All the Lovely Creatures

by B. C. Sirrom

The Bargain

  By Rebecca Nolan

  1

  The night was broken as the headlights pieced the fading darkness. The Ford pick-up rounded the corner, its massive tires hugging the road as if to dominate it. It was still cool inside the truck, the night air bringing relief form the summer heat. They were only seven hours into the trip, one they had done many times before. Abby was happy to be going home after a long semester of studying at college; it was fun but nothing beat just sitting around chilling, having someone clean for you and home cook meals. Abby was already dreaming about her mother’s famous strawberry and cream pie. She could almost taste it and her tongue instinctively darted out, licking her lips. She groaned as the foul taste of….well she didn’t know exactly how to describe it, touched her tongue.

  Abby yawned, stretching out her arms as she arched her back. Her legs had pins and needles from being cramped for so long. Carefully, she tried to stretch them out as far as she could. A part of her long blonde hair clung to her face. She pulled it back into a nice tight bun at the back of her head. Her heart-shaped face always looked better with her hair down but in the car she preferred to have it up. Somehow her five-foot-five frame filled the car seat making it almost impossible to get a good stretch.

  “Good morning Sleeping Beauty. I was wondering when you were going to wake up.” A familiar voice sang out to her. Abby turned her large doe-brown eyes on Gabe and smiled.

  “Hmm, what time is it?” she managed to get out before yawning again.

  “It is almost four.” Gabe answered, not a trace of drowsiness to be found in his husky voice. Abby looked at Gabe jealous; he was so well put together in his designer jeans and designer shirt that was unbuttoned over a tight white singlet. His angular jawline and short haircut gave him a very corporate look; which was funny when he was the one studying acting. If it weren’t for his wrestler physique and six-foot frame he would have fit in perfectly on Wall Street. Instead Gabe looked like one of those football player types that sell Subway or something on TV.

  Picking up the travelling mug she took large gulp of her now cold coffee. The truck hit a pothole, forcing the mug from her hands. The tiny bit that had been left in it was now all down the front of Abby’s light-weight knit sweater.

  “Shit!” she hissed annoyed with herself. If she didn’t act quickly it would stain. Grabbing her purse she pulled out some tissues and began to dab at the spot. Gabe looked at her shaking his head. Abby hadn’t noticed before just how pale Gabe was looking these days. With the sun rising up in the sky it was clear now that maybe something was wrong with him. At least once they arrived home he would get some proper meals and sunlight.

  “Why are you worried about that awful green sweater?” Gabe asked out of the blue. “The coffee is doing you a favor. Any color would be better than that shade of green.”

  Abby stared at him, her mouth open in shock. He had always been a great dresser; with sandy brown hair that was freshly cut and clean shaven. He looked like the type of guy every girl’s mother wanted them to bring home. In fact, all mothers loved him. Sometimes her college friends couldn’t understand what he saw in her. She was average height with some curves in the right places but there was nothing about her that screamed she was special. She was just lucky that she knew a secret about Gabe that most others didn’t… Gabe was Gay.

  “It’s not awful, you’re just color blind.” She replied after a while.

  “No darling, it is like some baby decided to vomit lima beans all over you.”

  “It doesn’t look that bad” her anger seeped out with each word uttered.

  “You’re right” Gabe grinned. “It is more like the puke scene from the girl in The Exorcist that sprayed all over the priest. Man that was such a great scene.” The excitement in his voice would have normally made Abby laugh but she was too mad at him right now. She didn’t want to believe what he was saying. She wore the sweater all the time at college and no one had said a thing to her about it before.

  Abby crossed her arms and turned to stare out the window. He was teasing her and she knew it, but this was her beloved sweater; it was the first thing her mother had sent her after she had left for college.

  “Is it really that bad?” she asked as Gabe’s laughter began to fade. He looked at her carefully with those big, bright blue eyes before nodding.

  “Yes darling” He paused “It really is…but if you love it then I guess I will tolerate it for you.” Gabe said softly as his hand lay over the top of hers for a few brief seconds. She sneered at him, trying not to laugh as she was still hurt and angry…he always had that effect on her.

  “You’re just lucky that I tolerate you, period.” She teased. “Without me to play pretend girlfriend at home you would have to face up to your dad.”

  Gabe’s face displayed mock hurt at the statement but Abby knew different; it had been a low blow and now she felt bad. The air became tense, that topic which was not spoken about hung thick. If only their home town hadn’t been so small and his father…..well.

  “I am sorry Gabe, I shouldn’t have said that.” She unwrapped the other half of her turkey and rye sandwich, handing it to him. It was only a couple of hours and then they would be home. Abby could tell they were getting close by how dense the woods on either side of the road were. Many times they had been out in these woods hunting with Gabe’s dad and two uncles.

  “Can you pass me a soda? That turkey was a little dry.” Gabe asked. Abby nodded before reaching down near her feet. She grabbed the warm soda from the bag and passed it over to him.

  The road was clear of other traffic; the sun was finally high enough in the sky that it began to warm up the inside of the car. Abby was happy; Gabe was never one to hold onto his emotions for long.

  “Aren’t you sick of it yet?” he asked breaking the happy silence.

  “Sick of what?” Abby asked confused.

  “Sick of playing my girlfriend. Every time we go home it is the same thing; our mother’s talk of a wedding and babies, while my dad asks when we are planning to move back home. You know he wants us to buy a house on the same street as them? God! It makes me feel sick even thinking about it.” Gabe paused; he turned to Abby, sighed then turned back. “Sometimes I think it would be easier to marry you and have the two point five kids and the house but then I remember, I like boys.” He laughed uneasily, as if it were meant to be a joke only Abby knew him better than that. She was certain that the thought had crossed his mind more than once.

