Scattered to the Wind

TW: Violence, Gore and mention of Sexual Violence

Chad fell to the ground and scrambled up as fast as he could as the icy wind whistled all around him. The wind—he had to get out of the wind. He was walking through a dead and yellow field, close to the edge where there was a little tree cover. If he didn’t find shelter, he would be dead soon. The worst part (was it the worst part?) was that if it came to that, he didn’t think that there’d be anything left of him.

Another icy blast ripped through his naked body—so cold that he could feel it in his bones (did he still have bones?). He kept running the night over in his mind.

* * *

Chad killed the engine once he pulled into a space at the Coyote Den. It had been a long week and he needed to blow off some steam. He needed to dance and drink and find someone to go home with. As he got out of the car, locked it, and threw the keys in his pocket, he checked that the little dime bag was still there. One way or another.

He could hear the thump of the bass and the drums as he approached the door. The neon from the bar shone on the wet parking lot and the cool wind whipped around him and he took a deep, excited breath. He felt alive. He felt electric.

He only had to stand in line at the door for ten minutes or so but the time went by pretty quick as he scoped out some of the action. Once he was inside, he started to make his way through the crowd to the bar, the smell of cheap cologne and perfume mixing with the heavy scent of cheap beer and sweat.

He spotted Jake and started towards him. Jake never had the same success Chad had with “the ladies” and he was always bugging Chad to tell him what the secret was. Chad would tell him to get better looking and to stop being so fucking awkward. He never told Jake about the pills.

Jake spotted him and waved him over. “I didn’t think you were ever gonna get here!” Jake called over the crowd as the two clasped hands.

“I took my time,” Chad said, signalling for Mike, the bartender. “I’m not as desperate as you,” he added with a cocky smirk.

“Man, fuck you,” Jake said as Chad ordered a rye and Coke. “Tonight’s gonna be different. I can feel it. The wind is in my sails!”

Chad almost spit out the first sip of his drink. “Jesus, you’re gonna make me waste this! ‘The wind is in my sails.’ Man, that’s why no one wants to fuck you—nobody but you talks like that! I mean, what fucking year is it?”

Jake gave him a shove as Chad laughed at him. “Fuck, you’re such an ass!”

“So, who’s here tonight?” Chad asked, looking around.

“Few people,” Jake said. “Tina’s around here somewhere.”

“Jesus Christ! Tina?! Are you fucking crazy? Been there and I’m not going back!”

“Angie Delgado is here. Oh! There’s a smoking hot redhead here too. Real stunner. I’ve never seen her before but she’s incredible!”

“Well, why didn’t you tell me about her instead of fucking Tina? Where is she?” Chad said, scanning.

Jake was looking too. “Uhhhhh... Oh! There she is! dancing next to that speaker.”

Chad saw her as soon as Jake pointed her out. She had long, thick, curly red hair that shimmered under the stage lights like gold and seemed to float as she moved. Her skin was porcelain pale and seemed to have an angel’s glow. Her lips were ruby red and Chad could make out dimples capping her wide smile. She’s coming home with me, he thought. One way or another. She was dancing with a friend, a blond Chad didn’t recognize.

“Jesus Ch-RIST!” Chad said. “Where the fuck did she come from?”

“I don’t know man, but I wanna go.”

` Chad pulled his eyes away from her and leaned in close to Jake. “I’m taking her home tonight.”

“You better take a number, friend,” Jake said. “There’s not a guy in here who doesn’t have his eyes on her, even with their girlfriends right beside them. Hell, I think even their girlfriends are checking her out.”

“Fuck ‘em. I’m going in,” Chad said as the song ended.

“Good luck,” Jake said as Chad finished his drink. He started to make his way through the crowd. The redhead and her friend walked off the dance floor and started heading toward the bar.

She was twenty or so feet away when someone else stopped her. Chad paused and smirked—this loser didn’t have a chance. He watched his lips mouth, Can I buy you a drink? She smiled and shook her head. No, but thank you, she mouthed back.

They continued through the crowd and Chad let them go by—he’d approach her at the bar.

He did a small lap and then made his way back, watching as Mike served them instantly and she shot down another poor schmuck.

Chad landed at the bar a couple of feet away from them and signalled for Mike to come over. He wouldn’t say anything yet—you can’t seem too eager. Mike came after a minute or so and he ordered another rye and Coke. As Mike was making the drink he leaned over and they looked at him.

“You two are great dancers,” he said.

They looked at each other and smiled before looking back at Chad. “Thanks,” the redhead said, “Are you gonna offer to buy us a drink now?”

Chad smiled and took his drink from Mike. “No, it looks like you two are doing all right drink-wise. I’d like to dance though. The band doesn’t take requests but I’m friends with the bass player and they’ll play whatever I ask them to.” Chad took a sip of his drink.

