Don't Read After Dark: Keep the lights on while reading these! (A McCray Horror Collection) (9 page)

“Alright, let’s see what the original title of your profile was.”

“Down-to-earth girl seeks a guy…any guy (non-serial killer types preferable, but not a deal breaker).”

Jake chuckled until Herbie started on his wheel again. “Okay, so not so funny now, but our girl’s got a sense of humor. Jake went back to skimming the profile.

“More of a stay-at-home kind of girl. Not sure about starting a family.”

He remembered Brad’s description of her fiancée leaving her once she became pregnant. Clearly, she had wanted to keep the child, then lost it not a few weeks later. He could understand why she might be conflicted about starting a family. He had far less trauma in his past and wasn’t sure himself.

Jake went back to reading. “Collects antique perfume bottles.”

Leaning back in his chair, Jake shook his head. “Now why can’t I ever find a profile like this?”

Oh crap! Jake looked to his watch.

“Crap, crap, crap,” he muttered as he dialed the phone. A woman answered. “Hey, Candace.”

“Jake, what’s going on?” the woman asked. “I’ve been waiting at the restaurant for fifteen minutes.”

“Yeah, I’m so sorry that I’m late.”

“So you’re just late, you aren’t standing me up?” Candace asked.

“Standing you up? No way. No how,” Jake said, yet the sad truth was that he had totally forgotten about the date. Of course, it would be horribly rude to say that. He needed to find a way to cover, although he wasn’t necessarily quick on his feet in situations like this. “I was… I was in a meeting with the DA?”

Okay, maybe he shouldn’t have made that sound so much like a question as a fact. Although Candace did seem to be buying it.

“Really? The DA?”

Alright, maybe he’d shot too far with that one. “Yeah, it ran over, but what can you do? Tell the DA, ‘I’ve got to go?’”

“No, of course not,” Candace said.

“So I’m super sorry, but I’m across town. So I’m not going to be able to make it.”

He heard an audible sigh on the other end.

“But let me make it up to you. Let me take you out to dinner. How about Chez Appetit?”

“Chez Appetit? You don’t have to. That place is so expensive.”

Yes, it was, but he really didn’t want to lose the one person he’d been able to stand since his injury. “Tonight, then.”

“Are you sure you aren’t just trying to delay our meeting?” Candace asked.

Sure, he’d screwed up, but not for that reason, so he could honestly answer, “No, not at all. I’ll meet you at the restaurant at eight tonight.”

“And you’ll be there?”

“You know it,” Jake said, then clicked off the call.

A loud knock came at the door and the docent tones of the manager came through the closed door. “Hey! You in there?”

“Yeah, Candace, I’m so sorry. I’ve got to go.” Jake said. “Until eight.”

As he clicked off the call, the knocking repeated, this time even louder and more obnoxious. Jake rushed to the door and opened it. The manager burst in. He pointed to the hamster.

“I told you that the rat had to go.”

“When Evelyn gets back from, you know, being kidnapped and all, you can take it up with her. But for now, I need to finish my investigation.”

The manager looked around the room. “Aren’t there usually a bunch of guys in grey jumpsuits dusting for prints when you ‘investigate?’”

Jake urged the manager toward the door. “This apartment wasn’t the crime scene. I’m just doing background work here.”

The manager’s bushy eyebrow shot up as he scanned the empty wine glass and grocery bags in the kitchen. “Well, the lease is only for one person. Two of you staying here means more rent.”

“Evelyn has been kidnapped and most likely is being starved. We are
not
cohabiting.”

“Coulda fooled me,” the manager said, nodding to the towel draped over the couch.

Jake put his hand on the sweaty man’s back and more forcefully guided him to the door. “I’ll call you if I need your services any further.”

Finally, the pudgy man who smelled of pastrami was out the door. Jake shut the door and leaned back against the wood as he looked to Herbie.

“Your mom has got to move…” Then Jake thought about it. “Assuming, of course, that I save her.”

CHAPTER 10

Darion begged the ceiling to open, but it just wouldn’t budge. He was trying to put on a brave face for Evie, but he should have had a weapon by now. Something was going horribly amiss.

Clyde groaned again, although by now he was unintelligible as Esau took another slice of spleen and squeezed more blood for his writing.

“Jesus,” Back yelled. “Don’t you have a fucking hand cramp or something by now?” When Esau kept on writing, Back continued, “Take a break and fucking kill Darion!”

