Hell's Bones

By Roy S. Smith

Ah, she was so pretty. Sitting there with her long blonde hair and wonderful smile, all through his school year, Bill had idolized the beautiful little blonde girl. God, how he wished she would notice him.The pretty blonde girl seemed to know what Bill was thinking because right at that moment, she got up and walked over to him. Their eyes held for a brief moment when her sweet lips parted, and she started screaming. Bill woke up with a start, and the screaming didnt stop.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 27, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499078008

Book preview

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CHAPTER ONE

May 1, 1999

B ILLY JOE WISHING LOVED HIS Harley and was doing what he spent most of his time doing—cleaning and taking wonderful care of it. Billy was one of the biggest men around, standing six feet, eight inches in his stocking feet. He had long black hair that fell on to his shoulders like it belonged there. Billy’s face was not cross, but at the same time, he couldn’t win a smiling contest either. He didn’t consider himself a mean person and really didn’t wish ill on anyone else, but he always had a dream of becoming a member in a biker gang. He couldn’t explain why it attracted him; but Billy had always been alone and, being a Native American Indian, had not always been treated with the respect his people deserved. Now he had learned that the Hell’s Bones group was given permission last year to own the property out off Highway 68. Billy had been giving it some thought and decided he was going out there tomorrow and see if it was something he might want to consider doing. When he was finished with his task of properly taking care of his most prized possession, Billy went in and made himself some coffee and quickly made dinner consisting of ham and cheese and half a loaf of bread. Smiling with the prospect of tomorrow, he turned and went to bed.

Waking at seven the next morning, Billy made breakfast and finished getting dressed for his debut with his new biker club, he hoped. Starting his engine and pulling out on to the highway, Billy thought nothing, it seemed, was as exhilarating as driving his Harley—the noise of the engine, vibration on his body, and the wind in his hair. God, he loved riding his Harley. After about thirty minutes or so, Billy saw the driveway with about fifteen or so motorcycles all in a row. Smiling, he slowed down and pulled up with the static beat of his engine slowing, coming to an end. Looking at the clubhouse, he didn’t see anyone or anything moving, so he got off his hog and walked up to the door. Just when he was going to knock, it opened with one of the biggest men he had seen. This man was almost identical in height as Billy.

Who the fuck are you? Tiny inquired rather brusquely.

Billy was certainly not going to show fear to this big whatever it was. Let me speak to the boss, and I’m positive it’s not you! You are too big to be smart. I am the only exception to that fucking rule.

It always took Tiny a minute or two to think things through, but when it dawned on him, he started to really get pissed. Tiny was himself a monster of a man, but like Billy implied, Tiny was not the sharpest tool in the shed. Tiny started to swing, but Mack’s voice rang out just as he made a fist.

What have you got in the doorway, Tiny? Mack’s question was not really a question. He just wanted the big fuck Tiny to get out of the doorway so he could see who it was. What can we do for you, big man? Mack said to Billy, wanting an answer.

Billy didn’t waste any time. He said, Well, all I wanted to see was just what kind of a group you had up here, and so far, it doesn’t appear to be too damn friendly.

Mack instantly got what was going on here, and even though he had no intentions of letting in a new member, he quickly reversed himself. Hold on a moment. Do you want to join our fine group?

Yes, I was considering that, but now I am not so sure, Billy said, looking a might unsure of how to proceed."

Well, hell, why didn’t you just say so? Tiny, apologize to this man, and let’s get introductions out of the way. Mack was sensing some playtime and figured they could scare this big prick away easy enough. Mack went into the backroom as soon as all of the introductions were done and looked at his lieutenants and motioned for them to follow him back. In the backroom, Mack told them both what kind of hazing was going to be done and where.

Stick looked a little concerned when he asked, "You really going to let another member in with all that we are doing?

