Come Into Darkness Page 6

  Laurie turned and smiled. She walked backward. “Where? It’s wet.”

  “Everything’s wet! You’re wet. I’m wet. The dog’s wet. What difference does it make?”

  She laughed. It spurred Mario into action, and he jogged after her. Dylan picked up the stick and followed.

  Laurie approached a small, grass-covered hump. It protruded from the base of a towering dune like an earthy tumour. She prodded it, testing the dampness. Apparently satisfied, she sat, her legs straight and slightly apart. Her heels pierced the sandy ground.

  That’s our spot. That was…

  That was the first place we kissed.

  On the initial walk, Mario hadn’t yet made his first move. He remembered his nerves, and his initial shock of this gorgeous girl inviting him along. Laurie had been a different person, too. The blonde hair, tattoos and navel piercing were present, but underneath her rock chick facade, Mario had sensed a sweet girl, confused and desperate for attention, but sweet nonetheless.

  Mind returning to the present, Mario peered at the sky. The rain had faded away, and the air smelt fresh and clean. He stepped towards Laurie. She shifted across to make room.

  Mario froze and glanced around. Hairs stood to attention on the back of his neck.

  “Mario? What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” he said, scanning the pond behind him and the surrounding trees and bushes. Again, a seagull called across the dunes. “Nothing at all. Just had the feeling we’re being watched.”

  Laurie tilted her head back, painted red lips delicately raised. “This place giving you the creeps, hon? Isn’t this why we came here? The beautiful isolation. I haven’t seen anyone else at all…” She lifted a foot and playfully jabbed him in the leg. “Unless you brought someone along. You didn’t have a little friend of your own and lose them, did you?” She pouted.

  Mario stared back at her. Her mocking voice sounded familiar. His brow creased. The memory refused to emerge.

  K…K…Kathy? Or Kerry? Do I even know a Kerry?

  No.

  Who the hell am I thinking about?

  Laurie saw his expression and her smile fell.

  “Seriously, you’re on your own, right? You’ve gone all weird on me.”

  Mario shook his head and beamed.

  “Don’t be stupid! Of course I’m here alone. Would I bring anyone else here?”

  He sat beside her and realised their hips were touching. For a moment, he thought of nothing else, except…

  This isn’t right. I didn’t come here alone. Did I?

  He glanced at Laurie. She smiled.

  Those eyes. Why did I ever leave those eyes?

  “…you won’t…”

  Mario ignored the voice. He knew its owner, an old man in a musty jacket, but they sat alone.

  Just another memory.

  “I’ve missed you,” said Laurie. She moved closer. “All this time, Mario. You didn’t even try to contact me.” She pouted again, and this time, he believed it to be genuine.

  “…and there was a reason for that, wasn’t there, sir…”

  Mario paused.

  “…do you recall?…”

  Shut up, Worth.

  Dylan nudged Mario’s leg. The dog gazed up, stick in its mouth, tail beating hard.

  Mario lifted his hands, placing them over his eyes. His head grew fuzzy, like a radio stuck between stations. He caught random fragments of hushed sounds and voices.

  “Come now, sir!” said the voice, slicing through the static. “The lady is sat right in front of you. Surely that will stir up a few ghosts…”

  “Get out,” Mario moaned and clenched his teeth.

  “Hon?” asked Laurie. She placed a hand on his back and stroked him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” he said. “Nothing at all.”

  He balled his hands into fists and pushed them harder into his eyes. He saw an old man with messy grey hair surveying him. Mario’s head seemed to swell like a thundercloud.

  “Stop it!”

  “Just relax,” said the man. “Enjoy the moment like Miss Foster…”

  Mario swallowed a deep breath and lowered his hands. Through fresh tears he looked at Laurie. Her face reflected concern.

  “Mario?”

  He held up a hand.

  “I’m okay,” he said. “I don’t know what happened then. Went dizzy for a second.” He wiped his eyes with his fingertips.

  “You sure? You look like you’ve had a heart attack.”

  “I’m okay,” he said again, hoping his words might finally sink in. He breathed through his nose, savouring the fresh, salty scents of the breeze.

