THE MAN KNOWN AS ATE MONTGOMERY: By Chad Case
Monday, April 12th, 2010The town of Belt Buckle, Kentucky had a problem. No. It wasn’t because they had such a silly name, they actually made a lot of money due to thousands of tourists wanting to buy a belt buckle from Belt Buckle, Kentucky. No. Their problem was that it was considered a safe haven to thugs, riff-raffs and vandals.
It all started years ago when Sheriff Willingham, an average-sized man with a thick beard and a take-no-bullshit attitude, arrested a small group of out-of-town teenagers for destroying Main Street. They smashed car windows, broke into shops and spray painted graffiti everywhere. The sheriff grinded his teeth as the County Judge dismissed the case, letting the group of teens go with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. On the way out, one of the teens smiled arrogantly at the sheriff and said, “The popo don’t mean shit now of days!”
The sheriff shook his head sadly, watching the group leave. They were joking, laughing and flipping him the bird. He hated it and knew that something had to be done, so the not-so-good sheriff, came up with a plan. He knew of the man known as Ate Montgomery. He’d wave at him from time-to-time whenever he seen Ate around town. But the sheriff never consider him as a friend, just another face attached to a body. But the sheriff did know that Ate was different. He knew that Ate had a little secret.
You see, by day, Ate Montgomery was just an ordinary man with well-groomed brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. But by night, when darkness covered the land, he turned into an eight-foot tall werewolf with razor sharp fangs, two-inch long claws and mangy brownish-gray fur.
The sheriff set up a meeting with Ate and informed him; “I know all about the whole werewolf thing. A lot of people in this town do. But since you only feast on rabbits, deer and other wild animals, nobody really seems to care.” Sheriff Willingham paused to light a cigarette. He looked at Ate who was growing red from embarrassment. The sheriff blew the gray smoke in the air and continued, “Here now, don’t be getting ashamed. I’d like for you to put that talent to good use.”
“How’s that?” Ate replied half-heartedly.
“By making you my new county jailer.”
Ate ran a hand through his hair. “How’s making me your jailer going to make a difference?”
“Oh, you’ll see,” Sheriff Willingham said, smiling coyly.
***
Ate Montgomery accepted the sheriffs offer. The job was simple. He came into work right before dawn, locked himself in the jail cell, transformed into the werewolf, then ate the prisoners. Ate loved the job. He was getting paid a nice salary to eat, and he didn’t have to roam the woods feeding on wild animals any more. However, there was a problem… Ate Montgomery hated Sheriff Willingham.
He was constantly getting teased by the sheriff, and he was the kind of man who didn’t liked to be picked-on. So, he came up with a plan. Ate knew that the sheriff grew marijuana on a small farm just outside of town. He’d seen it on some of his trips searching for food. So, he made an anomalous phone call to the FBI. He could barely hold back a smile as the FBI brought in Sheriff Willingham, and placed him in the jail cell.
Sheriff Willingham paced around in a circle waiting on the FBI to leave. As soon as they did, he ran to bars and ordered, “Ate, get me the fuck out of here!”
“I can’t do that, sheriff,” Ate said, unlocking the door and entering the cell quickly. He pushed the sheriff away with brute force.
Sheriff Willingham pleaded, “Ate, I’m begging you. Let me out of here. And I’ll take off running.”
Ate turned his attention towards a small barred window. He looked at the setting sun with a lovers awe. He could feel his body transforming. It felt good, and made him feel powerful. His eyes darkened and his words came out as a growl, “Sorry, sheriff. But it’s my job to eat the prisoners. And, right now, I’ve got a job to do.”
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©2010 Chad Case
Chad Case lives in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, with his wife, Melissa. He enjoys writing short horror and mystery fiction in his spare time. To date his works have been published on MicroHorror.com, The New Flesh Blogzine, Flashes In The Dark, Flashshot, and in the anthology: Toe Tags.
