleb sits on the log making sure that his pocketknife is hidden from view ‘There you go boy get started before I kill you instead.’

‘Is that a turtle neck you’ve got there Angus because it looks like it is retreating back into its shell at a fast rate, maybe you should get your mama to coax it back out.’

Leroy erupts with laughter causing his belly to wobble like a huge tub of jello ‘Stop laughing Leroy or you can suck my cock after little man has finished.’

Yeah come sit next to me Leroy, I’m sure that this won’t be the first time that you have gobbled down on your cousin’s teeny weeny man bits.

Leroy’s jowls turn crimson with anger ‘ Angus you told me that when we were together that it was our own special secret so how does Caleb know?’

‘Shut up you idiot I haven’t told anyone.’

Now it is Caleb’s turn to laugh ‘I swear you two are dumber than a bag of rocks.’

Before the two cretins can react Caleb slices open Leroy disemboweling the huge redneck than he grabs Angus by the gonads severing them with one slice.

Covered in blood and gore Caleb calmly shoves the genitals down Angus’s throat ‘Suck on your own cock asshole.’

Leroy whimpers in pain crying out for his mama unaware that his insides are slivering on their own accord towards the lagoon ‘Sorry that it came to this Leroy but you left me no choice but on the positive side, you have never looked slimmer.’

Leroy offers a ghost of a smile before slipping away to the other side.

Angus is still alive when Caleb approaches his eyes pleading for mercy ‘You will get nothing from me Angus not even a goodbye.’

‘May the birds pick your bones clean after the bears and coyotes have had their fill.’

Caleb’s fishing pole is doing a merry dance telling him that a big fish is on the other end ‘Holy fricking hell’ Caleb laughs as he quickly reels his catch to the bank.

After making sure that he isn’t leaving anything behind Caleb bends down and picks up his huge black bass that must weigh at least 10 pounds.

A noise behind him startles Caleb for a second ( His first thought was that the cousins had come back to life) but he soon relaxes as he watches two big black bears dragging the cousins by the back of the neck into the forest.

Once past the danger zone Kotter decides to make an appearance landing on Caleb’s shoulder ‘You aren’t much of a bodyguard Kotter but I guess your time will come.’

Close to home notices that he is covered in gore and flesh and instead of wiping it off he puts a few pieces into his mouth and as he chews on the morsels Caleb realizes that he has tasted something similar recently but he can’t quite put his finger on it.

Kotter decides that it probably wise to stay outside for a while so he flies off leaving Caleb on hos lonesome to face the music but the youngster is beyond caring what his mother thinks anymore so after discarding the bass on the front porch he strides in ‘Sweet lord Jesus’ Mary shrieks’ Did you decide to wrestle a bear or annoy a honey badger Caleb and how in the hell do you think that I will be able to get those bloodstains out of those dungarees, I am not a miracle worker you know.’

‘Now lets out to the kitchen and you can tell all about your adventure.’

Caleb suddenly realizes that his mother is nuttier than a fruitcake but he follows into the kitchen where on the table sits a large green hold all.’

Seeing that her son is about to flee Mary grabs him by an arm and tells him to sit down ‘Don’t worry Caleb you aren’t in any trouble, now talk.’

‘Well me and Kotter were down by the creek’ ‘Hang on Caleb who in the fuck is Kotter? Mary bursts out laughing ‘Don’t tell me son but is Kotter your new imaginary friend? What happened to the last one? Did you disappear in a puff of smoke or run down a hole following Alice into wonder land?

Caleb gives his mother a stare that shuts her up real quick ‘Do you want to hear about my day or what?’

Mary nods her head and Caleb tells her how he killed the two cousins from next door with his pocket knife gutting one and castrating the other ‘Did you bring any meat home with you Caleb it would taste good in a stew.’

Yeah ma I did bring some meat home I caught a bass its out on the patio, I thought that we could eat it for supper tonight.’

‘We shall eat it tomorrow Caleb because I already have supper in the oven, you will love it i promise, I call it hamburger surprise.’

Caleb doesn’t reply because his attention has shifted to the green bag sitting proudly in the center of the kitchen table ‘Yes Caleb imagine horror when I went out to the barn to pay homage to my first three husbands who I cherished dearly only to discover that the bag containing their skulls was missing and lo and behold where do you think I found them Caleb? ‘That’s right under your bed beside your porn mags and also Caleb while you are here, tell me about the weird insect collection on your bedroom windowsill.’

‘Um I don’t know ma, maybe they flew inside one day and couldn’t get back out, then they most likely died from starvation.’

‘That will do for now Caleb now how about we have a small bowl each of my hamburger surprise and save the rest for supper?

As he eats Caleb smiles for the first time in weeks ‘this actually tastes good ma the meat falls right of the bone, Pa would love it.’

‘He sure would son but you know I think that there is a small piece of your father in every bowl.’

After he has finished eating Caleb turns to his mother ‘Okay mother where is Pa? And this time I won’t the truth.’

Mary ponders for a few seconds before answering ‘You asked for it Caleb so here goes, your father is currently hanging from a meat hook over in the pantry.’

