Husk (18 page)

He forced himself to relax his breathing and straightened up.

He’d go. There was no choice now. He needed to act before the killer took more lives and gathered strength.

The therapist believed his fear stemmed from something in the past.

In truth, it came from the expectation of what horrors lay ahead.

And the idea of facing them alone.

CHAPTER 23

Blood.

In the sunlight it shone deep red. Now it appeared black.

The Killer waded into the dark pool and lowered the
Wurakk
stone into position at its center, maneuvering the chiseled eight-foot column of granite with the effort of repositioning a hollow bone.

The petroglyph settled into place, sinking a good four inches in the pool’s sticky liquid. Enamored by the sight, the Killer caressed the ancient writing on its surface, carved symbols that had taken almost two days to recreate.

Not far away, hidden within the old cemetery, Kane’s corpse waited.

The Killer grinned.

The preparations were finished. Only one thing left to do.

Get Mallory.

* * *

Tim sat in silence on the bench next to Mallory while she talked with her friends. He held the plate of cold funnel cake in one hand and his drink in the other, trying not to notice how Mallory ogled the boy named Derrick.

The guy looked seventeen, maybe older, dressed in a plain white tank top and faded over-sized pants. He’d dyed his hair bright yellow and wore it stylishly spiked, whereas the skin on his face looked smoother than ice. When Mallory finally made a round of introductions, she’d spoken his name with a certain melody in her voice Tim hadn’t heard before.

She was commenting on the solid gold earring in Derrick’s left ear when one of the other girls, Elsa, spoke up. “What happened to the one with the massive diamond in it?”

“
That was for Wendy,” he said. He looked to Mallory with a downhearted sulk on his face. “Wendy was my girlfriend. Since we broke up, I just couldn’t keep wearing it, you know? A diamond is like the perfect gem, unbreakable, and it was meant to represent our perfect love. But when I found out she was cheating on me, it totally shattered my heart.”

Tim looked away.
Good grief!

“
That’s tough,” Mallory said.

“
Poor guy,” Elsa cooed, stroking his arm in a gesture of sympathy.

Derrick kept his eyes locked on Mallory, who remained enthralled by his gaze.

Eager for a distraction, Tim got up and used the excuse of throwing out the uneaten food as way to get away the group for a moment. He spotted The Wild Thing in the distance, the park’s largest roller coaster, and had the immediate compulsion to go and throw himself on the tracks instead of spending another second listening to Derrick.

He knew what was happening.

And he knew there was no way to stop it. Whatever spark ignited between them under the roller coaster had obviously burnt out, leaving him cold.

When he returned to the group, Mallory and her friends decided to move on. They strolled along the thoroughfare, talking, laughing, passing up rides he and Mallory had planned to hit before leaving.

Mallory didn’t even notice.

She stuck close to Becky now rather than Tim. The two girls huddled together as they walked, whispering back and forth, giggling secretively at times, howling with laughter at others.

Ironically, when they did choose an attraction, they chose Enterprise.

This time, Tim rode alone.  Mallory went with Derrick.

After the large spinning disk—now gleaming in yellow, red, and white neon—came to a halt, he let himself out of his solitary gondola and made his way to the exit. There, Mallory and her friends regrouped, laughing and hooting about something he hadn’t heard enough of to comprehend. He lagged behind while they made their way to the next ride, once again taking grim notice of how Mallory always hovered near Derrick, swaying in his presence like a fragile flower in submission to a blustery wind.

After Enterprise, Mallory began whispering with Derrick instead of Becky, pairing with him more and more until they became inseparable. Tim tried to regain her interest, joking like he had before, but either his wisecracks weren’t funny enough, or no one understood the humor. He even tried joining in on her friend’s talks, but all their conversations centered on events at a high school he’d never attended, or past get-togethers with people he’d never known at places he’d never been. Eventually he gave up and just dragged along, waiting to go home.

Torture.

Not soon after Mallory and Derrick began riding together, Tim saw them come off the Tilt-a-Whirl and walk down the exit ramp with their pinky fingers interlocked, an innocent little gesture that soon evolved into handholding. After that, sitting several seats behind them on The Looping Starship, his mood had taken an even sharper plunge when they leaned together and kissed.

Tim recalled the silken feel of her lips when they kissed under The High Roller
,
along with the sudden rush of excitement, shock, and joy that flooded through his mind. He wanted to hang onto that moment and savor it forever, but seeing her heap the same affection on Derrick twisted the memory into a painful knot of thorns.

Now he made sure to keep his distance, staying to the back of the group while Mallory and Derrick walked side by side ahead of him. They chatted with their friends, oblivious of his absence, and it took all of his might not to stare at how Derrick kept his arm wrapped snug around Mallory’s waist.

“
So, what now?” one of the nameless friends of Derrick said. “This is getting old.”

“
I’m having a great time,” Lisa countered.

“
Yeah, me too, you party-pooper,” Becky said.

“
No shit,” added Elsa. “Who only comes here for a few hours? We’ve got all night.”

The guy made a sarcastic mimic of their remarks, then turned to Derrick for support. “Come on, dude, we should be on the road by now.”

Lisa fixed the older boys with a suspicious gaze. “What’s so secret?”

Derrick grinned, eyeing the first kid. “There’s a rave out in Norwood tonight. Troy works at SuperValue, and he managed to snatch a couple of dented-up cases of beer from storage. I guess he figures forty-eight cans should be enough to get him laid, but I doubt it.”

Adam cheered. “All right! Where’s the party?”

“
Eat me,” Troy replied. “Who invited you?”

