After that, Jacob was quiet. Of course there was someone that had wronged him. Severely. There was always someone who had wronged anyone, severely, but Jacob felt that his culprit was worse than most others. He wondered if he could do it, even to someone as cold-hearted and selfish as Hannah.
Only one way to find out…
He thanked Gus for his time.
“Just remember,” Gus began. “It will all be worth it in the long run.” Before Jacob was out of earshot, Gus added, “Don’t get caught.”
****
After dark, Jacob drove to Mable Street. He parked his car in the cul-de-sac, two blocks down from the house. Hopefully Hannah hadn’t changed the locks yet, because he still had a spare key that she was unaware of.
Using the moon as his light, he followed its gray paths etched through the yard to the back door. Most of the lights downstairs were off, but upstairs the bedroom light glowed, a bright square amongst the blackness. He fished the key out of his pocket, put it into the lock, and twisted. There was a faint click. He smiled. He’d figured she would’ve been too lazy to change the locks, something he would have done without delay. But he supposed there wasn’t a hurry to do so, because she probably hadn’t once considered the possibility that Jacob would show up to kidnap her and offer her to a demonic loveseat.
Even as he thought it, the situation felt justified and not odd or foul.
He knew the house so well that he moved through the kitchen and up the stairs in stealth. His feet avoided the sags in that would cause a squeak or pop. At the top, Jacob glanced down the hall to the master bedroom. The door was opened a crack, a bar of light shining on the carpet. He crept to the door. As he got closer, he could hear the soft sound from the TV. Family Guy. She loved that show. He peeked inside and saw her.
Hannah.
She lay on the bed, head propped on pillows and eating a bowl of ice cream in a t-shirt and panties. Her new lover was nowhere to be seen. He briefly wondered where she might be as he pushed the door open.
Hannah turned to him, the spoon of vanilla ice cream suspended in front of her mouth, her eyes round as spheres. “Juh-Jacob?”
Then he was on her. His hands gripped her throat, banging her head against the headboard until she no longer struggled. The ice cream had toppled over, spilling a cold, white pile on the sheets. He checked her pulse. Still breathing. He scooped her off the bed, throwing her over his shoulder and quickly fled back to his truck.
Then he was heading to the apartment he shared with the loveseat. He kept to the speed limits, singing along with the songs on the radio.
When he arrived at the apartment, he dug out a handful of the napkins he’d kept from Burger King, went around to the bed of the truck, and opened it. Hannah was awake, but dazed, and before she had the chance to scream, he stuffed the napkins in her mouth.
While she fought to spit them out, he carried her inside.
He tossed her on the floor, at the base of the loveseat.
Thank you my dear. He heard her whisper.
“Jacob? What are you doing? What is…?” But before she could finish, a sonorous roar resounded from deep inside the couch, silencing Hannah in midsentence. She turned toward the couch, then slowly back to Jacob, looking as if she wanted to ask him a question.
Jacob gasped when the cushions sprung open like a mouth. A writhing flesh-colored tentacle lapped out, slithering over the front, and finding Hannah’s ankles. The snake-thing curled around them. Hannah screamed. Another tentacle shot out, penetrating her mouth. Her throat bulged as it traveled down into her stomach. She gurgled, choking on it. Then the tentacles hoisted her in the air, pulling her into the loveseat. She struggled against them, trying to break free, but her attempts were fruitless. She disappeared into the couch. The cushions closed after her darting hands went underneath.
Then the loveseat belched.
Full and satisfied.
After a moment, Jacob turned and walked away. He was surprised he felt nothing at all over what had just transpired.
He showered.
After he finished, he went to the loveseat, naked and dripping. They made love several times during the night. She introduced him to other creative techniques using her tentacles, taking him to intense heights he never thought he could reach.
Without her, he wouldn’t have.
And he was her favorite of all she’d ever had. He knew for certain. He could feel it.
