by Bryan Smith
Abby nodded at the shack.“She’ll be in there. Colliers always keep their holiday catches in that thing.”
Michelle’s eyes gleamed with surprised delight. “Shit, this’ll be easy. They’ll never even know we were here. Let’s go get her.”
“Not yet.”
Michelle glared at her.“And why in fuck not?”
“Because we still need the key to that car. For that I’ll have to go inside. We’ll get your friend after I have the key. Do it beforehand and there’s too much chance someone’ll happen along before I can get back. And if that happens…”
Michelle’s expression sobered again.“We’ll be fucked.”
“Yep.”
Michelle groaned. “All right. Whatever. But please try to be quick about it. The notion of being alone out here in the dark spooks the shit out of me.”
Abby smiled and turned toward her, brushing her cheek with the back of a hand. “I’ll be fast, don’t worry. And you’ll be fine. Just hang back in the trees until I get back.”
Michelle wrapped a hand around Abby’s wrist and kissed the back of her hand. “Hold on. Take this.” With her other hand she extracted the sheathed hunting knife from her waistband.“You might need it in there.”
Abby looked at her father’s old knife and shook her head.“Keep it. I ain’t gonna need it.”
Michelle cocked an eyebrow.“You sure?”
“Yeah. Hell, this’ll be the easy part.” She kissed Michelle on the mouth again, and this time she was heartened by the way the woman’s lips lingered on hers before withdrawing. Abby grinned. “Now get back in them trees.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Michelle retreated to the cover of the trees. Abby watched her disappear and then turned back toward the cabin. She started walking. She wasn’t afraid. At this point she had nothing to fear from the Colliers. About that much she’d been honest. The thing she wasn’t sure about was Michelle’s friend. There was a good chance she was in the shack, but it was no sure thing by any means. Last year’s holiday was proof enough of that. They’d had nothing to offer, having slaughtered their one catch early during a financial pinch. Human meat kept a family’s bellies full as well as any other kind. And Abby knew for a fact Michelle’s friend had been their only catch this year. She doubted the Colliers would risk universal scorn from their neighbors by showing up empty-handed to the feast a second year running. But they might.
Some of her doubt began to abate as she neared the cabin, though. There were lights on in the main room, and it was the steady glow of electric light rather than the flickering glow cast by lanterns. So the generator in their basement was running. That had to mean the Collier clan was a bit more prosperous this year. Which was good. It increased the odds of Michelle’s friend being alive considerably. There was still a chance they’d butchered her a day early. The day before the holiday—tomorrow—was the traditional preparation day. Some folks jumped the gun so they wouldn’t be rushed. But Abby was hoping they would want to do everything the right way this year after last year’s disappointment.
She climbed the creaky steps to the porch and paused at the half-open front door. Low, scratchy music was audible through the opening. That would be the phonograph in the front room. Abby couldn’t identify the music, except that it sounded like some crooner from the fifties or sixties. She pushed the door open and stepped inside. Keith Jenkins and Lorelei Collier were stretched out across a grubby old sofa, with Lorelei on top and their limbs entwined. Keith was a brawny but unattractive town boy who frequently came sniffing around old-family females. Abby had fucked him once, mostly out of a lack of anything else to do at the time, but there’d been some pity involved, too. She was thankful to find them still clothed. There were empty beer bottles on the floor in front of the sofa. One lay on its side. They were more than halfway in the bag already. Abby raised a hand and knocked on the open door.“Hello? Sorry to interrupt.”
Lorelei’s head turned toward her. She smiled. “Hey, Abby. What’s up?”
Abby shrugged.“Not much. Was hopin’ I could borrow your car. I wanna go to town for some beer.”
Lorelei’s shoulders went up and down.“Daddy’d throw a fit, but he took off to the Sin Den with your ma. Don’t matter to me none. Just bring us back some beer, too. Key’s in the usual place.”
Abby smiled.“Thanks.”
