It was not long before the nightmares became few and far between. When his daughter was born, they were forever gone.
It was a joy to be around Megan’s family. Van and Ruth showered her with their love and soon started treating Austin as their own. Megan was their only child and she was her parents’ whole world. Austin and Megan were married only six months after they met and, even though her parents didn’t want her to marry so soon, they gave in when they realized how determined she was and how crazy Austin was about her. He was only twenty years old and, within ten months, Marina was born. They showered their little girl with love to the point that sometimes she wondered if they were suffocating her.
Occasionally, when she was in her teens, she would tell her parents that she felt like a member of the Brady Bunch when they both wanted to give her a ride or pick her up from school. “One at a time,” she would say.
Austin was six feet tall with black hair, hazel eyes and weighed about one hundred and eighty pounds. He was very athletic and was involved in a few extracurricular activities. He always excelled in school and when he graduated college with a very high grade point average and submitted an application to the Air Force, he was immediately accepted. After basic training, the Air Force sent him to Tucson, Arizona for his pilot training on the A10.
The Hunters were inseparable. Everywhere Austin went, his family went with him, but he always considered Texas home. He could not stay away from Megan’s family very long. He loved to see the closeness of the family he was now part of.
All through her growing-up years, Marina was becoming more and more of a joy to Austin. He came to think of her as the angel who guarded him through his childhood. He was the happiest man in the world. Marina was always a straight-A student. She was absolutely beautiful and was growing up to be a gorgeous little lady. She was not only his daughter; she was also his friend. Every time he came home from a flight, the three of them would talk for hours. There was nothing they would not discuss.
Austin stayed in the Air Force until 1992. After leaving the military, Austin went to work for small cargo airlines flying Boeing 707s and then DC-8s until he finally landed a job with his current company flying Boeing 747s.
The Hunters life was great and very serene. They had built their modest house in the country and every time Austin went on a trip, he knew his family would be safe. The house was fairly close to Megan’s parents. One of their best friends was Megan’s cousin, Shirley, a doctor at the local hospital, and they got together whenever her schedule would allow it. Austin knew he was living in heaven, surrounded by love. He never failed to look up to the skies and thank his lucky stars every time he was in an airplane at altitude.
CHAPTER FOUR
It was the day after Christmas 1998. The Hunters had just finished breakfast. It was the start of a great day. As forecast, the temperature was cold and the skies clear. Austin was in his office trying to put together a new computer, a Christmas present from his wife and daughter. For a few months now he knew what his Christmas present was going to be. He had wanted to upgrade for a while now but they would not let him buy one. They always complained about how hard it was for them to decide what to get him because he always just went out and bought whatever he wanted, when he wanted it. When they do know what he really wants, it makes things easier on them, so when they asked if he wanted to accompany them to the mall, he declined. He knew it was going to be a while to load all the new programs plus the old ones he already had. They also knew how much he hated shopping on such a day, so they did not insist. Besides, they were not doing any shopping really, unless they found some great bargains they could not live without. The trip was merely to exchange some of the presents they received for ones that fit a little better.
On their way to the mall both girls joked about what a big kid Austin was with new toys. They talked about how he would never change and that’s what they loved about him.
It was a little after 8:00 a.m. and they wanted to get to the stores before the after Christmas rush. The stores opened early to accommodate the flow. It was a very cold morning and when they arrived, the parking lot was practically deserted.
“Great,” said Megan, “it looks we’re the first ones here.”
“I know,” said Marina. “I’ve never seen the mall’s parking lot so empty before.”
As they carried their merchandise and walked toward the mall entrance, two men came out of the shadows, grabbed them and dragged them to a waiting car. Their presents were strewn all over the entrance while the two girls were fighting furiously, trying to get away kicking, scratching and struggling with all their strength. But they were no match for the Johnson boys.
“What the hell do you want?” screamed Megan once they were in the car.
“Shut the fuck up, bitch,” yelled Randy as he punched her on the mouth.
“We just want to have some fun, girls,” interjected Jeffery.
Marina surprised everybody when she unexpectedly swung and caught Randy on the mouth and nose, immediately drawing blood. She could not stand the idea of anyone hitting her mother.
“No!” cried Megan. “It’s OK, baby.” Megan had realized the boys were drunk and knew that any more efforts at a struggle would only aggravate the situation.
The shock of Marina’s punch lasted only a few seconds. No one had ever hit one of the boys before. They went wild and began hitting the girls with such ferocity, but through the struggle, Marina managed to punch and scratch every one of the boys while Megan was pleading with them and her daughter to stop the madness. The drive was quite long and the struggle continued for most of it, and by the time they reached the water tower at the lake, which seemed to be the boys’ favorite dumping ground, Megan and Marina had bruises all over their faces and bodies. Their eyes were closing shut from the swelling as they were being dragged out of the car. They had no more energy to struggle any longer.
“You’ve had your fun,” whispered Megan weakly. “Please don’t hurt us any more.”
“You ain’t seen nothing yet, lady,” answered Randy. “Now comes the fun part.”
“Hey Jeff,” he continued addressing his cousin, “have you fucked an older woman before?”
“Well, I really don’t believe so, but I guess I am about to.”
“Please let my daughter go,” Megan pleaded some more.
“We ain’t letting anyone go, lady,” said David. “I got to have me some fun too.”
At that moment, Megan realized that they were in real trouble; she came to the realization that these boys would actually kill them. She no longer cared what happened to her; she only worried about her precious daughter.
She had a great life and if it was going to end today, at least she would be leaving this place knowing that she had been loved like no one ever had the right to, but her daughter, Marina was only eighteen years old and deserved to experience what she had. No one had the right to take that away from her. And what about Austin, what would happen to him if they were killed today? She knew that beneath the façade of toughness that he projected, he was very fragile and extremely emotional, especially when it came to his family. She remembered how long it took her to nurse him out of the nightmares of his childhood. She was not sure he would survive this. Things like this just did not happen in this part of the country. She was really getting mad and wanted so much for Marina and herself to get through it.
The Johnson boys kept on raping and beating them. They took special pleasures in inflicting pain on the girl. She was the only person who was able to ever take swings at them and actually land a few punches and cause them pain. They continued hurting her even after she lay there motionless and probably dead. When they were finished and were sure they had killed both women, their concern switched to trying to explain the cuts and bruises on their faces. They never gave the girls another thought.
The boys got in their car and drove off and for the longest none of them had anything to say. They had never killed anyone before.
After