I Went To Visit An Old High School Friend, He Has A Very Unique Trophy Case.

Tommy was what the ?Beautiful People? at our High School called an ?Easy Target?.
He was short, kind of chubby, very timid, with thick black coke bottle glasses.
Need I say more?
Now, I?ve never considered myself to be a tough guy, but I could hold my own in a fight, one on one, or even two on one, if it came down to it.
You see, my father, who at the time, had just retired from the Air Force after 20 years, had taught me a few defensive moves, when I was younger, in case I ever needed to defend myself.
He also taught me to respect others, and to stand up for what is right.
And that is how I met Tommy.
Tommy Wickerman!
It was 1986.
I was 17 years old, and a Senior in High School.
Tommy was a Junior, as he was a year younger.
Now, like I said, my father had just retired, which meant we, my mother, my father and I, could no longer live in Base Housing.
The Mayflower Moving Company had a contract with the Air Base, according to my father, so they were called in to pack all of our belongings, and move them from our old house on Andrew?s Air Force Base to our new house in THIS small country town.
I?d tell you the name of it, but a lot of weird and creepy stuff happens here.
It?s not for the faint of heart.
I wouldn?t want any of you coming here, and getting mamed, or killed, or anything like that, so it?s best I keep it to myself.
But, I love it here.
You never know what?s going to happen.
Anyway, that?s not important.
Now, after moving into our new house, and getting the utilities turned on, the only thing left for my parents to do was enroll me in school.
Which they did.
School started the following Monday.
Monday came, I got up at six, got dressed, had breakfast, then went outside to wait for the bus.
I know what you?re thinking, ?If you were 17, why didn?t you just drive to school??
Well, I didn?t have a car.
Now, I don?t know how it was, or is, at your High School, but at this one, all the students either walked to school, or took the bus. Driving to school was not allowed.
Anyway, my dad was getting ready for his first day too.
He got a job as a security guard at Cartwright Cinema, a movie theatre in the next town over.
Apparently, they show movies all day long.
He?s now the Theatre Manager.
My mom didn?t, and still doesn?t work, she was, and still is, a stay at home mom.
Anyway, the bus picked me up around 7, making several other stops, to pick up more kids, and finally arriving at the school about 20 minutes later.
I found my homeroom, found my locker, made sure I knew how to open it, then went to my first four classes.
I talked to a couple kids, got my books, learned a few things, and then it was lunch time.
So, there I was, my first day at my new school, in the cafeteria, with no idea where to go.
I had just left the kitchen area, with my tray, which had about 5 undercooked French fries, a pint size carton of chocolate milk, and a rectangular slice of that cardboard pizza that they used to serve in school.
You remember that pizza, Right?
Well, it was the ?80?s, so some of you weren?t even born yet.
Anyway, that was the best pizza ever. Am I right?
For those of you that remember it that is.
Pizza Hut, Domino?s, Papa John?s, ain?t got nothing on that ?80?s High School Cardboard Pizza.
Ellio?s comes close, but it?s not the same.
Wow! Sorry about that! Back to the story.
Now, like I said, I just left the kitchen area, holding my tray, and looking out into a sea of tables, all packed with kids that I didn?t know.
I was an outsider, an unknown, and man, did I feel like it.
The sounds of multiple conversations filled the air.
Anyway, I just stood there, slowly looking left and right.
After a few seconds, I decided to start on the right side of the cafeteria.
I walked up the aisle, looking for an empty seat.
I passed the second table on my right, and there it was, on the far side of the next table, an open seat on the aisle.
I walked to the table, sat my tray on it, introduced myself, and sat down.
The kids all greeted me with ?Hey?s!? and ?Hi?s!?, and went back to their conversations.
I opened my milk, and was just about to take a bite of that amazing pizza, when I heard a cocky, arrogant voice from behind me say, ?Tommy! Tommy! Still sleeps with Mommy!?
I remember it just like it was yesterday.
The entire cafeteria then grew silent.
I turned around, and that is when I first saw Butch.
Butch Mathison!
He was about my age, about my height, with blonde hair, wearing a letterman?s jacket, tossing a football in the air and catching it, repeating the same preschoolish rhyme over and over again.
Obviously, he was the quarterback of the High School Football Team.
