PillowFace

by Kristopher Rufty

  She was so proud of herself that she only half noticed the car hidden amongst the trees on the shoulder of Marble Lane. It was vaguely familiar, but she hardly cared enough to acknowledge it. Before she had driven much further, the car was already forgotten.

  (III)

  With Pillowface stitched up again and back in the basement, Joel used this scant moment alone to sneak back to the woods. Ethan and Paul never came back to the house, and he wanted to find out if they were still out there. But, if they weren’t then where had they gone? That also worried him. He wouldn’t be surprised if Ethan had gone straight home and told his parents about what had happened. On the other hand there was Paul. He seriously doubted he would tell anyone, but since he hadn’t come waddling to the house, sore and bruised, had him just as confused.

  He grabbed the shovel leaning against the side of the house, planning to finish filling the grave properly while he was out there. The plate was caked with two days’ worth of dried dirt from burials. As he entered the woods he considered hiking back to Clay Ray and burying him too. If he went there first, he could take care of Tonya on the way back. Forget it. Going back wasn’t worth the time it would take to do it. Clay Ray was dead. They’d dragged him off the trail and left him under the pine trees.

  What if he’s not dead? What if he’s waiting for me somewhere in the woods?

  Joel knew that he was still where they’d left him. The top layer of his head had been attached to Pillowface’s chainsaw until he’d torn it from the grooves and chucked it into the creek.

  Would probably take weeks for someone to find him. If ever.

  Joel felt hollow inside for what he’d done to his friends, and how he’d left them behind. Summer was ruined, for himself, his friends, and probably would be soon for Haley, too. The last few weeks he’d looked forward to summer vacation as impatiently as he used to for Christmas when he was little.

  He’d mapped out his whole break which consisted of: horror movies until his eyes burned. He’d bought three paperbacks and planned to have them read by August, and he was going to make a puppet of Herschel, a little alien he’d sketched out in Algebra class.

  Keep it up like this, and I won’t ever get to. That depressed him. To think that he wouldn’t be able to enjoy his time away from school because he was too busy hiding bodies that his new friend kept dispatching.

  Maybe I should ask him to leave.

  That was an appealing idea that lingered longer than he’d expected it to. How would Pillowface react if he was to suggest it? It’s not like I’m ending our friendship, just telling him he can’t stay at the house. He can come and visit whenever he likes. Would he want him to? Why wouldn’t I? Walking up the steep incline, he began to seriously ponder the idea of telling Pillowface to leave.

  But, the more he thought about it, the more he didn’t want to do it.

  They liked each other, and it was kind of cool having someone like that on your side. Still, something had to be done. Couldn’t keep going like this. Maybe he could train him, or teach him to be less brutal. Show him that he doesn’t always have to kill. Show him that…

  Joel stopped dead in his tracks. Frozen. He’d arrived at the spot, but what he found was not what he had left. Paul was gone, and Ethan now lay on his stomach, face down in the dirt. What happened here?

  (IV)

  Geoffrey Jones needed to make his move. He hurt all over, which was only being made worse by staying cooped up under the bushes. Can’t stay here forever. But that was exactly what he wanted to do so he wouldn’t have to go home and face the wife, the kids, or go to work and tell everyone a hoaxed tale about what happened to his hand, and on top of that, whatever extra bones he’d broken in the fall. The hospital was going to love him before it was over with, but his insurance company was going to be livid.

  Can’t wait to make that phone call.

  He wiggled his toes first. There was no pain in doing that, so his feet seemed fine, along with his ankles and shins. However, when he tried bending his leg, scorching explosions popped in a chain reaction of liquid ice up into his thighs and hips. He opened his mouth to cry out, but only managed a gasping squeal. His left knee was swollen. There was no mistaking it from the bulge under his posh pants. The right seemed okay enough, even though it throbbed with a dull ache. He could handle that, but the left knee was out of business.

  How am I going to do this without being seen?

