The Fright Factory

By William R. Potter

Wesley and Robin Tate become empty-nesters in their early forties when their daughter leaves home for college. Without the shared focus on parenting, a few weak spots in their relationship have been revealed. A weekend away at a secluded resort cottage seems like just the thing to rekindle and refresh their strained marriage.

Jesse Lawless is an indie film maker intent on producing the next great horror classic despite lacking the funds for actors, effects, or a script. He will stop at nothing to capture and upload his chilling masterpiece to satisfy his rabid internet fan base.

With the cabin as the setting and the Tates as his cast, Lawless sets in motion a plan to produce the most realistic slasher flick ever.

The Fright Factory is Jesse's version of reality show and movie premise rolled into one. For the Tates, no acting ability is necessary as the terror becomes all too real. In each round, Jesse turns up the brutality in a game where killing your best friend may be the only way to survive.

• Language: English
• Publisher: William R. Potter
• Release date: Sep 16, 2011
• ISBN: 9781466153615

William R. Potter

You could say I was bitten by the writing bug at an early age. Shortly after watching the first remake of King Kong, around the age of ten or eleven, I scribbled a few lines about a mutant crab and called it a book.Throughout my teens my mind was in a state of unrest and I used poetry to journal the ups and downs of those difficult times. Later, my work was published in a poetry anthology.I returned to my love of storytelling in my twenties, writing numerous short stories. "Lighting the Dark Side-Six Modern Tales" represents my work from the past several years and is my first published book. The collection received the Editor's Choice Award for short stories from AllBooks Review International in 2009."DEAD of KNIGHT A Jack Staal Mystery" is my first full novel.

Book preview

The Fright Factory

by

William R. Potter

Published by William R. Potter

Copyright © 2012 by William R. Potter

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.

SMASHWORDS EDITION

Chapter 1

Wesley Tate’s hands were trembling slightly and he noticed his heart rate had begun to gallop again. He took a long swallow of red wine and then re-filled his glass, drank it down and filled it again before downing it once more.

Lately he had felt more fatigued than normal and much older than his 42 years. He and his wife Robin had begun to argue more and make love less, and recently he had suffered through occasional equipment failure.

Brandi was younger than his son and she had a body that quite easily excited him. He refilled the glasses of wine and then eased into the hot tub. Brandi stepped out of the bathroom in Robin’s robe with a smile that made him shiver and get erect. She looked into his eyes and slowly allowed the robe to slip to the floor.

Oh my God! Beautiful breasts and luscious curves from her neck all the way to her painted toes. He wanted to look away to be polite but could not move his eyes from her body.

Brandi glided into the water and moved toward him. The smile was something he had only seen in porn movies…wicked, stunning, and sexy. She moved closer and quickly began kissing him with an open mouth and a wandering tongue.

Hey! Robin said in a stern voice.

Wesley jolted, separating from Brandi.

I believe that is my husband you’re frenching, Robin said as she dropped her towel and quickly slid into the bubbling water.

Mmm, you’ll just have to wait your turn, Brandi said with a giggle. She turned Wesley’s face away from Robin and continued kissing his lips and gently stroking his erection.

I don’t think so, Robin said as she moved closer and pulled his face to hers. She kissed him deeper and with more passion than he had felt from her in years.

Brandi was stroking him harder as Robin’s urgent kissing increased. This type of thing never happened to him, ever. And the fact Robin was into it was shocking to say the least. The women paused for a second to look into each other’s eyes. Then Brandi eased closer to Robin and kissed her gently on the lips, and then paused to look into Robin’s eyes again as if looking for a sign to continue or to stop.

Seconds later they were making out like two teenagers on prom night. Brandi’s hands were on Robin’s breasts and Robin moaned softly when Brandi began to lick and kiss the older woman’s nipples.

All their attention was on each other and Wesley couldn’t believe this was the same woman he had lived with for over twenty years. She had never expressed any interest in being with a woman and yet appeared to be enjoying every second she spent kissing and touching Brandi. Wesley’s excitement increased as he wondered how far the pair would go.

Brandi motioned for Robin to step out of the tub and to lie down on the tub edge just out of the water. She didn’t hesitate to kiss up Robin’s legs and inner thighs. After a few seconds of teasing around Robin’s pubic area with her tongue and lips, she went straight for her clit.

Oh my God! Wesley moved to his left in order to get a better view. Brandi motioned him to move closer and to lie next to Robin. She took turns licking and caressing them both until Wesley was sure he would finish in a few seconds.

Oh, I don’t think so, Brandi whispered. She moved away from Robin and stood over Wesley. She moved onto his crotch and guided him into her.

She began to thrust slowly and Wesley looked up at her smooth, perfect body. He gazed in amazement from the spot where his abdomen ended and hers began, up past her full breasts to her wicked grin. She reached for Robin and pulled her close for long kisses. He held on for as long as he could and began to think of how Brandi had ended up joining him and Robin at the cabin.

* * *

An Hour Earlier

Robin Tate would admit that in the month since her daughter had left for university she had often wondered if her marriage to Wesley would survive the transition from busy parents to empty nesters. There were countless books available to help parents deal with suddenly not having a family to care for but she hadn’t bought any. A few tense weeks had become a few stressed months until Wesley had noticed her need to do something different, something exciting.

When he first mentioned the cottage on the lake weekend getaway she was skeptical. She wasn’t much for the outdoors. She was more interested in a quick trip to Vegas or even Reno. However, cabin #27 of the Loon Lake Resort was hardly roughing it. The bungalow was made of logs; the walls were coated in a shiny clear urethane and glistened like diamonds in the glow from the fireplace. Shadows danced on the walls in the flicker of candlelight. Outside, a nasty storm with heavy rain and gusting wind reminded all the last days of winter were still with them.

