"The Things That They Left Behind"

When Sheriff Hodges and Deputy Jones pay a visit to local residents on a well fair check, what they discover is both chilling and disgusting.

“The Things That They Left Behind”

By Cody Williams

 

            “Open up!” A man shouted from the front porch of the Lopez family as he knocked on their front door. The man was sheriff Hodges and he was standing with his deputy, Andy Blair. Sheriff Hodges had short silver hair that was covered with a black cowboy hat with a star on the front of it. His body was average and he was five feet and nine inches tall. Sheriff Hodges sighed and knocked on the door again.

            “Mr. and Mrs. Lopez! Open up! It’s Sheriff Hodges! You’re not in trouble, I’m just here for a well fair check!” He assured them. There was still no answer.

            “Can I bust the door down now?” Deputy Reid Jones asked as he pulled the black nightstick from his black leather gun belt.

            “Yeah, go ahead!” Sheriff Hodges said as stepped aside. Deputy Jones lifted his right foot and kicked the door breaking the dead bolt out of the door. The door swung open and hit the wall beside of it. Sheriff Hodges walked inside and looked around. The lights were off and there was musky feeling in the air as if nobody had been there in quite some time. Sheriff Hodges reached into his gun belt and pulled out a large red metal flashlight. He pushed the black power button at the base and turned it on.

            “Mr. and Mrs. Lopez? Are you guys here?” He shouted out into the darkness. He shined the light on the wall beside the door finding a light switch. He flipped it up, but nothing happened. They remained in darkness. “I guess they didn’t make the payments on their light bill.” He added.

            Sheriff Hodges walked over the RCA television box that the two Lay-Z Boy recliners were pointed at and ran his index finger along the top of it. He looked at his finger as he noticed the dust was caked up against it.

            “They haven’t been here for quite some time!” Sheriff Hodges said as he looked over to notice that his deputy was gone. “Jones? Where the hell did you go?” He shouted out.

            “Sheriff, I think you might want to see this!” He heard Jones voice shout from the kitchen. Hodges whipped the dust off of his finger and walked across the living room to the kitchen. “Good God!” Sheriff Hodges said with disgust as his covered his nose and mouth with the hankie from his back pocket.

            At the center of the kitchen table was a turkey that had once been cooked but was now growing green mold all around it. Jones walked over to it but leaped back against the wall when he saw a rat peak it’s head out of the cavity. Also on table was a bowl with a yellow and green liquid stewing in it that had once probably been butter. The toast that was stacked into a pyramid in a plate to the left of the turkey was also sporting a green and orange like fungus growing on it.

            “Jesus Crist! Whatever did happen to them must have happened a very long time ago!” Jones said as he held his stomach with disgust.

“Yes. But what the hell did happen to them?” Sheriff Hodges replied. The two of them stood in silence the a few moments. Until they heard a loud thumping sound come from down the hall. The two men reached for the magnums in their gun belts and pulled them out.

“Shh!” Sheriff Hodges said as he held his index finger up to his lips and motioned for Jones to follow him. Jones nodded and the two proceeded down the hallway. The thumping continued irregularly coming and going every few seconds. The thumping grew louder as they walked down the hallway began to fell as if it was getting longer and longer. They finally reached the end of the hallway where there was a white wooden door.

“They must be behind here! C**k your gun and follow me!” Hodges said. Jones did what he was told and the two men barged into the room pointing their magnums. It was the Lopez’s bedroom, but there nobody in there. But the thumping still continued. Jones pointed to another door that was directly across from them.

“The sound must be coming from in there!” Jones whispered. Hodges nodded in agreement and the two men walked around the queen size bed that was at the center of the room and walked over to the door. The two men leaned up against the wall and quietly counted “one, two, three!” and the men busted through the door.

They were in the bathroom. The toilet was corroded and stained with light brown colored s**t stains and floor tiles began to crack and fade away. Hodges looked up into the mirror and screamed. The two men turned around to face what was once probably Mr. Lopez daggling from a rope. His skin was almost completely decade. There was a fat rat sitting around his shoulder and eating the rotting flesh from his bones. Jones leaped back with sheer terror and fell into the bathtub pulling the curtain down on top of him. Jones threw the curtain off of him and looked up at Hodges.

“Umm, Jones…” Hodges started. Jones looked down to notice that sitting in a bathtub filled with rat poop and the dead corpses of Mrs. Lopez and their son. Jones screamed and leaped back up and ran over cowering behind Hodges. There was note left by Mr. Lopez written in likely the blood of his wife and son that read: I JUST CAN’T LIVE LIKE THIS ANYMORE! Jones and Hodges let out loud cries of terror and disgust.

