“Della darlin’?”
“Yes, Unca Goob?”
“Be a dear and head out for a few, huh?”
“Yessir.”
I heard her feet shuffle across the floor, making sounds like a sweeping broom. She appeared at the door, her back to me, moving slowly.
“And Darla?” Goober said.
Pausing, she turned around. Her face was veiled in shadow. I saw her big eyes, the light twinkling in their shimmering puddles. “Yes?”
“Close the door when you’s go? I wants some alone time with this ‘un.”
“Yessir.”
She turned away from me and started moving. She paused long enough to pull the door behind her. It shut with a finalizing click.
Goober stared at me. I noticed another thread of drool starting to unfurl.
“Don’t do it,” I said. “Mack will get mad, won’t he?”
“Shee-it naw,” he said. “Mack won’t care none. He doesn’t like to”—Goober grabbed a breast, squeezing hard, as if he wanted to rip it off—“touch women. Only torchore ‘em. Me? I likes to…touch.” He twisted. Sharp blasts of pain tore through my chest.
I bit down on my lip to keep from yelling. I figured he wanted me to, and I wasn’t going to give him that.
“So sweaty,” he whispered. “I bet it’d feel good, slidin’ ‘round on top of you…”
Finally, he let go.
As I took deep breaths to abate the pain, Goober got to his knees. “Yore skin’s so soft…” He rubbed my belly. His lips quivered when he breathed. “Gawd…feels like a baby’s ass…”
“Stop,” I said. “Mack will—”
“He ain’t gon’ do shit. He busy with yore guy, anyhow.” Goober’s hand moved lower. “Jee-zus…shaved bald…”
Goober’s hand kept delving, his fingers curling over the mound of skin, creeping closer to the slit. I hoped it had magically grown shut to keep him out of there. But as quickly as the thought had appeared it faded away.
I couldn’t hold it back any longer. The tears flowed freely as I bawled. This made Goober moan. When he stuck his finger inside me, I hardly noticed.
22
Seth
After the fog cleared from my head, I noticed my arms were pulled above my head, holding me up. At first, I wasn’t sure why it was like this. I quickly remembered Goober had tied me to a ceiling beam. The ropes had held me up while Mackey beat the hell out of me. At some point, I’d blacked out.
My brain felt too big for my skull. Any moment, it might crack through my scalp. My lips, swollen and stiff, were like sausages. My throat was dry, and it hurt to swallow. The light in the room was a dim smolder, but stung my eyes as if I were staring at the sun.
The weight of my body tugged painfully at my shoulders. A dull ache throbbed up the center of my back. I realized my legs were bent, putting all the pressure in my shoulders, neck, and back. Straightening my legs, I realized my toes barely touched the floor, so the relief it gave my shoulders was minimal, but still glorious. It did nothing for my aching ribs and gut and balls. Whenever my thighs bumped my balls, my stomach was blasted with hot pain.
Mackey really did a number on me.
I scanned the room. It was empty except for a cheap mattress with dirty sheets bunched at the foot. The floor was coated in thick layers of dust, reminding me of Pappy’s barn after he’d been doing some woodwork. Some black trash bags had been piled in the corner. Sticking out the top of one were checkered flannel sleeves—Mackey’s wardrobe.
Things banged around through the wall. That was where Jody was. I hoped she was all right. It was stupid to think she would be. There was no way either of us would be the same after this, if we survived. I knew this. Probably had known it even before the shotgun accidentally blew off Lemont’s head. Might’ve even known it the moment the girls got into the Nova.
I wondered what they might do with the car after they’d finished with Jody and me. Keep it? Use it for scrap? There was a knife hidden under the backseat. I wished I had it with me. I could cut the rope, then use it to slowly dissect Mackey. Pull his intestines out, strangle him with his own guts.
If I could get loose, get my hands on him…
Big ifs, I realized. Too many. There was no getting loose. I’d tied a few up in similar ways myself. Arms elevated how mine were kept the person from being able to find leverage. And if you happened to get some, the pain you felt didn’t allow you to keep it.
I was stuck here.
