The Legend of Bastien - Chapter 18 – The Critical Calculation – Part 2 of 2

 

The Legend of Bastien

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 18 – The Critical Calculation – Part 2 of 2

 

As Chrissy climbed back into the truck, he mentally counted the bullets he had just used.  Five.  That meant he had only nine left, plus a bunch he could reload with in his purse.  It was time to head to his next destination.

Compared to other places, it was a bit of a drive, but there was no place in Bastien that was really very far.  In a few minutes, the bridge came in sight, along with Deputy Thomas’s pickup truck parked sideways across the road blocking the bridge.  But Chrissy wasn’t interested in going over that bridge.  As he pulled his truck to a stop, he saw Deputy Thomas getting out of his truck and heading towards him.  Chrissy grabbed his gun and flipped the safety off as he rolled his window down. 

Deputy Thomas was shocked to see Chrissy there…and especially shocked to see him driving a truck.  He walked up to the truck as Chrissy lowered the window.  “What the hell is going on?” he asked as he leaned his head down to the window. 

Chrissy raised his gun and shot him right in his head.  He never bothered getting out of the truck to check the body.  One look out the window was enough to tell him that the Deputy was dead.  He turned his truck around and headed back into town.  Eight bullets and five people left…or more, depending on the situation.  So far, he had managed to accomplish everything he really wanted, but there was no sense in stopping now.

Deputy Don’s house was the closest.  He stopped in front and went to the door.  He saw the door opening as he walked toward it.  The deputy himself was there.

“Chrissy, what the hell are you doing?  And who’s truck is that?”

Chrissy didn’t answer, except to raise his gun and fire it.  Deputy Don dropped like a rock.  He continued into the house.  Deputy Don’s wife was staring at him, screaming.  She stopped screaming as he raised the gun toward her head. 

“No!” she yelled.  “Please…don’t!”

But Chrissy was beyond redemption.  He pulled the trigger, then walked back toward the truck.  Two more bullets used.  He had six bullets left in his gun.  The same as a revolver held.  But he had plenty more in his purse if he needed them.

Deputy Wyatt answered the door himself…and died a moment later.  Five bullets left.

Deputy Phillip’s wife answered the door.  She died quickly.  Chrissy stepped over her dead body and walked into the house where Deputy Phillip was running toward him from the kitchen.  One bullet and Chrissy was leaving the house.  Three bullets still in his gun.

Deputy Steve answered his front door himself, and died just as quickly and easily as the all the other’s Chrissy had killed.  He didn’t bother with Deputy Steve’s wife.  He left her crying over her husband’s body as he climbed back into his truck.  Two bullets.

Deputy Will was walking out from his barn when Chrissy pulled his truck into the yard of the small farm where he lived.  Like he had done at the bridge, Chrissy didn’t even bother getting out of his truck.  He just lowered the window. 

“Chrissy!” Will said as he walked up to the truck.  “What the hell is going on?”

Like with the others, Chrissy’s only answer was a gunshot to the head.  He was gone before Deputy Will’s wife could get to him. 

He had done it.  He had killed them all.  Every last one of them.  He had only one bullet left in his gun, and only one person left that he had to kill.  The most important one of all.  But not yet.  He headed home.  Back to the tiny pale-yellow house he and his mother had lived in together for so long.

When he got to the house, he saw Fred Tucker’s delivery van parked out front.  As he stopped in front of that van, his mother came running out to meet him.  He could tell she was desperate with worry.  He got out of the truck, and she hugged him tightly.  “Are you alright?” she asked.

“I’m fine,” he told her.  He looked her in the face.  “I killed them Mom.  I killed the Bastiens.  All of them.  And I killed the deputies too.  All of them.  You’re safe now Mom.  Nobody can hurt you anymore.  None of them can hurt anyone anymore.”

She looked at him, not knowing if she should believe him or not.  “Come on in.  I’ll get you something to eat.”

As they headed for the door, he saw Fred and Betty Tucker in the doorway, waiting for them.  As soon as he got inside, Fred asked, “What happened?”

The answer was the same as he had just told his mother.  “All the Bastiens are dead now.  All of them.  All the deputies too.  All of them.”

“You killed them all?” Fred asked in disbelief.

“All of them,” Chrissy replied.  “No one will have to worry about them again.  There’s none left.”

“I wonder if we should tell anyone?” Betty asked.

Fred nodded.  “Yeah.  You’re right.  I think it’s high time this town saw some real authority for a change.”

“Real authority?  What are you talking about?” Betty asked.

“The police outside of here.  If he did kill so many people.  Someone outside of Bastien is going to have to know about it.  And it’s long past time that someone found out what’s been going on here…for generations!”

“Yes,” Betty finally agreed.  “But I was thinking maybe…tell some of the people who live here instead.”

“Oh.  Yeah.  I guess we should probably do that too.  I’ll head to the sheriff’s office.  I need a phone that can call outside of Bastien.  That’s the easiest one to get to.  I’ll call the authorities out there, and then I’ll call….”

“Pomeroy,” Betty suggested.

“Yeah.  Good idea.  Let him spread the word.  I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

As soon as Fred was gone, Tess headed to the kitchen and Betty followed, leaving Chrissy standing alone in the living room.  It was time.  He had murdered so many people, but he still had one bullet left in his gun, and one more murder to commit.  The most important murder of all.  Himself. 