  Dylan nudged his foot.

  Sitting in silence for a moment, Mario and Laurie watched the ripples on the surface of the pond. Mario noticed her hand lingered on his back. He fought the urge to place his hand on her knee. The thought dominated him.

  “You remember our first time here?” Laurie asked. “Feels like an eternity ago.”

  “It was,” said Mario. He moved against her. She didn’t retreat. “I was so nervous back then.”

  She rubbed his back again, drawing slow circles.

  “You were. I remember sitting here and trying to read your mind. I needed to know if you wanted to kiss me. Just to know. I pleaded in my head…”

  Mario smiled, lost in memory. He surged with that old desire.

  Fuck it.

  He touched her denim-clad knee and tested her reaction. She remained still, and her hand continued its pleasant motion.

  “I wanted to kiss you from the beginning,” he said, voice almost a whisper, “but I was petrified you’d turn away. That can destroy a man, you know, to finally overcome such fear, only to be denied and rejected. It’s heartbreaking.”

  Laurie peeped through her hair. “I’d never have rejected you.”

  “I know,” said Mario. “Isn’t hindsight a wonderful thing?”

  She grinned.

  “I can remember you facing me,” she said, and with her free hand, held his chin. She turned his head to hers. “Our lips were so close…”

  Yes…I remember…

  “And I was screaming in my head, kiss me! And we talked and the moments slipped by. I thought you never would, but then-“

  Dylan jumped up, he remembered. And knocked us together…

  The dog, excited beyond constraint, leapt up.

  Mario bumped forward, pushed by the paws of the eager dog.

  Laurie moved forward, forcing her lips to meet his.

  He closed his eyes, sinking into the kiss, tasting bubblegum on her saliva. Her arm slid further around his back, pulling him tighter. Mario responded to her urgency, easing his tongue into her open mouth. Their tongues met and circled each other, tasting and probing.

  I’ve missed you. All the women in the world could never replace you…

  Dylan barked once. Mario ignored him.

  Laurie moaned into his mouth and held him even tighter, stroking his face. Mario slid his fingers into her hair and raked them through. Feeling his breath sucked from his body, he broke contact for a second to snatch a lungful of air. His lips barely closed, and Laurie pushed forward again, hungry for his kiss.

  Wind ruffled Mario’s hair. The gentle breeze sighed over their urgent gasps and whistled between the dunes.

  “How very romantic, sir. Very romantic indeed…”

  Mario kissed harder, forcing the voice out of his mind.

  Not again. Not now!

  His fingers tangled within her golden strands, turning them, tight as rope, within his fist. He pushed forward, stronger, eager to suck her lips within his mouth and devour her face…

  What is wrong with me?

  Laurie cried out. She broke away from Mario’s passion.

  “What the hell?” She raised a hand to her mouth. Dabbing her lips, she checked for blood. Only smudged lipstick stained her fingers. “What’s got into you?”

  Mario released her hair and gently held her face wit
h both his hands. He traced the line of her cheekbones with his thumbs. His heart raced, trying to bounce up his throat and out of his mouth. He swallowed to force it down, panting as hard as the exhausted dog.

  “You hurt me,” she said. “What’s got into you?”

  Something hairy brushed Mario’s right ear. Still stroking her face, he closed his eyes.

  “The young lady asked you a question,” the old man whispered. His moustache tickled Mario’s earlobe with each word. “Perhaps you should answer her. Or maybe…now here’s a thought…why not ask what got into her? Or closer to the point, who got into her?”

  “Shut up, Worth,” Mario hissed. His thumbs moved quicker, playing Laurie’s face the way a kid plays a videogame.

  “Mario?” she asked.

  He opened his eyes. Laurie gazed at him.

  “Who’s Worth?”

  “No one. No one at all.”

  Laurie offered a small smile. Mario returned it.

  “Surely you remember, sir? That night at the party where it all began?” He laughed. “Or maybe ended.”

  Mario clenched his teeth. He concentrated on Laurie’s face: her glistening eyes, the beauty mark to the left of her nose, the slight flush of her cheeks.

  The voice muttered in his ear.