  He rolled over to his side and scoped what he could see of the backyard. There was a wooden fence running up the side of the house, but it was open in the back with an outlet to the woods. If he went the other way, he’d have to cross straight over the backyard. At the rate he’d be moving, he’d be spotted for sure. That left him only one choice. Since one leg was busted he would need something to support him. The fence could do that, plus it may also offer support by means of shelter. From the neighbors, mostly, but he’d still be wide open to the Olsen house. He was willing to risk it to get to the woods. From there, he could walk at his leisure back to the car.

  Geoff Jones stretched out an arm on the grass. It had recently been mowed and was hard to grab. A couple attempts later, he got a firm hold. He stuffed his tie in his mouth and bit down to keep from screaming as he dragged his aching stone of a body into the yard. A pain like burning grease singed his left knee. Grabbing, tugging, and pulling, he slid out from under the bush as if he were the survivor of a plane crash crawling to salvation. His brow was glossy with sweat. His hair, normally slicked back and shiny, hung over his forehead like Shemp from The Three Stooges.

  Now he needed to stand up. It seemed impossible. He pushed his right knee forward, planting it into the ground. Cringing, he shuffled his left out to the side, keeping it fully extended. He shivered in pain, his teeth chattering. He hurt deep into his gut, churning his stomach. He sniffed, sucked down the phlegm and hocked it back up.

  Then, with what gusto he had left, he forced himself to stand.

  Surprisingly, it wasn’t as difficult as he’d anticipated. He stood there a moment, composing himself, letting his breath settle. His vision was hazy. I did it. I fucking did it. After a few short moments, he stumbled to the fence, dragging his left leg behind him like a dead weight. He collapsed against it. The unforgiving wood punished his already sore hip, but he didn’t care. He’d made it this far and wasn’t about to let a little more pain stop him. Putting his arm without the cast above him, he grappled the top of the fence. Hanging on, he guided himself back through the yard, the fence as his stanchion. It was hard with his damaged leg pushed forward, but he made it work. Any moment he expected to see that man again, or Haley’s brother, but no one came. As he loomed toward the end of the fence, he assumed he was home free.

  Then a man dressed head to toe in green stepped out from the other side of the fence. His smile was triangle-shaped, and his eyes beamed menacingly, spiteful, and wicked.

  “Going somewhere?” he asked.

  Geoff’s eyes did a quick scan of the man’s body and locked on the knife clutched in his hand.

  “I hope this isn’t a bad time, but I’m going to have to ask you to stay.”

  Spitting while he spoke, Geoff Jones said, “Who are you?”

  Unflinching, he raised a hand to his face and wiped the spittle away. “No time for that now.” He sighed, putting the knife away. “Now, are you going to cooperate on your own or do I have to make you?”

  He didn’t answer. Instead, he hobbled closer to the man, allowing him to escort him where he was requested.

  The man smiled, “Good. This way.”

  Once they were around the fence, Geoff Jones was pushed against it and held there. He could feel the knife’s cool blade against his throat. “My name’s Carp…this guy behind me is Buddy.”

  “Glad you could make it.” The other voice was muffled, as if it was being spoken from behind something.

  A different man, wearing a plastic mask and holding what looked to him like a squeaky camera, looked him ov
er, surveying him like a section of land.

  He released the trigger and the camera silenced. As he lowered the camera from his eye, he said “What’s your business with that house?”

  “What is this?” he asked through the sobs. He realized he was crying, and as sad as it was, he didn’t feel the least bit ashamed by it. He’d had a horrible day. Of course it would end like this.

  The one called Buddy pushed his mask to the top of his head. “I’m asking the questions…”

  “Oh God, just let me go…All I did was play with her panties!! That’s all!”

  Carp laughed, clapped his hands. “Man after my own heart.”

  “What do you want from me? Money? I can pay you, just please let me go.”

  Buddy rolled his eyes. “This will go a lot quicker if you’d just answer my questions.”

