Headless (10 page)

CHAPTER XVII

     Jackie walks along the edge of the buildings, spitting the taste of Harold out of her mouth as she goes along. So much for her help being appreciated, when she's still treated like a dog. Typical college guy, she figured. Guess it's best just to stick with her father's coworkers, after all. She wipes her mouth once more, before reaching up, and letting her hair out of the sloppy pony tail she had put it back in.

     “This is what I get for helping someone. Even if they are cute,” she mumbles to herself, before shaking the thoughts from her head.

     She walks along the trail back towards the group. Jackie looks up to find the orange dot in the distance growing larger, as she nears her friends. The last thing she wants to be around right now is them hooting and hollering, so she stops, looking around for other options. Jackie takes out her flashlight, shining it around, and finds a small stone building set back from the main trail. She considers the bonfire once more, before walking off towards the building.

     The large wooden door sits angled on its hinges. Years of wear and tear from the weather have taken its toll, and she pushes it open slowly, peering into the darkness. Jackie sees nothing past the reach of the beam of light from her phone, as she peers into the darkness. Dust billows up with each step she takes, making the air thick in the brick building.

     Her feet tapped slightly against the wood floor as she steps through the sitting area. Broken down furniture lines the walls. A shattered fireplace sits in the corner of the room, with filthy pictures lining the ledge above it. She moves to the pictures, picking them up and dusting them off, to examine them. The first is of an old, heavyset Doctor, proudly holding a tool of the time. The next picture is of the Doctor and a lovely woman, his wife most likely. The third is a photo of several small children. All hand drawn images with great care.

     “Cute kids. But old pictures may be worth some money at the pawn shop, eh? College is expensive, and not like you need the memories anymore,” she notes as she starts opening the frames, taking the drawings out and pocketing them.

     She laughs to herself, as she folds up the photos, and puts them in her pocket. Jackie drops the frames to the floor, before moving on through the house. The figure of the Horseman moves across the nearest window, outside the building. Jackie drags her fingers along the table top as she walks through the dining room, looking at the plates sitting in various spots. Someone left in a hurry, she thought, as she wiped the dust from the edge of the closest saucer with the tip of her finger.

     Jackie turned her attention to the kitchen, entering the next room as she followed the beam of light. The drawers had all been pulled open, and many items had been removed over the years. There wasn't much left to pick from. She grabbed a couple utensils here and there, but nothing seemed very valuable. A wooden spoon. A metal fork that seemed closer to iron than silver. She tossed it over her shoulder and let it clang to the ground.

     “These mother fuckers didn't have anything,” she grumbled.

     She noticed a larger door off to the side, and decided to give it a go. Yanking hard at the handle, it's long since rusted through. Jackie extends the flashlight over her head, and hammers it against the handle several times, until the rusted hunk of metal thuds to the ground. She grabs the door, and it creaks open, as she peers down into the darkness.

     “If I were diamonds, and lost old people treasure, where would I be? Probably in the creepy basement, Jackie.”

     She begins descending the old carved steps into the dark room. Her flashlight gives her little idea of what's ahead of her. A large spider-web catches her in the face, and she freaks, flailing her arms and spitting a mouth full of web out. She runs her fingers through her hair several times, and brushes herself off, making sure no little friends are now hitching a ride on her. She stood there on the stairs, pulling bits of web from her clothes and hair for several moments, before grumbling to herself, and carrying on.

     “Fuckin' spiders. I hate spiders.”

     As she reached the bottom of the stairs, the beam of light found an interesting selection of items. Multiple cabinets, and rudimentary lab equipment lined the walls, while a massive surgical table sat in the middle of the room. She makes her way to the table first, looking it over. Several knives, and an old saw hang from the edge of it. She notes a stand next to it, with various jars of liquid in them. The beam of light finds body parts floating. An eye ball; a hand; a foot.

     A book sits open on the table next to them, as she noted earlier, someone had left in a hurry. As she thumbs through the book, she finds that the words have faded over time. However, some entries, and hand drawings are still very much readable.

     “Patient K. Jackson, baby stillborn. Mother died during birthing process. Attempt to resuscitate failed. Husband, P. Jackson notified.”

     She raises her eyebrows in surprise, as she continues thumbing through the pages, reading entry after entry about a wide array of both successes and failures. This was nothing new, as it came with the medical profession. But there were certain procedures that the author of this journal had taken part in that never would have been accepted in society these days.