  Abby stared at him; she didn’t know how to reply. What can you say when your gay best friend tells you that he has thought of marrying you just so he doesn’t have to deal with his father or disappoint his mother. She knew it was eating away at him inside, each time they came home the pressure on him grew a little more. Their parents had been planning their marriage ever since Abby decided to help Gabe hide the fact that he liked other boys; that had been six years ago. There was only a one-year difference between them, Gabe being the older one of course. Abby and her mother had moved to the small town when she was six. Her mother rented a house from Gabe’s family, they really helped her out. Abby’s dad had been out of the scene for a while and Gabe’s dad was happy to fill in as a part time replacement when needed. It was as if fate had meant for them to help one another out, but marriage? “Shit” Gabe cursed staring at her. “Tell me you’re not actually considering marrying me?”

  “No” she lied “of course not.” Her words come out too fast and her cheeks grew red with embarrassment. He laughed, tuning back to the road.

  “You would do it for me, wouldn’t you? I mean the whole fake marriage and stuff.”

  Abby didn’t know what to say; the thought of marrying Gabe wasn’t the worst thing that she could imagine. Abby didn’t like to date, she liked boys just fine but her dating life had suffered after her first college boyfriend. He had hurt her, almost destroying her very essence before moving on. No one knew what he had done to her, she had blocked
out those three months that she had suffered at his hands. Even just the thought of it brought tears to her eyes. She fought hard to hold them back, to control the raw emotion that lay hidden for so long. All she could manage in reply was a shrug. Words would give too much away and Gabe was already dealing with a large amount of his own emotional conflict as it was.

  “Awe Abby, while the offer is touching, I am sorry to say but you just aren’t my type.” He smiled teasingly “I mean how could I marry someone who defends such putrid fashion choices; really I do have some standards.” They laughed together, Abby’s pain fading into the background where it belonged.

  “Since we are talking about marriage though, what male movie stars would you kiss, kill and marry.”

  Abby groaned happily “What, are we back in junior grade or something?”

  “Fine, I will go first then.” Gabe stated. “I would kiss that really hot guy” He looked at Abby expecting her to come up with the name; instead she looked at him blankly. “You know. Off that show we watch…argh forget it, I would kill…”

  Gabe didn’t get to finish, he hit the brakes hard but it was too late; there was a loud thud as the truck ran over whomever they had hit. Abby looked at Gabe as they came to a stop, both of them just sitting there staring. Abby thought it was a miracle that they were both without a scratch.

  “We just ran over someone.” Gabe babbled, his voice shaking as much as his body. Abby nodded still unable to speak.

  “We” Gabe paused looking at her “Just ran over a person, Abby.” There was a hint of panic in his tone. “A real person!”

  Abby continued to stare at him as the words soaked in. He was right; they had hit a real person. She could remember how they were talking, mucking around and then there was a flash of dark hair and a naked torso. Abby felt her stomach jump into the back of her throat making it burn. She wanted to be sick, to throw up but she wouldn’t…not yet anyway.

  “Oh my god, do you think we killed him?” Abby asked as she opened the door. “Where did he come from?”

  “I don’t know.” Gabe said following her lead. They both walked around to the back, hesitating, neither of them really wanted to see a dead person laying there. Abby was first to take those last few steps; she held her breath, readying herself for the worst. Nothing. Not a person, not an animal. Hell, not even ‘long dead’ road-kill lay there. Gabe moved toward her as if he needed to see what was there for himself.

  “I thought he would be dead.” Abby said shocked. “I mean, you totally nailed him with the pick-up…right?”

  “Yeah…I got the dent in the front to prove it - just not a dead body on the ground.” Gabe declared scratching his head confused. “Were in God’s name could he have gone?”

  “I don’t know. Are you sure it was a man?” Abby looked at the empty stretch of road behind them. She was positive that they had run over a guy too but now there was nothing, only a dent in the front and a smashed windscreen.

  “Seriously Abby, it is mid-morning and the sky is clear, we both saw him hit the truck and I don’t think deer wear leather pants…at least not in this weather.” Gabe jested half-heartedly; she could tell he was having trouble processing this too.

  “Yeah, I know.” She looked around for any sign of where a body might be “I just don’t know how he is not a broken, bloodied mess behind your pick-up.”

  “Christ, this is like right out of some pathetic b-grade horror film; you know where he is going to leap out of the woods and hack us into little pieces as revenge for killing him or something.” Gabe groaned. “Haven’t you heard the urban legend about the demon who finds victims by luring them into the forest so he can recruit them for the devil’s work?”

  Abby shot him a perplexed look. “Huh?”

  “If some crazy psycho, hell-bent on turning me into a devil’s minion, doesn’t get me then I have no doubt my dad will.” he answered. “This was a brand new truck and now it is a write-off. I am just lucky that nothing happened to you.”

  She stared at him for a little longer wondering if and how she should reply to that. He was right; when his dad saw all the damage done to his truck he would take his anger out on Gabe. There was no body - nothing to verify their story - which would make things worse. Abby sighed bending down to see if the liquid on the ground was blood. She carefully dipped her fingers into it; they came out rich red as she studied the liquid a little more, and rubbed it between her fingers. The blood was still warm and smelt vaguely metallic. She had the oddest urge to taste it. Quickly, though, she wiped the blood onto her jeans instead. Gabe gasped in disgust.

  “Those are designer jeans, don’t ruin them.” He said as he walked away. Abby looked back down where the small pool of blood lay.

  “Well something is injured, the blood was still warm when I touched it.” she turned, looking for Gabe who was now contemplating the damage to his front end. “We need to go and find him, make sure he is ok.”

  “You’re crazy right? This guy got hit by my truck doing fifty and by the time we were collected enough to jump out he was gone. I mean, really…do you want to become some freaks play thing?”

  Gabe shook his head as Abby shrugged her delicate shoulders in reply. She didn’t want to fight with Gabe on this. How could she explain that she couldn’t leave not knowing if they could have helped? Images of some poor man slowly bleeding to death, scared and alone, haunted her.

  “Seriously, we are not going to offer ourselves up to be sliced-and-diced just because you have a guilty conscience.” Gabe threw his arms up frustrated.

