This is just something silly I wrote for a contest...I really like it...It's the best piece I've written in a while. -shrug- This place needs a story, even if it is silly, right? Eh.
The Crazed Attacker
By Cho (xxxVampsxxx)
xoxoxoxoxoxo
Have you ever felt as if someone was watching you?
I look over my shoulder for what has to be the millionth time. A cold spot stays right at the back of my head. Someone is watching me. Another glance behind. Nothing. Damn. They are either really fast or…Not there. I bite my bottom lip, already turning blue in the cruel cold, and wrap my coat a little closer to my body, as if that would help at all. Why did they even invent coats? All they do is give you the allusion of actually giving you warmth. I wish, for a fleeting moment, that I had a big strong boyfriend ready to walk, cuddle, and keep me warm all at the same time. Then I shake my head and sigh. No point in wishing for something I know I don’t really want. A relationship is not worth warmth. I’ve learned that lesson. Maybe it will sound more convincing when I finally get home and in my pajamas with the book I’m reading and some hot chocolate.
They’re doing it again.
My head spins around and I finally catch just a flash of something dark against the snowy landscape around me. I stop walking and shiver for a moment, trying to remember all the silly self defense things you tend to learn in your life. If it’s a boy, kick them in the crotch. If it’s a girl, punch them in the chest. Punch someone in the nose, because everyone runs if they see blood and the nose breaks easily. Slam up your palm and shove their nose into their brain and run like hell. Or just run like hell in the first place. I curse myself for a moment. Why didn’t I bring my purse? I know I have that little can of pepper spray somewhere in there, the only thing left from the little safety packs every girl got when we all had to go to that stupid rape class. Was this a rapist?! My eyes widen, and I stare as hard as I can at the surrounding darkness of the evening, contrasting terribly with the blinding snow seeming to catch every last little speck of light. Nothing. Not even a fluttering leaf or snowflake. Frick. I feel myself starting to breathe faster and my heartbeat is in my ears, pulsing loudly. The world keeps spinning in front of my eyes, nothing staying where it is suppose to. I’m going to faint. How lame is that?
There!
I spin my whole body around this time, doing a perfect one eighty, hearing the soft crunch crunch of footsteps in the ice on the sidewalk. Where is everyone? Didn’t someone else have to be on the street at this time of day? It isn’t even night yet! I can’t be the only person walking home! I knew I should have taken the bus. Sure, it smells really bad, but at least if a rapist or a killer or some other horrible person is on there, twenty other people can help me! And besides, I think the driver is a lesbian and I’m kind of cute. Maybe she would’ve felt sorry for me and helped me? I think I might send lesbian vibes…No… She can’t think I’m gay. She saw me kissing Mark that one day that he walked me to the bus stop. He was so sweet…But then he went and walked Jennifer to her house. What a lying b*****d. The best green eyes though…Maybe he really was just carrying her books for her. I should call him when I get home. See what he’s doing. Not that I’m going to go out with him again. No way. Besides, I think him and Jennifer might have gotten together by now. They are a kind of cute couple. Though he and I were way cuter.
The footsteps get closer.
Oh no! I forgot! My life is in danger here and I’m thinking about a cheating boyfriend! I really suck at these survival skills! Where is my flight or fight instinct? Why don’t I have adrenaline?! I should be able to run at super fast speed or lift a car and hurl at my attackers, right? Isn’t that what happens when a human or any animal is trapped? They become like invincible? No…That can’t be true. Wouldn’t less people be dead if it was true? And who would attack anyone if they knew someone could hurl a freaking car at them? I sure wouldn’t. It would be an incredibly stupid thing to do. Maybe my attacker is suicidal? Couldn’t they find an easier way to kill themselves?! Can’t they see I’m busy? It’s very, very cold out here and only getting colder. I can’t feel my fingers. Great. Even If I did have a weapon, I would probably drop it before doing any sort of damage. I’m completely useless. I should just run. I’ve always been a coward anyway; it’s always a good thing to be consistent, right? Oh my…What if it is because I do the same thing every day? Maybe that’s how whoever is following me figured out when to attack me! I suck! I suck! I’m going to die! Stupid lack of adrenaline!
A whisper of expelled breath is heard from behind.
I jump and wildly search for any kind of weapon. Anything! My eyes spot a bit of gleaming silver poking out of the snow. Perfect! Thanks all the gods above and below for suburban houses! They trust everyone so well that they don’t bother to put away their snow shovels! Or maybe someone’s kid just forgot to put it away. Kids are so lazy now a days. It makes me think some kids should get hit. But then I feel bad. Who wants to hit kids? It sounds bad. Except if you have abusive parents. That must really suck. They probably hit their kids for no reason at all. My dad would never hit me. Not in a million years. Neither would my mom. But really, how many moms hit their kids? Don’t their dads do it more? Maybe I’m being sexist. Moms can be really mean, too. I should call my mom. I haven’t talked to her in forever, since I moved out and got my own place and all. I know she wants me to come for Christmas dinner. I wonder if Damien will be there. He thinks he’s so damn great because he’s got a loving wife and an adorable kid now. He’s still Dami to me. Though, he was always great. Football player, straight A student, new girlfriend every week. Smug b*****d. He’s lucky I’m such a great little sister. Anyone else would’ve hated him forever. I just hate him a little. And only because he deserves it…
“Vi-“
I gasp as I hear the beginning of my name. He knows my name! I grab the shovel from the snow, just barely able to lift it over my head, turn, and bring it down with a short lived scream on my stalker’s head. I repeat this again and again, screaming ‘Die’ with every downward swing. The shovel clangs with a loud bang each time until a soft, wet crack is heard. Oh no…I look down and the street lights come on as soon as my eyes reach the ground, revealing my attacker.
“Mark?!”
Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Not good! Not good! I just killed my ex-boyfriend! He’s not breathing! Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Not good at all! His head is all bloody! The shovel is bloody! Ew! There’s blood on my clothes! It better not be in my hair! I just got the stupid pink streaks out. No way is Nicole ever talking me into anything like that again. Bleach blonde and hot pink only look good for parties, not every single day. Oh no. His perfect golden hair…It’s totally ruined. I gulp. This isn’t good. I wrap my arms around myself, the shovel dropping to the ground with a snow muffled clatter. Mark has crumpled to the ground, a blood stained heap in American Eagle clothes and a quarterback jacket. This isn’t right! This has to be a dream! I’m not a killer! I’ve never killed a fly! Not even a fly! Not once in my whole entire life! Why did he sneak up on me? Why couldn’t he just be normal? He couldn’t just call out my name? No! He had to be all creepy and sneak up like a creepy stalker! This is all his fault! I give his stupid creepy dead body a good kick.
It doesn’t make me feel better at all.
What am I going to do? What am I going to do!? What can I do? Do I turn myself in? That’s the right thing to do, right? Confess everything to the police? It was only self defense! I didn’t know it was Mark! That stupid idiot! I thought it was a rapist! This is what society teaches me to do! I can’t help but follow the instincts they’ve trained me to follow! Oh no. He was my ex-boyfriend! He cheated on me with another girl! And now he’s dead in the middle of the street, at night, a cold night, with a bloody shovel next to him, with my finger prints all over it, and his blood all over me! This doesn’t look good. Not at all. Not even a little. No one is going to believe I did this by mistake! I feel my eyes start to water and I shake uncontrollably. What do I do? Who do I call? Why is Mark such a stupid b*****d? I can’t go to jail! I always drop the soap! Wait…That’s boy prison…How do girls rape other girls? Oh my…I don’t wanna go! I can’t go! This is my last year of high school! The University of California just accepted me! My grades and life depend on me being the perfect person! I’m the captain of the cheerleading squad! I can’t be a murderer! It will look horrible on my transcript!
