Cody and Hunter dropped their backpacks by the door and ran upstairs to Cody’s room as soon as they got off the bus. Cody couldn’t tell if Hunter really wanted to be his friend, or if he was just using him for his new game system, but he didn’t care at that moment. This was his first friend (real or not) that he’d been able to hang out with since school started. Cody and his mom had moved over the summer, and being the new kid sucked.

Cody wished his mom would find another line of work. Or, at least get better at her job—they had to move every time she screwed up, and they’d moved three times in the last two years. He just wished they stuck around one place long enough for him to make some friends or get a girlfriend. But for now, he had Hunter and a new pile of video games, so that would have to be enough.

“What’s in that shed?” Hunter asked, interrupting Cody’s thoughts. Cody turned around to see that Hunter was staring out of the window, into the backyard.

“My mom uses it as a workshop,” Cody replied.

“For what?”

“Just some projects she’s working on.”

“Let’s go check it out,” Hunter said, already heading towards the door.

“Uhh…I’m not supposed to go in there.”

“I’m not going to mess with anything. Stop being lame.”

Cody glanced at the time on the television. It was a little after four, and his mom wouldn’t be out there yet. He could just let Hunter peek through the window – it was either that or risk him turning it into a big deal and telling everyone he was lame. “Alright, let’s go.”

The boys went out through the back door and ran through the yard to the shed. As they got closer, Cody could hear sounds coming from inside. That didn’t make any sense though, the car wasn’t out front when they got home. Still, he needed to stop Hunter.

“Hunter! Hey! Stop!” Cody yelled, as they both continued running.

“What are you so afraid of man? Don’t be a pussy!” Hunter yelled back, as he laughed and ran faster.

Cody slowed down to a jog. It was too late, now. By the time he reached the shed, Hunter’s face was pressed against the window, his body frozen in shock. Cody looked inside to confirm what he already knew Hunter was watching: his mother covered in plastic, using a chainsaw to dismember a dead body. There was blood everywhere. Both arms were already sawed off, and she was working on the legs.

Hunter screamed, causing Cody’s mom to look in their direction. She slammed the chainsaw down and walked towards the shed door. Hunter, still screaming, took off running.

“What are you standing there for? Go get him!” Cody’s mom yelled as she made her way towards him.

Cody took a deep breath, ran after Hunter and tackled him to the ground. Cody struggled to hold Hunter down until his mother came over and hit him in the head with a shovel.

“Help me drag him back,” Cody’s mother instructed him.

“Do we have to do this?” Cody asked.

“I’m not the one who let him come to the shed, Cody. How many times have we talked about my work?”

“I didn’t think you were out here! I was just going to let him look in the window. He was just supposed to see an empty, old shed. Then we were going to go back inside.”

“And what if my tools were out?’

“You never leave them out!”

“You still shouldn’t have –”

Cody and his mom fell silent when they realized Hunter had woken up and was groaning. They grabbed his arms and legs and moved quickly towards the shed.

Once they made it inside, Cody’s mom picked up another shovel to deliver the final blow.

“Wait! What if we –?”

“Cody!” His mother, yelled, cutting him off. “Do you know what my bosses would do to me if I left a loose end like this running around? I can’t risk it.”

“I know,” Cody said softly. He kept his head down as his mother struck Hunter again.

Cody watched the blood flow across the plastic tarp that covered the shed floor for a few minutes before he turned to walk away.

“Where are you going?” his mother asked softly.

“To pack,” Cody said without stopping.

“That’s probably a good idea,” his mother responded.

Cody was angry with himself for allowing this to happen. He should have known not to invite anyone else over after that kid wandered into the basement two years ago. He shrugged as he reached the back door of the house. “Lesson learned, I guess,” he muttered to himself, and went upstairs to start packing.

The End.

Written By: S.M. Grady

© 2019 S.M. Grady

*Don’t forget to hit the LIKE button and leave a comment if you enjoyed it!