  “She asked to dance with that gentleman, just a dance, right sir? Nothing wrong with that. Good, innocent fun. You needed to talk to that director. You needed that part. And when you looked over to her-“

  “No!”

  Laurie tried to pull back, struggling against Mario’s hold. His thumbs moved faster, the skin warming through friction.

  “Stop it,” he cried.

  “Get off me,” Laurie screamed. She pushed against him and beat his chest. His fingers clasped her skull. “Mario! You’re hurting me!”

  Mario turned, seeing movement in the corner of his eye.

  Worth stood by his side, clutching the lapels of his dog-eared suit. He leaned closer.

  “She doesn’t understand, never has. You didn’t love those other women. They were actresses. Colleagues. Does a lady of the night adore her customers? No.” He paused and peered at the girl, fighting in Mario’s hold. “She tried to hold you back, Mr. Fulcinni, and she hurt you in front of all those people. You didn’t love the women in those films, you loved her…”

  “Yes,” said Mario. His eyes seemed to glaze over. He no longer saw Laurie sat on the grassy hill. She swayed slowly on a dance floor in a dark bar, her lips entwined with that of another man.

  “Mario,” she moaned. “Let me go! Please, you’re hurting me.”

  “When you saw her there, with him, how did it feel?” pressed Worth.

  Mario took a deep breath. Adrenaline soared through his veins.

  “How did it feel?” he asked.

  Laurie jerked to the side, but Mario held her fast.

  “Who are you talking to?” she screamed.

  “How did it feel?” Mario spat. “Like this!”

  He lifted his thumbs from Laurie’s face and plunged them deep into her eyes.

  She screeched. Her hands shot up and grabbed Mario’s wrists.

  He roared and flexed his thumbs, using his nails to dig in. It felt like a watermelon: hard and smooth on the outside, wet and loose within. He grinned from the thought and delved deeper, aiming to scratch the inside of her skull.

  Laurie’s screams cut through the quiet of the pond. Her panicking hands clawed and scratched at Mario’s wrists.

  He stopped and slowly pulled his thumbs free. With the plugs gone, blood shot out in two thick jets, splashing him in the face. He wiped his eyes on his shoulder.

  Laurie wailed, crying crimson tears. Her eyelids closed but trembled, like a seizure held her in its grip. She flopped to the ground.

  “It’s a simple trade,” said Worth, who hadn’t budged throughout the attack. “She wanted to hurt you by making you see, and…well it doesn’t take a genius to appreciate her predicament now, does it?” He chuckled. “Feel better now?”

  Mario grinned. “Much.”

  He spat, tasting shaved metal on his tongue. He guessed it was true what they said about blood.

  Laurie had rolled a few metres away and lay on her back. Her hands pressed flat against her eyelids, and blood flowed down the sides of her face toward her ears. Dylan stood by her head, tail between his legs. The dog watched her with mournful eyes and sniffed her hair. He released a series of high-pitched whines, as if trying to comfort his owner.

  “Dylaaaan…” Mario cooed. “What’s the matter, boy?”

  The dog glanced up, but stayed rooted to the spot.

  Mario leapt from his seat and strode toward Laurie. His footsteps squelched in the mud.

  “No,” said Laurie, holding out a hand. “Please!”

  Mario ignored her and struggled past. In one step, he swung out his leg and kicked the dog hard in the side. Ribs shattered like lolly sticks beneath his foot.

  Dylan squealed and fell onto his side in the mud. His paws kicked, scraping tiny ditches in the wet ground.

  “Dylan?” Laurie moaned. “Dylan!”

  “Nicely done, sir,” said Worth. “I knew you could get into the swing of things.” Carefully stepping across the slippery shore, he joined Mario and stood over Laurie’s prone body. He peered down. “Blood’s still flowing. I imagine it might for a while.”

  Mario glanced at the girl. His pumped body seemed to swell, wanting to escape his skin.

  This isn’t right.

  He realised the voice spoke from within. His conscience, or whatever scrap of it was left. His mind watched him in disgust.

  What have I done?

  He stared at his bloodied hands, the shrieking girl and the dog, who now lay still. Its tongue hung from the side of its mouth.

