Writing Prompt from Reddit

So here's the link to the Reddit page where I got the idea, it was a writing prompt.

I'll try to finish tomorrow but I'm falling asleep right now.

"I should have kept that goddamn car," thought Daniel as he walked backwards down a narrow blacktop county road. Iowa was never his favorite place, mostly because of how far it was between any of the larger cities. If you weren't in the middle of miles and miles of corn and countryside you were in the woods, or in the middle of a one-stop-sign "town" that only came by the name by virtue of the fact that there were more than 3 homes, and a bar with a name like "Scooters." He prefered places like Louisiana, or Florida. Sure there was wilderness there too, but at least the majority of "towns" had more than fifty-two residents.

Not to mention traffic. Why, seriously, did they bother to blacktop a road, when maybe one person in four hours would ever even bother to use it? And if nobody was using it, how the F*** did it manage to get so many Potholes? He was guessing meteor strikes. It had to be. This was the only place that could have so many and nobody would notice.

He realized, after thinking that, that his thoughts were rambling, and he was getting close to exhaustion. His Chicago Bulls team jersey, and grey sweatpants were already soaked with his sweat, and his backpack was at least seventy pounts. He would have to rest soon or he would pass out. 

Once he got to the top of the hill - and that's another thing; how is the whole freaking state FLAT except near the Mississippi River? - Once he "mounted the summit" he dropped his heavy backpack on the ground, reached into the side pocket, and pulled out a water bottle, shaking sweat out of his face and hair. After taking a few small swallow. He put the cap back on the water, and looked at his backpack.

He couldn't help it. He was proud of himself. He pulled the bag over toward himself and unzipped it. The blonde hair poked through, and he ran his fingers through it, surprised at how silky and smooth it was. You didn't find enough people who took care of their hair these days. It was the first time he'd taken the trouble to find out what kind of Shampoo and Conditioner someone used. The other two in his pack weren't nearly as nice.

But what could you do? He'd had to really go out of his way to convince the second one, the bunette to go out into the woods with him when the blond hadn't come back yet. After that the redhead was simple, since there was no one left to be a witness.

He congratulated himself again when he heard the one thing he didn't expect, and the worst possible thing at this moment: A freaking CAR was coming. He thought about his options as he hastily stuffed the hair back into the zipper, and yanked it shut just in time for the car to show over the next hill. But now that was clear, he still needed a ride. He decided that his best option was to just concentrate on looking exhausted (not a huge struggle) and stuck his thumb out as high as he could while still sitting down.

The white SUV seemed like it was just going to thunder past, but once it got past the brake lights came on, then as the car gradualy stopped, the reverse lights came on.

Daniel stood up, and grabbed his heavy pack by the handle just as the SUV's passenger window came level with him.

The lady in the drivers seat was... Well not pretty, not ugly, just... a lady. Her hair was curly, but limp, her features were plain, but marred by acne scars. She seemed to be in her late forties, early fifties, and wore narrow glasses with a beaded chain around her neck. She was holding them up to her face now, looking at him through them, then she dropped them as she asked sweetly, "Need a ride?"

Daniel nodded and smiled. "Yes ma'am. Thanks so much for stopping."

"Aren't you Carl Roberts son?" she asked squinting at him.

"Uh... no ma'am. I'm not from around here." He didn't show it on his face, but he mentally kicked himself, thinking she might not give him a ride if she thought she didn't know him.

But she just said, "Oh," in a mildly disappointed, but mostly disinterested tone.

"Do you mind if I put my pack in your back-end? It's ah... pretty heavy."

She looked at him again, as if just noticing him again, then squinted at him. "Oh," she said as if just comrehending his question. "Uh, no, there's something back there already. Just go ahead and toss it in the backseat there."

He did, noting the smell and the sound of flies coming from the back.

"Um... mind if I ask what it is?"

She looked at him in the rear-view mirror. "Oh- my husband and his brother go deer hunting. He wanted me take this one home so he could get it cleaned up later."

"So where are you headed?" she asked.

He sighed and shrugged. "I'm not sure, is there a hotel or motel or something nearby? Preferably near a truck stop or something where I can get ride tomorrow."

She shook her head and smirked. "You know hitchhiking is illegal right?"

