Love Lies Dying

by Steve Gerlach

  Pretty impressive tool collection, he thought.

  And then he remembered Fox.

  That’s probably what he uses on them…

  And all of a sudden John felt sick and weak all over again.

  I can’t do this.

  I can’t beat Fox.

  You have to try.

  How can I beat someone like that?

  First thing’s first. Get Sherrie out!

  Yes! I have to do that first.

  Concentrate on Sherrie.

  YES! I’m coming, my love!

  His eyes darted to the other side of the barn, across to where the two sliding doors were. There was no sign of anyone inside.

  Good.

  And then his eyes spotted it.

  He saw the reason he could see so clearly into the barn without the aid of the lightning.

  A burning candle sat on one of the hay bales.

  A candle?

  It burned a soft light in the night, licking at the air.

  The rain fell heavier. Thunder and lightning clashed almost at once.

  He had no choice. He had to get those tools and get Sherrie out of here.

  Maybe I can’t fight Fox at his own game, he thought as he dashed back through the drenched grass to the front of the barn. I just need to save myself and Sherrie. I have to think about her now.

  And about us.

  His breath steamed from his mouth as he reached out to the barn door and slid it open.

  It squealed along its rusty old track as the lightning struck overhead.

  Just get the tools, get Sherrie and get the fuck out of here!

  He stepped into the barn, closed the door behind him and dashed straight over to the old wooden workbench.

  Thunder shuddered the earth. Rain battered the roof.

  Yes! he thought. So many to choose from!

  Hang on, my love. Here I come!

  He reached up for the nearest one.

  “I knew you’d come,” Zoe said from behind him.

  Sixty-five

  He turned to face her.

  She was standing near one of the hay bales, wearing the bondage outfit she had worn at the church.

  The black leather straps circled her breasts and stretched down her stomach. He could see the diamond shining in her belly button. His eyes dropped lower. The straps between her legs were missing.

  He could see all of her again, including her pink, shaved lips.

  Zoe…

  He followed her long thin legs to the ground. She was wearing no shoes.

  “I knew if I waited for you, you’d come to me,” she continued.

  Her hair was no longer in braids; it was wet and untied. It framed her face and fell from her shoulders in a chaotic mess, resting on the tops of her breasts. There was a dark bruise on her forehead and a jagged cut on her left cheek. Helen’s half-heart pendant was still hanging around her neck. She looked soaked through.

  John opened his mouth to speak, but Zoe took a step forward and held out her hand.

  “You don’t have to say anything, Johnny,” her voice dropped in pitch. “You’re here now. That’s all that matters.”

  She smiled at him.

  John’s heart sank.

  Oh, Zoe…

  “You’re back with me,” she stepped closer to him.

  John moved back against the workbench.

  “I’m not here for you, Zoe,” he said slowly. “I’m here to get some of these tools, and that’s all.”

  Zoe tilted her head to one side, a puzzled look crossed her face. “Tools?”

  John’s mind spun quickly.

  “Yes,” he said. “I need them.”

  “What for?”

  “It doesn’t concern you.”

  “Everything concerns me,” Zoe said as she stepped closer.

  “Just let me take some of these and then I’ll go.”

  “I don’t want you to go, Johnny.”

  “I have to. And I will.”

  “That’s not part of the game,” she replied.

  The wind howled around the barn. The rain pounded the roof.

  John kept his eyes on Zoe while his hands fumbled behind him on the workbench, feeling for anything he could use as a weapon.

  “There is not a game, Zoe…” he told her.

  “Life’s a game, Johnny.”

  “Not mine.”

  “You’re wrong about that,” she smiled as she stepped closer again.

  She was standing in the middle of the barn now. The flickering candle made her body glow and shimmer in its light. Shadows ran up and down her torso, making it seem alive with energy.

  Lightning flashed through the barn window and was followed by the loud growl of thunder just seconds later.

  “You still want me, don’t you?” she asked as she placed her hands on her hips.

  He said nothing.

  Zoe smiled. Slowly, she squatted down without taking her eyes off him. He watched her as her legs spread wide, opening herself to him.

  Oh God…

  “You want more of this, don’t you?” her voice was a sexy growl.

  John said nothing.

  She smiled at him and brought her hand over to her pussy, spreading the lips wide and showing him her soft velvety interior.

  “You want more of me…”

  He watched her as the pain burned through the bandages of his cock.

  She slipped two fingers inside and slid her fingers back and forth.

  Lightning flashed.

  He watched on numbly, his hands no longer searching for a weapon.

  “We can’t do this,” John finally said.

  Her head tilted.

  “This isn’t right,” he continued. “We can’t.”

  “Yes we can,” she smiled at him.

  “No!”

  A frown crossed her face and she paused for a second to look at him. Then she smiled and stood up straight.

  “I know,” she nodded as she stepped even closer. “I understand. I know what this is all about.”

  John just watched her.

  She crossed her arms over her breasts and pushed her right hip out to the side.

  “Where’s your girlfriend?” she asked, looking around him.

  “She’s not my girlfriend.”

  Zoe smiled. “Okay then, your lover.”

