I'll Be Back Read online



  I'LL BE BACK

  BY

  JACK KALIN

  PUBLISHED BY:

  Copyright 2012 by Jack Kalin

  Formatted by eBooksMade4You

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  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

 

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  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  EPILOGUE

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  I'LL BE BACK

  Chapter One

  Raising the club high over her head, Neelia brought it down full strength, killing her victim instantly. The force of the blow, although deceptively quiet, making no more noise than the "squash" of an overripe melon dropping from a tree, sent brain matter travelling in every direction. What was left of his face was unrecognizable.

  The birds were first to sound the alarm, taking to the skies in unison, shrieking and screaming, followed by the ground creatures, all trumpeting the same warning: "Run! An abomination is occurring here."

  Neelia took out her knife and wiped it across her fleece, marveling at its sharpness. Through constant practice she was able to shuttle it from pelt to target quickly, always enjoying the surprised look on her victim's face as she plunged the knife in, twisting it, and turning it, and yanking it out, all in one motion; all before the enemy knew what had hit him.

  She reached underneath the dead man's pelt, cooing and singing softly to herself, fishing out his penis, hacking it off, and dropping it into a kidney shaped bag tied to her waist. Her hands, still exploring, feeling behind arms, poking underneath legs, located a pouch tied loosely to his pelt. Upon opening it, she found small pieces of meat, berries, a few nuts, and some edible plants, all of which she jammed in her mouth, swallowing quickly, coughing and choking and slobbering excitedly. A piece of root, stuck deep in her throat, threatened to cut off her air supply, and she frantically yanked it out, accidentally snapping off one of her few remaining teeth. Examining this bony appendage briefly, she tossed it aside, not understanding its significance.

  The sky darkened and the thunder and lightning grew closer. Neelia laughed crazily, shaking her club at the heavens, and doing a dance around the body. She was happy, indeed elated.

  Catching her reflection in a nearby pool of water, she snarled, thinking she was under attack. When she realized what it was, she giggled softly and stuck out her tongue, bending down to drink. Intrigued by the image of this strange old woman glaring back at her, she leaned in even closer, cautiously poking the water and then putting her hand to her chin as if to validate what she was seeing. Bringing her face closer to the water, she saw a hideous beastlike creature, most of the face occupied by an unnaturally large forehead, wrinkled, and crusted with dirt. The cheekbone was bruised and bloody, and one eye, obviously sightless, dangled dangerously from its socket, the result of being gouged by a stick. The nose showed signs of multiple fractures, and in addition to being pancake flat, rambled over most of the bottom portion of the face, hiding the small mouth, only adding to her repulsiveness. She rolled over on her back, snarling at a passing bird, replaying in her mind what she had just seen, and letting the rain crash down upon her face, enjoying the painful stinging. Suddenly, in a display of athletic prowess, she jumped to her feet in one motion, shaking her club and pointing it at the sky, letting out a bloodcurdling loud and virulent scream. The scream of a warrior - bragging immortality.

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  CHAPTER TWO

  Neelia slipped between some trees and followed a path leading to her cave. Poking her club inside, she tossed in some rocks, making loud threatening yells, listening and watching intently for any signs of danger. Finally, convinced she was safe, she entered the cave, sitting in the shadows with her back against the rocks, allowing herself to coo and hum but also keeping her club and knife near at hand.

  Content, she dozed off, dreaming of a woman, vaguely familiar, holding out her arms beseechingly, whispering...."Neelia....Neelia.." Drawing closer, she jumped back as the woman suddenly morphed into a small girl. She heard noises, animals screaming, trees falling, and the roar of hungry flames. An out of control forest fire was heading in their direction with waves of intense heat beating upon her, soaking up her energy, coaxing her towards unconsciousness. The little girl, pinned underneath a large branch, yanked on Neelia's pelt, crying and begging for help. Working feverishly to free her, Neelia looked up to see another tree limb surrender and fall directly towards them. With death only moments away, she held the little girl's eyes, trying to communicate bravery, squeezing both her hands, preparing her for the unspeakable. Seconds before impact, the little girl calmly looked up at her and smiled, "Don't worry, Neelia, we'll meet again. I love you." Of course, Neelia didn't understand the words, but in her heart, she knew exactly what the little girl meant.

