Hillary_Flesh and Blood (17 page)

She knows,
Hillary heard the voice say.

“
Who? Who did I kill?
”
she yelled.

“
I...I don
’
t know....
”
Caleigh cried even harder.

“
Maybe I
’
ll show you,
”
Hillary said tersely.

A smile formed on her face as she took a step toward her trembling, hysterical sister. Caleigh shook her head wildly as she slowly inched back.

“
Yes,
”
Hillary said playfully,
“
I think you should see him...say goodbye to him.
”

Caleigh was nearly hyperventilating. Her legs felt like putty holding up a monumentally large boulder. She knew she could not outrun Hillary. She knew that H
illary would show her the body
and that there was nothing she could do about it. She knew
that
Hillary had snapped, had gone crazy. But would she kill her own sister? Overwhelmed by anxiety, she fell to her knees. Her head continued shaking. She could barely focus on Hillary through her wet, puffy eyes.

“
Yes, yes Caleigh...you need to say goodbye to him...
”

Say goodbye to who
m
?
Caleigh wondered nervously.

“
Are you going to stay put or try to run away?
”
Hillary asked sternly.

Caleigh felt
nauseous
. She stopped shaking her head and stared vacantly at Hillary.

“
Don
’
t even think of running...or I
’
ll kill you next,
”
Hillary threatened without thinking. Even as she spoke the words she was overcome with doubt. She couldn
’
t kill her sister...no way. She chased away the unpleasant thought and ran past Caleigh toward the closet, looking back when she got there to make sure that
Caleigh
stayed put. She couldn
’
t remember which bag she placed her father
’
s head in. She began digging through the bag Caleigh had torn open. Her arms were deep within the bag, blood soaking through the sleeves of her jacket. She could feel flesh and bones, but no head.

Hillary glanced back to make sure that Caleigh was still cooperating. She was still on her knees in the same place where Hillary had
left her, her head slumped down. She was
whimpering quietly. Hillary turned to face the garbage bag to her left and tore it open quickly. New rancid odors wafted up her nostrils causing her to wince and gag. Still, she buried her hands within the opening and searched for her father
’
s head. Finding it relatively quickly, she smiled and pulled it out of the bag with both hands.
It was wet and heavy.

Hillary rotated it carefully within her hands so that he faced her. His eye lids were half closed and his eyes nearly fully rolled up within them. His skin had stiffened and turned a sickly grey color, aside from the streaks and smears of blood that covered it. His once dark blonde hair was now matted with blood and looked mostly burgundy. Dark black blood was pooled and thickened at the base of his neck where Hillary had cut and sawed through the vertebrae in his spinal column.

Even though the heavy head within her hands scarcely resembled her father, Hillary stared at it loathingly. She fought the urge to launch it across the room. Instead, she carried it slowly to her sister. Caleigh sobbed harder as she heard Hillary approaching. Her head was still down and her eyes were tightly shut.

“
Look who
’
s here,
”
Hillary said bitterly, walking around Caleigh and kneeling down in front of her. She positioned the head to face her weeping sister.

“
Open your eyes, Caleigh,
”
Hillary demanded.

Caleigh refused. She kept her eyes closed and her head lowered.

“
You have to say goodbye to him,
”
Hillary explained,
“
It’s
the last time you
’
ll see him.
”

Who? Who is it?
Caleigh wondered as she remained as still as her quivering body permitted.

“
Don
’
t make me force you, Caleigh, open you
r
eyes and look at him!
”
Hillary shouted, growing angry.

Caleigh kept her head lowered but began shaking it again. She didn
’
t want to see who it was. She didn
’
t want to see a dead body. Litt
le did she know that it was
a
severed
head within Hillary
’
s hands…h
er
father
’
s
head.

“
Last chance...if you don
’
t listen to me, I
’
ll have to kill you too.
”

Caleigh
’
s eyes flew open as a chill ran down her spine. Her head was still lowered but she slowly lifted it to face Hillary. When she saw the dead head within Hillary
’
s hand, she screamed out loud. She hadn
’
t yet realized who it was. The grey-tinged face was bruised and bloated. In shock, Caleigh stared at it for some time.

Within mere seconds, Hillary could see the realization on Caleigh
’
s horrified, contorted face. Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open. She was trying to say something, struggling to get the words out of her mouth, but Hillary could only hear a raspy crackling sound.

“
You know who it is, don
’
t you?
”
she asked blatantly.

Caleigh
’
s head nodded slowly, her trembling lips desperately trying to form the words. Finally, finding her voice, she yelled,
“
Daaaaddddyyyy....
”

“
Yep, it
’s Dad. H
e
’
s dead.
”

Caleigh screamed even louder as her body shook violently. Hillary watched as her eyes rolled up and her body crumpled to the floor.

What do I do now?
Hillary wondered, staring at her sister
’
s unconscious body.

Get some rope,
the voice advised,
tie her up or she
’
ll call the cops....

“
But
—”

Tie her up before she wakes up...you have to get rid of her too....