Anyway, he walked up the aisle, and stopped at the kid that was sitting back to back with me.
Tommy!
Now, one would think that by the age of 17, that Butch?s mental capabilities could have come up with something better than, ?Tommy! Tommy! Still sleeps with Mommy!? but, let?s just say, Butch was NOT the brightest light on the tree, if you get what I?m saying.
Anyway, he stopped in front of where Tommy was sitting.
All the kids at my table, grabbed their trays and left.
It was at that point, I knew that Butch was the school bully.
I just sat there, looking at him.
Butch then rustled Tommy?s hair, smirking as he did.
?Oops!? Butch said loudly, as he slammed the football down on Tommy?s slice of pizza.
?Look what you did to my football!? Butch yelled, picking it up, and shoving it in Tommy?s face, sauce and cheese dripping from it.
Tommy turned his head quickly, in my direction, to try and stop the ball from hitting him in the face.
His glasses sliding off, and falling to the floor.
Our eyes met, and I saw nothing but fear in his eyes.
As the ball hit his right cheek, Tommy closed his eyes, and I saw a tear form in the corner of his left one.
Enough was enough at that point.
I stood up, catching Butch off guard, grabbed the football with my right hand, out of Butch?s hand, and with every ounce of strength I had, threw it directly in his face, knocking him back and breaking his nose.
The ball bouncing under a table.
A wave of shocked profanity then filled the air.
I looked to see all eyes turned in my direction.
Several girls covered their mouths with their hands, while several guys were throwing fists in the air and ?woofing? like Arsenio Hall did on his Talk Show years later.
I turned back around to see blood gushing out of Butch?s nose, like a water faucet.
?Leave him alone!? I screamed, as Butch grabbed his face.
Two other kids came to Butch?s aide.
One took a step towards me.
?You want some?? I said aggressively, and took a step toward him, he stopped, turned around, and went back to helping Butch.
Teachers and other faculty members, then came running to break up the fight, and to quiet down the kids.
Now, you have to remember, that this was in the ?80?s, long before you got arrested for fighting in school.
Back then, you took your hits, and moved on.
Butch was escorted to the Nurses Office.
While I was escorted to the Principal?s Office.
Before I left, I bent over, picked up Tommy?s glasses, and handed them back to him.
?Thank you!? he said, wiping off his face, with a look of shock in his eyes.
I just smiled at him, and nodded my head.
I got 4 days of I. S. S., which stands for ?In School Suspension?, in case you didn?t know.
Basically, you still had to come to school, go to homeroom, get marked as present, then report to this little room, about the size of a walk in closet, and sit there all day long until the school day was over, staring at the walls, with other kids that got in trouble, not talking to anyone, not doing anything, but just sitting there.
We did have lunch, but it was this stew like concoction that looked like baby vomit.
It smelled and tasted even worse.
There wasn?t even a clock in the room, so you couldn?t tell what time it was.
Now, I know what you?re thinking, ?I would just look at my cell phone to know what time it was!?
It was the ?80?s remember? Cell phones weren?t invented yet.
The person in charge of overseeing the ?troublemakers? was always Mr. Donnelly.
I?m not sure if he was a teacher or not, or they just hired him for that purpose, but he definitely was a throw back from the ?70?s.
He had long stringy brown hair, pulled back in a ponytail, wore bell bottom jeans, sandals on his feet, a tan button up shirt, with what looked to be a dark blue crocheted vest with a huge peace sign on the back, with little round buttons on the front.
He wore round wire framed glasses like John Lennon wore, and always smelled like potting soil.
Anyway, It was horrible.
All because they said that ?I? was the aggressor in the situation.
Butch didn?t get in trouble at all, all he got was a broken nose.
High School Quarterback remember?
Anyway, I told my Father what happened.
He had a ?few choice words? for the principal, but, in the end, I served my time, and moved on.
Friday, after my last I. S. S., I was walking to the bus, when Tommy came running up from behind me.
We started talking, and became really good friends.
Now, I?m not gonna say that Tommy was weird, or strange, or anything like that.
I?ll just say that his hobbies were ?different? than most peoples.
Where my hobbies included listening to music, 80?s Hair Metal to be exact, going roller skating, and watching movies.
Tommy?s were, as I said, ?different?
