Zeke (25 page)

When he reached the road, he had to
wait forty-five minutes before someone came along. A farmer in overalls pulled
over and leaned out the window, a toothpick dangling from the corner of his
mouth. After explaining his predicament, Will was relieved when the man offered
to send help. Will made the decision to wait for the tow truck at the end of
the driveway. That old building gave him the creeps.

“Ya knocked yer ullpawn luse,” the
tow truck driver told him once he’d yanked Will’s car out of the ditch.

“My what?” Will could hardly
decipher the man’s words. Not only did he have a thick accent, but he also had
a speech impediment.

The driver stared at him as if he
were daft. Slowly, he repeated. “Ullpawn. Ya knocked it luse. And ya bent da
damn thing clean outa shape ta boot.”

“Oh, okay. I got you. My oil pan.”

“That’s whut ah said.” The driver
frowned. “S’okay. Uh kin fix it up at the shop. Git in.”

Will climbed up into the truck and
they set off.

“Whut’d ya think a da residents up
thar? They spook ya?” the driver asked conversationally.

“I didn’t see anybody.” Will stared
at him with interest, recalling the eerie sensation of being watched. “What
residents?”

“Dem ment’l patients. Ole mawn
Wilkins, he owns all dis lawnd nuw. He feeds the pur souls.”

As they rode into town, the driver
explained that the hospital had released its patients and closed its doors over
a decade earlier. They had all been set up in halfway houses and assisted
living in the surrounding cities, and the property sold. But, it seemed they
couldn’t adjust to the freedom. Gradually over the following months, some of
them returned to the old asylum. They didn’t know where else to go or what to
do in the world outside the walls they’d spent years behind. Wilkins, a
Christian man with a good heart, looked after them in a haphazard fashion.
Though he didn’t attend to their every need or babysit them in any regular way,
he did make sure they had food to eat and fresh water to drink.

“That’s amazing,” Will said. “Don’t
the townspeople know they’re there?”

“Dey know.” The driver squinted at
the road. “But dem sick folk, dey don’t bodder no one.” He chuckled deep in his
throat. “See, round heya, we b’lieve if sumthin’ ain’t broke, don’t go tryin’
ta fix it. Tha ‘rangement works out jes fine like ‘tis. But, dey kin be a scury
lot. Quiet as ghosts, ever’ one of ‘em.”

Will looked back to make sure his
car was accompanying them. It was.

“Whut was ya doin’ up at de old loony
bin, anyhows?” the driver asked.

“Long story,” Will muttered,
already berating himself for the time lost on this fruitless exercise.

It was after five when the driver
backed the disabled car into a garage stall and unhooked it. Turning to Will, he
said, “De cah will be ready in de mo’ning.”

“In the morning. No, no. I need it
fixed now. I’ll pay extra.”

“Won’ do no gud. I got sumwhar ta
be.”

No amount of arguing would keep the
man at the shop. “If ya got some luggage, best git it outa de car now. I need
ta lock up.” He waited impatiently while Will gathered his things. He pointed
out a nearby motel and café and then drove off in an old Ford pickup, leaving
Will feeling abandoned and alone.

“Stranded! Damn small town yokels.
Damn mechanics. Damn flimsy-ass
ullpawns
!” He kicked the curb in
helpless frustration.

Streetlights flickered to life
overhead, casting strange shadows in the twilight. In the cold wind, a chain
banged against the flagpole outside the post office, clanging a mournful peal.
Up and down the small main drag, shops closed and sidewalks became deserted.
The good people of Brinkley were no doubt gathering around their supper tables,
enjoying the warmth of hearth and home. He shoved his hands inside his pockets
for a moment to warm them, then picked up his suitcase. As he began walking
toward the motel, his cell phone rang.
Roxie.

“Will, where the hell have you
been? I’ve been trying to reach you.” Roxie’s voice was clear as a bell.
Service was back to normal.

“Reception isn’t exactly prime here
in this neck of the woods. For a while there, I didn’t have any signal at all,”
he replied. “Plus I got my car stuck in the mud out at that old hospital
and...oh, never mind. What do you got for me? Good news?”

“Pretty good,” she responded. “We
know what town they were in last night, anyway. How far are you from Edison?”

