PillowFace

by Kristopher Rufty

  At the top of the stairs, they embraced again, their mouths finding each other, their tongues darting through their lips as they smacked with heavy breaths. The sound was thunderous in the quiet hall, reverberating off the walls around them.

  “Where’s your room?” he managed to ask.

  Haley pulled away from him, bending at the waist and walking backwards. She motioned for him to follow her. “Right this way…”

  Alan smiled. Haley took a moment to treasure it. She hadn’t seen him so happy all day. Her rump bumped against her door, and flung it open. She kept moving into her room.

  Alan jogged to catch up.

  And without slowing down, he lifted her off the floor and held her up as his lips folded on her neck. She felt his teeth lightly nibbling. A current sizzled through her body. Putting her feet back on the floor, Alan moved his lips back to hers. As they kissed, Haley found his pants, unbuttoned them, and began pushing them down his legs while Alan worked at kicking off his shoes. They seemed to be giving him some trouble, but eventually he conquered them.

  Haley’s shoes were much easier and all she had to do was step out of them. She felt Alan’s hands roaming her back, working their way down to her buttocks. When they reached the top of her pants, his fingers slid under them, and found her panties.

  They froze.

  “Wha…” Alan pulled his head back, a confused look on his face. Obviously he’d felt something he wasn’t intending to find.

  At first, Haley didn’t understand what the problem was, but then she remembered her choice of panties for the day. She felt the heat of a blush warming her cheeks. “Whoops…I forgot I put on big girl panties…Didn’t feel like being pretty today.”

  Alan shook his head. “Well, you failed.”

  She sucked in her bottom lip, flushing even darker as he leaned forward. They began kissing again. Alan’s hands pulled out of her pants, found the waistline, then proceeded to slide them and her panties down in one swoop. She assisted him. Alan finished the work on his own pants, getting them to the floor, and kicked them out of the way. At the front of his boxers was a tent from his jutting erection.

  Haley grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it off, then reached behind her back, finding the clasps of her bra. She had it off and with her other discarded clothing before a full second had passed.

  Then she pressed her naked body against Alan, writhing against him. She felt the hardness between his legs poking against her belly. Haley tried to help him down to her bed, but he quickly twirled her around, and helped her instead. She sat down on the edge, then pushed with her hands, wiggling her way backward. Before she’d gotten too far, Alan grabbed her by the ankles and scooted her back down to the bed’s edge.

  She watched him, nervous and anxious, while he pulled his shirt over his head. She took her time studying his chest, his lined abdomen. But, it dropped out of her view when he got on his knees.

  Her breathing intensified as he slid his arms under her thighs and angled her toward him. His mouth was only inches from her. She could feel the pant of his breath puffing against her moist, swollen lips. She knew what he was about to do and wanted him to so badly that she began to tremor.

  Finally, he gave her what she wanted, snuggling his face between her thighs. Before he’d even introduced his tongue, she was moaning. When she felt the narrow tip flicking her, she screamed. Her release was already imminent, but she fought it, not wanting to give in just yet.

  And, thankfully, Alan didn’t spend much more time down there or she would have. He stood up, using his thumbs to push his boxers down his legs. When she caught site of his penis, she gasped as loudly as she had the night before. Although she remembered its size, it still shocked her to see it again.

  He approached her, putting his hands on each side of her. Now she could wiggle backwards to her pillows, and she did so with Alan crawling above her, matching each move. When they were at the top of the bed, he planted his elbows on each side of her head, angled his hips, and slowly eased himself inside of her.

  Tears trickled down her eyes as he went all the way in, expanding her, making room for himself. He’d been invited, so it wasn’t hard for her to oblige his arrival. He lowered his head as she leaned hers up and connected their lips once again. As they kissed with an intense hunger for one another, he began to thrust, pounding her deep, and Haley loved every second of it.

  “When I…Well…” He stopped, taking a moment before trying again. “Where do you want me to…you know…”

  She understood right away what he was asking. “I’m…on the pill…” she whispered, her voice having been blown already from the screams.

