Murder's Alleyway

Murder's Alleyway
by
MadManMike

It was 1965, eight years since the terrifying rape and murder of the little Sonda girl. She was found in the back bushes at the end of the sewer's alleyway. This alleyway was there for runoff during a large storm. The pathway ran down between Brighten and Lasalle Ave.

There was thick vegetation along both sides of the pathway. Shrubs and bushes hid the neighboring fences all the way back, where more foliage grew wildly at the end.

The children and teenagers who lived near-by referred to the place as "Murder's Alleyway."
Now fifteen year old Barry Funk, whose life seemed to be moving in all the right directions, has just received a disturbing phone call from his best friend, Lee Nickels.

Lee sounded as if he had the whole FBI after him.
He was out of breath and very secretive. He said something Barry did not need to hear. Lee told him he just came back from murder's alleyway.

Though they were forbidden to go near that place by their parents, Lee was known to, on many occasions to disobey his. Barry, who usually always obeyed his had also once broken the rule. After listening to Lee's call, the memory came rushing back into his head.

Barry and Chris were riding their bikes near the pathway. They both stopped at the entrance not saying a word to one another. Chris dared Barry to run all the way to the back and touch the back bushes where the little Sonda girl was found. Barry agreed as long as Chris would come with him. They shook hands and jumped off their bikes. Side by side, they slowly moved their way in. An eerie ghostly feeling crept into both boys. Fear was also within them. They only made it a quarter of the way in, when one of the bushes began to shake. The two of them ran out, screaming. Barry in front and Chris right behind him, screaming about spiders jumping out on him. All Barry knew at that moment, was he would never go back into murder's alleyway.

Barry was sitting in his room waiting for dinner, hoping he would get permission to have Lee spend the night. He needed to know what happened. It was a Saturday, so he thought his chances seemed good.

Barry picked up his electric guitar, without plugging it into the amplifier. He began practicing the lead to the song, "PIPELINE," which their newly formed band was learning to play.

"Supper's ready," his mother called, as she came down the hall. She popped her head into his room.
"You are eating with us tonight, aren't you?"
"Yes...mom, who killed that girl in the sewer's pathway?"
"Never found the man. Why are you bringing that up now?" Barry's mom asked.
"How did she die?"
"By a very bad man. You better not be messing around there, Barry!"
"Oh no, I will never go in there."
"Good, now get ready for dinner and don't forget to wash your hands," she said, walking back in the hall.
"Mom!" Barry yelled out. His mother rushed back into his room.
"Don't scream young man."
"Sorry...would it be alright if Lee stays over tonight?"
"Your father has to work overtime tomorrow. I don't think he'll want to hear a lot of noise around the house tonight. But if you can get him to say it's okay, then it's fine with me."

Barry's mom left to go back to the kitchen. Barry placed his guitar back in the closet, then headed to the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, washing his hands, he was examining his hair. His normally light brown hair was mostly blond now, due to the bleaching from the summer sun. He was happy about that. Especially now, after meeting the new girl on the next block. Connie was her name and Barry had a big crush on her.
His friend Chris lived next door to her. he was keeping Barry informed with any news concerning her. This was where he heard she liked the surfer type. Blond hair was a start and learning Pipeline was another.
When Barry entered the kitchen, his brother, who was four years older, was shoveling mash potatoes onto his plate.

"Hey! Leave some for the rest of us," Barry barked out, as he sat down at the table.
"Shut up jerk-off," his brother Marty fired back.
"Okay you two...that will be enough," the mother interfered.

Their father came in, swinging a set of keys in his left hand. Mr. Funk wore a G.I. haircut and was a large and muscular man. Just the opposite of their mother, who was very petite.

"I will need the car back tonight, Marty. I have to go in work tomorrow. So you better replace the gas you use. You don't want me running out of gas on my way to work. Right," Mr. Funk remarked

"I'll make sure your gas tank is full dad," Marty said, waiting for the keys.

Barry thought this would be a good time to ask his dad about having Lee spend the night, since he seemed to be in a generous mood. Hell, he was letting Marty take the car out tonight.

