The Sound of a Chainsaw

When I came to, I thought I was done for. They had me somewhere in a bedroom tied down on the bed. I tried my best to pull myself free, but my vision was still fuzzy. I attempted to scream, but a hand clamped down on my mouth.

"Jesus, Kid."

"Jack?"

Only Jack called me Kid, it was a joke that only he thought was funny. I became aware that someone was straddling me.

"Do I have a man's voice?"

She flicked on a flashlight and I squinted through the brightness.

"Kate!" She covered my mouth and kissed my forehead. "How'd you get here?"

"I didn't need help, you know. I'm very capable of making it out on my own. I don't always depend on you. As a matter of fact, I don't depend on you at all."

"Are we still having this argument…even after I drove all the way out here to chase after you?" She worked on the knots keeping my arms tied to the bedpost. "Can you at least admit that you love me?"

Kate said nothing.

It was so heartwarming to finally see that Kate was alive. Her white tank top was stained with blood and dirt, her jeans were ripped and she was completely bare foot. She released my right arm and I wrapped it around her waist.

"You're a jerk. Do you know that?" She said, giving me another kiss. "This is why we can't be together. You're always on your deathbed."

"Live hard. Die young." I smiled as she untied my left arm. "What happened to you?"

"I came here when my car broke down. I know…a good place to stop, but I didn't think something like this would actually happen. Everything was fine until that bitch with the blonde hair told her cousins she didn't like me. They stole my phone and kept me locked in the basement. I escaped a few hours ago and I saw them dragging you from the meat closet. Now we're stuck in this mess again. I would have been home free if you didn't decide to come here."

"Well, I'm fucking sorry for coming. Maybe I should have just left you."

"Stop being so dramatic," Kate hissed. "What happened to you?"

"Missy made me take a bath."

Kate glared at me, looking pissed off.

"I can see you've been having a bad time. Obviously, you've been spending all your time looking for me."

I groaned and stood up from the bed. I pressed my ear against the door, but I couldn't hear anything. I knew they would come back for me soon and I wasn't quite sure why I wasn't dead yet.

"My friend Abe is still here somewhere. We need to get him out, I made a promise," I explained to Kate.

She sighed and placed her hands on her hips.

"You know…I really think these people are out to kill us."

I know what you're thinking right now. You're saying, this shit could never happen. This story is ridiculous…this only happens in cheaply made horror movies. My question to you is, where do you think that shit comes from? Horror movies aren't just ideas. They originate from somewhere. A few years ago I told this story to a man who turned it into a pretty famous movie. Based on a true story. Yeah…all that comes from somewhere. This isn't just bullshit.

The sound of a chainsaw could be one of the most terrifying things in the world. When I heard it coming from downstairs, I feared the worst for Abe.

"Come out, come out, where ever you are," Chuck's voice rank through the house. I grabbed Kate's arm and we made our way out into the hallway. "I have your friend down here."

I exchanged glances with Kate and I motioned for her to stay still near the door. I walked quickly to the top of the staircase and peered down. Chuck was glaring up at me holding the chainsaw. He was wearing a bloodstained apron.

"What do you want from us?" I asked.

"We like to play games," Chuck said, with a malicious smile. "Life is all a game, isn't it?"

"Where's Abe?" I called out, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Come downstairs and you'll find out."

"I'm not an idiot. Show me Abe."

Chuck glanced somewhere I couldn't see and motioned from someone to come over. The blonde haired girl pulled over a duct taped, bleeding Abe. It didn't look like he was seriously injured, but he was scared. Abe glared up at me.

"Hey boy. Where's your pretty girlfriend?" She smiled and ran her hand down the side of her body. "You can stay with me. We won't have to play anymore games."

Kate appeared next to me holding a metal axe.

"Where'd you get that?" I hissed.

Personally, I felt that Kate should have told me she had an axe before I headed out into the hallway. I would have acted a little braver.

"In the garage. I told you…I'm not completely helpless." Kate paused and smiled at the blonde girl. "Why don't you ask that question again, you stupid bitch."

I couldn't help but admire Kate at the moment. I remember staring at her and thinking about how beautiful she was, even though she was covered in blood and dirt…and holding an axe. She was ready to tear that other girl apart. There was something extremely touching about that…and completely morbid. I guess that was alright with us.

She started down the stair cautiously, but confidently. I stayed close behind even though I didn't have any weapon. Maybe it was time I trusted Kate in solving our little problem.

As we walked closer, the two of them stepped back, still clutching onto Abe. Chuck's chainsaw was what worried me the most. Missy wasn't armed, but the chainsaw was enough for both of them. We stood facing each other, waiting for the other group to make a move. Kate clenched her teeth together as she stood in front of me protectively.

Missy lunged at Kate and that's when things got crazy. They starting fighting viciously and I dove out of the way of the chainsaw. I grabbed Abe and ripped off the duct tape as fast as possible. As fast as possible happened to be just in time to miss having my head severed by the blade. I tried to keep an eye on Kate as I continued to dodge his terrifying weapon. I had to find something to defend myself with.

