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The Scarecrow 1:

Swing Low

Chapter 1: A Roll in the Hay

Warnings: NC-17, F/F relationships, M/F sex and relationships, graphic violence, gang rape, death - this thing isn't going to be pretty.

Author's Notes: This story is a complete work of fiction... that's based entirely too firmly in reality. The story itself was inspired by films like _Pumpkinhead_ and _I Spit On Your Grave_, but the events in the story were inspired by events in Conway, South Carolina. _I Spit On Your Grave_ was inspired by a case that took place in the middle of Central Park, in New York City, back in the 70's. Ultimately, the story is going to shape into something entirely different from either story, but that's the starting point I'm working from.

I also give sincere thanks to Fire and Candro, the people who helped me write parts of this. I may not have ended up keeping everything you wrote, but without your help clearing some writer's blocks (particularly with Heather and Jessie, and when Heather was out in the cornfield), this might never have been finished.

~~~===~~~

"Hey, Heather! Gonna be at the party tonight?" Becky asked her tawny-furred Coyote friend, scrubbing her own dark brown fur thoroughly after cheerleading practice. She worked her webbed fingers beneath the surface of her slick fur, rinsing out the shampoo, careful to get every bit of it out. It took her longer to shower than most of the others, but that just came with being an Otter. Fortunately, so did enjoying the water! Before too much longer, she was coming out to join the rest of her friends, already dried off and getting dressed.

"Depends on my folks: you know how they are," Heather giggled. "But if I can get my homework and chores done, and convince them I'm not gonna let some jock spike my drink and have his way with me, I should be!"

"Great!" The Otter grinned, stretching out luxuriantly beneath the steamy water of the shower. "Maybe we'll finally get to meet this mysterious boyfriend of yours," she teased, running her fingers through her fur to work out the last of the shampoo before she hit the blow dryers, looking over to grin at Heather's blush.

"Maybe," she giggled shyly. "But maybe I'm just going to keep him to myself a little while longer, hmm? You know how Trixie gets."

"Hey!" The Vixen pouted, pulling her tight t-shirt on. "I resemble that remark! But it's not like I don't *share*, you know," she winked playfully.

"Maybe I just want to keep him to myself, Trixie," Heather teased. "Tony's a cute guy and all, but I think I'm coming out ahead in the bargain," she winked, getting back into her cheerleading uniform.

"Showing off for him?" Becky grinned. "Maybe we'll just follow you and get a look at him...."

"No you don't!" Heather gasped, turning around with a scandalized look. "If you *do* see us, everybody'll know who it is before the party! I want to see the look on everybody's face when we walk in, if I can make it."

"Oh, all right," Trixie giggled, giving Heather an enthusiastic hug. "But that means you'd *better* show up! It's been two months already, and if your best friends don't know before homecoming... well, what sort of friends are we?" She turned back, grabbing her purse and closing her locker as Becky started getting dressed. "Besides, I wanna know if somebody besides Sandy actually does have a better beau than I do," she winked.

"Please, Sandy's beau is only better than yours because he's the QB," Heather snorted. "I don't know *how* she stands him! He's a stuck up, arrogant prick who doesn't care about anything more than himself!"

"And he's dating Sandy," Becky said dryly. "And to think, they say only opposites attract!" She finished dressing in a tight shirt and shorts that clung to her curvy lutran body, picking up her purse and following her friends out as they laughed.

"Okay, you've got me there," Heather giggled, blushing as she spotted Sandy and Mike, the two Wolves making out just outside of Ravenwood High while Mike's friends waited for him to finish up like good little pack-betas. "Just don't let *her* hear you say that," she winked. Trixie giggled, looking over at the guys with Mike, batting her eyelashes at her own boyfriend, the Tiger giving her a lewd grin.

"I think *I've* got a ride home tonight, at any rate," Trixie giggled. "Seeya, guys!"

"She's got a ride, all right," Becky giggled. "So, want me to take you home, Heather?"

"Naw, Becky, it's cool. I'll seeya tonight!" The Coyote grinned, giggling about Trixie's 'ride' home. With that, she took off herself, heading back out towards the practice feel, and the shed behind it. She was just getting behind *that* when a powerful hand grabbed her shoulder, pulling her suddenly around behind it to have a kiss forced against her lips. She practically melted against the Wolf who was kissing her, her heart pounding from the adrenaline of being grabbed, and the nearness of her Jessica.

Not her favorite way to get kissed, but it *was* pretty well up there!

"Hey...." She breathlessly rasped when the heated little kiss ended, her hands sliding around the wolf's waist as she spooned up to her.

"Mmm... I hear there's a big party planned tonight, since Homecoming's coming up next week... gonna be stirring a little team spirit up?" Jessica rumbled, kissing Heather again, licking the end of her muzzle tenderly. The she-Wolf towered above her Coyote girlfriend, the sleeves of her denim jacket wrapped over her bare shoulders... and her breath *reeked* of cigarette smoke.

