Twisted Little Things and Other Stories (18 page)

Suddenly she saw a hint of movement in the distance. Something dark flitted between two trees, as if it was trying to keep out of sight.

“Who's that?” she gasped.

“Oh, he likes to play games,” Emma said with a grin. “Don't worry. You'll get used to it.”

“Get used to what?”

“His way of doing things.”

“I shouldn't have come out here. I think I'd rather -”

“No, stay!”

“This is the future,” Emma continued. “You're about to have a foggy layer peeled away from your mind. How do you dig that, huh?”

“I don't like this,” Victoria replied, taking another step back. “I'm going back to the others.”

“And miss out on meeting the greatest guy in the world?” Emma asked. “Don't be a dork, Vicky. I met him at the camp my father sent me to. He slipped into my room every night and showed me how life really works, and what we're really supposed to do during our time on this crumby little rock. He knows so much, and he's willing to share some of it. In return, he just asks for a little loyalty now and again. And some proof of our love.”

Rolling up the right sleeve of her jacket, she showed Victoria a scarred and damaged arm, with twisted knots of flesh running from wrist to elbow.

“This is a mark of my devotion,” Emma continued. “You'll have to do it too, if you want him to accept you. I know you've lived a sheltered life, Vicky, but that's all about to change. Tonight you're gonna become a woman, and you're gonna feel the true bliss of existence moving through your soul. You
do
have a soul, you know, even if it's buried deep and stuffed into a part of your heart where you can barely feel it. Tonight, you're gonna see the universe in a new way.”

“I'd really rather go back to the others,” Victoria stammered, watching as the dark shape slipped between two more trees.

Still edging closer.

“You changed my life six years ago,” Emma replied, “and now I'm just returning the favor. Hold on tight, Vicky, and wait for the world to come rushing at you.”

She turned and winked.

“I hope you brought clean underwear.”

Ahead, a dark figure continued to slip closer between the trees. Too scared to move, or to cry out, Victoria nevertheless felt overwhelmed by a growing fear that the visitor was the Devil. All around, the air seemed to be crackling with a heightened sense of anticipation, and the trees themselves were buzzing. Although she tried to remain calm and rational, she was certain that some inhuman form of evil was already reaching out to her, and she tried to summon the strength to run. Finally, as she heard a very faint growling sound rumbling through the darkness, she turned and bolted, racing between the tress in a desperate attempt to get back to the campfire.

“Hey, Vicky!” Emma shouted. “Stop! What the hell are you so scared of?”

Racing between the trees, Victoria felt certain she was being chased. She could already hear a force crashing through the undergrowth, and she was terrified that at any minute she'd feel huge curled claws slicing into her back. She could hear something snorting, too, as if her pursuer was breathless but determined. Stumbling a couple of times and letting out faint gasps, she started bumping against some of the trees, feeling their broken branches tearing the sleeves of her dress.

And still the creature came closer, until she could feel its hot breath on the back of her neck.

Finally, just as she felt she was about to be clawed back, she tumbled back out into the light of the campfire, breathless and terrified. She searched frantically for Marsha, before miraculously finding Daniel and collapsing into his arms. He scooped her up and mumbled something about taking her home, and then he began to carry her toward his car in his strong, manly arms.

Part Three

June 23
rd
, 1982

“Mommy, can I go out and play?”

Glancing over her shoulder, Victoria saw that Isobel was already waiting patiently by the door, anticipating permission. Still, deep down some inner instinct stirred in Victoria's chest, and she immediately realized that her daughter – usually so innocent and care-free – appeared to be hiding something.

“What's in your hand, honey?”

“Nothing,” the little girl said quickly.

Too quickly.

“Your right hand,” Victoria continued. “You're keeping something hidden from me.”

Isobel shook her head.

“Oh yes you are.”

“I'm not, Mommy. I promise.”

“You're a very bad liar, sweetheart,” Victoria said, setting the pan aside and heading over to her daughter. “That's nothing to be ashamed of, but I want to see what's in your hand. You've been acting a little off since lunch.”

She could already see the discomfort in the girl's eyes, so she reached around and gently took hold of her wrist, before guiding her right hand back around and watching as the fingers opened to reveal three candy bars.

“They're not for me!” Isobel immediately blurted out.

“They're not?”

“They're for -”

Isobel stopped suddenly, as if she'd been about to say something she shouldn't.

“Let me guess,” Victoria muttered, “you have an imaginary friend? Honey, aren't you a little old for that now? You're eight, so -”

“They're for Suzie.”

Victoria frowned. “Who?”

“Suzie,” Isobel continued. “You mustn't get mad, Mommy, but...” She paused, scowling slightly as if she was having trouble explaining herself. “Suzie doesn't have much food. She's not lucky like me. She doesn't have a Daddy, and her Mommy doesn't earn very much money, so Suzie has old clothes and she has to borrow food from me sometimes at school.”