With it being two weekends before spring break, the other cabins along the lake were still locked and boarded for winter and they were the only people at the resort. The first evening was set aside for relaxing after the five hour drive. For the next afternoon, Wesley had planned a seven mile hike described as moderately difficult to a natural hot springs. The spot was secluded and she looked forward to a soak in the naturally heated pools and perhaps doing something a little naughty. Hopefully his equipment would cooperate.

Wesley had packed and then cooked a fine dinner. A few glasses of wine and some mildly erotic conversation had set the tone for some much needed romance.

Wesley was adding more wood to the fireplace and Robin wanted her overnight bag from the car. She was irritated that Wesley had only brought in her suitcase and not the bag. She was already down to her panties and an oversized t-shirt and pulled on her boots, a long coat, and grabbed her umbrella for the run out to the car. Her bare legs immediately chilled in the cool air and wind forced rain into her face. She was soaked in seconds.

In the trunk of the car Robin noticed Wesley had packed two full cases of wine, two dozen bottles. She shook her head wondering what he had in mind with so much alcohol for a four day trip.

Robin heard footsteps behind her and she spun on her heals expecting to see the resort caretaker, Ben Hogan. Despite the low light of the evening she instantly knew it was not Hogan as he was a tiny man shorter and thinner than Robin’s 5’7". For some reason she felt nervous and quickly turned for the cabin door and increased her pace until she heard a woman’s voice.

Excuse me! The voice sounded young, perhaps a girl in her twenties. Hello?

Hi. Is everything okay? Robin asked, still wanting to sprint for the cabin. Wind tugged her umbrella and sent a shiver.

I blew a tire in my car and drove off the road about three miles back.

Robin first saw the woman’s face when a strike of lightning lit up the parking area. She was beautiful despite a long scar on her left cheek that looked like a knife slash.

Oh, my gosh! Are you okay?

Yes, I think so. The steering pulled like crazy and I lost control. The airbag knocked me pretty good.

Do you have a cabin booked?

No, I was hoping to rent one without a reservation but the office is closed.

She wore a sleeveless see-through top, jeans and flip-flops. You look about to freeze. Come in and warm up, Robin said.

Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose…can I just use the phone?

The only phone is in the office, Robin said and turned for the cabin.

There’s no phone in your cabin?

No, and the cell phone reception is either lousy or none at all.

I’ll just head back to my car then. It’s okay.

A brilliant strike of lightning lit up the area when it struck a flag pole and a deafening boom of thunder startled both women.

Don’t be silly. You’ll get hit by lightning….

…Brandi.

Hi, Brandi. I’m Robin. Let’s get out of this storm.

Robin felt a strange sensation someone else was nearby, perhaps watching them. She glanced around for a few seconds and could hear Brandi’s teeth chatter with a chill.

The young woman followed Robin up the stairs and then moved past her when Robin held the door. Brandi took her back pack off her shoulder and carefully set it near the entrance.

Wesley, we have company, Robin said, hoping her husband was decent. She handed Brandi a towel.

Robin introduced Brandi to Wesley and then described the car situation. She watched Wesley appraising Brandi as she dabbed her face and dried her arms. Her soaked blouse clung to her body as if it was painted on.

My robe is in the bathroom, Robin said. Why don’t you get out of your wet clothes and I’ll see to hanging them at the fireplace to dry.

Brandi paused for a second at the bottle of wine on the table near the fire. "Oh, you two

Reviews for The Fright Factory

[Graham Downs · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I think this is one of those books where, if you enjoy it, you enjoy it as a sort-of “guilty pleasure”, and you don’t really want to admit it.

It starts out as porn. There’s no other way to put it. And not particularly well-written or believable porn either. It’s pretty much every man’s fantasy: a man and his wife are on a weekend away, they meet a much younger woman, and have a threesome with her. And his wife is totally into it. He mentions a few times during those opening scenes that he can’t believe his wife is going along with it, and he keeps thinking this is a dream and he’s going to wake up any minute.

Well, the irony is, I had trouble believing it myself, and the story didn’t do a great job of convincing me it WASN’T a dream. Sadly, I can’t think of a single woman in real life who’d indulge her husband in that fantasy, much less do so eagerly. But it is most men’s fantasy, so kudos to the author for using the story as an excuse to explore it.

After that, we go into a series of flashbacks (from one hour earlier, to one month earlier, to six years earlier) where we learn more about the relationship between the husband and his wife, and some mistakes he’s made in his past which are, ostensibly, about to come back to bite him. I thought those were interesting, but were never explored as well as they could’ve been.

Then the so-called “Fright” starts. A man calling himself Jesse comes along and forces the couple to do things of increasing grotesqueness and depravity. And some friends of the couple show up unannounced and get caught up in it too.

To put it mildly, none of it was scary. Not in the least. It just felt like an excuse to come up with the worst ways you could torture or humiliate someone. And while we discover Jesse’s true motive at the end, it’s not a very strong one.

In terms of the writing, one thing that bugged me is that everyone was always BEGINNING to do something, but never really getting around to DOING it. “She began to cry”, “He began to run for the door”, “They began to kiss”...

Know what I mean? It just feels like the author lacked the confidence to just say what he meant.

There’s also lots of blasphemy here. “Oh my God” this and “Jesus Christ” that. Unnecessarily so. Included for the shock value and not much else.

Come to think of it, most things in this book were included for the shock value and nothing else.

I kept reading because it was short, but also strangely addictive, and I wanted to know what would happen next. But I wouldn’t have regretted just DNFing it.