Mighty Max #110-year-old Max Madison sat in his treehouse, trying not to cry as his father climbed the rope ladder to talk to his son. The boy had shaggy blonde hair that was in desperate need of a trim as he kept having to push it out of his eyes. "Max?" Michael Madison asked as he came up and sat down next to the boy. "Please don't be upset, Max. We go through this every time." "I don't want you to leave!" Max said as he hugged his father. "You said the last time would be it, that you'd never have to go again!" "I don't want to leave, son, but as an archaeologist I have to go help unearth the ancient ruins they found in Europe," the man said as he rested his head against his son's hair. "I'll only be gone for three months. In the meantime you get to stay with Grady's family until I come home. You love staying with Grady, he's like a brother to you." "What if something happens, like a mummy gets you?" Max asked. "Oh, Max, we've been over this a million times. Monsters aren't real," Micheal said as he pulled an old worn and faded red baseball cap out, placing it backwards on top of his son's head. The strap needed to be adjusted as the hat was far too large for the boy's head. "My father gave me this hat, and his father gave it to him. It's been in our family since your great-great-grandfather went to his first baseball game back in 1931. I believe it's time that I passed this on to you." "Aw, Dad, I don't even like baseball." Max told him. "I know, son, neither do I, but that hat is a family heirloom," Micheal told him. "And it might just bring you luck. The men in our family believed that this hat has a special power that differs from generation to generation. Your great-great-grandfather thought it was lucky, your great-grandpa thought it made him psychic, and my Dad thought it was the reason behind his building a fortune." "And what about you, Dad?" "It brought me the greatest gift of all," Micheal told him. "You. Now you have to find out what special gift this hat is going to bring to you." "Maybe my gift will be you coming back early," Max told him. "So that we never have to be apart again." Micheal just kissed Max's forehead as he stood up. "You never know, son. That hat might just surprise you. Now come on, I'll drop off at Grady's house before I head to the airport. And in three months, if all goes well, I'll never have to leave you again." * Seven Years Later The shelf of Max's basement bedroom had several trophies and medals on display, all for swimming. Max had grown to have a swimmer's body that he carefully took care of despite having quit the sport three years earlier, although his hair was still in desperate need of a trim. On his head sat the old faded red ballcap his father had given him. Unless Max was bathing or sleeping, the hat never left his head. As Max did shirtless pull-ups in the doorway to his personal bathroom, a young man with shortcut black hair and high school football player's physique knocked on the door. "Shouldn't you be in bed? We're leaving at 5 in the morning," Max's adoptive brother Grady told him. "I want to make it to the cabin early so we can enjoy the first day. We'll start out early, pick up the others and make it to the cabin by 10. Just think of it, bro. No school, no parents, no teachers, just parties, swimming and beautiful wom-- Oh, right, sorry. I'm sure we can find you a--." Max dropped to the floor and grabbed a white t -shirt to put on after briefly removing the old red ballcap. "I don't know if I should go. I feel like a fifth wheel." "Hey, I'm not going on Spring Break without my brother," Grady told him. "You and me are a team, okay? This is our first Spring Break away from home and we're going to have fun, alright? Get ready, 'cause we leave first thing in the morning." * Max opened his eyes, finding himself underwater. No matter how hard he tried to swim up, he couldn't break the surface, finding an invisible plating blocking him. As he looked up, he saw Grady among several other people staring down at him. Max pounded on the plating, trying to scream for help as only bubbles flowed out of his mouth. His air would only last a few more precious seconds and yet no one above was trying to help him. "Stop playing around, Max," Grady told him. "Come out of there already." As Max pounded harder on the plating, he saw the water around him turning red. He felt his forehead, finding the blood was coming from him. He soon realized that something had ahold of his foot and was pulling him down. Max struggled, screaming in silence as he tried to pull away, but whatever had him was far too strong. The images of the people above water got smaller and blurrier as Max was pulled down below. Max sat up in his own bed, covered in sweat as he breathed heavily. Looking around