  “So what, we just leave him alone…out there…hurt?” That wasn’t who she was.

  He walked away. “Abby, get over it.”

  It was a harsh thing to say but it was needed. There was no way in hell he was about to enter the woods to find some indestructible crazy person. No man that can walk away from that should be searched for. Gabe looked over at the large dent that had cracked the radiator among other things; the guy should have at least broken a hell of a lot of bones.

  “My cell phone isn’t working, is yours?” Abby asked still frustrated by everything. Gabe reached into his khaki pants pocket and pulled out his cell. There was no service; he shook his head before popping the bonnet.

  “How bad is it?” she asked.

  “I don’t know how far it will get us but we should be able to drive it at least a little further.”

  “I can’t leave without knowing that there isn’t someone injured just inside of those woods Gabe.”

  Abby grabbed the bag out of the back and a gun out of the toolbox. She passed over the rifles they used for hunting, opting for a classic Smith & Wesson .357 magnum. She wasn’t sure if she could fire it correctly but she was sure that if she ran into trouble it would certainly help her to do some major damage first. Gabe watched her amused; she always was the bleeding heart kind of girl and it was one of the things he loved most about her. Even though he knew she was going to search, Gabe had no intention of following her. The one thing Gabe was great at was self-preservation and walking into those woods — even with a gun — was just stupid. Abby followed the tiny droplets of blood to the edge of the woods before looking back at were Gabe sat.

  “So, are you coming with me?” Abby looked at him, her sky blue eyes pleading with him to come. She really didn’t want to walk in the woods alone. She wasn’t really scared of the man; it was the fear of the unknown that was pushing her to enter the woods. Gabe leaned on the back of his pick-up and ate a piece of candy while shaking his head.

  “If you want to end up on some FBI victim list…well, just go ahead, but I am staying with my truck until either help arrives or you come to your senses.”

  “You owe me, you know that?” Gabe shrugged trying to ignore what he knew was true. He owed her for a lot of things but that didn’t change how he felt.

  “Look we will just go a little way in and if we don’t see any trace we’ll leave it.” She tried.

&
nbsp; “Jeez Abby, this doesn’t feel right. Surely you are not that blonde… you have to know this isn’t right. Even the terminator would have had a little trouble getting up straight away from this.”

  Abby hissed something low and rather abusive, he assumed, as she started to head toward the entrance of the woods. The trees were tall, dark and thick with foliage. She glanced one more time behind her, pleading for Gabe to come with. He was watching; waiting for her to admit that it was crazy to head into the woods all alone. Gabe unwrapped another piece of candy and shoved it into his mouth; he was nervous and conflicted about letting her go in there all by herself. She swallowed back the lump that was in her throat. She could do this…right?

  2

  Cautiously she placed her foot onto the debris, listening to the crunch as it gave way to her weight. It felt as if she were crossing some invisible line. After that it seemed easier to move further forward. Abby looked meticulously down to make sure she stayed on the right blood trail. All those times she had been on hunting trips where she watched the men track their prey came back to her. She took off her green sweater, tearing some stripes off the bottom of it so that she could mark the track. The last thing Abby wanted was to become lost somewhere deep in these woods. The road was becoming harder to see so she carefully tied a little strip of her sweater onto a branch of one of the saplings. She bent down to make sure the blood she was following was fresh; it would be a waste to find out that she was doing this for an injured raccoon. The blood was still in liquid from, that was a good sign…kind of, she thought. There wasn’t a great amount to follow so Abby made sure keep an eye on which direction it was taking her. As she moved the trees grew dense, whatever had left the blood trail was leading her deeper into the woods. There was still enough light and warmth for her to keep going; it was further in than she had hoped but the idea of turning around was worse.

  Another strip of her sweater was being tied to another branch when she heard her name being called. Somehow it felt as if the words were echoing in her head, that was, until Gabe ran right into her almost knocking her to the ground.

  “What the?” she screamed half panicked “I thought you weren’t coming!”

  “Yeah, well, I thought about going to find some help but the truck didn’t even start.” he panted out of breathe.

  “Well thanks for not leaving me,” her tone oozing sarcasm “but why didn’t you just lock yourself in until I returned?”

  Gabe didn’t look at her, instead his head slumped down and he shrugged his shoulders. She knew he was too ashamed to admit that he was too scared to stay in the truck by himself. Abby laughed out loud, she couldn’t help it. Gabe was a six-foot-two college wrestling champion whose dad was the town sheriff and had taught his son from a very young age how to look after himself. There were only two things Gabe was scared of: the first was his dad and the other his family finding out he was gay; both were completely understandable.

  “What’s so funny?” Gabe snapped.

  “You were too scared to stay there all by yourself… weren’t you?” Abby teased.

  “For your information I wasn’t scared, I just didn’t think it was wise for you to go on this one-woman search party all alone. I mean safety in numbers right?”

  “So that’s it is it?”

  “No.”

  “What would make it better then?” she asked getting frustrated. Gabe was normally the easy-going adventurous one, not her.

  “Turning around and waiting until help arrives would make it better!” Gabe yelled. Abby’s mouth fell open; what was with him today? Was returning home eating away at him this much?

  “What’s wrong Gabe?”

  “I am worried about you…about us honestly. I mean, doesn’t this all feel a little odd?”

  Abby sighed heavily “Gabe” she groaned.

  “Think about Abby; we are following someone who should, by-all-rights, be dead deep into the woods. We are probably so far in now that if something were to happen no one would know for days…hell maybe even weeks.” Gabe grabbed her arm, stopping her.

  “Jeez, you can be a real drama queen sometimes Gabe.” She looked around; they could no longer see the road nor did she have any clue how far they had walked. Nothing looked familiar and Abby realized she hadn’t spotted the blood trail since Gabe arrived, distracting her.

