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Raccoon Rage

Chapter 8: End of the Road

By XP Author

It had been almost a three days since Ray and Zella had left Joyville. Three days since all of their friends, new and old, had died in one way or another. They had seen it on the news at a truck stop they decided to have lunch at. A firefight that escalated as homemade explosives and rockets were used to wound or injure nearly two dozen local police. Almost the entire force for the small town, as well as state sheriffs that had joined the attempted arrest. The news reported that they had confirmed the deaths of several of the members of what they were calling a death cult, lead by none other than Ray himself. Zella had poked fun at him for days about that. The news also said that the whereabouts of the 'leader' of the cult were as yet unknown, though somehow they confirmed Zella's death in the explosion that killed Mike, which Ray was able to use to poke fun at her about.

They had no real destination, only 'away.' The first night they decided to sleep at one of the highway truck stops, the kind where people could park their car and sleep in it for a while. They had discovered several things about the back of the van at that point. One of them had managed to bring the backpack full of cash with them and left it in the van. Likely Laura, as neither Ray nor Zella remembered grabbing it in the mad dash to escape. Second was that the constant rattling sound they heard was from a large metal toolbox full of all manner of tools. The last was that sleeping on the metal floor of a van was extremely uncomfortable, killing any friskiness either of them may have been feeling. It left them with time to just lay against each other and think. Neither were thinking very happy thoughts, and the other knew it, even if neither said it.

So when night came, they decided to try and find some kind of motel. Specifically, the kinds that did not ask questions, especially if you dropped almost $1000 in cash on the counter. The Road's End Motel was exactly that. Fittingly sitting at the end of a long road off the highway, out in the middle of nowhere. It was almost like something out of an old, bad movie, but it was exactly what they were looking for. So, a grand poorer, and so tired that thoughts of playfulness did not even cross their minds, they were finally able to get some sleep laying on a bed that was surprisingly comfortable for such a dump. At least more comfortable than the back of a van.

Bed aside, the floors were stained by cigarette burns, the walls covered in stains that cleaner short of acid could wash out, and the water running either scalding hot or just shy of forming icicles. At least the water ran, and was clean... enough for them to bathe in, and the sheets were clean. The place actually had a washing machine and dryer, free of charge with the room. It only added to the feel that this was the kind of place someone would take a hooker and try to wash off their shame in the morning.

The sun had come up some time ago, the light just barely able to peak out around the edges of the blackout curtains covering the likely filthy windows. Ray lay on his back, wrapped only in a towel after a shower. Washing off the funk of sitting in a van for the last several days felt absolutely divine. Zella lay beside him, though without having bothered to cover her nakedness with a towel. Her head rested on his shoulder, his arm holding her up close.

"We should stay here..." Zella spoke softly, almost wistfully. "Just... take a day off from all the driving."

Ray chuckled. "After all the money we dropped on that guy in the office? We could probably stay here for a week." He smirked. "Did you see the way his eyes bulged when you added another wad of cash to the pile with that 'and don't ask questions' line?"

The iguana let out a soft giggle. "Yeah. Probably thinks we're drug dealers or something."

He nodded slowly. "I don't really care what he thinks we are, as long as he doesn't go calling the cops on us." They got quiet after that, the memory of running form the cops, the gunshots, Mike blowing himself up and Laura dying in the forest... it was all still fresh in their minds.

He felt Zella curl up a little more against him. "What a fucked up life we've come to live..."

He smirked. "What are you talking about? We're having the time of our lives." His tone was clearly sarcastic.

She sat up, scowling down at him. "Yes, the time of our lives. I love living out of a stolen van, driving around aimlessly as our cash constantly dwindles down to nothing. I love leaving the bodies of all my friends in the smoldering ruins in our wake. Yup! Time of my life!"

The raccoon looked up at her, a little confused about her suddenly berating him like this. "I... sorry, I didn't mean to..." He really did not know what to say.

She screwed up her face into a worse scowl. "You didn't mean to... what?" Then she just let out a heavy sigh, deflating almost at once. "Sorry... I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I'm just... tired of all the running and leaving people behind."

He could not help but smirk. "And here I thought you were the one with the snuff fetish." She gave him a look, and he winced. "Sorry..."

She nodded slowly. "No, you're right. I am. And I'm also tired of running. I don't want to run anymore."

Ray tilted his head a little. "So, what? You want to turn yourself into the cops?"

She blanched at the idea. "What? No! Fuck those guys. They killed all our friends!"

"Technically you killed Laura." He regretted saying it the moment it was out of his mouth.