to see he was in his bedroom, he ran a hand through his hair as he closed his eyes and tried to calm down. Looking over at his alarm clock, he saw it was 4 in the morning. * A young couple were making out on the front steps of the porch while a young brunette woman watched. "Tell me you two aren't going to spend the whole week humping each other," Beverly asked. "At least wait until we get to the cabin." A blonde teenage boy pulled away just enough to smirk at her. Joe was a bit rough around the edges thanks to coming from a broken home where he'd been routinely beaten most of his life, but was still a decent guy when it came down to it. Fortunately he'd fallen in with a group of friends who still cared about him despite the walls he'd built up around himself. "We do not 'hump', we are merely showing our affection for each other." The raven haired girl smiled as she faced Beverly. Becka had been a shy girl until she met Joe, whom Grady and Beverly believed brought out the best in each other for better or worse. "When's the last time your man showed you he cared?" "Grady cares," Beverly told her. "In fact, the cabin might be where we finally... show our love for each other for the first time." "You mean you've never seen Grady's junk?" Joe asked. "You've never even so much as given him a handy-J?" "Unlike some people, we wanted to wait before we got into that level of... stuff. " Beverly told her. "I love that Grady respects me enough to not push me into something I'm not ready for." "Or maybe Grady's gay," Joe told her as he went back to kissing Becka. "He does spend an awful lot of time with Max." "Grady is not gay, and Max is his brother," Beverly said defensively as Grady's old dinosaur of a car pulled into the driveway. It had been the only car Grady could afford and looked like it could fall to pieces at any moment. "You'll see this weekend, he won't be able to keep his hands off of me once we're at the lake." "Who's ready to party!" Grady shouted as he climbed halfway out of the driver's side window. "Toss your shit into the back and let's roll!" "Hey, Max," Beverly said as Max climbed into the backseat so Grady could be next to his girl. "Still flying solo? We'll get you a girlfriend yet." Max just remained silent as he fell onto the seat. "Shove over, Maxi-pad." Joe said as he climbed in, followed by Becka. The door had barely closed and the two were all over each other again. "Hey, don't get any stains on my backseat, and this time your clothes stay on. I don't want to get pulled over for indecent exposure again," Grady said as he watched Joe and Becka in the rearview mirror. "Next stop, Higgins Haven!" * "Alright, gang, it was a long trip, but we made it," Grady said as he pulled the car down the small dusty road into the small town of Higgins Haven. It wasn't a large town, but there were several businesses such as a hardware store, a general store and a farmer's market."Let's hit the general store before we get to the cabin, maybe get to know some of the locals." "Don't forget the beer," Joe said as he looked around the backseat. He'd taken it off after his makeout session as the backseat windows wouldn't roll down. "Anyone see my shirt? Fuck it, it's not like I'll need it once we get to the lake house. " "I was trying not to look at anything you two were doing," Max told him. "I'm sorry I forgot my earbuds for my phone, you two made sounds I'll never get out of my head." "We're making good time," Grady said as he got out of the car and stretched. "We'll head straight to the cabin after this, maybe we can go for a swim in the huge lake out back." "I didn't pack a swimsuit." Max told him. "I knew you wouldn't, so I packed one for you." Grady smirked as they headed up the street. The group found the general store and walked in, where the customers inside immediately stopped what they were doing to stare at the strangers. "I take it they didn't get the personalized e-mail that we were coming." Max whispered as the teens started gathering food. Grady headed to the back of the store to grab some beer as Joe and Becka started picking out snacks. "Hey, don't eyeball my girl." Joe said as he saw an older man staring at Becka. "I think he's eyeballing you," Beverly told him. "Really should have put your shirt back on." As Grady pulled some six-packs out of the cooler, he closed the door to find a man staring at him. Grady nearly dropped the beer as he backed up. "Jesus, you nearly scared me to death," Grady told him. "You don't get many out-of-towners, do you?" An old woman came from out of nowhere as Max headed toward Grady. She grabbed his arm and held on tight. "You," the old woman said as she looked up at his hat, sensing something dark and mystical about it. "You'll bring death to us all. Get out of