A CALIFORNIA STORY - A SHORT STORY BY THE BROTHERS SPENCER

             My name is Jonas Berger. When I was a kid, I had big dreams like everyone else. I wanted to move to California and become a star, and I almost did. However, before I get into that, I need to start at the beginning.

It was just me, Mom, and Dad. Mom used to homeschool me while Dad worked on our farm. On this one particular day, Mom decided to take a break to fix us some lunch. She climbed the step ladder and reached for a can of beans in the cabinet. She slipped. Her head hit the stove and her body went limp. All I could do was watch Mom bleed out. I was only seven-years-old; I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I cried out to her, but she never replied, she never moved again. Dad mustn’t have heard me, because hours passed before he came in. He found me kneeled beside her with blood soaked into my overalls. I’m surprised I didn’t die from shaken baby syndrome; the way he shook me and yelled at me asking what had happened. But I couldn’t say anything, because I really didn’t know. Eventually we cremated her, but I think the hardest part about it was watching Dad throw her onto a pile of lumber then drive nails into her hands and feet with a sledgehammer. I could tell that he wasn’t prepared for that sort of thing; otherwise he wouldn’t have made me help him. He was in such a rush too, like something bad was going to happen if he didn’t hurry up. He didn’t care if the tractors were going to be down for a weeks if we dumped every ounce of gasoline we had all over her; we did it anyway. Then he lit a cigarette, took a long pull, and flicked it into the lumber. As the flames towered us, Dad told me never to forget how beautiful Mom was.

            After that, he took over homeschooling me, which in itself was interesting, because he only had a sixth grade education. It was then that I noticed how often he drank. His drink of choice was whiskey; it didn’t matter the quality and he always had lots of it. I remember him taking as many swigs as the answers to my math problems and when his flask was empty he’d go to the bookshelf, which had no books, grab a bottle, and dump it in his mouth like there was no tomorrow. He even made me drink; he said it was good for me. I’m in no way proud to have been an under aged drinker, hell, I hated the stuff, but ever since Mom died, I developed an anxiousness that only whiskey could cure so in a sense, it was my medicine, and I guess it was his too.

            Our farm was so far from the rest of civilization that we rarely had any visitors, but when we did it was always these strange men, always ten of them, always dressed as if they were on their way to a funeral, and always with a woman I only knew as Barbara. She always wore bright red lipstick and seemed to have had darkness casted over her. I think it stormed every time she visited. Anyhow, the men would wait outside while Dad poured him and Barbara some whiskey. Then they’d go into the cellar and shut the door. At first I thought Barbara and her gang was some uppity city folks that came to buy produce and meat from us or they were sent to check on Dad due to some bad business deals, but they always left empty handed. I never knew what they did or talked about, and I was never allowed to be a part of their meetings. It went on for years. That’s how life on the farm was. For me it was all so - normal. 

            By the time I was twenty, it became a regular thing for me to sneak off the farm and into the city. Often times I went to the library. Since we didn’t have a television, surfing the internet to keep myself updated on pop-culture took up most of my time there. Another reason the library in particular was my stop of choice was the assistant, Tori. She was your typical twenty-something girl-next-door type. I figured she was attracted to me, because she always had the biggest smile when I walked in. She even fed into my growing obsession by sneaking in pop culture mags the library didn’t have in circulation just for me. The funny thing was, I was just this sheltered kid who was too shy to ever say anything to her and of course she knew that already. Then one day while surfing the internet, Tori, who was a bit more curious than usual, came up behind me and whispered in my ear.

            “Hey, Farm Boy, do you have a girlfriend?”

Instantly, her soft breath against my ear aroused me, “Um, no.”

“O.M.G.! Are you serious?”

“Well, yeah… Surprised?”

“It’s just that you’re cute and a bit mysterious. So, I just figured…”

I couldn’t believe she was having an actual conversation with me. I didn’t really know how to talk to a girl, so I just went along with it.

“I don’t have time for girls or friends. On the farm, there’s so much work to do, you know?”

“That’s a shame. I bet you get pretty lonely.”

“Sometimes,” I said, nervously.

Tori whispered seductively, “I’ve been wondering; how do you release all that bottled up loneliness?”

“Um, what do you mean?”

“Well, you don’t have a girlfriend, right? So do you jerk your meat, or what?”