And Jody…I had no idea the condition she was in, whether she was alive or dead. I wanted to know, but was afraid to find out.
God, let her be okay.
Felt strange asking God for help after the things I’d done. But given our situation, He was all I had left to turn to.
The door opened a smidgen, groaning. A tiny head peeked in.
“Della?” My voice sounded like a clogged drain. I tried clearing my throat, but it felt like I’d gargled with shards of glass.
“You’s okay?” she said, her big doe-like eyes shimmering.
“Been better.”
Della’s brow creased, showing stress on a child that should not be there. She looked almost ready to cry. “They’s gonna hurt you more…”
“Where’s Jody?”
“With Goob…he’s…” Della shook her head. “He made me close the door…”
My stomach twisted, igniting hot jabs in my pummeled balls. He was doing things to her…things he didn’t want Della to see.
“Where’re the others?” I asked.
“They’s outside…tryin’ to find the ex…” Her nose wrinkled. “Ex…” Frustration made her lips poke out. “Ex-ten-er-chen cord…?”
It took me a second to realize what she was struggling to say. “Extension cord?”
“Yeah,” she said, smiling.
Her smile was sweet, hinting of innocence still inside her somewhere. But her face and eyes suggested she was much older.
“Untie me, Della.”
She shook her head. “I likes you,” she said. “You’s was nice to us…”
“Then untie me so I can get Jody and get out of here.”
“I cain’t,” she said. “Paw’ll pound me. Goober’ll pound me.”
“If you let me go, nobody will pound you. I promise.”
“You’s sayin’ you’s gonna kill ‘em. And…” She shook her head. “I don’t wants ‘em dead. They’s my kin. Unca Lemont was my kin…”
“That was an accident.”
“Hogwash,” she said. “You’s came here to kill ‘em, and now he’s dead.”
“Della…”
“I cain’t lets you go…saw-ry.” Walking backward, she disappeared behind the door. It slowly clicked shut.
I thought about calling after her, but knew it would do no good. Plus, I didn’t want anybody to know she’d come and spoken to me.
A few minutes later the door opened again. I looked up, feeling the smile tug at my swollen lips. Della had changed her mind, come back to untie me after all.
But it wasn’t Della standing in the doorway this time.
It was Mackey.
“Time we gets started,” he said. “Don’t want you to miss it.”
Goober appeared behind him. His face looked flushed and sweaty.
“Get ‘im down,” Mackey told Goober.
Goober nodded, then entered the room. He was tall enough he didn’t have to stand on anything to reach the ceiling beam.
“Don’t even think ‘bout tryin’ nuthin’,” Goober said, reaching up. His hand worked at the knot. “Lee’s gots a knife to yore girl’s throat. One wrong move and Lee’ll make ‘er tongue look like a necktie.”
Even if I wanted to try something, my arms were heavy and useless when they dropped down. Felt like rice was pumping under my skin. Goober pulled the rope down, binding my wrists together.
“Start walkin’,” said Goober.
Surprisingly, my legs were only a little sore and tight. The same way they felt
in the mornings after a restless sleep. Mackey, walking backward, kept his eyes on me. When we entered what I guessed was the living room, he turned to Ruth and Della, who stood off to the side by the wood-burning stove. “You girls get outside,” he said.
“Aw, Paw,” Ruth whined.
“Do what’s I say, now. You ain’t quite old enough to see this.”
“What ‘bout Lee?” Della asked.
“She’s old enough to start learnin’,” Mackey said.
Though Ruth looked as if she wanted to argue more, she didn’t. Probably best that she kept her mouth shut. With her shoulders stooped, Ruth turned and started for the door.
Della hurried after her.
“And don’t try watchin’ like that udder time!” Mackey shouted as the door outside banged shut.
Goober yanked on my arm leash, jerking me forward. My shoulder knocked the door open. I stumbled into the room. In my bouncy vision, I glimpsed Jody, naked, on the bed. Her skin looked ruddy and raw. Then my knees whammed the floor, sending a sobering, painful jolt through me.
“My God…” I muttered.
