Habeas Corpus: Black Womb (Black Womb Collection Book 1)

by Matthew LeDrew

  She was bouncing along to Spirit in the Sky.

  Xander watched her from across the room, his own drink clutched tightly to his chest. He had yet to take a sip of it, and it had been sitting there for so long that all the fizz had gone out of it and turned it into stale sugar water. He took a deep breath, then turned around to face the wall.

  “Hey Sara,” he said sheepishly, fiddling with the curtain. “I don’t know if you know this, but I’m-

  “Stupid,” he spat, forcing himself to let the fabric go. It fluttered back into place alongside the window and stayed there. “Hey Sara. I know you don’t think of me like this, but I think that if you gave me a chance --

  “No,” he stopped again, rolling his eyes. “No, that’s underselling yourself. ‘Hey, this piece of meat is gangly and disgusting... buy it!’ Stupid.”

  His throat was suddenly very dry. He took a long drink of his cola until he needed to draw breath. It was flat, and tasted like bile.

  “Hey, Sara...” he started again, turning back toward the crowd. He almost bumped right into her. As it was, another great slosh of her drink splashed down onto the silver rings of her left hand.

  “Hey, yourself,” she smiled, steadying herself on her feet. “Enjoying the party?”

  “Most definitely,” Xander said enthusiastically.

  She smiled at him.

  He got lost in it for a moment, just staring at her. Her eyes were glossy, and he could see the brush strokes on her cheeks from where she had applied her makeup before going out.

  She smiled at him again, nodding her head and waiting for him to speak.

  “Oh!” he said finally, laughing humorlessly. “I had something I wanted to talk to you about.”

  “Okay,” she chirped, still bobbing along to the song in her head. “Anything in particular?”

  “Yes,” he said. “No. Maybe.”

  “Glad we cleared that up.”

  “It’s not any one thing. It’s... look, we’ve know each other a long time, and --”

  “Hey! You dropped one! You gotta take a shot!” she howled at someone from across the room, pointing at them wildly with her drink hand. She was still laughing when she turned back to him. “Sorry.”

  “That’s okay.”

  “What were you saying?”

  “Yes. What I was saying. What I was saying was -”

  “This is the end of this year’s flute hanger!” someone called from the next room.

  Sara laughed, so hard that she almost fell over onto Xander.

  “Hey, listen, you wanna go talk?” he asked, smiling as she helped herself back to her feet. “This place is a little loud.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  He motioned toward the curtains he’d been playing with. When he pulled on the drawstring next to them, they opened and revealed a sliding glass door that lead out onto the balcony.

  “Sly,” she said, tossing him a playful wink. “If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought you planned this.”

  Xander laughed.

  The two of them walked out onto Grendel’s balcony. The cool night air whipped at them, her light blonde hair blowing gracefully backward, exposing her neck and chest. He found himself looking at her unintentionally.

  “Dear God, you’re beautiful,” he said finally, with the honesty of a person who had been waiting forever to say it.

  She smiled at him, with those beautiful lips that she had painted sparkling platinum for the occasion. “Excuse me?”

  “I said you’re beautiful,” he repeated, turning to look her square in the eye.

  “Yeah,” she laughed. “I got that. But why?”

  “Because,” he said, taking her hand. “You are.”

  He leaned in to kiss her. She looked up at him, moving in slightly herself, her lip quivering in an anticipation she hadn’t even realized she had had until now. Her eyes fluttered back and forth between his lips to his eyes and his did the same, making eye contact every so often. He could smell her perfume and it overwhelmed him. He could feel the softness of her body, so close to his and yet still not touching. Slowly, they moved closer together. Closer...

  “Xander,” came a voice from inside.

  “What?” Xander turned, angrily.

  “We need you for something in here.” It was Dave Marston, a jock friend of Jamie’s. “It’s this weird thing with Gren’s computer. Some kinda net nanny keeping us off. You wanna....”