She countered easily enough. "Only because she was already going to die from being SHOT! No, I just... I'm done."

He still was not sure what she was getting at. "Done? So, what? You're just going to stay here? I mean, you might be able to lay low and disappear. They already think you're dead. Apparently I'm next in line for America's Most Wanted."

She frowned. "No! I don't want to just stay here! I want-" She sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of her nose as her boyfriend was just not putting two and two together.

He was starting to grow frustrated as well. "Just what the hell do you want!?"

"I WANT YOU TO KILL ME!" She finally shouted at him. The moment hung in the air, which suddenly felt several magnitudes heavier than it had before.

Ray just stared at her, looking right into her crimson eyes. "You... what?"

Zella met his gaze, her features softening considerably. "I told you that I've fantasized about it for a long time. Now that I've seen you actually do it, kill someone... I want it even more."

He sat up, taking hold of her shoulders. "I... no! I can't do that, Zella! I can't... I can't kill you! Not you, of all people! You're all I have left in this fucking shit hole of a world!"

She nodded slowly. "You can. I've seen it in your eyes. When I first walked in on your and your mother. I saw the look you gave me." He stayed quiet. "You know you would have to kill me if I wasn't... well, as fucked up as I am."

He shook his head. "You're not fucked up."

She frowned at him. "Shut up, yes I am. I wanted you to kill me then! I wanted you to unleash that rage I've seen inside of you since we were kids and just start beating me until I stopped. To suffocate me like you had your mother. I wanted it again when I watched you fuck into Frankie's face. I hoped you would decide keeping me around was too big of a risk and shove your cock into my brain next. When you took Alice's head, I wanted it to be MINE that was rolling off the table!" She grabbed his arms, holding him tight. "I want this, Ray! I want you to give me all that built up anger and rage and sadistic violence you've got pent up inside of you! I want you to hurt me, completely destroy me, break me so no one knows I was anything but a pile of bloody meat!"

He just stared at her, a gamut of emotions running through him so fast he could not pin down what any one of them was. "You're... you're serious about this?"

She sat back a little. "Yes. I am." She then leaned down off the side of the bed. When she sat back up, she set down the metal toolbox from the van with a clang so loud that Ray jumped. It gouged into the surface of the already scuffed table beside the bed. "You can use the stuff in this."

Ray looked at the toolbox. "When the hell did you get this?" He flicked his tail a few times, feeling the fur still standing on end from how loud that bang was when she dropped it.

She smiled. "While you were pretending to know how to sing in the shower."

He blinked several times. "You... showered before me. You were wearing clothes when you went to the van, right?"

She shook her head, a huge grin on her face. "Nope! Just the towel."

Ray just sighed, shaking his head a little. "Of course." He scooted back a little on the bed so he could reach the toolbox. "Let's see what's even in this thing." He flicked the latch and opened the lid, then blinked at the sheer volume of stuff crammed into the box. "Do you remember if one of the tigers said they moonlighted as a handyman?"

Zella tilted her head a little. "Nope." She pulled out a rolled up bundle of rubberized plastic. Unfurling it, she saw it was the largest set of allen wrenches she had ever seen, several crammed into one pouch, organized by size. "I didn't know they _came_in this many sizes..." She set it aside on the table.

Ray was looking at the cluster of screwdirvers with the same look. "I mean, I knew screwdrivers did, but... jeeze." He did a quick count. "What is that, nearly two dozen?"

The two continued to look through the box and its contents. Zella pulled out a rubber mallet and giggled. "This could be fun!"

Ray took the mallet from her, only to bonk her on the head gently with it. She squeaked at the light tap. "No." He dropped the thing onto the floor. Turning back to the box, he found a heavy duty box cutter. "Huh..." He extended the blade all the way, finding it still had most of the razor in tact, extending out to almost three inches. "This... brings back some memories." All of this had started with him killing an annoying customer and his boss at the grocery store he worked at with a box cutter. It had only been a few weeks, and yet it seemed like a lifetime ago. He retracted the razor and set it down. "Would be a little too fast."

"What about this then?" She held up a claw hammer. It was quite heavy, the handle of solid wood with the head of some pretty solid steel. "This could do some real damage!"

He shook his head again. "Yeah, but a little TOO much damage."

Zella giggled softly. "Aww, afraid you'll break me too fast?" She set the hammer down, leaning over to give him a kiss on the cheek. "C'mon, sweetie. You know I'm tougher than that." He just grunted, but did nod.