You see, Tommy?s father was the local Taxidermist. You know, the people that stuff animals, real ones, after hunters kill them for no apparent reason other than just to kill them, and mount their heads to the wall, or put the whole thing on display.
Anyway, he taught Tommy how to stuff them.
His entire room was full of mounted dead animals.
Birds, mice, a raccoon, a couple squirrels, and even a cat.
It was so disgusting, but he was my friend, and who am I to judge anyone.
We hung out at my house A LOT!
Anyway, no one really cares about that! Moving on!
Butch DID NOT learn anything from our altercation, and continued to bully Tommy every chance he got, when I wasn?t around that is.
We got in multiple fights with each other because of it.
I spent more days in I. S. S. than I did in the classroom.
He just wouldn?t stop.
Now, on that faithful Friday afternoon, Tommy had asked me if I would be his friend forever, no matter what.
Without thinking, I replied, ?Yes! Of course I will.?
Now, answering that question the way I did, many years ago, has began to make me question myself, whether I can keep that promise or not.
I am torn by the decision that only I can make right now.
But, more on that later.
Now, like I said, Butch was a never ending torment for Tommy, well, until his Senior year.
You see, Butch and I were in the same graduating class, and Tommy was a year behind us.
So, Tommy?s Senior year was relatively torment free, at least in school that is.
I kept in touch with him, after I graduated.
Now, during the Homecoming game, our Senior year, only a month or so after the lunchroom incident, Butch had suffered a career ending injury to his knee, and was forced to give up football.
I never want to see anyone get hurt, but I wasn?t too torn up about it either.
Now, being forced to quit football only made Butch?s torment of Tommy even worse.
Shoving him into lockers, pulling his pants down in the hallway, hip checking him into walls, things like that.
Now, since Butch was no longer an asset to the school, he actually began to get in trouble.
He got a couple I. S. S.?s, but still that didn?t stop him.
After graduation, Butch took over management of one of his fathers Video Rental Stores, and continued to mess with Tommy.
At the mall, at the roller rink, at the movies, every chance he got.
Tommy told me what happened each time, but wouldn?t let me address it with Butch. He said he had a plan, but wouldn?t tell me what it was.
I?d see Butch from time to time, when I came in to rent a movie, he was always nice to me.
I got a job in the shoe department at Wally World, a department store in the next town over, just down the street from where my father works, saved my money and bought a car.
I?ve been there ever since.
Shortly after Tommy graduated, he said that being in this town only reminded him of all the torment he suffered at the hands of Butch, and that he needed to get away, and start a new life somewhere else.
I understood completely.
He packed his bags, and took the next bus to anywhere that wasn?t here.
I gave him money for a ticket, a couple hundred dollars to get him started, and drove him to the bus station.
He promised to pay me back.
Tommy never learned how to drive. He was completely scared ****less to get behind the wheel of a car.
Anyway, as he got out of the car, he turned to me, smiled, and said, ?Tell Butch, I will NEVER forget him. Thanks for being my friend Mike. I?ll call you! Bye!?
It was at that time I noticed something different about his eyes. They weren?t as innocent looking as they were when I first met him. They were darker.
?Okay, I?ll tell him! You?re welcome Man! Be safe! Bye Tommy!? I replied waving.
He waved back, and walked into the terminal.
I then drove home.
As the days turned to weeks, and the weeks turned to months, Tommy?s call never came.
During that time, I had saved enough money from my job, to move out of my parents house, and rent a room at the local flop house.
I asked my parents to let me know if Tommy called.
They said they would.
Now, it was 1988 at that point, and life carried on without Tommy.
I missed my friend, but without knowing where he was, I couldn?t contact him.
So, after a while, I figured he went somewhere, started a new life, and was happy where he was at.
He did start a new life, and I?m sure it made him happy, but how it turned out, was NOT how I thought it would be.
Anyway, like I said, Life went on without Tommy.
I worked my way up to Assistant Manager of Shoes, after about 15 years.
I?m a very patient man.
I got a good size raise, and moved out of the flop house into my own apartment.
I met an incredibly beautiful woman at work, a few years later.
She?s a cashier there.
We started dating, and were married about two years after that.
She moved in with me.
