His mental anguish was greatly eased by India slipping into the bed next to him. He made no move towards her, thinking she was in pain caused by the damage those two inhuman creatures had done to her in order to satisfy their visceral desires and was greatly surprised when she stirred in the bed and edged closer to him.
“Thank you for saving me,” she whispered in his ear. He didn’t respond, as he was once more engaged in his mental battle. She placed her arm gently onto his shoulder and moved closer to him, so that they were touching. He could feel her naked skin and he turned to face her. He wrapped his arms around her and she smiled. They kissed in the darkness and he gave himself to her.
________________________________________
Sunlight filtered though the blinds and India reluctantly opened her eyes, squinting at the brightness. She turned in the bed, and saw that the covers had been disturbed and a note was lying on the nightstand. She got out of bed, pulling on a robe and picked up the note. It was in Chris’ handwriting. In a flash she remembered the events of the night before, the dead bodies, Chris’ breakdown, and her decision to have sex with him.
She put the note in her robe pocket and ran down the stairs, nearly killing herself in her frantic flight to check on the bodies. She threw open the basement door and looked down. The bodies were gone. Ok, Chris is gone and the bodies are gone. Perhaps I should read that note now. She walked to the kitchen, opened a cabinet and took out some coffee grounds and a bottle of water. She put the grounds and water in her coffee pot and turned it on. As it began to warm up, she took out the note, sat down at the kitchen table and began to read.
Dear India,
Thank you for letting me stay over last night. I got rid of the bodies and they are now underneath your basement floor, courtesy of that refinishing job that I never got to finish. By the way, you should put a carpet down there. See you around
-Chris.
India dropped the note onto the table. She sat there for a moment, and then went back upstairs to her bathroom. The tub was still full of water. She took out the drain plug and as the water withdrew from the tub, she thought about what to do next. Well, obviously I am going to have to get rid of the bodies another way, she thought. I can’t just leave them there forever. What if I sell this house and the next owner wants to put a pool down there or something? So the question is now, who will move the bodies?
________________________________________
Chris drove down the highway with no particular destination in mind. His thoughts were still a confused jumble, his mind full of senseless noise. Suddenly the noise ceased and he saw the men in his mind, as he had all morning.
He was looking through the window again. The laughing had just stopped and two very content sighs could be heard. Perfect. He hopped over the pile and surprised the skinny man by kicking him in the groin as he flew through the window, causing him to fall to the ground in pain. He landed and heard a crunch. Chris looked down and saw that his foot had crushed the man’s kneecap. That guy wasn’t going anywhere soon. He kicked him in the groin again for good measure, then shot the big man right through the neck, killing him instantly. The third man had started at the sound of gunfire and was struggling to extricate himself from India’s butt when Chris’ final shot hit him right above his Roman nose. Chris dropped the gun.
But then, the flashback took a severe departure from the event. The two men stood up, and circled Chris, jeering and taunting. “You killed us,” the big man whispered. “You took the lives of two men, who were sons and brothers and fathers.”
“You stole our lives from us,” sibilated the second. “We had done you no harm and yet you felt it necessary to kill us in order to save that bitch.”
“She doesn’t even like you. She would have preferred that you stay out of it. She was having loads of fun with us.”
Chris covered his ears to shut their insults out, but he could still hear them. He turned to run, but he was no longer in India’s house. He was in a dark room with no walls that he could see. The two men were giants, laughing and pointing down at him, threatening to crush him.
“You were wrong to kill us! Murder is never right!” they cried in unison, and as if this was a cue, a chorus of voices began to shout, “Murder is never right! Murder is never right!”
“Shut UP!” Chris roared, and he reached for the gun, but it wasn’t there. He scanned the floor in desperation, looking for the weapon that would end this, but he couldn’t find it. The two giants laughed, and Chris glared at them, but they ignored him. He was like a petty insect; how could he harm them? His glaring only made them laugh harder.
Chris ran away from them, but they never seemed to get any further away, they just stayed in the same spot, as if he was on a treadmill. He threw himself to the floor, crying out, unable to rid himself of these two monsters, unable to evict the chorus from his thoughts.
© 2009, Malcolm Clarke
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