When they reached the exit, the door collapsed out of its frame. They had to jump away to avoid it crushing onto them. After it landed, they dashed over, down the porch steps, and into the yard.
An explosion of dazzling light shattered the windows, blowing gaping holes through the walls, and tilting the roof like a sinking ship. There was no heat from the blast, only an impact that felt like a train hitting Miles from behind. He landed on his stomach, rolling forward and ending up on his back.
Checking beside him, he saw Hoffman resting on his elbows, observing just as Miles liked to watch TV.
Together they watched the light dwindle to a dull smolder. Soon it faded to a spark. Then it was gone entirely.
After a brief bout of silence, the building collapsed into a heap and, with a bit of luck, burying the creatures underneath.
Agonized groans came from all around them. Getting to their knees, Miles and Hoffman looked to the parking lot. Wet gloppy trails plastered the grass down, leading to imps dragging themselves across the ground. As they moved, their melting bodies broke down, turning to doughy clumps before liquefying.
“Jeez, Hoffman, what’s happening to them?”
“Without the queen, they can’t survive.”
“Have you ever killed a queen before?”
“Nope.”
Miles felt a pang of pride knowing he’d done it first. Then he thought about something. “Where’s Karen? She didn’t…is she…?”
Hoffman lowered his head. “I don’t know.”
Though Miles hadn’t known her long, he knew he would miss Karen.
“Come on, Miles,” said Hoffman, standing. He held out a hand. “Let’s get moving.”
Miles grabbed Hoffman’s hand and was hoisted to his feet in one pull. They started through the parking lot. They were several feet into the mass of cars when a hand shot out of the ground, latching hold of Miles’s ankle.
Miles screamed as the hand started to pull. Another hand broke through the ground, pawing for Miles’s leg, which it grabbed. Losing his balance, Miles fell on his butt, kicking and screaming.
Hoffman grabbed him under the arms and pulled. Miles slid back, pulling the creature up in the process. Only…when he saw it lying on its side, taking heavy pants of air, he realized it was not a creature.
It was Karen.
“Karen?” called Miles, crawling to her.
Gasping for air, she rolled onto her back, and nodded. “Yeah…” Her hair was smeared with dirt and mud. Brown streaked her face and neck. Her clothes were tattered and filthy. She looked rough, but even underneath the gunk she was alive, and still very pretty.
Miles smiled.
A few minutes later the three of them were approaching the Chevelle. Miles tossed Hoffman the keys as he walked around to the passenger side. Karen stumbled, and Miles was quick to catch her. He held her up as Hoffman unlocked the door, climbed in, and reached across the seat to get Miles’s door.
After helping Karen into the back, Miles sat down, groaning as he got comfortable. The seat welcomed him like a padded hug. His aching body tingled, happy to relax.
Hoffman cranked the car. The engine rumbled as he revved the gas.
“So, you drove her, huh?” said Hoffman, patting the steering wheel.
Miles nodded. “Yep.”
“Told you she likes you.”
“I don’t think she liked me at first.”
“Did you grind her?”
“Yeah…a bit.”
“Well, I’ll check things out when we get to our next destination.”
“Where’s that?”
“Georgia.”
Karen said, “Count me out.”
“What are you going to say when you get back home?”
“Nothing.”
Hoffman nodded. “Can you get away with saying nothing? Will anyone be able to put things together?”
“No one knew I went to see Andy…no one knew we came here. And, no one knew about The Skin Show. It’s going to take me a long time to get over this…if I ever can. Andy was a good guy…a really good guy…” Her voice went wavy and thick.
“You may never heal from this. But, we’ll keep in touch, and if you ever want to join the crusade…” Hoffman gave her a comforting, grandfatherly smile. “You’re always welcome here.”
Miles smiled.
Karen groaned. “Don’t remind me.”
Hoffman laughed, despite the situation. It sounded odd to hear after all they’d just gone through, but it was contagious. Miles felt his chest hitching, gusts of laughter pushing though his lungs. He tried to hold it back at first and, realizing he couldn’t, let it flow.
Karen eventually joined in.
When the laughing spell faded, Hoffman started driving.
Miles said, “Think we got them all?”
Hoffman was quiet for a moment. “As you saw, the imps cannot survive without the queen’s life force, but the nymphs can. However, they will need male souls to feast on…but without the queen’s guidance and lack of nourishment, I doubt they’ll live long. And, the ones that don’t die off will just hunt down the next queen for nourishment. Either way, we’re done here.”
Miles prayed he was right.
“It’s time to move on to the next one.”
Epilogue
In the wan evening light, Jerry Bradshaw saw her curvy shape on the verge of the road, against the graying sky, a narrow line of arm extended out from her and another smaller contour pointing away from the tip.
Hitchhiker.
And from the looks of her, a fine one.