~6~

The voice of reason had spoken and Hillary had to obey its command. She owed it her life. It had given her the courage to get rid of her abusive father once and for all. It was her friend, her ally. When everyone else had turned against her, even her own mother, the voice of reason was there for her. She had no reason to doubt it, to defy it, even though most of the things it urged her t
o do
seemed so extreme and repulsive.

She didn
’t hesi
tate when it told her to clip off her father
’
s disgusting penis. He deserved it and Hillary was happy to comply. Yet Hillary was disinclined to hurt her sister. Sure,
Caleigh
irritated her...a lot. But she hadn
’
t done anything to deserve death.

Hillary couldn
’
t bring herself to obey the voice at first. She questioned its judgment.

“
She didn
’
t do anything,
”
Hillary argued out loud.

She knows what you did...she
’
ll tell....

“
No, she
’
ll keep quiet.
”

You
’
ll go to jail....

“
I
’
ll explain what happened, I
’
ll tell her everything. She
’
ll understand.
”

Like your mother understood?

“
I think she suspects...I think she....
”

She won
’
t listen...no one will...she
’
ll turn against you...you saw how she acted....

The voice was right and Hillary knew it. No one would side with her and protect her. Her sister would offer no more sympathy or compassion than her mother did. She was entirely alone. Except for the voice, her savior. Hillary would have to dutifully obey its every directive no matter
how
hard it was.

Without another moment
’
s hesitation, Hillary had left her room in search of some rope. She returned in record time to find that Caleigh was just starting to stir. She quickly went to work tying her hands together, then her feet. Caleigh was alert by the time she was done.

“
Hillary...
”
she begged tearfully,
“
please let me go...please don
’
t hurt me.
”

Caleigh
’
s mournful pleas tugged at the last remaining shreds of humanity left within Hillary
’
s conscience. But as quickly as she felt the pangs of remorse, they had dissipated. At once she was full of anger, a rage that overcame her so violently she made a low, deep throaty sound, almost like the growl of a wild animal. She barely recognized it as her own. It was as if the voice had taken over and now it was controlling her body as well
as her mind. The Hillary she
once was would go to sleep, would grow weaker and die. The voice, this being with whom Hi
llary had found and befriended
would now take her place for good.

Caleigh stopped pleading and cried silently. She was more afraid than she had ever been in her life. She knew her sister was crazy, she looked insane a
nd sounded even worse. Caleigh
expected her to attack at any second.

Let
’
s have some fun....

“
Let
’
s have some fun...
”
Hillary hissed eerily.

Hillary
’
s words and the way she said them made Caleigh
’
s hair stand on end. Despite the warmth of the room, she shivered uncontrollably. She knew the end was near. Or so she thought. Or so she should have prayed. Hillary had madness in her eyes. She looked as though she were possessed. Caleigh struggled against the rope as her cries grew louder. Hillary began to laugh. It was like nothing Caleigh had ever heard from her sister, from anyone. It was a slow, low-tone taunting snicker.

“
No...please don
’
t kill me....
”
Caleigh whimpered desperately.

Hillary ignored her. Though she was facing her sister, she looked right through her.

“
HELP ME!
”
Caleigh shouted repeatedly, frantically.

Hillary looked over at her alarm clock. It was
almost four o’clock
in the afternoon. It would be
nearly three
hours before her mother arrive
d home with her little brother and t
hey lived over a mil
e from their nearest neighbor. N
o one would hear her scream. Still, she didn
’
t want to take any chances. At some point, she would have to put some tape over her mouth.

Get another knife....

Without pausing, Hillary turned and left her room. She walked swiftly to the kitchen and straight to the butcher block on the counter. All of the knives were there except one
—
the one she had used on her father and thrown into one of the bags with his body parts. She pulled out the longest one. It was a bread knife but Hillary liked its sharp serrated blade. The voice hadn
’
t spoken again, but it didn
’
t need
to. Hillary knew what she
had to do. The bread knife would work nicely.

She walked to the utility closet and grabbed the duct tape. With the tape and knife in her hand, Hillary started walking toward the living room but turned back. Remembering all of the blood from her father
’
s body and the mess that it left all over her carpet, Hillary grabbed some garbage bags and the kitchen sponge. She would do things better this time.

Carrying her supplies within her arms, Hillary trekked back to her bedroom where Caleigh was
still crying and screaming hysteri
cally. She had managed to roll her body closer to the door, but couldn
’
t get past the heap of clothing Hillary had purposefully left on the floor to hide the carpet stains. It made Hillary chuckle to see her desperation. Did she really think she had a chance of escaping?

“
Where are you going, Caleigh?
”
she asked mockingly.

Placing the items within her hands on the wide dresser closest to her, she stepped over to Caleigh and bent forward. Using both hands, she pulled Caleigh by her legs and dragged her back toward the closet. Caleigh twisted and turned in protest, trying with all her might to break free from Hillary
’
s grasp.