  She woke in a sweat, tears running down both cheeks, heart beating wildly, her hand automatically reaching for her knife. She shut her eyes, forcing the ugly memories away. After a time, when her breathing had returned to normal, and her heart had slowed down, she drifted back into a fitful sleep, moaning and thrashing her arms about.

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  CHAPTER THREE

  A long terrifying scream shocked her awake, her instincts immediately taking over, one hand going to her knife, the other securing her club. She inched forward to the edge of the cave and peered down, spying a young girl, being forced into a corner by a huge savage. Waiving his club menacingly, grunting, and slobbering, the beast set his club aside as he prepared to attack. Neelia backed down the path silently, watching the brute rip off the woman's pelt, exposing her hair-covered breasts. He grabbed her by the hair, forcing her to the ground, and climbed on top of her. Neelia jumped from behind a tree, swinging her club sideways, landing a solid blow to his rib cage. The giant wheezed, falling to the ground, whimpering, as Neelia delivered the second blow, this one slightly off target, but transferred with force, nonetheless. Despite landing two solid blows, which would have spelled doom for most enemies, the giant managed to raise himself to one knee. Snorting and shaking his mammoth head in confusion, he picked up his club, staggered to his feet, and focused his attention on Neelia. He bounded towards her, covering most of the distance in two or three strides, sweat shaking from his gigantic head, yelping and drooling, outraged at this interference. Far larger than she had originally thought, Neelia knew she would have little chance, one-on-one, with this behemoth. Her salvation, an original idea coming to her instinctively, a testament to her cunning and intelligence; the reason she outlasted so many of her enemies, was to jump up and down, screeching and pointing behind him, suggesting some great calamity about to befall him. The savage, falling for this chicanery, turned his head just for a second, only to realize, too late, he had been duped. He spun back just in time to accept the full impact of Neelia's third volley, the strongest one yet, landing directly on his forehead. The barbarian fell to the ground screaming loudly, wrapping both arms around his head, trying to protect against further blows. Neelia wasted no time. She leaped upon him, bringing the knife down forcefully, chuckling at the look of surprise on his face (Oh how she loved it). Taking delight in how easil
y it slid in and out of his hairy chest, she plunged it in again.----- And again.

  When he finally stopped quivering, Neelia cut off his penis, making a mental note that it would be the largest in her collection. She calmly dropped it in her pouch. Shouting at the sky, she did her celebratory dance, hopping from one foot to the other; paying no attention to the girl whose life she had just saved.

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  CHAPTER FOUR

  The girl had never encountered brutality like this; had never witnessed such savagery. The blood bath occurring in front of her was terrifying and upsetting; but, more upsetting was the realization that from this day forward, her life would never be the same; a feeling that she was, undeniably, - strangely attracted to this warrior.

  Neelia approached the girl slowly, helping her to her feet while keeping hold of her hand and guiding her around the dead body, into the bushes, past the trees, and back to her cave.

  When they reached the top, Neelia gave the girl her favorite position against the rock, and sat down opposite her, feeding her some berries and small pieces of meat. Looking into the girl's eyes and holding her hand tightly, she pointed to herself, repeating."Neelia..Neelia." The girl watched her quizzically, finally mimicking her on the sixth attempt. Pleased, Neelia said her name again, pointing to herself, waiting a second, and then pointing to the girl. This puzzle took longer, but finally the girl's eyes lit up, responding...."Eroom." Celebrating this breakthrough, the girls spent the next few hours repeating each other's names, all the while giggling and laughing. Nightfall found them fast asleep, exhausted, arms around each other: morning heard more chatter with an occasional "Neelia" or "Eroom" thrown in, followed by gales of laughter.

  In need of more food, Neelia backed down the cliff, giving Eroom a hug goodbye, heading in the direction of her last kill. Skipping down the path, jumping over rocks, and acting silly, she hoped Eroom was watching. This was the happiest day of her life. Coming upon the remains of the body, she spotted a large bird hopping around, pecking and clawing, tearing off a piece of the dead man's face, oblivious to all else. Neelia moved in closer, picking up a rock, taking aim, and delivering it with all her might, scoring a bulls-eye. The bird collapsed, dazed, its wings still flapping, its claws bicycling against the wind. Neelia wasted no time pouncing upon it, unleashing her knife, and cutting its head off.