  With her permission to just let himself go, he began to pump faster, his need to reach orgasm consuming him. She began thrusting with him, matching his tempo, so that each time he delved, she was coming up to accept him.

  A few moments later, Alan began to tense up, his thrusts becoming heavy jabs, then she felt him spurting inside of her, filling her up with his warmth. It triggered her own release, shaking her all over as he drained himself dry.

  When they were both spent, Alan collapsed on top of her.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck, and her legs around his hips, holding him there so he couldn’t pull out.

  (III)

  Ethan was sprawled face down in the dirt, and didn’t look to be breathing. Joel stood frozen, holding his own breath, trying to see if Ethan’s back was rising and falling.

  It wasn’t.

  He’s dead.

  Ethan’s skin, usually a dusky shade, was abnormally pasty, the color of school glue with a hint of indigo. The ground around his body was sodden, not quite muddy, but wet and dark. A murky liquid had been spilled into the dirt.

  Joel walked slow and stilted to the opening, stopping just shy of Ethan’s head. The mushy effect on the ground had been caused by a dark liquid all right. Blood. A slow pool had spread from under Ethan’s chin. Joel took in a shaky breath. His bowels felt like hollow ice. Slowly, he squatted next to his friend. He set the shovel down, avoiding the soppy spot. Reaching out, his hands hovered just above Ethan’s shoulders.

  The woods held its breath in anticipation. Finally, Joel forced himself to grab Ethan’s shoulders. He felt a chilliness seeping through his friend’s shirt. Rolling him over, he was greeted with a blank stare from vacant eyes. Ethan’s mouth was stationed in a sideways smirk. There was a deep ditch in the center of his throat. He saw tendons, brown and red and gooey. Joel looked away and heaved. Other than phlegm, nothing spewed out, but that didn’t stop his stomach from trying. After four attempts, it finally gave up. His eyes stung with hot tears. Loud shrieks and clamors hammered his ears. As it all began to fade back to normal, the habitat of the woods slowly came to life again. Just a dead boy, they seemed to be saying and going about their business.

  Giving his head some time to clear, Joel began wondering things. Such as: Who did this? When did it happen? Where’s Paul? That seemed to be the logical direction he should take this. He could sit here feeling guilt and sorrow all day, but it’d get him nowhere. So, he stood up. The trees were bending and flexing this way and that. He could feel cold runnels of sweat on his searing skin. He’d felt like this before when he’d had the flu, but this was something totally different. This was his body trying to succumb to shock, and his mind struggling to resist it.

  He did a quick and sloppy search of the nearby area. When he didn’t find Paul anywhere, he came back and flopped down on his butt. He took slow, deep breaths and rested his head against a tree. It was rough against the back of his skull. He could smell the souring stench of rot intensifying around him, but didn’t care. Was he getting used to those smells?

  Is this where I should give up and call the police? Or Haley?

  In a way, Joel found it odd that he wasn’t reacting more harshly to the sight of his friend’s demise. It was as if over the past couple of days he’d become desensitized to dead bodies and bloodshed. Sure he f
elt bad, but he wasn’t as deeply affected as he should have been. He also knew that he wouldn’t call the police or let Haley know what was going on. This was his mess; he’d deal with it.

  He pushed himself up, walked back to where he’d left the shovel and grabbed it. His hand was sweaty, making the top of the handle slippery and moist. He looked down in the hole. Tonya looked as if she was simply lying in a bath of dirt. Ants had already made their way up her thighs, burrowing themselves into her groin. Grimacing, he turned away, but was met by Ethan. The sight there wasn’t any better. He groaned, shook his head. Was he really going to do this? Yes. Was he really going to add his best friend to the body pit? Yes, again. Was he going to cover it up and go about as if nothing had happened? Yes times three. He ran a hand through his dripping hair and wiped the sweat on his shirt sleeve.