  “We need to back-step; I have lost the blood trail I was following.” Abby said trying to sound calm. Suddenly everything about this situation was terrifying. She ripped another strip from the rag and tied it to another branch, then turned around and counted her steps. There was nothing. She was sure she had left a marker every thirty steps. She counted another ten; still nothing. Surely she hadn’t walked more than forty paces. If they walked another twenty and still didn’t find anything then it would be time to panic. Abby felt her heart begin to race; they had walked thirty more steps without finding any trace that they had ever been here before. Thoughts of what to do next filled her mind; she had gotten them into this and now she had to get them out.

  “Shit.” Abby hissed angrily. “We need to head back to the last marker and then try to find the others from there.” She looked at Gabe “I need a piece of your shirt.”

  “My shirt?” he exclaimed. “Why do you want my shirt?”

  “Because it is a different color and will help us mark this path so we know this is the wrong one.”

  “Can’t you ruin something ugly of yours? I mean this is one of my favorite shirts.” he answered with a sulking tone.

  “Please, Gabe.” Abby pleaded “If it makes you feel better, I have already started using the green sweater you were complaining about.”

  Gabe took off his shirt and tore a rough stripe from it before putting it back on. “There!”

  They carefully counted seventy paces, heading back the way they had just come. Abby was careful to leave a bigger marker this time when they reached thirty paces. The piece of cloth hung from the limb looking rather like a flag. From now on, Abby thought, she was going to have to leave bigger markers. Finally they reached the place they thought they had started from. They looked around but nothing was there; no marker, no disturbed ground, just nothing. Gabe and Abby looked at one another, this was getting creepy…very friggin’ creepy.

  “This should be the place.” She looked around again but nothing was familiar to her. “I counted it out exactly, and we walked in a straight line.”

  “I told you, this is some sicko’s idea of fun before he finally hacks us to death.” Gabe yelled as he paced back and forth.

  “Calm down, we must have gotten off-course somehow. Maybe I miscounted or something.”

  “Calm down? We are lost in the woods!” He yelled, frustrated and scared. “Abby we’re looking for some guy who can survive being hit by a truck and who also likes to wear leather in the summer. If that doesn’t scream ‘crazy’ to you then I don’t know what would!”

  Abby felt the tears welling in her eyes. Gabe had yelled at her and he was right, this was crazy. What was she thinking? Why did she always have to be the one who does the right thing? Gabe was watching her; he looked sad.

  “Don’t cry. If there is some crazy guy out there, just remember that in the movies the guy always dies before the beautiful girl.” She started to tell him that was not funny but he continued. “He was wearing leather so maybe I can seduce him before he kills me, which should give you plenty of time to get away. On the plus-side, I get to die happy.” He laughed trying to lighten the mood. Abby wanted to slap him for being stupid but instead she found herself laughing also.

  “That’s better.” he kissed her cheek. “I still think we should try to find our way back to the truck, it shouldn’t be that hard. Besides, after all the hunting trips we used to go on we should be nature experts.”

  “Fine, let’s head that way.” she pointed. “Maybe if we go far enough we will either hit the road or climb high enough to get a signal for our phones.”

 
; “Ok, but just so you know this is how most b-grade horror films start out. You know, lulling the prey into a false sense of hope before they pull out the chainsaw or giant butcher’s meat hook.” Gabe teased as they began walking.

  “You watch way too many movies.” Abby said, rolling her eyes. She was beginning to feel better though.

  “False sense of hope…where do you come up with this stuff?”

  “It means they are allowing us to believe we have a chance to get out when they know we are only putting off the inevitable.” He used his best professor know-it-all voice before poking out his tongue at her.

  “Well thank you very much for the English lesson, now if you don’t mind I would like to get out of here before it gets dark.” She said sarcastically before walking ahead of him.

  “Well you’re no fun.” He sulked, tagging along behind her.

  They walked in silence without a sound to be heard; the birds didn’t sing and there was no wind to rustle the leaves. The further they went the darker it became as the sun was lost to canopy above. Abby had thought about turning around but her frustration at Gabe’s little quips made her too stubborn to do it. Deep down she knew they were lost. They had to either wait for help or continue; maybe a change of direction would help. She hesitated for a moment, contemplating her next course of action.

  “Ok this feels eerily like a path that leads us to our death.” Gabe’s voice broke her train of thought “And like stupid little rabbits we are happily following it until finally we end up trapped, squealing for our lives.” Gabe stopped, checking his phone again; still no signal. He groaned frustrated before shoving it back into his pocket.

  “You’re forgetting that I still have the gun” Abby said, suddenly happy to be carrying it. “So if any big, bad thing comes along we will have a fighting chance and if we are lost we should be able to use it to either kill food or to signal rescuers.”

  Gabe laughed at her. “Do you even know how to use it?”

  “Yes, you point and shoot. I am not completely naïve you know…and your father taught me a thing or two as well.”

  “Yeah with a little nine-millimeter that even my granny could use, not a great big dirty revolver.”

  “Yeah, so what?” Abby said trying to swallow the lump in the back of her throat “It is like, all the same right? You point at the target and you shoot. It ain’t rocket science you know.” Abby sat digging in the bag for something to snack on. She wasn’t sure if food would help her or if it would just end up as a pile of regurgitated mush on the ground. She had to do something though, the lump in her throat wasn’t going away and they had limited water, so Gabe’s protein bar it was then. She snapped the bar in two and tossed the other half to Gabe.

  “Well then miss know-it-all-must-save-every-freaky-person, why don’t you give it a go then?” he snickered, daring her to prove him right once again. He was so smug, confident that she wouldn’t be able to do it. The truth was she wasn’t sure if she could either. Even when shooting the 9mm her grouping wasn’t very good. Every time she would fire her hands would jerk, sending the bullet off-course. A revolver packed more punch and she didn’t want to do something stupid just for the sake of her pride.