She went into the kitchen and found the key to the Plymouth on a hook. Muffled giggling emanated from the living room. Abby knew they were laughing at her. They all laughed at her these days. But this time it didn’t bother her as much. She was about to be done with these people forever. Let them laugh. She returned to the front room and continued quickly to the open door, glancing over her shoulder long enough to say,“I’ll be back in no time with that beer.”
Keith Jenkins leered at her.“You can suck me off when you get back. I paid for the gas in that old wreck.”
Lorelei slapped his chest.“Keith Jenkins!”
Keith cackled. “You can watch. Hell, we’ll have a threesome.”
Lorelei looked at Abby and waggled her eyebrows. “Shit, sounds good to me. And I’ve heard talk Abby ain’t afraid to eat pussy. She can go down on me after she sucks you off. What do you say, girl? That a fair price for the use of my car?”
Abby paused at the door and blinked slowly at them. There was still some of that mocking quality in their voices, but beneath that she sensed they were serious. And under other circumstances it would have been an irresistible proposition. Lorelei was slender and shapely. She was no Michelle, but she wasn’t half-bad. So it wasn’t hard to fake enthusiasm. “Hell, I’m up for anything tonight. We’ll get drunk and screw all night. Back soon.”
She slipped outside before they could reply and pulled the door shut. Michelle came running out of the woods the moment she was outside again. She looked about to say something, but Abby hurried down the steps to the ground and slapped a hand over her mouth. She leaned close and whispered,“Keep your mouth shut. This way.”
She grabbed Michelle by an arm and steered her toward the little shack. When they reached the decaying structure, Abby put a shushing finger to her lips and made Michelle stand aside as she slid the wooden latch back and pulled the creaking door open. A sour smell stung her eyes. Abby tensed for a moment, thinking maybe it was a corpse smell. But moonlight filtered in and revealed the form of a very plump, nude woman tied by a length of fraying rope to the joist overhead. The rope creaked as she turned toward them. The woman’s eyes widened as she glimpsed Michelle, and she squealed behind the dirty gag in her mouth. Abby experienced a curious mix of relief and disappointment at finding the woman alive. She didn’t want to share Michelle with anyone, a feeling intensified by the knowledge that these women already shared such a deep and long-established bond. She was sure theirs wasn’t a sexual relationship, but that didn’t change how she felt. This Lisa person would command much of Michelle’s attention for some time, at least until they were safely beyond Hopkins Bend.
Michelle choked back a sob. “Oh, God, look what they’ve done to you.”
Lisa’s torso was covered in bruises and welts. Abby figured the Collier kids had beaten her for the same reason she’d often abused outsiders. Boredom. A broken broom handle lay at Lisa’s feet. The rounded end was noticeably darker than the rest. It had probably been inside the woman on more than one occasion. Abby glanced at Michelle’s horrified expression and knew she’d drawn the same conclusion. Her bottom lip trembled, and she wiped tears away as she stared at her friend.
Then her face turned stony.“Someone’s gonna pay, my sweet friend. I promise you.”
Michelle moved deeper into the shack and found a wooden crate. She set it on the ground next to Lisa and climbed atop it. The rotting wood creaked and splintered beneath her weight but didn’t break. Abby held her breath as she watched Michelle shift atop the crate and again remove the hunting knife from her waistband. She pulled the knife from the sheath and began to saw at the rope. The ro
pe was old and fraying and gave way to the sharp blade within moments. Lisa dropped to her knees and Michelle hopped off the crate. She knelt next to Lisa and made similar short work of the bonds around her wrists.
Lisa sucked in a deep, wheezing breath and loudly exhaled. Her next several breaths were rapid, almost frantic pants.“Oh, God…I can’t believe it.” She looked at Michelle through tear-laden eyes. “You came for me. It’s…it’s a miracle.”
Michelle touched her friend’s face. “You can thank her.” She nodded at Abby.“She’s the reason we’re getting out of here alive.”
Lisa glanced at Abby and frowned. “Isn’t she…one of them?”
Michelle looked at Abby. She smiled. “She was. But she’s helping us now. You can trust her.”
Lisa still looked doubtful,but she nodded slowly.“Okay.” Her voice cracked a little.“Can we p-please go?”