I have a light bulb moment.
Lucy!
I pull out my purple cell and punch in my best friend’s number with numb, blood stained fingers. I have to hurry. I’m in the middle of the street, next to a dead body! Even I know this has to be worst place in the world to kill someone. I put the phone to my ear, listening to it dial then ring, silently begging Lucy to be not be at a party or with a boy. I really need her this time!
“Hello?”
Has her voice ever sounded more angelic?
“Lucy! Oh thank the gods! Lucy! I’m in huge trouble! It’s Mark! He’s dead! I killed him! I mean I just bashed his skull in! He’s bleeding everywhere! I mean everywhere! All over the sidewalk…And on my shoes! Ah…I really liked these shoes! They’re the ones we bought last week? At that cute little shop owned by the tiny Chinese woman with the weird orange glasses? But anyway! I need you to help me! Please! Lucy? Lucy!”
“Violet…”
At least she didn’t hang up on me. Though she doesn’t sound happy. I guess she shouldn’t. I would have to worry if she sounded excited to help me get rid of a body. But she is the one with a truck. I need her ! And she’s my best friend! Isn’t this what all those silly icons are about? ‘A good friend will bail you out of jail when you kill someone, but a best friend will help you bury the body’? Well I seriously hope she isn’t just a good friend! That would mean our friendship bracelets, saying BFF, would be a total lie! I don’t want to be both a murderer and a liar! It’s too much to handle!
“I know it sounds crazy, Lu. But he snuck up on me! And I freaked out! And beat him with a shovel!”
“You beat Mark Patterson with a shovel? Is this because of the whole Jennifer thing, Vi? ‘Cause, really. This is a little scary.”
Her voice is shaky now. I know she is trying to act all fearless and confident like she usually is. She is the best co-captain of the cheerleading squad because she is the kind of girl you don’t want to mess with. She’s perfect for this kind of stuff! The whole body dumping thing! I can’t believe I never realized until now, actually.
“No! I wouldn’t kill him because of Jennifer! He just scared me! Please help me Lucy! I can’t go to police and I don’t have a car and I don’t know where I could drag him to without being seen! Please! I promise I’ll buy you that really cute purse you wanted for Christmas is you do!”
I’m begging now. That purse was seriously expensive. Like way more than any purse should ever be. But I’ll buy her the whole store if she actually helps me with this one! I never thought, not once in my whole entire life, that I would end up killing someone and needing my best friend to come and help me get rid of it. It was crazy. And I am freezing to death. I hope she agrees and hurries up!
“Fine. But only if you get the matching boots, too.”
The matching boots?! Even a dead body isn’t worth that much! I’m not made out of plastic! Frick! I glare down at Mark’s stupid dead body, my teeth chattering quietly. Freaking b*****d. I wonder if he has any money. No way am I touching him to check though. Ew. I try to add up how much I’m going to spend because of my stupid ex-boyfriend but quickly give up and decide it has to be worth it.
“Okay! Okay! Just be quick! I’m about two blocks from my house. It’s freaking freezing out here! I’m turning into a killer popsicle!”
It shouldn’t be this easy to joke about killing someone. But he deserved it. Well…He hadn’t deserved before he snuck up on me…But who creeps around people when it is freezing and almost dark and they obviously just want to go home? Not sane people! Not people who don’t want to get killed by shovels! Gods…I do not want to be the one to tell his parents. They are going to pissed! They have really worked hard on Mark. Tons of money was put into his education and basic needs and growing up. And all of it was wasted because he decided it would be a good idea to sneak up on a girl just scared enough to swing a shovel the minute she thinks someone is going to attack her!
“I’ll be there in a minute, Vi. You so owe me.”
The dial tone makes me feel lonely. I wish she had continued to talk to me while she got ready and started to drive. She has never liked talking on the phone though. Still! I just killed someone! She could at least talk to me for five more minutes! I need some comforting! Coco, a blanket, a fire, and some crappy cartoons with my best friend! Maybe pizza if we get hungry…Or maybe something from that new Chinese restaurant. I heard it was really good. Though I’ve never liked Chinese. Too much soy sauce and not enough French fries, though the fortune cookies are really good. I wish I had a fortune cookie right now. Maybe it would tell me how my future is looking right now.
Where is Lucy?
I stand shivering and shaking next to my recent kill, huddled into myself for warmth. I can feel my whole body turning numb and frozen and Mister I Like To Sneak Up On My Ex-Girlfriend And Make Her Bash My Head In is no help at all to my heat problem. I could be home by now. I could be home right now, taking a hot shower and then getting into my bed, under my warm comfy covers. I could be dreaming of college or thinking of the next Pep Rally, though it is almost the end of the season. Go Muskrats! Undefeated so far! We rock. Though…I glance at Mark’s bloody body. With our star quarterback out of the game, best player since my brother was in school actually; our winning streak might be ruined. Great! I killed our school’s chances of winning the big game, too! Stupid Mark! Stupid me! It is true what they say about blondes…He’s stupid enough to sneak up on me and I’m stupid enough to kill him. I might just go emo. Ew. Never mind. Black looks awful on me.
Lucy’s finally here!
I smile and wave cheerfully at the bright, very welcomed, headlights. But did her truck get smaller? I could’ve sworn it was a lot bigger then that before. Oh no. She didn’t do this to me. She can’t be that cruel. Why am I having such bad luck?! What did I do to deserve all of this? I give to charity! I do car washes for the school, even though guys are always perving on us! I have good grades! I go to church sometimes! Why? Why?!
“You brought the Barbie Slugbug!? Why the Volkswagen, Lucy? Why? Why not your dad’s truck! We’re dumping a body! Not getting a smoothie! You’re supposed to be the smart one in this relationship!”
I should really keep my voice lower. Who knows who is still awake and listening in and calling the police right now? But really! What kind of person brings a bright pink Volkswagen to a crime scene? I may be a cheerleader, but I at least know that much. Cheerleaders can be very smart, you know. About a lot of things. And it really does hurt when you just assume I’m an airhead because I have blonde hair and I’m prettier then you and I can do three back flips in a row. Lucy bringing her Slugbug to this just encourages people to continue to discriminate against us. So not even cool.
“It’s just Mark. There is no way I’m taking my dad’s truck without a good excuse just for Mark!”
Well, she does have a point. But still! This is just so wrong! I should have just run. I should have just bolted down the street as soon as I thought someone was following me! I’m so stupid! Maybe the cheerleader stereotype is true…Gosh…Today is a bad day.
“Whatever! Just…Just…Help me get him in the car!”
I’m going into hysteria here. This has to be a nightmare. In the next moment I’ll wake up screaming, then call Lucy and tell her all about it and it will be hilarious and she won’t even be mad that I called her so late. I close my eyes and use my frozen fingers to pinch at my cheek. I don’t even feel it. Does it count? Either way when I open my eyes I’m still stuck here. Frick. Lucy reaches for Mark’s feet, looking like she is about to puke. I don’t blame her at all. Maybe it is good it is freezing, otherwise he would probably smell bad. Dead bodies to smell bad, right? How long does it take for a body to start smelling anyway?