He pulled the gun from his purse, and put it to his head.  His last thoughts were of his mother as he pulled the trigger, and heard the gun click.  He quickly made sure the safety was off, and he put the gun to his temple again and pulled the trigger.  Click.  Again and again, he pulled the trigger, but the gun wouldn’t fire.  There was still one more bullet in it.  He knew.  He had counted them carefully.

Hearing the odd clicking noise, Tess came out of the kitchen where she could see what it was.  She saw Chrissy with the gun to his head, pulling the trigger over and over again.  “Chrissy!” she yelled desperately as she ran to him.  “No!”  She grabbed his arm with the gun and tried to pull it away from his head, but he fought her, still trying to kill himself.  “No!  Let go!” she yelled.  Betty was there a moment later, and she too fought with him to pull his arm away from his head.  It took both of them, but they couldn’t pry the gun out of his hand. 

Chrissy sank down to the floor in tears and his mother enveloped him in a tight hug.

“No Chrissy.  No.” she sobbed.

But Chrissy’s only response was to bring the gun to his temple again and pull the trigger, uselessly.  He had counted perfectly.  He knew he had.  Why wouldn’t it fire?

“No, Chrissy,” Tess said again.  “Don’t!  I’ve got you baby.  I’ve got you she told him time and again as she sat on the floor holding him tightly.

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

There were only a few telephones in Bastien that were permitted to call outside of the community.  When Fred needed to call outside to Bastien for business reasons he always had to go through the Bastien operator to do that.  But he wasn’t sure if that would be a good idea just now.  He wasn’t too sure about anything that Chrissy had said.  He needed a phone that could call directly out to the outer world around Bastien, and the closest one belonged to the sheriff.  Deciding that would be his best bet, he drove from Tess’s old house to the sheriff’s office.  When he got inside, he stopped for a moment to stare at the bodies of the sheriff and Deputy Hank.  It looked like Chrissy had been telling at least some of the truth.  Doing his best to ignore the bodies, he went into the sheriff’s inner office and grabbed his phone.

The sheriff’s office phone wasn’t like any of the other phones in Bastien.  This one had a few buttons on it.  One of them was pushed down.  Since most phones in Bastien could only call inside the community, he was guessing that the other button had to be the one to allow him to call outside the community without the aid of the Bastien phone operator.  He pushed that button, but now he wasn’t sure who to call.  To just reach the Bastien operator to make outside calls for the store, he usually dialed zero.  Who would he reach if he did that on this phone line?  Hoping it would get him somewhere, he dialed zero.

“Operator,” the voice suddenly came back.  “How may I help you?”

It was a voice he didn’t recognize, which meant it wasn’t from Bastien.  “I need the police,” Fred told her.

“Did you try dialing 9-1-1?” the operator asked.

“9-1-1?” Fred asked, unfamiliar with the number.

“For emergencies,” the operator replied.  “Never mind, I’ll connect you.”

A moment later, Fred heard another woman’s voice.  “9-1-1.  What’s your emergency?”

“This is Fred Tucker in Bastien,” Fred told her.  “We’ve just had a bunch of murders here in this town.  We need…someone to come out and help.”

“How safe are you right now?” the operator asked.

“I’m fine.  Everyone’s fine.  Nobody’s getting hurt anymore.  We just need…someone to get out here.”

“Where did you say you were?”

“Bastien.”

“I’m sorry, I’ve never heard of it.”

“Can you just get me in touch with some police or something.  Some real police?”

“One moment,” the operator said.  “I’m checking my computer now.  I’m afraid I don’t see any mention at all of a town called Bastien.”

“Get me someone from the police to talk to.  Please!” Fred told her.

“One moment,” the operator replied.

Fred was getting fed up, but a minute later, a voice came on the line.  A man’s voice.  “Sergeant Enroy, State patrol.  How can I help you?”

“This is Fred Tucker.  My wife and I run the dry goods store in Bastien.  We’ve just had a lot of people killed here in this town, and I think it would be a good idea if someone with some kind of authority…real authority…came out here to at least take a look.”

“Where did you say it was?” the man asked.

“Bastien.  B-A-S-T-I-E-N.  Bastien!”

“I’ve never heard of it.  Wait a minute while I check.”

Fred’s irritation was increasing.

“I’m sorry,” Enroy said.  “There is no town called Bastien.  You can be arrested for making calls like this.”

“Fine!” Fred said.  “Arrest me.  Just get someone here to take a look!”

“Get someone where?”

“Bastien!  Oh hell!  Tell you what.  We send someone out every day to a few places in Mason for business.  Do you know where the Mason post office is?”

“In Mason?  No problem.”

“Then give me an hour.  I’ll drive out there myself.”

“The post office in Mason,” Sergeant Enroy stated for clarification.

“Yes!  Just give us an hour to get there.  It’s a long ride from here.  Everywhere is a long ride from here.”

“And what did you say was the problem there?”

“Murders!  A lot of them.”

“What do you mean by a lot?”

“I don’t know how many, but I do know the Sheriff, the judge, all the town deputies, and a lot of others have died today.”

“Did you say the sheriff there?”

“Yes!  That’s why I’m calling you!”

“If this is a crank call, we will trace you down and prosecute you.”

“Like I said, fine!  I’ll be at the Mason post office in an hour.  Please have someone there.  They can follow me back here.”

“And how will they know you?”

“My name is Tucker.  Fred Tucker.  And like I said, I run the dry goods store here.  My dry goods vehicle is a large van.”

“Very well, Mr. Tucker.  I’ll have someone meet you there in an hour.”

“You might want to send more than one.”

