Dinner Guests

Three convicts discover a cabin on a hill

By Mongoose750 (mongoose750@yahoo.com)

[Author's Note: This story is a little different from the stuff I normally write, and though it's not graphic, for the first time I issue a warning that the subject matter may be a little unnerving. This is my first try at a horror story, so here goes. . .]

Howard Norton, Arnold Himmel, and Michael Copeland trudged through the deep snow up the small mountain as they made a break from the prison in the valley down below. The three convicts were captured during their last crime spree, their third bank robbery, and two of the three were going to be convicted on murder charges as well. Howard and Arnold were rugged career criminals, having seen much of the world through iron bars as they have without. During the last two robberies, both of them had gunned down a person as they left the bank to make their point. Michael was the man who drove the "getaway car," and had almost mowed down a few people as well on their escapes. It was a possibility that Michael may get a long sentence if not life imprisonment, and Howard and Arnold were facing the death penalty.

Fate seemed to smile their way as they were sent to the Rolling Fields Penitentiary, otherwise known as "Revolving Fields" because of the numerous escape attempts many convicts have made, comparing it to being like a revolving door. However, being placed out in the middle of a valley surrounded by hills made retrieval easy, especially during winter when the snows came. The excessive snowfall normally made the capturing of those few who dared to brave the cold temperatures and high snow drifts easy, along with the fact that denim blue prison uniforms stand out boldly against white snow rather easy. However, the three cons had a plan.

Since their arrival, the three have seen a cabin off in the distance not far from the prison. In that, it was nothing unusual, except for the fact that from the chimney, large plumes of smoke came from it. Being a nice hike from where they were at, it shouldn't be any trouble to reach that cabin, subdue the inhabitants, and stay there long enough to determine their next move and get supplies. And as for the snow, while their uniforms were denim blue, their sheets were white. So now the three men, wrapped in white sheets making them invisible to the sentries in the guard towers made their way to the cabin to launch the second part of their plan.

The three debated how they were going to enter the house when Michael suggested why not just knock on the door like everyone else? That way, the hosts will be taken off guard and won't realize the truth until it's too late. The other two laughed to themselves, and Arnold made a mock bow, gesturing for Michael to do the honors. Before he did so, Michael glanced at the sky. It was early evening, and the sun will be down soon. Another part of their plan was it needed to be done during regular hours instead of traditionally doing it at night. The cabin's residents would definitely know something was going on if they received visitors in the middle of the night.

Michael rang the doorbell. To their surprise, it opened almost immediately, and they were hit by a strong wave of heat, a welcome contrast to stumping around in cold snow for the past hour or so. Actually, the heat of the cabin made one think they were in a tropical paradise instead of a log cabin. At the door, two attractive women greeted them. The one who opened the door for them was a six-foot black woman with her long black hair placed in a bun, wearing a black tank top that was cropped at the stomach, and form fitting black shorts. The other woman who started walking toward the door was of Asian decent, and almost as tall as her companion, missing the mark by a few inches. Her long black hair was placed into a long pony tail that hung down her back. She was wearing a short white dress that just covered her waist. The only means the dress had for staying on was a collar around the neck; other than that, it was sleeveless. Both women had very muscular builds made even more visible by their outfits, and both were barefoot, wearing the same black toenail polish.

"Hello, we were expecting you," the black woman said, as she let them in the door. The men could see in the living room a television that was showing a news bulletin that announced the prisoner's escape. "I'm Desiree, and this is my friend Jade. Welcome to our humble abode."

The three men saw that the abode was far from "humble." The cabin looked like an interior decorator designed it, and it was filled with state of the art electronics and gadgetry. The fire in the fireplace was going strong, but it seemed unlikely that it was the sole source of heat in the place. In all, it hardly seemed like a place where people "roughed it."

"Is it just you two?" Arnold asked.

"Yes it is," Jade replied.

"You two look familiar," Michael said. "Aren't you two on TV someplace?"

"So they get our show way out here after all," Desiree said. "I've wondered about that, but I wasn't sure. I mean we knew they had cable where you three were staying, but-"

"So you were "expecting us,' how nice," Howard interrupted. "Well here's the way it going down. You know who we are, so there's no surprises there. What we're going to do is stay here for a couple of days until we get our bearings or the snow melts, whichever comes first. You ladies are going to be good little hosts until that time, and maybe you'll get to do another show or whatever it is (I don't watch that much TV)." Howard paused long enough to gaze at the figures of the two women. "And maybe the three of us will be involved in some "recreation' while we're waiting. That should make the time go by."