“Just a sec.” Will pulled up his
maps app on his cell and checked the coordinates. “Near enough I could be there
by midnight, if my damn car was fixed.” He threw a hateful look at the garage
behind him. “But now I won’t be able to leave until morning, and I’m not sure
how early. I’m going to check into a motel for the night and plot my course for
tomorrow.”

“Eat something and get a good
night’s sleep.” Roxie’s voice grew tender, understanding his disappointment.
“Anyway, I bet they’re settled in a room for the night. All we have to do is
figure out which one.”

Roxie told him Melvin had spoken to
a motel clerk in Edison who remembered Zeke and Sue. They had tried to rent a
room the night before, but he turned them away because they couldn’t produce a
credit card, same thing at the next one. The third motel manager he spoke to
refused to give information on their patrons, so they could possibly be there.
Whatever, chances were good they had simply found a motel in the same town, one
that would accept cash. Everyone Melvin contacted said the roads were icing
over and traffic was slowing to a standstill.

“Did anyone notice what they were
driving?”

Roxie sighed. “No, we didn’t get
that lucky.”

“Alright. I’m going to snag some
grub and hit the sheets.” Will felt the buzz of the hunt, a feeling that never
failed to give him a charge; he hated being stuck in this dismal little town.

After checking into his room, he
walked over to the cafe and forced himself to relax and enjoy the meal.

Back in his room, he tried to watch
television, but was too agitated to concentrate on the shows. Flipping it off,
he crawled into bed.

He knew tomorrow would bring good
news. He felt it in his bones. The heater in the room made a steady humming
sound that was oddly comforting, and at last, he slept. During the night, a
light snow fell.

Mad Rapist

They went through the drive-thru of
a taco place for supper that evening, taking the food back to their room. After
they had eaten, Zeke pulled off his pants, a strange gleam in his eye. He put
the small vibrator on his fingertip and caressed himself with it, sighing
softly. Sue watched him curiously.

“Damn, that feels good,” he said.
“No wonder you liked it.”

Removing the small tool from his
finger, he tossed it lightly onto the bedside table. He then reached out
quickly and pushed Sue down on the bed. It happened without warning and her
first reaction was surprise, followed by a rush of fear. He started roughly removing
her clothes.

“Pretend I’m a mad rapist.” He
ogled her. “It’ll be fun. When we’re doing this, I’m going to put my hands
around your throat, but don’t worry. I won’t hurt you. We’re just gonna do some
role-playing.”

Sue tried to relax, but was anxious
as Zeke hovered over her. He threw her clothes to the floor, and turned her
over onto her stomach.

“Pretend you’re fighting me,” he
said, his excitement obvious.

Sue started to struggle, and it wasn’t
entirely faked. Zeke put his hands under her and squeezed her breasts hard,
licking the back of her neck at the same time and biting into her shoulders
lightly. Using his knee, he pried her legs apart, forcing his way between them.
Sue’s alarm intensified. She clenched her buttocks tightly and tried to heave
him off her. He grunted with the effort of restraining her. She’d never known
him to be this rough, and she tried to scoot away from him. He abruptly rose up
and slapped her ass. The smack made a resounding clap.

“Beg me to stop,” he ordered. “Try
to sound scared.”

Sue didn’t have to pretend; she
really was afraid. She whimpered as he struck her a second time, then a third.
The skin of her bottom stung like a fresh sunburn and her feelings were shockingly
hurt. She pleaded with him to stop, but he laughed as he flipped her over and
plunged into her. Along with fear, anger bloomed inside her. She swatted at him
and he grabbed her wrists, pinning them to the bed.

“Don’t hit me, Sue,” he growled directly
into her face. He gave her lip a warning bite and then groaned in pleasure and
held very still for a few seconds, relishing the feel of her. He let go of her
arms and reached instead for her throat. Resuming his thrusts, he began
squeezing her neck, not too tightly, but with sinister potential. Sue swung her
head from side to side, panting and moaning.

“I could kill you right now, if I
wanted to,” Zeke whispered. “It would be so easy. Mmmm. So easy.”

Sue panicked and grabbed at his
hands, trying to pull them from her neck. He pressed down on her windpipe.