I was embarrassed, “What?”

“Do you rub it out yourself, or do you have sex with your animals?” asked Tori laughingly.

“No!” I tried to keep my voice down, “No way! I don’t do any of those things!”

_“Shhh!”_ shushed the librarian behind the desk.

            “Sorry, Mrs. Rose,” apologized Tori as her whisper returned. “She’s such a bitch. Anyway, Farm Boy, I bet if I touched it, you’ll pop like a champagne bottle, huh?”

            At the time, I had no idea what she was talking about, “I guess so.”

“My break starts in few. You should come with me. Maybe I can help with your - loneliness.”

“Tori, I… I thought you were a - nice girl…”

“Me, nice? Oh I’m nice alright. Let me show you something.”

She reached over my shoulders and typed into the web browser. All of a sudden, a bunch of videos and pictures of Tori naked and doing freaky things to herself with strange objects flooded the screen. I was shocked! I’ve never seen anything like that before. It was fascinating. She was absolutely right, because after looking at her website, I was ready to pop right then and there, but I needed a little help.

“How long is your break?” I asked eagerly.

“Long enough…”

“Let’s go!”

Tori grabbed her purse and then we darted into the men’s room so fast that I don’t remember if I closed the web browser. She locked the door and we went at it. Our mouths were wrecking balls when they collided and our tongues were chains that fought to be linked. It was brutal. It was ecstasy at its purest, and I was ready. She damn near tore my pants off and then with her jaw dropped, Tori backed away in sheer terror.

“OMG, Farm Boy! Why didn’t you tell me it was so - big?”

I looked down at myself and realized what she meant, “Oh, I didn’t know it mattered; especially with you being a _professional_ and all.”

“I’m not a pro, I’m just an amateur,” she laughed.

“Oh, what now?”

“Look, call me a chicken all you want, but you’re not sticking that thing in me, sorry. Now, can you put it away, it’s looking at me.”

I zipped my pants, but I was still hot and ready to blow, however, that’s really when Tori blew my mind.

“You know, you should put that thing to good use,” suggested Tori.

“How?” I asked confused.

“By doing what I do.”

“You mean, on the internet?”

“No, here at the library… Of course on the internet, stupid! I know a lot of people who would pay big bucks to see you in action. I mean, what the hell are you doing working on a farm anyway? You could be rich and famous.”

“Then why aren’t you rich and famous?”

“Saturated market… Anyway, we’re not talking about me, we’re talking about you. I can hook you up with people who could make you a star, but you have to go where the stars are.”

“California?”

“Yup; and I know who I’m hooking you up with,” Tori reached in her purse, pulled out a business card, and gave it me. “Call Reginald. He’s the guy I work for. Just tell him I referred you.”

Before I could respond, Tori’s face was suddenly all bloody.

“Oh my God, are you okay?”

She ran into the stall, ripped some toilet paper, and then wiped her face in the mirror.

“I’m alright,” she said. “It’s just a nose bleed, I think.”

Just then, someone banged on the door. I totally forgot that it was locked.

“You have to go or I’m going to get fired!” cried Tori.

“Well, what do you want me to do? I can’t just go out there and whoever it is will find us in here!”

Tori, blood gushing and all, opened the window, “Go!”

“Ok, but what about your…”

“I’m fine. I’ll take care of myself, now get outta here!”

Thank God it wasn’t some epic plunge to the ground or anything like that. I made it out safely and headed straight for the nearest payphone. I got to thinking, Tori was right. After all, I had a lot going for me. I was an all American white boy from rural Ohio who just so happened to be very well endowed. There was nothing going for me there, so I had nothing to lose.

It may have been the last time I’d ever see her, but Tori left with me a precious gift, a business card. I called Reginald. I was fortunate to get him on the first try. He said he doesn’t usually answer the phone for numbers he didn’t recognize, but it was my lucky day, because one of his actresses threw up on his cell so he had to get a new one. Nonetheless, I introduced myself, told him I knew Tori, and the rest was history. I was so thrilled that I bought a bus ticket to California and went home to pack right away. Finally, my dreams of becoming a star were at my fingertips. I was so ready to leave the farm life behind, but first, I had to find a way to break it to Dad.