As a response, Desiree looked at them in mock horror. "Oh no! What are we going to do?" She said.

"I know," Jade said. "We'll just take of them, and we'll be set for the rest of the winter."

The three men didn't know what Jade meant by "taking care of them" and what it had to do regarding winter, but they knew they wasn't going to willingly comply with their commands. It looked like a little "convincing" was in order. Howard approached Desiree, the one he was closest to, preparing to make her pay for mocking him. Arnold approached Jade with the same intent. Michael stood back; his two friends should have no problems handling these gals. He was starting to look forward to the "recreation" part of the activities.

The two women suddenly crouched into fighting stances. Jade in a stance similar to what karate practitioners use, while Desiree got into more of a wrestling-type stance. The two men, roughly the same height as their female opponents, didn't think much of it; after a couple of slaps and a few punches, they'll beg them to stop.

Michael thought something was a little strange here. These two women didn't hit him as being "prison groupies," women who get their kicks from seeing and being involved with convicts (even being a convict himself, Michael saw that as strange), and aside from where the cabin is located and the news alert, what did that woman mean they were expecting them? And to make things really unnerving, Desiree kept licking her lips every time she looked at one of them. He considered looking around for a third party hiding somewhere when something even stranger happened.

Desiree ducked under Harold's right slap attempt, and grabbed the back of his shirt with one hand and the crotch area of his jeans with the other, and jerked him up in the air. Michael saw the look of shock on Harold's face as his supposed victim held him airborne. Then, just as suddenly as he was lifted up, Desiree slammed him down across her knee. The sound of Harold's spine breaking sounded wet and mushy. Desiree rolled him off her knee where he lay still.

Arnold didn't have any better success with Jade. Not only did she parry his first two punches, she exchanged a few blows that stunned him. Arnold made one more swing, but Jade caught his arm and swung him into a takedown move that was normally practiced in Aikido, an allegedly "nonviolent" martial art. However, Jade made a few adjustments that changed this innocent throw. As Arnold was landing on his back, Jade held on to his chin so that when Arnold's body went one way, his head, particularly his neck, went the other. As soon as his lifeless body hit the floor, the fight was over.

Both struggles happened too fast for Michael to help out, and he quickly reasoned if two of his former partners in crime couldn't take these women one on one, he wouldn't have a chance tackling the both of them. Flight was the best idea. However, as he turned to run for the door, Desiree was blocking his way, again licking her lips. As he turned back, Jade was approaching him, walking slowly to him from the other side.

"Wh-what are you going to do?" Michael blurted out as both women closed in on him.

The meal was delicious. Everything was prepared and seasoned just right. Desiree skinned the game (she considered making a rug someday, so she saved the skin), and Jade took and prepared it. While they cooked it, Desiree added the special seasonings, while Jade put the extra portions in the freezer for later. On this night, Jade had a special recipe ready, and the only disagreement the two had was what type of wine to have with this dish. Jade wanted a white wine, while Desiree wanted red. They finally compromised and had both. While they enjoyed their dinner, sitting by the side, all tied up, was a horrified Michael Copeland. Finally, Jade sat back and released a loud belch.

"Jade! Must you do that?" Desiree scolded.

"In China, it's considered a sign that it was a good meal," Jade replied.

"Girl, your ancestors are Japanese. Besides, you're being a bit rude to our dinner guest tonight."

"Oh that's right. Excuse me, Michael, I forgot my manners," Jade giggled. "By the way, would you like a bite of my special steak? It's pretty good, even if I do say so myself."

"You just ate two of my friends," Michael said, still in shock.

"And they were mighty tasty too," Desiree giggled.

Desiree and Jade were longtime friends who first met in culinary school. They graduated with honors, but instead of following their classmates in working at a prestigious restaurant, they decided to go a different route and host a cooking show on cable television. The show was an overnight success, helping boost ratings for the station, and made the two women well off and well known.