     “Patient J. Lancaster. Still exhibiting homosexual tendencies, and desires. Lobotomy recommended as next step. Lobotomy unable to be performed. Patient committed suicide; family refuses to pick up body. – fuckin' weirdos, man.”

     She continues to thumb through the book for a bit, before closing it and pushing it away. She leans down, fascinated by the body parts in the jars. She turns the dusty bottles, shining the light into the colored liquid as the wrinkled body parts bounce about. She stares back into the eye as it looks back at her. Jackie makes a game of following its line of sight around, as it bounces in the liquid. She sees the reflection of the Horseman in the pupil, and jumps, turning around as she gasps in surprise.

     Nothing, and nobody there.

     Surely she saw something. She aims the beam from the phone around the room, finding nobody else there. As she creeps around the room, she takes a peek in each of the cabinets, finding mostly old tattered textbooks, diaries, and notepads. There are some broken glass jars and beakers, but nothing of value.

     “For being a Doctor, you sure were a broke family. No silver; no gold, or fancy silverware, the hell?” Jackie whispers.

     She continues to sort through all the various paperwork, chalking what she saw up to an angle of light from her phone off the glass that looked like someone walked by. It was the only reasonable explanation and being on her own, and away from the group, it would suffice for her.

     Jackie made her way back to the main area of the operating room, and began fondling through the drawers, and cupboards there. She came across a couple of knives that had a good shine to them, and pocketed them, as well. She turned her attention on the knives hanging from the surgical table.

     This must have been the Doctor's prized collection. Even after all these years, and through the dirt, they shined. She grinned ear to ear, as dollar signs rolled through her mind. She kneeled down next to the table, running her fingers over each of the pieces of cutlery.

     “Now this is what I'm talking about...” she pricks her finger on one of the blades, and hisses, pulling her hand away and staring at the blood seeping from her skin. “Fuck; still sharp? Impressive.”

     There's no way she's going to be able to carry all of this. She'll have to come back for it. One of the idiots at the campfire will have a bag she can bum, certainly. Taking some deserted town's fine wares is better than having to shake her ass for dollar bills at the strip club, again, right? Especially after her step-dad came in last summer. Awkward. No. She shakes that memory from her head, and stands up brushing herself off.

     Footsteps echo heavily on the wood above her. She pauses, looking up at the ceiling. Dust, and dirt fall down on her and she quietly spits it from her mouth, brushing her eyes and face off. She shakes her head as cobwebs fall on her, and raises her hands up shielding herself as she moves away from the steps. After a moment they stop, and she stands there frozen. If it were anyone from the group, they'd be making a massive amount of noise. This person was deathly quiet outside of the steps.

     “Hello?” Jackie yelled out, against her better judgement deep down telling her to keep her mouth shut.

     The footsteps began again almost instantly, heading towards the door above the stairs that lead her down to the basement. She aimed her flashlight up the stairs at the door, and waited for it to open. Nothing ever came.

     “Real funny, asshole. If I find who's up there, I'm going to beat your ass! I've got knives and shit!”

     Jackie never noticed the cellar door opening behind her that came in from outside. Nor did she ever notice the Horseman lowering himself down the short flight of stairs, and making his way across the room, hidden in the shadows. She turned around to find the cellar door open, and began to approach it carefully. Uncertain of who could move this quietly.

     “Doug? Caleb? Harold are you out there? If you're ready to apologize, I may be willing to listen!” She laughed as she inched closer, and closer to the cellar door.

     As she slowly ascended the short flight of steps, she poked her head out, looking to the sky as lightening flashed in the clouds, and thunder echoed. She scanned the area with her phone, not finding anyone or anything of interest, and she grabbed the handle on the cellar door, starting to pull it back into place.

     The Horseman grabs her from behind with such force that it yanks the door shut in her hand as well, and she screams out, her voice echoing off the brick walls. Her phone clatters to the ground, and she can't make out her attacker, but it's someone extremely big compared to her, and muscular. It has to be Dougie. She elbows backwards, hitting her attacker in one of its ribs, and she stumbles forward, as her attacker releases her.

     As the mercenary advances in the dark, her phone gives off just enough light to make out his outline, and she takes one of the knives from her pocket and shoves it deep into her attacker's abdomen. She growls out as she does so, and pulls it out, sticking it back in, and repeating this three more times, before her attacker stumbles away from her.

     “Fuck off!” She screams out in anger, as she raises her hand to stab it again, but one of the Hessian's massive hands catches her wrist as she swings, and twists her arm, dislocating her shoulder instantly.