“Violet, I hate you so much right now. If I would’ve known you were going to kill Mark tonight, even though I told you to do it when he cheated on you with that dirty whore two weeks ago, I would’ve decided to buy those totally perfect pumps that were on sale at the mall yesterday. They would’ve been perfect for burying this jackass’s body.”
Lucy is so funny. I would hug her right now if I wasn’t struggling to lift Mark’s fat butt up. Gods could he be any freaking heavier? Oh…But it all muscle. Damn he’s hot. Even dead! Why did he have to be so thick headed? I wonder if Jennifer is going to cry. I mean, they had only been dating for two weeks. How attached can you get to some guy in two weeks? What if she thought he was the ‘one’? Yeah right. Mark could never be the ‘one’. Sure, he’s hot as hell, but he is way too much of a jerk underneath it all. A really, really hot jerk. I wonder what he wanted to tell me before I beat him with a shovel…I guess I’ll never know. That sucks. I wouldn’t have minded hearing some groveling and begging for forgiveness.
“1…2…Lift!”
The trunk is pulled open and Mark’s body is thrown in among old discarded shopping bags and a small spare tire. I throw the shovel on top of him and wince before slamming the trunk closed. I huff and puff; out of breath from picking up Mark’s literally dead weight. Lucy is the same. Turns out even with all that stupid exercise we always seem to be doing, no muscles can help two cheerleaders trying to lift a dead quarterback into their pink Slugbug trunk. I knew we should have tried longer on those dumbbells. Treadmills are totally useless!
“What do we do about the snow?”
I blink at Lucy’s question and look back at the sidewalk. Oh no. The whole area is sprayed with blood. Why did Mark have to bleed so freaking much?! What to do we do? If anyone sees this, they are going to guess what happened or call the police and then they will ask questions and…and…No. No. No. I’m going to jail! Mark is not going to end my life!
“I don’t know!”
I’m whining, I know. I can’t help it. I’m at my wit’s end. I can barely think of my name, much less what to do with bloody snow! It’s not like we can just use a Maxi Pad or something! Maybe we can...Maybe we can…
“How about we just bring it with us? I think I have some old smoothie cups in the back seat. We can just scoop it in those and dump it with the body.”
Maybe we can do that! Lucy is a genius! I hug her tightly, glad that the blood has dried on me, so it doesn’t get on her nice clothes too. I scramble into the back seat and find a couple dozen smoothie cups. Sheesh, Lucy really does need to know how to clean out her car better. If I wasn’t so relieved, I would scold her and lecture her on the importance of keeping a clean backseat, you never know when you need it for a hot date.
“You get it from that side and I’ll do this side.”
If my hands were freezing before, I am now sure they are going to fall off. Not even kidding. It can’t be healthy to not feel them for this long. Still, I dutifully scoop bloody snow into smoothie cups, thanking any gods that choose to listen to murderers that Lucy loves large smoothies. Soon I have four large cups filled to the very top and stuffed together on the floor in the backseat, lids and everything. So they don’t spill and mess up Lucy’s car. I have a feeling we are going to be using it a lot tonight. I might end up owing Lucy even more then a purse and a matching pair of boots. My poor, poor wallet, I’m the real victim here.
“Okay, I think we got it all.”
I look over the sidewalk again, and nod again at a job well done. No blood anywhere. Well, maybe if someone had a black light or something, but who walks around using a black light on a sidewalk? And by tomorrow everything will be gone. The wind will blow everything about and it will probably snow more tonight, judging by how freaking freezing it is out here. And then when it gets to be true daylight, everyone will walk all along this sidewalk and really mess everything up. I let out a small breath of relief. We might really be able to do this. If we can just get rid of the body, that is.
“Get in the car already! I’m freaking freezing!”
Tell me about it. I rub my hands together, hoping for friction, but receive nothing for my hard work. I quickly slid into the Slugbug and feel my whole body turn into snowy mush. Ahhh… Heat. Glorious, wonderful, amazing, loving heat! I was too busy grabbing smoothie containers before to notice just how deliciously warm and toasty it is in here! Ah! My life isn’t totally ruined after all! At least I can be warm as I dump the body of my ex-boyfriend. I deserve that much, really. I lean my head on the cold window and rest my eyes, feeling warm and sleepy. I don’t care where Lucy is driving me; I just want to stay in the car forever and ever. I forgot just how nice it was to be able to feel your whole body. I might have fallen asleep for a second because the next minute the car is jerked to a stop.
“Come on, Vi. You killed it, you help burn it.”
Burn it? I don’t get it. Where are we? Even looking out the window it is too dark to tell. Where could we be? It didn’t take too long to get here…I don’t wanna get out! I don’t want to burn anything! I don’t want anything to do with this! Can’t Lucy just do it for me? I don’t wanna do anything, actually. I just want to sit here and pout and curse my bad luck and stupid reactions to stupid ex-boyfriends. I just want to go back to sleep because I am freaking exhausted! Who knew it took so much energy to both kill and freak out about your ex-boyfriend? Can’t I just sit here and rest? I think I deserve it. Lucy can do whatever she wants with the body, burn it, drown it, bury it, make it into a pie! I don’t care! I want to go home and go to sleep!
“Violet…”
I continue to pout and refuse to move, even as I hear the warning in Lucy’s voice. Her car door slams shut and the trunk is pulled open, cold air whipping at me cruelly, since the design of Slugbug includes opening the whole back of the freaking car just to get the stupid trunk open. I shiver and curl into myself, getting sick at just the thought of both being cold and getting rid of my dead ex-boyfriend’s body. But then my door is rudely pulled open and forces me to topple into the snow, since I had decided since I was already breaking the law, I might as well not wear a seatbelt. Now I totally regret this, since my whole body has lost the warmth it got from Lucy’s car. I pout with all I have in me, but Lucy just rolls her eyes and goes back to the trunk, leaving me in the snow! I huff and think for a split second about getting into the car and locking the doors…But I quickly shake the thought out of my head and get out of the snow, brushing the awful ice off my clothes. I might be the murderer here, but Lucy is a scary b***h when she wants to be.
“What are we doing with him anyway?”
I have to ask. I mean, seriously…Are we going to just burn him up? Won’t someone notice that? I look around us and blink when I only see trees. I can’t even hear cars. Where the heck are we? I look to Lucy for guidance, but she reveals nothing to me, probably busy grabbing my dead ex-boyfriend’s leg and tugging at, as if she could get him out that way. Ew…He’s probably all frozen and stiff and stuff. Gross! I once had a gerbil, really, really cute and fluffy. But I went to camp and I like forgot to tell my mom to feed him and when I got back he was dead. I was so upset! I felt so bad that I killed him, since he was an innocent victim and yet he had probably suffered for weeks! It had been horrible. My mom helped me bury him and when I put him I the shoe box he was really cold and stiff and just…Disgusting! Nothing like my fluffy, warm, cute little Stevie that I played with for hours on end…It was very traumatizing…If Mark was anything like Stevie then this was going to get even grosser then it was already!
“Just get over here already, Vi! He’s really heavy!”