Ray pulled out a thin but wicked looking little saw, the blade more of a super hard cord of blackened steel with tiny jagged teeth. It was a kind used to cut through metal pipes. "You want damage, THIS can do damage." He set the pipe saw down again.

Zella nodded to something. "What about that then?" At the bottom, among wrenches and pliers of all sizes, was a pipe wrench. Ray reached in and pulled it out. It was solid steel and quite heavy in his hand.

He hefted it a few times. "Thing's fucking heavy." She gave him a look. "What? It is! It's solid metal."

She sighed. "Then use that. Come on, Ray. You gotta use something. Just hit me with it!"

He shook his head a little, but still hefted the thing. "Sure." He swung the wrench to the side, striking her arm near the shoulder.

She grunted a little. "Oh, c'mon! You can do better than that!"

The raccoon frowned. He slid himself off of the bed, his towel slipping off of his waist in the process. "Fine." He swung a little harder, hitting her in the chest.

That time she felt the impact. "Hard than that!" She stood up, getting closer to him. "Stop holding back and hit me!"

He let out a low growl as she got her face right up into his own. He gripped the wrench hard and swung it low, hitting her gut with a solid THWUMP! All the air was knocked from her lungs in an instant. She coughed and looked up to see the anger in his eyes growing. It was exactly what she wanted. "Stop telling me to hit you!" He swung the tool hard, and it made a loud clang as it struck the side of her face. Her head jerked to the side. She fell to the floor, tasting blood in her mouth. Ray's anger vanished in an instant. "Oh... God, are you...?"

She spat to the side, then touched her jaw. It ached badly, but somehow nothing had broken. "That's... that's more like it." She groaned as she pushed herself back up. He saw the bit of blood on her lips. "Hit me like that!"

His resolve wavered. "Zella... I-"

" DO IT!" She shouted at him.

He grit his teeth, and gripped the wrench handle harder. Bring it it up, he swung hard, hitting her flat chest again. There was a heavy thud and a crack as at least one of her ribs was broken by the hard impact. She grunted as she was thrown back, landing on the bed, clutching at her chest where he struck. He saw her tail twitching, and her legs tremble a little. As she squirmed, he saw her pussy was already getting wet, the smooth lips glistening from arousal. "You're really getting off on this?"

She let out a slight laugh, though it sounded like a cough at the same time. "Yeah! You're girlfriend's a fucking freak, remember?" She motioned at him with one hand. "You seem to be enjoying it, too." He looked down to see his cock had grown rigid, standing at full mast. "More... hurt me more... please!"

He gripped the handle tight again. "More? You want more, slut?" A shiver ran down her spine, and she nodded. He swung the wrench hard against the side of her squirming leg. She let out a loud shout as he hit her knee, something inside there breaking at the impact. He followed up by bringing the wrench down hard on her shin. He heard the bone snap, and she screamed again, clutching at her leg. As she rolled, he saw her pussy drooling now. Her screams were only partially in pain. He could smell her arousal now, strong and needy.

He dropped the wrench onto the ground, instead grabbing the claw hammer from the table. He brought it down to smack the flat edge against the base of her thick tail. It twitched at the impact, but it mostly just thumped into the meat, only managing to chip a few scales. He struck again, harder this time, but it was still just a heavy thump and a few dented scales. When he swung again, he turned the hammer slightly. This time, the clawed backside sank deep into her flesh. Blood started to drool out of the wound as she let out an orgasmic shriek of agonizing ecstasy.

He pulled the tines back out of her, only to slam them back down and sink into the thicker part of her tail, drawing more blood. She shrieked again, squirming and trembling on the bed. "Yes!" She shouted to him. "M-more!" She was no longer demanding, but begging for it now. The pain was the worst she had ever felt, and yet the pain alone was getting her off harder than she ever had before.

"MORE!?" He slammed the hammer down again. "You want more!?" He slammed it down again, each time sinking the claws into her tail in a new place. "This isn't enough!?" She shook her head. "Fine!" When he slammed the hammer down again, he quickly followed it up by yanking it down her tail, ripping through the muscle and tearing a large section of the meat away. Her screams were louder than ever before, her tail thrashing and splattering blood all over the sheets and walls and his chest.

When some of her blood splattered on his face, he grunted. He dropped the hammer to the floor. "God, you're making a mess with that tail thrashing around." He grabbed the saw next, then moved so he could pin the tail down against the bed. "So no more tail to thrash!" He started to cut into her tail near the base. Blood gushed out around where he started to carve, but the blade bit into the muscle and cut deep with ease. Her whole body started to thrash instead, legs kicking and flailing about as he reached the bone.