     She stumbles as it grabs the back of her neck with the other hand and with ease lifts her, and flips her over, slamming her on the large surgical table. Jackie's breath leaves her in a rush, as her eyes go wide from the impact, and her back arches in pain. The Hessian, without hesitation, reaches for a knife hanging from the table, and stabs it into her hand, pinning her to the table. He repeats this with her other hand, and both her feet, as she screams out in pain and shock.

     Tears fill her eyes, as blood seeps out on the table from her various wounds. The Horseman stands over her, and reaches up, gripping her jaw with a heavy hand, squeezing tightly and turning her face towards itself, as if to examine her. As her eyes adjust to the darkness, through tears and pain, she finds that there is no head as the figure leans over closer towards her.

     “Someone help! Help me, please! PLEASE!” She screams out, crying and wincing.

     The Horseman takes the Doctor's prized saw from the table, and examines it momentarily, before holding it above Jackie's line of sight, letting her see the instrument of her destruction. Her eyes widen as the mercenary's hand wipes the dirt away, and the blade gleams impressively after all these years. The Horseman pushes the blade against her throat, and with a swift stroke saws into her wind pipe. Jackie tries to scream out again, but blood gushes, and air bubbles from her throat as the Horseman saws again, this time finding her spine.

     Another saw, and her head is detached. A look of shock, and horror on her face. The Horseman lifts her head up by the hair, examining it, as blood drips from the base of her neck. He sits the saw down on the table next to her body, and wanders out of the basement, through the cellar door. As the Horseman steps out, and into the night air, he notes Caleb and Tina heading away from the group. Its trusted steed trots up alongside, and the Horseman bags the head on the side of the saddle, before walking off after the two wanderers.

CHAPTER XVIII

     Caleb kicks rocks as he walks along the path, his hands planted firmly in his pockets. He stares at the ground as he walks along, still fuming from the fight just a few moments ago. Why would Dougie step in like that? It's not his business. And how did the nerd get the upper hand? Doesn't matter. Had Dougie not stepped in, he'd have thrown the fuck in the fire.

     “I don't need their bullshit, anyways.”

     He quickened his pace as he walked back towards the van. Rain had begun to sprinkle down at this point, and he wasn't about to get soaked on top of getting embarrassed like he just did. He pulled the collar up on his jacket, and continued on his way. The strange sensation that someone was following him set in, and he paused in his spot, looking over his shoulder...

     Nobody there.

     He pulls out a cigarette, and lights it, moving on. As he exhales the smoke from the cigarette, a figure moves along the edge of the tree line, closing distance quickly. He turns the corner, finding the van still in its spot on the bridge. Rain starts to come down harder, and he picks up the pace even more towards the vehicle.

     “Fuckin' rain,” Caleb grumbles, before coughing from the cigarette.

     Caleb finds shelter under the bridge, and walks across the wood planks, dodging the cracks and holes until he reaches the back of the van. He leans against it, looking out at the dark woods past the entrance.
Just keep walking
, a voice whispers in his head. He ponders this a moment, and begins to walk along the side of the van.

     He makes his way to the front of the van, and examines the passenger tire sitting snugly in the hole it caved in. The young man squats down next to the tire, and traces along its edge until he reaches the wood. He leans over the hole, and peeks down past the tire, into the darkness below. The faint sound of rushing water echoes up to him. Caleb groans, climbing back to his feet, his weight pulling on his lower back.

     Caleb jumps as he turns and Tina is standing behind him. He drops his cigarette down the hole in the bridge, as he raises a fist, aiming at her face. She flinches, putting her hands up as he realizes who it is, angry and chest heaving with adrenaline. She opens an eye, peeking at him.

     “Please don't hit me!”

     “What the fuck are you doing? You looking to get punched in the face?” He growls, angry with her for sneaking up on him.

     “No, I just wanted to make sure you were alright. You seemed really pissed off when you walked away. I wanted to make doubly sure you didn't do anything stupid,” she retorts.

     “I would never,” he jokes, lowering his fist.

     “Never what? Do something stupid like getting into a fight and getting your ass kicked by a guy you know nothing about?”

     “Hey! I didn't get my ass kicked, alright? It was a lucky shot, and he...”

     “He would have choked you out, had your friend not stepped in to stop him,” she grins, giving him a hard time.

     “The fuck do you know about it, woman?” Caleb growls, walking off towards the back of the van, in anger.