Ew! I want to whine, but hold my tongue at the exasperation and frustration in Lucy’s voice. Damn Mark. I hate him so much! I’m glad I took him off of my Myspace friends…Idiot! I walk around and stand next to Lucy, staring down at Mark’s dead body. He’s all pale and the blood has dried on him. His hair is a complete mess and I swear I think I see…Brains! Gross! So gross! Well, at least it has been proven he did have some before he died. Not they are too helpful now…Gosh this is just the grossest thing that is ever happened to me! Why me? This isn’t fair! Not fair at all! I look at Lucy and she just grabs his leg, which is poking out of the trunk at an unnatural angle…Did she do that? Or was it me again? I don’t remember hitting his legs…But I wasn’t really paying attention…I don’t think I remember a crack. Just a lot of thumps and some startled screams, which could have come from me or him, I really don’t know. But no cracks. I stare at Lucy, trying to size her up. It didn’t really matter. Mark was already dead, after all. But did she really break his leg? Was she even strong enough? How strong did you have to be to break someone’s leg? Did bones get weaker after you die? But he’s only been dead for a couple hours, judging by my now stained watch. I open my mouth to ask her herself, but she just glares and points at his arms, as she grabs his other leg. She doesn’t break that one, but I keep a close eye on her, just in case. I look at Mark’s arms, carefully avoiding his blood and brain soaked head. I turn back to Lucy, giving her the ‘Do I really have to do this?’ pout.
“You started this, Vi. I could just dump this body and you right now, drive away, and pretend this never happened and I never knew you. So shut up and be grateful.”
I sigh and nod. She’s right, course. I grab his arms, one in each hand and close my eyes as Lucy counts again and we both lift. Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross! So. Freaking. GROSS! I was right! I was horribly right! He’s like Stevie! He’s like Stevie! Gross! So gross! I cringe and whimper and want to just drop him as soon as we get him out of the trunk. But Lucy doesn’t let me! Instead, she continues to pull/carry Mark towards a big pile of sticks. I blink and finally recognize where we were. Lucy’s summer cabin! Well, not Lucy’s, her parent’s owned it, but same difference! We were just out here, last weekend. Wow, what a party that had been. Angela got so freaking drunk! And then she started singing to ‘Oops! I Did It Again’ and she knocked over a punch bowl and slipped on the ice and went head first into the salsa! That was so funny! Then she had puked, which was gross, but funny because then Kyle said now it looked like we had guacamole, too. He’s always so funny. Why didn’t I date him before? He is or well, was, Mark’s best friend, so I couldn’t really even talk to him without Mark getting all flustered. Maybe I should call him now that this whole thing has happened…
“Just toss him on top of the sticks, Vi.”
I cringe and give a little nod before I take a deep breath and help Lucy swing his body on top of the sticks with all of my strength. I almost gag as the sticks snap under him and his head rolls to stare at us. For a brief, horror filled moment I think he has come back from the dead and is glaring at me. But his eyes are totally glazed over. We should’ve closed them before we tossed him. Ew. I look at Lucy, who just grins at me and sticks her hand in her pocket. What is she doing now? And how can she want to touch anything? I sure don’t want to. I just want a really, really hot bath with tons of bubbles and hot chocolate. But first I want to just keep scrubbing at my hands. They feel so disgusting. I wish I had a little bottle of Germ-X. That stuff is seriously the best. All of the teachers have some kind of bottle of it in their rooms. I don’t blame them. Some kids are so disgusting. Though, I can’t really talk now. Still! I’m not nearly as bad as that weird guy that licks his hands constantly! Can you say gross? What a freak.
“Isn’t that your dad’s?”
I stare at the lighter Lucy is holding. It is dark red and plastic. Nothing special. You can buy them anywhere for like two bucks. But I can’t stop staring at it as she nods and flicks the little wheel, flame appearing out of no where, flickering in the cold breeze. I shiver, unsure if it is the breeze or the idea of such a little flame reducing my ex to ashes. Lucy, however, doesn’t seem affected as she bends down and lights the nearest stick with the tiny flame. She never did like Mark. I want to tell her to wait, just stop, but my throat closes. The dry sticks catch like paper and soon the fire creeps and crackles towards Mark’s body. For a small moment, I want him to spring to life. I want this to all be a horrible mistake. That I didn’t really kill Mark, that he will feel the heat of the flames and wake up, alive and just brutally beaten. But it never happens. His once beautiful green eyes stare at me, not really seeing me, as the flames lick at his clothes, and then his skin, and then he is just…Gone. I guess it is for the better, seriously. If Mark was alive after I did that to him, he would so tell everyone I tried to kill him and then everyone would think I was a gross murderer! And the police would probably get involved and my parents would totally freak out and Dami would never shut up about his ‘innocent little sis’ getting in trouble with the law.
“At least it’s warmer.”
Yes, I’m still complaining about the weather, sue me! It’s freezing and snowy! At last Mark is doing something useful for me. I sigh, happy for the warmth and huddle closer to the quickly growing bonfire. Lucy joins me, so we both are just standing really close to the fire, hands held out in the classic position for getting warmth. I never understood why people do that. Like warming up your hands will make the rest of your freezing body feel any better! It certainly doesn’t help me any, but the fire continues to grow slowly and the heat from the blaze feels nice against my skin. Lucy grins at me and runs into the cabin. I don’t understand what the hell she is doing, but refuse to move away from the fire. The cabin is so not heated and I am not moving from my much needed warmth just to see Lucy being crazy. The smoke coming from the fire smells bad and it make my nose burn. Human bodies smell bad burnt, apparently. But Lucy comes back out soon, carrying a box of Graham Crackers, a couple bars of chocolate, and a big bag of marshmallows.
“You are the greatest friend in the world!”
Not only has she helped me get rid of my ex’s dead body, but she also is making s’mores! She just rolls her eyes at my outburst and sits on the ground by the fire. I collapse next to her, exhausted by the night. She hands me a stick and a marshmallow. I smile and she reflects it as we put our marshmallows on our sticks. We let them hover over the fire, just like we used to do when we were little and her dad would take us up here and build a fire and give us sugary supplies. It is different now. We are, after all, cooking our marshmallows over my ex’s dead body now. But when we eat the sticky and warm and perfect sugar concoctions, they don’t taste any different.
“We can stay here tonight, so no one will ask about the fire. On Monday we can put a note in Mark’s locker, saying he was planning on running away. And tomorrow you can ask out Kyle, who has been sending you goo goo eyes since you broke up with this b*****d. But promise me you won’t do this again, Vi. I mean, Mark deserved it. But Kyle is seriously a nice guy. And don’t think I forgot about my purse and boots. Tomorrow we are both going to the mall and buying them. Even if they aren’t on sale yet.”
I laugh and nod in agreement, adding another marshmallow on my stick, glad that I have such a great friend. I just hope Kyle is smart enough to never sneak up on me. Or cheat on me. If he does, he better do it during summer! But I think he will be better then Mark. At least I hope. My wallet can only handle one body with the kind of payment Lucy is asking for! I yawn and go closer to the fire, ignore the burning finger that has fallen so as to be near me, and just close my eyes. It’s been a busy day. I'm about to drift to sleep when my eyes snap open.
A snap of a twinge breaking is heard in the woods behind us.
I look around and see the bloody shovel Lucy forgot to throw in the flames and quickly grab it. I stand up, ignoring Lucy's cries, and swing with all my might at the attacker.You think I would've learned by now. When I open my eyes, I see Jake, the boyfriend before Mark, bleeding and not breathing on the ground in front of me.