town now, before you bring him!" "I'm sorry about Joe, okay?" Max asked. "We'll make him put on a shirt." "I sense a great power from you," the old woman told him. "One that will destroy everything you love. Leave this town before it's too late." Max pulled away from the old woman, finding her fingernails had cut into his arm, causing it to bleed. "Great vacation spot, Grady," Max told him as he grabbed a box of bandages from the shelf. "What, couldn't book the place from the movie 'Hostel'?" "Hey, I didn't know the people here were dicks, alright?" Grady asked as the group carried their supplies back to the car as the people watched them leave. "Let's just get the cabin, the caretaker's waiting for us." "There's a caretaker?" Max asked. "My aunt and uncle hired him to watch after the place for upkeep during the year. I only met him once, but he's a nice guy," Grady said. "The lake house is my aunt and uncle's summer home. They said if we don't trash the place that we can start using it for school breaks, maybe even come back during the summer when they take their annual trip to Florida." "I just hope this guy isn't some old fuddy-duddy," Becka said as the car started pulling out of the town while Joe flipped off the people who were watching. "The last thing we need is some old grouch telling us to keep our feet off the furniture." "Yeah, our feet," Joe smirked as he pulled Becka into a kiss. "We're going to do it in every room of the house." "Ugh," Max said as he stared out of the window. "Maybe we should have picked up some bleach back at the store, probably going to need it to sterilize the place before we leave." Soon the car pulled up to the large lake house which sat near a barn. They spotted a man in his early twenties doing chores around the property. He had on a flannel shirt and jeans, work gloves and a cowboy hat hiding his reddish blonde hair. The man smiled as he spotted the car coming to a stop. "You must be Will," Grady said as he got out of the car. "I'm Grady, this is Joe, Bev, Becka and Max." "Howdy," Will smiled as he tipped his hat. "Nice to see people around my own age coming out here again. It's been a while." "Come to think of it, I didn't see any kids in the town," Max realized. "That's kind of weird." "Town's superstitious, thinks too many kids around brings trouble," Will told them. "Let me show you around the place." * "So, Will, do you live around here?" Max asked as he kept pace alongside the caretaker with the others not too far behind. "I live in the guest house," Will told him as he pointed at a house not too far away. "Grady's aunt and uncle got it cheap, said I could live there rent free in exchange for keeping up the property for them. Land around here's been dirt cheap in recent years with everyone steering clear of the place." "Yeah, because of the legends and rumors," Grady said. "Something about a serial killer haunting the place." "Grady, did you seriously bring us to a killer's playground?" Beverly asked. "Not cool, bro," Joe told him. "That's going to kill the mood for us," Joe then leaned in to whisper in Becka's ear. "Not really, I'm still horny." "They're just rumors," Grady told him. "No one really died here." "Wrong, over 70 people were killed over the course of a decade," Will told them. "The killings stopped suddenly one summer, but they could always start up again anytime." "And that's our cue to leave," Becka said as she grabbed Joe's hand. "If we'd known people died here--" "Relax, babe, I'll protect you," Joe promised her as he put an arm around her shoulder. "No one's going to hurt you." "A good chunk of the murders actually happened in the house you're staying in," Will said as he took Max aside. "I wouldn't tell your friends, though." "Oh, good, stick me with the secret," Max said to him. "Always wanted to have nightmares in an isolated cabin." "I told you because you seem like the strongest one of this group," Will said. "I can't put my finger on it, but there's something... special about you." "It's the hat," Max blushed. "Supposed to have some kind of weird power or something to bring me luck. You want to hang out with us tonight? We got plenty of beer." "It's alright, I don't want to horn in on your guy's party," Will said. "But feel free to drop by my place if you need anything at all, that's what I'm here for." * Everyone had changed into their swimsuits as they headed to the dock for an afternoon swim. Max had been the only one to wear a shirt as he headed down with them. He'd put on a baggy pair of jean shorts instead of the pair of trunks Grady had brought for him. "You're not wearing that into the water, are you?" Grady asked as they watched Joe and Becka jump into the water. "I think I'll just watch you guys have fun," Max told them. "Don't want