            It was late when I arrived back at the farm. I tried to sneak in the house, but there Dad was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for me. He was very upset about something, I knew, because there were two empty whiskey bottles beside him and another that he cracked open in front of me. He filled his glass and shoved it in my hand. Ironically, after the day I had, I really needed a drink. I took a sip, but in mid swallow he started yelling.

            “I don’t want you going back into the city, especially that damn library! You hear?”

            Confused, I asked, “How do you know that I was at the library?”

            “I have eyes everywhere, Jonas! How do you think we maintain around here?”

            “I’m sorry, Dad.”

            “Sorry? That’s the best you can come up with after the headache you caused me?”

            “What did I do?”

            He just threw his hands up, “Aw, the hell with it.”

            There was no easy way to segue into my news, but at that point I had no other choice. I just went for it.

“I need to talk to you about something.”

            “Whatever, Jonas, just make it quick. Barbara’s on her way over. She’s pissed and I don’t feel like hearin’ her shit.”   

“Well, as you know, I’m a man now and, uh, I think life has more in store for me.”

He took a gulp so big that his face twisted up like it hurt to swallow, “Oh really?”

“Yes. I want to travel. See the world. Get a regular job.”

            “So what, this isn’t regular enough for you, son?”

            “It’s just that I’m tired of the farm. I have money. You pay me well and I appreciate that, but I don’t have anything to spend it on. I just want to go.”

            “And just where do you think you’re gonna go, huh, Jonas?” 

“Well, I applied for job and they want me to come out there as soon as possible,” I explained rubbing my sweaty palms on my thighs, “in California.”

            “You can forget it!”

            “But, Dad!”

            “Forget it!  I can’t have you leaving the farm! We gotta whole lotta work to do around here and I can’t do it by myself! Besides, people like us don’t need to be in the outside world anyway.”

            “Dad, you can’t keep me here!” I fumed. “I know with Mom gone, your lonely and sad all the time, but I can’t stay and be your crutch!”

            He gripped my arm, “Who been putting these ideas in that head of yours, boy, that poor girl at the library?”

            “What, no one!”

            “You can’t leave! Maybe it’s time you sat in the meetings with Barbara. You’ll get a better understanding of what I’m trying to protect you from once you know the truth. Now go get cleaned up!”

            “Dad…”

            “Trust me, Jonas! You can’t go out into the world, it just can’t happen!”

            About an hour later, a black Cadillac Escalade drove up and with it was the darkness it contained. My emotions ran wild then. I knew if I stayed Barbara would most certainly side with Dad and make me stay on the farm for whatever reason. So I packed my clothes and dumped all my money into a suitcase. I waited until I saw everyone come inside, then I took off out the back window and refused to look back.

            When I arrived in California, I was immediately overwhelmed, but most importantly out of place. I stuck out like a sore thumb. I figured that once I started with Reginald some of his fancy friends would show me around and take me shopping or whatever. So, I didn’t want to waste any time. I just made my way over to his studio.

A woman with big hair and big breasts, you know, like the ones in the magazines, was dressed only in a kimono when she let me in.

“Mmm hmm, look at the fresh meat!” she exclaimed in the manner of a true southern belle.

I was a nervous wreck, but I went to shake her hand anyway, “Please to meet you, ma’am. I’m Jonas, from Ohio.”

“Don’t worry, honey; I won’t bite, unless you want me too. The name’s Vanessa.”

She smacked my hand away and gave me the biggest hug. I couldn’t breathe! Vanessa’s breasts were so big they nearly suffocated me.

“Reggie Baby, Tori’s farm boy is here.”

“Well got-damn, Vanessa!” shouted Reginald. “Don’t smother the boy to death before I get my money’s worth!”

“Oh calm down before you give yourself another coronary,” she fired back as she released me from the depths of her cleavage.

“Welcome to my humble abode, Jonas,” stated Reginald proudly as he escorted me in.

The place was huge. It was more like an upscale house rather than a studio, either way; I’ve never seen a place like it before. It felt so amazing to be there. To know that I had escaped a farmer’s life to become the next _big thing_ excited me.

            “How about a drink?” he asked.

            “Got any whiskey?”

            “Son, I got everything. Now what kind you want? Bourbon, scotch, Irish, I even got some of that Canadian crap around here somewhere.”