  “And waste the bullets?” Abby shot back at him. “I think that would be really, really unwise.” Gabe laughed almost spitting out little chucks of half-eaten protein bar. His laughter echoed through the woods, making the place feel eerie. It sent a chill down Abby’s back. The only good thing to focus on was the fact that it was still daylight.

  “This place is freaky.” He said looking around “It is too quiet…it feels as though things are watching us, waiting for us to make a mistake so they can fight over the remains.”

  “Gabe!” Abby groaned annoyed. Sympathy was not something she was willing to give to him right now.

  “This is one-hundred percent your fault” Gabe declared as if she didn’t already know that.

  “Come on, we need to keep moving.”

  “Can’t we rest for just a few minutes? It’s not like we’re lost or anything.” Gabe said sarcastically. Abby rolled her eyes as she placed the backpack down again. Gabe was slumped against a tree, his baseball cap pulled down over his eyes. Abby sighed, ‘so much for him being all terrified of the boogeyman’ she thought. Abby sat there, listening to the soft noises that Gabe made. For once there was not a single thing on her mind. She felt relaxed even though she should have been feeling terrified. Abby closed her eyes ‘only for minute’ she thought. Her body did need to rest, she justified, after all - she was tired from walking.

  3

  “God Abby, get up now!” A voice yelled at her. She opened her eyes to see Gabe standing over her looking seriously pissed off. Abby rubbed her sore eyes and looked around, it was almost dark. How long had they been asleep?

  “What did you think you were doing?” he demanded. “It is almost dark; we have - at best - two hours of light left to make it out of here.”

  “I only wanted to rest my eyes Gabe, really it felt like only for a few minutes.” she declared, still feeling groggy from waking up in such a rush.

  Abby looked around; which way had they come from? Nothing seemed familiar anymore. They were now worse off them when they had started. This was not good.

  “Gabe which way did we come from?” she asked as he turned to face her. Something was not right; the fine little hairs all over Abby’s body stood on end. Gabe was grinning; not in the friendly, joking way but in a way that made Abby want to back away from him. Gabe’s eyes were cold and dark; even in this light she knew this was not a normal look for him.

  “Follow me Abby, I will get us out.” He declared confidently. ‘Where was scared, drama-queen Gabe?’ Abby thought as she reached for her backpack. It felt so light. Her hand went inside to see what was missing; she knew instantly what it was. Her eyes glanced up to see Gabe standing there casually holding her gun, acting as if nothing was wrong.

  “Looking for something?” he taunted.

  “Why did you take the gun?” she asked cautiously as she took a step back, sub-consciously trying to distance herself from him.

  “I figured it would be better if I had it. Why? Do you think I would shoot you with it?”

  Gabe drew the gun from his waistband and pointed it at her. “Do you think I would have woken you up if I was going to shoot you?” he growled as he moved closer to her. “Though we are all alone out here, so, if I did, it would take a long time for anyone to find your body.”

  Gabe was now only a few feet away from her, the gun still pointed firmly at her chest Abby’s heart was beating hard against her ribs and the vile acidic taste of fear burned at the back of her throat. There was still a completely malevolent fixture to his once handsome face.

  “Gabe I know you think this is funny but cut it out!” She cried. “You win…I am totally freaked out now.”

  He laughed, carelessly tossing her the gun. “Come on, it will be dark soon.”

  She caught the gun without it firing and a huge sigh of relief escaped from between her lips. She glared at him, her heart still hammering away inside her chest as she let the gun and bag drop to the ground. Walking over to a tree that was a little further away from Gabe she began to throw up what little she had in her stomach. Gabe gave her a few minutes before handing her the water bottle. She took only a little sip, conscious of the fact that it was the only water they had.

  “You are such a jerk!” she yelled, frustrated. “Don’t kid around like that. Someone could have gotten hurt.”

  Gabe laughed again, his arm slipping itself around her shoulder. “Did you truly think I would kill you?” he asked giving her a squeeze. She swallowed; the lump was still stuck in the back of her throat.

  “No.” she answered, unsure if it was true or not. He had always been a prankster but this had really pushed it as far as funny went. How could he joke when this situation was so bad?

  “I am sorry.” Gabe said sincerely “I didn
’t mean to scare you that badly…I just thought it would be funny to give you a bit of a fright.”

  “Forget about it.” Abby snapped, trying to walk a safe distance behind Gabe.

  Guiding her through the forest Gabe made sure to stay quiet. He could feel Abby’s rage at having been scared emanating from her. With each step she stomped into the ground, leaving an imprint. If it hadn’t been for the situation Gabe would have found it funny but it was getting dark. He was sure he knew the way to go, he had been cautious enough to remember certain landmarks like his father and uncles had taught him.

  Abby still trailed behind suspiciously waiting for him to go crazy again. It was frustrating and funny. How ironic that it should be him to lead her now. He could feel the tip of his anger that burned deep within his belly. He hated the idea of going home and pretending to be the perfect couple and even though he knew it was not Abby ’s fault, a piece of him hated her.

  He wanted her to have had enough of the charade and call it off; it was his only way out. If it were her that called off this fake relationship then he would have a reason not to come home anymore. The idea of not having to hide was a tantalizing thought. Once he had finished high school he had thought that would be the end; that she would want to date but she didn’t. Year after year he waited for her to break it off and each year ended in disappointment. Only once when Abby had started college did he have a glimpse at freedom but that was just a tease. Somehow it had all ended leaving Abby even more committed to this façade. He swallowed back his anger.

  “What did you say?” Abby snapped at him, from out of nowhere. Gabe was positive that he hadn’t said anything. In fact, he had been careful not to say anything incase his true feelings came out. There was one thing in this world that made Gabe feel completely helpless and that was watching Abby cry.

  “I didn’t say a thing.” He replied defensively. Abby’s pale grey eyes burned a hole into Gabe. He shrugged “I really didn’t say anything.”

  “Well I heard something.”

  “Like a person or an animal?” Gabe probed.

  “A person.” She hissed placing her hands on her hips. “I am not so stupid that I would mistake an animal noise for a human.”