“
You did,” Elsa said. “Or would you like your boss to find out where the beer went?”

Troy’s jaw clenched.

Derrick laughed. “Cruel, Elsie. I like it.” Looking to Mallory, he asked, “What do you say, want to go with us? There’s supposed to be some kick-ass bands.”

Tim glanced to Mallory and smiled inwardly at the doubtful look on her face.

“
I don’t really drink that much,” she told him.

“
Me, either,” Becky added, “but we could still hang out.”

Derrick jostled Mallory gently with the arm around her waist. “Nobody said you have to drink anything. Let them get smashed. We can just talk, get to know each other better.”

To Tim’s dismay, she seemed pleased with the idea.

“
Tim and I are supposed to get picked up at eleven-thirty, so I’ll have to call my dad first.”

“
That’s cool.”

“
What do you think, Tim?” Mallory asked.

Without enough courage to voice his desire to leave them all and go home, he shrugged noncommittally, and they took it as a yes.

Derrick produced an iPhone with the smooth gesture of a stage magician and handed it to Mallory.

“
Thanks. I’ll be right back.”

Mallory separated herself from the crowd to make the call, and the other girls slipped away, as well, heading for the bathrooms along with Becky’s boyfriend. Tim suddenly found himself standing with Derrick and his two buddies. He quickly distanced himself by going to the opposite side of a small round building shaped like the top of an old-fashion water tower. The stout wood structure housed a series of drinking fountains positioned around the outer wall, their spigots and drain basins set inside little nooks.

Leaning inside one of the recesses, Tim sipped at the cold water. The niche provided a small degree of sound dampening from the crowds, allowing him to reflect on his thoughts. He tried not to think about how the evening had started off so well, about how good it felt when Mallory walked alongside him, laughing and joking and nudging against him while they moved from ride to ride. Watching her drool over Derrick hurt, and in more ways than one. He couldn’t compete with Derrick in the categories of fashion, wealth, or physical appearance, and that left him with only his personality to hold Mallory’s interest.

Tim finished his drink and moved so another person could take a turn. He’d just rounded the water station to see if Mallory had returned when one of Derrick’s friends said, “Yeah, my roommate won’t be there tonight, but what am I supposed do, sit around and listen to you have all the fun? She’s your date; find your own place to fuck her.”

“
Thanks a heap, Dickless.”

“
You really think she’ll put out?” the other one asked.

“
You’ve seen how she’s on me tonight,” Derrick boasted. “Not like Wendy. I can’t even get in her shirt without hearing about what her old man might do if he ever found out. Christ, he probably checks her twat after each date to make sure she’s not popped.”

They all laughed.

“
So you’re definitely through with her?” one of them asked.

Derrick faced the first kid again. “Are you retarded? Wendy’s a quest now. I’m not letting someone else have a chance at her. That would be like winning the lottery and giving it all to charity. Who gives a shit about her drill sergeant dad? If he thinks he can break us up by simply grounding her for the summer, he’s in for a hell of a surprise. Shit, she calls me now more than ever. By this time next week, I’ll be the twat-checker.”

They erupted into a second, louder round of laughter.

Tim leaned against the water station’s wood paneling while the three teens went on to debate whether or not Mallory was still a virgin, not surprised in the least at what he’d heard.

The thought of Derrick and Mallory together set off a lightning bolt of emotion in Tim’s heart and sent a flash of anger through his soul. Part of him wanted to march over to the group and slug Derrick in the face.

And to Tim’s own surprise, he started walking forward.

He got about halfway to the trio before he chickened out and veered to the left, pretending to be occupied with the choices of fruit drinks at an ice-filled refreshment stand.

What could he do? Starting a fight wouldn’t solve anything. In fact, it would probably just land him in the hospital. Derrick had the slim body of a weasel, but his muscles stood out. And with two of his friends present, Tim faced a major disadvantage.

At the very least, he thought he should confront the creep about what he’d heard, or maybe get Mallory aside once she came back and tell her the truth about her Prince Charming.

But he already knew both tactics would fail. First of all, he possessed half the menace of a pissed-off chihuahua. Threatening Derrick would no doubt end with the hospital scenario. On the other hand, if he told Mallory about Derrick’s two-timing secret, she’d either play a jealousy card or go to Derrick for confirmation. And even if she did confront him, the asshole would just tell her a reworded version of the truth and woo her into believing Tim had misinterpreted what he’d said.

The concession attendant asked Tim if he wanted anything, and he politely declined.

Leaving the vendor, he slipped around the drinking hut and quietly waited out of sight, not rejoining the others until Mallory returned.

“
Everything cool?” Derrick asked when she came back.

“
Yeah, I told my dad you guys could give us a ride home, so he and Rebecca are going to catch a late movie. I still need to be back by midnight to relieve the babysitter, though.”

“
No prob,” Derrick told her, once more sliding his hand over the curve of her hip.

Tim saw it and looked away.

They went on a few more rides, working their way toward the park’s exit. Tim remained silently removed from the crowd the entire way. At one point, Mallory asked him if everything was okay, why he was being so detached, but rather than speak up, he waved her concerns away, blaming his behavior on exhaustion.

When they reached the parking lot, the group split up. Becky, Adam, and Chris trailed after Troy, while Mallory, Lisa, and Elsa stayed beside Derrick.

Tim glanced over his shoulder at the park and wondered if he should just slip out of sight while the others weren’t looking. He could go back to the pay phones and call one of his parents, get the hell out of here and let Mallory sort out the details later, if she ever noticed he’d left.

“
Hey, Tim!”

He looked up and saw Mallory gesturing to him while the others kept walking.