Sawing through the bone was not as easy, so he just cut around it until only the bone was left. The tail still trembled and twitched and squirmed in his hand. He turned and shoved her over onto her belly, raising one foot to plant onto her back to hold her down. Setting the saw aside, he gripped her thrashing tail with both hands and started to yank. There was a series of cracks and a loud pop as the bones strained, then finally gave. He yanked her tail away, leaving only a small, bloody stump and a bit of bone where it once had been. He lifted his foot so she could continue to flail about on the bed in her orgasmic agony. He saw her pussy practically squirting at this point.

The tail in his hand was squirming about almost as much as she was. He looked at just how lively it was, despite being severed. "Hey!" He called out to her, dropping the tail onto the floor. She whined, managing to turn to look just as her tail hit the floor with a thud and start flopping about. "Do all your limbs do that once they're off?"

Zella panted heavily, shivers still running through her every time she moved. "N-no... just the tail..." She rolled onto her back, then yelped as her weight pressed onto the still bleeding stump where her tail had been. She was going to roll back over, but a hand pressed to her hips and forced it back down, making her whine.

Ray moved onto the bed, shoving her legs apart so he could sit between them. "No whining. You wanted this."

She nodded, shifting her legs to rest against him in a kind of loose hug. "I-I do..." She winced again as she slowly settled her legs back down. "Y-you're not going to just... stop there, right?"

He shook his head. "Of course not." He leaned forward a little, and she gasped as his cock touched her drooling, messy pussy lips. "I just wanted to fuck you while you were still mostly whole." Her gasping turned into loud moans as he slid his shaft inside of her. He pushed deep in one slow motion, until his hips touched hers. "I love you, Zella."

She reached up with one hand, touching his cheek. "I love you, too, Ray." She let out a softer moan as she felt his cock twitch inside of her. "Please... keep hurting me... don't stop until I'm dead!"

He chuckled softly, nuzzling gently against her touch. "Who say's I'll stop once you're dead?" He turned to kiss her palm, then brought his hand up to push the arm away. He then brought his hand down to stab a straight auger he found in the box into her upper arm. The metal spike pierced straight through her left bicep, coming out the other end. She shouted as the pain started again, and he felt her pussy clamp around him.

He started to thrust his hips into her hard and fast. He brought his other arm up to jam a long screwdriver into her other arm, this one also piercing straight through the muscle. She screamed again, clamping harder around him. Her cool inner walls clenched over and over as he started to fuck her hard. He held her arms down with the tools jammed into them as leverage as he pounded away at her. Each time he thrust forward, she felt the metal jammed into her arms pull a little, shooting pain through her. Each thrust made the bloody stump on her backside rub against the bed sheets, renewing the searing pain there.

It was all too much for her to hold back, and she was again screaming her orgasm loud, pussy clamping around his throbbing shaft. Her legs squeezed around his middle, dragging him close and forcing him to plunge deep inside of her. "Yes! F-fill my cunt all the way! Let me feel you pouring inside of me one last time!"

He grunted, her clenching pussy and begging for him to fill her driving him on as he thrust hard. It did not take long for him to give her what she wanted, his cock twitching and jerking as he started to spray his seed deep into her clamping cunt. He cried out loud as he came, pulling the tools out of her arm only to spike them through new spots again. It forced yet another orgasm through her at the same time, her inner walls once more quivering around him as they came together.

Her legs still wrapped tightly around his middle, not letting him pull out if he wanted to. Thankfully, he did not want to. He just started to slowly pump his hips a little. He looked down at her. "What next?" He panted heavily as he still felt her squeezing. "Should I break your arms or cut them off now?"

She shook her head. "N-no... I..." She had to take a moment to collect her thoughts. She was dizzy and lightheaded. "I... A lot of... blood... not inside..." It was true, between the deep piercing wounds in her arm and the gaping hole where her tail had been, much of her blood was already on the bed sheets or floor. "Don't... don't want to... pass out b-before..."

He leaned down to kiss her lips. She melted under the affectionate kiss, which did not last nearly long enough for her. "Okay. I'll make sure you're still awake when you die." Her pussy clenched a little around him as he said that, making him chuckle. "Just keep squeezing my cock like that." She giggled a little. He reached over to the table, setting two tools down on the bed near her head. One he picked up again and held out to her, showing her the box cutter. "I'm going to start with this."