At was about that time, that I started to notice ?Missing Person? flyers everywhere I went.
That creepy Grocery Store in town, the gas station, the zoo, even stapled to trees lining the street, everywhere.
There was a new flyer, every six months or so, and they were all people I went to school with.
Stacy Bennett, the head cheerleader.
Scott White, a member of the wrestling team.
Devin Williams, the class clown.
Richard Garrison, Amanda Moffett, and even Mr. Fleming, the Physical Education Teacher.
After the third disappearance, town officials elected to place a 10 o?clock curfew on the town, and all businesses were ordered to close at nine.
If you worked out of town, and worked later than the curfew, you had to register with the police department, provide your work schedule each week, also the make, model, and license plate number of your car, then you would get an exemption card from the sheriff.
I still have my card, as sometimes I had to work until 11.
Now, even with the curfew in place, people just kept disappearing, for the next 10 years, give or take.
I just figured they all got tired of the craziness that happens in this town, moved away, and didn?t tell anyone.
But when I saw the flyer, of the latest person to disappear, I knew I was wrong.
The missing person? was Butch.
And just like that, the disappearances stopped.
About a year went by, and with no further disappearances, the sheriff lifted the curfew, and life went back to normal.
Which brings us to present day, well, almost.
I arrived home from work about a month ago, and my wife handed me a plain white envelope, with my name on it.
She said she found it sitting in the mailbox when she checked the mail earlier.
It had No return address.
No postage stamp.
No stamp from the post office.
Nothing!
Nothing but my name, and only my first name.
I was reluctant to open it.
I mean, wouldn?t you?
Anyway, I sat down on the couch, and stared at the envelope, for a good 10 minutes.
Finally, I decided to open it.
Inside was a letter, neatly typed.
I still have it in my wallet.
Hold on! I?ll read it to you.
Here it is?
?Dear Mike.
I hope this letter finds you well.
A lot of things have happened since the last time we talked. Such wonderful things. I have found purpose in my life. I?m not afraid anymore.
I am sorry for not contacting you sooner, but I have been busy perfecting my calling in life. I hope you understand.
I would like to share my accomplishments with you, my one and only real friend.
I invite you to my home at (Address retracted for privacy) at your earliest convenience.
Please contact me at 1-555-728-3825. It would be great to hear from you.
Your friend forever,
Tommy.?
I sat there, on the couch, completely shocked, yet intrigued.
?How did he know where I lived?? was my first thought.
My second thought was ?Since he obviously didn?t mail it, who put it in my mailbox??
My wife then walked into the room, and sat a cup of coffee on the table for me.
She then sat next to me, and asked, ?Is everything alright Hon??
?I?m not sure!? I replied slightly puzzled, ?It?s from an old High School friend that I haven?t seen in about 30 years! I almost forgot about him. He invited me to his house.?
?That?s nice! He probably just wants to catch up. You should go.? she said smiling.
?I?ll think about it.? I responded, then threw the letter, and the envelope, on the coffee table, took a drink of my coffee, and spent quality time with my wife for the rest of the night.
It sat there for three weeks.
At which time, curiosity got the better of me.
My wife was at work, and there wasn?t anything good on TV.
I sat the remote on the coffee table, next to the envelope, and the letter.
I stared at it for a few seconds, then picked it up.
I unfolded it, found the spot with the phone number, got up off the couch, walked to the kitchen, to the phone on the wall, picked up the receiver, and dialed the number.
It only rang once.
Tommy then picked up the phone.
?Hello!? he said.
His voice was more intense than I remembered, but it was his voice.
?Hey Tommy! It?s Mike!? I replied.
We then had about an hour long conversation about almost everything under the Sun.
He said he found my address by Googling my name. It wasn?t hard to find me, because I have a very unique last name.
He also said he had taken the bus back to town, and walked to my house, and that he had every intention on stopping by, but there was no car in the driveway, so he figured I wasn?t home.
He wrote the letter, in case no one was home when he got here.
So he left it in the mailbox, walked back to the bus station, and took the next bus home.
He didn?t know I was married.
Anyway, once we got our schedules to coincide, we made plans to meet up at his house, the following Sunday, my next day off.
I Googled his address and found out he lived 3 1/2 hours away.
After making our plans, we said our goodbyes, and hung up the phone.