Heather grinned, though her muzzle wrinkled as she leaned back, looking up at Jessica. "Eugh! Oh, hon, *please* knock it off with the smoking! Whew.... Hmm, well, yeah, gonna go stir somethin' up anyway," she grinned.

"Need a chaperone?" Jessica asked, her ears lying back a little bit. "After all, with you not having a boyfriend, who knows what those jocks'll do to you...."

"Nothing compared to what my girlfriend'll do, I'm sure," Heather giggled, wrapping her hands in the lapels of Jessica's jacket, pulling her down close and leaning up. "Tell ya what, if you promise to quit smoking, and *keep* it this time, I'll go beyond letting you chaperone me. I'll let you be my date...."

"Promise, I'm quitting tonight," Jessica grinned, her tail thumping the shed behind her as it started to wag eagerly. "Want me to dress up, or come in my usual bull-dyke uniform, really scare 'em off?" She winked.

"Whatever makes you comfy, you quit, you can dress anyway you like!" Heather grinned, her own tail wagging slowly as she leaned up for another kiss, her eyes sparkling as their muzzle met, and Jessica hugged her close, pressing her tongue into the Coyote's mouth, her taste the potent blend of tobacco and Wolf and *power* that Heather was hoping to whittle down to the two parts she loved out of the three.

"Mmm... love you, babe," Jessica rumbled as their lips parted, her ears perking and tail fluffing out as she looked over to the side, spotting the big ears and flickering tail-tip of a Mouse.

"Josh Harnell, if that's you watching us, I'm going to hogtie you with your own tail!" She growled, moving to see who it was.

Heather gasped a little, bouncing back on her heels as Jessica threatened the mouse-in-hiding. "Huh?"

"I don't like being spied on," Jessica growled, reaching for the Mouse as he ran as fast as he could. She lowered her head, about ready to lunge when Heather grabbed her, holding her back.

"Jess, stop!" She yipped, gripping as hard as she could, nowhere near as strong as her bigger, tougher girlfriend, but enough to get her attention for sure! "Let him go!"

"Don't see why I should," the Wolf growled lowly. "I swear that little pervert's stalking you! I *know* he was in the theatre behind us when we caught that movie of yours."

"Hey, I'm supposed to be the one who's paranoid about her parents, remember?" Heather sighed, hugging Jessica close, encouraging her to turn around and wrap her arms around her again. "Besides, all the more reason to make him jealous, don't you think?" She teased.

"Guess you're right... still wish he'd back off. And the rest of the jocks who're drooling over you all the time," the Wolf grumbled.

"I'm a *cheerleader* for the *varsity football team*," Heather pointed out with a half-amused sigh. "He's not hurting anyone, so until he does, let's not hurt him. Let him be jealous and let's *us* be happy, hm?"

"Mmm... oh, all right. So... can I take you home tonight?" Jessica asked hopefully, wagging her tail eagerly as she shed her anger. "Maybe by way of Tivoli?"

"Hm... that sounds nice, but I *do* have to do my homework and chores, if I want to get to the party tonight." Heather took Jess's hand in her own, actually a little grateful when her dad's truck horn honked. "Besides, if I go home with you, while he's right there, he'll skin me. Just pick me up, and we'll see about Tivoli after we go to the party," she winked, turning and running off, her tail wagging behind her and giving Jessica an entirely too-good look at her toned legs beneath her skirt.

Meanwhile, Jessica wasn't the only one looking at the shapely form of Heather's retreating backside. Josh was watching her from the relative safety of the school near the gym, grateful that this time the Wolf wasn't about to catch him and give him a beating for spotting them. How was he supposed to know about... them? He'd just seen Heather heading back there and gone to try talking to her himself when he realized she hadn't gone somewhere else.

"Pretty hot piece of tail, ain't she?" Johnny grinned, coming over from the front of the school to chat with the Mouse. "Say, need a ride home? Mike's got the car today, but we've got an extra seat."

"Nah," Josh said, shaking his head. "And yea, she is, but neither of us has a shot at her," he snorted. "How come all the hot ones have to be into jocks or other chicks?" He muttered.

"Come again?" Johnny almost did a double-take as he looked over at his friend. "What's this about chicks?"

"Oh, I just caught her makin' out with Jessica," Josh sighed. "Figured she'd probably have a boyfriend, but at least a jock I've got a chance against, y'know?"

Johnny politely didn't say otherwise as the Mouse adjusted his thick glasses. He looked back at Heather, climbing into her Dad's pickup to head back out to the farm for her nightly chores.

"Y'never know, buddy," he grinned. "Sometimes these lesbo chicks find a reason to switch teams," he winked, turning to head back out front. "Don't worry about it; seeya around later tonight, maybe! If anybody gives you trouble at the party, just remind 'em who gave you an invite," he winked over his shoulder, the offered ride forgotten in favor of a new game in the back of his head....