  “O-O….” He took a couple deep breaths. “Okay…”

  “I take it you don’t live there?”

  “At Haley’s house? No-no, I don’t live there…”

  “If you don’t live there, why were you there?”

  The man called Carp cleared his throat. “I believe it was to play with some panties…”

  Geoff’s tears turned to bawling, and he choked on his own slobber.

  “Oh sweet Jesus,” said Buddy. “This is getting us nowhere. Carp kill him.”

  Geoff Jones grabbed Buddy’s arm. “No, no please…Don’t kill me.”

  Jerking his arm away, he said, “Then stop your goddamn crying!”

  “Yes…yessir.”

  Carp laughed. “He called you sir. That’s hilarious.”

  “You could learn something from that,” said Buddy.

  “Please. I call you sir.”

  “Yeah, but he meant it.” Buddy returned his wild-eyed stare to Geoff. “Do you know the people that live there?”

  “Yes…”

  “How many are there?”

  Geoff took a deep breath, trying to calm down. “Just two. Haley works for me…and she has a little brother…”

  “How old is Haley?”

  “Early twenties…Twenty-two or twenty-three I think.”

  “Okay…And the brother…he’s what? Twelve?”

  “I don’t…know…” He felt as if he was about to burst into uncontrollable sobs again, but fought with all he had to keep them back. Then he remembered the monster that had chased him out the window. “But…there’s…I don’t know how to describe him…”

  Carp did it for him. “A huge beast of a man?”

  “Exactly. Huge! His arms were like…” He tried to show them the size by holding his hand several inches above his own bicep.

  “He’s the one we’re looking for,” said Buddy. He glanced at Carp who shrugged, then looked back to Geoff. “Here’s the deal I’m offering you and I want you to seriously consider it before you answer.”

  “Anything.”

  Buddy sighed. “You haven’t even heard my offer yet. I could have said I’m either going to have Carp here slit your throat or cut off your balls and you would have just agreed that either one would have been all right.”

  “Please don’t…”

  Buddy put his hand on Geoff’s lips, then pinched them together. “Don’t say another fucking word until I finish saying what I have to say. Got me?”

  “Better do what he says,” added Carp.

  Geoff couldn’t talk with his lips smeared together so he nodded.

  Buddy kept his hold as he started to talk. “The kid snuck out to the woods about twenty minutes ago and I need you to go out there and bring him back to the house. If you do this for us I will let you live. I know you won’t say anything to anyone because you weren’t supposed to be there either, but if I send you out there and you don’t come back…”

  He nodded towards Carp who raised his hand, showing Geoff that something was gripped between his fingers and thumb. It was square, made of leather, and looked very familiar.

  My wallet?

  It was his wallet. That Carp guy had picked his pocket.

  Geoff’s fear started to succumb to anger, but it quickly retreated when Carp removed his license from the pouch, then he almost cried again when Carp recited his address back to him. He was tempted to lie and say he’d moved and hadn’t updated the card yet, but figured it wasn’t worth it.

  Buddy continued. “So, if you don’t come back on your own and decide to make a break for your house…We’ll be there shortly after and slaughter everyone inside and if you think you can pack them up and go hide for awhile, we’ll just make ourselves comfortable until you get back.”

  With a grimace, Buddy removed his hand, and wiped his slobber covered fingers on Geoff’s expensive jacket.

  “I-I-I don’t know if I can get the kid…My knee…”

  “You better think of a way, because if you say no, we’ll kill you right here.”

  “The neighbors would see.”

  Carp laughed, then pointed at the house behind them. “Who them? We already took care of them. They won’t see nothing.”

  He was stuck going after this damn kid. “Why do you want me to go get him…can’t one of you?”

  Buddy grabbed the lapels of Geoff’s jacket and jerked him close. “Do you need an explanation other than we’ll fucking kill you if you don’t?”

  Carp pointed his knife at Geoff. “Just let me kill him.”