Looking a little disgusted, Mack said, Are you serious? You know damn well we cannot let anyone in. Now what we need to do is scare this big prick away so he will put out the word that we are not looking for anyone at all. OK, now what we do is to go down by the Ocoee River, by the second dam, where there is that real quiet spot. You guys know the one where we always go skinny dipping. Now I don’t want this guy hurt, and I do want him to shit his pants and run away scared out of his mind. So we start with making him go into the cave in the back without clothes or shoes on to find out what has been making all of the racket back there. We’ll give him a knife and tell him it could be a small black bear or a small gator. You and Squid will be in the back entrance making moaning sounds. When he gets within earshot, you both are to yell, ‘Look, there it is,’ and start shooting about the area that Billy Joe is standing. And when he starts yelling to stop your shooting, move in just a little closer. That should get him moving out of there by then, and if he happens to fall into the deep sinkhole in the cave, we come out with one very nice Harley to sell. Now it is very important that he not get shot. We want this to look like an accident if he does fall into the twenty-five-foot drop in the cave. We get away clean with this.

Upon reentering the room, Mack looked at Billy Joe and said, Look here, fella. We are going to take you to a spot we like to have parties and play around in, but lately, there has been a small black bear or a gator that has taken up residence there. So to prove to us you have what it takes to be a Hell’s Bones member, you will take this big-ass boning knife and take off all of your clothes to go in and take care of this, whatever it is. Now we know that this is a little scary for a little fella, but a man like you should have no problem taking care of this for us. So what do you think? Are you willing to take on our test to become a member of the coolest gang in America?

Thinking about this for a minute, Billy thought, If this thing scares these people, why should I waste my time on it? But just like a lot of other men, even though he knew the best bet were to walk away, he still found himself saying, Shit, if it can be done, I can do it, so let’s get going to this hole.

Hopping on their hogs, they all headed over to their secluded spot. Upon arriving there, they had Billy drop his clothes, and the girls all got a pretty picture. Donna licked her lips and said, If all Indians are built like you, I am going to start fucking nothing but Indians.

Billy smiled. Nope. I’m the only chief with a dick as long as a ruler. Billy had not told them that he knew of the sinkhole and also of the back entrance to the cave, but he figured they were just going to try to scare him anyway, so he went right in. About halfway back, he heard this weird howling and knew the party was about to start. To make it appear he was getting scared, he yelled, Hay ya! Ha ya! Ha! And that was when the guns started shooting almost right at him. Now that was something Billy had not counted on, and he jumped high and to the left, just short of the deep drop in the cave filled with water at the bottom. And just below the water, they had jagged rocks in almost every spot down there.

Stick and Squid saw he was getting scared and moved the gunfire a little more toward Billy, when all of a sudden, they saw him jump, and one of the rounds from Squid’s gun clipped Billy on the right side of his head. Stick quickly said, Stop shooting, Squid. Damn it, you hit him in the head. I cannot believe you just did what we were told not to do. God damn, man. What the fuck were you thinking?

Mack came in with the others about that time and said, What’s going on?

Squid, looking very worried, replied, "Mack, he jumped the wrong way, and I hit him in the head. He fell into the sinkhole.

Mack looked a little pissed, but all of a sudden, a light seemed to come into his head. "It’s OK. Wipe the gun down and throw it in with him, and maybe when they find him, they will think it was suicide. When we get back, burn his clothes and very quickly get that bike painted and sold. The sooner, the better, so let’s get rolling. One of you girls drive this hog back to the nest.

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CHAPTER TWO

June 9, 1999

T HE ISLAY FAMILY HAD GONE to bed early on the night of the ninth. It was a beautiful warm Tennessee evening, with a gentle breeze in the air and nature’s night singing her beautiful sounds. Bob, his wife Julie, and their fifteen-year-old son Bill were looking forward to a good night’s sleep. Earlier that day, Bob Islay, the accountant at Billings Manufacturing Company, had been looking over papers and material concerning the company when he noticed a discrepancy in the work, so he double-checked his figures and did it yet a third time. And seeing no change, Bob went immediately to his boss to check his findings. His boss, John Finley, was a little man who always seemed to be in a stew about something. His hairline was receding, and what hair he had left was a dark red. He wasn’t what you would call stocky, but you could tell he had strength in his five-foot frame. His eyes were green. And when he looked at you, it seemed to put you on the spot, and it was a feeling Bob didn’t particularly cotton too. Bob was totally different then his boss. He was in shape and liked to look good. He was five feet nine in his stocking feet, and although his suits were nice, they were not expensive. Bob had short sandy hair, with a pair of fun-loving brown eyes and a pleasant-looking face that always seemed to have a smile. John, his boss, always seemed to be sweating; and today was no different. This man had been his boss for close to ten years, and even though he wasn’t a friend, they didn’t have a problem working together. Bob walked over to John and said, John, we have a problem, and I need you to look these figures over.

