Pa trembled violently at the thought. His madness swelled and reddened his face. Slobber spilled from his frown and his tongue poked out. But his burdens were nothing to me. Whatever demons he wrestled, real or imagined, I had no sympathy for my captor. I bristled, ‘Listen to me, you goddamn . . .’
He exploded, ‘Better she let it kill her so I didn’t have to!’
So that was truth that rotted him. I was maybe a bit more frightened of him (if that was possible) but I still didn’t care. His confession was hardly a surprise—I had this madman pegged for a murderer already; I only hoped he was inefficient or unstable enough that I could rescue my wife and get the hell away somehow. The revelation had an effect on Troy, though. He turned and stared at his father with his one good, human eye. His useless face conveyed no change in estimation, but he slowly took the gun from his shoulder and cradled it in his arms. He didn’t quite point it at his father, as though equivocating, but Pa noticed the movement.
‘Eh? What are you doing, boy? Give me that!’
Pa grabbed the barrel with two hands and tried to pull it from Troy’s grasp. Troy’s arms jerked limply against Pa’s heavy exertions, and he ignored further remonstrance to let go. Instead, he whipped the stock around and clipped Pa on the temple; Pa crumbled with a moan. I thought Troy might shoot him then, but Troy apparently blamed someone else for his new emotional distress, and he levelled the barrel at me. Somewhere in my racing thoughts I was weighing whether it would do any good to plead with this beast-boy.
And then the strained howl of a Korean four-cylinder and the angry squelch of gravel turned both of our heads. Troy’s lone shot went wild. Geri bore down and executed a perfect hand brake hip-swivel with the back tyres that knocked Troy ten feet but left him a lot better off than he meant for me. The coupe whipped around and stopped beside me.
Geri shouted ‘Get in!’ before she saw my situation and followed with a curse.
Did we have anything in the car good for cutting rope? Damned if I knew then or even now. ‘Get the gun!’ I advised.
Geri jumped out. Pa was regaining his faculties; he lurched clumsily along the ground, but Geri beat him to it.
‘The kid!’ I warned, because, perhaps unsurprisingly, being hit by a car left him only momentarily stunned, and he was already wavering to his feet.
Geri clutched the gun to her gut and pointed it at Troy. He made no move towards us; he slouched indifferently and watched as Geri circled behind the car. I was surprised Geri didn’t comment on his appearance. Troy’s head was cocked so that his protuberant eye brought to mind a pearl of wax atop a candle unevenly melted. ‘Ready?’ Geri asked.
‘Do it.’
Even at point-blank range, it took two shots to split the tether—Geri and I weren’t exactly gun enthusiasts.
Pa lumbered upright, swaying as he cursed unintelligibly. But he fell silent—the whole world fell silent—as a sound crested over the ridge behind the farm, distant but loud, surrounding and penetrating, unrecognisable but not entirely alien, like the heaving proclamation of an amplified alpine horn. Looking at Geri, Pa blinked repeatedly, as though disbelieving her presence. His eyes widened with fear. Troy turned towards the sound and for the first time I thought I understood his flaccid expression: longing.
Geri was tugging violently at my wrist, still bound to my chest. ‘Come on!’ She guided me indelicately into the passenger’s seat. I had no complaint, because we both wanted the same thing—to be far, far away. As it was, we were a mile into the dark before I could speak. And then I said, ‘It’s okay.’
Geri saw me staring stupidly at the dashboard. ‘Started right up,’ she said.
My head was scattered. I thought maybe I had a concussion, or some sort of stress reaction. I couldn’t make sense of time. It was dusk when I woke tied to the tree. We drove for what seemed a very brief stretch of nighttime (I must have fallen asleep, I reasoned, even if I didn’t remember it), and another hour later stopped outside of Charlotte at a motel—checking in at five in the afternoon. I’ve had jet-lag before, but never experienced it without moving around the world. Believe me, it is so much worse when you feel like the world is moving around you. I babbled to Geri on the motel bed. My sense of disconnection hobbled any coherence, but Geri seemed to understand.
‘I know,’ she said, ‘I’ll explain.’
Only then did it occur to me that I had no idea where she came from when she saved me or what her experience was. (And I thought I might save her! Ha!)
‘It’s today,’ she said. ‘We were just at the farm this morning.’