“We’ll see, Mr. Tucker.  I’ve never heard of Bastien, and there’s no listing of any such place in our records.”

“Somehow,” Fred replied.  “I’m no longer surprised.”

Fred hung up the phone and pushed the other button on the phone, hoping it would get him all the Bastien numbers.  A moment later he was rewarded to hear Hugh Pomeroy pick up the phone.  “Hugh!”

“Fred?  What’s up?”

“I just came from Chrissy Moore’s house and now I’m in the sheriff’s office.  According to Chrissy, he just murdered every Bastien in the town, and ever deputy as well.”

“That’s a bit hard to swallow,” Hugh replied.

“True, but I’m standing in the sheriff’s office right now, and he and Deputy Hank are definitely dead.”

Pomeroy was aghast.  “You’re joking!”

“Not one bit!  Listen, Pomeroy.  I just called the state police.”

“The state police!  I don’t think there’s been an outside policeman here in my lifetime.”

“I’m sure there hasn’t.  When I called they didn’t have a record of Bastien even existing.  I had to convince them to meet me at the Mason post office in an hour.  I need to get out there now.”

“What do you need from me?” Hugh asked.

“Can you pass the word?  According to Chrissy, the Bastien family doesn’t exist anymore, and neither do the deputies.”

“What are we going to do?”

“I haven’t a clue,” Fred told him.  “I’m off now to meet some real police.  In Mason.  I hope.”

 

                                              

The Legend of Bastien - Chapter 18 – The Critical Calculation – Part 1 of 2

 

The Legend of Bastien

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 18 – The Critical Calculation – Part 1 of 2

 

Chrissy was somewhat better the next morning, but he still wasn’t interested in talking, even to his mother.  Still, Tess noted a drastic improvement in him.  After so long living as a…chicken, she had to redo the nail polish on his fingers and toes.  While the polish was drying, she took the time to trim his hair again, making it look as good as possible.  The clothes she picked out for him to wear that day were colorful, light, and cool as possible. 

For some reason, maybe since he had lost so much weight, or maybe because his hair had grown longer since February, Chrissy looked more like a girl than ever.  Now that he was home and the weather had turned hot, she was going to have to go shopping with him again to find him more lightweight tops.  The skirts of course were all just fine.

Deputy Mike was there at ten o’clock to pick them up.  Instead of just Chrissy going with him though, both Chrissy and Tess got into his truck.  Mike made the short trip to the sheriff’s station where he let Chrissy out, then he drove off with Tess, taking her back to his house.

Chrissy walked into the sheriff’s station and was immediately grabbed by Billy.

“It’s about damn time you got here,” Billy said.

The first thing about Billy that Chrissy noted, was the deputy shirt Billy was wearing.  He was only glad to see that Billy didn’t carry a gun like the other deputies did.  He also noted that all four of Billy’s best friends were wearing deputy shirts too.  Two minutes later, Billy and his friends dragged Chrissy through to the courthouse, where Chrissy automatically reapplied his lipstick before kneeling down.  Billy was first of course, followed in succession by Pete, Sam, Tony, and Chet.  All of them.  All Chrissy could think about was that he was back into his life of hell.  But as bad as it was, it was a lot better than being…a damn chicken.  Still, all he dreamed about was the oblivion of death.

When he finished with Billy and his friends, Chrissy was put into Deputy Don’s truck to be driven around for the day.  First stop was the judge’s house.  Once again he crawled under the judge’s desk to take care of him.  When he was done, he started to walk out, but not before the judge called, “It seems I’ve missed you more than I thought.”

When the judge said nothing more and was ignoring him, Chrissy left his office, only to run straight into Olivia.  Olivia literally grabbed him by his hand and dragged him into her office.  She was naked in no time, and a moment later, Chrissy was busy with her.  As long as it usually took to take care of Olivia Bastien, Chrissy was convinced that it took twice as long this time.  He couldn’t count the number of orgasms she had gotten from him.  When she finally pushed him away, he had no choice but to clean his entire face, and with her still naked and watching closely, he redid all his makeup.

“My God I’ve missed you!” Olivia declared when he was done.

Chrissy hadn’t missed her one bit!

From the judge’s house, Deputy Don drove him out to the bridge to take care of Deputy Steve.  Chrissy wasn’t the least bit surprised to have to do Deputy Don right after.  And then it was off to the Stockton farm where Abby, the woman Bea Stockton had to help take care of all their farmhands, excitedly dragged him straight back into her bedroom.  A little while later, all of the farmhands lined up, anxious for their brief time with Chrissy.  In the middle of that bunch was Burty, who once again didn’t seem to get past the point where Chrissy did nothing but apply an extra amount of lipstick in front of him.

“I love you Chrissy,” Burty confessed.  “I love you so much.”

Life was back to the old usual.  The miserable usual.  How could he kill himself?

That night, Deputy Don delivered Chrissy to Mike Johnson’s home instead of taking Chrissy back to his house.  Tess had to work until the dishes were done after dinner.  Chrissy didn’t get to eat with them.  Instead, he wandered around outside, keeping as far from the chicken pen as possible.  He spent most of his time inside Deputy Mike’s barn where he wouldn’t have to look at that pen. 

After dinner, Mike drove him and his mother back to their little yellow house, where later, Deputy Wyatt showed up to make sure Chrissy got more than his ample amount of punishment.

For Chrissy, life…was simply hell.  Total hell. 

After Tess finished feeding him his bottle, hugged him tightly, and kissed him, she said, “Goodnight Chrissy.”  She hugged him one more time and whispered.  “I love you.” 