"Pop, can Lee stay over tonight?" Barry asked.
Barry's dad looked over to his wife.
"It's up to you hon, you're the one who has to get up early tomorrow," she said, placing the ice tea jug on the table.
"I don't want to hear those damn guitars tonight," Barry's father commanded.

A big smile came across Barry's face. He was in...in like Flynn.

"No way dad...we're not going to do any practicing. In fact, I was hoping we could pitch up the tent out back. That way we wouldn't be bothering you or mom."
Barrys dad gave out a loud chuckle.

"That's a bunch of bull. You two will have to put up the tent yourselves...and if I have to come out there for any reason, I'm sending Lee home," his dad promised.
"Thanks mom and dad. We'll be quiet."

Mr. Funk tossed the car keys to Marty.

After dinner was over, Barry got up from the table and went straight over to the wall phone at the south end of the kitchen to call Lee. Barry walked into the laundry room and closed the door, as much as he could.
"Your dime," Barry heard from the other end. it was Lee.

"Lee, it's Barry. You can spend the night. We can set up the tent in the backyard."

"Bitchin! Now comes the hard part. My old man is at work and I know he would love to get rid of me for a night, but the old lady I'll have to work on. Hell I'll just tell her I'm going."

Barry heard Lee scream at his mother, telling her he was spending the night at his house. Though they were best friends, they definitely had opposite views and ways of handling parents.

"You are not going over there and bothering the Funks," Barry heard Lee's mom yell out.
"They invited me...not like some parents, they like me," Lee shouted back.
Barry felt somewhat sorry for Lee's parents. For all the problems Lee caused them, plus for all the problems he will cause them in the future.
Lee's mom gave in. Barry opened the laundry door, hearing his father and brother arguing over todays music.
By the time they had the tent up, it was dusk. Lee was inside, blowing up the air mattresses when Barry threw in the sleeping bags."Your mom and dad are cool. Want to trade parents for a couple of years," Lee asked.

"I would do it, just to give your parents a break from you," Barry replied.

Barry unrolled the sleeping bags as Lee continued to carp about his parents.

Tired of listening to Lee talking bad about his parents, Barry threw the first pillow and the pillow fight begun. They were wrestling, when Marty stuck his head through the front opening of the tent.

"How sweet you little girls look," Marty
snickered.

"Get your ugly funky face out of our tent," Barry yelled out.

"No, no, I told him to come out here when your mom brought me through your house," Lee explained to Barry, who had a surprised look on his face.

"What's up, Lee? Barry asked.

Lee went into his front pocket. His left hand came out with some crumpled bills.

"Cherry Brandy, that's what's happening," Lee said with a proud expression on his face, as he handed Marty the bills.

"We're going to need it," he said, turning his head toward Barry.

"Look you goof offs, if you get caught with the booze, you didn't get it from me."

"Right," Barry said.
"Sure thing," Lee said at the same time.

"Cause if you do...my paybacks are deadly," Marty threatened, as he shoved the money into his pockets.

"I'll say I got it from my old man's liquor cabinet," Lee suggested.

"Okay then, I'll be right back." Marty turned and was out of sight.

"Why do we need the Cherry Brandy?" Barry asked nervously.

Lee gave Barry a small smile with fear backed behind it.

"We're going into murder's alleyway tonight."

"No we're not," Barry said with strong conviction.

"My bike is in there, if you don't come with me I'll have to go alone."

"Then you're going alone, Lee. I told you what happened when Chris and I went in there."

"There is something wrong with that place...but not all the time. Remember I went in there a couple years ago. I went all the way to the back. Sat there with a couple of beers. Must have spent two hours in there. Nothing scary in there at all. I could hear some people talking in their backyard about their barbecue. Everything felt normal. Well today when I went in there, it was a whole different feeling. It felt like I was in a different place. Almost as if I was not on earth or in another dimension."

"Why did you go there today?" Barry asked.

"It was something I heard last night, while I was eavesdropping on my old man and uncle. There is so much our parents are keeping from us," Lee explained.

"What did you hear?" Barry asked.

"Remember a few years back when a five-year old boy came up missing."
"Yeah, they never found him, right?"

"Right, but that is only the beginning. I heard my uncle talking about the shoe.."
"What shoe?" Barry interrupted, as he sat on his sleeping bag, looking attentively, like a boy would listen to his baseball coach before a big game. Lee's eyes were bulging out.