Copyright 2014 by Cody Williams

Courtesy of TRUE TERROR PUBLIACTIONS

A division of TTP Entertainment

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Author's Note

Whenever somebody ask me where I get my ideas, i have a hard time answering. Most of the time I don't really know or I don't really remember. That's not the case at all with this tale.

It came to me about a year ago when I was driving back home from college campus. I was listening to the radio as I usually do when the six o'clock news came on the air. The big headline was a story about a latino family in Texas that missing and left everything, even their dinner, well preserved. It is believed that they fled across the border to Mexico because they were debt up to their eyeballs. I knew right then that I wanted to write about that.

I've had the idea for nearly a year now and I knew that it would get put in a story eventually. I hope you guys like it! Enjoy! Reviews and comments are welcome as always!

-CW

Reviews

[MAD ENGLISHMAN]

An interesting little scenario. I didn't think the use of the word Sh-t added anything to it. Spelling and grammar mistakes distracted me but over all an interesting story.

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading!

-CW

[Quinn]

Very well written, well done

[NoelHC]

An interesting premise, and a good story, unfortunately detracted from by the simple errors in grammar, spelling and extraneous words, as pointed out by Jack Wolfe in his review.
I enjoy the twists and turns in your stories a lot, but they could really benefit from a review before publishing.

[Toni-Lynn Benoit]

Definitely kept my attention! Very good read!

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading!

-CW

[Jack Wolfe]

When Sheriff Hodges and Deputy Jones pay a visit to local residents on a well fair check, what they discover is both chilling and disgusting.
(welfare)

“Open up!” A man shouted from the front porch of the Lopez family as he knocked on their front door. The man was sheriff Hodges and he was standing with his deputy, Andy Blair. Sheriff Hodges had short silver hair that was covered with a black cowboy hat with a star on the front of it. His body was average and he was five feet and nine inches tall. Sheriff Hodges sighed and knocked on the door again.

You could tighten you opening by omitting needless words.

“Open up,” Sheriff Hodges shouted from the Lopez's porch. (insert exposition) - - - he and his deputy, Andy Blair, arrived and . . . (avoid detailing your characters in the opening unless its relevant to the story, or at all, unless given from another character’s perspective.

“Mr. and Mrs. Lopez! Open up! It’s Sheriff Hodges! You’re not in trouble, I’m just here for a well fair (welfare) check!” He assured them. There was still no answer.

Why would a sheriff be going to a persons house for a welfare check—unless you really meant the 'welfare' of the family.' thus, there must have been a call . .. (a concerned neighbor, a call about the stench (considering the ending).

What you have here is a scene, but no explanation . . .the police wouldn't have busted down the door without probable cause . . . unless of course they could smell the corpses, they also would have checked the perimeter, and then went in cautiously . . .no would they be carrying magnums . . .

I like the idea of this for a scene, it would make for a great prologue, however, it needs to be tightened and given some semblance of reality. Upon reading your author's note, the first thing to pop in my mind was Dean R. Koontz novel 'Phantoms', or Stephen King's 'The Stand' - - -the prepared food left on the table.

[Sharon Kim]

Cody- another great write-good pace and suspense; I read your note first so I wasn't expecting the corpses in the bathroom! Still want to know what was making the thumping noise... :)

[Cody Williams]

The thumping noise came from the dead hanging on the rope. As the rat on his shoulders moved, it forced the dead body to beat up against the wall. Thanks for reading!

-CW

[Sharon Kim]

Gotcha! And may I say "Eww!"

[Stephanie M]

I was intrigued by every word of this story. Nicely written.

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading Stephanie!

-CW

[Stephanie M]

your welcome

[Dayran]

Its was probably the holidays ... thanksgiving ... makes people go crazy. Nice ...

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading Dayran!

-CW

[Sami Khalil]

Marvelous, splendid and entertaining to all ages and groups. You c**k the gun of words and pull the trigger of creativity...:).............

[Cody Williams]

Nice! I like that Sami! Thanks for reading!

-CW

[Sami Khalil]

You are welcome muchly...:0.............................

[Lyn Anderson]

The title is too similar to a Stephen King story -- totally different idea, thankfully. You need to do a thorough clean up of this with spell and grammar check. :) Otherwise, it is a nice creepy story.

[Cody Williams]

Thanks for reading KL!

-CW