  “We can’t just leave her like this,” said Worth. He slowly raised his arm and pointed at the pond. “Didn’t you say she loved this place? I think she might want to stay for good…”

  Mario realised the guide’s suggestion and frantically shook his head. “No! No…I can’t!”

  “Of course you can. You wouldn’t want the girl to suffer further, would you, sir? Perhaps you would…” He stroked his moustache. “Go on, Mr. Fulcinni…” His voice lowered, gasping out between his lips. “She’s in pain. She broke your heart.”

  Mario glanced down.

  Laurie’s eye sockets still poured with blood. Her weakening hands waved in front of her face.

  “Drown her…”

  The fuzziness returned to Mario’s mind and he roared, clasping his head by the temples. The sound echoed across the water.

  Yes.

  Drown her.

  “No!” he cried again.

  “Come, sir,” said Worth. “Isn’t this what you came to do?” He sniffed, removed a handkerchief from the inner pocket of his jacket and wiped his nose. “I’m catching a cold already. Finish her so we can be gone.”

  Finish her.

  Drown her.

  Yes…

  Mario squeezed his fists and tried to focus on the horizon. It blurred, appearing as an abstract work in grey and green. Mario swayed.

  Drown her.

  “…yes…”

  Staggering through the mud, he snatched at Laurie’s hand, catching her wrist. He walked on.

  “Help…” she moaned, her voice barely a sigh. “Please.”

  Her body carved a trench into the wet shore as Mario dragged her to the edge of the water. They passed Dylan, whose eyes rolled up to glance at them. The dog raised his head, yelped, and flopped back down.

  Mario strode on, shoes sinking into the mud. It swallowed him up to his shins.

  “There we go, sir,” said Worth, remaining on the higher ground, “you’ll feel good again after this.”

  Mario knew he would, yet that small, appalled part of his mind observed his actions. Like a child watching a horror film, it wanted to turn away, to run from the blood and violence.

  You’re no murderer.


  Aren’t I?

  The other voice thundered around his skull, bullying his own into silence. He took a deep breath and stepped into the water.

  The pond shocked him with a numbing blast of cold. He shivered, but unperturbed, dragged Laurie further. Her body dangled from her outstretched arm. Mud coated her hair and clothes. She appeared as a figure made from fresh clay, ready for the kiln.

  “That’s it,” said Worth. “Just a little farther.”

  Yes!

  Drown her…

  Mario grinned and licked his lips. Blood still flavoured them, and he relished the taste. The water chilled his legs, and his scrotum shrivelled as it dipped into the pond.

  Laurie jerked, her face emerging from the murky surface. She coughed, inhaled and released a scream.

  “Shut up,” snapped Mario. He headed for the centre of the pond.

  Struggling against his pull, Laurie fell back under. Her legs kicked, doing nothing more than splashing the water.

  Mario stopped, bobbing slightly in the water. He gazed upwards, studying the lazy clouds meandering across the grey expanse. Bending, he drove a hand into the water. The moment his fingers touched Laurie’s sodden hair, he grabbed a fistful, close to her scalp. She thrashed, and her hand shot out, waving in the air. The other strained against Mario’s grip.

  “There we go,” called Worth. He clapped. “Bravo, sir! Bravo indeed.”

  Still watching the clouds, Mario relaxed a little, feeling Laurie’s kicks die down. He maintained his hold.

  The rain cascaded without warning, and Mario closed his eyes, enjoying the droplets striking his face. The water seemed to vibrate around him, its surface churning from the downpour.

  Mario waited.

  Laurie fell slack. Her body drifted in the water. Mario released her.

  “Very good,” said Worth. “Now, let’s get out of this horrendous weather, shall we?”

  Mario stepped back. He studied Laurie, suspended in the pond. She floated facedown, arms out and over her head like she’d been frozen middive. Her hair fanned out and her body started to sink.

  You did it. You drowned her.

  Good riddance.

  He waded forwards, heading for the nearest shore.

  “We’ll get you dry in no time,” said Worth, walking in pace with Mario beside the pond. “No time at all.”