"My uncle said that one of the little boy's shoe was found halfway in the pathway."

"I never heard that," Barry admitted.
"There's a hell of a lot more they're keeping from us," Lee said, nodding his head.

"I also heard that they had all the bushes and shrubbery cut down after the Sonda girl was killed...but it all grew back within a year, more thicker than before."

"You said you went in there today, Did you see anything?" Barry asked.

"Oh yeah! I wish you and Chris were with me. After listening to my dad and uncle, I wanted to go back there. You were doing chores all day and no one answered the phone over at Chris's."

"I remember Chris mentioning something about their family going to their grandparents this Saturday," Barry remarked.

"It took me till noon to get up enough courage to go alone."
"Damn," Barry said. He was surprised at Lee's bravery.

"When I got there, I walked my bike in, just about one house in. Left it between two bushes.
I got about halfway in...everything felt cool, like the time I sat all the way in the back drinking beer. But then everything changed. Even the bushes look different. It was like I entered a new place. I couldn't see the backyards of the homes. It was like it was all forest. I got scared man. It started to smell bad in there, like dead animals and motor oil."

"Did you get out of there?" Barry asked, but knew there was more story to come.

"No, I spotted a lizard crawling down the trunk of a shrub, at least it looked like a lizard. But it wasn't. It stopped and rolled up in a ball. The ball began to turn green, like those chameleons do, camouflaging itself.
Then it started changing colors. I don't remember all the colors, cause it switched from color to color so fast. I remember seeing blue, black, orange, and purple. A small lump began to protrude out from the ball. Then...then it just shot out of the ball, landing on a branch. The lump was breathing or pulsating...or something. The ball continued pumping out these lumps, all over the bush. Then they all began to transform into some kind of hideous-looking spiders."

"Chris said spiders were jumping out at him, that day we went in," Barry added.

"See, I'm not crazy," Lee said, as if he was talking to himself.

"But that's not what made me leave...that's not what made me scream like a baby...all the way out. I heard voices, Barr. Heard them coming from down in the sewer at the back of the alleyway. They were voices of children playing down there. A boy and a girl. I started running toward the dead end," Lee stopped talking.

"What happened?" Barry could see some look of confusion on Lee's face.

"They called out my name...they said to come down inside and play with them," Lee murmured.
"When I got close to the opening curb of the sewer, I saw six green eyes looking out, fixed on me. Then the girl said: Lee, stick your head in our sewer opening...our sewer men want to eat your head off. Then I heard them all laughing...the boy, the girl, and the sewer men eaters," Lee said faintly.

"That's when I ran out screaming. It felt like I was running for miles. I really didn't think I was ever going to get out. When I did, I couldn't find my bike. I was just too shaken up, so I ran home."

"That's creepy...that's freeg'n creepy," Barry said, as a chill ran down his back. He shakes it off.
"We been down in sewers before. Maybe it was some kids that knew you...playing a prank on you," Barry suggested, but knew deep down he was wrong.

"No, I knew who they were the minute I heard them talking to me. I don't know how, but I did. I knew who the voices were!" Lee cried out.

"Your not saying you think you heard the voices of the Sonda girl and that little missing boy?"

"Exactly," Lee said. Barry was silent.

A few minutes later, Marty came back, tossing the brandy bottle in the tent. He gave them another lecture on not spilling the beans and what will happen if they did. Then he was gone.

Lee immediately cracked opened the dark bottle with the yellow label. After two swigs, he passed it over to Barry.

"Okay...I'll go with you. Anyway, you said your bike is up front, right?"

"Thank you, Barr. I don't think I could go back there alone," Lee admitted, reaching for the bottle.

"The bike is up front?" Barry asked again, handing Lee the bottle.

"Yeah...and once we find my bike, we are out of there."

"Barry, Chris is on the phone," Barry's mom yells out from the back door.

"Okay mom, be right there," Barry replied.
Lee grabbed Barry's arm.
"Try to get him to come with us," Lee pleaded.
"That was my same thought," Barry came back.

Ten minutes later, Barry walks into the tent carrying a large flashlight. Lee was on his back, staring up. He got up on his elbows as Barry shined the bright light on him.