He smiled. "Are you gonna turn me in?"

She laughed, "Only if you promise not to turn into some kind of serial killer or something."

He grinned. "No danger there. You can't turn into something you already are." he said in a joking tone.

"Right!" she said laughing. "Well the i80 Truck stop is the biggest one in the country, and we're about a half hour from there now. And I live just on the other side of there, so I could drop you off there."

"Oh wow, that sounds perfect. I should be able to get a truck from there to pretty much anywhere."

"I would expect so," she agreed.

******

About 33 minutes later they pulled up outside the Econo Lodge. The smell had been bothering him a little, and he wondered if it was starting to smell familiar, like the smell of a dead person rather than an animal, but then he remembered that he was probably smelling the heads in his backpack, and he relaxed.

"Hey, um... I hate to ask, but when you get your room, do you mind if I come in and use the bathroom? I'm still about fifteen minutes from home, and I hate using public bathrooms."

He tried to look a little reluctant, but actually he was ecstatic. She wasn't his normal type, but she would help meet his needs. Tradition called for three in the wild, one in the private, and two in a public place.

He was a little OCD about it, borderline superstitious really. He just thought of it as his "ritual." First the heads, then the torso, and finally the arms and legs. Then they would all be fixed to a large uniform flat surface, like the side of a building or barn. 

So he nodded. "I guess. Well then why don't you just wait here, then when they give me the room you can drive around the building to where it is. Then I don't have to carry around the pack."

"Sure, that's fair," she said.

 He got out and went to the counter, got out his ID and credit card. He allowed himself to smile once he got inside and out of her sight.

"Room for two?" said the round little man behind the counter.

Daniel looked at him. His hair was a little messy, and his goatee was well trimmed, but didn't quite hide his neck-fat. But he noticed...

"You're not wearing a name tag," commented Daniel. It was odd, because he always called people in the service industry by their name when he could. It made them feel more comfortable with him.

"Oh sorry, I'm Benjamin, I'm the owner, so I don't normally wear a name tag. So, room for two?" he asked again in exactly the same tone as the first time.

"No Benjamin, I'm by myself."

Benjamin for his brow and nodded out the window. "Isn't that your wife in the car?" he asked. "

Oh no," said Daniel. "She's just giving me a ride."

Benjamin looked skeptical for a moment, but nodded and rang Daniel up for a single room and Handed him the key card. Daniel thanked him and went back out to the SUV, and the woman.

They drove around the side of the building until they reached his door, room number 1020. They got out, and he grabbed his pack out of the back, and went to the door and unlocked it, then stood aside to let her in.

After she went in and had gone into the bathroom and shut the door is curiosity got the better of him, and he went back out to the SUV and checked the backend. There was a tarp covering something up and some thick heavy duty plastic wrap underneath. He checked under the tarp and saw a naked male body, which had had the flesh stripped off each of its arms.

He closed the backend, and headed back into the room. He pulled open the front pouch of his pack, and pulled out a loop of wire with handles on each end. He move silently behind the door of the bathroom and waited for her to come out.

In a few moments he heard the toilet flush then a few seconds later the door opened and the woman came out of the bathroom with a knife in her hand. She was looking around for him, when he slipped up behind and quickly pulled the wire around her throat coming off air and blood flow. She struggled silently for about 25 seconds, then went completely limp.

This was a common mistake that people made, thinking that the coil would listen as soon as they went limp, Daniel held on for further 45 seconds, to ensure the job was done. Using the convenient handles now around her neck he dragged her back into the bathroom and into the shower where he dropped her body, then he turned on the shower.

This was always a huge exertion for him and always make him sweat profusely, so he took off his shirt as he started to head toward the bathroom door and was undoing his pants when he opened the door. To his surprise Benjamin was standing outside, and befor Daniel could react he felt a syringe plunge into his neck. "Oh dear," said Benjamin. "We have been unfaithful haven't we?"

Daniel felt a fire in his neck which started to spread quickly down his chest and into his arm. He felt those parts of his body going very stiff, and he started to lose control of them.

"What," he slurred out of the side of his mouth that was still working.

"Snake venom," said Benjamin with a smile. "Just what an adultering snake like you deserves.

As he crumpled to the floor, Daniel reflected once again that he hated Iowa.