“
Please,
”
she sobbed piteously,
“
please just let me go.
”

Leaving Caleigh squirming on the floor, Hillary walked back toward the dresser, kicking the clothing out of her way to clear the area. She grabbed the garbage bags, shook one of them open and spread it out on the floor next to her bed. She did the same with the remaining two bags, overlapping them.

Caleigh was wriggling so spastically that she was
just
inches away from the bags on the floor by the time Hillary finished putting them down. She stepped over the bags and stood beside Caleigh
’
s wildly twitching body. She stooped down and rolled her onto the bags. Caleigh kicked her bound feet, attempting to avoid Hillary
’
s touch. She didn
’
t know whether her deranged sister had any weapons in her hand. She anticipated being stabbed a
t
any moment. Her heart pounded explosively within her chest. She was crying so hard she could barely catch her breath. Her eyes were heavy with tears and her fingers were numb from the tightened rope around her wrists.

“
Stay still!
”
Hillary barked.

Caleigh continued to struggle. Hillary stood up, took a step back then kicked Caleigh
’
s side. Caleigh yelped loudly but continued squirming. Hillary kicked her again, harder. Again Caleigh yelped but stopped moving and whimpered. She lay curled up slightly in the shape of a crescent moon, her knees marginally bent.

“
That
’
s better,
”
Hillary said firmly,
“
from now on you
’
ll listen when I speak.
”

From now on everyone will listen when I speak,
Hillary thought, and smiled. It was nice to be heard.

Caleigh could hear Hillary
’
s feet padding quietly away from her, toward the front of the room. Caleigh wanted to turn and face her sister but didn
’
t dare move. The last kick was especially painful where Hillary
’
s sneaker had forcefully connected with her lower ribs. Before
Caleigh
could hope that Hillary had decided to leave her alone, she could hear her footsteps approaching. Her heart began to race again.

Hillary walked in front of Caleigh and stooped down. She tauntingly brandished the bread knife in front of the terrified girl
’
s face. Caleigh
’
s eyes grew wide with horr
or and she made an indistinguishable
high-pitched sound
—
a mutant combination of a shriek, moan and whimper. It made Hillary laugh out loud. She could see how hard Caleigh was trembling with fear. A surge of power rushed through her and she felt more pride than she
’
d ever experienced.

Hillary moved the blade to Caleigh
’
s neck. Caleigh let out a series of sharp panting cries, sounding much like a woman in labor. She looked sadly into Hillary
’
s savage eyes as she felt the sharp blade against her soft skin threatening to end her life.

Hillary cackled loudly, clearly amused by the position she had Caleigh in.

This can
’
t be happening,
Caleigh
thought,
it
’
s just a joke, just a joke....

But she knew it was in fact all too real; Hillary
’
s eyes were fierce...they radiated pure hatred.

Caleigh closed her own eyes and awaited death, unaware that it would not come quickly...unaware that she would
soon
be begging for it, not dreading it.

Hillary stood up and walked behind her. Hearing Hillary shuffling about, Caleigh opened her eyes and wondered where her sister had gone. She twisted her shoulder slightly and tilted her head up.

“
Stop moving!
”
Hillary shouted as she stabbed the knife into the back of Caleigh
’
s neck. Through sheer luck, the knife struck just the right part of Caleigh
’
s spinal cord, between her fifth and sixth cervical vertebrae. With the precision of a surgeon, Hillary inadvertently managed to complete
l
y paralyze Caleigh
’
s legs, hands and wrists and effectively weaken her arms, rendering her sister a quadriplegic. As Caleigh shrieked in pain, her body twitched briefly before slumping uselessly to the floor.

Horrified, Caleigh wailed even louder as she realized the extent of her injuries. She was paralyzed. She was little more than a breathing paperweight. She couldn
’
t even feel the blood and cerebrospinal fluid gushing out from the deep gash in her neck.

Unaware that her sister was paralyzed, Hillary stabbed the knife deep into her sister
’
s thigh. She didn
’
t flinch, nor did she gasp or shout out in pain, even as Hillary struggled to remove the blade from her mutilated muscle. Caleigh lifted her head off the floor, shook it wildly then let it fall back to the floor. It made a loud sound each time her head hit the garbage bag spread over the carpet. She continued doing so for over a minute, whimpering heavily, while Hillary watched on in fascination. She wondered why her sister kept banging her head against the floor. The bag and carpet offered little cushioning. She had to have
a
huge headache by now. Had she gone made?

When Hillary at last grew tired of seeing Caleigh
’
s bizarre behavior, she stepped over to her head, which was back on the floor now, and lifted it up by grabbing a handful of Caleigh
’
s hair. She yanked harder at the clump of hair within her hand, hoisting Caleigh
’
s head sideways to an almost impossible angle. She pulled until it felt as if her head might pop off her neck. Caleigh cried out but made no effort to resist. Hillary released her hair and sent her sister
’
s head soaring down to the floor. The carpet provided cushioning but based on the loud thumping sound, Hillary knew Caleigh must have suffered a painful blow. Yet her sister remained still.