  His mind drifted again to thoughts of who could have done this. Pillowface? No way. He’s been at the house with me. Could he have snuck back? Joel tried imagining that in his head, but couldn’t. There was no way he could have gotten back here and back to the house without Joel noticing him being gone.

  Paul?

  His mind absorbed that one for a moment. It seemed highly doubtful, but at the same time, utterly possible. Paul had been acting weird. And, the way he seemed to be enjoying what was happening. Joel couldn’t hold that against him, though, because he’d felt the same joy deep down as well. Yeah, but I wasn’t giddy and excited. Paul looked as if he wanted to do it again. Is that what happened? Did Paul kill Ethan? Was he coming after Joel next? No way. And even if he tried, he’d have to get through Pillowface, first. Like to see him try and do that.

  Then he remembered Pillowface wasn’t out here. Joel was alone in the woods, so if Paul came at him now, he’d have to fight him solo. After a quick scan around, he convinced himself that Paul wasn’t lurking nearby and got to work.

  He pressed the shovel against Ethan and gently nudged him. His body seemed happy where it was, and didn’t move. Joel pushed down, digging the shovel under Ethan’s back. Then, poking his tongue through the side of his lips, he placed his foot on the spade, heaving with everything he had. Ethan rolled into the hole, settling on top of Tonya. His waist nestled between her legs, his face down in the dirt. It looked as if Joel had wandered upon them doing something dirty in the woods.

  He stood up straight with an ache in his lower back. He rubbed the tender spot. It was really sore. Did I pull something? That was all he needed on top of everything else. He imagined his back going out, and being unable to walk back to the house, and having to lie with the dead bodies until dark. What if that happened and Haley came looking for him? She’d not only find him, but would also uncover all of his secrets.

  A twig snapped off in the distance. Then another. Joel whipped his head around, prepared to catch Paul sneaking up on him with his face twisted into a demented leer, but found no one. Just trees and plenty of them. Paul’s not going to ambush me. My back isn’t going to give out. Get over all that and get this shit done.

  Ignoring the sounds of the woods, he went back to work.

  (IV)

  Geoffrey Jones watched the kid pitch a body into a hole, and using the head of a shovel to do it. Then he began scraping dirt that had gathered around the edges on top of it to cover it up. That must be Haley’s brother. He studied the kid, his features, and determined that he was definitely her brother. They had the same jaw line and blue eyes. His hair was a little darker though, but there was no mistaking that the two were siblings.

  Whatever the kid was mixed up in he seriously doubted Haley knew about it. Here he was…burying a body…with a monster man back at the house. At least, he hoped he was back at the house. He did a quick scan of the woods and decided that he was. And, for whatever reason, this same kid had two other sickos wanting to kill him.

  Do they want to kill Haley?

  Of course they did. They would probably kill her soon after he delivered the kid. It was the kid they really wanted, why would they hurt Haley? Maybe I can use the kid as a negotiation, offer them a trade. Or, he could just ask them to let him take Haley. If they did, he knew the perfect place to take her.

  The cabin.

  He owned a cabin on the other side of the mountain in Bear Hill. It was secluded, and his bitch of a wife never went out there. He could take her there, then take a week off work, but tell the wife he was going out of town, and he could spend seven days and nights doing whatever he wanted to Haley.

  But, even with a cast on his leg? Surely he would get a cast put on his leg once he went to the hospital. It had to be broken; there was no way it wasn’t.

  He’d make it work one way or another.

  The kid began scraping loose dirt that was around the hole into it.

  Geoff checked his watch and cringed. It was nearing six. He wouldn’t be surprised if his wife had the police out looking for him.

  How should he approach the kid? Not only would it be odd seeing a man dressed as he was in the woods, he wasn’t sure if the kid hadn’t spotted him leaping through Haley’s window.

  Geoff watched a few more moments. The kid stopped working, leaned the shovel against a tree, and sat down on the ground across from it. He was probably taking a break, and this gave him the perfect opening to make his move.