“I could choke the life out of you,
screw your dead body, and then throw it in a lake. And no one would ever find
you.” He released his hold and clutched her shoulders, digging his fingers into
her skin.

She struggled for breath as he
pounded away.

“Oh, you worthless little whore,”
Zeke groaned. “You disgusting filthy piece of shit! You’ve been begging for
this all along, haven’t you?”

Bile rose in Sue’s throat and it
took a lot of self-control not to throw up in Zeke’s face. She feared what
would happen if she did.

“That’s right! You want this.
You’re a bad girl, Sue. Very bad. You’re nothing but a common slut, a stinking
useless fuckhole.” He grunted as his tempo increased.

Tears streamed from her eyes as he
finally satisfied himself.

Satiated, he rolled off and lay
beside her. “That was amazing,” he said, his expression tender.

Sue looked at him in horror, her
eyes wild, and face a flaming red. He seemed not to notice and pulled her
against his side. “Here, lay your head on my shoulder. You can stop pretending
now, turn off the waterworks; it’s over. But you were so convincing, bunny, you
could be an actress. I thought you were really scared there for awhile.” He
chuckled.

“I
was
really afraid!” Sue wheezed.
“No,
not was
; I’m
still
afraid. You hurt me. Damn it, Zeke. You
scared the hell out of me.”

“Oh, come on.” Zeke raised his head
to look at her face. “It was just a game. I know we got caught up in the
moment, but none of it was real. I told you ahead of time what we were going to
do. You should have stopped me then if you didn’t want to do it. But you
didn’t. So hush that crying now.”

“But it felt so real to me,” Sue
said, losing some of her fright, but not her anger. She fought to control it.
Finally, she asked, “Would you really kill me, Zeke?”

“Hell, no,” he said drowsily. “I
love you, Susie Q. Look, maybe we got a little too into the act, but it was
just for fun, a flight of imagination. Just like with those boys in the park.
Remember how much fun that was?”

“That was
not
fun.” Sue’s
temper flared.

“Sure it was. You just don’t want
to admit it, and that’s cool for now. But, you know I’m speaking the truth. You
know how danger adds a bit of an edge, increases the excitement level. I just
wanted to crank things up a little. I would never hurt you, you know that.
You’re my soul mate. Now let’s just rest for awhile. That wore me out.”

A chill passed over Sue. Slowly her
crying subsided, but she was beginning to see her situation with new eyes, and
foreboding dripped inside her like the icy rain running down the windowpane.
She lay rigidly at his side and thought seriously about leaving him. Just
stepping out the door, running to the motel office, and asking the clerk to
call the police. She thought about turning herself in, which would mean going
to jail for breaking into Doris’s house, but who cared. She’d be safe. The loop
replayed itself again and again. Sneak out, run to the office, call the police,
go to jail. Her mind ran circles around itself.

“What are you thinking, Sue?”
Zeke’s voice was lazy; he was almost asleep.

“Nothing.” Sue forced a calm tone
into her voice. “Just trying to fall asleep.”

“I hope you’re not thinking about
leaving me.”

“What? Of course not!” Sue’s denial
was adamant. “I love you, Zeke. Don’t you know that?”

“
I
know it.” He yawned
loudly. “Just making sure
you
know it.”

Zeke drifted into sleep, holding
Sue. She shifted carefully, ready to slide out, but his arm tightened around
her. Even in slumber, he was vigilant. Her heart beat unevenly and a light
sweat broke on her brow. Finally, Sue decided she would just have to be
extremely careful from now on, clarify what was going to happen to her up
front. She berated herself for her naiveté and wondered how she could still
love him. How crazy was she? She loved the good parts of him. She didn’t really
want to leave; she just wanted him to go back to the way he was in the
beginning, before they’d gone
underground
, whatever that really meant.
But a part of her suspected that feeling would never be fully recaptured; she
could never forget the way he had terrified her. Would never completely forgive
him.

What she mostly wanted was comfort.
She yearned for it. But the one she wanted to be comforted by was the same one
who caused the anguish that needed comforting. It was very confusing.

Zeke woke a short time later,
seemingly his old self again. Sue still lay frozen against his side. He smiled
down at her gently and then a look of concern crossed his face.