When my wife, her name?s Casey by the way, got home from work, I told her about talking to Tommy, and the plans we made for Sunday.
She was happy for me.
This morning came, it?s Sunday by the way.
I got up around 7, got dressed like usual, had breakfast with Casey, made a travel mug of coffee, kissed Casey goodbye, got in the car about 8, and made the 3 1/2 hour drive to Tommy?s house.
Well, the little over 4 hour drive, with traffic and bathroom breaks.
Coffee runs right through me.
Anyway, I arrived at Tommy?s house just after 12 o?clock.
It was a huge two story house, bigger than mine.
It was forest green, and trimmed in white, with a porch that stretched across the entire front of the house.
There was a white picket fence that surrounded the whole property, which was about 2 acres in size, with a large gray sign that read, ?Wickerman Taxidermy Services? on it.
I knew I was at the right place.
There was a decent size garden to the left of the house as you look at it, with tomatoes, cucumbers, and various other vegetables.
There was a large building behind the garden, painted the same colors, about the size of a three car garage, with stepping stones leading from its entrance to the back of the house, assuming to the back door.
The driveway was to the right of the house, leading to the side of it.
I pulled in the driveway, shut off the car, and got out.
I walked up the sidewalk, onto the porch, rang the doorbell, stepped back, and waited.
After a few seconds, the front door opened up, and the man I saw standing before me WAS short, and WAS wearing black glasses, but he was not chubby at all.
He was a lot thinner, and very muscular.
He reminded me of Taz, when he was in ECW.
Anyway, ?Tommy!? I said, shocked at what I saw.
?Yeah Man! It?s me!? He replied, stepping back, spreading his arms out, and spinning around.
He stopped to face me again.
?Come on in my friend!? he said, and motioned for me to enter.
So, I did.
The first thing he did was hand me a white envelope, from his back pocket, with $1,000 cash in it, paying me back that loan I gave him all those years ago.
I put the envelope in my back pocket.
We then sat at his dining room table for the next 4 hours, drinking coffee, and reminiscing about old times.
Come to find out, shortly after he arrived here, and stepped off the bus, he rented a room off an elderly lady, with some of the money that I gave him, and became good friends with her.
Given the fact that she had no living relatives, when she passed away about a year later, she left him the house, and the property in her Will.
Once the money ran out, he got a job as a ?Hoser? working for the local Sanitation Company, you know, the guys that suck the crap, literally, out of septic tanks, and port-a-potty?s.
He said it was a real ****ty job, pun intended, but it paid good.
Anyway, he worked there for a couple years, until the tragic death of his parents, in a freak accident that happened on Christmas Eve, at that creepy Grocery Store, back in the town I live in.
He sold his parents house, but kept all his father?s Taxidermy equipment, and opened up his own business.
And that business is going good, especially around hunting season.
Anyway, he said that when he first met the old lady, she noticed his size, and offered to help him lose weight, as she was a dietician at the local Health & Wellness Center for many years, and helped many people lose weight, and keep it off.
He took her up on her offer, completely changed his eating habits, he eats a lot of salads, soups, and fish now, lost about 100 pounds, and started working out.
He had a Bowflex machine set up in one of the upstairs bedrooms.
He let me try it out.
That thing was nice, I?m gonna look into getting one myself.
After my workout, I was quite hungry, Tommy mentioned to me that he was having salad for dinner, and offered me one.
I love salads.
Anyway, ?I grow my own vegetables in the garden!? he stated.
?Cool!? I replied.
The salad? was amazing!
Now, after dinner, we talked for a while.
It was starting to get dark, so I mentioned that I had to get going, I didn?t want to get home too late.
He agreed, and started to walk me to the door.
?Oh ****!? he exclaimed, ?My accomplishments! I forgot to show you!?
I figured, how long could it take, 10 minutes or so.
?I got time!? I said.
Tommy then smiled.
?Come on!? he said, turning around, and walking towards the back door.
He opened the door, and we walked to the large building in the back yard.
Now, I was in no way, shape, or form, prepared for what I saw.
Tommy put his hand on the knob, ?Now, close your eyes, I want it to be a surprise! I?ll guide you in!? he said excitedly.
So I did.