  “No need to snap my head off, I was just asking.”

  “Shhh” Abby said “didn’t you just hear that?” Gabe listened carefully; had he heard something? The sound echoed softly once more. They turned, looking at one another. Her face asked silently if he had heard it that time. Gabe nodded, he had heard it. Something was behind them, speaking to them. Gabe felt his blood turn to ice, this wasn’t meant to happen.

  “Hello, who is out there?” He yelled into the trees, waiting for a response. No one replied to him. Abby looked at him, her eyes wide with fear as she started to unzip the bag. Gabe shook his head.

  “If someone can hear us, come out and show yourself!” Gabe demanded again, waiting for a reply. He raised his head instinctively as a large bang echoing through the woods. Abby slumped against a tree, her head in her hands to stop the ringing in her ears.

  “Abby!” he yelled.

  Abby looked up at Gabe, taking in the way his mouth was slightly open as if he were about to say something. She then looked down at his chest but there wasn’t much to be seen. A gaping hole had ripped through him, exposing his insides and spraying the ground with bits and pieces of him. She rushed over to him as fast as she could. Gently she cradled his head to her chest. He looked up at her, those blue eyes turning grey as his life slipped away.

  “I am so sorry.” Gabe mouthed, only a soft whisper of his voice saying the words. His eyes moved to look into her face before his body went limp in her arms.

  Abby screamed, the sound echoing throughout the area and ringing in her ears. Desperately she tried to hold his chest together, to stop the blood that was pouring out and pooling on the soft ground. Deep down she knew he was dead; no one could have survived that kind of wound. Abby sat there clinging to her best friend. Blood covered nearly every inch of the both of them. She had forgotten about the danger; her only thought was that of her friend. What would she do without him?

  “Poor little Abby lost her friend, now she is all alone. Let the games begin.” A rich male voice sang out from the darkness. Abby looked up, her face stained with tears. Nothing was there; her body gave a shudder. She didn’t want to be scared. She raced over to where she had left the bag. Opening it she tried to find the gun but all she pulled out were rocks. Nothing was left in the bag. She tried to choke back a scream that threatened to erupt.

  “Run Abby, it will be more fun.” The voice sang again, this time laughing at the end.

  Abby steadied herself, Gabe’s earlier words coming back to haunt her. There really was some sick psycho out to get them. Abby knew that she was as good as dead. He had the gun, he had killed Gabe, and now he had the advantage. Her fear was beginning to be replaced by rage. She was mad, so mad that she had been so stupid.

  “Show yourself!” Abby yelled into the woods. “If you want me dead, well here I am you sick bastard!”

  “Such profanity isn’t nice to hear from such a pretty girl.” The voice whispered into her ear as she felt the gun press into her back. “If you so much as move I will blast a hole in you so big that I will be able to stick my arm through it. Do you understand?”

  “Go fuck yourself!” She sobbed angrily.

  Abby trembled; she had no weapon to defend herself with and now the sicko was tormenting her. His hands grabbed her by the hair, forcing her against a tree. Suddenly she was afraid that it wasn’t a taunt after all. Abby struggled as best she could. The stranger took hold of both her arms placing them behind her back before binding them together.

  “You really are a feisty one.” he grinned. “You really should behave. I don’t really want to kill you - well - at least not right now.”

  “Just get it over with; I would prefer to die then to let you touch me.” Abby declared. She was ready; if he wanted her dead she wouldn’t run, wouldn’t let him win. His free hand ran down the side of her neck. So delicate was his touch that Abby barely felt it. Her body responded with a quiver causing her capturer to chuckle.

  “Are you sure you are really ready to give up so easily?” He asked, not with a joking tone, just serious and thoughtful. Abby nodded, she didn’t know if she was really ready or not but what other choice did she have? She certainly wasn’t going to allow him to use her body…not if she could help it.

  “You would just lie down and die without a fight?” he questioned unhappily, his free hand sitting at the base of her throat gently stroking her collar bone with his thumb.

  “If it would mean that you don’t get the pleasure of hunting me then yes I would prefer to lie down and die.” Her voice was steady, surprising her. Her captor sighed heavily with thought.

  “If you are sure then maybe I will just kill you now.” he murmured bringing his head closer so that it lay next to her ear. His warm breathe hit the tender skin of her neck, sending a shiver of terror through her. She closed her eyes, unsure what was going to happen now. A piece of cloth wrapped around her eyes before being tied tightly. After blindfolding her he forced her to sit down on the leaf littered ground. Abby couldn’t help the tears, she wasn’t really ready but she had no other choice. Her death was only a matter of time. Never had she imagined that her fate was to end up dead in the woods, killed by some crazy person.

  Pushing away all of her fears she begged. “Please, just shoot me.”

  She felt the cold hard metal of the gun press into the side of her head. “As you wish.” The captor spoke quietly. Abby held onto her breath and waited for death to come.

  “Oh God, and she thought I was dramatic?” Gabe’s voice broke the silent tension and made Abby want to pass out from shock. Either she was dead, or something was seriously wrong. Two hands yanked Abby up onto her feet.

  “Troian, stop playing with her already. I need you to feed me, considering y
ou shot me!” Gabe demanded.

  “Gabe!” she yelled. Was she going crazy? “You are dead…s-s-shot…d-d-dead.” she stuttered helplessly. A part of her wished she could see. Abby needed to know if it was really true. Was Gabe alive? Once she knew that then she could get angry with him. Clearly he was playing another practical joke on her. This one though, was even less funny than the last one.

  “Oh honey I was dead long before Troian shot me.” He laughed. “And very soon it will be your turn to die.”

  “What do you mean Gabe?” Abby cried out as they began to walk. “This really isn’t funny.”

  They both ignored her, instead they walked. There was a hand on either side of Abby’s arms helping to guide her. She had lost all sense of direction. Thoughts of what might be happening plagued her. After a little while the walking began to slow and Abby heard the distinct sound of a wooden door being open. Part of her felt relieved, they had brought her to a house or something like that.

