Chainsaws and Daisies

Lonnie my love, so big and foolish but also innocent and gentle, you were my protector. Why couldn’t I have left you alone instead of use you as a tool for destruction? Sometimes I wish I never found you but then I would have never been happy, maybe you wouldn’t have been either. I want to go back to the day I saw you frolicking in the field of daisies, maybe things would be different and you would be safe...

I’m sitting in a field alone, running a daisy stem through my fingers and gently ripping off each petal one by one.

“He loves me, he loves me not…” I already know the answer to that. I think of the day we met, we were both so young. That day I was picking daisies of course, making a bigger bouquet then the day before and I saw you. You looked hideous and repugnant among the delicate flowers, but that didn’t stop me from approaching you. As I came closer to you I realized that you had been badly beaten and your face was somewhat disfigured. I was scared but you seemed more scared then I was and when I touched your arm I could feel you tremble.

I took you home that day and took care of you, I cleaned your wounds and you seemed gratified. Each day you grew bigger, stronger and happier not that you were that small to begin with, you were at least four feet higher than I was, or any person for that matter. You never spoke but you somehow understood every word I said to you. I would call you by the name I gave you, Lonnie, and you would obediently come to me. You took a strong liking to horror films; I would often drive into town and rent a couple of movies, you mostly wanted "Nightmare on Elm Street" or "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" movies. Jason was your favorite though, I even bought you a white hockey mask to wear and I rarely ever saw you without it.

I guess maybe it was because you and Jason had so much in common, I hate thinking of you having the kind of life Jason had though. The thought of people making fun of you and tormenting you enrages me. It was like we were on our own side, me and you against them, them being everyone else. We spent so much time together on the farm, mainly because I didn’t want to take you to town, I never liked going to town. People were mean and vicious to me even before I met you Lonnie. I never liked being around people, they never understood and often terrorized people that were even slightly different from them. That’s why I kept the farm my dad left me and just stayed away.

I remember your birthdays, I of course never knew the exact date but I decided your birthday was the day we met, the day I found you. We’d stay up all night and watch horror movies just me and you, surprisingly we never got scared, we just enjoyed how the messed up characters that had a hard life often got their revenge. I felt bad for leaving you alone at home when I went into town for supplies because every time I would start the car you would try and follow me and you would make that face, the face that I pitied so much. I couldn’t help myself one day and being the stupid idiot that I am I took you along with me.

I was planning to drive around for a bit so you could look around, and leave you in the car when I had to run into the store, that didn’t work out very well. When I came out from the store I was horrified to see you with your face buried in your hands and a bunch of punks around the car laughing, pointing and shouting mean names and profanities through the window. I quickly started the car and drove home; you stayed in your room for the rest of the day. It was like your spirit died. I bought you a machete and gave you my dad’s old chainsaw to try and make you feel better. My gesture cheered you up but I could still see an undying embarrassment and hate in your eyes. Then, one night I couldn’t take the image of you being tormented like that anymore. The event replayed itself over and over in my mind until I decided that I had to do something.

I started the car while you were sleeping and drove into town. I knew the punks had to be around somewhere reeking havoc. It was a small town and they had to be close by. I finally saw them by the bank, skating around. I rolled down my window and asked them if they wanted to go to an out of town party at the old farm, which I didn’t mention belonged to me. Of course they had agreed to come and I drove home knowing they would tell others, I was counting on it. When I arrived home I quickly ran upstairs to tell you that you would be getting your revenge tonight. I turned up some metal rock music and told you to pick your weapon of choice. You chose the chainsaw, I knew you would because you liked the intense loudness it had and also the power it seemed to give you.

When people started to arrive I acted like a good hostess and let the wild teenagers rip my house apart. I was originally planning for you to come down the stairs and scare the kids into a frenzy but I guess that wasn’t what you had in mind. You came down the stairs with your mask pushed onto the top of your head and you had a crazed excitement in your eyes. I saw your lips form a smirk and when you looked at me the smirk turned into a funny, distorted looking smile, I think at that moment I knew what you were planning.

At first everyone kind of stood in their places, including me, stunned and wondering if it all was some kind of joke, but then you slid your mask over your face and started the chainsaw. The teenagers began to cautiously back away, then you raised the roaring chainsaw over your head and brought it down on a young man’s head. Blood coated the wall and the people who were standing nearby, blood even somehow managed to get on my face and shirt. I watched in amazement as you went after the screaming teenagers who were desperately trying to get to their cars.