Esau though shook his head. “Not until the Lord’s verse is done.”

“What is this, the longest fucking passage in the Bible?”

Andrew nodded gaily. “Let’s see, it looks like it is Leviticus 2:16, so yeah, yep, pretty much the longest one.”

Back slammed his sickle against the bars. “Not fucking fair!”

Talk about not fair? That would be going out there with no weapon versus arrows and sickle and hedge cutters. That was unfair.

And just on cue, Darion’s cell door opened. Crap. He couldn’t wait or show weakness, though. He needed to get out there and hope for the best.

“Start tying,” Darion said as he stepped out of the cell. Although Evie seemed mesmerized by Esau nibbling on Clyde’s spleen. He stepped in the way, blocking her view of the cannibal.

“Tie fast, or you’re the main course.”

* * *

Jarred out of the horror, Evie took the cloth strip and looped it around the cell door and the door jam.

“Faster!” Darion shouted.

Fumbling, Evie tied as fast as she could. Darion stood over her on the other side of the door, inspecting her work. Behind him, Andrew’s door opened and he tiptoed out of his cell, his pocket knife raised at Darion’s back.

Darion didn’t even look over his shoulder. He just said, “I wouldn’t.”

Evie could practically hear Andrew’s thoughts. He wanted to be seen as brave, but go up against Darion? With a pocket knife? Clearly, he thought better of it, as he turned and knelt down to pick up a cupcake.

“Grab me a couple, would ya?” Door asked, his bow and arrow still at the ready.

Then, with blades gnashing, Papa burst from his cell, going straight for Darion. The first pass got Darion’s sleeve. It hung shredded at his elbow. At nearly the same time, Back’s door opened and he sprang out with his sickle. Darion spun out of the way of Papa’s clippers, but the two converged on him.

“Two against one, and fucking weaponless at that,” Back said. “Almost doesn’t seem fair, does it, Papa?”

Evie tied as fast as she could. It didn’t look like Darion was going to last very long. Then Darion grabbed a cell door and slammed it into Papa’s face. The old man’s nose started bleeding.

As he wiped it, he commented, “Fair has no meaning here.”

Evie kept tying as Darion jumped back from Papa’s lunge. He used another door to block Papa’s shears. Back was fast on his feet, charging Darion. With a well-placed kick to the crotch, Darion slowed Back’s attack. Unfortunately, Back had enough momentum to swing his sickle at Darion’s knees.

He jumped onto the bars and scrambled across them like a monkey might. Back and Papa ran into one another trying to catch him. Evie kept on tying. Darion wasn’t going to be able to get out of this with some monkey bar moves.

Back turned to Door, who was busy eating a cupcake. “
Now,
” he shouted, pointing to Darion, who had made it across the room, “You idiot!”

Door brought his bow to bear, aimed and fired. Darion leapt behind Papa, who took the arrow to the arm. Back, though, came at Darion with a vengeance. He tried to get out of the way, but Back was just too fast. The blade sliced across Darion’s chest, drawing blood. The wound gushed red across Darion’s white shirt.

“Oh my God,” Evie murmured. Darion had seemed invincible. Why today, of all days, had he decided to go all human on her? Was his reputation truly deserved? She started tying even faster.

Darion stumbled, but it must have been a fake-out to make Back lunge, because when the rapist did go for it, Darion caught the handle of the sickle and the two struggled for control of the blade.

Door strung another arrow and Papa’s blades gnashed loudly.

“I’m going to split your woman up the fucking middle,” Back growled.

“Yeah,” Darion said as they struggled. “With a spear, or a bayonet?”

Door aimed as Papa ran forward.

“But you’re just not enough for them, are you?” Darion asked, just as Back tried to jerk the sickle from him. But Darion didn’t pull back. Instead he let go, sending Back sprawling backward.

Before Papa could course-correct, his shears cut off Back’s left ear and Door’s arrow hit Back’s thigh.

“Holy cow!” Andrew cried.

“Oh my God, Back,” Papa said, backing away. “I didn’t mean…”

With one hand Back held back the bleeding from where his ear had once been, and with the other, he pulled out the arrow from his leg.

“Jesus, dude,” Door said, going back to his corner. “I didn’t mean to, either.”