            “Honestly, it doesn’t matter, as long as it’s whiskey.”

            “I like this guy!” exclaimed Reginald. “Who taught you how to drink, kid?”

            “My dad…”

            “Well, I need to meet this dad of yours one day. I’m sure he’s a good man.”

            Reginald wasn’t in any way what I expected. After all, he was a fat baldy with a ponytail, but he seemed like a genuine guy, which worried me.

            “Vanessa, get Jonas a shot of our finest whiskey.”

            “Sure thing, Reggie Baby.”

            There were cameras on tripods everywhere. In the living room, Sam, the cameraman was setting up a scene. I could hear laughter of two girls coming from the bathroom. Vanessa came over with my drink, but I just couldn’t stop staring at her breasts.

            “Alright, Farm Boy, take off your clothes,” she demanded. “We need to see what you’re workin’ with.”

            “Sure!” without taking a sip, I put down the whiskey and got undressed.

            “Damn!” blurted Sam while cleaning a lens. “Looks like we got ourselves an eager beaver over here!”

            “Sam, would you be a dear and tell Mika and Mali to get their asses out here?” asked Vanessa.

The girls in the bathroom finally came out. I couldn’t believe it, beautiful Thai twins, both naked and wiping cocaine off their noses. Reginald walked over and put his arm around me.

“Take good care of him now,” he said to the twins. “I got ‘em all the way from Ohio.”

Mika and Mali said something in Thai, I couldn’t understand it, but they seemed excited. That’s when my pants hit the floor. A hush fell over the entire studio. I was a magician dazzling an audience. I was proud of myself. Everyone was blown away, even Sam and Reginald. The twins broke the silence when they started pointing at me and screaming at Reginald. He excused himself and quickly shoved them off the set. I had no idea what was going on so I pulled my pants up and sat down on the white leather loveseat.

            “I don’t think Mika or Mali wants to take that, my friend,” explained Sam laughing in disbelief.

            Vanessa was beyond intrigued, “Jonas, honey; have you used _that thing_ on anyone before?”

            “No,” I replied blushing.

            A displeased Reginald returned on set, “We have a hitch, Jonas. The twins have, in so many words, informed me that they’re not daredevils. So I’ll have Vanessa make a few calls to see who we can get up here on such short notice. Otherwise, we’ll have to reschedule.”

            Vanessa spoke up, “Reggie Baby, um, Farm Boy here is a virgin!”

            “What?” exploded Reginald.

“I can do whatever you want!” I explained. “I’m not scared!

            “Reggie Baby, please, let me break him in,” pleaded Vanessa.

            “Are you kidding me?” he asked.

“Come on now, I’ll be the warrior bitch. You know damn well that if anyone can take that monster in his pants it’s me! The twins can stick to foreplay and we can film the whole damn thing. It’ll be great.”

            Reginald still wasn’t happy, but he gave in, “Yeah, alright. Well, get the twins and y’all go jump in the hot tub. Start there and then we will make it into the bedroom. Sound good, virgin?”

            It took me a moment to realize he was talking to me, “Sure, I’m all for it!”

            Vanessa grabbed my shaft like it was a leash and fluffed me up all the way to the hot tub. Sam configured the rest of the cameras and lights while Reginald took the director’s seat.

“Enjoy the girls, Jonas,” he said as he lit a cigar. “However, when you and Vanessa’s scene begins, don’t go trying to break her in half with that thing. I need her. She’s my biggest money maker - and she’s my wife. I’d like to be able to feel her when we go to bed later, you know what I mean?”

“Uh, yes, sir. I’ll be extra careful.”

“Action!”

Mika and Mali started making out. I moved between them and joined their party. They were both kind of delicate and their broken English was really sexy. Mali’s lips were like silk. Soon enough, it got heated between us. Then all of a sudden Reginald yelled like a crazy person.

            “Cut! Cut! Cut! What the hell?”          

“Mali, you bleed from nose!” Mika cried worriedly.

            “Get your sister cleaned up in the bathroom!” Reginald commanded Mika.

            I was very concerned, “Will she be okay?”

            “It’s probably just the coke, honey,” said Vanessa with a smirk. “Let’s take this party inside. We don’t need to be swimming with blood in the water, might get eaten by a shark or something.”