  “Where are we?” she asked.

  “There are things you need to know and things you don’t. Right now it is time to feed…so be a good girl and shut the hell up.” Gabe exclaimed walking away from her as she heard the other guy laugh. She had never heard Gabe speak to her like that before. She was so confused and her head was pounding away inside her skull. It looked like no one was going to give her answers. The blindfold was removed and she stared, speechless, at Gabe. It was one thing to hear him and know that he was alive and another to actually see him standing there in front of her.

  Gabe kneeled, peering up at Troian who offered Gabe his wrist. Troian watched disgustedly as Gabe licked his lips before sinking his teeth into the flesh. Abby’s horror at witnessing Gabe’s chest wound knit itself back together caused her to cry out. Gabe raised his lips, which were now stained bright crimson, and laughed. It had taken only minutes for him to be completely back to normal, only his clothing showed any sign of what had happened. Abby sat there, stunned in the corner. She pinched herself over and over again hoping to wake up, praying that this was really a dream. People did not heal from wounds that killed them. The shock was too much for her mind to process and she felt her grasp on reality slipping just as darkness engulfed her.

  4

  Troian was in another room of the small hunter’s cabin while Gabe sat at the table playing cards. He didn’t offer to help untie her and it confused her.

  “Gabe what have you been doing?” She sobbed, her arms aching. She had given up on the idea that this was a dream she could awake from. Gabe looked down on her with disgust and her stomach twisted inside of her.

  “You really are pathetic, sitting there like that.” He hissed. “If we didn’t needed you for the sacrifice I would kill you myself to put you out of your misery.”

  The words hit Abby like a bucket full of ice. Hot tears welled in the backs of her eyes. She loved Gabe like a brother.

  “But, as fate should have it, I need you alive for now.” He scoffed.

  “Why?” she whimpered. “Why me Gabe? What did I do?”

  “You!” he yelled, his fist hitting the table. “You wouldn’t go away. Your mother is a whore and you and that bitch are the reason my father hates me.” He spat at her.

  “W-w-what?” she stuttered choking on her own words.

  “You’re whore of a mother is sleeping with my father.” He spat. “She has been for years and I was unlucky enough to catch them. Ever since then I have been my father’s enemy, while you became the key to your mother’s heart. It makes me sick.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “No you’re not, but you will be.”

  Troian walked in carrying a large red leather bound book. He dropped it onto the table with a thud before studying them both. His dark eyes narrowing in on Abby; he looked angry.

  “What did you do to her?” Troian asked glaring at Gabe.

  “Nothing” Gabe replied defensively, his fist clenching at his side.

  “Doesn’t look like nothing to me.”

  “All I did was tell her some home truths, nothing more.” Gabe sat back down in his seat, looking away from where Abby was huddled. Troian walked over to her, gently taking her arm and helping her to her feet. His fingers danced along her arm to where her hands were bound behind her and undid the cloth.

  “Gabe can you pass me a glass of water?” Troian asked. “We don’t want to be inhospitable hosts to our guest.”

  Gabe glared at them both. Stomping his feet he grabbed a glass from the cupboard and poured some water into it before passing it to Troian. Abby watched as Troian leaned down and kissed Gabe on the mouth. His jet black hair fell down to cover one side of his face. His hands still firmly held her by the wrist so that she couldn’t get away. Once the kiss had ended he passed the glass to Abby who drank it down quickly. Gabe smiled, so big and bright that Abby wondered just how good of an actor Gabe truly was. He looked so delighted with himself as he danced his way back across the room. Had she ever really known him?

  Gabe began laying out the items from a bag that he had brought in. A large combat knife, salt and some other things were placed on the table. Gabe took out some chalk and began to draw a circle on the floor of the cabin. Troian stared down at her; those midnight eyes piercing through her.

  Trojan's hand cupped the side of her face. “Don’t be afraid.” his voice was but a whisper inside her mind. Abby was scared. No, more than that, she was terrified. She didn’t want to be like them. The fine hairs on her arms prickled up. Troian grabbed the salt and began to draw something on the ground; it was a series of shapes and symbols. Standing in the middle he chanted, the words making no sense to Abby. Gabe walked over and sat down beside her.

  “Please.” she begged. “Gabe…please don’t do this.”

  “This is really a great honor, you should feel lucky.”

  “You’re about to kill me, how does that make me lucky?” Abby asked drawing on all of her energy to not sound afraid. She knew her body was shaking and her hands trembled but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing just how scared she was. Gabe seemed happier. Abby wasn’t sure if that was due to the kiss he shared with Troian or because it was getting closer to her death. Gabe tucked a piece of hair back behind her ear.

  “Because tonight you are going to make one gorgeous sacrifice.” He answered. “Soon our family will know we are missing, they will see the truck and find this cabin. When they do it will have your butchered body and then my blood will lead them to where I was shot and they will think that I am dead too. I will finally be free from all of you to live my life.” He chuckled, clearly far too ecstatic with his own thoughts.

  Abby wanted to laugh, she knew it wasn’t funny but the thought of her murderer afraid of his family was…well just amusing. The very thought that he wanted out of his life so much that he would kill the only person who had supported him seemed ironic. He wanted to live his life yet he was dead, or undead. She began to laugh, unable to control herself. This was just so crazy, so ironic that her laughter spilled from her.

  “What’s so funny?” Gabe asked annoyed.

  “You.” She managed to say between fits of laughter. “You want to live your life but you’re dead or, well, not alive anyway.” She continued.

  The temperature within her body began to rise. The shock over the day must have been setting in; it would certainly explain her behavior. Could shock cause her to go crazy? She wondered. Abby didn’t know but right now her insides felt as if they were on fire and all she could do was laugh. Troian glanced at them both curiously. He didn’t break the circle though as he continued to chant. The fire within her raged until she feared she might actually burst into flames.