  “No,” said Buddy. “I guess it’s fair that he knows why, I mean we’re asking him to do a lot but not saying why.”

  “I liked your first reason,” said Carp.

  “Basically, Carp and I have to handle what’s going on in Haley’s house and we don’t need the kid sneaking back without us realizing it. What would happen if he were to come home and stumble upon something? Now, him being twelve or whatever the hell age he is, I doubt he’d try to be a hero, but I bet he’d run off to one of these other houses and get one of them to call the police. It’s true that we could go from house to house and kill everyone living in them…”

  “We have before,” added Carp.

  “But, we just don’t have the time to do that. We really need to get moving.”

  Geoff felt as if he might pass out. His legs felt as flimsy as dental floss.

  “Do you think you could help us out by getting the kid?”

  Geoff slowly nodded.

  “That’s great to know,” said Buddy.

  “What do I do when I get him back here?”

  “Just get him inside, then you can go, and we’ll handle the rest.”

  (V)

  Pillowface used liquid weld to fuse the saw blade to the back support on the weight-belt. He held it there, giving it time to dry. While he waited, he sat on the floor in the basement, enjoying his moment alone. Constructing odd weapons such as this had become as therapeutic to him as building birdhouses might to a normal person. It relaxed him, helped take his mind off current frustrations, and was also very, very fun.

  He was allowing himself to slip into one of those rare moments of serenity when he thought he heard the approach of a car. A car that sounded like Haley’s, and not only that, she was about an hour early, and Joel hadn’t gotten back yet.

  Nervousness fizzed in his stomach. He set down the weight belt, and got to his feet. Listening. If it was Haley…he might get to sneak back upstairs and watch her again.

  With Joel not being back from the woods…He just might attempt more. Not much, just a swipe of his finger on her skin. He imagined it would feel like fine silk.

  And, maybe…he could do more.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  (I)

  Haley pulled into the garage and killed the engine. Even from just sitting in her car, she could feel the house’s silence, and not the peaceful kind that she enjoyed. Morgue silence. She never wanted to experience that awful hush again like she had when she went down into the morgue to identify her father. It was like a frozen stillness, one that wasn’t welcomed.

  The garage door hit the concrete, ratt
ling; its sudden noise startled her.

  Alan slowly exhaled from the passenger seat. They looked at each other. Alan seemed anxious, worried.

  “Nervous?” she said.

  “Yeah, actually. I don’t want your brother to hate me.”

  “Why would he hate you? He’s always liked you.”

  “That was when I was getting scary books for him at the store. Now, I’m in his house, on his turf.”

  Haley laughed. “His turf? Are you two in rival gangs?”

  “Might be after he finds out I’m crashing on his couch.”

  Hardly his couch. My bed.

  “It’ll be fine.”

  “Famous last words.”

  (II)

  “This is a really nice place you got here,” said Alan, looking around, impressed.

  Blushing, Haley smiled. “Thanks, my parents thought so, too.”

  “Did you grow up here?”

  “For the most part, I was really young when we moved here, like four or something. But, Joel did.” She pursed her bottom lip. “Speaking of, where is he? I figured he’d be sprawled out on the couch watching Texas Hammer Massacre or something.”

  They walked into the living room. The TV was on, but no one was there to watch it. Haley was really confused, now.

  Alan pointed at the TV, “Someone’s been watching.”

  “Yeah…” She glanced up to the ceiling. “Joel? You up there?” They waited a moment in silence. There was an audible clucking in Haley’s throat as she listened for a response that never came. “I guess he’s not here.”

  Alan nodded. They stared at each other another moment before simultaneously moving toward each other and embracing. Their lips pressed together, tongues flapping and sliding across the tender, plushy mounds.

  “This time,” Haley said between their kisses, “let’s go to my bed.”

  “Sounds great…”

  They continued to kiss as Haley walked backwards, guiding him toward the stairs. She pulled back, and anxiously climbed them, pulling him along by his hand. He followed her, just as eager.