“Damn straight we can.”
Michelle stood and helped Lisa to her feet. Abby felt her lips curl as she watched the girl’s belly jiggle. But she made the expression vanish as the other women turned toward her. “Here.” She took a step toward them and pressed the Plymouth’s key into Michelle’s hand. “You drive. I’ll navigate.”
Michelle glanced at the key and frowned. “Shouldn’t you drive? You’re the one knows this place inside and out.”
“Yeah, but I ain’t so good at drivin’.” Her tone became sheepish as she admitted the next bit.“I don’t even have a license. Never have. So you drive and I’ll give directions. It’ll work better that way. You’ll see.”
“Whatever.” Michelle looked at Lisa again. Her brow creased.“Hey, are your clothes in here somewhere?”
Lisa shook her head. “They burned them. Let’s not worry about my fucking modesty and just get on out of here.”
Abby heard a crunch of footsteps outside. Her heart nearly stopped at the sound. She held a finger up to her lips and retreated hurriedly from the shack’s dark interior, pulling the door partway shut behind her. She turned and plastered a smile on her face. Keith Jenkins was coming toward her, a cocky grin twisting his already unlovely features.
“Thought you was on your way into town, girl?”
Abby shrugged. “I am. Just thought I’d take a peek at the Colliers’ contribution to this year’s feast.”
Keith stopped a few feet from her. He laughed. “That fat thing? Colliers ain’t too picky, huh? Guess they can’t afford to be after last year.”
Abby smiled and moved closer. She tugged at the front of his shirt with her fingers and looked up into his eyes. “So what are you up to, boy? Come to check on me?”
Keith put a hand on her ass. “Yeah. Didn’t hear the Plymouth start up and thought you might need some help.” He pulled her close and she felt his erection pressing against her belly. She slid a hand between them and massaged the swollen crotch of his jeans.“Mmm…damn, maybe you should forget about that beer and come on inside. I’ve thought about you a lot since that one time. Always wanted to get with you again.”
“That so?” Abby forced a note of playfulness into her voice. “Maybe you should go on inside and get Lorelei warmed up for me. I really wanna go get that beer. We’ll have more fun if we can party, too.”
Keith laughed. “Hell, Lorelei’s already warmed up. Big-time warmed up. She’s the one sent me out here, you wanna know the truth. Wants you to come in and do some dirty shit with us.”
Abby wanted to scream at him.
Why wouldn’t he just go away?
She felt a mounting desperation until an abrupt flash of inspiration hit her. She smiled and tugged at Keith’s shirt again. “Okay. I’m pretty fuckin’ horny myself. Got all turned on seein’ what the Colliers done to that girl. Let’s do some stuff to her before we go inside.”
Keith grinned. “I like the sound of that. Let’s check her out.”
He let go of her and walked toward the shack. Abby hurried after him, keeping a nervous eye on the narrow space between the edge of the open door and the shack’s dark interior. Abby hoped they’d been listening inside. Hoped Michelle would know what to do. Keith gripped the edge of the door and began to pull it open
She knew he would be frowning now.“Hey…What’s going—?”
She kicked the back of his left knee as hard as she could and he folded up, toppled into the shack. Michelle pounced on him. The hunting knife plunged into his back up to the hilt. She drew it out and slammed it in again two more times. Lisa knelt next to his twitching body and slammed a brick into the back of his head, something she’d found in the heaped-up stacks of junk in the shack. The brick came down again and again, making a pulpy mess of Keith’s skull. It was over in minutes. The man was dead. But Lorelei was still inside. She would begin to wonder about Keith’s prolonged absence and come to investigate.
She put a hand on Michelle’s trembling shoulder. “It’s done. We have to go. Now.”