  “She’s not that either!”

  She smirked, and moved her hands to her back. “Oh, yes she is!”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Believe me, Johnny, I know exactly what I’m talking about.”

  She pulled the revolver out from behind her back. “And I have one bullet left that says I’m right!”

  John’s eyes darted to the gun in her hands. He braced himself to run.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” she said, aiming the barrel at him. “I tend to get a little nervous when I’ve got my finger on the trigger. I wouldn’t want to hurt you, believe me. I want to keep you intact, if possible.”

  He froze in his spot.

  Shit, what the fuck do I do now?

  “I find Mr. Revolver has a wonderful skill for making people tell the truth, Johnny,” she said as she took another step towards him.

  The candle was behind her now, off to her right. The flame threw flickering dancing shadows across her face. John couldn’t read her expressions anymore; it was too dark to be sure.

  “So let’s play a little game of Johnny Tells The Truth, huh?”

  He sighed deeply and nodded, hanging his head and looking to the floor.

  Thunder rolled.

  “It’ll be a change for you, won’t it?”

  He looked up into her eyes.

  “Not used to telling the truth, are you, Johnny?”

  Play it cool…

  “I…I don’t know what you mean…”

  Zoe shook her head. “No, no, we’re not going to play it that way. It’s not going to work, Johnny. I know more about you than you can im
agine. So don’t even try to hide anything from me.”

  She took one final step.

  They were face to face now.

  He could smell her, feel her breath and her heat.

  The revolver was pointed at his face.

  “After all,” she smirked. “I can hardly miss you at this range.”

  He was silent for a few seconds.

  “Okay,” he whispered finally.

  “Good,” Zoe said as she swung around next to him and lifted herself up to sit on the workbench.

  Her arm brushed his and left a wet patch on his skin.

  Is she wet from the rain? Or is that oil spread all over her?

  She rested the gun and her hands in her lap, just below the shining diamond in her belly button. She pulled her legs tightly together, cutting off his view of her pussy.

  “You play the game properly and no one will get hurt,” she continued.

  John turned to face her.

  So beautiful.

  So crazy…

  “So, I’ll ask again,” she smiled at him. “Where’s your girlfriend?”

  “Sherrie’s at the farmhouse.”

  Zoe tilted her head and frowned.

  “Which one?”

  “The closest one. The one Fox owns.”

  “Why is she there?”

  “I wanted her to be safe. I didn’t want her coming over here, just in case anything went wrong.”

  “You left here in that place?”

  He nodded. “It was for protection too. If Fox was here and I didn’t come out, she knew what would’ve happened. I told her that if I’m not back to her in ten minutes, to start walking back to Hepburn Lakes and call for help.”

  Zoe smiled and shook her head.

  She picked up the revolver and pointed it at his temple.

  “Bong! I’m sorry, we have a wrong answer,” she mimicked a TV voice-over man. “Care to try again, Mr. Murdock? Your time is fast running out.”

  “It’s the truth!”

  He looked deep into her eyes, but he knew she could tell he was lying.

  “Try again,” she replied. “Quickly…”

  John sighed. “We were looking for Fox. We checked out the first farmhouse but there was no one there. We went to the second and while I was looking around, she fell through the floorboards and she’s lodged there now. Stuck. I can’t get her out. I came over here to see if there was anything I could use to get her out.”

  Zoe smiled and placed the gun back in her lap.

  It’s so close. I could grab it before she has a chance to move.

  Too risky!

  I have to do something.

  It’s all too risky!

  Life’s too risky for you, John. Everything’s too damn risky!

  “It’s much easier when you tell the truth, Johnny. I thought you would’ve known that by now.”

  He just stared at her. Lightning flashed through the window.

  “There’s no way Sherrie would’ve just let you leave her in that shack. That’s not like her. She would’ve been by your side no matter what, if she could. I know that much.”

  “How can you? How can you know all this? How?” he asked.

  She looked away from him, across the barn to the hay bales on the other side.

  “Johnny, where do I start?” she sighed. “There’s so much I need to tell you.”

  He waited.

  “I tried to tell you back at the church, I really did. I wanted you to know, but there was never a good time.” She stared across at the candle flame. The shadows and light danced across her whole body. The diamond in her belly button flickered the reflection. “I did try to tell you at the church, Johnny. But you wouldn’t stop and listen.”

  Thunder broiled above them.

  “I was going to tell you when I got back from getting us the food this morning. I had it all planned,” she smiled to herself, her eyes far away in her thoughts. “I was going to untie you and we’d sit at the table, like a real couple, and have breakfast together. Just like a real couple, for the first time. Just you and me, Johnny. After all this time, just you and me.”

  The rain eased on the roof. Suddenly the barn became very quiet. The silence between them stretched.

  Zoe sighed again.

  “But when I came back to you, I saw the knots, Johnny. You’d untied them somehow, I don’t know how. But you’d re-tied them all wrong. When you’re into the scene like I am, you notice the little things. The tiniest little details are the most important. I could tell you’d untied the ropes around your legs and also the leash on your cock ring. I could tell…”

  Damn…

  She knew!