I groaned and rubbed my temples.
‘Shhh.’
She stroked my hair. After a few minutes I realised she wasn’t just comforting me for my sake, she was waiting for me to get it together. I opened my eyes and looked at her.
‘I’m okay,’ I said.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Then can I break down for a while?’
We switched up. She nuzzled on my chest and wept softly while I held her. When she’d recovered, this is what she told me.
‘Rina took me out to meet her friends. There was Saundra, a big brunette; she had that kind of natural authority, the “alpha-female” if you will. Kelly was skinny from her big feet to the top of her pointy head, and seemed to crave Kelly’s approval, and there was one more girl who was more reserved—Dolly, I think. They all shared that kind of smile inherent to a tight clique of teenage girls, somehow guileless and devious at the same time.
‘We actually did go and look at Rina’s show hens. They roosted in individual cages inside the barn. And the birds were . . . really cute . . . ? That little tour seems so incongruous in relation to everything else. But now I think of it—maybe it wasn’t. I mean, being in a rustic barn that smells like “country” with a group of young women fawning over those ornate, precious, stupid birds kind of put me at ease. Was that the reason we were there? It was a good dupe if that was the intent. I certainly felt much more sophisticated than them, both more “womanly” and “of-the-world”. That was my mistake—thinking their disingenuous smiles were the same I wore at that age.
‘Anyway, fifteen minutes later, we were back out of the barn. Without a word to me, the girls started walking away from the farm towards the ridge. I called after them and said I should go back to the house. Saundra laughed. Rina said, “It’s okay. We’ll just be a little while. And you can see everything from up there.” She pointed vaguely. There was a clearing near the top, but I hoped that wasn’t what she meant. It seemed a long way up. Normally, I would expect you could see the house and the farm from anywhere on the ridge, but the trees seemed to grow in uneven ripples, and the narrow path snaked around and disappeared at turns as though the ground pitched and sloped unexpectedly up the rocky incline. I couldn’t help but wonder if the winding path was safe at all. “Come on,” Rina encouraged me, and the other girls giggled. Lord! You’d think a grown woman could make her own decisions, but those girls took me back to a different time, and without any idea why I was indulging them despite my better instincts, I followed right along.
‘Sure enough, the path curled around outcroppings and dipped and swooped even as it rose, and I lost sight of the farm repeatedly. Never for long, mind you, but each interval was unnerving. I told myself repeatedly to turn back, and was just on the brink of doing so when each time Rina would encourage me or Saundra would command me and skinny Kelly would laugh. Why is the derisive laugh of the follower the worst? I kept going. The house seemed alarmingly small too quickly. And, of course, I couldn’t see you at all.
‘ “I like your husband,” Rina said. There was no other reply for that than, “Yes, I like him, too.” Rina asked, “How long have you been married?” Before I could reply to that, Saundra asked, “Did you save yourself?” which set off a fresh spate of giggling, though Dolly, the small one, blushed cherry red.
‘I certainly wasn’t going to share my exploits with a group of stran
gers or encourage any conflict with their upbringing, so I lied and said I had waited. At which news Rina hunched her shoulders and locked her hands together over her chest, and closed her eyes, and I swear, moaned a little. Kelly and even little Dolly both gasped lightly—again, with what I took to be imagined pleasure. I was sure they were about to ask me about our wedding night. But Saundra didn’t give anyone the chance.
‘ “I didn’t wait,” she bragged. The girls snapped back from their various little ecstasies and giggled again. “Oh, we know!” they all said, and we recommenced our march. “It doesn’t matter,” Saundra barked from the front, “not if you have your herbs.” “What herbs?” I asked, though that was clearly less than half of the question. I wasn’t answered, anyway. “He prefers virgins,” Kelly said in a rare moment of defiance—touting what was her one advantage, apparently. “I’ve got something better than herbs,” Saundra said. The others asked, “What?”, but Saundra offered only, “You’ll see. And then we’ll all see just who he prefers.” But Rina teased her, “Well, what’s easy to see is whose farm he’s been skulking around. Is it . . . your dad’s farm, Saundra? No?” Saundra replied, “Well, if your daddy had his way, it wouldn’t be any of us being favoured tonight.” She looked at me meaningfully.
