This Little Piggy by Craig McGray
****
James chuckled as he completed the circle of events that brought him to his current situation. Now that he knew what happened, he had to figure out how the hell he was going to get back to the city and mend his broken body. He cupped his working hand in the icy creek and splashed it on his face. Let’s get out of here, James.
He scratched his way up the loose bank to the deserted road. Still wary in case Johnny and his bitch sister were watching, he looked left, then right. Nothing. He knew the honky-tonk was to the left, and Highway 39 was to the right, so he headed to the right. No sense in returning to that hole in the wall bar anytime soon.
James followed the foggy, deserted road with the fat full moon as his companion. James struggled to walk due to the unrelenting pain from the pool stick attack and his twisted-up ankle. Blood from the assault had formed a crust on his inner thighs. His right arm hung dead at his side; his right leg barely held weight as he hobbled along. If he could just make it to Highway 39, he could hitch a ride back to town.
As James continued on, the hair on the back of his neck told him someone was behind him. James turned around to find a giant silhouette in the middle of the road, breath billowing like a steam engine at full power.
“Here, piggy piggy piggy!”
The words cut through the moist air in an unmistakable high-pitched voice, sending shivers down James’ spine.
His first instinct was to run, but he wasn’t outrunning anyone in his current condition. He slid off the side of the road and headed into the woods. His only hope was to take cover and outwait his pursuer. He found a large pine to hide behind and crouched down.
“Here, piggy piggy!” The call closer.
James remained motionless and listened.
“Here, piggy piggy!”
Rapid breath puffed from his lips. He closed his eye as the giant’s feet fell closer; he knew he would be found. He turned to run from behind the pine and…
“You piece a shit!” He barely heard the words before the shovel landed flush on his face. The teeth that didn’t reach the ground found a place in the back of his throat. His lungs struggled for oxygen, but avulsed teeth and blood stifled any opportunity.
James came to with the night stars racing overhead. He gulped the air, pain stabbing into his ribs with the effort, searching for oxygen to fill his besieged lungs as he tried unsuccessfully to sit up.
The bumpy ride came to a sliding stop, and the creaking of a metal door opening and slamming shut came from behind, no doubt the door from the huge redneck’s pickup. The heavy tailgate fell open, and Johnny pulled James out of the truck. His head fell with a thud to the ground.
The giant dragged James by the lifeless foot as the dirt turned to hay, and the trip came to an abrupt halt where Johnny hoisted James to a seated position against a post. He tried to move, but there was no response from his muscles. The stink of farm animals filled the air.
“You grimy little bastard. I knew you’s too slippery to die. This gonna be fun,” Johnny said, pacing in front of James. “You know, pigs eat anything. They eat shit, mud, rotten vegetables, just about anythin’. The nice thing is they don’t waste nothin’. They eat the bones and all.”
Johnny took a crunchy bite of an apple. “Hell, they’ll even eat each other if they get a chance. That’s what you gonna learn tonight, mister.”
Even if James could move his legs, he saw no point in squirming or begging. The stupid hillbilly was going to enjoy this as much as what he did with the pool stick. That probably wasn’t the first time he’d done that. Apple juice, or maybe it was drool, ran down the inbred giant’s chin and dripped to the ground.
Johnny tossed the apple core over James’ head, and a ruckus began. The pigs were in a frenzy over a half-eaten apple. What would they do with something much more substantial? Johnny sucked the apple skin from his front teeth and strode over to James.
“Ain’t they perty?” He stood over him with his crotch in James’ face. Banjos echoed in the back of James’ mind. He remembered that movie; he knew what came next.
James closed his eye, and a second later, the warm stream hit his legs. Johnny stood over James, pissing on his leg like a dog marking his territory.
After he’d sufficiently drained his bladder, Johnny grabbed him by the ears and lifted him off the ground. He picked James up like a sack of potatoes, heaving him overhead. James screamed and had no choice but to remain motionless as he accepted his fate. This was the end. His self-loathing was over, and he was getting what he deserved. He hated what he had become, but the murderous urges were too strong to resist. This was the only way his killing would ever stop.
“Come an’ git it, piggies” Johnny screeched.
The pigs ran over as if they knew what was in store, as if they had done this before. A seething crowd of insatiable pigs waited below.
James hoped Johnny would give him the respect of killing him first, but that was too much to expect from the giant mouth breather. Johnny tossed the limp rapist and murderer into the pigpen.
James was glad that he couldn’t feel anything from the neck down because that’s where they began, at his feet. Who would have known that the snapping of his neck, when Johnny hit him with the shovel, would have turned out to be a good thing? Johnny leaned on the pen as the hogs pulled James apart from every direction.
James closed his eye as the ravenous animals made their way to his head. He didn’t want to give the redneck giant the satisfaction, but he had no choice; James let out a deep, bellowing scream as the pigs ate away at his broken, but still-subsisting body. The powerful pigs tore the flesh from his numb torso. Though James could not feel the pain, the terror of what was happening forced scream after scream. Johnny just watched and smiled his near toothless grin. The cries continued until they found his fleshy throat; James’ apple. The only sound now was that of the pigs enjoying their latest meal.
“Squeal, little piggy. Squeal,” Johnny muttered as he closed the barn door and shuffled his way back to the main house.
****
Candy greeted Johnny at the door.
“He dead?” Asked the giant’s sister.
“He damn sho’ is now,” Johnny said, stepping into the house.
“Good. Serves him right. Filthy pig. Now come on to bed and do me right,” she said as she bounced up and wrapped her legs around her brother’s waist.
******
A Note From Craig McGray
Thank you for spending some of your valuable time reading my work. If you enjoyed this story, please leave a review on Amazon. It’s the highlight of my day when I see a new review from a reader who has not only taken the time to read my work, but also to leave a review. Feel free to contact me anytime via e-mail [email protected] and don’t forget to subscribe to my author newsletter HERE for information on upcoming releases. Thanks again and happy reading.