  “And then I just lost it. All my plans were shattered. You told me you would stay there on the bed, you told me you wouldn’t move. You promised me! But you lied. You lied to me!” her eyes were still focussed on the flame. “I never thought you would lie to me, Johnny. Not after all we’d been through together.”

  A new wave of rain began pelting on the barn roof, and lightning flashed in the night.

  “Zoe…” he whispered as he leaned towards her.

  She closed her eyes, “Don’t!”

  Her hands clasped around the revolver.

  Easy…easy…

  Don’t do anything stupid!

  He leaned back against the workbench.

  “And then she turned up. Out of nowhere she just walked into the church,” Zoe shook her head and opened her eyes again.

  Thunder shook the barn. The candle flame spluttered for a second or two.

  “She was never meant to be a part of this,” she continued. “I only wanted what was mine, Johnny. I only wanted to be loved.”

  John sighed and shook his head.

  “Zoe,” he whispered again.

  She didn’t stop him this time.

  “I don’t know what to say,” he continued. “You know how I feel about you. I told you that already. But you can’t capture love. You can’t force your way into my heart. You couldn’t keep me tied like that forever, you know.”

  She nodded and closed her eyes. Her bottom lip quivered. “I know,” she whispered.

  He eyed the revolver.

  Grab it!

  No, take it calm and easy. I’m winning here now. I’m winning!

  “Now, I know we’ve all got problems and I know you’ve had a shitty life so far, but I meant everything I said about helping you get away from all that. I want to help you make a better life for yourself and get on your own feet and have the life you deserve to have.”

  She smiled. Tears escaped from the corners of her eyes, running down her face.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “We’ve all got problems we have to fix. And, at the moment, we both have the same problem. That’s why I’m here. That’s why we trekked this far through all the rain and all the mud and shit. We came this far so I could finish something for both of us.”

  She opened her eyes, turned and stared into his.

  “I’m here to kill Fox, Zoe,” he whispered to her. “And I don’t care what it takes. We’ll do it. And we’ll do it together. We both deserve at least that. But I want you there with me when I do it. I want you to see him die in front of you. I want you to have your revenge for all those things he did to you!”

  Zoe’s expression changed. Her forehead creased. The scar in her left eyebrow shortened.

  “But don’t you get it yet, Johnny?” she said.

  The rain increased.

  “Ricky Fox doesn’t exist!”

  Sixty-six

  The earth spun around him. The sound of rain and wind and thunder was loud in his ears.

  He stared straight at her, but he was looking through her.

  “That’s what I wanted to tell you,” she said to him. “Ricky Fox doesn’t exist.”

  John’s stomach turned over. He felt sick and weak and had to hold onto the side of the workbench. He felt as if he were going to topple.

  Thunder shook the b
arn.

  What?

  What is she telling me?

  No Ricky Fox.

  No Fox.

  “But….you said…” was all he could manage.

  Zoe looked at him with sadness in her eyes. “I’m sooo sorry, Johnny.” She reached out and touched his hair. “I made him up. He doesn’t exist. It was just a story to get you to believe in me.”

  John felt hot and sweaty, like he was boiling up with fever. His chest was heavy; he couldn’t breathe properly. He was being suffocated and there was nothing he could do about it.

  The rain eased to a patter on the barn roof.

  No! But…?

  She’s lying. She has to be!

  She’s lying now!

  She doesn’t want my help.

  She’s lying to get me to go away.

  She MUST be!

  He stared to the floor. Stray pieces of hay were caught in cobwebs under the workbench.

  “But Helen…and all the blood…”

  “That was me, Johnny. All me. I did all that.”

  John’s mind drifted. He couldn’t take it all in.

  This isn’t happening.

  It can’t be!

  Why is she doing this to me?

  She’s LYING!

  Why is she lying to me now?

  “At first I just wanted what was mine,” she was talking in a low quiet voice. John had to concentrate hard to listen to her. He had to keep his thoughts from running wild.

  “I just wanted to take back what was mine. I just wanted to be loved. Is that too much to ask? I was going to tell Helen all about your little arrangement with Sherrie. That was all I was going to do, Johnny. I promise you. But it got out of control. Waaay out of control. ”

  John nodded, “It sure did.”

  Zoe turned from him and stared across the barn.

  Lightning flashed outside.

  Everything was silent.

  No rain and no wind.

  They sat for a long time.

  “Fox doesn’t exist…” he whispered.

  “No,” she replied. “It was all just a story to get you out here.”

  “But your history, your whole life…”

  “Fabricated,” she said in a small voice. “All lies, Johnny.”

  Thunder rolled in the distance.

  “Just like yours,” she continued.

  He looked at her, but didn’t say anything.

  The silence in the barn was almost unnatural.

  “I had to lie to make you believe in me,” she continued after a while. “I had to get you out here. I needed you to trust me and to follow me out here. I was going to make sure you paid for what you’d done in the past. I wanted to ruin you. I wanted to make you pay sooo bad. That was the idea. I made it all up to get you out here. But then it went all wrong.”