Now in complete darkness, I heard the door knob turn, I heard the door open, and felt Tommy grab my arm.
?Step! Step! Step! Okay Stop!? he instructed.
?Are you ready?? he asked excitedly once again.
?Sure am!? I replied.
I then felt, with my eyes still closed, an overhead light turn on.
?Okay my friend! Open your eyes!? Tommy said.
So I did, but I wish I didn?t.
You see, what I saw, when I opened my eyes, completely terrified me, and sickened me at the same time.
In the room, was nothing but plaques, and three old rusty dog cages, lined with soiled newspaper, and hand cuffs hanging from the tops of them.
Now, I know what you?re thinking, ?Plaques? What?s so terrifying about plaques? The cages are a little creepy, but the plaques??
Well, it wasn?t the plaques that were terrifying.
No!
It was what was ON the plaques that terrified me.
It was human heads, a lot of them, neatly preserved, with their eyes open, and looking at me.
I recognized some of them, they were the missing people that I went to school with.
Stacy, Scott, Devin, Richard, Amanda, Mr. Fleming, and Butch.
Others, I did not recognize.
?Ain?t it awesome, Mike?? Tommy asked, nearly ****ting himself with excitement.
I just stood there, afraid to say anything.
?Mike? You ok?? he asked.
Now, knowing what happened to the missing people, and knowing that Tommy kidnapped them, tortured them, and eventually killed them, led me to only one conclusion.
If I didn?t play along, Tommy could easily do the same to me.
?Yeah Man! This is amazing. I love it!? I replied, as if nothing was wrong.
?I got ?em Mike! I got all of them.? he said, with a wicked smile, walking over to the heads, pointing at each one, and explaining why.
?Stacy, who laughed in my face when I asked her to a school dance.
Scott, who almost broke my arm in Gym class one day, showing off for the girls.
Devin, who always pulled pranks on me.
Richard, who used to spit spitballs at me in class.
Amanda, who called me names.
Mr. Fleming, who insulted me, causing the whole Gym class to laugh at me, because I couldn?t even do one pull-up.
And my Prize Accomplishment? Little Bitch Butch, who cried like a baby, right before I ripped his head off.
You know what that little ****er used to do to me Mike!?
He then turned to look at me.
?No one is gonna **** with me ever again!? he screamed aggressively.
I just looked at him.
?Um! Who are the other people?? I asked.
?Oh! There just some *******s that ****ed with me when I first got here. Don?t worry about them.? he said calmly.
?In case you?re wondering, how I keep the heads looking so good, I use my skills as a taxidermist.
All my equipment is set up in the basement of the house.
I bury the bodies in the garden, at night, so no one sees me, it?s a good way to fertilize the vegetable plants.?
I suddenly felt that salad come creeping up in my throat.
I fought like hell to hold back the vomit, and composed myself.
?Hey Man! This is great! I?m glad for you. You finally got revenge!? I said, ?I?ll have to stop by again, and see if there are any more additions. But I really gotta go Man.?
?Okay! Cool!? he said, opening the door, shutting off the light, and shutting the door, after we walked out.
He walked me to the front door, opened it, and shook my hand.
I practically ran to my car, and got the hell out of there as fast as I could.
I got about a half mile away from the house, pulled over on the side of the road, puked my brains out, wiped my mouth off, cleaned my hands with some Sani-Wipes that I keep in the glovebox, and drove on.
Now, remember that decision I mentioned earlier?
The one that only I can make.
Well, it?s time to make it.
You see, I?m sitting in my car, in the parking lot of the local police station, staring at the front entrance right now, contemplating what to do.
I?ve been here for about two hours.
Tommy?s words keep echoing in my head over and over again, ?Will you be my friend forever? ever! No matter what? what?? followed by my reply, ?Yes? Yes! Of course I will? will!
I don?t know what to do.
I mean, I do not agree with the way Tommy handled things.
And I do not agree that the people who tormented him, laughed at him, or made fun of him, deserved to be tortured and killed either.
But, every action does have a reaction, sometimes it?s good, sometimes it?s bad, and in this case? IT?S REALLY BAD!
What you say, or do, to someone will have an effect on that persons psyche.
They should have known that.
People need to realize that.
Aww, Screw it.
What are friends for?
I?m going home.


Source.