"Hey! What happened?" Lee questioned, as he sat up. Barry tied the flashlight to the middle tent pole.
"Chris just got home from his grandparents. I told him everything you told me. He is going to sneak out tonight and come with us. Plus he's going to swipe some booze from his dad's bar in the rec room," Barry said, sounding excited.

"Yeah baby!" Lee yells.
"That calls for a celebration drink," Lee said, as he searched for the bottle in his pillow case.
"Maybe we should hold up, in case Chris can't make it out," Barry explained.
"Cause I know before I go in there...I need to be a little blotto," Barry added matter-of-factly.
"He'll make it out. I want to thank you Barr for deciding to go and for getting Chris to come with us also," Lee mentioned.

"Strength in numbers," Barry announced.

It was 10:30pm when both of them were woken by barking dogs from down the block. They sat up quickly, listening to the dogs barking in the night. A few seconds later they hear a voice screaming at the dogs.
"Chris," they both said together, jumping up and out of the tent. About three houses down, they could see a skinny, tall boy, walking fast on the brick wall, heading their way.

Chris was using his outstretched arms to maintain his balance as he made his way toward Barry and Lee. Chris saw them waving at him.

"Right on guys!" Chris yelled out. When Chris jumped down off the wall fence, clanging of bottles could be heard. Both Barry and Lee smiled.

Chris pulled out three pint size bottles from his back pocket.

"We have at your service...already mixed screwdriver," tossing the bottle to Barry.
"Sunny Brook Whiskey," giving Lee the bottle.
"And of course...Vodka!" Chris twisted off the cap and took a swallow, which made his face look like he had swallowed rat poison.

"Whoo, yeah man," said Chris, as they all laughed.
"We're going to puke our guts out tonight. Lets get back in the tent," Barry said.
"Did you know Mr. Monroe has barbwire on the top of his fence, is that legal?" Chris asked, bringing up the rear, entering the tent.

All three of them sat in a circle. Each of them opened their bottles.
"Let's make a toast," Lee suggested.
They brought their bottles up together.
"To our mission tonight. May it be successful and free from harm and evil," Lee toasted.
"Here,here," Barry remarked.
"I will second that," Chris replied.
They all drank.
"How's Pipeline coming along?" Chris asked Barry.
"Good, I did some practicing today."
"I'm getting the bass down too, I think," Chris added.
"How about you, Lee, how's the drums doing?"
"I think we are ready to work on it, that's how it's coming," Lee said.

"Chris, when we do get this song down, do you think you could get Connie to come over and listen to us?" Barry asked.
"Sure thing dude, you know she likes the surfing stuff," Chris replied.

Chris looked over to Lee.
"Barry told me what you went through. I believe it all. I had those spiders jumping on me, when Barry and I went in, but we never made it all the way to the back. Thank God we didn't."

"At least my bike is up in front somewhere," Lee explained. They all took another drink when Barry heard something.
"Shhh," Barry whispered, "someone is out there. I heard footsteps."

They all stopped talking and listened.
"Who do you think it is dude," whispered Chris.
Barry reached forward and turned out the light from the flashlight, hanging on the center pole.
"Pretend to be asleep," Barry muttered.

The three of them laid back on the sleeping bags, listened to the movement outside and all around their tent. Heavy breathing was heard right outside of the tent's opening. Barry couldn't take it any longer and yelled out.
"Who's out there?"
There was no answer, but the heavy brearhing continued.
"Come in here, you're going to get your ass kicked!" Lee threatened next. Outside you heard a small chuckle, then a loud continuous laugh.

"It's my brother," yelled Barry.
"That's right shit heads," Marty came in like a wild bull.
"Here I am Mr. Lee...come kick my ass," Marty kicked his foot around the inside of the tent. Barry grabbed the light and turned it on. Marty took it out of his brother's hands.
"Okay geek heads," Marty shined the light on Lee's face.
"Here I am Lee pee, come kick my ass."
"Get out of here and leave us alone or I'll tell dad," Barry roared out.
"I don't think so weedwackers." Marty saw movement in the far corner of the tent, and turned the light in it's direction. The light was now shined on Chris's face.