~~~===~~~

That night, at about 6:30, the sun was just about to set. A cascade of reds, golds, and oranges was cast across the dimming night sky as Heather finished up her chores in the barn, coming out and stretching with a low groan. She didn't particularly like her parents being so old-fashioned, but she *really* wished her Dad had picked up the idea that girls weren't supposed to do the heavy work around the farm... of course, if he had, she'd still have probably ended up doing the nightly milking. At least she had the machines for it, now. As the cows lowed behind her, she closed the main door to the barn, making sure it was secured. Finally, she turned to look out over the hills leading down from the house and barn, over the cornfield and out at the sunset, with a soft smile. It was a beautiful night. There were no clouds out, and the stars would be brilliant, she was sure. Maybe she *would* see about heading out to Tivoli after she and Jessica had gone to the party....

But before that, she had to go in, get a shower, change, and... wait a second. What was moving in the cornfield? It didn't look like a deer, and it was way too big to be a crow or dog.

"If one of those damn Landers is out raiding the field... think I'm gonna clobber him, and *then* try to figure out why they'd want an extra bucket full of feed corn," she muttered, grabbing the broken off end of a pitchfork they hadn't fixed yet, just the wooden haft and handle, and starting into the fields.

She held her 'weapon' tightly as the further she got out into the fields; the closer she got to whatever it was moving about within them. Her ears leaned back as she moved as slowly as she could, not wanting to startle whatever was in the fields. She wasn't in her cheerleading outfit anymore, but there was still only her work jeans and tight t-shirt protecting her at the moment aside from the wooden handle. Her ears leaned back as she finally got to the source of the ruffling in the field, looking up to see what it was.

She couldn't see anything through the tall rows of brown, paper-like grass... she was starting to wonder if she should head up to the house, send her Dad out instead. Instead, she turned to move closer to the noise, carefully stepping through the rows of grass, moving further from the house and trying to see what was out there. Maybe her eyes had been playing tricks on her... maybe it *was* just a deer, not something walking on two legs.

Not some*body* who might have a weapon better than her stick....

The closer she got, the more unsteady she was becoming, gripping her stick a little tighter as she tried to peek through the large rows of corn. She thought she had seen something tall running through the field... she wanted to find out what it was instead of just go to her father. If she did and it turned out to be a deer or something of the sort, she wouldn't hear the end of it from him. The stick might not have been the best thing she could have grabbed but it was the best thing she had at the moment.

Besides, how dangerous could it be? Somebody raiding the fields probably would run if she shouted at them.

So why didn't she do that? Why was there a lump in her throat telling her she was making a horrible mistake?

She reached the middle of the field, and thought she saw what it was. The wind was blowing, rattling the stalks around the scarecrow her father had set up earlier that year. Dressed in his old work clothes, carrying a ragged-edged, rusty sickle, it cut an imposing figure in the setting sunlight. The shadow of it stretched out over her, and she jumped as she heard her mother's voice in the distance, at the back of the house, calling her in. She was so far away, she could barely hear her. The wind must have just shifted the grass, and she'd seen down to the scarecrow. Just a fluke.

"Hey, baby," a low voice whispered behind her, a powerful, striped hand wrapping around her muzzle!

Her eyes suddenly widened when she felt something coming to wrap around her muzzle. She let out a muffled scream, and swung back with the stick to hit at whatever it was, trying to drive it away from her. "Mm mph!!!" She even kicked back at the person behind her, her tail lowering between her legs. After smacking at whoever it was, she managed to get away, quickly darting off through the corn rows and twisting around to try and get out and up to the house, where safety was!

As she started to make a turn to the right, a big Wolf jumped out in front of her, trying to grab her. She swung at him with her stick, but he knocked it out of her hand and sent her running away again. The corn grabbed at her clothes, a set of sharp claws ripping the back out of her shirt as she *barely* managed to get away from her attacker... Wolf claws weren't that sharp, there must have been two of them! Her brain was working a mile a minute, trying to figure out where she was, where her attackers here. Through the rows, she could barely smell them. The scent of dry earth and the barn smell that clung to her stubbornly overwhelmed the scents of her pursuers, however many of them there were. She yelped when another Wolf jumped out in front of her. She turned to dive away from him, but stumbled and fell over the stalks that seemed to be conspiring to trip her up, leaving her on her hands and knees at the edge of the field....