“Love you too,” Chrissy whispered as he hugged her just as tight.

The two of them stayed like that for a few moments as tears fell from Tess’s eyes.  They were the first words she had heard him speak in a very long time.  Her son was coming back to life, but she had a feeling that the ordeal he had just been through would probably haunt him for the rest of his life.  A life she still wanted to make sure he lived…as long as possible.

The next day it started all over again, except it was Deputy Phillip who had the duty of driving Chrissy around.  First Billy and his friends at the sheriff’s station, then the judge’s house, then the bridge, then another farm.  And when the day was over, Deputy Phillip dropped Chrissy off at Deputy Mike’s house, where Chrissy saw the deputy’s truck already parked in front of the house.  He went in, hugged his mother, and dropped his purse until it would be time to leave.  She didn’t bother changing him because the diaper he was wearing was so huge it would probably go for a week without leaking.

With nothing better to do, Chrissy wandered back outside, and once again headed toward the barn where he wouldn’t be able to see the chicken pen.  As he walked into the barn, he could see Deputy Mike bent over the engine of his small tractor.  The deputy was still in his uniform.  Bent over like that, his gun stuck out from his waist. 

Chrissy took two more steps and stopped as something on the ground against a piece of farm equipment caught his eye.  A metal bar.  He stared at the bar for only a moment.  Almost in a trance, he picked the bar up and approached the deputy as silently as he could, but Mike was bent over the tractor engine and not only couldn’t hear him, he was completely involved in what he was doing.  Before he knew it, Chrissy had grabbed the metal bar with both hands, raised it high in the air, and with every ounce of strength he had, he brought it down on the deputy’s head.  Mike’s body fell face first over the tractor engine.  Again and again, Chrissy raised that bar in his hands and used it to cave in the back of the deputy’s head.  It was all hardly necessary.  He had hit him hard enough the first time to kill him.

Chrissy dropped the metal bar and grabbed the deputy’s gun, still in its holster, still sticking out from his waist.  He checked it.  Six bullets in it.  He carried it from the barn, straight into the house.  Judy and her mother were at the kitchen counter.  He was close enough to them that when he raised it in Judy’s direction and his thumb pulled back on the gun hammer, the sound of the gun cocking made both of them turn in his direction.  Liz went wide-eyed with fright and Judy screamed, but not for long.  His first shot hit Judy square in the chest.  Liz was rooted in place, not able to believe what had just happened.  Chrissy turned the gun on her and the moment she tried to run he shot her dead too.

From the hallway his mother ran into the kitchen.  Chrissy saw her stop and stare in shock when she saw the dead bodies and him holding the gun.  “Chrissy, what have you done?” 

He didn’t answer.  Instead, he went back outside, back to the barn.  The gun held six bullets.  He had used three.  There were six more bullets on the deputy’s gun belt.  He was removing them when his mother got to him.

“Chrissy, what have you done?”

“What I had to do,” he replied, the few simple words coming out in plain English.

“Chrissy, you killed them.  All of them are dead.”

“Good.”  He pulled the first three spent cartridges from the gun and replaced them with fresh ones.  He held the last three bullets in his hand and walked straight past his mother and into the house.

Tess stared at Mike’s body.  She couldn’t look long because of the brutal way his head was caved in.  She ran after Chrissy.  “Where are you going?”  But she got no answer. 

In the house, Chrissy went to where he had dropped his purse when he had arrived.  He dropped the three bullets into it and stuck the gun into it as well.

“What are you doing?” Tess asked again.

Chrissy looked at her but didn’t answer.  He walked right past her and out past the bodies in the house.  He headed for the deputy’s truck, and stopped.  Keys.  He had to have the keys.

He changed course and went back to the dead deputy, his mother following with him. 

“What are you doing?” she asked again.  Still, she got no answer.  She was horrified to see him reach his hands into the dead deputy’s pocket.  A moment later, she saw him pull the keys out. 

“Chrissy, talk to me!” Tess said urgently.  But it was as if her son was in a trance.  She followed him out to the truck and was shocked to see him open the driver’s door.  “What are you going to do?”

Chrissy opened the truck door and stopped.  He looked at the steering wheel.  Finally, he looked at his mother.  “I need your help.”

“With what?”

“Get in.”

Watching her son carefully, Tess got into the truck, amazed at seeing him getting into the driver’s seat.  Was he going to drive the thing?  Did he know how?

Chrissy tried to start the engine, but it wouldn’t start.  “How do I start it?” he asked.

“Chrissy, what are you doing?”

“Driving.  How do I start it?” he demanded.

Tess wasn’t sure, but she suspected what the problem might be.  “Step on the brake while you try to start it.”

Chrissy did that and was rewarded to hear the engine come to life.

“Have you ever driven before?” Tess asked.

“No.”  He turned and smiled at her.  “First time for everything.”  With that, he carefully put the truck in gear.  He stepped on the gas and the truck lurched forward.  He quickly stepped on the brake and stopped.

“Easy with it,” Tess told him.  “Just go…slow!”

He nodded and barely pressed on the gas this time.  Gripping the steering wheel tightly, his head craned forward to see the dirt road better, he slowly drove the truck toward town.  By the time he got there, he was far more adept at steering, braking, and using the gas pedal.  He didn’t need to go fast, he didn’t need to worry about traffic.  In Bastien, there was no such thing as heavy traffic.  In fact, he didn’t see another vehicle on the road at all. 