"Well what do we have here...three peas in a pot, or I should say, three pee wees in a tent." Marty started laughing again.
"What the hell are you guys planning here?" Marty asked. Lee spoke out right away.
"I left my bike in murder's alleyway and we're going to get it out tonight."
"You're playing in the Devil's backyard there." Marty looked over to Barry.
"Can't let you go, Barry. If something happened to you and mom and dad knew I knew about it...they would have me up for adoption."
"Then go with us," Lee blurred out.
"Yeah," Barry and Chris both said.

The look that came over Marty's face was a look of confusion and concentration. It then, was replaced by a look of confidence.
"Okay, but we're doing it my way," Marty said.
Cheers came from the three.
"Quiet, we don't want to wake our parents. Any Cherry Brandy left?" Marty asked. Lee pulled the bottle out of his pillow case and tossed it over to Marty, then they all pulled out their own bottles. Marty just shook his head in amazement.
"Okay, but the bottles stay here," Marty ordered.
"Right on," Lee said, as they drank, then drank some more.

Marty sat down in the middle of the tent.
"Here's how the plan is going to go. I still have dad's keys, so we take the station wagon. You guys hop the fences and meet me on the corner. I'll coast the car down the driveway, and start it in the street. I'll pick up at the corner."
"Marty, I heard my ole man and uncle talking about the Sonda girl. What really happened to her?" Lee asked.
"Well since we are going in there, you might as well hear what happened."
All their attention was placed on Marty.

"She was found at the end of the pathway, under a large bush. What they couldn't identify were the marks around her neck. Her neck was slashed up really bad, but it wasn't done with a knife. It wasn't clean cuts, more like if her neck was ripped by thorns or something jagged. She was also raped. In every hole and more..."
"What do you mean, and more," Lee asked, thinking about her calling him into the sewer.
"I mean, he took out her eyes and screwed her in her eye sockets," Marty continued.

Chris made a belching sound, followed by a stampede out of the tent. He made it to the back wall and began to upchuck.

"There's more," Marty added.
"No, we heard enough," Barry quickly said.

All of them came out of the tent.
"Stay here," Marty told them, as he walked over to meet Chris. Barry and Lee stood at the tent's opening, watching Marty bend over and pat Chris on the back. He was talking to Chris, but they couldn't make out what he was saying. They could see Chris nodding his head now and then. They got up and walked to the corner of the house, where the garden hose was. Marty turned it on for Chris to wash his face and mouth out.

Marty motioned for Barry and Lee to join them.
"Everything is cool here," they heard Marty say as they approached.
"You guys get over the wall and wait for me at the corner, and don't forget to bring the flashlight."
Barry headed back to the tent for the light. Expecting to see the dome of light inside, Barry stood frozen when all he saw was black. He knew the light was on when they all came out. He stuck his head in, trying to reach for the light, but could not feel it. He walked into the tent. The flashlight was not hanging on the tent pole. Marty started to feel around on the tent's floor, when a soft white light appeared in the corner of the tent. Barry looked up and saw an airy figure of the little Sonda girl, floating in the corner of the tent. Barry wanted to scream, but couldn't. He wanted to move out of the tent, but couldn't, it was as if something had control of him. The Sonda girl wore a white dress, covered with dirt and blood. Her eyes were missing, just black holes oozing out yellow pus. She spoked:
We are waiting to play with you, Barry. Our sewer men are still waiting to eat off Lee's head." Now Barry let out a loud scream, and was able to crawl out of the tent.

Barry got to his feet and ran toward the others, but tripped before he got to them. Marty came walking up to Barry.
"You might have blown this one, little brother. If mom or dad heard you scream, it's over."

Barry was hoping it was over. Barry laid on the ground, shaken.
"What happened?" Lee asked, worried about his friend.
"She's in the te-tent, you guys," Barry cried out.
"Who is in that tent?" Marty asked calmly, trying to get things back in control.
"The Sonda girl."
Marty laughed, but then saw the scared face of his brother and stopped.
"Look Barry, after what you heard tonight about her, it's in your head. And your head can play crazy tricks on you. You probably did see her, but it was only in your head. Believe me, there is no one in the tent," Marty explained.