Not again!
xoxoxoxoxo
By Cho (xxxVampsxxx)
xoxoxoxoxoxo
Have you ever felt as if someone was watching you?
I look over my shoulder for what has to be the millionth time. A cold spot stays right at the back of my head. Someone is watching me. Another glance behind. Nothing. Damn. They are either really fast or…Not there. I bite my bottom lip, already turning blue in the cruel cold, and wrap my coat a little closer to my body, as if that would help at all. Why did they even invent coats? All they do is give you the allusion of actually giving you warmth. I wish, for a fleeting moment, that I had a big strong boyfriend ready to walk, cuddle, and keep me warm all at the same time. Then I shake my head and sigh. No point in wishing for something I know I don’t really want. A relationship is not worth warmth. I’ve learned that lesson. Maybe it will sound more convincing when I finally get home and in my pajamas with the book I’m reading and some hot chocolate.
They’re doing it again.
My head spins around and I finally catch just a flash of something dark against the snowy landscape around me. I stop walking and shiver for a moment, trying to remember all the silly self defense things you tend to learn in your life. If it’s a boy, kick them in the crotch. If it’s a girl, punch them in the chest. Punch someone in the nose, because everyone runs if they see blood and the nose breaks easily. Slam up your palm and shove their nose into their brain and run like hell. Or just run like hell in the first place. I curse myself for a moment. Why didn’t I bring my purse? I know I have that little can of pepper spray somewhere in there, the only thing left from the little safety packs every girl got when we all had to go to that stupid rape class. Was this a rapist?! My eyes widen, and I stare as hard as I can at the surrounding darkness of the evening, contrasting terribly with the blinding snow seeming to catch every last little speck of light. Nothing. Not even a fluttering leaf or snowflake. Frick. I feel myself starting to breathe faster and my heartbeat is in my ears, pulsing loudly. The world keeps spinning in front of my eyes, nothing staying where it is suppose to. I’m going to faint. How lame is that?
There!
I spin my whole body around this time, doing a perfect one eighty, hearing the soft crunch crunch of footsteps in the ice on the sidewalk. Where is everyone? Didn’t someone else have to be on the street at this time of day? It isn’t even night yet! I can’t be the only person walking home! I knew I should have taken the bus. Sure, it smells really bad, but at least if a rapist or a killer or some other horrible person is on there, twenty other people can help me! And besides, I think the driver is a lesbian and I’m kind of cute. Maybe she would’ve felt sorry for me and helped me? I think I might send lesbian vibes…No… She can’t think I’m gay. She saw me kissing Mark that one day that he walked me to the bus stop. He was so sweet…But then he went and walked Jennifer to her house. What a lying b*****d. The best green eyes though…Maybe he really was just carrying her books for her. I should call him when I get home. See what he’s doing. Not that I’m going to go out with him again. No way. Besides, I think him and Jennifer might have gotten together by now. They are a kind of cute couple. Though he and I were way cuter.
The footsteps get closer.
Oh no! I forgot! My life is in danger here and I’m thinking about a cheating boyfriend! I really suck at these survival skills! Where is my flight or fight instinct? Why don’t I have adrenaline?! I should be able to run at super fast speed or lift a car and hurl at my attackers, right? Isn’t that what happens when a human or any animal is trapped? They become like invincible? No…That can’t be true. Wouldn’t less people be dead if it was true? And who would attack anyone if they knew someone could hurl a freaking car at them? I sure wouldn’t. It would be an incredibly stupid thing to do. Maybe my attacker is suicidal? Couldn’t they find an easier way to kill themselves?! Can’t they see I’m busy? It’s very, very cold out here and only getting colder. I can’t feel my fingers. Great. Even If I did have a weapon, I would probably drop it before doing any sort of damage. I’m completely useless. I should just run. I’ve always been a coward anyway; it’s always a good thing to be consistent, right? Oh my…What if it is because I do the same thing every day? Maybe that’s how whoever is following me figured out when to attack me! I suck! I suck! I’m going to die! Stupid lack of adrenaline!
A whisper of expelled breath is heard from behind.
I jump and wildly search for any kind of weapon. Anything! My eyes spot a bit of gleaming silver poking out of the snow. Perfect! Thanks all the gods above and below for suburban houses! They trust everyone so well that they don’t bother to put away their snow shovels! Or maybe someone’s kid just forgot to put it away. Kids are so lazy now a days. It makes me think some kids should get hit. But then I feel bad. Who wants to hit kids? It sounds bad. Except if you have abusive parents. That must really suck. They probably hit their kids for no reason at all. My dad would never hit me. Not in a million years. Neither would my mom. But really, how many moms hit their kids? Don’t their dads do it more? Maybe I’m being sexist. Moms can be really mean, too. I should call my mom. I haven’t talked to her in forever, since I moved out and got my own place and all. I know she wants me to come for Christmas dinner. I wonder if Damien will be there. He thinks he’s so damn great because he’s got a loving wife and an adorable kid now. He’s still Dami to me. Though, he was always great. Football player, straight A student, new girlfriend every week. Smug b*****d. He’s lucky I’m such a great little sister. Anyone else would’ve hated him forever. I just hate him a little. And only because he deserves it…
“Vi-“
I gasp as I hear the beginning of my name. He knows my name! I grab the shovel from the snow, just barely able to lift it over my head, turn, and bring it down with a short lived scream on my stalker’s head. I repeat this again and again, screaming ‘Die’ with every downward swing. The shovel clangs with a loud bang each time until a soft, wet crack is heard. Oh no…I look down and the street lights come on as soon as my eyes reach the ground, revealing my attacker.
“Mark?!”
Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Not good! Not good! I just killed my ex-boyfriend! He’s not breathing! Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. Not good at all! His head is all bloody! The shovel is bloody! Ew! There’s blood on my clothes! It better not be in my hair! I just got the stupid pink streaks out. No way is Nicole ever talking me into anything like that again. Bleach blonde and hot pink only look good for parties, not every single day. Oh no. His perfect golden hair…It’s totally ruined. I gulp. This isn’t good. I wrap my arms around myself, the shovel dropping to the ground with a snow muffled clatter. Mark has crumpled to the ground, a blood stained heap in American Eagle clothes and a quarterback jacket. This isn’t right! This has to be a dream! I’m not a killer! I’ve never killed a fly! Not even a fly! Not once in my whole entire life! Why did he sneak up on me? Why couldn’t he just be normal? He couldn’t just call out my name? No! He had to be all creepy and sneak up like a creepy stalker! This is all his fault! I give his stupid creepy dead body a good kick.
It doesn’t make me feel better at all.
What am I going to do? What am I going to do!? What can I do? Do I turn myself in? That’s the right thing to do, right? Confess everything to the police? It was only self defense! I didn’t know it was Mark! That stupid idiot! I thought it was a rapist! This is what society teaches me to do! I can’t help but follow the instincts they’ve trained me to follow! Oh no. He was my ex-boyfriend! He cheated on me with another girl! And now he’s dead in the middle of the street, at night, a cold night, with a bloody shovel next to him, with my finger prints all over it, and his blood all over me! This doesn’t look good. Not at all. Not even a little. No one is going to believe I did this by mistake! I feel my eyes start to water and I shake uncontrollably. What do I do? Who do I call? Why is Mark such a stupid b*****d? I can’t go to jail! I always drop the soap! Wait…That’s boy prison…How do girls rape other girls? Oh my…I don’t wanna go! I can’t go! This is my last year of high school! The University of California just accepted me! My grades and life depend on me being the perfect person! I’m the captain of the cheerleading squad! I can’t be a murderer! It will look horrible on my transcript!