She clenched herself tighter when he extended the blade all the way. He had told her the story of killing the karen at GreeDees when this all started. She expected him to cut into her throat with the blade, like he had the annoying woman. Instead she gasped as she felt the blade slowly drawn down her chest, bumping threateningly against her smooth scales. Being reptilian, she had no breasts for him to cut, not even nipples, but her chest was still sensitive.

He slid the blade down a little more, just to the base of her sternum. Then he suddenly plunged it into her, cutting through her flesh and piercing deep. She yelled as the stabbing pain shot through her, only for her scream to get even louder as he slowly dragged the razor down, cutting a long, clean line down her belly and abdomen, like he was opening just some box of produce. Blood started to run out of the wound instantly, more and more of it flowing out onto her scales, running down her sides to the bed, splashing up a little onto his belly.

He finished the cut just above her pelvis, retracting the blade and setting it aside. He then reached down to slip his fingers into the cut, pulling it open wider. She screamed louder as she felt the very odd and very painful sensation of her belly being pulled open, exposing her guts and inner workings. He could see all of it squirming around inside of her, hear her rapid heartbeat more clearly, smell so almost nothing but her blood and viscera.

She looked down, seeing her own insides. She brought her hands shakily up, helping him to open the gaping hole even further. "I-... I'll h-help..." She was having a hard time talking now, and even breathing was a struggle.

"Shhh..." he said, gently patting her hands. "No talking. Just hold yourself open." He grunted as he felt another orgasm rapidly approaching. "And... keep... keep watching!" She was going to ask what she was supposed to watch, then cried out as he started to thrust even deeper. She saw it, from her angle having a perfect view inside of herself to watch the insides of her pussy pulsing and bulging as his cock jammed deep inside of it. She panted heavily, moaning and whining, begging him to fill her again without words.

He again gave her what she wanted, thrusting as deep as he could and blasting her insides with his cum. She grit her teeth to keep from dropping her head as she came with him, forcing herself to watch not only her own pussy quivering and clenching, but even her womb seemed to be trembling inside of her. "F-fill... me..." Her voice was weak, almost a whisper as she begged, finally letting her head fall back as she just let the waves of pleasure wash over her.

He kept pumping, wanting to fill her more, to give her every last drop and more. He would never be able to again after this. He looked up and saw her expression, bliss and fatigue. She was fading. He could hear it in her heart, how it was thumping hard but slower. He leaned forward, nudging her face to look at him. He stared down into those lovely red eyes. They were so full of love and lust, pleading to him. "D-do it... p-please..." She begged, her voice almost too soft to hear now.

He nodded, grabbing the other tool he had set down, the pipe saw. He rested it against her neck and pressed down hard as he started to cut. Her mouth opened in another scream, but only a wet gurgling came out. Her whole body tensed up, harder than ever. He held nothing back, humping her hard as her legs clamped around him. There was enough blood left in her that it still splashed out against his hands as he cut deep into her throat, slicing through to the bone quickly. He came inside of her just as the thin blade found the slight gap between the vertebrae and slid into it, slicing them apart with surprising ease, only taking a few saw strokes to crunch through. Another few strokes, and her head was completely separated.

The last thing she felt of her body was his cock dumping another load deep into her quivering cunt and needy womb. Then it was lost to her as her spine was separated. The orgasmic pleasure somehow still lingered, even though she could feel nothing below the searing, icy pain in her neck. Her world was dizzy for a moment, moving oddly on its own. She was brought to face him, seeing the tears in his loving eyes. "I love you, Zella!" She heard his voice tremble.

She tried to speak back, calling him silly, but there was no way words could form. She tried to mouth 'I love you, too.' back to him. She must have, because he smiled just a little. He brought her head up close, kissing her deeply, cradling her against him. The last thing she ever felt was his affection, holding her and kissing her so lovingly. He felt when her mouth went slack, even while her body still trembled and twitched against him, pussy still trying to milk him for every last drop his balls had to give. He gave it.

He held her head close, kissing her for a long time, tears running down his cheeks. She was gone, he knew it. Her heart had stopped, her body slowly grew still under him, and her mouth was slack against him. As long as he kissed her, he could ignore that. But he had to pull back eventually. Had to see her face. Her mouth hung open, long tongue hanging limp, but she had a slight smile still. Her eyes were unfocused, but full of blissful love for him.

He clutched her head to his chest and just screamed. Screamed in an anguish no physical pain could ever hope to match. It was all he could do, just scream, cradling the severed head of the woman he loved from the bottom of his heart, killed by his own hands.

