Latter-Day of the Dead

latter-day
of the dead

book one

K
EVIN
K
ROHN

If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, names, incidents, dialogue, and plot are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons or events is purely coincidental.

Copyright © 2012 by Kevin Krohn

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.

ISBN: 978-0-578-10019-7

Printed in the United States of America

prologue

T
he truck hacked and coughed its way to a low rumble as Benjamin turned the ignition and revved the engine. He pulled onto the dirt road, nervously looking into his rearview mirror at his meager house that grew smaller and smaller until disappearing over the ridge. Keeping his head on a swivel, he continually looked left-to-right at each house he passed on both sides of the soiled route. A trail of dust followed the truck as it continued to traverse the winding path.

The headlights reached out into the darkness in front of the barren dirt road until Benjamin could see the unassuming cattle fence that enclosed the ranch. He got out of the running truck and grabbed the padlock that dangled from the rusted chain holding the cattle fence shut. A quick look back was taken once again before removing the key from his front jean pocket and pulling the rusted chain from the fence. The two gates squeaked noisily as Benjamin flung them open, clearing his path. He jumped back into the truck, pulled through the open gateway, then hurried back to reclose the fence.

The can of snuff snapped against Benjamin’s fingers before he removed the lid and pinched out a small amount of tobacco and tucked it into his chapped lower lip. Turning his attention back to the rearview mirror, he cleaned the excess dip that had dribbled onto his chin at insertion. The map that rested open on the seat next to him showed that it would be a while before he crossed into Arizona from Utah. He pushed down on the faded black buttons in succession, watching the little orange stick dance across the face of the radio, searching for a station signal on the remote desert drive.

A faint voice could be heard through the weak AM signal.
“There is nothing which is good save it comes from the Lord: and that which is evil cometh from the devil.”

Benjamin hastily turned the radio off and decided to drive in silence. He grabbed a smashed paper cup from the floorboard and reinstated its original form to spit his tobacco juice into.

Once across the Arizona border it was a short time before he was in the city of Page, where his destination was. Benjamin started to sweat from the anxiety as he got closer, looking at the map and rolling down the driver-side window for air. He took a right at the following stop sign and could see the neon pink sign halfway down the block that read:
Indulgence.
The truck drove around the block two times before Benjamin mustered the courage to enter the gravel parking lot on attempt number three.

He placed the truck in park but did not turn off the ignition or step out. In the rearview he could see the entrance, and watched two patrons exit the building while another man was showing his identification to the bouncer that stood at the double doors.

Unsure if he was ready to go through with it, he leaned back in his seat and flipped the radio back on. The same voice from before was still preaching. “
We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; and we have done those things which we ought not to have done.”

The orange stick was set back into motion with Benjamin’s quick trigger to change the station, finding a country western song a few clicks away. He looked into his mirror one more time at the entrance, then at his own reflection. He kept eye contact with himself as he slowly lowered his lips to the paper cup and spit, creating a small splash in the building pool of saliva and tobacco. Sitting up straight, he turned off the truck, straightened his eyebrows in the mirror, took a deep breath and forced himself out of the truck.

His head was spinning; a mix of buzz from the dip in his lip and utter panic as he walked towards the bouncer. Benjamin slowed his pace as he neared the maroon double doors, unsure if he could go through with it. Right before he was going to turn around and call the whole thing off, the bouncer motioned him over.

“Welcome to Indulgence,” the extra-large man bellowed, waving Benjamin over. The bouncer was purposely bald, wearing black pants and a black t-shirt hugging tightly to his massive torso. His t-shirt read across his concrete pectorals: “
Indulge, gents.”

Benjamin froze in his tracks, now desperately trying to convince himself this was a bad idea. He looked around the parking lot, attempting to avoid the eye contact he could feel coming from the bouncer.

“You got your ID, partner?” the bouncer asked.

“Well, I should….”

“Step right here.” The bouncer again waved him over.

Benjamin reluctantly stepped up onto the sidewalk in front of the entrance. He kept his eyes on his tattered shoes and watched them drag closer to the bald bruiser.

“ID.” This time it wasn’t a question.

Digging into his back pocket with a look of shame, Benjamin grabbed a piece of paper folded twice the long way, and handed it over.

“What’s this?” the bouncer questioned.

“It’s my birthing record, sir.”

“Your what? You ain’t got no driving license?”

“No, sir.”

The bouncer looked at him with his bald head cocked to the side. He stepped backwards toward the double doors, keeping his eye on Benjamin. He swung the door partially opened and yelled inside, “Richie!”

A few moments later a man, also bald but with a goatee and about half the size of the bouncer, stepped out.

The bouncer explained to the man, saying, “Boss, this man done come here with a damn birth certificate.”

The goateed boss grabbed the paper and looked at it, then Benjamin, then back to the paper, then back to Benjamin. He leaned out over the paper to whisper to Benjamin. Benjamin drew closer.

“You tryin’ come get yerself a peek at some titties, are ya?” Both bald men turned and grinned at each other.

“Actually, I think I’ll just leave.”

“Nonsense. This here certificate says you’re plenty old to look at some titties,” the boss said, grin even bigger.

“Sorry to trouble y’all,” Benjamin said and grabbed the piece of paper back. He turned sharply to get away without any further conversation and crashed right into a female walking towards the entrance.

“Easy, Tiger,” she said in a sweet tone, wrapping her arms around Benjamin to brace herself from falling. “Where on Earth are you going in such a huff?”

He couldn’t speak, staring at her purple eye shadow sparkling with flecks of glitter and her curly brown hair that bounced softly while she spoke.

“You can’t be leaving now, I just got here,” she said convincingly, rubbing Benjamin’s arm.

“You damn-near ran her over trying to hightail it outta here,” the boss chimed in, “the very least you can do is buy her a drink.”

“Yeah, buy me a drink.” The girl pulled Benjamin towards the entrance, her arm now wrapped under his. “I’m Sapphire, what’s your name, Sugar?”

“I…I’m Benjamin,” he said softly with overwhelming shyness. Sapphire led him past the bouncer and into the club.

It was dark inside. Benjamin had never been to a place like this. There was a stale, stagnant smell he could only compare to something like the horse stalls back at the ranch. He could see out of the corner of his eye a stage with mirrored flooring and a large mirror backdrop. Without having the courage to direct his full attention that way, his peripheral vision could still spot a blonde woman gyrating on the reflective glass floor of the stage, donning nothing but a cowboy hat and pink cowboy boots. He felt his face getting very flush and turned his full attention away from the stage.

Now looking the other way, Benjamin could barely make out what were oversized chairs through the almost non-existent lighting across the back wall. He looked closer to see that some of the chairs were occupied by men being straddled by naked women. The shock of him seeing something like that for the first time made him take a step back and accidentally swallow some of his chewing tobacco, causing him to gag.

“You alright?” Sapphire asked. “We better get you a drink, Sweetie.” She continued past a few tables of men with Benjamin until they reached the bar.

“Starting your shift?” the female bartender asked Sapphire.

“About to, yeah. But Benjamin here is going to buy me a drink first. Ain’t that right, Benjamin?”

He looked up at Sapphire, then to the bartender, then back to Sapphire. “Uhh…yes, ma’am,” he mumbled.

“Ain’t you all kinds of polite,” Sapphire determined. She put her hand on his chest and leaned in closer. “You don’t need to be shy around me, Benji. We’re here to show you a good time tonight.”