Chrissy drove to their tiny yellow house.  He stopped the truck out front.  “Get out and wait for me,” he told his mother.

“Chrissy…”

“Just stay here!” he told her angrily. 

“What are you going to do?”

“What should have been done a long time ago.  Now just get out!”

Slowly, uncertainly, Tess opened the truck door and slipped down to the ground.  She closed the door and took a step back.  The moment she did, Chrissy drove off.

A few minutes later, Chrissy parked the truck in front of the sheriff’s station.  He saw two other trucks parked there, one belonging to the sheriff, the other he was sure belonged to Deputy Hank.  He pulled the gun from his purse and got out of the truck, leaving his purse behind.  He stopped briefly before going through the door and cocked the hammer on the gun, getting it ready to fire.  Only then did he open the door and go inside.  He saw the sheriff and Hank in the main room, talking. 

“Chrissy!” the sheriff said as he walked in.  “What the hell are you doing here?”

Chrissy wasted no time.  He raised the gun toward the sheriff.  Before the terror could fully register itself on the sheriff’s face, Chrissy fired the gun.  The sheriff was blown backward to the floor as the bullet hit him square in the chest.  Hank jumped from his seat but stopped dead as Chrissy immediately turned the gun toward him.  In Bastien, nobody had ever stood up to a sheriff or a deputy before, he didn’t know what to do.  Chrissy wasted no time at all, his thumb cocked the hammer, and his finger pulled the trigger.  Hank went the same way as the sheriff, blown straight to the floor with a bullet in his chest.

Chrissy felt no remorse at all.  None!  He walked over toward the sheriff to check him.  His eyes were open, and he was staring back in disbelief.  Chrissy cocked the hammer again and aimed it at his head.  The terror on the sheriff’s face was impossible to miss…just before Chrissy pulled the trigger and ended his terror – forever.  He checked the deputy next, but by the time he got there, the deputy was dead.

He had used three more bullets.  He needed more.  He was going to take Deputy Hank’s gun, but he remembered that the sheriff had a better one.  He went to the sheriff’s body and pulled out his gun.  It was what Billy had called a semi-automatic.  It was easy to figure out how to eject the cartridge from the handle of the gun.  He counted the bullets in it.  Seventeen, just like Billy had once told him.  He put the cartridge back into the gun and like he had once seen Billy do, he pulled back on the top of the gun.  When he did, he saw a bullet enter the chamber.  He let it spring back into place and tried the safety switch on the side of the gun, switching it back and forth before leaving the safety on.  He saw all the bullets stuck in the sheriff’s belt.  Not knowing how many he would need, he grabbed a handful.  Leaving Deputy Mike’s revolver behind, he carried the sheriff’s gun and the handful of bullets out to the truck.  The bullets went into his purse.  He had seventeen bullets in the gun.  He didn’t think he’d need more than that, but he was ready now, just in case.  He started the truck and moved onto his next destination.

His next stop was the obvious choice.  He pulled the truck right into the judge’s driveway and carried just the gun to the door where he rang the bell.  He didn’t know if the judge’s wife would open the door or the maid.  He had a feeling it was late enough in the day now that the maid would be gone.  Either way, he didn’t care.  He had business to take care of.

The door opened and he saw Olivia Bastien standing there.  “Chrissy!  What the hell….”

She got no further than that before he raised the gun and pointed it at her head.  The shock on her face was almost comical as she raised her hands and backed up.  Still pointing the gun at her, he went inside.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“Curtsey!” he said softly.

“What?”

“Curtsey!” he ordered determinedly as he obviously flipped the safety off on the gun and aimed it more steadily at her head. 

Olivia wanted to scream but she was too afraid.  Slowly, carefully, she dropped as nice a curtsey to Chrissy as she could.  The moment she stood straight again, Chrissy pulled the trigger and put a bullet into her head.  Her body dropped down again, but this time to the floor.  Permanently.

“Olivia!  What was that?” the judge’s voice yelled.

Chrissy could hear him hurrying from his office.  He aimed the gun in the direction where the judge would be coming from.  In moments he came through the door where he stopped dead at seeing Chrissy standing there with the gun pointed at him, and his wife lying dead on the floor.  “What have you…”

Chrissy pulled the trigger.  The judge dropped like a stone.  He checked Olivia’s body.  Dead.  He checked the judge.  Not dead yet.  He put a bullet into the Judge’s head to correct that problem.  As he walked back out to the truck, he mentally remembered that he now had fourteen bullets left, and a handful in his purse if he needed them.  The sheriff was dead.  The judge and his wife were dead.  Deputy Mike was dead.  Deputy Mike’s wife and Judy were dead, and Deputy Hank was dead.  Seven people so far.  But he had many more to go.  It was time for the next most important one on his list.

A short while later, Chrissy parked the car outside the sheriff’s house.  He saw Billy’s truck in the driveway along with Alicia’s car.  As he had done at the judge’s house, he walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell.  A few moments later, he heard someone opening the door.  His finger flipped the safety switch on his gun to off as the door opened.  He saw Miranda there. 

“Chrissy…”

Chrissy raised the gun and fired it.  He was so close to her that the bullet tore right through her heart.  In the distance, Chrissy heard Alicia yelling and running toward the door.  She appeared just as he stepped over Miranda’s body and got fully inside.  He turned the gun towards her and pulled the trigger as she stopped in total shock.  Alicia never had a chance to morn her daughter, she was dead before she knew it.

“Mom!  What was that?”