The next morning, needing to gather his energy for another day of adolescent-like frolicking, he called out of work. When his boss told him he had acquired more than enough paid time-off hours and he could use some of them for a mini-vacation, Jacob was ecstatic.
The honeymoon was far from over, and the loveseat wouldn’t need to feed for several more days. When the time came, he would find Jennifer, and reunite her with Hannah.
After that…well, he’d already begun preparing a list of prospects.
Story Notes:
I was asked to contribute to an anthology back in 2011. This was the story I wrote. It was rejected. I sent the story over to a friend of my wife’s, who’d graduated from college as an English major with aspirations of being an editor. After reading this story, she went on to become one of my pre-readers for years to follow. She’s retired from it now to raise her kids. I was surprised that she kept on helping me for as long as she did because the subject matter of my books must have rattled her a bit.
I’ve always been very happy with how this story turned out and wanted it to get out there. Though it’s popped up here and there a few times, I wanted it to be a part of this collection.
Something’s Out There?
Tammy didn’t like how the campfire caused creepy shadows to writhe on the trees. They reminded her of snakes, which she was certain were slithering in the woods around them. Unseen. She also didn’t like the way the full moon looked like a giant eye staring down on her from the black sky.
And all the noises—the crackling of leaves and snapping of sticks in the darkness outside the orange smolder of the campfire, the trilling of crickets and frogs. She hated nature. Always had since she’d gone camping with her family when she was nine. Now that she was twenty-five, she should have outgrown such feelings.
They’re worse.
“Your smore is ready,” said Russ.
She looked up and saw him putting another graham cracker on top of a gloppy mound of melted marshmallow.
At least the food’s good.
“Thanks,” she muttered. Holding out her hand, she smiled.
Russ loved the outdoors. She wouldn’t have been surprised if he confessed that he’d been raised in the deep wilderness because of the way he embraced it. When they’d settled here at this campsite after hiking all day, he’d hardly seemed winded. He’d gone and chopped plenty of wood for the night while Tammy laid in the tent, rubbing her sore legs. Even his hair still looked great. It was parted on the side and fell across his brow, dabbing his eyebrows.
Russ frowned. It caused his handsome face to crinkle and look older. “Something bothering you?” He placed her smore in her hand.
“Well…”
A screech ripped through the night.
Squealing, Tammy dropped her smore. It broke apart on the ground.
“Shit!”
Russ laughed. “It was just an owl, babe.”
“No owl I’ve ever heard.”
Nodding, Russ said, “It just caught its food for the night.”
“Great. And caused me to drop mine.”
“I’ll make you another.”
Tammy sighed. “Thanks.”
Russ removed a pane of graham from the package and placed it on his knees. He put the rest of the chocolate bar on the graham. Then he stabbed two marshmallows on the poker and lowered them into the fire. “You really hate it out here, don’t you?”
“I just feel about the outdoors the way you seem to feel about hotels.”
“Oh, boy. Don’t start.” He raised the poker
. The tip was flapping with fire. He blew it out. The marshmallows were crispy and brown, just the way Tammy liked them.
“Start what? I’m serious.”
“What’s the point of going to the mountains if you’re going to stay in a hotel? You do that at the beach, not out here.”
“It’s more comfortable.”
“Depends on who you ask.”
“Not as many animals or…” A moth flew in front of her face. She swatted at it, but missed. “Bugs.”
“Depends on the hotel.”
Tammy felt a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “And safer.”
“Sometimes.”
“At least we’d be behind locked doors.”
“Are you still worried about those missing hikers?”
“Yes. And why aren’t you?”
“Because that was months ago and not anywhere near here.”
“Near enough.”
Russ finished her smore and passed it over. “Eat it quick before another owl decides it wants a nighttime snack.”
“Ha-ha.” Tammy took a bite. The cracker crumbled in her mouth. The marshmallow was thick and gooey, but mixed with the chocolate it tasted wonderful. “Delicious.”
“Now I can eat one.”