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  CHAPTER FIVE

  Approaching the cave, the bird tossed over her shoulder, she let out a few grunts and screeches, calling Eroom's name. After several minutes, she called again, sensing something wrong. Continuing upwards, rounding a turn in the path, she was confronted by two huge apelike behemoths, grunting and spitting, pointing at her with clubs raised menacingly. Confused, she turned around, only to find more enemies blocking her path. She shouted out Eroom's name.......confused.....hoping....disbelieving. The first blow, coming from behind, landed on her head, and she fell to the ground in pain. She never felt the rest of the attack; instead she experienced an exhilarating, new sensation; her body was being lifted skyward, an overwhelming feeling of peace, everything bathed in calming, bright lights. Magically, she watched the events unfold below her; her body being pummeled, Eroom struggling against her captives. She floated upwards, faster, spinning out of control, travelling towards.....what?.......where?... Looking back down, she mouthed one last promise to Eroom...."I'll be back."

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  EPILOGUE

  FEBRUARY 29, 1956 - ROCHESTER, MICHIGAN - OAKLAND COUNTY HOSPITAL

  The tension was thick in the delivery room. The nurse held the girl's hand trying to keep her calm. "God, you're so young." she said, mopping off the sweat from the girl's forehead. "How old are you, honey?" she asked.

  "Sixteen," the girl responded, tossing her head from side to side. "I can't even take care of the baby I've got now, let alone handle another one. I don't know what to do. I'm so confused."

  The nurse tightened her grip on the young girl's hand. "It's alright, baby, everything will work out fine. You'll see. How did you get all those bruises on your face and arms?" the nurse asked. "Did he hit you?"

  "I don't want to talk about it," the girl cried. "Is the baby okay? Is there a problem? The pain is so bad." The nurse looked up at the doctor who was preoccupied with massaging the girl's midsection.

  "What we're dealing with, Mrs. Pratt, is a "breech" birth. It's nothing to be concerned about; it simply means your baby has decided to come out bottom first. Usually, of course, the baby's head appears first. What I'm trying to do now is called ECV. In other words, I'm trying to turn the baby around."

  The doctor looked around the room, cleared his throat, and announced, "Okay, let's take ten. Dr. Mapes, may I see you over here, please," motioning his assistant to join him at the washbasin while instructing the nurse to continue calming the girl.

  "I want you to pay close attention to this procedure, doctor, you'll run into it from time to time. I'll have to be very careful squeezing the baby's abdomen because if I apply too much pressure, it could damage the internal organs. You see," he continued, "if the head comes out first, as is likely to happen here, we run the risk of decompression. In contrast, a normal birth, usually experiences gradual molding, a kind of reshaping of the skull over the course of a few hours. But," he added, stressing the word, "sudden compression and decompression in breech birth can cause brain injury, so we have to take our time and be extremely careful." The doctor pulled Dr. Mapes closer, lowering his voice, "By the way," he whispered, "this is obviously a case of spousal abuse so contact the authorities after she's back in her room."

  The baby's bottom did come out first. It was a girl, screaming and screeching at the top of her lungs, causing other nurses to pop their heads in the room, wondering what the trouble was. They had never heard a baby cry this loud.

  "Nurse, please take Mrs. Pratt back to her room. We'll clean the baby up and have her ready in ten minutes. You can come back then and put mother and baby together."

  After returning the new mother to her bed and making her as comfortable as possible, the nurse returned to the operating room to find the doctor, stethoscope in hand, looking quizzically at Dr. Mapes. He turned to the nurse, saying, "You can take her back to the room now, but keep an eye on her. I can't find anything wrong, but it's unusual for a baby to scream this loud. She hasn't stopped since we delivered her. Just stick around for a half hour or so until she settles down. Keep me posted, I'll visit her again after I finish up here."

  "Okay, doctor," the nurse replied, picking the baby up gently, trying to "coo" her quiet.

  Back in the room, she placed the baby in the mother's arms. The screams increased. "Here is your new baby daughter, Mrs. Pratt. Say hello to Aileen."

  FLORIDA STATE PRISON

  OCTOBER 9, 2002

  9:47 AM - EASTERN STANDARD TIME

  FROM THE STUDIOS OF NBC

  This just in.....Aileen Wuornos, America's first female serial killer, was executed today by lethal injection at the Florida State Prison. Her lover and partner in crime, Tyria Moore, was not available for comment. Aileen's final words were:

  I'LL BE BACK

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