  “Yeah. Just... gimmie a minute.”

  “Alright.”

  Xander looked at Sara for a long moment, smiling. “Hold that thought.”

  “Dammit,” Grendel muttered to himself.

  “What?” Cathy asked.

  “I just remembered. I still didn’t find that Ragnarok CD.”

  “The one with Old Maid in Alaska on it?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Darn,” she whined. “That’s my favorite.”

  “You wanna go look for it?”

  “Alright.”

  Xander was busy at the cluttered computer. The keyboard was literally covered in papers.

  “Geez, doesn’t he know how to take care of it? He’s got homework from last month on here, gum wrappers ... even his new Ragnarok CD...”

  Mike and Sud dropped the stereo to the floor when they were half way to the door.

  Mike stretched and wiped the sweat from his brow. “Sorry I can’t help more guys. My side still hurts.”

  “S’alright,” replied Derek.

  Mike glanced over into the house. Cathy wasn’t on the love seat anymore. She was going upstairs with Grendel. “Hey!” he shouted, but then fell to the ground as Derek punched him in the side.

  The right side.

  He could feel a stitch split as he went down onto his knees.

  “What’d ya?” he started, then got kicked in the ribs by Tommy.

  “Nothing personal,” Sud said in his stupid tone. He walked over and punched Mike in the back of the neck, sending him down for the count.

  “It can’t be here,” Cathy said, lifting pillows and blankets around on Grendel’s unmade bed trying to find the CD.

  “I’m pretty sure it is,” Grendel said as he looked around, hardly taking his eyes off Cathy.

  “I’ll go down and check the CD rack.” She sighed as she walked over to the door and twisted the knob.

  Nothing.

  “It’s locked,” she said in a much lower tone. “Why would it be locked, Gren?”

  She looked over at him.

  “No way,” Grendel shrugged. “Let me see.”

  He twisted the knob himself and got the same result. “Geez. How’d that happen?”

  He turned to face her and she looked at him for a second, her eyes narrowing as she figured out what was going on. He put his hands on her hips and leaned in to kiss her. She jerked away.

  “What the hell are you doing?” she screamed.

  “Hey, don’t be like that.” He put his arms around her.

  “Grendel, stop it!” She struggled against him, but he was much stronger than she was. He pushed her down onto his bed and got on top of her, kissing her forcibly.

  “No!” she screamed.

  He put his hand down onto her leg, the spot where she had been slashed. She winced, and he took the opportunity to begin to take off her shirt...

  “See? It’s really very easy to get into Windows from dos mode,” Xander explained to the computer illiterate that had gathered around him. “All you have to do is type in ‘win’ and Windows should automatically start up, unless there’s something wrong with...”

  “Grendel, no!” came a cry from upstairs. He’d have recognized that voice anywhere. There was something wrong with her. It was Cathy and there was something wrong with her.

  “Cathy?” Xander shouted up the stairs, jumping away from the computer. “Cathy!? Are you alright? Grendel?”

  He began to wander toward the stairs, picking up speed as he went.

  “Hold it,” came a voice from behind h
im. He turned with a start and came face to face with Tommy.

  “What’s going on? Where’s Mike?” Xander asked, staring him down. He knew something had to be wrong. He was getting that same feeling in his gut that Mike had had, but it was elating, overpowering everything else. It made his pulse quicken and his blood boil.

  “Grendel, please stop...” came Cathy’s voice from upstairs again. This time it had become obvious that she was crying, and what Grendel was doing to her.

  “I think you ought to leave those two alone,” Tommy said, giving Xander a little push.

  Xander looked around, seeing the increasing amount of people gathering around. They were all staring at Xander, their brows furrowed.

  Tommy folded his arms as more screams and sounds of a struggle came from upstairs.

  Xander looked up the remaining stairs, then back at the people who had begun to move in on him. He broke out into an all out run for Grendel’s room and made it to the top of the stairs before Sud grabbed his pant leg, causing him to tumble and fall.