I have a light bulb moment.
Lucy!
I pull out my purple cell and punch in my best friend’s number with numb, blood stained fingers. I have to hurry. I’m in the middle of the street, next to a dead body! Even I know this has to be worst place in the world to kill someone. I put the phone to my ear, listening to it dial then ring, silently begging Lucy to be not be at a party or with a boy. I really need her this time!
“Hello?”
Has her voice ever sounded more angelic?
“Lucy! Oh thank the gods! Lucy! I’m in huge trouble! It’s Mark! He’s dead! I killed him! I mean I just bashed his skull in! He’s bleeding everywhere! I mean everywhere! All over the sidewalk…And on my shoes! Ah…I really liked these shoes! They’re the ones we bought last week? At that cute little shop owned by the tiny Chinese woman with the weird orange glasses? But anyway! I need you to help me! Please! Lucy? Lucy!”
“Violet…”
At least she didn’t hang up on me. Though she doesn’t sound happy. I guess she shouldn’t. I would have to worry if she sounded excited to help me get rid of a body. But she is the one with a truck. I need her ! And she’s my best friend! Isn’t this what all those silly icons are about? ‘A good friend will bail you out of jail when you kill someone, but a best friend will help you bury the body’? Well I seriously hope she isn’t just a good friend! That would mean our friendship bracelets, saying BFF, would be a total lie! I don’t want to be both a murderer and a liar! It’s too much to handle!
“I know it sounds crazy, Lu. But he snuck up on me! And I freaked out! And beat him with a shovel!”
“You beat Mark Patterson with a shovel? Is this because of the whole Jennifer thing, Vi? ‘Cause, really. This is a little scary.”
Her voice is shaky now. I know she is trying to act all fearless and confident like she usually is. She is the best co-captain of the cheerleading squad because she is the kind of girl you don’t want to mess with. She’s perfect for this kind of stuff! The whole body dumping thing! I can’t believe I never realized until now, actually.
“No! I wouldn’t kill him because of Jennifer! He just scared me! Please help me Lucy! I can’t go to police and I don’t have a car and I don’t know where I could drag him to without being seen! Please! I promise I’ll buy you that really cute purse you wanted for Christmas is you do!”
I’m begging now. That purse was seriously expensive. Like way more than any purse should ever be. But I’ll buy her the whole store if she actually helps me with this one! I never thought, not once in my whole entire life, that I would end up killing someone and needing my best friend to come and help me get rid of it. It was crazy. And I am freezing to death. I hope she agrees and hurries up!
“Fine. But only if you get the matching boots, too.”
The matching boots?! Even a dead body isn’t worth that much! I’m not made out of plastic! Frick! I glare down at Mark’s stupid dead body, my teeth chattering quietly. Freaking b*****d. I wonder if he has any money. No way am I touching him to check though. Ew. I try to add up how much I’m going to spend because of my stupid ex-boyfriend but quickly give up and decide it has to be worth it.
“Okay! Okay! Just be quick! I’m about two blocks from my house. It’s freaking freezing out here! I’m turning into a killer popsicle!”
It shouldn’t be this easy to joke about killing someone. But he deserved it. Well…He hadn’t deserved before he snuck up on me…But who creeps around people when it is freezing and almost dark and they obviously just want to go home? Not sane people! Not people who don’t want to get killed by shovels! Gods…I do not want to be the one to tell his parents. They are going to pissed! They have really worked hard on Mark. Tons of money was put into his education and basic needs and growing up. And all of it was wasted because he decided it would be a good idea to sneak up on a girl just scared enough to swing a shovel the minute she thinks someone is going to attack her!
“I’ll be there in a minute, Vi. You so owe me.”
The dial tone makes me feel lonely. I wish she had continued to talk to me while she got ready and started to drive. She has never liked talking on the phone though. Still! I just killed someone! She could at least talk to me for five more minutes! I need some comforting! Coco, a blanket, a fire, and some crappy cartoons with my best friend! Maybe pizza if we get hungry…Or maybe something from that new Chinese restaurant. I heard it was really good. Though I’ve never liked Chinese. Too much soy sauce and not enough French fries, though the fortune cookies are really good. I wish I had a fortune cookie right now. Maybe it would tell me how my future is looking right now.
Where is Lucy?
I stand shivering and shaking next to my recent kill, huddled into myself for warmth. I can feel my whole body turning numb and frozen and Mister I Like To Sneak Up On My Ex-Girlfriend And Make Her Bash My Head In is no help at all to my heat problem. I could be home by now. I could be home right now, taking a hot shower and then getting into my bed, under my warm comfy covers. I could be dreaming of college or thinking of the next Pep Rally, though it is almost the end of the season. Go Muskrats! Undefeated so far! We rock. Though…I glance at Mark’s bloody body. With our star quarterback out of the game, best player since my brother was in school actually; our winning streak might be ruined. Great! I killed our school’s chances of winning the big game, too! Stupid Mark! Stupid me! It is true what they say about blondes…He’s stupid enough to sneak up on me and I’m stupid enough to kill him. I might just go emo. Ew. Never mind. Black looks awful on me.
Lucy’s finally here!
I smile and wave cheerfully at the bright, very welcomed, headlights. But did her truck get smaller? I could’ve sworn it was a lot bigger then that before. Oh no. She didn’t do this to me. She can’t be that cruel. Why am I having such bad luck?! What did I do to deserve all of this? I give to charity! I do car washes for the school, even though guys are always perving on us! I have good grades! I go to church sometimes! Why? Why?!
“You brought the Barbie Slugbug!? Why the Volkswagen, Lucy? Why? Why not your dad’s truck! We’re dumping a body! Not getting a smoothie! You’re supposed to be the smart one in this relationship!”
I should really keep my voice lower. Who knows who is still awake and listening in and calling the police right now? But really! What kind of person brings a bright pink Volkswagen to a crime scene? I may be a cheerleader, but I at least know that much. Cheerleaders can be very smart, you know. About a lot of things. And it really does hurt when you just assume I’m an airhead because I have blonde hair and I’m prettier then you and I can do three back flips in a row. Lucy bringing her Slugbug to this just encourages people to continue to discriminate against us. So not even cool.
“It’s just Mark. There is no way I’m taking my dad’s truck without a good excuse just for Mark!”
Well, she does have a point. But still! This is just so wrong! I should have just run. I should have just bolted down the street as soon as I thought someone was following me! I’m so stupid! Maybe the cheerleader stereotype is true…Gosh…Today is a bad day.
“Whatever! Just…Just…Help me get him in the car!”
I’m going into hysteria here. This has to be a nightmare. In the next moment I’ll wake up screaming, then call Lucy and tell her all about it and it will be hilarious and she won’t even be mad that I called her so late. I close my eyes and use my frozen fingers to pinch at my cheek. I don’t even feel it. Does it count? Either way when I open my eyes I’m still stuck here. Frick. Lucy reaches for Mark’s feet, looking like she is about to puke. I don’t blame her at all. Maybe it is good it is freezing, otherwise he would probably smell bad. Dead bodies to smell bad, right? How long does it take for a body to start smelling anyway?