‘That last remark put some steam back in me. I didn’t know what the hell they were talking about, but I’d had enough adolescent snippiness. I decided to tell them all to go to hell with their games and to go back down the path, even if I wasn’t sure I could remember the convoluted track, but then three steps later the trees parted.
‘ “See,” Rina said to me, “I told you we could see everything from up here.”
‘I was shocked that we’d come all the way up the ridge to the clearing I’d seen from the base. It was true I could see the house and buildings below. I saw Pa and Troy out on the lawn doing something near that big oak—of course, I couldn’t know then they were tying you to the trunk.
‘ “Up and over,” Rina called to me. I turned to see the other three were already out of sight. Rina gestured to me as she disappeared over the far side of the clearing. I hadn’t imagined that we were at a plateau. I was dead set against going out of sight of the farm on the other side, but I rushed after them to the far edge so that at least I could tell them I was leaving. I was surprised to see that they were lounging on several flat rocks strewn about the mouth of a grassy, shallow crevasse that disappeared back into the woods. It had all the appearance of a valley floor, not the sort of thing you’d expect to see near the ridgeline. It was disconcerting the way they had all apparently scrambled down the slope to the rocks and settled at ease by the time I’d reached the lip of the plateau. “There you are,” Rina said. “It’s nice to be away from watchful eyes sometimes, don’t you think?” Saundra and Kelly shared a cigarette. Dolly sat primly on the edge of a rock, arms crossed, apparently not as thrilled at the prospect of solitude as the others.
‘I finally announced my intent. “Look, I’m going back,” I said. They seemed indifferent. Saundra took a drag and exhaled. “That’s fine,” she said. “Less competition.” Her tone strongly implied she never considered me as competition anyway. Rina smiled at me. “I understand,” she said. “You already have your husband. Besides, it will be dark soon.” I looked at her questioningly. She nodded to the west.
‘I gasped. I’m sure my eyes were popping . . . oof, I don’t want to think about . . . (about Troy’s malformed eye, she didn’t have to say) I’d noticed it getting darker, but I thought it had to do with the shade from the trees and the crazy angles of the surrounding mountains. I didn’t expect to see the sun sinking low to the horizon and a full-on orange bloom sunset in the works. It was simply not possible, because we’d only been walking half an hour at most. I said as much aloud. Shouted it, actually—hell, I was panicked. Of all the things I thought I might ever be scared of, the damn sun being in the wrong place in the sky was not one of them. But it was terrifying—though apparently only to me.
‘ “Days slip quickly when he prowls,” Rina ominously announced. Then Saundra: “Night calls soon and stays o’erlong.” Kelly: “When sun is lost on mountainside,” and all three together, “Prepare his bed—or run! and hide!” Convulsive laughter followed. Even Dolly tittered in the spirit of fun.
‘The scrabble of rocks tumbling and the rustle of collapsing brush sounded from the trees down the slope. It sounded like something massive was finding its way up the ridge. Saundra shouted, “He’s here!” The girls’ complacency blinked off and they all leapt to their feet. Kelly threw down the cigarette. All four reached into their pockets and dug out little tins, like for chewing tobacco. They threw off the lids and dipped three fingers. Greenish-brown paste or cream stuck to their fingers and they dropped the canisters carelessly. Then they—they hiked their skirts with their free hands and slathered the poultice on their naked privates . . . not a one of them was wearing underwear. Whatever the stuff was, it was pungent, sweet and foul at the same time, like sage and peat. The thing crashing through the undergrowth drew nearer, and seemed to quicken its destructive scramble. “Come on!” I shouted, “We’ve got to go!” Only Dolly so much as looked at me.
‘Saundra said, “Now I’ll show you what else I’ve got.” She drew out another tin, removed the lid, and dipped her fingers. Deep red dripped into the dirt. She spread the blood across her chest. “We all know he likes two things,” Saundra proclaimed. “One to get him close; one to seal the deal—whether I kept my virtue or not.”
‘Rina looked struck. She began, “That’s not . . .” Saundra nodded enthusiastically. “I got it off of Freddie this morning.” She beamed. Rina’s mouth gaped. “No, Saundra!” she shouted “Freddie was a boy! If Tanoroar smells his blood on you . . .”