  The crowd parted as Xander rolled down the stairs, landing with a thump at the bottom. The crowd formed a little circle around him and he tried to get up, but Derek kicked him in the side.

  There was a loud, wet snap that Xander recognized as the breaking of a rib. His left hand went immediately to his side while the other propped him up until someone stepped on it, creating an ear-shattering crack. Xander grunted in pain and he could feel tears forming in his eyes. Somebody else from the circle punched down onto his neck and he felt blood rise up into his throat. It left a coppery taste he’d always hated. He looked up, blood smearing down his face and onto the floor.

  “All you had to do was nothing,” Tommy scowled down at him, his arms folded.

  “Go to hell,” he said bluntly, the sound of his voice muffled by the blood in his mouth.

  Tommy gave Xander a hard kick, knocking his head back onto a coffee table, where he finally lost consciousness.

  “Grendel, please...” Cathy pleaded. He already had her shirt off and now he had her jeans unbuttoned. “Please, just stop.”

  “Shh. It’ll be alright,” he said, kissing her forcefully, pushing her shoulders onto the bed.

  Tears ran down her soft, freckled cheeks. She sobbed and he stopped for a moment. He looked down at her, then slowly starting to pull down her jeans. But of course to do that, he had to let go of her with one hand, which meant that she had one hand free. She wracked her nails against his face, leaving four large scratch marks.

  “Ow!” he exclaimed, putting his other hand up to his face.

  She was free now, but the door was still locked. She ran over to the window, trying desperately to open it.

  “You stupid bitch!” he shouted, punching her across the face.

  She hit the floor like a ton of bricks and then started to cry once more.

  “I’ll teach you...” he slapped her across the face.

  Through her tears she looked around the room for something, anything she could use as a weapon. Something to defend herself with. He sat on her and grabbed at her. In desperation, she kicked him in the groin.

  He bent over in pain, then drew back and punched her again. Then he got up and tossed her clothes onto her. “Pff. You’re not worth the trouble. Stupid whore.”

  He kicked her once as hard as he could, in the ribs, then left. He went back down to his friends to lie, to tell them what the two of them had done.

  She was still crying uncontrollably. There were already bruises starting to form on her face and chest. As she got up and got dressed, she happened to glance in the mirror at her battered face and her puffy eyes. She broke into a whiny cry and walked out into the hall. When she got there, she started to feel dizzy. Her head started to hurt and then, without warning, she lost consciousness.

  Grendel was greeted with the hoots and hollers of his friends as he walked down his stairwell. The music started to play again and everyone got back to the party. Grendel walked over to Tommy.

  “Did the guys give you any trouble?” he asked, grabbing a drink from an end table and taking a long slurp.

  “Naw, take a look for yourself.” Tommy laughed, cocking his head in the general direction of the downstairs bedroom. In it, Mike and Xander lay sprawled across each other. Their faces were masks of pain as they slept off their injuries.

  Grendel walked over and closed the door. “We’ll have some fun with them later.”

  Outside, Sara was still waiting for Xander to come back. She had no idea what was going on inside the house. Out here, everything was quiet. She stood there, her head hanging over the balcony, her satin shirt swaying in the breeze behind her. She looked out at the lights of Coral Beach, sparkling along with the stars in the sky. On a night like tonight, it was hard to tell where sky ended and the earth began. Everything was quiet, still, peaceful... perfect. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath of the cool night air, thought of Xander, and felt a smile cross her lips.

  -Shink-

  She opened her eyes.

  -Shink-

  Again. A metalish sound, like Mr. Calendar desperately trying to create a spark with two pieces of metal in the physics lab.

  -Shink-

  Again. This time she looked around.

  Nothing.

  Just the cool air and the black of night.

  Fidgeting and rubbing her exposed arms, she turned to look around.