            We took the filming back to the bedroom set. Even though I wasn’t sure what happened to Mali, I was primed and ready to bust. I really could’ve used that whiskey, but by then it was the furthest thing from my mind, because Vanessa begged for me to start and I just couldn’t wait.

            Reginald yelled, “Action!”

I threw Vanessa onto the bed and just rammed it in her. It was the best feeling; so warm, so soft, and wet. My California dream had come true. I looked down and Vanessa was bleeding from her nose, eyes, and ears, but I couldn’t stop, I didn’t want to stop.

            “What the hell man, something’s wrong with Vanessa!” cried Sam.

            “Cut!” roared Reginald as he and Sam rushed to push me off of her. “Stop, Jonas! Stop it!”

            “Get away!” I replied in a deep, demonic voice that wasn’t mine; at least I didn’t think it was.

And then my mind went blank.

The next morning, I woke up on the living room floor in a pool of someone else’s blood. My head didn’t feel like it was going to explode, it exploded already. It was so quiet. There was blood everywhere and the place looked like it was hit by a hurricane from hell. I called everyone’s names, but nobody responded. I got up to look for them. The bathroom door had holes punched through it and blood seeped from underneath. Anxiety swallowed me whole as I opened it; and there they were, Mika and Mali torn to shreds. It was horrible. Their guts were draped over the shower rod and I couldn’t tell which one of their heads was floating in the toilet. I couldn’t take it and I threw up.

It took a lot for me to venture onto the bedroom set. When I entered, Reginald, from the waist down only, was on the floor and Sam was pinned to the wall by a tripod. It was too much. However, Vanessa was still on the bed. She was barely breathing, but alive. I ran over to her. Suddenly, her stomach inflated like an airbag, but it was hard as a bowling ball. I was a madman scouring for a phone. I dug in Reginald’s pocket for his, but I threw up again this time on his new one. I wiped it off, but before I had a chance call for help, the bowling ball in Vanessa’s stomach made these shrieking noises. I could see something moving around and then it – busted out! For the life of me, I had no idea what the hell it was nor did I want to know, but it had wings and claws and looked like a human/dragon hybrid of some kind. It was unreal. It roared at me as its wings spread. Then it crashed through a window and flew away.

I was beside myself. I knew that if I called the police they wouldn’t believe me. So I called the one person who told me I shouldn’t have come here in the first place.

“Hello?” answered a woman’s voice.

“Uh, can I speak to my dad?” I asked losing my breath.

“No need, Jonas, this is Barbara,” her voice stayed sweet and constant. “I’ve been waiting for you to call. I suppose you’ve gotten yourself into a bit of a pickle out there in California, huh?”

“Yeah, I need… I can use…”

“Some help?”

“Yes.”

“Is everyone dead?”

“I think so.”

“Good. That makes things a little easier.”

“Some kind of creature hatched out of my friend and flew out the window!” I cried as I found a camera that was still running.

“Jonas, I want you to stay where you are. Whatever you do, don’t call the police. I am dispatching a crew to your location and I’ll make sure this get handled. As for you first born child, a different set of skills will be needed to bring it home. I’ll have your dad take care of that.”

“My - child?” I asked with bewilderment. “I think what happened is all on tape. We were filming ourselves, Barbara.”

“All electronics will be confiscated and any information about your presence will be deleted. Do not worry, Jonas. _We_ are your family, and we take care of our own. I’ll see you shortly. Oh and by the way, if there’s some whiskey around, you might want to have some; it takes the edge off.”

After Barbara hung up, I didn’t try to understand what she said, I just couldn’t process it. So instead, I hit play on the camera. It started just when Sam realized something was wrong with Vanessa. I heard myself speak with that demonic tone. That must’ve been when my mind went blank, because everything that happened afterwards, I had no recollection of.

Right when I released into Vanessa, massive demon wings shot out of my back and then a _dragon-like creature thing_ shed my entire body like a snake sheds its skin. The creature stabbed Sam with a tripod over and over again until he was stuck to the wall. I could hear the horrified screams of Mika and Mali in the bathroom as the creature punched through the door to get to them. Reginald tried to help Vanessa, but the demon ripped him in half with its claws. Then it ate his head, chest, and arms.

I didn’t understand. It was all too much to grasp. I just dropped the camera to the floor and waited.