to get my hat wet." "Then take it off," Grady told him. "Max, I barely see you without that hat. It won't kill you to take it off and take a swim with us. You were on the school swim team for two years, show us some of your old moves." "I don't think so. " Max said nervously as he rubbed his arm. "I think he's still shaken up by the old woman at the general store," Grady told her. "It's okay, Max, come in when you feel like you're ready." Grady and Beverly jumped into the water as Max sat down on the dock, putting his feet into the water while he leaned back. He turned his head to see Will up toward the house, cutting the grass. Max couldn't help but notice how sad he looked as he pushed the mower. It reminded him of how withdrawn he was after his father had died. Out in the water, the others were splashing in the water as they swam out a little further. "Hey, check it out, the summer camp my parents told me about," Grady pointed out. "I heard they're re-opening in the summer." "Isn't that place supposed to be haunted?" Beverly asked. "Supposedly this whole town is haunted," Grady told her. "I don't believe a word of it, though. Nothing bad could happen in a beautiful place like this. Will was just feeding us shit, no one died. Just the help trying to scare us, nothing more." As they got out far enough, Joe's foot hit something in the water. "What the hell?" Joe asked as he ducked under the water to see what was under the water, but it was too murky to see clearly. If the water had been clearer, he'd have seen a dead body that had been chained under the water. He came back up to the surface as Grady saw him. "Everything okay, bro?" "Yeah, I just thought there was something there," Joe told him as a light rain started. "Aw, man." "Relax, babe, it's just a little rain," Becka said as she put her arms around him, giving him a kiss. "Nothing to worry about." It was then that thunder was heard in the distance. "Shit," Grady said. "Thunderstorm's rolling in. Better get out of the water before the lightning comes. We still have a whole week to swim in the lake, let's go." * By the time it had gotten dark, the light rain had formed into a full blown thunderstorm with heavy wind. Luckily, the friends had chosen to ignore the storm to focus on having a good time indoors. The music was blaring as the teens had started drinking and playing party games. It wasn't too long before Joe had revealed he had brought along his secret weed stash and had been willing to share it with his friends. "This is nice," Beverly said as she leaned her head on Grady's shoulder while they sat on the couch. Everyone but Max had taken part in the joint sharing, so now the group was nice and stoned. "No one telling us what to do, no curfews, no rules." "I told you this was going to be a fun trip," Grady told her as a bolt of lighting caused the lights to flicker. As Max sat in the bay window, looking over at Will's house, he saw the lights had completely gone out. "Maybe we should get some flashlights ready, just in case." "I'm going to check on Will," Max said as he stood up. "His lights didn't come back on, maybe I'll see if he wants to crash here for the night. No one should be alone in this storm." "Aw, Max, that guy seems like such a drag!" Joe said. "He'll probably lecture us about the evils of marijuana." "He's in a house with no power," Max said. "I just want to make sure he's okay." "Fine, just be careful, the rain's really coming down hard out there," Grady said. "Don't be gone too long, okay? I don't want to have to worry about you." Max put on a raincoat, grabbed a spare flashlight and headed out just as Joe smiled at Becka. "Well, the kids are gone, maybe it's time for the adults to play." "Take that shit upstairs if you're going to do that," Grady told him. "And keep the moaning down, these walls are really thin." Joe took Becka's hand as they headed upstairs. "It's sweet how you look after your brother," Beverly said as she held Grady's hand. "Even though he's old enough to take care of himself." "We've watched out for each other since we were kids," Grady told her. "He saved my life when I was 8. My basketball rolled out into the street, and I didn't pay attention to traffic. Max pushed me out of the way and got hit. Broke his legs, arms, and a few ribs. Spent six months in the hospital recovering. I swore that I'd never let anything hurt him again." Beverly rested his head on her shoulder as she stroked his arm. "I know you wanted to do... stuff tonight," Grady said. "We could still--" "Not tonight," Beverly told him, loving this side of Grady that was so open with her. "Let's just sit here and enjoy the peace." * Max knocked on the door to Will's place as the rain really pounded down on him. Will soon answered, the living room