Right back in the clearing with the scarecrow.

With her clothes shredded and her ears splayed back, she tried to desperately get back onto her feet to run away again. When she saw that she was right back where she started, she whined loudly. She was out of breath and panicking, desperately trying to get her breath back as she finally managed to get back onto her feet. Her eyes moved to the scarecrow for just a second before she looked around, her senses betraying her as she tried to figure out just where her pursuers were at. With her eyes watering, she could barely see past her tears. She cried out as loudly as she could. "Ma-!"

Before she could finish shouting, a Tiger burst through the corn, tackling her to the ground expertly and knocking the wind out of her with one final loud yelp!

"Just keep quiet, and you'll be fine," he rumbled hotly, his hard cock pressed against her leg through her jeans, and his slacks. "Mm... fuck, haven't had this much fun since Trixie let me play-hunt her...."

Trixie... oh God. This had to be Tony... which meant that the Wolves had probably been Mike and Johnny... what the fuck was going on?!? Her eyes widened, and then she twisted her head around to growl at him, out of breath.

"What are you doing? What do you want with me?" She cried out, struggling to get out from underneath him but she was already too weak from fleeing just a few moments ago.

"Me and the boys are just gonna give you a little lesson," he rumbled, pulling her up to all fours, his sharp claws against her throat. "Y'scream, and I'll rip it out," he threatened her in a low voice. "Y'play along, and you'll find out what you're missing being a little dyke before we let you go."

Her eyes widened when she felt those claws at her throat, gripping the ground tightly when she was placed on all fours. Her ears leaned back while his tail came down between her legs, whimpering deeply. "P-Please... don't hurt me," she whined, staying perfectly still, not wanting to invoke the wrath of Tony and the other two though she had yet to see where they were, not being able to find them when she looked around.

The two Wolves stepped out of the corn, grinning at the scene they found.

"Well, looks like you get first dibs, Tony," Mike grinned. "So, which hole y'want first?"

"Oh, you know my tastes," the Tiger rumbled hotly. "You guys get those jeans off her. We'll see if our little Coyote's wearing any panties! Unless y'want to put on a little show for your three guys," he added, scratching her throat lightly with a claw, leaving a furrow through her fur.

She shuddered, shaking her head almost imperceptibly. Damned if she was going to try and put on a show for them!

"On the pill, babe?" Tony asked her as Mike and Johnny moved around to grab her clothes at the legs and the waistbands. She closed her eyes tightly when his friends pulled down her jeans and panties, revealing her ass before she tucked her tail down reflexively. Her ears perked up when Tony asked if she was on the pill before feeling that barbed cock of his pressing against her ass, shaking her head.

"W-Why the fuck would I be on the pill if I wasn't intending on having kids in the f-first place...?" She returned his question with her own, whimpering deeply as she looked down at the ground, not making eye contact with any of them.

"So you really *are* a dyke, and not just bi," Mike grinned, dropping his own pants, his younger brother waiting for the next round. "You bite and you're gonna learn all new definitions of 'pain,'" he promised her, tipping her face up to look at his eight erect inches. "Go on; start sucking it like a good little cheerleader. Don't want you screamin' when Tony decides to have at you," he grinned down at her.

She shuddered when she heard him call her that, growling low before her head was tilted up to look at his thick, throbbing canine shaft. She pulled her head back to the side while her eyes looked away, closing her mouth tightly. She didn't want to get hurt, but she had no intentions of just giving them what they wanted. It was bad enough Tony was already going to have his way with her ass. Her body clenched up at the thought of how painful that would be, his stiff barbs raking through her guts.

Mike growled, grabbing her neck by the scruff and pulling her up. "I think you need a lesson, Heather. You're going to play nice, or you're going to get played *with* rough. Either way, we get our rocks off, and we get them off in you. One way hurts, the other way, hurts like hell. Or do you think your big bad bitch'll be here to save you before we're through?" He sneered at her as she shuddered, but the look on his face reignited the fire she'd been feeling before." Now, which'll it be?"

She growled deeply, spitting in Mike's face as she tried to shove him away from her. "You're going to hurt me anyway! Fuck off!" She tried to claw at his legs, her ears splayed back as she sneered at him. For all the fire in her voice, she felt it more as a whimper inside her head. She had completely forgotten for a moment that Tony was right behind her, ready to plug her with his cock at any point he desired.