“Violet, I hate you so much right now. If I would’ve known you were going to kill Mark tonight, even though I told you to do it when he cheated on you with that dirty whore two weeks ago, I would’ve decided to buy those totally perfect pumps that were on sale at the mall yesterday. They would’ve been perfect for burying this jackass’s body.”
Lucy is so funny. I would hug her right now if I wasn’t struggling to lift Mark’s fat butt up. Gods could he be any freaking heavier? Oh…But it all muscle. Damn he’s hot. Even dead! Why did he have to be so thick headed? I wonder if Jennifer is going to cry. I mean, they had only been dating for two weeks. How attached can you get to some guy in two weeks? What if she thought he was the ‘one’? Yeah right. Mark could never be the ‘one’. Sure, he’s hot as hell, but he is way too much of a jerk underneath it all. A really, really hot jerk. I wonder what he wanted to tell me before I beat him with a shovel…I guess I’ll never know. That sucks. I wouldn’t have minded hearing some groveling and begging for forgiveness.
“1…2…Lift!”
The trunk is pulled open and Mark’s body is thrown in among old discarded shopping bags and a small spare tire. I throw the shovel on top of him and wince before slamming the trunk closed. I huff and puff; out of breath from picking up Mark’s literally dead weight. Lucy is the same. Turns out even with all that stupid exercise we always seem to be doing, no muscles can help two cheerleaders trying to lift a dead quarterback into their pink Slugbug trunk. I knew we should have tried longer on those dumbbells. Treadmills are totally useless!
“What do we do about the snow?”
I blink at Lucy’s question and look back at the sidewalk. Oh no. The whole area is sprayed with blood. Why did Mark have to bleed so freaking much?! What to do we do? If anyone sees this, they are going to guess what happened or call the police and then they will ask questions and…and…No. No. No. I’m going to jail! Mark is not going to end my life!
“I don’t know!”
I’m whining, I know. I can’t help it. I’m at my wit’s end. I can barely think of my name, much less what to do with bloody snow! It’s not like we can just use a Maxi Pad or something! Maybe we can...Maybe we can…
“How about we just bring it with us? I think I have some old smoothie cups in the back seat. We can just scoop it in those and dump it with the body.”
Maybe we can do that! Lucy is a genius! I hug her tightly, glad that the blood has dried on me, so it doesn’t get on her nice clothes too. I scramble into the back seat and find a couple dozen smoothie cups. Sheesh, Lucy really does need to know how to clean out her car better. If I wasn’t so relieved, I would scold her and lecture her on the importance of keeping a clean backseat, you never know when you need it for a hot date.
“You get it from that side and I’ll do this side.”
If my hands were freezing before, I am now sure they are going to fall off. Not even kidding. It can’t be healthy to not feel them for this long. Still, I dutifully scoop bloody snow into smoothie cups, thanking any gods that choose to listen to murderers that Lucy loves large smoothies. Soon I have four large cups filled to the very top and stuffed together on the floor in the backseat, lids and everything. So they don’t spill and mess up Lucy’s car. I have a feeling we are going to be using it a lot tonight. I might end up owing Lucy even more then a purse and a matching pair of boots. My poor, poor wallet, I’m the real victim here.
“Okay, I think we got it all.”
I look over the sidewalk again, and nod again at a job well done. No blood anywhere. Well, maybe if someone had a black light or something, but who walks around using a black light on a sidewalk? And by tomorrow everything will be gone. The wind will blow everything about and it will probably snow more tonight, judging by how freaking freezing it is out here. And then when it gets to be true daylight, everyone will walk all along this sidewalk and really mess everything up. I let out a small breath of relief. We might really be able to do this. If we can just get rid of the body, that is.
“Get in the car already! I’m freaking freezing!”
Tell me about it. I rub my hands together, hoping for friction, but receive nothing for my hard work. I quickly slid into the Slugbug and feel my whole body turn into snowy mush. Ahhh… Heat. Glorious, wonderful, amazing, loving heat! I was too busy grabbing smoothie containers before to notice just how deliciously warm and toasty it is in here! Ah! My life isn’t totally ruined after all! At least I can be warm as I dump the body of my ex-boyfriend. I deserve that much, really. I lean my head on the cold window and rest my eyes, feeling warm and sleepy. I don’t care where Lucy is driving me; I just want to stay in the car forever and ever. I forgot just how nice it was to be able to feel your whole body. I might have fallen asleep for a second because the next minute the car is jerked to a stop.
“Come on, Vi. You killed it, you help burn it.”
Burn it? I don’t get it. Where are we? Even looking out the window it is too dark to tell. Where could we be? It didn’t take too long to get here…I don’t wanna get out! I don’t want to burn anything! I don’t want anything to do with this! Can’t Lucy just do it for me? I don’t wanna do anything, actually. I just want to sit here and pout and curse my bad luck and stupid reactions to stupid ex-boyfriends. I just want to go back to sleep because I am freaking exhausted! Who knew it took so much energy to both kill and freak out about your ex-boyfriend? Can’t I just sit here and rest? I think I deserve it. Lucy can do whatever she wants with the body, burn it, drown it, bury it, make it into a pie! I don’t care! I want to go home and go to sleep!
“Violet…”
I continue to pout and refuse to move, even as I hear the warning in Lucy’s voice. Her car door slams shut and the trunk is pulled open, cold air whipping at me cruelly, since the design of Slugbug includes opening the whole back of the freaking car just to get the stupid trunk open. I shiver and curl into myself, getting sick at just the thought of both being cold and getting rid of my dead ex-boyfriend’s body. But then my door is rudely pulled open and forces me to topple into the snow, since I had decided since I was already breaking the law, I might as well not wear a seatbelt. Now I totally regret this, since my whole body has lost the warmth it got from Lucy’s car. I pout with all I have in me, but Lucy just rolls her eyes and goes back to the trunk, leaving me in the snow! I huff and think for a split second about getting into the car and locking the doors…But I quickly shake the thought out of my head and get out of the snow, brushing the awful ice off my clothes. I might be the murderer here, but Lucy is a scary b***h when she wants to be.
“What are we doing with him anyway?”
I have to ask. I mean, seriously…Are we going to just burn him up? Won’t someone notice that? I look around us and blink when I only see trees. I can’t even hear cars. Where the heck are we? I look to Lucy for guidance, but she reveals nothing to me, probably busy grabbing my dead ex-boyfriend’s leg and tugging at, as if she could get him out that way. Ew…He’s probably all frozen and stiff and stuff. Gross! I once had a gerbil, really, really cute and fluffy. But I went to camp and I like forgot to tell my mom to feed him and when I got back he was dead. I was so upset! I felt so bad that I killed him, since he was an innocent victim and yet he had probably suffered for weeks! It had been horrible. My mom helped me bury him and when I put him I the shoe box he was really cold and stiff and just…Disgusting! Nothing like my fluffy, warm, cute little Stevie that I played with for hours on end…It was very traumatizing…If Mark was anything like Stevie then this was going to get even grosser then it was already!
“Just get over here already, Vi! He’s really heavy!”
