by Hunter Shea
* * *
“Seriously, Andy, what the fuck?”
Ryker and Andrew stood before the spiked crow, arms folded across their chests. He’d gotten his brother-in-law out of the house as quietly as possible. Nikki had been in the bathroom, Kate still asleep. Andrew didn’t want the women to know what had been left for them.
Because no one could convince Andrew this wasn’t a message.
“The cop we spoke to said he was pretty sure he knew who had been making noises and stuff around the cottage at night. He was going to find them and tell them to back off. I guess this is their way of telling me they don’t like having the cops called into this.”
“Well, you have to get the cops out here now. This is sick.”
“That’s not all. Follow me.”
Before getting back on the trail, Andrew found a stick and pried the crow loose. It hit the ground with a hollow thump, rolling under a bush and mercifully out of sight.
While they walked, taking note of the various birds, all of their necks broken, Andrew told Ryker about buying the rifle and worrying that he’d shot someone. Ryker took it all in, letting Andrew unload everything.
When he was done, Ryker stopped and said, “What the fuck is this, Deliverance? I can see whooping it up and maybe tossing a few rocks, but killing animals? This is starting to skirt into satanic territory. Or serial killer stuff.”
An iceberg was forged in Andrew’s stomach.
Ryker gripped his arms. “Let’s get back to the house and call the cops before all those birds get carried off by scavengers.”
Andrew had never felt so torn in his life. He took a ragged breath. “I don’t want Kate to know.”
“Dude, she has to know. She’s living in the middle of this crazy shit.”
“You don’t understand. What she hasn’t told you is how bad her heart has gotten. The lupus has it enlarged, and there are issues with her valves. I had her in the emergency room with chest pains not too long ago. I’m really worried what this will do to her.”
Ryker spun in a circle with his eyes closed. When he opened them, he said, “I’ll take her and Nikki out. That way you’ll have the place to yourself and the cops are free to roam around.”
“It won’t happen today.”
“Why not?”
Andrew looked back at the cottage. “Kate’s not going to be able to get up for more than going to the bathroom today…with help. A day like yesterday is a lot for her. I’ll be surprised if she’s even able to stay up for more than an hour at a stretch.”
Both men stared down at a sparrow, its head pointed the wrong way.
“This is bad,” Ryker said.
Andrew suddenly lashed out, punching a tree. His arm jerked back and he howled in pain, tucking his hand under his armpit. When he dared to look at his hand, all of his knuckles were bleeding. Ragged curlicues of flesh poked up, exposing welts of hot pink.
“Jesus, are you all right?”
Andrew hissed, shaking his hand as if he’d touched a hot stove.
“Can anything go fucking right? Do you know how much I put into this for Kate? Everything! This was her dream, our dream, and even though the circumstances are far from perfect, I thought maybe, just maybe, we could catch a break for a few months before we were thrown back in the shit storm. And now there’s this. I can’t keep her here. We’re going to have to leave and she’s going to be devastated. Motherfuckers!”
He kicked a bird carcass, watching it sail out of sight.
Ryker said, “You have to get ahold of yourself. Take a breath.”
“Save it for your seminar, Ryker. I have a right to be pissed.”
“I’m not disagreeing with you. But you gotta calm down. Let’s think our way through this.”
Andrew’s hand throbbed. It felt as if he might have broken something. His knuckles were on fire.
“What’s there to think through? The assholes win. I hope they’re happy, breaking a sick woman’s heart. If I ever get ahold of them, I’ll…I’ll…”
The knot of rage caught in his throat.
“Ryker? Andy? You guys out there?”
It was Nikki. Andrew could just make her out, standing on the front porch.
“We gotta get you inside and get that hand wrapped up,” Ryker said.
“I’m not ready to go inside just yet.”
“I’ll stay out here with you.”
He patted Ryker’s shoulder with his good hand. “No, you go. Just tell Nikki I’m out running like a lunatic. When I come back, I’ll say I fell or something.”
“Okay. I’ll play it any way you want. I still think you need to get the cops back while all the evidence is still here.”
Andrew didn’t respond. Should he tell him about the rabbit and squirrels? He turned away from Ryker, staring deep into the woods. He stayed that way for the better part of an hour, his anger still burning white hot. The sheriff and his deputies might handle this, but it would be very impersonal. He wanted the chance to meet these sick assholes face-to-face.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kate tried to get up and join civilization. She really did. But every time she opened her eyes, it was like some invisible hand was forcing her eyelids back down. Those brief moments of wakefulness also came with a heightened awareness of pain, her muscles and joints incredibly sore, every nerve agitated and raw.
It was better to sleep.
Part of her felt it was weird, her curled on the bed, cradling her Mooshy, while Andrew, Ryker, and Nikki walked and talked around her. Another part found it comforting, making it easier for her to doze through a day that only promised to be miserable.
She caught snatches of conversation, but they were folded into her dreams until she was no longer sure what was real and what was her imagination.
* * *
Copper.
Her mouth was filled with the acrid tang of copper.