  (V)

  Joel didn’t know if it was the overindulgence of concealing bodies, or the lack of sleep, but he was drained. Not just drained, but sick. Exhausted. For the first time, he truly knew how it felt to be so tired. He felt guilty for the hard times he used to give his Dad for not wanting to do something Joel wanted because he was tired. He used to get so furious with his father. But, he didn’t understand. How different would things have been if he had understood?

  More thoughts he didn’t need to dwell on right now; more thoughts that would just bring him down farther than he already was. He needed to finish…

  Don’t want to…

  He leaned his head against the tree. It felt good letting it take the burden of holding up his head away from his neck. He could already feel his eyes wanting to shut, and he didn’t mind letting them. With his eyes closed, his body suddenly felt weightless. A tingling current started in his toes and moved up to his thighs. All over he felt relaxed. He promised he wouldn’t fall asleep, swore to it, but could already sense the oncoming images of a dream.

  Can’t be asleep, I’m just thinking. Was he? Or was it a dream? It felt as if he were above himself, looking down at a sleeping soon to be thirteen-year-old boy that had suffered through more in less than a year than most would in several.

  He was thinking about all these things when he heard the sudden exodus of a flock of crows. A murder of crows. He’d always liked that expression. He listened to their cawing and shrieking as they lifted into the air. Their wings flapping like a raised flag in the wind.

  He opened his eyes. And saw why they’d taken flight.

  A man in a suit was creeping amongst the trees. His pointed face was aimed at Joel, and his narrowed eyes focused intently on him. The growing fear pushed away his drowsiness. He tried to scoot back, but the tree kept him there. Not only did the man not look friendly, he was walking with a severe limp. The kind of injury falling from a second story window could make. He checked his hands and didn’t find a weapon, but not seeing one didn’t make him feel any better.

  “You’re Joel, right? Joel with a J?”

  He knew his name. How in the hell did he know that? But, instead of asking those questions, Joel only nodded.

  An eerie smile stretched across the man’s face. “Thought so. I’m Geoffrey Jones…with a G.”

  Joel knew he should recognize that name, but his brain seemed to be on pause.

  Geoffrey with a G Jones rounded the trees to Joel’s side, bypassing the incline so he could keep his eyes locked on him. “Your sister works for me…”

  That was why he should know him. Because he did know him. He’d met him a few times and had always thought of him as a very
creepy guy, not the fun kind of creepy he liked to watch in movies, but the bad kind, the real kind. Joel’s eyes focused on his torn clothes, and his shamble of a walk.

  Why is he out here in the woods?

  Geoffrey with a G looked down at his legs, then back at Joel as if he’d forgotten about the limp, but when he raised his head a shifty smile was arching his lips. “Wondering why I have this limp?”

  Joel shook his head. He wasn’t wondering because he already knew why. He was the person inside Haley’s room, the one who’d broken the screen.

  “You seem like a smart kid…You’ve probably got it all figured out.”

  “What do you want with me?”

  The man named Geoffrey laughed, his nose sputtering with each giggle. “You have to come with me.”

  Joel shook his head.

  “It’s not your choice to make,” he told Joel. “It’s not my choice either…unfortunately.”

  “Get away from me.”

  “People will die.”

  Joel’s throat tightened. “What do you mean? Who will die?”

  “Me for one…and Haley.”

  Joel was confused. How did he know all this? “I don’t…” Joel didn’t know what to say.

  “Two men snagged me and said if I didn’t bring you back to the house, they would kill me, and Haley too.”

  “What two men?”

  “How the hell should I know? Two men…said they were looking for the big guy.”

  “Pillowface?”

  “Pillow…?” He looked as if he wanted to laugh. “Whatever his name is…The two that told me to come get you were going to your house and they wanted me to take you there.”

  Joel wasn’t going anywhere with him.

  “Now come on…let’s go.”

  “No.”

  He leaned back as if Joel’s answer had taken a swing at him. “What did you say?”

  “I said no.”

  He checked his pants again, then nodded. He pointed at his knee. “It’s this isn’t it? You won’t come back with me because of my limp. So, you probably know I was in Haley’s room, don’t you?”