Her eyes widened when Tony suddenly did exactly that, plunging his cock into her still virgin pussy. Feeling the head of his cock tearing right through her hymen, her muzzle opened up quickly to let out a scream which was quickly silenced by that thick canine cock shoving past her lips. As it went right down her throat, she couldn't help but start swallowing, causing it to feel like she was trying her hardest to milk him dry. Her eyes watered when she felt Tony just starting to plow in and out of her, her pussy bleeding around his seven inches, more slender than Mike's shaft, but the sharp spines tearing her up inside. She closed her eyes tightly, bringing her hands to Mike's hips, gripping at them tightly.

"That's better," Mike groaned, her nose and mouth filling with the scent and taste of the Wolf in front of her, instinct warring with her mind, physical arousal against mental revulsion as he started to thrust a bit, savoring the way her throat tightened around his cock. Johnny slipped between them, his naked legs around her waist and his balls against her back as he reached under to squeeze and fondle her tits.

The youngest of the trio grinned as his fingers ran through Heather's thick fur, working her nipples to hardness as he watched his Alpha fucking her face, feeling the way her body twitched and jerked beneath him every time Tony's shaft scraped its way out of her. Johnny looked up at Mike, his own cock hard against Heather's buttocks and eager for action as soon as he had permission.

"So, can I join in too, Alpha?" He asked with a grin, grinding his cock between the girl's cheeks.

"Y'have to ask?" Mike snorted, groaning as Heather's tongue curled around his swelling knot. "Go on, bro, pick a hole," he grinned back at Johnny. The younger Wolf's tail was wagging hard, thumping against Tony's chest. Johnny grabbed hold of Heather's ass and slid back, spreading her cheeks. The Tiger growled and grabbed his tail with one hand, holding it still.

"Watch it, Johnny," he snarled at the younger Wolf.

"Not much other room, unless y'wanna turn her over!" Johnny grinned.

"Just get it over with!" Mike grunted. "And don't you *dare* turn her over, I'm not gonna get my dick sliced up by the little cunt's teeth so you can fuck her easier!"

Johnny shrugged, and then slammed his hips forward, sinking his rigid shaft into her unprepared ass. Heather let out a wide-eyed scream that was muffled by the cock that sank even deeper into her throat, starting to choke her as Mike's knot trapped her nose against his pubes!

She reached up, grabbing Mike's hips helplessly, trying to push him back, but his grip on her hair, the pain in her nether regions, everything was conspiring against her getting the force to do anything but help him grind the tip of his cock deeper into her throat. The cocks pistoning in and out of her ass and cunt felt like they were tearing her apart!

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Mike and Tony both groaned and emptied their balls into her badly abused body. By now, blood was seeping from a dozen or more tiny cuts their claws had left in her scalp, her back, and her thighs. Johnny came just a few thrusts later, his knot already swollen and locking him into her ass. The younger Wolf's eyes rolled back in his head slightly, his tongue lolling out as he stroked Heather's back with mocking tenderness, just before his brother's voice drew him back into the moment.

"That's a good girl," Mike panted as his orgasm passed. "Now, just hold still so I can get my knot out...." He grabbed her jaw at the base, tugging for a moment, and then chuckled lowly. "Too bad you've got such long teeth, honey." Her eyes rolled up at him quizzically, then horror passed through them as she felt him grab either half of her muzzle, his powerful fingers curling around the inside of her jaw. "But if I wait for my knot to come down, we'll be late for the party, won't we?"

Johnny's grin broadened, his spent shaft twitching and spurting a bit more of his thin seed into Heather's body as he watched Mike spread her jaws with his hand, the low, sickening 'crack' of her jaw dislocating sending a thrill through him. Mike kept his cock in place while Heather screamed, muffling her protests until she was reduced to helpless sobs, when he pulled out and let her front half slump down to the ground.

"'Ou 'ucks!" She spat out at them, her words almost lost in the painful sobbing, but still just able to be made out. They were badly slurred, with only her tongue to form the sounds, but sheer bile and rage made her do it despite the pain in her jaw. "'Ait 'il Jessie 'n' Dad get hold of 'ou!" The young Coyote worked her arms under herself, pushing herself up to glare at Mike through her pain and tears. "Gonna kill you!" She shrieked shrilly, crying out as Tony ripped his barbed shaft out of her bloody, dripping cunt.

"C'mon, Johnny, let's get out of here," Mike said, ignoring the threats of the defiled girl between he and his brother. "Before somebody comes out to check on her." He turned around, heading off along with his Tiger friend, making their way between the corn rows on the way out to where they'd parked the car on the other side of the field. Johnny looked down at Heather, who was sobbing brokenly now, her tight ass clinging to his body and keeping him from getting away. She occasionally whimpered out some threat, but right now, he almost felt bad about what they'd done to her.