  “Gabe I need water!” she cried out, her body shaking from the inferno inside. She was losing control. The way her muscles twitched as if she was convulsing frightened her. Gabe placed the water bottle to her lips so she could drink. The fire within didn’t die down, instead it increased. Gabe
shot Troian a fearful look as he watched Abby’s body shake uncontrollably before his very eyes.

  “Troian you better get over here…I need help.” He said looking down at her. “We can’t let her die before the ritual.”

  “The gates of hell are open, I cannot leave the circle.” Troian looked at the girl as she lay there convulsing. “Bring her to the circle and we will begin.”

  Gabe struggled to pick Abby up as her body shook uncontrollably in his arms. Finally he was able to lay her down at the circle’s edge.

  “Abby, honey I need you to get up and walk into the circle.” Troian’s voice echoed in her head. Her body’s temperature began to lower and the shaking settled. Willing her legs to move she stood up and entered the circle. Troian’s arms wrapped around her small frame as he gently laid her down onto the ground and began to chant unfamiliar words. Her body stopped moving altogether, her eyes open as she lay there just staring up at him. For a brief second Troian questioned whether being a devil’s disciple was worth what he was about to do next. Quickly he dismissed the thought as he picked up the knife and began to cut the symbol into the tender flesh of her stomach. The symbol had almost been done once before by a wannabe follower. Troian shuddered at what that butcher had done to her, careful to make his work as painless as possible.

  Abby screamed as the knife cut into her already scarred skin; she knew it wouldn’t kill her…but God it hurt. Troian’s dark eyes held the tiniest hint of remorse as he glanced briefly at her. Warm liquid trickled down her side and onto the wooden floor. Troian leaned down, his face hovering above the wound, his hot breath tickling her skin. His hot, moist tongue ran across her skin and over the cut, lapping up the warm blood. Everything inside of her felt awake, like someone had suddenly switched on a light. She saw Troian, really saw him not as the monster he was but as the incredible creature he could be. He was not like any other man she had ever known. His body was lean but well-toned, his face angular in a way that was unlike Gabe’s. She wanted to run her hands through his hair and pull his mouth to hers.

  Abby had the strangest urge to taste her blood that was upon his lips. Her arms reached out to Troian, wrapping around his neck and drawing him closer. Her lips pressed hard against his and her tongue was strangely forceful as it entered his mouth. An inferno of passion passed between them so intense that it felt as if something was holding them together. Words forced themselves into her mind; she knew what she must do to live.

  “Abby you know what must happen now.” Troian spoke. Abby wasn’t sure if he had said it out loud or not.

  He let go of her and stood up. She grabbed the knife that still lay on the ground. Turning, she could see a bewildered Gabe standing just out the circle. She fought the urge to laugh at the irony of what was going to happen. She remembered all those words Gabe had spoken since she had arrived in this hell-hole. He had been playing her all along like only a good actor could. The dedication he must have had to pull everything off for so long was amazing. Yet, right now she did not regret anything that she was about to do. Carefully she broke the circle, nothing harmed her, and she knew that she was untouchable now. A sadistic little smirk formed on her almost prefect face. Gabe’s mouth was open with shock; no one was meant to break the circle. Abby felt energy surge throughout her veins.

  “Kiss me.” she ordered Gabe. Her mouth enclosed around his as she kissed him. The molten lava heat passed between them as she felt his protection drain from his body. No longer was he safe from that which should naturally kill him. Pulling away from him Abby laughed; the prey became the predator…how ironic. The knife plunged deeply into Gabe’s neck almost severing it. He dropped to the ground as Abby pulled out the knife; there was no coming back for him this time. She leaned down and wiped the blade clean with his precious shirt.

  “I was never going to be the sacrifice was I?” she asked Troian already sure of the answer.

  “No, it was always going to be him.” Troian answered as he closed the ritual circle.

  “Why?”

  “He wanted badly to change his fate so I changed it for him.” He paused. “Maybe he should have thought twice before making a deal with the devil.” He chuckled.

  “What was his deal?” Abby asked curiously.

  “He would sacrifice you to the devil so that he may stay forever young and never have to deal with his family.”

  Abby gasped, Gabe had gotten everything he had wanted just not the way he wanted it. Her stomach twisted into itself as she took another look at the body that lay on the floor. He had destroyed both of their lives. She knew that she would never be allowed to go home. As far as her family and friends were concerned, both she and Gabe were dead. Tears stained her cheek; this was not fair. Troian’s hand clasped the top of her shoulder as he turned her toward him. Quickly she wiped away the tears.

  “You know what you have done to me, right?” Abby demanded. Troian nodded.

  “I am chosen; you have marked me as the devils concubine and now only he can destroy me.” She laughed. Troian’s dark eyes widened with amusement and fear; a look which didn’t go unnoticed by Abby.

  “So, I take it that you already knew,” she paused, looking at him carefully. “That you are to act as his vessel until he calls me to hell.”

  Troian nodded again. For her survival it had been worth his bargain. Yes he would lose her once his master called her down to hell but hopefully that would not happen for a long time. Until then it was his duty to act in place of his master here on Earth and she would be with him. For now that and trying to get her to love him were the only two things that mattered. One day soon he would have to explain everything but for now he needed a shower. Troian sighed; but first, he had to get rid of Gabe’s body.

  About Rebecca Nolan

  My life is one of a dream, so I guess in that sense, it is understandable as to why I have such a vivid imagination. I love to escape reality by jumping into a story, I love writing stories in horror, paranormal and romance genres. I have three short stories published, A twist of Fate in the anthology; 13 tales of the Paranormal, An Army Christmas in the anthology; A Home for the holidays and Say My Name in the anthology Of Leather and Lace.

  All published by Firefly and Wisp Publishing company, which will also be publishing my first novel Death Lilli.

 

  Links

  https://www.facebook.com/RnolanAuthor

  https://wordsaccordingtome.blogspot.com.au/