* * *

Hours had passed. The morning had turned into evening outside. The raccoon sat on the edge of the bed, half slumped over. He had not bothered to wash any of Zella's blood off of his body. He could never was her blood off his hands anyway. Her body still lay on the bed beside him, her guts half spilled out of her gaping belly, her tail on the floor at his feet, her head in his lap. He had given her a few more goes, fucking the stump of her neck, cumming down her throat, and even fucking her slack face to cum into her mouth. He barely remembered doing it, just that he knew she would have loved it if she could experience it herself. He did it for her more than himself.

He looked up, seeing what he had been working on for the last hour. He took the largest of the bloody bed sheets and coiled it up tight, tying it to the light fixture on the ceiling. It seemed sturdy enough after several hard yanks. The dangling end he had tied into a loop. He stared at the makeshift noose, then back down at his lover's head. He stroked his fingers through her violet hair. It had been so long since she had dyed it that he could see the brown roots poking through. "You never said I had to keep going, did you?"

He sighed softly, hanging his head again. "No, I think you knew I couldn't keep running anymore, too." He scoffed. "You just wanted to be the one to die first. Selfish bitch." He hugged her head again. There were no more tears left in him anymore. He just felt numb. "Should have stuck around enough to see my final squirming, too." He sighed heavily. He had debating other ways of doing this, remembering what Alice had said about her many tries. He could go more drastic if this one somehow failed. He still had the box cutter, after all. It would be fitting to end it how it started.

"Enough stalling." He stood up on the edge of the bed. He reached out to take the loop and pull it over his head. He made sure it was a snug fit. He closed his eyes, cradling Zella's head against his chest, and let himself fall forward off of the bed. The sheets snapped tight, clenching around his throat in an instant. He had measured them just right so that he was now dangling several inches off of the ground. His lungs started to burn for air quickly as he felt the strain at his neck.

His tail started to thrash about behind him, his legs kicking a little under him as he felt himself choking. He kept his arms tight, clinging to Zella's head as hard as he could. Blood was rushing through his ears, his heart pounding away in his chest, like it had any right to keep beating, despite his wishes it would just stop. He could not stop himself from squirming, his chest burning for air he would never get again. The pain started to fade as a ringing started in his ears. His head felt like there was pressure building up, clouding every thought, drowning him.

Darkness started to close on his vision. He had rotated enough that he was staring at her body, broken, bloody, filled and covered in his cum. Then darkness started to take over, invading in great splotches of blackness, spreading more and more to take over until he could see nothing. His wiggling grew a little more intense for a moment, enough for him to start swinging slightly. Then it died down, all his energy leaving him. He succumbed to the heavy blackness covering his mind and soul.

The raccoon finally went limp, legs and tail dangling. His arms fell away, dropping the head he had been cradling so lovingly the whole time. It landed at his feet with a thump.

* *Epilogue* *

Ray and Zella's bodies would not be discovered for nearly a day. The owner of the motel had decided to unlock the door when one of the cleaning staff had complained about the god awful stench coming from the room they had not been allowed to clean. No one was prepared for the sight waiting inside. The owner vomited almost on the spot.

The police investigation was a brief one. They ruled it was a murder-suicide. The news would report that the cult leader, Raymond Elario, was finally dead. They had dubbed him the 'Raging Raccoon,' the leader of a short lived death cult. Tabloids picked it up, claiming that sightings of the raccoon and his brainwashed iguana lover were seen all over the country, that the reports were false. Zella would have gotten a kick out of all the reports of her being his first cult victim, abducted and brainwashed into following Ray.

No one ever really got the story right, either. Some sources claimed that all the victims had been willing sacrifices to some death god. Others stating that there was some other mastermind behind all the killings, that Ray was only one part of a greater cult that still exists out there. There was even a documentary made about it, that almost got it right. They got that Zella went willingly, but said that Laura had been kidnapped by Ray's growing gang. They also still continued the cult angle. For some reason that falsehood stuck.

The only one that seemed to doubt the cult angle, and was the closest to the truth, was one blog. Mostly existing only on the dark web, it was run by a mouse, Vicky, a self-proclaimed expert on serial killers that had interviewed several. She said that Ray and his group had just been a group of serial killers that got together, not some cult worshiping a dark god and preforming occult rituals. She bemoaned never having had the chance to meet Ray or any of the others, having wanted to interview them.

No one would ever know the full truth. That Ray was just an angry raccoon with a fucked up girlfriend, who had a knack for finding other fucked up people.

* * *