Michelle stood up. Lisa dropped the blood-stained brick and struggled to her feet as well. Abby kept a wary eye on the cabin as they hurried over to the Plymouth. The lights were still on, but she saw no shadows in the windows. Chances were they hadn’t been observed. Which was lucky. If they’d been seen, Lorelei would be coming at them with a hunting rifle about now. She tugged open the passenger’s-side door and slipped into the shotgun seat. Lisa shoved the seat back—harder than necessary, really—and slithered into the back. Michelle got in on the other side and situated herself behind the high steering wheel before gently pulling the door shut. She glanced at Abby, mouthed a silent prayer, and inserted the key in the ignition. The car started on the first try.
Abby breathed a sigh of relief and pointed across Michelle’s lap to a narrow gap in the trees.“That way.”
Michelle set the bloody hunting knife on the dashboard and put the car in gear. The Plymouth bounced and shuddered over the uneven ground. Michelle turned the headlights on a moment before steering the car through the narrow gap in the trees. She glanced at Abby.“Where do we go from here?”
“Just follow this trail for about a mile and a half. It’ll curve and wind around some, but you won’t have to turn anywhere until then.”
Michelle nodded, but didn’t say anything.
They drove in silence along the dark trail for several minutes, their progress slow due to the way the trail shifted and constricted, narrowing to almost impassable widths at times. The headlights illuminated an eerie forest scene: tightly grouped trees and low branches that looked like groping tendrils emerging from the dark. At one point, the headlights revealed a deer standing in the “road.” It bounded back into the woods as they came close. Another time they saw an old man sitting on a stump. He was alone and didn’t even look their way as they passed him.
Michelle shivered.“That old dude was creepy.”
Lisa leaned over the seat. “This whole fucking place is creepy. Can’t we go any faster?”
Abby imagined wrapping her hands around Lisa’s thick neck. She knew how the flesh would feel beneath her tightening fingers. Knew how her breath would dwindle to a thin, reedy wheeze, and then just stop. Thinking about it made her smile.
“Here.” She looked at Michelle. “See the gap coming up on your right? The trail forks away there. Go another half mile and you’ll reach an actual road.”
Michelle leaned forward to peer over the steering wheel.“I see it.”
She steered the car through the gap, and sure enough they arrived at an actual paved road a short while after. Michelle stared at the road, eyes flicking left and right. “Which way now?”
Abby nodded to the left.“That way. You’ll go a couple miles before reaching an intersection. A left turn there would sooner or later take you into Hopkins Bend proper. Turn right and go down a good ways and you’ll eventually see signs directing you to the interstate.”
Michelle smiled.“Well, shit. We’re really getting out of here then. Thank you, Abby.”
Abby’s cheeks flushed. She hoped Michelle would kiss her now. Le
t the fat bitch in back stew on that.“Ain’t no need to thank me. I’m just glad—”
Michelle lifted the hunting knife off the dashboard and brought it around in a savage, backhanded arc. The blade plunged deep into Abby’s stomach. Abby gaped uncomprehendingly at the handle protruding from her flesh for a moment. Michelle’s slender fingers flexed around the handle. The pain hit her, and she gasped. A rising whine emanated from her open mouth as she lifted her head to look at Michelle. She felt blood rushing fast from the wound and knew she was dying. She just didn’t know why. Couldn’t understand how this could be happening. She had trusted Michelle. Had taken great risks on her behalf. Had saved her life and the life of her friend. The depth of betrayal was beyond quantifying.
Michelle held her gaze for a long moment.
Her face was cold. Devoid of pity or compassion.
She gave the knife a hard twist and yanked it out.
Abby screamed.
Michelle adjusted the gearshift and got out of the car to circle around to the passenger’s side. The door came open and Abby felt a sigh of cool air against her trembling, sweat-sheened skin. Michelle reached into the car and grabbed her by an arm. Then she hauled Abby out and dumped her on the ground. She rolled onto her back and saw Michelle staring down at her. Warm saliva splashed her face.
Abby’s breath hitched.
She clutched at her stomach and whined again.
A sneer tugged at a corner of Michelle’s mouth.“I really am grateful, Abby. It took guts to get us out of there. But make no mistake, you’re a fucking monster. You tortured me. You burned me.” Her voice was quaking now. “You deserve to die alone in the dark. Besides, you were never meant to leave this place. Deep inside, you know that.”