 Kensley Lewis is a 23 year old student at Full Sail University and studies Creative Writing for Entertainment. She resides in North Alabama and spends her free time with her husband and their 3 year old son, reading, and binge-watching television shows. UNFINISHED BUSINESS “Melissa! Josh! What happened?” Leroy screamed. “Honey, don’t come in here,” whispered Melissa, faintly. “Dad, it’s too late,” Josh uttered through a sob. “What do you mean? It’s too late? Where are you? What happened?” Leroy rounded the corner to the living room in their house, stepping in something that felt like a puddle. He tried to take in the scene, the murder of his wife and son. He ran over to their mostly lifeless bodies on the floor, clutching them to his chest, crying. Looking up, he caught a glimpse of the man who murdered his family, but not good enough. . . The shock of the dream woke Leroy quickly, and just in time, too. He’d almost veered into the oncoming traffic lane. But, he didn’t account for the car in his lane, going the opposite way, and headed straight for him. Lights flooded Leroy’s vision and then everything went black. The pelting rain startled Leroy awake. Slowly getting up and taking in his surroundings, he realized he was in a shallow ditch on the side of the highway he’d been driving on. Not seeing his car nearby, he was curious as to how he had gotten there. The last event Leroy can call to mind was driving home from an overnight shift. After that, his mind was blank. Must’ve hit my head, he thought. He checked for his phone, grabbed it out of his pocket, and tried to unlock it. Dead. Of course. Leroy walked for what seemed like weeks, yet it was only an hour and a half. He fretted over not being able to have contact with anyone, but it was only for a split second. He didn’t have anyone to go home to. No one was waiting for him to come home. No one was waiting for him to take them to school. Not anymore. Though it had been three months since his wife and son were murdered, he still couldn’t fully grasp that they were gone. After another half hour of walking, the traffic began to pick up. Maybe I should just hitch a ride. There’s no way I’m going to make it another forty or so miles to the nearest town. Leroy walked across one side of the highway and into the median that was covered in un-cut grass, standing tall against his knees. An hour passed, but no one would give Leroy the time of day. And who could really blame them. He looked like hell. It began to rain, and finally a red Ford pickup truck stopped close enough to talk to Leroy without blocking the asphalt highway crossing in between medians. “Need a ride?” The mystery driver shouted. “Yes, please!” Leroy yelled back, coming out of the median and crossing over to reach the passenger side. “Where to?” “Middleton. It’s just about thirty minutes that way.” Leroy pointed towards the road and direction he was walking earlier. “Sure, headed that way myself.” “Thanks for stopping. My legs were giving out on me.” Leroy couldn’t put his finger on it, but he was sure he’d seen this man before. Though it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary. Middleton was a pretty small town. They rode in silence for thirty minutes and Leroy could see the lights of the city. “Hey, when we reach Middleton, can you drop me off at the police station? I think I had an accident with my car on the highway and I need to report it.” “An accident you say?” the driver laughed. “Yes, I was on my way home from work and some lunatic was driving the wrong way. Last thing I remember was headlights and then everything went dark. Since I couldn’t find my car, I imagine that’s what happened was an accident.” “A lunatic? I’ve never been called that before.” A grin broke out over the driver’s face. “Well, I can’t take you to the police. But I can take you to someone else. How’d you like to see your wife?” Leroy was speechless and paralyzed. Now he knew where he remembered the man from. The same man who’d ran out of his house three months earlier. They drove through Middleton and out to a farm. The truck stopped and the man got out and grabbed Leroy. He took out a chainsaw from the back of the pickup. They walked over to a nearby pig pen. “Your family was shock value. I’m just finishing the job. Pigs eat anything.”
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