While Tammy ate her gloppy treat, Russ prepared his. She felt kind of bad for not waiting for him.
He took a bite of his and moaned. Chewing, he said, “So if we’re not staying in a hotel, does that mean I shouldn’t try being romantic tonight.”
Tammy snorted. “Do you know how sore my legs are?”
“They don’t have to do anything but spread. I’ll take it from there.”
“How charming.”
“Just wait. You’ll see that woods sex is the best sex.”
“Wow. I’m so into you right now, my clothes might just explode from my body.”
Russ smiled. It caused dimples in his cheeks. Tammy’s heart beat faster. He was good at that, making her want him even when she felt too exhausted to move. Not only was he great in bed, he was a pretty good guy too. She was lucky to have him, but she’d never tell him that. His head might expand to the point of bursting.
“If you let my animal instincts take over, I’ll ravage you!” Russ jumped to his feet, threw back his head, and loosed a wild howl that reverberated through the night.
Scrunching her shoulders, Tammy looked around. Though she knew they were most likely alone this deep in the mountains, she still worried somebody might have heard him. “A little louder, why don’t you?’
Russ laughed. “Loosen up, babe. We’re in the wilderness.”
“We are?” Tammy put her hand to the ground and pinched some dirt. She held it up, letting it trickle through her fingers. “I can’t believe it. This is the wilderness. There’s been a glitch in the matrix!”
Smirking, Russ stuffed the rest of the smore in his mouth. The smacks of his loud chewing almost obscured the crackling sizzle of the campfire. “You have my permission to be loud, too.” His face was smudged in shadow, but she could still see him wink.
“You’re a punk, you know that?”
“Yeah, I do. You need to set higher standards. Look who it got you stuck with.”
“Don’t remind me.” She tried not to smile, but it was too hard not to.
Seeing hers, Russ smiled back. “How about we climb into the tent?”
“What about the fire?”
“It’ll burn down soon enough. We won’t need it anyway.”
“Ohhh. Confident, huh?”
Russ shrugged. “Haven’t heard any complaints.”
“Yeah, well, these animal instincts better be something amazing or I’m having you neutered.”
Whimpering like a hurt puppy, Russ scampered to the tent. He unzipped the flap and crawled inside.
Tammy stood, stretched. She felt a dull tug in her lower back. She really was very sore. She didn’t know how she would be able to do this again tomorrow. Maybe after they were on the trail for a little while, the soreness would just go away. She doubted it, though.
She was heading to the tent when something crashed in the woods. It sounded like a tree limb had been ripped in half then tossed through the trees.
Looking at the woods, Tammy stared at pale columns of tree trunks, the thick darkness between them, and the smoke of the fire thinning as it swirled away from the campsite. She thought she heard something moving around in the black, beyond the reach of the firelight.
Then she saw a pair of glowing eyes staring at her. They blinked and were gone.
Forget this!
Tammy turned and ran to the tent. Reaching the front, she dived inside.
And landed at Russ’s feet. Looking up, she huffed away the hair hanging in her face.
Naked, Russ was leaned back on his elbows. His massive erection protruded between his legs like half a baseball bat. “There you are,” he said. “Saved you a seat.”
“Russ, really?”
“What?”
She thought about telling him what she heard, then decided against it. He would only point out again that they were in the woods and they were apt to hear a lot of strange noises.
But the eyes.
Probably a raccoon, he’d say. Or some other kind of common forest critter.
Most likely, Tammy realized, he’d be right.
Tammy noticed Russ’s penis twitch like a beckoning finger. “Come here,” he said.
Forgetting about the strange sounds, Tammy crawled over to Russ. She put a hand on each side of his legs, making her way up higher. She leaned back on her knees, tugged off her shirt. The cool air licked her skin around her bra. She was reaching behind her back to unhook the straps when something crunched outside the tent.
She paused.
Russ must have noticed her hesitation. “It’s fine. Don’t let a little noise hold you up.”