“Well, I could dance to some Fleetwood Mac but I suppose you won’t ask unless I agree to dance with you, right?”

Chad smiled. “That’s right,” he said before taking another sip.

“There’s only one problem,” the blond cut in, “Are you gonna dance with both of us or am I just supposed to sit here?”

“Course not. You can dance with my friend, Jake. You’ll like him, he’s cute,” Chad said before waving and whistling at Jake. “YO! JAKE! GET OVER HERE!”

Jake had been watching intently from across the bar and looked stunned for a couple of seconds. Once it clicked, a big smile spread across his face and he jumped off his stool and started to make his way over.

“See?” Chad asked, watching Jake. “Cute.”

“What do you think?” the redhead asked the blond.

“Yeah, he’s cute—Hi! I’m Katie,” Katie said to Jake. “And this is Cassandra.”

“Howdy! I’m Jake!” he smiled. Katie asked him a question and they started talking.

“Didn’t catch your name,” Cassandra said.

“Chad,” he replied before taking another sip.

“Well, Chad, are you gonna ask the band to play some Fleetwood or what?”

“You bet,” he said before tossing back his drink.

They all stood up and started heading toward the dance floor. Chad grabbed Jake by the shoulder and pulled him back for a second. “You owe me,” he said.

Jake turned and smiled at him before turning back to the women. They both watched as Cassandra tied her thick curls into a ponytail, leaving the bangs to hang down over her forehead.

“No,” Jake said, “I think it’s you that owes me.” Chad let him go.

He made his way to the stage and waved his friend Toby down. Toby walked over and leaned in to hear what Chad had to say, without missing a note of “Bobcaygeon.” Toby nodded.

Katie, Cassandra, and Jake were talking just off the dance floor when Chad walked over and joined them. Once the band launched into “Rhiannon” with the piano player doing a pretty good Stevie impression, they started dancing.

Two or three songs later, though, Chad started to feel drunk—too drunk. The room felt like it was starting to tilt and it was like trying to dance on a trampoline. But he’d only had two drinks. He stumbled and struggled to catch himself.

“Are you all right?” Cassandra asked him.

Chad’s stomach started to turn and the room was spinning. “Jus’ feelin’ liddle dizzy,” he slurred. “I don’ thin’ I ate anough tuday. ‘Scuse me.” He turned and started stumbling towards the bathrooms, Jake calling after him.

Once he made it down the hallway, his stomach was threatening to spew rye and Coke all over the walls. He heard someone ask him if he was OK but he just tripped passed them. His head was pounding—he needed fresh air.

He staggered passed the bathroom and to the emergency exit at the end of the hall. He pushed it open and fell through, landing on the wet pavement. He felt like he was thinking in slow motion—consciousness was slipping away.

A pair of boots entered into his blurry vision and then Cassandra was squatting in front of him. She reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out the dime bag, swinging it in front of his face between her finger and her thumb.

She started to talk and her voice sounded like he was underwater. “Guess you’ve never taken one of these,” she said. Darkness slid over him and the thumping of the band fell away.

* * *

It was the crackling of fire that started to rouse Chad. As he came to, he realized three things: he was cold, naked, and his hands were tied above his head, hanging him high enough that his feet were just touching the ground.

“What the fuck?” he mumbled. His vision came into focus and he saw that he was in the woods with the fire burning a few feet in front of him. Behind the fire were three women, all wearing long white dressing gowns and barefoot. Above them, through the trees, he could make out the soft pink light of dawn.

The women’s faces started to come into focus and the gears in his head started to turn. The redhead from the bar—Cassandra—was standing in the middle with Katie the blond on her left and the third one...

Melissa. Her name was Melissa.

“What the fuck is going on here?” Chad said with more strength, pulling on the straps above him and trying to get his feet on the ground.

“A ritual,” Cassandra said before nodding to Katie. Katie bent down and pulled a long steel rod out of the fire. The end came to a point and was glowing red with heat. She walked over to Chad and held it out in front of her with both hands, pointing it at his exposed privates.

“What the fuck?!” Chad repeated over and over.

Cassandra started around the fire. “I think you know Melissa,” she said as she approached him. She had a bone-handled knife in one hand and what looked like a ram’s horn in the other.

“What are you doing?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Chad screamed.

“I wouldn’t move unless you want Katie to burn your balls off,” she said as she raised the knife. She placed the blade on Chad’s chest above his heart as his breath came in panicked gasps. She dragged the blade down his chest to his right hip, and the shivering pain spread over him and he screamed and writhed, coming dangerously close to the smoking rod. The warm blood ran down his chest and his legs and dripped onto the ground beneath him.

