Page 20 of Fatally Yours
“Oh, god…” she wept. “At least cover her up, man…” Devin sighed like it would be a chore and scooped up my discarded clothes. He picked up my shirt, and his lip curled. I wondered if he was disgusted by someone potentially slicing through it amid my violation, or if he was revolted by me.
Mandy continued to cry as he dressed me. If my skin could crawl, it would be as his warm hands connected with me. His hand brushed my breast, but I had no idea if it was intentional or not. It was strange how I could still feel his heat, but I couldn’t bring a stop to it even if I wanted to, just like before.
Once he was done with his subtle desecration, he grabbed the bloody sheet from my bed and wrapped me in it. Still, I was as lifeless as a corpse. When the fabric coiled around my head, I wanted to cry out and rip it from my mouth. It wasn’t like I needed to breathe, but the primal fear remained. The instinct to live was still burning, even if my life was snuffed out.
Devin laid me back on the bed, and I could no longer see what was happening. All I knew was that Mandy was still crying, and I could feel the worry in their eyes searing into me, even through the sheet. The panic of claustrophobia began to set in as I cursed that I could still feel fear. I was dead, but I was still fucking scared. It just wasn’t fair.
“I know a place we can go, but we better wait until it’s dark,” Scott muttered. My hearing was muffled by the fabric around my head. “There’s blood everywhere.”
IX
The entire way there, not once did Mandy’s bawling cease. If I had a beating heart to break, it would be shattering in my chest. The sounds of her cries reminded me of the day August died, and images of him burying that knife in my gut flashed in my vision. We brought him back only for him to kill me.
That was poetic, wasn’t it? Something he could write a song about, right? Where was he, anyway? Would he come back for me? Or would he leave me to rot in the ground as the maggots nibbled at my flesh? Even if I couldn’t feel pain, a fate like that would be worse than hell, watching as filthy insects devoured myrotting corpse.
I was still wrapped in the sheet, crumpled in the back of Wes’ van. There was no light coming through the windows. The others were silent. The only thing I heard was Mandy attempting to muffle her cries. Occasionally, one would slip through, and she would suck in a shuttering breath, and once again, she would attempt to stifle them. The monotony and repetition of her distress were worse than torture.
This has to be hell.
There was no way that this is not hell.
After a long drive, they took a sharp turn, and the tires sounded like they were rolling over dirt and stones. There were faint pops and snaps as the pebbles and sticks were crushed under the weight of four living bodies and a single dead one. Wherever they were, the distance from where we lived was vast, and it was possibly more remote than our small town ever dreamed of being. The idea that I would be left out here by myself made me want to scream.
The vehicle came to a halt, and all four doors slammed almost in succession. I could hear footsteps even through the oppression of the linen and being in the back like a piece of garbage. They were speaking, probably about where they would ditch me. I knew at least Scott, Wes, and Mandy didn’t think I was trash, but I sure felt like it.
The trunk of the van squealed open. I could imagine them peering down at me, the moon full behind their heads, all of them sharing the same feeling of dread. August was dead, and now I was too. It was a wicked coincidence, wasn’t it? If only they knew who snuffed me out, then their sanity would really snap.
“No one comes here,” Scott said, his voice empty. “They won’t find her.” Mandy continued to sob, and I imagined her dark makeup running down her cheeks and staining her skin with coal-colored streaks.
“But they’ll know she’s missing!” she cried. “Her parents, her family, her job. She doesn’t miss work that often. At least before August died…” That was true. Before he was ripped away from me, I never missed work unless I was on my deathbed. But since then, I lost that vigor. And my coworkers understood. They expected it.
People would look for me, but how soon, I wasn’t sure. It wasn’t like I called my parents all the time. In hindsight and suffering with regrets, I realized I should’ve talked to them more. Now, I wouldn’t have that opportunity. My only companions would be worms. And August did this to me.
“Yeah.Missing.Vanished. Gone. They won’t know she’s dead,” Devin said. They’ll think she just ran off because she was upset about August or something.”
“But they’ll interview us…” Mandy whimpered. There was the sound of feet scraping across the dirt, and I prayed he wasn’t putting his hands on her. If he did, I would crawl out of the grave and strangle him myself, even if it took an eternity.
“Yeah, they will. And you’ll fucking lie to them, okay?” His voice was harsh. She cried harder, and more feet slid across the dirt. Wes was separating them; I was sure of it. I just had that feeling that Devin was being just as rotten as he truly was at his core. As putrid as I would be physically. In a few days, my flesh would begin to liquefy and melt into my cavities until my body bloated and popped and watered the ground with my dissolved insides.
“Dude, stop. Jesus fucking Christ, just stop,” Wes said. Someone was lifting me, probably him, and the clattering of metal together indicated that another was grabbing something. I knew what it was, but didn’t want to acknowledge it.
A fucking shovel.
They were going to bury me and cover my senseless murder. Even though I was tortured being with Devin, this punishment was far too brutal. God, Satan, August—someone really wanted to inflict this torment on me.
There was a crunching sound, like the spade of it sinking into the dirt. A moment later, I could hear them piling soil on the ground. Each time the metal scraped against a stone, I felt the urge to press my teeth together. Just like before, my body was cadaver-like. No, Iwasa cadaver. Not something akin to one, anactualcorpse.
Fear would’ve been filling my chest right now if it could. The anticipation was swirling in my stomach, or maybe that was just the gases of rot fillingmy core. I wondered when I was going to pop, how long it would take, and what orifices my insides would dribble out from first. If I were breathing right now, I would be having a panic attack.
The only sound was that damn shovel and their heavy breaths, as I assumed they were switching off to dig. Someone nudged me, and a short, shocked cry rang through the air. Presumably, it was Scott. The sheet slipped down my face ever so slightly, revealing the grave my friends were digging to put me in.
This is hell.
“This is wrong,” Mandy sniveled. “This is so fucking wrong.” I watched in horror as Devin shoved her, just like he would’ve eventually done with me if August hadn’t come back and killed me.
“Shut up. We’re not going to prison just because some psycho you’d suck off wanted to get a piece of Natasha. We’re already on thin ice with the fucking pigs,” he snapped. “Do you know how much they follow me? At my job? At my house? I feel like I’m being fucking stalked!”
“You’re an asshole!” Mandy’s voice was breaking. “No wonder Natasha wanted August back!” Scott had the shovel in his hand and was staring at them in disbelief while Wes buried his face in his hands. I never expected us to fall apart like this.