Almost. It wasn't so much that he regretted it, as he was beginning to worry about what would happen as soon as she stopped sobbing, and started screaming. Even now, her father could be getting ready to come out. He knew full well that Abe Cochrane's shotgun was always loaded, and *not* always with rock salt. Not a jury around that would convict Abe of putting both barrels in the back of *any* of their heads if this got out.

Johnny looked up and around his shoulder, towards the house, to see if there was any sign of activity yet. There wasn't anything at the house... and then his eyes fell on a solution to his problem.

He wrapped his arm around Heather's throat, pulling her upper body up against his, and licked her neck tenderly as he reached up above his head with his free hand.

"Have you learned your lesson, Heather? Learned what happens to little dykes like you who go flaunting your tight little asses at us guys then licking some bull-dyke between the legs?"

Heather shuddered, not saying anything. There was something in Johnny's tone, in his words, that was scaring her more than anything that had happened so far. The Wolf brought his hand down, and her heart began to beat more quickly as she felt something brush her ear. Heather snapped her head back and up to see what it was; she almost started to laugh, her breath hitching hysterically in her throat as she saw that it was the empty hand of the scarecrow dangling loose, that had brushed against her. There was something off about it, something wrong, but she couldn't place it right now. The thought that something so innocuous had scared her so badly was just beginning to make her crack, until Johnny's voice brought her back into the terror-soaked moment.

"Have you learned your lesson, Heather? Going to be a good girl now?" Johnny demanded, his other hand back down below Heather's line of sight again.

"G-gonna 'ake 'ou 'ay 'or dis," she said. "L-leave 'e alone, 'ay'e 'ou'll get out," she told him, though her threats were less certain now, driven less by rage than fear. All that was left was the desperate hope that maybe, if she extended the prospect of her father's shotgun and *maybe* avoiding it, he'd just get his knot out of her ass. That would leave her to stagger back up to the house where she could try and figure out how to explain this to her parents... and to Jessie.

"We're all gonna get out of it, honey," Johnny chuckled, wrapping his arm around her chest, pinning her arms down and raising his other hand to the level of her throat. Heather's blood ran cold, as the feel of rusty, jagged metal against her throat reminded her of what had been missing from the scarecrow's hand.

The old sickle that her father had always put up with it.

"All of us except you," Johnny whispered, pulling his hand back and across, ripping the jagged, rusty edge of the blade into Heather's throat. A ragged scream almost escaped, before it was drowned in a gurgling, pathetic sob, the sound ripping out of Heather's throat as blood sprayed out onto the dry earth, dripping down her body as she aspirated it, her final attempt to cry out making what wasn't spraying from her jugular bubble out and drip down her front, washing her tawny fur, and Johnny's mottled grey arm, in a sticky, metallic-scented crimson. Her body flexed and twitched helplessly, her claws digging into her thighs as they were held in place, but Johnny felt his knot slip out of her ass despite it seeming even harder and more swollen than before. He turned her around, licking at the ragged gash in her throat, shivering in excitement as he felt her blood soaking into his fur, running down their bodies, dripping onto his shaft.

"There... that wasn't so hard, was it?"' He grinned, letting her go, his balls twitching lightly as he watched her stagger back, falling and clutching at her throat in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding.

"I wish I had more time to spend watching you," he whispered, straddling her waist and bending down close to her. He set the sickle aside, taking her jaw back into his hand, and with a wrenching movement he forced it back into the joint. Then he kissed her bloody lips almost lovingly, looking into her eyes. "But don't worry," he continued, picking up the sickle, "you won't die alone." With that, he brought the blade up between them, driving the ragged tip under her sternum. Blood gushed from the wound as a pained expression crossed Heather's face, a helpless, silent scream escaping her mouth. Finally, the burbling sound of her last breaths rattled out of her ruined throat as her destroyed heart spasmed and quit.

"Heather!" He heard a concerned, male, voice shouting down from the house, and glanced back to see the door open and close. Definitely time to make his exit.

Grabbing his pants and clothes, Johnny took off for the car, grinning like the cat that ate the canary. When he reached the car, he was still pulling his pants up, his clothes spattered with the gore that covered his hands, arm, and chest. Mike stared at him in disbelief from the rear driver's seat as Tony started the car.

"Lemme in, guys!" Johnny whined, pulling on the handle as he realized the Tiger had locked the doors.

"Jesus *fuck*, Johnny, what'd you do?!?" Mike demanded, running the window part-way down.