“This show is supposed to be for an audience of one.”
“The forest animals like to watch, though. Kinky bastards.”
Smiling, she unhooked her bra. It slid down her breasts, where she caught it and held it in front of them. Russ stuck out his bottom lip in a pretend pout. “I should make you beg for it,” she said. “Putting me in the middle of the woods, forcing me to fornicate in a tent instead of a nice, comfy bed.” She clucked her tongue.
“You think I’m above begging? I have no shame.”
Holding her bra over her breasts with one hand, she gripped his hardness with her other. Tensing, Russ let out a quivery breath. She began to stroke.
Russ moaned.
“So didn’t you have some begging to…”
A shadow raked across the tent.
Tammy jumped back, tugging Russ’s penis with her. “Did you see that?” Tammy said, letting go of his softening penis. She fumbled with the straps of her bra to hook them back together. “That shadow!”
The groans that came from her boyfriend were devoid of anything pleasurable. “Y…Yeah…” said Russ, rolling onto his side. His penis was shrinking. “Probably a bear or something.”
Tammy felt an icy clutch in her stomach. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
Holding his crotch, Russ moaned.
Realizing what she’d done, Tammy wrinkled her nose. “Sorry about that.”
“Jesus,” he muttered. “I think you broke it.”
Heavy stomps crunched leaves outside the tent. Tammy let out a quiet gasp.
Russ turned his head, staring toward the tent flap. “All right,” he said. Sitting up, he grabbed his undershorts and pulled them on. Then he put on his pants. Shirtless, he started crawling toward the front of the tent. “I’m going to take a peek outside. Will that make you feel better?”
Tammy didn’t answer. She pulled her shirt on. By the time she’d tugged it straight, Russ was reaching for the zipper tab.
“Be careful!” she said in a loud voice.
Russ jerked at her voice, whipped his head around, and shushed her. Tammy mouthed her apology a
nd watched as he slowly pulled the tab. Russ glanced back at her, wriggled his eyebrows, then stuck his head through the flap.
The vinyl sheet made whispery sounds as Russ looked this way and that.
“See anything?” whispered Tammy.
“Nope. I don’t see anything except our fire. Oh, wait…”
Tammy’s body stiffened. He could see something.
Russ gasped. “That can’t be—”
A quick growl erupted, cut off by a whipping sound of something moving through the air. It ended with a juicy squelch. Russ’s legs kicked.
“Russ?” said Tammy. Her heart pounded. She could feel it in her throat. “Russ!”
Twitching, Russ turned to face Tammy.
Tammy screamed when she saw the four huge gashes stretched across his face. From his hairline to his chin were ragged tears, spouting blood. His mouth was moving as he tried to talk.
Then he turned blurry from Tammy’s tears and she was thankful she could no longer see how ruined his handsome face had become.
She reached out to him. Before her fingers made it to his shoulder, Russ was yanked out of the tent. The flap swung back and forth like a doggie door.
Tammy crawled to the flap. She was about to go out for him but Russ’s screams stopped her. Growls and chomping sounds mixed with her boyfriend’s cries.
Tammy zipped the flap back closed as if it might be enough to protect her. Russ continued to scream. He called for Tammy to help him. Tammy shook her head, pulled her legs to her chest.
“Please!” Russ begged.
Covering her ears with her hands, Tammy buried her face between her bare knees. It was too late to help him. She told herself over and over there was nothing she could have done.
The agonizing din faded away. Russ made a few throaty whines before going quiet. Then she heard nothing at all. Even the sounds of the forest had gone quiet, as if afraid.
Tammy raised her head, lowering her hands from her ears.
A shadow shambled across the tent. She followed it as it passed by, moved around the back and to the other side.
Circling her.
“Go away!” Tammy yelled. “Leave me alone!”
She heard a low, rattling growl as the slinking shadow moved around the front, coming back to the side.
Bone Chimes Page 5