     “I know you've got a shitty temper, even though most everyone says you're usually a decent guy,” she admits. “Caleb can be touchy sometimes, but if you ever need a friend, he's right there for ya,” she recites in a deeper voice meant to be Sam's.

     “And why do you care, exactly?” He looks at her inquisitively as he opens the back door to the van, sitting on the ledge.

     She plops down on the tailgate next to him.

     “Not sure. I just know some people get worked up, and do stupid stuff when they see red. I guess I wanted to make sure you weren't coming back to the van to get a gun or some shit,” she admits. “...you're not back here to get a gun are you?”

     “No, I left my Uzi at home.”

     “Oh, good.”

     “Just needed a second to get away. Clear my head.”

     “I'd need to clear my head after getting embarrassed by a pretty boy nerd, too,” she grins.

     “Hey...”

     “I know, I know. You didn't get your ass kicked. Lucky shot. He caught you off guard. Blah, blah, blah...” she shook her head at his silly pride.

     They sit there in silence for a couple minutes. She swings her feet back and forth, as they hang just above the wood of the bridge, while he takes out a cigarette, lighting it. She looks at him, and grins, looking away as he glances in her direction. She nods at the cigarettes in his hand.

     “You know those things will kill you, right?”

     “We all gotta die sometime.”

     “True. You mind letting me borrow one?”

     “You smoke?” He asks, looking at her surprised.

     “Not usually, but – fuck it. What else is there to do?” She points out to the edge of the bridge, as rain pours down. “Hope the others aren't getting soaked, yet.”

     He lights a cigarette and hands it to her. She takes a long drag off it, and exhales before coughing harshly. He grins at her reaction, before taking another hit of his own.

     “Nah, it's going in their direction though. Give it another ten minutes, probably.”

     Another couple of minutes pass between them in silence, as they both near the end of their cigarettes.

     “Can I ask you a question?” He inquires.

     “Sure.”

     “When did you know you were a lesbian? I mean, have you always been into girls?”

     “Pretty much. But I'm not a lesbian, either. I'm Bi. Sam is straight up lesbian. In fact, her distaste for men can be off-putting at times. But I enjoy a good dick every now and again.”

     He coughs at her honesty, and laughs. She grins, as she flicks the cigarette away. Caleb shakes his head, and sits back in the back of the van, pulling his knees up to rest his arms on them. She turns to the side in the back of the van as well, facing him from the other side.

     “So that's going to last, or? I mean...you see things going a while with her?”

     “Probably not, honestly. But she's fun to be around, at times.”

     “I just don't get it. I mean, it's cool that you're into chicks and all, but yeah. I don't know, you're just way too gorgeous for any man to not take a second look at.”

     “Well, thank you,” she grins.

     “So – what do you say? Maybe we could have some fun? I won’t tell, if you don't,” Caleb asks, shrugging as she looks at him in surprise.

     “Why is it the only way a guy can give a compliment is if he wants to fuck? Why can't you just be straight up about it from the start?”

     “I honestly don't have a good answer for that,” Caleb admits.

     She stares at him, thinking for a bit. Finally, she shrugs.

     “I don't know, you're not normally my type if I do go for a guy.”

     “Aw, come on. I'll do anything,” he adds.

     “Anything?” a devious glimmer flashes in her eye.

     “Name it.”

     She stares at him a moment, gauging his determination, before she reaches further into the van, grabbing around for something. After a moment, she sits back, and she holds up a large black strap-on sex toy, grinning ear to ear.

     “You want to fuck me; I want to fuck you. Deal?”

     Caleb stares at her in shock, before rubbing his eyes, making sure that this wasn't a drug or alcohol induced vision. She was still sitting there with the sex toy.

     “You can't be serious?” he chuckled, assuming the 'gotcha' was coming.

     “Completely,” she admitted. “Let me fuck you with this,” she started, before moving on her hands and knees towards him, and they kiss passionately, before she pulls away, “and I'll do anything you want to do. I like to be in charge once in a while, and Sam won’t let me. It's a fair trade.”

     He raises an eyebrow, still confused by the whole situation, but he watches as she draws the tip of the sex toy along her lips, gasping out softly and down her neck, and between her breasts. He flicks the cigarette out of the back of the van.

     “Fuck it. Game on,” he admits.

     She laughs, and cheers laying back on the floorboard of the van. Caleb reaches out closing the back doors as they move back inside the van. The Horseman watches from the end of the bridge, rain pouring down on it. It draws the axe from its holster, walking towards the van. She pulls her shirt up over her head, and he undoes her bra, letting it hang there.