‘The ground absolutely trembled. I heard the unmistakable crack of a tree-trunk snapping, watched piney branches collapse—this was no small tree. And then a second later, it appeared, in the crevasse. It was nearing dusk now, and the thing was shadowed under the trees. But two things were clear: Tanoroar was a bull, and he was huge, six feet at the shoulder, and massive. Even with only the faintest highlights, I could see the knots of his musculature gleaming, damp with perspiration.’
Geri extended her arms. ‘His horns were like this. He snorted like goddamn Hephaestus working his bellows. This thing was a beast—thunder on the mountain. But there was something funny about his neck, like a goitre, and his front legs looked out-of-whack. He was below me (by now I was scrambling backwards up the slope, clumsy with fright) and the vantage was wrong, so I couldn’t make it out.
‘ “Tanoroar!” the girls chanted.
‘Tanoroar moved his head from side to side and his horns rolled like the keel of a ship. He sniffed the air with quick up-jerks. He moved into the clearing, between the rocks, scanning each of the girls. I wanted to scream at them to run, but I was too afraid to do anything at that point, if I’m honest. None of the girls moved, forward or away. Saundra stood with her chest puffed out. Tanoroar seemed to catch the scent of the blood and ambled towards her. I saw Saundra wink at Rina.
‘Then Tanoroar huffed and pawed at the dirt with hooves like sledgehammers. Saundra started to look nervous. Tanoroar leaned close and smelled her chest. It raised its head and looked her in the eye. Saundra was scared, her bravado gone. As she tried to get the shirt off, Tanoroar . . .’
Geri closed her eyes and strained to keep her breathing steady.
‘Tanoroar dipped his head down and then suddenly whipped it up and to the side, goring Saundra through the heart. She showed a second of shock and then went slack. Kelly screamed. Dolly was near her and she reached out and grabbed her arm. I think I heard Dolly speak for the first time when she cried, “Come on!” She yanked Kelly away and the two of them vanished immediately in the brush. Saundra’s body flopped as Tanoroar whipped his head back and forth to dislodge it. Then the bull bucked twice, and reared, almost like a horse, but only quickly and not as gracefully—but it was
enough. It was enough to see underneath. God!’
Geri hid her face in my chest.
‘You don’t have to tell me,’ I said.
‘No. No, I do! I have to . . .’
After a minute she began again, ‘When the bull reared, I could just make out the odd things I saw before—the things I thought seemed wrong.’ She laughed darkly. ‘Wrong! Oh, yes—very, very wrong! The thing on its neck was the face of a man! A human face, but with nothing human about it. The mouth hung open; the eyes rolled with madness, with lust—the look of a man whose nature was subsumed entirely by animal instinct. Oh, God—that horrid tuft of wiry human beard tangled in the fur! Worse—maybe worse, I don’t know anymore—the “misshapen” look of its forelimbs was due to their doubling—between the bull’s legs two human arms flailed at the elbow where they emerged from the thing’s chest. Gnarled fingers grasped at the air. Then Tanoroar came back down and Saundra’s corpse sloughed off its horn. And Rina watched the whole time.
‘ “Rina!” I called. She turned and she looked at me. She was smiling. Tanoroar approached her. She dropped to the ground facing up the slope. Her fingers dug into the patchy dirt and she stretched back. The beast sniffed at her . . . at her . . . and then moved forward. The human hands latched onto her shoulders. That brutish human half-head sniffed her hair and some awful wail of passion emerged from its gaping mouth. And the last thing I saw before I ran was the most terrible thing of all: Rina’s triumphant smile and her eyes gleaming with unfettered wantonness. It is hard to say which face will stay with me longer.
‘I ran. How I made it down the ridge, I don’t know. I nearly stumbled over the car when I came out onto the farm. I’m not sure if I remembered that it wasn’t supposed to start—I just got in like I was sure it would go.’
‘I’m glad you did,’ I said, which was perfectly inadequate, but I didn’t know what to say about her story. Someone with a broader background in medicine might have a theory about Troy’s disfigurement, and really all I had seen was that awful eye. But what Geri described was simply impossible. After a few minutes, an idea popped into my head, but I didn’t want to share it, afraid that it might be disrespectful to Geri, considering how affecting her experience had been. But, as usual, she seemed to read my mind.
The Hidden Back Room Page 5