Jody looked at me. Her flushed face looked puffy, as if she might be having an allergic reaction to something. Her cheek was striped with finger marks.
Goober’s fingers.
Ribbons of blood flowed from the two rows of small indentions on her right breast. Teeth marks. There was another set on her thigh, and another…between her legs. The blood flowing from there made a dark puddle on the mattress.
Rage twisted me inside, made my head light. Jumping to my feet, I wrenched Goober toward me by the rope. He let out a startled Yah! As he started to fall, I stepped up behind him, wrapping the rope around his neck and pulled back.
Arms flailing, he made choking sounds as he tried to breathe.
“Shit, really?” I heard Mackey say. “Lee…”
The sound of my .41 being cocked to fire brought my attention to the bed. Lee, squatting at Jody’s head, had the barrel of the revolver under my wife’s chin.
“Let Goober go, or m’sweet Lee’s gunna blow them brains all over the wall. Won’t be the first time we’s cleaned brains off our walls.”
“Kill him…” Jody said in a weak and helpless voice. “They’ll kill us anyway.”
She was right. We were dead no matter what. This way, I might be able to at least take another one with me.
“I love you,” I told Jody as I dodged Goober’s thrashing hands swinging back at me. His fingers smacked my shoulders, but not enough to hurt.
“I love…you too…” she said.
Wrapping the rope around my forearms, I started to apply more pressure.
Then Mackey stepped forward, kicking Goober in the crotch hard enough to lift him off the floor. When he came back down, he pulled me with him. I tumbled over the lanky giant’s back. My stomach hit the floor. Before I could get up, Mackey stomped his boot between my shoulders.
I was pinned to the floor, both arms trapped under me.
Goober hacked and wheezed off to the side.
Mackey dug the toe of his boot into my back. Hard. Felt like he was trying to grind my spine into the floor. “Lee, plug up the cam’ra.”
“The old ‘un?” she asked.
“Yeah. Give Goober some time to catch his breath back.”
I looked up, blinking the sweat out of my eyes. Jody stared at me, mouthing Sorry over and over. She should’ve been sorry. None of this would be happening if she wouldn’t have started snooping into my past.
That wasn’t fair, and I knew it. But at the moment, I didn’t care.
The next few minutes went by in a tumult of images. Lee followed out Mackey’s orders of plugging in an old VHS camera. It was the same old RCA they’d used the night they’d invaded our house: A bulky gray thing, with the manufacturer’s logo in red lettering on the side. It looked in good shape.
Mackey told Lee to tear off the plastic wrapper of the VHS cassette. She had trouble since the plastic looked as if it had molded to the tape case. When she’d finally opened it enough to slip the tape out, Mackey instructed how to load it into the camera.
She pressed a button on top of the camera. There was a beep, then the cassette holder popped open, startling the crazy girl. Mackey laughed.
“Did I break it?” Lee asked, looking worried.
“Naw,” said Mackey. “That’s where you’s put the tape.”
“This?” she said, holding up the VHS.
Nodding, Mackey said, “Fig-er it out.”
After three or four failed tries, Lee finally had the tape correctly inserted. Then she closed the holder door. The camera beeped, heads spun inside. It beeped one last time.
“She’s ready,” Mackey said.
Goober was on his knees, rubbing his throat. His face had lost its blue hue for a rosy sheen. “Mack?” His voice sounded as rough as mine. “I’s been thinkin’.”
“That’s never no good,” said Mackey.
“How we gunna put this on that there website?”
Website? Jody and I shared a quick glance. Were they talking about…?
Goober continued, “With the udder cam’ra, we’s put the mem’ree card in that compu-tore.”
“And?” said Mackey.
“That old ‘un don’t have none.”
“We’s ain’t gunna put this on the site. This video just gunna be for us.”
Goober smiled.
No way were they talking about the Something Violent website. Guys like the Wilsons didn’t play around on the internet, did they? There wasn’t even any power in this shack, other than what the generator provided. I hadn’t spotted any computers anywhere, not that I’d been looking, either.