Chrissy heard Billy running down the stairs.  Like his mother, the moment he saw Chrissy standing in the living room holding a gun on him he stopped dead.  Before Billy had a chance to say or do anything, Chrissy pulled the trigger.  Billy dropped to the floor as the bullet tore into his stomach.  Chrissy walked over to him and pointed the gun straight down at him. 

“My dad’s gonna kill you!” Billy managed to say through his pain.

“He’s dead,” Chrissy said flatly.  He aimed the gun at Billy’s cock and fired again.  Billy sat up and his hands went to his crotch at the enormous pain.  Chrissy aimed the gun at Billy’s head and fired one more time, driving Billy’s dead body back to the floor.  There would be no more generations of Bastiens leading the town.  They were all dead now.  Finally. 

But Chrissy knew he couldn’t stop yet.  It still wasn’t safe.

 

The Legend of Bastien - Chapter 17 – They Don’t Teach That in School – Part 4 of 4

 

The Legend of Bastien

By Karen Singer

 

Chapter 17 – They Don’t Teach That in School – Part 4 of 4

 

July fourth dawned hot and humid, but that didn’t stop the festival atmosphere that the entire town seemed to feel.  Even rain rarely shut down a festival completely and there was no rain in the forecast for that day.  Just heat, and plenty of it.  The first band of the day was in full swing on the village green by nine in the morning, and there were people dancing the moment their first tune started.  Before long, the entire village green was packed with people.  All of them having a great time.

“Where’s Chrissy?” Billy asked angrily.  Not seeing his play toy or even Judy and her family.

“I guess he’s not here yet,” his father replied.

“I’m tired of waiting!” Billy said.  “It’s been over a month!  Almost two months.  He belongs to me!”

The sheriff looked at him but said nothing.  He was having trouble understanding why Billy was still so focused on Chrissy.  It made no sense.  Every time he thought about it, he realized how wrong he had been back in January by not butting a bullet into the boy’s head when the problem first started.  It would have saved everyone a lot of trouble.

Tess wasn’t working at the Johnson’s house that day.  Almost nobody was working that day.  Instead, she was desperately wandering the green, looking for her son…and hoping at the same time that he wouldn’t appear.  She couldn’t imagine how bad this was going to be for him.  Her only saving grace in this was that hopefully, after today, it would all be over.  At least the part of her son being a chicken.  Hopefully!  In Bastien, you never knew about things like that.

“Tess!”

Tess looked up to see Betty heading for her.  The two women hugged.

“I don’t see you anymore,” Betty said.

“No.  They pick me up early in the morning and I don’t get home until late every day.  And so far, this is the first day I’ve had off.”

“And how about Chrissy?”

Tess paused then said.  “Don’t ask.  Please…don’t ask.”

It was about eleven in the morning when the sheriff noticed Deputy Mike’s truck pull up to the edge of the village green.  He didn’t miss the small closed-in cattle trailer Mike was towing behind his truck either.  As Mike and his family got out of the truck, he went over to talk to him.

“You about ready with this?” Tom asked Mike.

“All set,” Mike replied with a grin.  “I think you’re going to love what Judy’s done with him.  And I’ve got to admit.  She’s done a first-rate job of it.”

“Good,” Tom replied.  “I can’t wait, and Billy’s been hollering all over the place that he wants Chrissy back, so I think the sooner we get this over with, the better.”

“Yeah, that’s good,” Mike replied.  “Besides, with as hot as it is today, out here in the sun, I’m not sure how long Chrissy can hold up.”

“Why?”

“I’ll leave that for the surprise.  I don’t want to spoil it for you.”

The sheriff laughed.  “I’ll go find Billy.  How do you want to do this?”

“Do you want Billy to be on the stage announcing things again?” Mike asked.  “Or do you want me to do it all.”

“Is it anything that Billy can’t do?  I think it would look better if he did at least something with this.”

“That was our thought too,” Mike replied.  “And no, Billy should be able to handle most of it with no trouble.  But there are a few things I’d like to tell everyone that should only make the entire thing better.  When I’m done, I’ll hand the microphone back to Billy.  When you’re ready for us to start, just have Billy announce that we’re ready to show him off.  That’s about it.  Judy’s got something special planned with it, but the rest should be simple enough.”

“Okay,” Tom replied.  “I’ll find Billy.”  He turned to Judy.  “Good luck.”

It was about five minutes before the song ended and Billy took the stage, once again grabbing the microphone and everyone’s attention.  “Hey everyone,” he said.  “Judy Johnson has finally finished what she was doing with Chrissy and she’s ready to show him off.  If you remember, Chrissy was too chicken to try and insult me again, and Judy claimed she could show you all just how chicken he really is.  Now I know nobody has been allowed to see what she’s done with him, not even me, so I think it’s about time we all found out.”  He looked over toward Judy, standing at the back of the trailer behind her father’s truck.  “Judy.  Are you ready?”

Judy raised her arm in the air and let out a whoop of delight.  She and her father pulled the back of the trailer open, and Judy ran inside.  A few seconds later, she was back, pulling on a rope, but what was attached to that rope caught everyone by surprise.  To all appearances, it was the biggest chicken anyone had ever seen.

“Damn!” Billy exclaimed, not even believing it himself as he watched Judy, literally jogging, forcing Chrissy to run after her, while he flapped his big wings and squawked like a chicken.

Judy ran Chrissy through the crowd and across the entire front of the stage area before turning around and running him back in the opposite direction.  She turned him again and brought him back to the middle where everyone could see him clearly.  By that time, her father had taken the stage and the microphone. 