  There was patio furniture on the far side of the balcony, of the sort that was typically hidden from public view unless it became very necessary to have it out. It had been painted white with some sort of base that didn’t agree with it and the colour chipped off in random shapes, revealing rust underneath. The vinyl strips that covered the chairs were broken in places and missing in others, creating a mishmash hammock of plastic and metal that was sure to leave its user nervous and uncomfortable.

  There was a book bag sitting snugly in the lap of the chair closest to her. The plastic buckle on it had drooped down over the side and swaying lightly into the breeze, connecting with the leg every so often.

  -clink-

  -clink-

  -clink-

  She sighed, then placed the buckle onto the chair and went back to looking out onto the city.

  -Shink-

  She sighed again, turning to put the belt buckle back on the chair.

  It hadn’t moved.

  -Shink-

  She looked up, leaning over the rail of the balcony to see if there was anyone under her. Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in her side. Blood oozed into her shirt as the killer twisted, then pulled the knife from the mouth it had just opened. Sara let out a little sound like a dove cooing, a small tear rolling down her cheek. The killer wiped her cheek clean, then sliced her slowly across the throat. Her hand went up to her wound, and was instantly covered in blood.

  The killer put a finger up to his hooded mouth. “Shh.”

  She opened her mouth to scream a warning to the others, but couldn’t. All she felt was her blood pour out onto the wooden balcony. She lay down on the floor and her eyes rolled back into her head as a small puddle of blood began to form all around her. As the killer walked through it, he gazed into the room filled with teens. A wry smile spread across his lips.

  The last thought to go through her mind was of Xander.

  “I been sittin’ here... trying to find myself...” Tommy sang drunkenly on the coffee table, a small group of people incoherently singing along with him. “...I get behind myself... need to rewind myself...” Then without warning, he fell onto those gathered around him. Swears were loudly uttered by those directly in his path, but then they all started laughing. All but Tommy. He was clutching his side violently. Eventually, the laughter stopped and all eyes were on him. “...pain...”

  The power went out in the house, plunging it into darkness. The music stopped playing and everyone was still.

  Sud walked over to the front door and tried to open it. “It’s jammed,” he said.
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  Everyone looked at one another and around the room cautiously.

  “Hold on... hold on...” Grendel mumbled as he fumbled through a junk drawer. “Geez, a fuckin’ power out and all you guys turn to pansies.” He pulled out an old phone book, grabbing an aged flashlight under it. “Here we go.”

  He turned it around for a moment before finding the switch, then turned it on. Nothing. There were a few disappointed moans from the crowd. Grendel frowned, tapping the flashlight against his palm twice. A beam of light cut through the dense darkness. “There.”

  He swirled the light around. What the beam found made him feel sick.

  Hanging by a rope from the ceiling fan was the body of Sara Johnson. Her once vibrant and beautiful face was caked with blood. Her clothes were in shreds, barely covering her. There was a gaping hole in her right side, some of her major organs were visible. Her hands were in twisted, deformed positions, like claws. Her hair (formerly soft and lovely), which had been put up into a bun for the party, had been let down. It was matted in blood, giving it an eerie, brittle look.

  One girl screamed in the crowd. However for the most part, people just stared in a silent shock as the corpse swung slightly on its rope. The slight breeze in the room made her spin just a little. Grendel looked up into her eyes. They stared blankly back at him, fixed on nothing. They used to contain light and life, but now had a smoky, glossed over look to them. He felt his lower lip begin to tremble.

  Suddenly pain ripped up and down his right side. The flashlight dropped to the floor with a clunk and he strained his neck to look behind him.

  The dark spectre behind him twisted the knife in its wound before pulling it from Grendel’s entire body. He took the long knife to Grendel’s back, driving it through until it protruded from his chest cavity.

  As Grendel dropped to the floor with a thump, people in the room began to scream and run hysterically. The man threw his knife, digging it into a young girl’s back. He looked down at the flashlight on the ground, stomping his foot down onto it and immersing the house in total darkness.