How many websites allowed you to upload videos of torture and murder? The real thing. Not that shit you see everywhere else.
“You’re a member of Something Violent?” Jody asked.
Mackey, foot pressing into my back, said, “You’s heard of it?”
“We’re members,” she said.
“Naw shit?” Goober asked with a goofy laugh. He lowered his hand from his throat, exposing a wide, ruddy necklace of rope burn. “You’s the real deal, huh?”
“Pretty much,” I said.
“That’s a shame,” said Mackey. “Hates doing this to udder members.”
“Then let us go,” Jody said. “We’ll leave and forget all of this. It’s not like we can call the police anyway. We’re all a part of the same club, aren’t we? Giving you up would be like turning ourselves in. We can’t do that.”
Mackey was quiet for many long moments. “It’s funny,” he said. “I been a member of Somethin’ Vior-lent for a long time, and you’s the first members I met. Back when’s I joined, it was a club that op-or-ated through the mail, tradin’ tapes with udder members. Got all fancy now…”
“Right,” said Jody. “And we’re part of the club, like you.”
“That’s true…”
Goober started to stand up. His knees made awful crackling sounds. “Is we lettin’ ‘em go, Mack?”
Mackey sighed. “Goober…what has I said is my one true weakness?”
“You’s got a big heart.”
“Right…and what’s I say is my vice?”
“Yore stubborn.”
“Right. And both of them’s havin’ a battle inside right now. Shore, I coulds let ‘em go.”
Relief flowed through me. Though we were both pretty torn up, it looked like Jody and I were going to walk out of this, after all.
Mackey sighed. “But if I’s let ‘em go, what fun would that be?”
I should’ve known. We weren’t getting out of this.
Jody started to cry. Except for sappy movies, nothing made Jody cry. It made me shrivel inside, seeing her break down like that. She no longer resembled the resilient woman I’d fallen in love with. She looked like…a victim. Her unmatched beauty was gone, and for the first time she looked weak.
Like all the others.
I hated those
thoughts, but couldn’t stop them from coming. And damn it, I couldn’t stop agreeing with them.
But it was Jody. My Jody. And she’d been knocked down a few pegs. Me too, for that matter. At least I’d been trying to fight back. Jody had already given up. She’d told me to kill Goober, knowing she was already dead. I’d tried to oblige, and was thankful it hadn’t happened.
There was still a little more time to fight.
And if Jody wasn’t going to help, then I planned to fight for the both of us.
Clapping, Goober hopped up and down. He suddenly stopped, swayed a few times before balancing himself. “I feel weird, Mack.”
“All that air yore brain lost,” said Mackey. “You’s was already close to retard, now yore almost there.” Mackey laughed. “All right, Goober, we needs to get started. And I’m not in the mood fer foolin’ around. We gettin’ right into it.”
Rubbing the top of his bald head, Goober walked over to the bed where Jody stared up at him, awaiting instructions.
“Get the cam’ra from Lee,” said Mackey. “I’m handlin’ this one.” I heard paper crinkling above me, then a lighter strike. A moment later I smelled cigarette smoke.
“You…?” Goober said in a disappointed voice. “But I ain’t had all my fun yet.”
“Looks to me you’s had enough when I weren’t watchin’!”
Goober lowered his head. “Saw-ry…I gets carried away.”
Lee took him the camera. A faded orange extension cord dragged behind her. Thanking her, Goober took the camera.
“Come here, darlin’,” said Mackey.
Lee walked toward us, holding the .41 down by her leg.
“Let me have that fore you blow yore face off,” Mackey said, taking the gun. He tucked it behind the waistband of his pants. “Take this.” He pulled my knife from his hip, holding it out. I’d seen it passed around so many times, it was hard to keep track of who had it and who hadn’t.
Lee took the knife. Turning it around, she stared at the blade with malicious glee.
“Watch him,” Mackey said. “Hold ‘im up by his prickly hair. If’n he looks away, stab ‘im. If’n he looks away again, cut off his fuckin’ eyelids.”
Lee’s smile stretched to her ears. She ran her tongue over her lips. “Yes, Paw.”
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