Kate opened her lips, expecting old pennies to pour out as if she were a slot machine.
Blood flowed between her shaking fingers. So much blood.
Kate gagged.
Something was caught in her throat.
Her back hitched, stomach convulsing, eager to push the thing in her throat out.
Sitting up, she vomited between her legs, blood and bile pooling in the sheet.
Within the obscene mess, she saw bones. Tiny bones bobbed on the waves of putrescence that spilled from her, and kept spilling until she felt her organs would implode.
Why won’t it stop?
She struggled to breathe through the unending flood of offal. Quivering, purple blobs slid over her tongue, were punctured by her teeth, unleashing their foul contents into her lap.
It was everywhere, drowning her.
* * *
The sound of the closing sliding door woke her. She looked up to see Andrew, Ryker, and Nikki on the porch, steaming mugs of coffee on the rail.
Kate ran her tongue over the roof of her mouth and her teeth.
She stuck her fingers in her mouth, probing.
Her fingers were clean. No blood. No bones. No…Jesus, what was that?
Kate shook her head, making herself dizzy. Dizzy was better than that nightmare. The nightmare where she’d…she’d…
It’s already gone, she thought. Thank God.
She looked back out at the porch.
Was that a bandage wrapped around Andrew’s hand?
“Andrew?”
They continued talking, not hearing her. Kate cleared her throat. “Andrew.”
Buttons, who had been on the bed with her, barked once, as if knowing her voice was too weak to make it across the short distance to the porch.
Three heads turned around.
For the briefest of moments, Kate swore Andrew wore a look of pained resignation. He caught h
er eye and his expression lightened. He smiled and said, “Hey, welcome to the world. You need anything?” He got up and came into the living room.
She pointed at the gauze wrapped around his hand. “What happened?”
He flicked his eyes at the bandage. “It finally happened. I got my feet tangled up in some roots and took a header.”
A spot of blood had soaked through. “Does it hurt?”
“It doesn’t tickle, but I’ll be all right. How are you feeling?”
“Like I was put through a meat grinder.”
There was that look again. And once again, it was gone in a flash. Kate wondered what was on his mind. Had he hurt his hand more than he was letting on?
He put on a smile that seemed a trifle too wide. “It’s a good thing you woke up now. You’re due for some meds. You hungry?”
She shook her head, the simple act sending arcs of pain from her shoulders to her temples. “I just need a little something to drink.”
While he was fishing around in her mason jar, Ryker and Nikki popped in.
“You look worse than me, sis, and you didn’t drink the house dry.” Ryker chuckled, grabbing her toes underneath the sheet.
Kate attempted to sit up and adjust her hair. God, she must look a mess. “You always know what to say.”
Nikki backslapped Ryker’s chest. “You’re such a prat.”
Rubbing his chest, he said, “That’s what little brothers are for, right, Katy?”
She rolled her eyes, unable to stop her smile. “That is true. So, what are you guys up to today?”
Andrew handed her a glass of soda. She washed her pills down.
“Once we feel like real live human beings again, I said we should take turns in the kayak. The lake is just lovely,” Nikki said.
“I think Nikki is the only one kayaking today,” Andrew said. “The boys will probably be homebodies. Too bad it’s not the fall. Football would be a great excuse to miss a beautiful day and just veg on the couch.”
Kate thought she saw Andrew give her brother a nervous glance.
What’s with him today?
A jagged bolt of pain in her hip overwhelmed her thoughts. She dragged in a long, hissing breath, squeezing her eyes shut.
“Oh, dear, are you all right?” Nikki said. Kate felt pressure on the edge of the bed and Nikki’s soft hand on hers.
When she felt she could finally speak, she said, “It’s just my hip. That’s the way it says good morning.”
What she didn’t tell Nikki was how her left wrist had popped out when she went rigid from the pain. She twisted her hand under the covers and felt it slide back in.
Nikki had a tissue in her hand and was wiping Kate’s forehead. “Look, you just rest and we’ll all take care of you.”
“I’ll be fine. Ask Andrew. This is just business as usual.”
Ryker didn’t even try to conceal the dread in his eyes. She could tell he was scared too. Scared for her. She wished she could tell him everything would be fine, but she wasn’t up to starting the day with a lie.
The last thing she wanted was to have them standing over the bed with long faces.
“Guys, there’s no sitting around the house today,” she said. “Go out, get some sun at least. I’m going to chill with my But-But and sleep to old movies.”
Andrew ran his fingers through her hair. “Are you sure? I’m happy to be at your beck and call.”
She took his hand and kissed it. “Give me your boo-boo hand.” She kissed that one too. “Now get out of here. I’m starting to feel like I’m on display.”
“Your wish is our command,” Ryker said. “We’ll just get changed and grab some sunscreen.”
Nikki gave her a finger wave, following Ryker to the bedroom.
Andrew sat next to her and found the oldie movie channel. “How’s that?”
It was a Humphrey Bogart movie she’d never seen before. Too bad she wasn’t going to be able to stay awake long enough to see how it ended.