Abe and I stood against the wall next to each other searching with our eyes for any kind of weapon. I eventually settled for a lamp post and smashed it over Chuck's head. My footing got caught in the wiring and I slammed my head into a coffee table. I saw stars and I couldn't pin point the location of anyone. I couldn't call out for help and the chainsaw drowned out any sound.

I opened my eyes and realized I was lying on my back. There was an uncomfortable ringing in my ears and flashing lights. Maybe I had one concussion too many. I forced myself over onto my stomach and saw the blood spot that my head had created in the carpet. I could also taste blood in my mouth as my eyes searched the room.

Kate's axe was gone and Missy had tackled her to the ground. She had scratches on her face and she glanced over at me with a worried expression on her face. I saw her reach out, but I couldn't hear her. The ringing in my ears was still too strong.

Chuck was looming over me laughing—except I couldn't hear it. I couldn't hear anything. It was as silent as church.

There it was. The fifth time I thought I was going to die. The chainsaw was coming down toward my neck and I could feel the vibrations throughout the room. What a mess that would have been. My head would have rolled onto the beige carpet and my blood would have been everywhere. Such a senseless way to die, especially when it could have been avoided. Is there any sensible way to die?

There was a sickening crack. I definitely heard that. The chainsaw fell harmlessly on the ground to the side of me and I rolled quickly out of its way. That's when Chuck's body fell to the floor with his mouth gaped wide open. I saw that the ax had severed his skull and it was lodged into him.

When I peered up, I saw Abe looming over me with Kate at his side. At first, I wasn't sure who had done it, but Abe had blood splattered over his face. Kate was breathing heavily as she stared back at me.

"I guess that settles it," Kate said weakly.

I looked behind Kate and saw the other girl sprawled out with her face down into the carpet. She helped me up and sat me down on the couch. Abe sat down next to me, resting his face in his hands.

"Please never run away from home again," I finally said.

"I agree," Abe replied bitterly.

Kate glared at him and then started to laugh. We all laughed for a few moments, until we all came to the same startling conclusion.

One of them was still missing.

The front door opened and John looked around. He clenched his fists and stared at us. He was shaking with anger and that's when we knew we weren't in the clear yet. We were all up in a flash and headed toward the back door through the kitchen.

Everyone was so pumped up with adrenaline and fear that it was easy to outrun John. We made it into the dark woods and heard John's truck engine stall. We had to make it to the car before he could catch up with us, but that was about a mile away.

"I fucked up some things in his truck," Abe said, while running down the dirt path. "I thought it might help in the long run."

"You're a lot smarter than I am, Abe," I replied, placing a hand on Kate's back to urge her forward.

It was hard to run through the darkness, but fear kept us going. I stumbled at one point and Abe grabbed my arm roughly to drag me up. He was running faster than both Kate and I and we struggled to keep up. I think he was more afraid. Maybe he had never been through anything like that before. Most people haven't.

Every once in a while I knew I heard someone close behind us, but I think I was just being paranoid. I knew John could never keep up with us and he would need his truck. I just hoped that he wouldn't be able to fix the problem before we got to our own car. Then we'd be dead meat.

And just like that we heard the sound of an engine roaring to life. I turned back to see John's headlights turn on. He was far away, but it wouldn't take him long to find us. We reached the car and hurried to clean off the brush. We all bounded inside as quickly as possible.

"Hurry up!" Kate yelled, holding on tightly to my shoulder from the passenger seat. "He's catching up!"

I turned the ignition and stomped on the gas. John's truck tapped the back end and threatened to push me off the road. Kate was still screaming demands at me as I swerved sharply to the right.

"I got this," I replied.

My voice came out shaky as I tried to reassure her. I nearly skidded off the road again as John rammed into me for the second time. I could see his face in my rearview mirror. He was terrifying. I knew I would have nightmares about it for a long time.

I changed gears and took off, leaving those bright headlights behind us. It was one of the creepiest moments of my life watching through my rearview mirror, while Kate and Abe turned completely around to see it. The truck stopped dead in the road and John got out and just stood staring in the road until he was out of our sights.

It's safe to say that's somewhere I'll never visit again. I'm pretty sure that Kate never even contacted her sister after that. She had to be fucked up to live in a town like that.

All was well…except for my throbbing skull. Kate was sitting next to me and she grabbed tightly onto my free hand. As the sun was coming up, I looked at her and smiled. Even though she never said it, I knew she was grateful. She was just as stubborn as I was.

I promised Abe he would make it out alive and he did. I was ready to start over with Kate and to make sure she never tried to leave for good again. We had to stop arguing and we had to try and make it work. After that, our arguments felt sort of foolish. I'll never remember what she did for me.

I'll never be able to thank her enough.