Dead End

6:45 PM The Lamourts family turned down an isolated dirt road of a construction area to the cemented road in their old mini-van late that evening. Late late for that family reunion (all because the father had to take that long nap). For the last forty-five minutes of following false leads from that GPS, everyone in that car had just enough; the five children whined and the youngest one cried. As the father continued to drive down the country across the lake, he leaned against the wheel and muttered; his wife, Mrs. Lamourt, yapped about how Mr. Lamourt failed in every aspect of their miserable life. “Turn left…when possible, make a legal U-turn…” The GPS sassed, the van narrowly missing the isolated road island that went undetected by their GPS. Soon the sun went to bed as the stars came out to play and by this point, the clock of the car read: 7:55 PM.

            “You know, honey,” Mr. Lamourt moaned in complaint, “I didn’t want to go to this blasted family reunion in the first place.”

            Mrs. Lamourt replied, “Yes, but they are your siblings. Now just pull up and ask for directions! NOW! See that old man over there? Yeah, go ask him! Quick, before he gets into his home!”

            Reluctantly following his wife’s orders, Mr. Lamourt pulled up against the curb of a lonely neighborhood where the only lights came from the porch lights of every home. Mr. Lamourt rolled down the van window and beckoned the old man to give them directions to the family farm. The old man barely gave them a look of approval, let alone a glance at this innocent family, when he blurted out oaths and uncouth words; following them, the old geezer replied, “And stay away from the killer before he’ll kill ya folks!” Hacking coughs ensued as he bolted into the house like a rabid gazelle, locking the door with a grand slam. The final message sent shivers to Mr. and Mrs. Lamourt as they awkwardly drove to another part of the town, somewhere near the center. They finally found a block with streetlamps where they felt safer. Parking against the curb, in front of a brightly colored home, Mrs. Lamourt nagged her husband to knock there and ask for directions. The lights in the house living room gave a dim light of a TV playing as the couple warned their children to stay in the locked car. Upon the front door, a knock and the door opened to a younger, newly weds who"without a word"yanked the Lamourt couple in. Once inside with a scuffle, the couple, a Mr. and Mrs. Vient sat the Lamourts down as Deirdre Vient said, “I apologize for dragging you in here, but it’s not safe out there!”

            “We’d figured it out"sort of,” Mr. Lamourt miserably said, sitting down on the couch with his wife, as Ed Vient gave the Lamourts coffee.

            They accepted it, while trying to get their question around for directions.

            Mrs. Lamourt requested, “Well, my husband and I are lost going on a family reunion and we need help getting the address"‘’

            “What’s this entire racket about?” Mrs. Lamourt interrupted, suddenly wondering about the mysterious warnings they received earlier that night.

            Mrs. Lamourt glared at her husband and snapped, “Well, you should not barge into other town’s business. If it’s their problem, then it is theirs"whether they like it or not; ever heard of life?”

            Deirdre remained rather cold in silence until saying, “Mrs. Lamourt, isn’t it? At least let me answer his question to make up for this embarrassing moment of dragging you both in. Let me explain by beginning: an escaped convict escaped earlier two weeks ago and has been terrorizing our town and cops; thirteen dead"all from apparent hangings and/or live burials. Thank goodness we had to bring you in here! Where else would you both be?”

            Mr. Lamourt and his wife bolted up from the couch seats and screeched, “WHAT?”

            Both parents thought of their children, all on their minds, rushed in such a panic that when they reached the car, the side doors, both unhinged, sagged from the van"all the children gone. The parents immediately called the cops, of which only four, brave ones arrived in three squad cars. After a moment of assurance of finding those children, the cops told the Vients to keep an eye out of the Lamourt couple who remained in such panic. However, Mr. and Mrs. Lamourt fought the Vients as the Lamourts always got their way and they did.

With so much rackets and obscene language, the Vients finally give in to the beatings of Mr. and Mrs. Lamourt, especially from Mrs. Lamourt. Poor Vients. The Lamourts borrowed the Vients’ car as they followed off the beaten trail which the cops took.

No sooner had the parents entered the car, the GPS flickered on as it said, “Reaching destination…turn right on this street in _1/12 of a mile…’’

“Hey,” Mr. Lamourt pointed out, “this GPS is just like ours! It just turned on! Now that was rather spooky!”

“I don’t care!” Mrs. Lamourt shrugged off with a sigh of intensity, “just get there! More importantly, make it navigate around town!”

 The information of around town was entered in, but the messages came rather strange, but some may say that ‘truth is stranger than fiction.’ Suddenly…the GPS said, “To find your children…turn left onto the Dead End…” Bewildered and desperate, Mrs. Lamourt forced her husband to follow the route. “Follow you children…they are safe…turn to the Dead End…now…” In the dead night, the car turned and barely twenty-five minutes passed of searching until they reached the Dead End of where the GPS instructed. With a chirp from the GPS, it said, “You have reached your destination.”

            The car’s headlights touched the Dead End where no houses stood, but trees, and under those trees stood five freshly dug graves with a wooden pole standing behind the graves with a sign that read: Your children are safe at the Dead End. Mrs. Lamourt gasped as she slipped into shock and hysteria. Mr. Lamourt refused to stay in the car as he bolted out of the car and to the graves as a stained shovel lay next to the graves. He looked up into the big, night sky and on those two trees hung two nooses. Both parents melted in tears and hysteric laughs…or were they mere cries?

            Now by the time the cops arrived after hearing the Vients’ report, they found the empty car, five graves, a stained shovel, a sign, and two additional graves underneath the nooses that swung like puppets.

            There they would stay"in that small town"in shallow graves at Dead End.

Author's Note

This was a story that I wrote in a class and submitted to a school writing journal, but never got published. Hopefully, I can improve this story to be good! Please, do review and critique this story. Thank you!

Reviews

[MightyMouse]

That was really creepy. I don't think it needs a lot of critiquing. Well done.

[GalaxyGhost]

Thank you!