“She does?” Victoria asked. “You've never mentioned this Suzie girl to me before.”

“I only started talking to her last week. Until then, I... Well, everyone says she's weird and she smells bad, so I avoided her. And she
does
smell bad, but I feel sorry for her, and I thought it might be okay if I take her some candy. But I didn't steal the candy, because it's out of the candy you let me have, so I'm just giving her some of my own. Isn't that allowed, Mommy? Please don't be mad at me.”

“I -”

Victoria stared at her daughter for a moment, trying to work out just what was going through the little girl's mind.

“Okay,” she said finally, as she started to untie her apron. “Isobel, sweetheart, how about you take me to meet your new friend, huh? Can you do that?”

***

“She lives
here
?” Victoria asked as she and Isobel reached the end of the forest path. Ahead, a rundown and very rusty old camper van had been parked at the edge of the trees, and camping equipment was spread out across the ground. “Isobel, this -”

Before she could finish, she heard a faint bumping sound coming from the camper. Suddenly very aware that she'd brought no means of defense, she placed a hand on Isobel's shoulder just as the camper's door swung open, and then she watched as a disheveled little girl emerged wearing nothing but dirty underwear. The sight struck Victoria as being rather bizarre, yet the strange girl seemed rather nonchalant about her slovenly appearance.

“Suzie!” Isobel called out, waving to the girl. “Over here!”

The girl turned to them, and for a moment her wild eyes were filled with fear. After a few seconds, however, she began to step closer.

“Oh, the poor thing...” Victoria whispered, feeling desperately sorry for the child. “Is she living all alone out here?”

“I brought you some candy,” Isobel said, stepping forward and holding the bars out.

“Thanks,” Suzie muttered, taking the candy and staring at the wrappers for a moment. “Do you mind if I save them for later? It's not time for dinner yet.”

“Where are your parents?” Victoria asked, before realizing that she might be sounding a little harsh and mean. “I mean... Your name's Suzie, isn't it?”

The girl nodded.

“And do you live here, Suzie?”

Another nod.

“And where are -”

Suddenly she flinched as she heard a louder banging sound coming from the camper.

“Suzie!” a shrill voice yelled. “Suzie, what are you doing out there? Get your ass back here this instant, girl! I didn't tell you to go anywhere, did I?”

A moment later, a woman stumbled out of the van wearing nothing but a tattered red dressing gown, which was loosely tied around her waist while still falling open enough to reveal a fair part of her chest. The woman seemed drunk, or high, or maybe both, maybe even a little crazy, and she looked around the clearing for a few seconds before she finally noticed that visitors had arrived.

“Hi!” Victoria said nervously, just as she spotted several empty vodka bottles strewn across the muddy ground. “Um, I'm sorry to disturb you, but -”

“Vicky?” the woman screeched.

Victoria opened her mouth to reply, but she already had a horrible feeling that she recognized the voice.

“Vicky!” the woman shouted excitedly, stumbling closer and almost stepping straight on one of the bottles. “What the actual fuck? I never thought I'd see
your
ugly mug again!”

“Emma?” Victoria whispered, stunned by the stench of stale, spilled alcohol as the woman reached her.

“This is fucking fantastic!” Emma said, taking a black band from her dressing gown pocket and using it to tie her unruly hair back, revealing puffy eyes with old make-up still stained around the edges. “Of all the people I ever thought would come bumbling out this way, you are just about the last face I expected. How are you doing, old girl? How's life been treating you?”

“I...”

“What's wrong?” Emma added. “Cat got your fucking tongue?”

“Language!” Victoria hissed, placing her hands over Isobel's ears. “Please, not in front of the children!”

“Huh?”

Reaching into her pocket again, Emma pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Once the cigarette was burning, she took a long, deep drag and then blew a thick cloud of smoke into the air.

“Do you
live
here?” Victoria asked.

“Not bad, is it?” Emma muttered, blowing out more smoke. “I mean, it's not a palace, but it's not bad for a single mother struggling to make ends meet. And the guys I bring back aren't too fussy. Most of 'em like to get things done in town, anyway. You know, the alley behind the bar, that sorta thing. A quick, simple transaction. So most of the time it's just me and the kid here. Although every so often, she has to make herself scarce when I bring a customer home for the night, if you know what I mean.”

“I beg your pardon?” Victoria stammered, shocked by what she was hearing. “Are you -”

“A woman's gotta make money however she can,” Emma said with a grin. “We all have certain skills and assets, and we've gotta make the most of 'em. Like you, Vicky. You look pretty damn good. Let me guess... Married with kids, right? All the middle class bullshit that people like to buy into? I bet you even -”

Suddenly she burst into a coughing fit, spluttering and barely managing to keep hold of her cigarette. Bending over, she continued to cough even as Suzie started patting her back. The young girl was clearly used to looking after her mother.