"I don't think our parents heard you. We're lucky. I will go get the flashlight," Marty headed for the tent.
"Lee, you were right. It was her you heard. She called my name and we will die if we go in there. She said that sewer men are waiting for you still. They want to eat your head off," Barry cried.

Marty came out of the tent with the flashlight.
"Are we all ready?" he asked.
"I'm not going," Barry said with strong conviction.
"I don't think we should go dudes. Too much strange things happening," Chris said, almost whispering.
"Damn it! Stop wasting my time...you want my help or not?" Marty said sternly.
"Yes!" Lee screamed out, looking over to his friends.
"Sorry, Lee, I'm not dying tonight," Barry said.

Marty placed his hand on Lee's shoulder.
"Looks like your geek buddies have chickened out on you."
"I don't blame them. Hell if it wasn't for getting my bike back, I wouldn't be going either. If my old man finds out I lost my bike , I'll be on restriction for a year," Lee told everyone.
"I guess I'm all you got," Marty told Lee.

Marty handed the flashlight back to his brother.
"You'll probably will need this more than us."
Barry didn't decline the offer.
"Lee, you can help me push the wagon out to the street," Marty suggested.
They all shook hands and wished them luck. Barry and Chris headed back to the tent. Barry had the flashlight on, well before they entered the tent.

Parked across the street from murder's alleyway, Marty and Lee sat in the station wagon, looking into the dimly-lit entrance way. There was one street lamp that barely illuminated the first few yards of the pathway. Beyond that, there was nothing but darkness. The shrubs up front were swaying back and forth from a wind that seemed to be coming from inside the alleyway.

"Damn, I never realized how spooky it really looks in there," Marty admitted as he rolled down the window. The only sound they heard came from the wind, howling through the bushes.

"At least my bike is up front," said Lee.
"Then let's go Lee Pee. Lead the way."
And with that, they left the comfort of the automobile. A passing car drove by before they made it across the street. They stood at the entrance, Both thinking about the evil that had taken place in there, and Lee, still thinking about what happened to him earlier and of what Barry said, about the sewer man.

"Where did you leave it?" Marty asked.
Lee pointed to some bushes a little ways in, on the left side of the alleyway. The concrete pathway was covered by twigs and leaves from the neighboring trees. They walked down the pathway, then up where the bushes were. Looking behind, underneath, and inside of all the bushes in that area, they came up empty handed.
Lee cussed, "one year restriction coming up."
"Are you sure this is where you left your bike."
Lee was still bending branches back, not wanting to give up hope.
"Almost sure," Lee muttered.
"What the..." Marty broke off, as he stood looking down into the far back end of the pathway. Lee came over and joined him, trying to focus his eyes on what Marty was looking at.

"What is it?" Lee asked, but didn't need to hear the answer as he saw the big red eye from the end of the pathway, staring at them both. Lee looked at Marty and Marty looked at Lee. Both curious but scared.

"Wait a minute. Did your bike have a rear reflector on it?" Marty asked.
Lee nodded yes.
"I bet some son-of-a-bitch saw your bike sticking out from the bush and decided to hide it all the way in the back. And I bet he will be back tomorrow to see if it's still there. If it is, he's going to have him a new bike. But we'll stop that, right Lee Pee?"
"We can wait and get it out tomorrow," Lee suggested.
"I didn't come all the way out here just to come back tomorrow. Hell no, lets go get your bike back," Marty insisted, as he started to venture further in. Lee hesitated, then followed right behind Marty.

The wind seemed to pick up it's gust, the further in they walked. They couldn't see anything beyond the thick vegetation on both sides of them, except complete darkness.

"Stop!" Lee said to Marty, "where are the houses?" Lee screams loud for the neigbhors to hear.
"What the hell do you think your doing?" Marty said.
"No one can hear me. There are no houses. We entered into that other time and dimension that I was in today. How it comes or when, I don't know, but we're in it Marty. Where are the homes?" Lee asked, and gave out another loud scream.
"Stop that screaming. We can't see the houses cause it's night and the covering from all the bushes hides the homes. We're not in the twilight zone, Lee pee," Marty explained, but did have a feeling of uneasiness, as he looked out beyond the shrubbery. It did look like all the homes had vanished and only dark infinity was out there.