Ew! I want to whine, but hold my tongue at the exasperation and frustration in Lucy’s voice. Damn Mark. I hate him so much! I’m glad I took him off of my Myspace friends…Idiot! I walk around and stand next to Lucy, staring down at Mark’s dead body. He’s all pale and the blood has dried on him. His hair is a complete mess and I swear I think I see…Brains! Gross! So gross! Well, at least it has been proven he did have some before he died. Not they are too helpful now…Gosh this is just the grossest thing that is ever happened to me! Why me? This isn’t fair! Not fair at all! I look at Lucy and she just grabs his leg, which is poking out of the trunk at an unnatural angle…Did she do that? Or was it me again? I don’t remember hitting his legs…But I wasn’t really paying attention…I don’t think I remember a crack. Just a lot of thumps and some startled screams, which could have come from me or him, I really don’t know. But no cracks. I stare at Lucy, trying to size her up. It didn’t really matter. Mark was already dead, after all. But did she really break his leg? Was she even strong enough? How strong did you have to be to break someone’s leg? Did bones get weaker after you die? But he’s only been dead for a couple hours, judging by my now stained watch. I open my mouth to ask her herself, but she just glares and points at his arms, as she grabs his other leg. She doesn’t break that one, but I keep a close eye on her, just in case. I look at Mark’s arms, carefully avoiding his blood and brain soaked head. I turn back to Lucy, giving her the ‘Do I really have to do this?’ pout.
“You started this, Vi. I could just dump this body and you right now, drive away, and pretend this never happened and I never knew you. So shut up and be grateful.”
I sigh and nod. She’s right, course. I grab his arms, one in each hand and close my eyes as Lucy counts again and we both lift. Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross! Gross! So. Freaking. GROSS! I was right! I was horribly right! He’s like Stevie! He’s like Stevie! Gross! So gross! I cringe and whimper and want to just drop him as soon as we get him out of the trunk. But Lucy doesn’t let me! Instead, she continues to pull/carry Mark towards a big pile of sticks. I blink and finally recognize where we were. Lucy’s summer cabin! Well, not Lucy’s, her parent’s owned it, but same difference! We were just out here, last weekend. Wow, what a party that had been. Angela got so freaking drunk! And then she started singing to ‘Oops! I Did It Again’ and she knocked over a punch bowl and slipped on the ice and went head first into the salsa! That was so funny! Then she had puked, which was gross, but funny because then Kyle said now it looked like we had guacamole, too. He’s always so funny. Why didn’t I date him before? He is or well, was, Mark’s best friend, so I couldn’t really even talk to him without Mark getting all flustered. Maybe I should call him now that this whole thing has happened…
“Just toss him on top of the sticks, Vi.”
I cringe and give a little nod before I take a deep breath and help Lucy swing his body on top of the sticks with all of my strength. I almost gag as the sticks snap under him and his head rolls to stare at us. For a brief, horror filled moment I think he has come back from the dead and is glaring at me. But his eyes are totally glazed over. We should’ve closed them before we tossed him. Ew. I look at Lucy, who just grins at me and sticks her hand in her pocket. What is she doing now? And how can she want to touch anything? I sure don’t want to. I just want a really, really hot bath with tons of bubbles and hot chocolate. But first I want to just keep scrubbing at my hands. They feel so disgusting. I wish I had a little bottle of Germ-X. That stuff is seriously the best. All of the teachers have some kind of bottle of it in their rooms. I don’t blame them. Some kids are so disgusting. Though, I can’t really talk now. Still! I’m not nearly as bad as that weird guy that licks his hands constantly! Can you say gross? What a freak.
“Isn’t that your dad’s?”
I stare at the lighter Lucy is holding. It is dark red and plastic. Nothing special. You can buy them anywhere for like two bucks. But I can’t stop staring at it as she nods and flicks the little wheel, flame appearing out of no where, flickering in the cold breeze. I shiver, unsure if it is the breeze or the idea of such a little flame reducing my ex to ashes. Lucy, however, doesn’t seem affected as she bends down and lights the nearest stick with the tiny flame. She never did like Mark. I want to tell her to wait, just stop, but my throat closes. The dry sticks catch like paper and soon the fire creeps and crackles towards Mark’s body. For a small moment, I want him to spring to life. I want this to all be a horrible mistake. That I didn’t really kill Mark, that he will feel the heat of the flames and wake up, alive and just brutally beaten. But it never happens. His once beautiful green eyes stare at me, not really seeing me, as the flames lick at his clothes, and then his skin, and then he is just…Gone. I guess it is for the better, seriously. If Mark was alive after I did that to him, he would so tell everyone I tried to kill him and then everyone would think I was a gross murderer! And the police would probably get involved and my parents would totally freak out and Dami would never shut up about his ‘innocent little sis’ getting in trouble with the law.
“At least it’s warmer.”
Yes, I’m still complaining about the weather, sue me! It’s freezing and snowy! At last Mark is doing something useful for me. I sigh, happy for the warmth and huddle closer to the quickly growing bonfire. Lucy joins me, so we both are just standing really close to the fire, hands held out in the classic position for getting warmth. I never understood why people do that. Like warming up your hands will make the rest of your freezing body feel any better! It certainly doesn’t help me any, but the fire continues to grow slowly and the heat from the blaze feels nice against my skin. Lucy grins at me and runs into the cabin. I don’t understand what the hell she is doing, but refuse to move away from the fire. The cabin is so not heated and I am not moving from my much needed warmth just to see Lucy being crazy. The smoke coming from the fire smells bad and it make my nose burn. Human bodies smell bad burnt, apparently. But Lucy comes back out soon, carrying a box of Graham Crackers, a couple bars of chocolate, and a big bag of marshmallows.
“You are the greatest friend in the world!”
Not only has she helped me get rid of my ex’s dead body, but she also is making s’mores! She just rolls her eyes at my outburst and sits on the ground by the fire. I collapse next to her, exhausted by the night. She hands me a stick and a marshmallow. I smile and she reflects it as we put our marshmallows on our sticks. We let them hover over the fire, just like we used to do when we were little and her dad would take us up here and build a fire and give us sugary supplies. It is different now. We are, after all, cooking our marshmallows over my ex’s dead body now. But when we eat the sticky and warm and perfect sugar concoctions, they don’t taste any different.
“We can stay here tonight, so no one will ask about the fire. On Monday we can put a note in Mark’s locker, saying he was planning on running away. And tomorrow you can ask out Kyle, who has been sending you goo goo eyes since you broke up with this b*****d. But promise me you won’t do this again, Vi. I mean, Mark deserved it. But Kyle is seriously a nice guy. And don’t think I forgot about my purse and boots. Tomorrow we are both going to the mall and buying them. Even if they aren’t on sale yet.”
I laugh and nod in agreement, adding another marshmallow on my stick, glad that I have such a great friend. I just hope Kyle is smart enough to never sneak up on me. Or cheat on me. If he does, he better do it during summer! But I think he will be better then Mark. At least I hope. My wallet can only handle one body with the kind of payment Lucy is asking for! I yawn and go closer to the fire, ignore the burning finger that has fallen so as to be near me, and just close my eyes. It’s been a busy day. I'm about to drift to sleep when my eyes snap open.
A snap of a twinge breaking is heard in the woods behind us.
I look around and see the bloody shovel Lucy forgot to throw in the flames and quickly grab it. I stand up, ignoring Lucy's cries, and swing with all my might at the attacker.You think I would've learned by now. When I open my eyes, I see Jake, the boyfriend before Mark, bleeding and not breathing on the ground in front of me.
Not again!
xoxoxoxoxo