“Perfect. I’m sorry I’m such a bum today.”
“I knew you’d need to rest and recover. You just lay back and chillax.”
“Chillax?”
“Yeah. It’s what all the kids are saying.”
“I really don’t think so. Maybe kids from ten years ago.”
He kissed her forehead. “You’re not street like I am. I won’t hold it against you.”
When he shifted his weight to get off the bed, he winced.
“Maybe you should get your hand checked out.”
“It’ll be fine. Guess I’ll just have to give it a rest for a while. Lay off the…you know.”
He made a jerking motion, a lopsided grin on his face.
Kate could only muster a weak laugh. “Don’t look at me to bail you out.”
“Get some sleep. We’ll be right outside if you need us.”
Andrew went back onto the porch and took a sip from his coffee.
As Kate drifted off, she heard Ryker and Nikki walk past her, Nikki saying she had never been in a kayak before and Ryker telling her how easy it was to paddle. She heard the three of them clop down the wooden steps to the backyard, heading toward the dock.
Every part of her ached and her exhaustion was overwhelming, but that didn’t keep her from wishing she was with them. They were out there having fun at the lake (my lake!) while she was once again glued to the damn bed. Times like this, she would gladly trade her incurable diseases for something like cancer. At least with cancer, there was hope. The only way she’d be rid of the dark things that plagued her was to die and leave this broken body for them to feast on until there were no longer enough vital nutrients left for them to survive.
How long will they live after my soul leaves my body?
She relished the thought of leaving them a rotting, putrid carcass. She hoped the errant cells that made her life so miserable choked on it.
Buttons nestled close to her and licked her face.
She couldn’t keep her eyes open, Bogart’s voice fading…fading…
Kate whispered as she tumbled into a troubled sleep, “Just…choke on it.”
* * *
Andrew held the kayak steady while Nikki settled in. It really was a picture-perfect day. He could have enjoyed it if not for the avian mass murder around their cottage.
“Don’t go out too far,” Ryker said to his wife. “Since this is your first time, maybe it’s best if you stay where I can see you.”
Nikki rolled her eyes. “You swim like shite. It’s not like you can come out and save me if I cock up and tip the boat.”
“It’s a kayak, not a boat,” Ryker said good-naturedly.
“Whatever. Eat my waves, boys.”
She dug her paddle into the water and shoved off, the kayak gliding to the dead center of the lake.
Andrew watched her paddle away, her strokes strong and steady. It was hard to believe she’d never done it before. “At least someone’s having fun today.”
Ryker kept glancing back up at the cottage. “Man, you were right, there’s no way Katy could leave today. She looks…well, she looks…”
“Terrible. I know. It used to scare me, how quickly things would turn for her. I hate to say that I’m used to it.”
“Do you think she’ll be all right by tomorrow?”
Andrew shrugged his shoulders. “It’s impossible to say. A few years ago, I would have said yes, she can bounce back. But lately, it’s been harder and harder for her. Plus she still has that stuff the doctor gave her in her system.”
Ryker went into his pacing-by-spinning routine. Now that Nikki was out of sight, he no longer tried to hide the deep concern on his face. “I can see toughing out one more night if we have to, but man, it’s going to be rough if it goes much longer.”
Andrew picked up a rock and skipp
ed it on the lake, throwing it so hard his shoulder popped. “You and Nikki fly home tomorrow. Don’t worry. I’ll get her out the second she’s up to it.”
Ryker stopped spinning, his hands balled into fists. “There’s no way on God’s green earth I’m leaving until I know you and Katy are in that car and heading south.”
“Or we’ve had a chance to show these local yokels why you don’t fuck with Jersey.”
Ryker grinned. “Or that.”
He might be a self-help guru now, but Andrew knew his brother-in-law had been in his fair share of dustups. He’d been banned from two diners for fighting when he was in high school.
Ditching the idea of skipping rocks, Andrew contented himself with simply chucking as many big ones as he could find. The bigger splash they made, the better.
“Whoever has been coming out here has stuck to keeping outside the house. As long as we’re locked up tight, I’m sure there won’t be much of anything for us to worry about or do. They’re chickenshits who obviously know how weak and worthless they are, which is why they do what they do to small animals. What’s unnerving are those sounds. They must have a recording of some animals or something.”
Ryker lay down on the towel Nikki had left on the dock. He put his hands behind his head, face turned to the sun. “You and I should get some nap time in.”
Andrew settled onto his ass at the water’s edge. “And you’re sure you don’t want to tell Nikki?”
“Look, I’m hoping it’s a quiet night and we don’t need to bother. If things kick up again, well, she’ll find out then. Best she carry on blissfully ignorant for now. Besides, I’m sure you and I, no matter how hard we try, are acting like something’s not quite right. One of us has to look like it’s just a normal day. We can just play off Nikki’s vibe. Most of all, we don’t let on to Katy that things have taken a turn.”
“That may be very easy to do. I don’t think she’s going to be awake much today.”
“All the better. And if she’s good to go tomorrow, we’ll help you pack.”