"We're halfway there...let's get your bike and walk out of here," Marty said, then shivered.
The red light they were walking to disappeared.
"Where did the light go," Lee called out. Marty turned around and looked at Lee.
"Feel the wind in here...it just blew your bike over."

Marty continued on, that's when all hell broke loose. And though it lasted only a minute or more, even less for Marty, to them both it felt like eternity.
Long flexing vines covered with thorns of two to five inches in length, came out from the shrubs on both sides and whipped around Marty's neck. The thorns penetrated deep into his neck and throat.
"Marty!" Lee screamed. He ran up to Marty, tried to pull the vines apart, but they tightened, which caused Marty's blood to spray out onto Lee. The killing vines were to tightly wrapped around Marty's neck. Lee could not break them loose. He cut his hands as he tried.
Lee remembered what Marty said about the jagged cuts around Sonda's neck. It's happening again. Evil is here again. Lee held onto Marty. He saw blood streaming out of Marty's mouth.
"I'm so sorry, Marty," Lee cried out loud.

The bushes and vines began to shake. This made Marty shake also. Lee could see Marty's eyes, wide open, taking in all the horror of his sure death. Then it happened. The vines gave one last jerk, and Marty's head was cut off from his body, decapitated. Marty's body collapsed right beside Lee, but the head kept rolling toward the back of the sewer's pathway.

Lee screamed hysterically and dropped to his knees. He continued to yell and pleaded for help, but deep down inside, he knew no one could hear him. Not in this world. Lee heard a lot of snapping sounds throughout the pathway. He turned his head to look up and out toward the entrance. He could not see the path they walked up on. Thousands of those killing vines, stretched across the pathway. Lee knew he could not get out that way.

Lee thought about Barry and Chris, and how he wished he was still in the tent with them, drinking his Cherry Brandy. That thought gave him hope: I made it out of here before, I can do it again.
He began crawling toward the sewer drain. Barry was right...we played down in the sewers before. It was a sign, Lee thought. The only way to ecsape.

The wind howled, leaves blew into Lee's face, as he kept on the move. Lee climbed over something round. He screamed out again when he saw it was Marty's head. Lee couldn't get up, he still crawled on his hands and knees. Then he heard the voice again.
"Where is Barry?" she asked. It came from behind him. Lee turned his head around and saw the little Sonda girl. She wore the white dress, covered with dirt and blood. She held Marty's head with her right hand, swinging it back and forth. She had no eyes. Lee fell into a fetus position, somewhat like Barry, when he came out of the tent after he seen her.

"Noooooo! Get away from me," Lee yelled. Shaking and crying, Lee looked up at the little girl that now held Marty's head in both arms. She smiled, but instead of teeth, she produced large thorns, like the ones on the vines.
If there's a chance to get out, it has to be now, Lee thought. The girl threw the head at Lee. It rolled, then stopped next to Lee. It had a ghoulish grin, then it spoke, "What's up Lee pee?" It said. Lee screamed from the horror of that, and started to faint, but was woken from the pain that shot out from his leg. The Sonda thing bit through the back of Lee's calf with her thorns. Lee used his other leg to push the girl off of him, and began to crawl fast. He saw the opening to the sewer below. The closer he got, the more smells enveloped him. He could smell, rotten decaying meat, along with vomit, blood, and semen. Then he heard a small boy laughing down there. He saw the green eyes. The smells made Lee throw up.

What was I thinking. I can't escape down here...this is where the evil lives, Lee thought. Something with claws came out of the opening and grabbed Lee's arms, and pulled his head into the sewer's opening. Lee immediately puked again, as the smells became much stronger in there. Lee's head was covered with hot slime, then his body was pulled completely into the sewer. Echos of screams were heard.

Chris jumped up on the fence.
"Gotta sneak back in dude, maybe we can practise tomorrow," Chris said.
"Sounds good," Barry acknowledged.
Barry made his way back to the tent, flashlight on, hanging back on the tent pole. It wasn't long after that Barry fell asleep. He had a nightmare about the death of his brother and Lee in murder's alleyway. Also in the nightmare, the Sonda girl held his brother's head.
"Come play with us, Barry," it said.
"Get down here, you weedwackers!" The head said.

Barry woked up, in a sweat. Just to wake up to the real nightmare.

THE END