John looked at the figures and saw that the figures didn’t match, and his mind starting racing. Damn, John thought, this was supposed to be taken care of before it ever hit the account. Hey, Bob, always doing a good job, he replied rather shakily. The vice president probably has the paperwork on his desk for this, so if will you do me a favor and leave this for me to finish up? Bob looked at his boss and said, Look, John, this is a major problem. There is almost one hundred thousand dollars missing, and it appears it went to someone not from this company.

Hold on just a minute, Bob, John replied. John looked like he was thinking this over a minute and said, Bob, look, leave these with me so I can get to the bottom of this, and I’ll get back to you. You have been a valuable employee to this company for how long now?

Bob looked a little confused and said, I don’t see what that has to do with this, John.

John seemed concerned when he said, What I am trying to say to you is that it is about time you received a raise for your good work. Looking at this now, I know that this is a mistake. I don’t know how it could have happened, but give me twenty-four hours, and I will show you how. And if I cannot get to the bottom of this, we will both walk this down to Roland’s office. I will also put your name in to receive that promotion I know you have been waiting since we talked earlier this year.

That’s fine, John, but be assured that if you can’t resolve it by tomorrow, I will be going straight to Roland myself, declared Bob. Be assured that by this time tomorrow, things will be taken care of, responded John.

The afternoon went slow, and Bob finally got home to explain this to his wife Julie. Julie was a vibrant fun-loving all-American girl. She had met Bob in a carnival. She accidentally walked into him, and when Bob looked up, he was mystified. Nothing in the world could stop him from this beautiful sight. After a short courtship, they were married and never once had a cross word between them in their sixteen years of marriage. All day long, he had worried over his decision and, looking at Julie, said, Honey, what do you think?

Julie could see the heavy set to his eyes and the worry lines in his face when she looked at him and said, I am not sure. Do you think you will lose your job over this, honey?

Smiling at his wife, Bob replied, No, of course not, I have done nothing wrong, but John might lose his. I do not know exactly what the reasons are for that money, but you can bet it was not authorized. I am still unsure why John wanted the twenty-four hours, and it really has me worried. I think I should have gone straight to the vice president about this.

Looking a little concerned, Julie tried to comfort her husband by saying, Look, honey, no one knows what will happen, so try not to think about it. And in the morning, things will look brighter, and maybe the answer will present itself. She then went over and kissed her husband on the forehead and gave him a wink that told him he might just get lucky later that night.

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CHAPTER THREE

June 10, early Monday morning

A H, SHE WAS SO PRETTY. Sitting there with her long blonde hair and wonderful smile, all through his school year, Bill had idolized the beautiful little blonde girl. God, how he wished she would notice him. The pretty blonde girl seemed to know what Bill was thinking because right at that moment, she got up and walked over to him. Their eyes held for a brief moment when her sweet lips opened, and she started screa ming.

Bill woke up with a start, and the screaming didn’t stop. Good Lord, it was his mother. He jumped up and started to run into the next room when all of a sudden, he felt a sharp blow to his head, and all was black. Bill slowly returned to consciousness and opened his eyes but couldn’t move because both of his arms were held by two big dirty stinking men. Now Bill was very big for his age of fifteen, but one of the men was a monster and stood about nine inches taller than Bill’s six-foot frame. Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs, he looked around and saw his mother on the ground, holding his father’s head in her lap. He did not like seeing her this way. Her beautiful black