Fiery Pen

Previously on… Father Death (4)

4

Terror transformed Maureen’s features. When she opened her mouth in a scream, Billy noticed how much Sidney did look like her mother, that same wide mouth of straight, white teeth. He would make Sidney scream for different reasons.

Billy ignored Maureen’s flow of exclamations and demands. He fixated on her delicious fear and stomped toward her, hearing Stu shuffle in behind him. The perpetual and uncomfortable rage that seethed in him dissipated throughout and settled in his muscles to orchestrate his movements.

Maureen, clad in a satin robe, scrambled around the bed. In desperation, she chucked pillows and a lamp in the direction of her attackers. Billy pursued her as Stu climbed on the bed, casting a malicious grin as he bounced like a child. Tears streamed down Maureen’s cheeks.

“Billy, why?” Maureen asked, her voice quivering in her cries.

Billy invaded her space and cornered her against the wall. He pressed his body against hers to feel her tremble.

“Shhhhhh,” Billy breathed.

He lifted the knife and used the blade to move the hair out of Maureen’s face. Maureen only reddened and cried harder.

“What about Sidney?” Maureen protested.

Billy snatched Maureen around the throat and threw them both toward the bed. Stu leaped out of the way before Billy fell on top of Maureen on the mattress. They flopped together, Maureen grunting in pain. Billy shifted to pin her down with his weight and raised the knife. He waited with the blade suspended until she could see it. He looked for its gleaming reflection in her eye and the knowing fear in her face before he plunged it into her belly, low. Not at low as he wanted but close enough.

It felt natural to stab into her, to take what he wanted. The primal sound that sputtered from her lips resonated somewhere deep within Billy. It spurned him to rip the knife from her flesh and thrust it into her again. And again, splattering blood all over Cotton Weary’s coat.

Somewhere in the flurry, Billy remembered himself. He caught his arm before the knife could penetrate Maureen again and raised his blood-stained face to Stu. He felt the smile on his own cheeks. Maureen moaned and writhed beneath him, but he pushed back off of her.

Stu looked between Billy and Maureen’s bloody body. Then he lingered in Billy’s stare before diving forward. Maureen moved to claw along the bed. She took fistfuls of the bedspread in her hands and attempted to drag herself along the mattress. Stu snatched her shoulder and flipped her back over. He looked over his shoulder, searched for Billy’s approval before bringing his own knife into Maureen.

His first puncture was tentative, but when Billy smiled, he gained vigor. By the fifth, Maureen released the bedspread. Billy clapped a hand on Stu’s shoulder and leaned against him.

“Go grab the bag,” Billy said.

Stu nodded and offered Billy his knife. Billy took it and watched Stu leave the room. Once Stu was out of sight, Billy turned his eyes down to Maureen.

Maureen’s chest lifted and fell weakly. Billy found her eyes burrowing into him. He mounted the bed to straddle her and leaned down slow. He put his lips against her ear and heard her breathing hesitate.

“This is for my mom, you whore,” he said.

Billy sat up and sank the knife into Maureen’s throat. Her eyes went wide as the blood poured from her neck and covered the bed. Stu returned as Billy yanked the blade from her body.

“10:37, man,” Stu said, shifting his weight from side to side and clutching the bag. “Sid could be here any minute.”

Billy reached into the bag and retrieved the garbage bag. He placed both knives in the bag then slipped them into the duffle.

“Change and get to the car,” Billy ordered. “Cotton went to Steiner’s Tavern after last time. Meet me at the bottom of the hill, and we’ll plant the coat.”

Stu nodded, fingers still wriggling. Then he was gone.

Billy stood over Maureen one last time. She lay splayed on her back, her hands bloodied and haphazard above her head. The vacancy in her eyes soothed something in him, calmed that writhing anger. He reached down and tore her robe open, suggestively positioned her legs, set the scene. Then he breathed in the moment, the smell of her death, before hurrying down the stairs.

He lingered by the front window, waiting for Sidney. His chest clenched when Tatum’s red Beetle finally rolled into view. The thrill at the plan coming together, at all the pieces falling into his planned places. He could hear the girls’ muffled voices as Sidney got out of the car and said goodbye. She stood under the garish light and swept her hair behind her ear.

Billy would always see how much she looked like her mother now.

Sidney approached the door, carefree and smiling. Billy imprinted that Sidney on his mind, snapped it into his memory with the full knowledge that he was about to shatter her, destroy this version of Sidney in an irreparable way.

Then he would be there to comfort her, fuck her back to normal when she was ready. They could mourn the loss of their mothers together.

The front doorknob turned, and Billy hurried across the house. He scooted through the sliding glass door and waited with the door suspended.

“Mom,” Sidney called, discarding her keys and light coat. “Mom, I’m home.”

Billy shut the door loud enough for Sidney to hear and walked in deliberate steps away from the house. He shoved his hands in Cotton’s pockets and tilted his head down, displaying a familiar haircut. He made sure to say in the light, walk slow and in view.

As he slipped into the shadows, he could feel Sidney see him. He did not even need to look back. He knew he had done it.

Continued on… Father Death (6)

Christina Bergling

https://linktr.ee/chrstnabergling

Like my writing? Check out my books!

• Followers – You never know who is on the other side of the screen. Followers is a mystery and thriller that blends women’s fiction with horror.
• The Rest Will Come – Online dating would drive anyone to murder, especially Emma.
• Savages – Two survivors search the ruins for the last strain of humanity. Until the discovery of a baby changes everything.
• The Waning – Locked in a cage, Beatrix must survive to escape or be broken completely.
• Screechers – Mutant monsters and humans collide in the apocalyptic fallout of a burned world. Co-authored with Kevin J. Kennedy.
• Horror Anthologies