Door looked horrified as Back pointed the bloody arrow at him. In the end, though, he threw it at Door. “Don’t fucking miss again.”

Door picked it up and put it in his quiver. “I won’t. I promise.”

Then all the men turned their focus on Darion, rushing at him. Andrew was the only one holding out his hands, trying to stop them.

“Wait, wait, wait!” he announced as he tried to pick up all the cupcakes in the men’s path. “Priorities, people.”

Papa, Back and Door all warily circled the injured Darion. None seemed brave enough to attack him straight out, even wounded.

Evie was so intent on watching the battle that she didn’t even realize that Esau had snuck up on her until he was close enough to try and lick her cheek. Evie flew backwards away from the bars.

“Woman is to man as Eve was to Adam.”

“Esau, she’s not on the menu.”

“But she was given unto me,” Esau explained as he lunged his hands through the bars at her.

Evie dove backwards, scrambling away from those wiry hands.

When she looked up, the men had taken advantage of Darion being distracted and tightened their circle. A few more inches and they would be on him.

“You know what? It’ll be worth it to give Esau first crack at her just to take you the fuck down, Darion.”

Unfortunately, Esau began using the bayonet blade to slice through the ties Evie had made.

“No!” she shouted, but what could she do?

“Resourceful motherfucker, isn’t he?” Back commented.

Back lunged at Darion, but at the same moment, Andrew darted in to rescue a pink cupcake. Darion grabbed the younger man by the collar and pulled him up as a human shield.

“Hey!” Andrew shouted as Papa backed off a step. “I was the only one nice to her!”

Back took a step forward. “Like that’s going to stop me.”

Darion choked Andrew. “Give me your weapon.”

“But—”

“Do it,” Darion said. “Or they will count you as number eight.”

Evie knew that Darion was referring to how many men he had killed inside the dungeon. Andrew must have drawn the same conclusion, as he fished around in his pocket and handed over the knife.

Once the small blade was in Darion’s hand, he shoved Andrew toward Papa, knocking them both back.

“Hey, watch the shirt!” Andrew shouted.

Back didn’t seem like he wanted to wait around to see what Darion did with that pocket knife, and he lunged. Darion sidestepped the blow, grabbed the handle, and added his weight to Back’s momentum, sending the rapist sprawling forward.

A loud clunk sounded as Back’s forehead hit the wall. Darion turned on Door, and before the other rapist could fire, Darion grabbed the bow out of his hands and tried for the arrow, but they went skittering across the floor, out of reach.

“Some more fucking bad luck, prick,” Back said as he steadied himself.

Then Evie realized that Esau was about half way through cutting the ties that held her cell door shut. She didn’t want to get within ten feet of the cannibal, but she couldn’t just let him get into her cell. Evie grabbed a wad of cloth strips and started tying again.

“Guess she’s pretty resourceful as well,” Darion commented.

* * *

Evie felt a moment of pride surge through her, but then Papa and Back tightened the circle even more. Darion was a master of self-defense, but even he couldn’t avoid getting sliced up against two bladed weapons. It would only be a matter of moments before they took him down.

With a loud clunk, the trap door above her opened and a handgun tumbled out, hitting the floor and bouncing once. The entire dungeon stopped what they were doing, even Esau, and stared at the weapon.

Evie dove for the gun and grabbed it, pointing it at Esau, the closest aggressor.

“The safety!” Darion shouted.

Evie fumbled for a moment, then found the latch and took it off. She leveled it at Esau.

“Stay back!”

She then aimed at Back, then Papa, then Door. “Get away from him.”

“Or what, bitch?” Back challenged.

Evie pointed to the ceiling.

“No!” Darion yelled, but it was too late. She fired once to prove she was serious.

“Or I’ll shoot,” she said.

“You can’t, though,” Andrew said, licking the icing off one of the cupcakes.

Evie looked to Darion who frowned. “You only get one bullet.”

Esau cut through the last strip and entered the cell. Evie pointed the gun and fired again and again, but only the sound of metal hitting metal filled the cell.

Esau slowly walked toward her. “You are ripe with sin. But do not fret. I shall eat it out of you.”

Evie backed up until she hit the wall. There would be no escaping the cannibal.

CHAPTER 11

This was not good. Esau was a machine when he was determined, and he seemed pretty damned determined to have Evie. He would love to save her, but he had Papa’s shears and Back’s sickle to worry about.