During the off season, when reruns of the show were shown, the two liked to get away from it all for some rest, relaxation, and to brainstorm for new ideas for their shows in the new season. In a cabin they rented out in the woods, one day a stranger dropped by, claiming to be in trouble. Desiree and Jade discovered that the stranger's intentions were far from friendly, and the next thing they knew, they were in a fight for their life. It eventually came down to the point where it was either going to be him or them, and after a long struggle, it was him. It wasn't until later they found out this man was responsible for a rash of murders in that area of the woods; however, at the time, they did not know that. The big question was what were they going to do with the body? After much debate and argument, they finally came to a solution. They weren't sure how they came to it. Maybe it was the fact that their grounds of self-defense seemed rather shaky, and any other story would sound like they were the aggressors. Maybe it was the fact that the shows they were watching was first an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, which had a woman murder her husband with a frozen lamb chop, then to get rid of the evidence, served the murder weapon for dinner to the police officers who were investigating the case. That was followed by a movie called Motel Hell, that was about a family who ran a successful caf# with the best chili in the area. The chili had a "secret ingredient" that made it delicious. It turned out the special ingredient was human flesh, via drifters, or strangers who got lost near the caf#. Neither one could say what brought them to that idea, but they went through with it, and utilize their culinary skills to prepare the meal.

Everything was prepared except the head ("I don't want to eat what's been going through his head!" Desiree said), and a few other body parts, which was eventually dumped out some distance from the cabin where predators and scavengers would devour the rest. The disturbing thing they discovered was they liked the flavor, and had a craving for more. Immediately, they sat down and established some house rules.

Obviously, family, friends, and coworkers were out of the question. Second, it couldn't just be anyone out on the street who'd end up on their dinner table, and minors weren't an option either. They eventually settled on dining on those who were a scourge to society like criminals and disgusting people, the second category up for debate.

If they were going to hunt prey of the two-legged variety, they had to make themselves better than they were physically, so they started getting involved in an intensive weight lifting program. So no one would notice the results on the show, they both wore bulky long sleeve blouses or dresses that covered up both their massive arms and legs. Courses in self-defense along with several martial arts classes were taken to increase their fighting skills. Neither woman carried a gun, nor did they want to start using one, so hunting them down barehanded was the rule. Jade thought it would be more of a breathtaking challenge than just shooting them.

Finally, just like ducks, deer, and other game animals, people needed their own season. It also was more practical and less risky than hunting them down in-between shows. When the regular season ended, that's when the open season on people hunting began for the two women. Their way of hunting as at this point been rather passive, lodging near prisons and high crime areas, waiting for their prey to come to them. They were considering for next season just stalking and tracking down their food like everyone else who hunts; the other way was just too sparse and unpredictable. And they have managed to cram this in among their regular social life, guest appearances, book signings, and dates. Though they didn't eat their dates, the two ladies have considered some of the men they went out with good for nothing but a good meal.

"So Jade, what special meal are you planning to make of our friend, Michael?" Desiree asked, while looking at their "dinner guest" and licking her lips.

"I'm thinking pork chops, no, stuffed pork chops," Jade replied, gazing at the convict the same way a chef would look at a side of beef while deciding what to do with it.

"Don't you mean, "man chops?'"

"That depends if he squeals like a pig when it's time for the slaughter."

Both women laughed while Michael struggled fiercely with his bonds.

"Don't worry Michael, we're not going to eat you just yet," Desiree said.

"No, we're going to fatten you up first," Jade said. "You convicts tend to be a little lean, I guess it's because of that prison food. Your two friends should last us through most of the winter. Then after we eat some of you, we'll just take the rest of your remains back home with us to enjoy. I'd bet you'd make fine leftovers."

Michael squirmed wildly in his chair, in a futile attempt to break the heavy rope that bound him. "You women are crazy! You'll never get away with this!" He yelled.

"I think every other prey we capture has to say that line, I guess we were bound to hear it again," Jade said calmly to her friend. "What happened to the last man who said that?"

"I believe he made a nice tasting beef stew," Desiree replied. "I think I could've made it better, but he had too much fat on him. There wasn't too much meat left to do anything with, except for his rump."

"That's the problem with catching game," Jade said. "Sometimes you have to make do with what you have."

The two laughed lightly while they clinked their glasses together in a silent toast.

For the first time in his life, Michael wished he was on Death Row. As he saw the two women finish off their second piece of steak that was formerly Howard and Arnold, he knew that whatever fate prison had in store for him, be it a life sentence, or even a date with the electric chair or lethal injection, any fate would be better than what his captors had in store for him.

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