"I made sure she couldn't rat us out!" The younger Wolf protested, shrinking back from the anger in his older brother's voice. "I thought -"

"Fuck, Johnny, what would she have said?" Tony snarled. "The word of one cunt cheerleader against the three of us? Never would've stuck! This is-"

"Heather!" The call came out again, closer to the barn this time.

"Come *on*, guys, I did it for us!" Johnny whined, tucking his tail between his legs. "If we don't all get out of here, then Mr. Cochrane'll catch us and it won't *matter* what she would've said or not! Open the door, Tony!"

"No way, Johnny, you're on your own with this one!" The Tiger said, running Mike's window up.

"Mike, Tony!" Johnny whined, running around to the front of the car to keep them from pulling out. "Come on!" He was starting to panic now; he knew they'd left an obvious trail through the cornfields. It wouldn't take Mr. Cochrane more than a few minutes to find what was left of Heather, especially when the smell reached him! "Guys, come on, you can't do this to me!"

"Let him in, Tony," Mike said softly from the back seat.

"Are you shitting me, Mike?" Tony asked, turning around in his seat, his powerful body twisting to face the shorter, leaner Wolf. "I know he's your brother, but the little fucker *killed* the girl we just *raped*, in case you're not keeping score here!"

"I know that!" Mike snarled, his ears flat against his head. "And you think the cops're gonna care that we 'only' raped the little twat? If *he* fries for this, we *all* fry!"

"Not if *we* turn him in first, the DA'd make a deal," Tony pointed out, ignoring the sound of Johnny hammering on the windshield except to make a mental note that he'd have a hell of a time cleaning the blood off the hood. "We'd go to Juvie, get out before that long, and it'd be *gone*. Hell, he's younger than we are, he'd probably get out too, records clean, and even if he doesn't, *he killed a girl, Mike*!" There was an edge of panic in his voice, completely at odds with the increasingly cold glint in Mike's eyes.

"He's my *brother*, Tony. My pack, and my *blood*. You let him in this goddamn car, or the DA's gonna find out that you're the one who fucking snapped. Everybody knows Johnny's a good little gamma. You think anybody'll believe he did anything like that without my say-so? And you think they'll believe I told him to kill the bitch? You let him into this *fucking* car, or God help me...."

"Shit, you're both crazy," Tony swore. There wasn't a choice in the matter right now though, not that he could see. He hit the unlock button; there was something in Mike's voice that told him he might not be alive to deny anything the two brothers said if they *did* end up going to the DA. "You're *both* helping me clean this fucking mess up," he added with a glare at Johnny as the younger Wolf climbed into the car.

"Head out into the woods behind our place," Mike said calmly as Johnny closed the door and they pulled out. "We'll clean up the car and get Johnny washed up, then I'll grab him some fresh clothes. We'll make it to the party a bit late, but with a couple beers in us to explain why. Nobody's gonna know, as long as *we* don't fuck up. So we're not gonna fuck up, are we, Tony? Johnny?"

"No, sir. I'm sorry I did the wrong thing," Johnny said, his ears still flat, his tone contrite.

"You meant well, Johnny. But from now on, let *me* do the goddamn thinking around here," Mike growled, settling in to sort out all the wrinkles of covering this up, wondering just how long they'd have to arrange things before the cops came around and broke up the night's festivities.

~~~===~~~

"Heather!" Abe shouted as he came down from the house. Contrary to the fears of the boys who'd been in the fields, he didn't have his shotgun with him. Instead, the broad-shouldered Coyote was simply pulling on a light jacket to see why his daughter was late getting back from her chores. It was a still night, hardly any wind to carry the smell of the barn up to the house, but he'd heard a few noises earlier.

He'd focused on actually getting a few minutes to himself instead of going down to check on them. If Heather was having any trouble, she knew to go to the intercom to call for some help. Now, so late getting back up, his mind was full of all manner of images; had she been kicked and knocked out by one of the cows? Fallen off one of the machines and hit her head?

He ran down towards the barn, calling out for his daughter, his nose working hard to try and pick up a scent to tell him what was going on. About half-way down the hill, he caught the metallic scent of blood coming up from the cornfield. A glance told him that something was wrong; crows were starting to descend on the field, near the clearing in the middle. He even saw a turkey vulture coming down.

And the blood he smelled wasn't from a deer or a stray calf.

Abe broke into a run down the hill, trying to tell himself that his nose was wrong, that he didn't smell an injured *person* down in the field. That it was one of the Landers, not his baby girl the crows were coming for. *Anything* to hold off the sick realization building in his gut.

None of that meant a thing when he burst through the corn, panting, scattering the crows. There was a trail of crushed and broken stalks behind him, a nearly straight line that intersected with the damage the earlier chase had done. The turkey vulture puffed up and glared at him with its bald, ugly head, its beak red with the gore of his little girl from where it had started trying to eat. He snarled and lunged at it, driving it off into the gathering darkness of that still, October night.

Abe turned around to look at what was left of his daughter, her belly opened up by the ragged blade still stuck inside of her, fell to his knees, and proceeded to heave the contents of his stomach onto the ground.