     Caleb grabs her leg, pulling it around his back as he kisses her deeply, before moving down her body. She watches him, giggling, as he kisses down her body. She notices one of the bags next to them that the group hadn't brought, and starts rummaging through it. Tina pulls a joint out of one of the baggies, holding it up. He looks up at her, as he undoes her shorts pulling them down.

     “Got a light?”

     “Of course,” he sighs, grabbing his lighter from his pocket and handing it up to her.

     She lights the joint and takes a long drag off of it, reaching down and grabbing a handful of his hair as he moves his head back between her legs. She yanks his head up, as she exhales and coughs, before grinning. She shakes her head.

     “I get to go first,” she whispers sitting up.

     Tina takes another drag off the joint and kisses him, exhaling it into his lungs.

     “What do you want me to do?” He whispers back, grinning.

     “Hands and knees. Bitch,” she orders, yanking on his hair harder.

     She undoes his pants as she moves behind him. Caleb is busy biting open a condom wrapper, and working it on his semi-erect penis. She starts fighting to get the strap on wrapped around herself, when the back door unlatches, and the Horseman reaches in behind her, grabbing her from behind and wrenching her from the van sending her flying back on the bridge, as she screams out. She drops the strap on at the edge of the van door, as she flies.

     “What the fuck?” Caleb asks, sitting up, confused by how fast everything has happened.

     The Horseman turns on him, and its upper body tilts, as if looking back at Caleb curiously. Caleb tries to climb to his feet, but trips over his pants as they fall to his ankles, and he falls forward busting his chin on the edge of the tailgate. He groans, as the Horseman reaches down, picking up the sex toy with one hand, and he pulls Caleb's head up by the hair.

     “No! What the fuck, man!” Caleb screams out.

     As he screams out, the Horseman shoves the massive sex toy down Caleb's throat. He gags as his jaw cracks, and his eyes bulge. He scratches at his throat, as he looks up at the Horseman, who stares down at him, as he chokes.

     The Horseman brings its foot up, and steps down, snapping Caleb's neck down over the edge of the tailgate. Caleb's head springs back up though, with the rubber stuffed in his throat. The Horseman grabs the van door, and slams it shut, beheading Caleb. It reaches down and picks up Caleb's head by his hair, turning back to Tina who lays there on the wood watching all of the events in shock.

     With its first step towards her, Tina is up and running away from the Horseman. She flicks her bra off, and buttons her pants up as she runs topless for the path leading back to the group. As she reaches the edge of the bridge, and runs into the rain, a whistling sound fills the air, and she slips to a stop, falling on her ass as the Horseman's axe spins overhead, sticking into a nearby tree.

     She looks back at the mercenary as it advances on her from the bridge. His stride is long, and purposeful. She climbs to her feet, half covered in mud, as she makes her way into the woods, hoping to lose her attacker in there. The thought that he knows the land much better than she does never crossed her mind. As she hauls ass through the dark forest, branches whip her bare flesh, and leaves catch in her hair.

     Her ankle twists as she misses a step in the darkness, and she falls to her knees crying. She bites her lower lip in pain, and covers her mouth as she starts to squeal out, but stops. She backs up to the nearest tree, pulling her knees to her chest, as she reaches down, rubbing her twisted ankle. The Horseman's steps rustle loudly even over the rain, as it storms through the trees.

     She breathes in and out of her nose, her hand still over her mouth as she closes her eyes tightly, trying to listen for her attacker. His footsteps stop, as he looks around. She peers around the edge of the tree, seeing the Horseman about ten yards away. Tina jumps to her feet and begins running as best as she could, again. The Horseman turns in her direction, and storms after her.

     Tina looks back over her shoulder as the Horseman closes distance while she tries to limp away. She grunts with each step on her bad ankle she takes, and her momentum freezes as she looks forward, eyes bulging. She looks down to find a large branch stuck through her abdomen. She had impaled herself on the wood, not paying attention to where she was going. Blood trickled down her back, as she reached behind herself, finding the wood soaked in blood.

     The Horseman spins his axe as he catches up to her. Tina looks back, the color draining from her flesh already, as the Hessian steps up to her. She stares at the spot where his head once was, and the last thing she sees is the Horseman raising his axe and swiping at her neck. Her half naked form is left there propped up by the impaled branch, as the Horseman places the axe back at his waist, and picks up her head, walking off with a cranium in each palm.