I began to walk after you still in shock and bewilderment and watch as you swung the chainsaw wildly through people’s arms and legs. You destroyed cars and everything in your path; I was starting to wonder if even I would be able to stop you. Not that I wanted you to, I stood there with a stupid grin on my face because I knew you were getting your revenge. I pulled out a cigarette and sat on the ground watching the horror movie come to life. You began to slow down in exhaustion and pretty soon everyone was gone either from getting in their cars and driving away or being dead.

After looking around and realizing no one else was left you slowly approached me and pulled the mask off your face leaving it on the top of your head. I smiled in amusement as I watched you try and wipe most of the blood of your front shirt and off the sides of your face. You sat down beside me and we looked upon the grotesque mess of bodies and body parts as I finished my cigarette. I used the sleeve of my sweater and wiped off the blood on your neck and the blood that dripped on your face from your hair. I realized that we would have to hide, go somewhere far away so they couldn’t take you away from me.

The whole thing was my fault; I didn’t want you to have to suffer for my mistakes so I ran in the house and quickly packed a bag for you and me, mostly clothes and money. I grabbed my car keys and when I got outside I realized that my car was gone, I wondered how someone could start it without the keys then I became conscious of the fact that someone could have hotwired it. I desperately thought of what we could do, I guess we could walk through the bush area to the town that was about a whole day’s walk away and then we could maybe even catch a train out of here. Before I could even thing of an alternative to that idea I saw blue and red flashing lights approaching through the trees. I grabbed your huge hand and swung the bag over my back.

I ran as fast as I could but when you picked up speed you were practically dragging me. I heard the police and their demands behind us but you and I kept running. Then I heard a shot go off and I felt an excruciating pain in my left arm. I screamed out loud and I stumbled over my own feet moaning in agony, that’s when you stopped running. I told you to keep going but you wouldn’t listen to me, you examined my arm and noticed the blood pouring from it. You knelt down and kissed my fore head and I gasped as you pulled your mask over your face and started walking back toward the police, toward the challenger who dare inflict pain on your only friend. I screamed at you Lonnie but you were intent on getting revenge, this time not for yourself but for me. I watched in horror as you bravely and loyally walked toward the line of officers without protest.

I screamed your name and felt warm salty tears run down my face smearing my eyeliner and burning my eyes but you still wouldn’t stop. The police told you to freeze and raise your arms but you kept walking, your only objective was to do some damage. As you got closer the police began to fire countless shots on you, you were hit instantly but you never slowed down. You fearlessly jumped on an officer and broke his neck, killing him. You grabbed his gun and shot as many officers as you could, when you ran out of bullets you picked up another gun from a dead officer and shot more. I was surprised how much the mask helped protect your face from the bullets but the rest of your body was being bombarded and you were weakening with every hit.

I hastily picked myself up from the ground when I realized that I needed to help you. I helped you in our daisy field, now I needed to save you from the enemy. I ran as fast as I could, putting pressure on my wound with my other hand. I thought the police officers were too preoccupied with you, Lonnie, to be worried about me but as soon as I came close I was brought to the ground by a burly police officer with facial hair, I shrieked in pain as I felt all my weight and his weight on my wounded arm. He held me back and kept me from getting close to you, there was nothing I could do to get free. You saw me being taken away by the adversary and it made you insane, you ran as fast as you could toward me but were stopped in your tracks.

I watched in panic as you were shot in the chest this time with a rifle. You staggered toward me and removed your mask, dropping it on the ground beside you. I kicked and screamed at the officer holding me back and my body trembled with frustration and grief. Your eyes were mixed with an expression of anger and distress as you fell to your knees. I called your name, drawing your gaze to me and you smiled. Then you were shot again, this time in the head and you fell forward. I screamed at the top of my lungs and yelled vulgarity at the officers. They thought I was confused and angry from getting shot by one of them. They didn’t even have the slightest clue that I had anything to do with the massacre; they just thought I was one of the lucky victims and you, Lonnie were the bad guy. You weren’t the bad guy and I’m disgusted that they would categorize us apart. We were on the same side, and I should have died that day fighting for you. Now I’m sitting in our daisy field by myself.