‘So that is why it is always so cold in here? Caleb asks as he stares at the closed pantry door.

‘It is okay Caleb the dead can’t hurt you, go and have a look.’

With tiny steps Caleb walks over and opens the pantry door and silently stares at the mottled flayed body of his pa twisting on the meat hook ‘Oh my God I have been eating pa’s flesh all this time haven’t I ma?’

For once in her life Mary is lost for words but finally utters ‘Yes we have Caleb, now how about we have another bowl of hamburger surprise and talk about it?’

Caleb nods his head because even though he hates himself for it after tasting human flesh both raw and cooked he now has an appetite for more.

While mother and son eat the remaining casserole Mary outlines her plan on how to escape ‘Caleb you have murdered two people so the cops will soon come knocking.’

‘I told the ranch manager a few days ago that due to pa’s disappearance that I have forced to sell up plus i sold all of his cars and my jewelry so along with money from that and from the ranch’s sale we will have quite a tidy sum to survive on until we find our feet someplace else.’

‘Why did you do it ma? Why did you kill pa?

‘I didn’t kill your pa Caleb he committed suicide. ‘Yeah right ma am I supposed to believe that?

‘Believe what you want to believe Caleb but it is true I swear on the graves of my first three husbands.’

‘Last Tuesday I was making coffee when your father walked in and without a word he stripped down naked grabbed a kitchen chair and climbed up on it than he reached up grabbing the rafter in the pantry and with lighting speed he impaled himself on the meat hook.’

‘Bravo ma’ Caleb laughs clapping his hands ‘That a good story you should get a job writing for the San Antonio Times, now tell me the truth and nothing but the truth.’

‘You have always been a little too big for your britches Caleb but alright, your father’s eyes began to stray instead of keeping them on the main prize namely me so he had to go.’

‘Now go upstairs and take a long hot shower and afterwards he will feel refreshed ready to take on the world.’

As he showers a million thoughts swirl around Caleb’s brain but in the end he decides to stick close to his mother and see where their next journey takes them.

Early the next morning the duo pack some of their belongings in Mary’s Mercedes Benz station wagon turn back to say a final farewell to Ronnie Matthews than Mary idles the car down to the front gate.

After opening the gate Caleb buckles up ready for the next stage ‘Huh Caleb sit still and whatever you do stay calm, now don’t look but you have a huge yellow jacket on your left shoulder.’

‘I know ma, let me introduce you to Kotter the friendly wasp.’

‘If you say so Caleb, now lets hit the road but first I need to make a pit stop in town on a personal matter.’

Mary can’t believe her luck as she pulls in right out the front of Brett Furguson’s Auctioneer’s office ‘Hang tight Caleb, can I borrow your pocketknife for a moment I have a feeling that I might need it.’

Behind the reception desk sits Daphne Prine a skinny alabaster skinned 80 year old spinster who still sports a beehive hairstyle that was popular back in the 1960’s.

Good morning Daphne I just need to have a quick word with Brett for a moment if you please.’

Daphne purses her lips in distaste ‘I am sorry Mrs Matthews but Mr Furguson is booked solid until the end of the month and make sure that you make an appointment before you come back.’

‘Now don’t get a bee in your bonnet Daphne, let me have a look at your appointment ledger for this morning.’

Once Daphne reaches for the ledger Mary opens the pocketknife plunging the blade into the old bags hand pinning it to her desk.

Daphne’s mouth opens and closes like a goldfish but no sound comes out ‘I tried to be nice to you but you decided that rudeness was the way to go’ Mary scolds turning the ledger around ‘Well look here Brett is free all morning, so you are a liar as well as having no fashion sense.’

Hearing voices outside his office Brett Furguson comes out front to see what is happening and on seeing Mary he takes a step ‘Well look what the cat dragged in, what can I do for you Mary?

‘Well Caleb and I are about to go on a road trip so I need to make sure that the funds from the auction have gone into my account before we leave.’

‘The money from the sale of your jewelry was deposited into your account without any problems but Ronnie’s fleet of vehicles are being held in storage until I personally get an okay from your husband but all attempts to contact him have gone unanswered.’

‘So until I hear from Ronnie the sale of the vehicles will not proceed so please tell your husband to contact this office ASAP to discuss the matter so I am sorry but it looks like you have made a trip into town for nothing.’

Wearing a smug expression on his face Brett grabs May’s arm attempting to steer her towards the exit but then he notices Daphne slumped over her desk with a knife pinning her to it.

Forgetting all about Mary Brett rushes over to his and begins checking for a pulse ‘You crazy bitch, lucky for you it seems that Daphne has fainted, now stay where while I call the police.’

Mary has no intention of sticking around, instead she bounds forward frees the knife plunging it into Brett’s right eye killing him instantly.

Then Mary calmly puts a hand over Daphne’s nose and mouth until she too has died, then she sets fire to the office’s furnishings and carpet to destroy evidence.

Caleb is getting bored sitting around doing nothing, so his relief is evident when his ma finally appears ‘Time to get out of dodge Caleb before all hell breaks loose.’

THE END

Part two coming soon.

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