He didn’t care if she was a dog, it got lonely on the road, and he was confident she’d repay his favor of a ride with a sexual gesture of appreciation. Call it a stereotype, but Jerry enjoyed a good road job from time to time.
It helped keep him sane on long stretches of open road like this.
As he dropped the rig down to a lower gear and slowed the eighteen-wheeler, he wondered what she was doing way out here by herself. He hadn’t spotted any cars broken down as he’d traveled west.
Must be thumbing the whole way.
The brakes hissed spurts of air as the truck slowed to a halt. Leaning over, he pulled the latch for the passenger door. “Where you headin’?”
The door opened and a thin, but firmly stacked body, climbed in. She was wearing a denim skirt, sandals, and a white tank top saturated with so much sweat it was now as transparent as a wet tissue. He saw the points of dark nipples and sloping arches of breasts through the wispy clothing.
“Granite Falls,” she said, pulling the door shut. “It’s near Brickston.”
“I’ll be passing right by that town. Should be there around two in the morning. Got some business out there?”
“Looking up Karen, an old friend. She’s going to be surprised to see me.”
“Fine,” he said, pushing down on the gas pedal.
The truck started rolling. Jerry didn’t bother checking for traffic behind him. This part of the highway was usually empty from this hour until sunrise; sometimes he never saw another car out here.
Before he lost all sunlight, he took this moment of shifting gears to study his passenger. She sat in such a way, it made his job of stealing glances much easier. She sat with her rump angled towards him, her left leg thrown over the right knee, and the denim skirt hiked back so far he saw the lower dip of her left buttock. No panties for sure. Her auburn hair was in pigtails, which was Jerry’s favorite way for a woman to style her hair. His passenger couldn’t be any older than twenty. Hopefully she wasn’t too much younger, or he might go to jail for doing what he hoped would be happening soon.
The only downfall to her that he noticed was the scar on her stomach. The way her tank top wrinkled around her waist, a band of skin was exposed to show a small pockmark that was pale against her skin.
“Checking out my scar,” she said.
“Huh?” Jerry blushed. “Well…I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s
okay. Just a little altercation I had with Karen a little while back.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, but its healing a little every day. Before long, you won’t even be able to notice it.”
“Well, that’s good.”
“What’s your name, lover?” she asked, leaning across the armrest, and placing her hand high up on his thigh. The tips of her fingers brushed his penis.
“Juh-Jerry.”
“Ooh, Jerry.” She clucked her tongue, wrinkled her nose as if thinking. “Wonder what that’s going to sound like when I’m screaming it later.”
Yes!
Jerry hid the excited jig he wanted to dance in the seat. He shrugged. “Guess we’ll find out soon enough, huh?”
“Guess so.”
Her hand cupped his penis and squeezed. Jerry moaned.
“What’s your name, darling?” he asked.
The girl smiled. “Alexia. And trust me; you’ll definitely be screaming that name for the rest of your life…”
More titles from Kristopher Rufty
Novels:
Angel Board
Pillowface
The Lurkers
Oak Hollow
Prank Night
Novellas:
A Dark Autumn
The Night Everything Changed
Praise for Kristopher Rufty
“A powerhouse debut novel. Rufty's prose will suck you in and hold you prisoner!”
—Ronald Malfi, author of Floating Staircase, on Angel Board
“A creepy, gripping tale of horror. And it's got one of the best death scenes I've read in a long time!”
—Jeff Strand, author of Pressure, on Angel Board
“An occult thriller with a new twist. Rufty juggles captivating characters, breakneck suspense, and insidious horror in a macabre story that will leave you feeling possessed by the end of it. Next time you think about taking that old Ouija board out...forget it!”
—Edward Lee, author of Lucifer’s Lottery and City Infernal, on Angel Board
“Kristopher Rufty delivers the goods yet again!”
—Bryan Smith, author of Kayla Undead and The Late Night Horror Show
“Rufty knows how to bring the scares and mayhem like a charging bull with chainsaws for horns. No one is safe!”
—David Bernstein, author of Machines of the Dead and Amongst the Dead
“Pillowface is the best book I have read in a long time!”
—Hunter Shea, author of Forest of Shadows and Evil Eternal
“Kristopher Rufty is the demented reincarnation of Richard Laymon!”
—Jeff Strand, author of Wolf Hunt and Stalking You Now
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kristopher Rufty is the author of the books Pillowface, The Lurkers, Oak Hollow, Prank Night, and A Dark Autumn. He has written and directed the independent horror films Psycho Holocaust and Rags. What he’s best at is being married to his high school sweetheart and the father of two crazy children he loves dearly. Together they reside in North Carolina with their giant dog Thor and a horde of cats.
For more about Kristopher Rufty, please visit his Website www.lastkristontheleft.blogspot.com
He can be found on Facebook and Twitter as well.
The Skin Show
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-three
Epilogue
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The Skin Show Page 27