“What do you think of Chrissy?” Mike said into the microphone on stage.  “I don’t think anyone can get him to be more of a chicken than that.  In fact…Judy, show him how Chrissy has been eating since he left here a few months ago.”

Judy pulled a pouch of chicken feed from her waist and reached her hand in.  She pulled some out and held it low to the ground, right in front of Chrissy.  They had purposely not fed Chrissy that morning, and he was ready to drop from starvation.  All his attention was on that chicken feed and getting something, even that, into his stomach.

Judy bent down and made a small pile of it on the ground.  This was something that she had been doing with Chrissy for only the last week.  Chrissy, still focused on getting something to eat, flapped his wings for balance and immediately dropped to his knees.  His beak went to the ground over and over again as he lapped up the precious food for his stomach.  Everyone saw how Chrissy absolutely attacked it, his beak going up and down as he tried to eat it as fast as he could.

When Judy reached her hand into the sack again, Mike announced, “What Chrissy is eating is regular chicken feed.  The same thing we feed all our chickens.  Since we took Chrissy back in May, chicken feed is the only thing Chrissy has been allowed to eat, and since his arms have been pretty much nonexistent since then, the only way he’s been able to eat, is like a chicken.

Judy pulled a third handful of the chicken feed from her pouch and put it on the ground and Chrissy continued to eat it as fast as he could.

“Chrissy has been eating like a chicken and living like a chicken since May,” Mike explained.  “We even built him a big part of the chicken coop, complete with a nest for him to sit in while he sleeps…sitting up like a chicken.  In every way possible, Judy has tried to make Chrissy into a total chicken.  I don’t think there’s anything anyone could possibly do to make him even more of a chicken than that.”

“Wait!” Judy yelled excitedly as she stood up.  “There’s one more thing.  Even better!”

“Better?” Mike said, playing along with his daughter.

Chrissy had finished eating, and Judy pulled on the rope, forcing him to flap his big wings for balance and get back to his feet. 

“Watch this!” Judy said loudly for everyone’s benefit.  She pulled Chrissy a few feet toward the side of the stage, then turned to him and put her hand out flat toward the ground.  “Lay!” she commanded.

As Chrissy had been taught for the last few weeks, he squatted down and concentrated hard on what he was doing.  He pushed against his backside carefully until he felt one of the eggs she had put up inside him come out.  He squawked loudly, flapped his wings, and stood up again.  There were loud mutterings of amazement from the entire crowd.  Judy grabbed the egg, held it up, and squeezed, breaking it, and letting the contents drop to the ground.  The muttering from the crowed turned to laughing.

Billy grabbed the microphone from Deputy Mike.  “Hey!” he said loudly into it.  “Now that’s something you don’t see every day!  They sure don’t teach that in school.”  The crowd laughed again.

Judy pulled on Chrissy’s rope and ran him to another spot in the crowd.  “Lay!” she commanded.  Once again Chrissy flapped his wings, squatted, then flapped them again and stood up, revealing another egg for Judy to pick up and break.  Again and again, she led him around then made him lay his eggs.  Six eggs in total, while everyone laughed, not believing it. 

Chrissy was just glad all the eggs she had shoved up inside him just before loading him into the trailer that morning were gone.  That was one major bit of discomfort he didn’t need.  His bigger bit of discomfort though was starting to really hit him.  His chicken suit was hot.  And Judy had kept him running around, making him even hotter.  It was just another reason for him to pray that his ordeal would soon be over.

“I’ve got to admit,” Billy said over the microphone, “I think Judy did one first rate job with Chrissy.  I never would have imagined she could do something that good and go to that extent.  What do you say everyone?  Give her big hand!”

While everyone laughed and applauded, Judy held Chrissy’s rope and bowed and curtsied all over the place.  When the music started playing again, she slowly led Chrissy around through the crowd to show him off or answer questions.

Yes, the crowd had all laughed.  Most of them were still laughing.  But at the same time, knowing what they did about Chrissy, most people felt it was simply disgusting. 

One other person wasn’t too pleased by the display either.  Evelyn.  Evelyn was boiling mad.  She was going to kill Judy for what she had done.  And now she had to find something even worse that she could do to Chrissy, because she knew without a doubt, that Judy had just moved into the number one spot to someday become Billy’s wife, and she wasn’t going to allow that under any circumstances.

“Disgusting!” Betty muttered quietly to Tess.  Tess said nothing about it.  What could she say?  She and Betty just stood back out of the way and watched as Judy led Chrissy around between all the people, showing him off.

As the day grew warmer, and with none of his usual bottles to drink that day, the heat was really building up inside Chrissy’s chicken suit.  He was beginning to feel weak and faint from it.  Unfortunately, so far, it didn’t look like Judy was ready to stop showing him off anytime soon.

While Chrissy was being circulated around through the crowd, Billy went directly to Deputy Mike, who was talking with his father.  “I want him back!,” Billy said angrily.  “Now!  Just the way he was.”

Mike looked to the sheriff, then back to Billy.  “Sure, Billy,” he agreed.  “But even if we start right now, it’ll take us the rest of the day just to get that costume off him.  And then he’s been kept that way so long it’s going to take more time before he’s completely normal again.”

“I don’t care.  I want him back!”

Mike looked at him for a moment, knowing the sheriff would have his back on this.  “Will sometime tomorrow be alright?  We can’t get him out of that suit any sooner.  Some of it is literally glued onto him.”

“Billy!” Tom said to his son.  “You can wait!”