“Mummy,” Isobel whispered, tugging on Victoria's sleeve, “I don't like it here. I don't like the things in the trees.”

Looking up, Victoria saw for the first time that the trees all around the camper van were festooned with tatty ribbons and pieces of broken, dangling glass.

“You should've stayed with me that night,” Emma gasped, standing up straight again and taking another drag from her cigarette. “That night in the forest, when you ran away... That was a hell of a night, I can tell you. I mean, I don't know if you've ever gone to, like, an orgy or a cult kinda thing, but if you haven't, you're really missing out.” She took another drag, before sighing. “Then again, it didn't end up so good in the end. The old guy in charge turned out to be a little crazy, so after a few years we all kinda drifted away. I didn't really get anything out of it all, except for little Suzie here.”

Grabbing the little girl, she pulled her close for a hug that Suzie seemed not to enjoy.

“You've gotta love it all, though,” Emma continued. “Life, I mean. Without that crazy group of people, I wouldn't have squeezed out my little ray of sunshine here. And I mean, who needs a man, anyway? I don't think having a Daddy would've made a spit of difference to my little princess. The kid's alright, and I'm raising her so she knows how to deal with the knocks.”

She took another puff from the cigarette.

“Hey Vicky,” she added finally, “how about you and your little one come inside, and we can talk about the old days! Remember that time in the church, when I hid that goddamn fucking spoon and you ratted me out? Sometimes I think that's what set my whole life on this track.”

“I really don't think it's fair to blame me,” Victoria replied.

“Blame you? What's there to
blame
you for? Life's great!”

“I think Isobel and I should get going,” Victoria continued. “I just came to make sure that he new friend was okay, but evidently she has you, so...”

Her voice trailed off as she spotted what looked like a used condom on the ground, glistening in the afternoon sunlight.

“It was lovely to see you again,” Victoria stammered, gripping Isobel's hand tight and leading her away, back toward the path. “Come on, Isobel. We need to -”

“I guess maybe I
should
blame you,” Emma said suddenly.

Victoria stopped and looked back at her.

“For what happened to me, I mean,” Emma continued, and now the smile was gone from her lips. “If anyone's gonna get blamed. It was pretty fucking mean, what you did. Tattling on me like that, when I'd already told you my Daddy was so mean. It's almost like you
wanted
to get me in all this trouble. If it hadn't been for what you did, I'd never have been shipped off to camp, I'd never have fallen in with that bad crowd, and my life would've turned out very different. Maybe I'd be all fancy and normal like you.”

“Your life is your life,” Victoria replied. “You made your own choices.”

“Yeah, but... It was still mean, that's all I'm saying.” Emma took another drag on her cigarette. “I think you knew what you were doing. You screwed me over that day in the church. You screwed me big time.”

Victoria shook her head. “No, I -”

“Was that your revenge for me being a bad girl”? Emma asked. “Come on, I'm curious, why
did
you turn me in? What was going through that pretty little head of yours?”

“That silverware belonged to the church,” Victoria replied, “and -”

“Yeah, but no-one really cares about all that crap! Be honest, woman! Why'd you go running off to tell on me?”

Victoria opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. Instead, she simply stared at Emma and felt a sense of great disgust.

“You can look at me like that all you want,” Emma muttered, “but you know that what you did was wrong. I might've been a little rebellious back then, but it's thanks to you that I got set in stone before I had a chance to change. I'm not saying
none
of it's my fault, but I reckon you knew exactly what you were doing that day, and you did it anyway.”

“Your life is your own responsibility,” Victoria told her. “You stole, and I told someone. That doesn't make me a bad person.”

She waited for a reply, but now it was Emma's turn to stare.

“You made your own choices!” Victoria shouted after a few seconds. “If you're living out here, raising your feral little child and working as a common whore, that's got nothing to do with me, do you hear? It has everything to do with who you are, and what decisions you've made in your life, and your moral character! And if you're trying to blame other people and absolve yourself of all responsibility, then that's just another sign that you're a waste of space!”

“Is that right?” Emma replied, raising an amused, skeptical eyebrow.

“We're leaving!” Victoria hissed, holding Isobel's wrist tight and dragging her away.

“Mommy, why are you angry?” Isobel asked. “Why doesn't that lady like you?”

“Because she's an awful, awful person,” Victoria muttered darkly, refusing to look back even as she heard Emma calling after her, “and because she wants to blame other people for her own failings.”

“But -”

“No more questions! We have to go home now! And I don't want you playing with that Suzie girl ever again! Do you understand? You're not even to talk to her at school!”

“But she has no other friends! I'm -”

“I don't care! You'll do as you're told!”