~~~===~~~

Jessie paused at the stoplight at the edge of town, running down the window of her old '82 El Camino and glancing at the pack of cigarettes still sitting on the dash.

"I only promised to quit tonight, not necessarily before the party tonight," she thought to herself, drumming her fingers on the wheel. Reaching over, she tapped out a cigarette and stuck it between her teeth, reaching into her pocket for her lighter. A moment later, she was cruising down the roads leading out of town, a trail of cigarette smoke coming out the window as Ghoultown's _I Spit on Your Grave_ played on the radio. She tucked the etched Zippo back into her pocket, but not before running her thumb over the words that Heather had gotten engraved into the metal surface. Jessie shook her head with a low chuckle for the irony of it; the lighter had been a gift when they'd started dating, before she'd minded the smoking so much.

It wasn't a very long drive out to the Cochrane farm, where she was going to be picking up Heather. Just long enough to wonder what the big hullaballoo had been when the cops and ambulance had gone screaming past the junkyard earlier; usually the Sheriff didn't bother with the sirens for anything but accidents, and *those* usually didn't call for practically every car in the station. She knew all of them too; she'd helped her Dad service them almost since she could walk.

Well, whoever had managed to wreck that spectacularly, she hoped they'd gotten out of it in one reasonably intact piece. Harvest time was always a little rough; it would really suck to have a car wreck on top of it. Especially since her Dad usually had *her* clean the cars out once the cops were done with them.

She extinguished her cigarette before pulling up into the driveway of the Cochrane farm. She looked at the front step quizzically as she climbed out; Mr. and Mrs. Cochrane were standing just inside the front porch. The she-Wolf walked up to the front steps when she noticed that Mrs. Cochrane was sobbing in her husband's arms.

"What's wrong, Mrs. C?" She asked with concern in her voice. The two Coyotes looked over at her, and something about the expression in their eyes made her gut twist up inside her.

"Where's Heather?" She asked with a hint of panic in her voice. Mr. Cochrane glanced towards the service road leading down to the fields, just as Jessie noticed the flashing red and whites coming up the dusty gravel path... but, despite the lights being on, there was no trace of the siren. Jessie turned and started running back for her car as the ambulance turned onto the road, Abe Cochrane bolting after her.

"Let me go, I've gotta find out what happened!" She snarled as his hand closed on her shoulder, trying to shrug him off. He was well over twenty years her senior and male, but with his smaller Coyote frame the two of them were pretty evenly matched for bulk and muscle. "I've gotta see her!" She yelled as he wrapped his arms around her and tried to wrestle her down.

"Not like that, you don't!" He snarled back, pulling her away from the car. "Jessie, listen to me! You don't *want* to see her, not like... not like I found her." Jessie pushed him off and climbed into the front seat, fumbling with the keys. She dropped the ring trying to get the key in the switch... then, instead of reaching for it, put her head against the wheel and sobbed.

Abe opened the passenger's side door, climbed in, and put a shaking hand on Jessie's shoulder.

"Why'd you come out here tonight, Jessie?" He asked her gently. "I thought you'd heard the sheriff, until you came up to the porch."

"I was her date tonight," Jessie whispered. Abe swallowed hard, but didn't say anything for a long moment. Jessie looked up at him, her eyes shining with tears and defiant all at the same time.

"Well? Aren't you gonna blow up about it? Tell me it's not true, kick me off the farm?" She demanded with her lips curled back in a snarl.

"What good would it do?" He asked her sharply. "You're not the one who killed her, and we'd kind of guessed about a year ago." Jessie's muzzle hung open, stunned, before the tears and sobbing took over again, any sense of holding back lost now that there wasn't anything to hide for Heather's sake.

"God-fucking-dammit!" She wept into her arms. "A-all that time sh-sh-she...." Abe held her shoulder until she was steady enough for him to reach down and pick up the keys from the floor of the car, then climbed out to go back up to the house and his wife. They'd all have to talk to the police later, once they were done in the fields. For now, he had to worry about the living... and try to forget what he'd seen when he'd found his little girl cut open in the fields.

But he wouldn't forget the tracks that hadn't been destroyed in the struggle. Those, he'd have to remember... and hope he'd see them again.