“Fine!” Billy conceded.  “But you better have him back and ready to do business tomorrow, just as usual.  And you can start by bringing him to the sheriff’s station, where I’ll be waiting.”

There was a small commotion in the middle of the green.  The sheriff and Mike both looked to see what was going on.  People were shouting.  A few women screamed.  “What the hell is that?” Tom said.

He and Mike ran right to the source of the problem.  When they got there, they saw Chrissy laying down on the ground.  Mike quickly checked his eyes.  “Shit!” he said.  The heat’s getting to him.  I was afraid of that.  Someone get me some water – fast!”

A bottle of water was delivered, and Mike literally poured it into Chrissy’s open beak.  It was the first water, or anything other than the nutrient drink that Chrissy had tasted since it had all begun back in May.  It took a few minutes, but before long, he was able to get Chrissy sitting up again, then finally to his feet.  “We’ve got to get him home and cooled off,” he said.  He looked to his daughter.  “I think it’s time,” he said.  “Let’s get him out of here.”

Tess was going crazy with worry seeing her son pass out like that.  She tried to get near him, but another of the deputies held her back.  She was so glad to see him finally sit up, then eventually get to his feet.  She wasn’t happy to see them lead him away by that rope around his neck, but at least they appeared to be leading him back toward the trailer.  A minute later, she watched as Mike drove off…and she wished like anything she could be there to watch out for her son, even if she wasn’t allowed to do anything.

The judge walked up and stood next to his son as they watched Chrissy being led away.  “I heard Billy wants him back right away,” the judge said.  “And in a way, I think it’s a shame.  We could have just stuck him in a chicken coop somewhere and forgot about him.  Haul him out once in a while for an object lesson and that’s it.”

“I’d still rather put a bullet in his brain,” Tom replied.

“The better option,” the judge agreed.  “But for some reason, both your mother and your wife seem convinced that we can’t…yet.  Myself, I don’t buy it.”

“Me either,” Tom replied.  “But I’ve got to live with my wife.”

“Huh!” the judge grunted.  “I live with Olivia.”

“Yeah, but you two hardly see each other.”

“True.  And that’s just the way I’ve always wanted it.”  He nodded towards where Mike had just driven Chrissy’s trailer away.  “And that’s the situation that Billy is probably going to wind up with someday too.  As much as I hate to say it, what Judy did was damn impressive.”

“I’d have to agree,” Tom replied.  “Alicia and I simply got lucky.  I liked her, and she liked me.  End of story.”

 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

 

Tess was beside herself with worry about Chrissy.  After he was driven away from the village green she went straight back to her simple little house where she sat and fretted with worry.  Was he okay?  He had to be!  He had to be just fine, because he had to live! 

It was late at night when her front door suddenly opened.  She saw Deputy Mike walk in…with his arm around her son, who looked…not good!

“Chrissy!” she exclaimed as she jumped up and ran to him.  Whether the deputy liked it or not, she grabbed him and hugged him tightly.  Her son had lost a lot of weight over the last six weeks and he stood there as if in a total daze.

“I suggest you get him something to eat and drink right away,” Mike told her.  “It took us forever to get all that stuff off him, and the glue Judy and Liz used was really tough to get off.  Oh, and you might want to get a proper diaper on him first.  I could be wrong, but he seems to have even less control than he did when we first took him.”

Tess now backed far enough away that she could see what he was wearing on his emaciated body.  The only thing he was wearing was a makeshift diaper made from an old towel.  And the front of it was wet.  “Come on, Chrissy,” she said gently as she put her arm around him and led him to his bed.  While Deputy Mike watched, she removed the makeshift diaper and put a cloth diaper on him along with some plastic pants.  Chrissy still seemed to be in a complete daze. 

“Got some coffee or anything?” Mike asked as Tess started pulling one of her lightweight nightgowns on him since it was now too hot for his usual flannel pajamas.  “The sheriff wanted me to stick around until you put Chrissy to bed for the night.”

Tess wanted to scream.  “Are you going to make me punish him too?” she asked angrily.

“Not tonight.  That will start again tomorrow night.  Everything starts again tomorrow, just like it was.  I’ll be here at ten in the morning to pick you and him up.  I’ll take him to the sheriff’s station and you to my house.  Everything just like before.”

Tess didn’t say it, but her only thought was that it wasn’t like before.  She was now Liz Johnson’s maid instead of the bank teller.

While the coffee was brewing, she sat Chrissy at the table and fixed him some leftovers from her refrigerator.  The food seemed to bring him out of his stupor enough that he ate it all as fast as he possibly could.  It was the first real food he had eaten in a long time, but the entire time he ate, he never looked at anyone or said a single word.

While Deputy Mike watched, she took him back to bed where she laid next to him and fed him a baby bottle of milk.  She finally hugged and kissed him again and pulled the covers over him.  He still hadn’t uttered a single word, and that worried Tess more than ever.

It was the first time an almost two months that Chrissy had laid down to sleep.  Laying down felt so good, and he was so exhausted.  As sleep overcame him in a drastic rush, his thoughts were still where they had mostly remained since he had been taken from the village green earlier that day.  It was all he could think about.  He wanted to die now, more than ever.  After what he had just been through for the last six weeks, he didn’t know how he could live with himself anymore.  He just wanted to die and be done with it.  But…his mother….

He was out like a light before his mother left the room.  The oblivion of sleep overtook him.  After so many weeks, his sore arms bent back into their chicken wing configuration, and he slept – lying down.