behind him in total darkness except for a flickering red glow. "Saw your power went out," Max said. "Did you want to come over to our place until it comes back on?" "It's okay," Will said. "It's just a fuse, I'll have to get some from the hardware store tomorrow." "So you're just going to sit in a big, empty house all night?" "I've got a fire going in the fireplace," Will said as he pulled Max in. "Jesus, you're going to catch cold standing out there. Stay here and warm yourself up, I have home-made coco if you want some. I have camping supplies for power outage emergencies, they come in handy at times like this." * Back at the house, Joe and Becka had barely reached their bedroom before they started pulling their clothes off to have sex. As each bit of clothing hit the floor, the louder the thunder rumbling outside because. As Joe got Becka onto the bed, a white flash came from outside. Joe reached for a condom from the nightstand as the loudest clap of thunder yet came. The second Joe began making love to his girlfriend, a loud lightning strike hit the lake outside, striking the corpse beneath the water. While the two continued enjoying each other's company, making love in the darkness, the dead body under the lake started twitching his fingers. Seconds later, the corpse's eyes bolted open and the disfigured corpse once again came back to life. * Max's shoes and socks were drying by the fire as he sat on the couch, sipping a cup of hot chocolate. He had a blanket over his shoulders as Will stood over the fireplace, using the poker on the firelog. "This is pretty good," Max said. "I don't think I've ever had coco this good. What's your secret? And don't say love." "I use real chocolate and milk, not that store-bought stuff," Will told him as he stoked the fire as he tried to find the words. "Thanks for coming to check on me." "Why don't you come back over with me?" Max asked. "You don't have to be alone." Will stared into the fire. "All I've ever been is alone. My Dad died just after I was conceived and they took me away from my Mom as soon as I was born. The grief I guess was just too much for her, so she made up this story about a demon trying to take over my soul while I was in the womb. She died a few years later, they never caught the killer. I was bounced from foster home to foster home, never staying in one place for too long, never getting the chance to make friends. Finally ended up in Higgins Haven, but there were never too many kids here. Grady's aunt and uncle took me in when I was 16 after my foster parents split, but I don't think they ever saw me as anything more than free labor. And this is where I've been for the last six years, making sure this place keeps running. Only people I ever see are in town when I make supply runs." "So you've never had a friend?" Max asked. "What was the point?" Will asked. "It's not like anyone would ever stick around anyway. Hell, you and your friends are just here for the week, then you're back to living your own lives." Max stared down into his cup and sighed. "Ever thought about changing locales? Doing your own thing for a change? if you could have anything in the world, what would it be?" "A friend," Will said as he stared into the fire. "One that would never give up on me, never abandon me, no matter how far apart we were. I just want someone who cares." * Under the lake, the corpse, now fully revived, started breaking the chains that kept him bound under the water... * Back in town, the old woman felt a chill run down her spine. "He rises. It's about to start again." * "It's getting late, you should probably--" Will started to say as he returned from the kitchen to find Max sound asleep on the couch. WIll just smirked as he lifted Max's legs to put them on the couch before draping a blanket over him. "Good night, Max." Will noticed Max's cap and gently ran his fingers over the faded material. "Why does it feel like the hat's on fire? And why doesn't Max feel it?" * Joe and Becka fell back onto the bed, exhausted. "It just gets better everytime we do it," Joe smiled. "I love you." "I love you, too," Becka as she kissed him. "This is going to be the best week ever. Nothing bad can possibly go wrong as long as I have you." * On the other side of the lake, a figure slowly started rising up out of the water. He wore a blue jumpsuit and black gloves, and his right hand felt like it was badly in need of a weapon. Sharp or blunt, as long as it got the job done. The corpse's face was horribly disfigured and in need of a mask to disguise it, something he knew he could get in the town not too far away. Jason Voorhees was back, and he had a lot of killing to make up for. TO BE CONTINUED...
0 Comments
|
TOBIAS CHRISTOPHERAuthor, cap-bearer. Archives
April 2019
Categories |