Cassandra held the horn up to collect the blood. “You did a bad thing to Melissa, and lots of others I’m sure. And this morning, you’re going to pay.” Cassandra and Katie walked back around the fire to where Melissa was watching with steely eyes.

Chad screamed and twisted against the knot above him. He could feel blood running down his arms from his wrists and into his hair.

Melissa took the knife from Cassandra and winced as she dragged the blade across her palm and squeezed her hand. Cassandra held the horn underneath to catch the blood.

Katie returned the rod to the fire, and Melissa passed the knife to her. Katie sliced her hand and let the blood run into the horn just like Melissa had.

“YOU’RE ALL FUCKING CRAZY! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!” Chad screamed.

Katie bent over placed the blade of the knife into the fire and then took the horn from Cassandra. Cassandra reached down and lifted a small bag off the ground. She scooped out a handful of sand, letting it fall slowly through her fingers into the horn. She set the bag down and grabbed a bottle of whisky. Chad’s eyes were wide and his mouth was twisted into fear. He was barely breathing as he watched.

The cork popped and Cassandra took a long sip, letting some run down her chin and neck and onto the dressing gown. Then she held the bottle up to Melissa’s lips and then to Katie’s. They each took long drinks and let the whisky drip down their chins.

Cassandra stepped up to the fire and turned the bottle upside down. The whisky made the fire roar and the orange light danced across her smile. “For the angels,” she said.

Chad found his voice. He didn’t know what they were doing, but he knew that it didn’t end well for him. “I’ll do anything. Please, please, please, PLEASE!”

Katie began to chant something, quiet at first, but was slowly getting louder. Chad could tell that the words were ancient as Melissa joined in.

Cassandra turned back to Katie and pulled one of her breasts out and Katie held the horn to her and the chants grew louder still. Cassandra squeezed a thin stream of milk into the horn and Chad understood.

They were gonna make him drink it.

Chad started screaming as Cassandra put her breast away and took the horn from Katie. She motioned to Melissa and Melissa bent down and took the knife out of the fire. Cassandra took the blade and stirred the foul mix.

Cassandra motioned to Katie who picked up the rod again and they walked around the fire. Once they were in front of him, Cassandra whistled and the chanting stopped. Chad was still screaming: “LET ME GO! I’LL KILL YOU! I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!”

Cassandra motioned to Katie and she brought the rod dangerously close to Chad and he stopped, chest heaving.

“You’re going to drink this,” Cassandra said. “One way or another, you’re going to drink it.” Cassandra stepped up and started to raise the horn to his lips. Katie kept the rod close—close enough that he could feel its heat against his delicate skin.

He turned his head this way and that. The smell hit his nose. It didn’t smell how he thought it would—like whisky and blood and sand and milk. It smelled like what he imagined death smelled like.

“Drink,” Cassandra said, but he still refused to let her put the horn to his lips. “Fine,” she said. She nodded to Katie. The rod seared into his skin and the white, hot pain made him scream. The smell of his burning hair and flesh drifted into his nose and turned his stomach.

“OK! OK! I’LL DRINK! I’LL DRINK!” Chad cried. Katie removed the rod and Cassandra brought the horn back to his lips and he let the awful liquid into his mouth, forcing it down. It tasted like rotten meat and scraped down his throat and curdled in his stomach.

She tipped the last of the horn’s contents into his mouth and when she pulled it away, Chad felt a violent vibration start to course through his body like he was being electrocuted. It made his muscles seize and cramp. He couldn’t even scream—couldn’t breathe. It felt like every fibre in his body was being obliterated.

Katie stepped away and Cassandra reached up with the small knife and cut the straps holding Chad up. He crumbled to the ground curled into a ball.

Through the pain, he heard the hissing of the fire being put out. The initial agony faded and he could open his eyes. The sky was bright enough to see the trees through the smoke and the women were making their way through the woods like apparitions, their white shifts billowing behind.

Chad lay cold and naked in the dirt and blood. He was alone.

* * *

He was at the edge of the field, fifty or so feet away from the tree cover when he felt a blast of wind against his back and his legs gave out under him. He fell to the ground shivering and sobbing. He rolled onto his back and picked his head up to look at his legs. They were thinner than they had been by nearly half. Another gust of wind ripped across him and he watched as it seemed to blow his flesh away like it was sand and his legs were thinner still.

He sat up and looked at his hands. His palms were half as thick as normal and the fingers were only stubs. He looked at his chest and stomach and saw that he was thin and emaciated looking. He could feel his body getting lighter and smaller—could almost feel each grain of sand (skin?) blowing away.

It was no use. He just lay there and cried. It wouldn’t be long before the ritual had served its purpose and he would be gone without a trace—scattered to the wind.