Page 72 of Grave Possession (Grave #2)

Chapter Sixty

Mallory

“ T hat was quite a show you put on, Mallory.” A voice slithers out from the darkness, drawing my attention.

“Excuse me?” I whisper to the shadows.

A hooded figure moves in between the trees, crooking its finger and beckoning me closer. “Do you scream for everyone like that, or just the cop?”

“Do I know you?” I ask, stepping into the forest, and off the path mapped out for attendees. Guess I’ll have to wait to find a spot to tinkle. The line for the portables was so backed up, I debated walking home because it would probably have taken less time.

“No, but I know you.”

“Who are you?” I try to keep my voice calm as trepidation crawls up my spine.

“I’m a friend of Randy’s.” Oh, I’m so fucked. Breathe.

“Okay… What do you want?”

“I know you killed him.”

Ugh, goddamnit. Kill him too, my subconscious whispers.

“I haven’t seen Randy in over a year, not since Dennis went missing,” I contest.

“Yeah, ‘ missing’, ” he says, making air quotes with his fingers.

“What the heck does that mean?”

“You can read between the lines, bitch.” Okay…rude. Maybe I will kill him. “Randy gave me the heads up you called him, in case he went ‘missing’ like your parents did.” Again with the air quotes. Is this man stuck in prepubescence? What’s with the juvenile sarcastic gestures?

I still can’t see his face from beneath the dark hood, but as he advances on me, I realize it’s because he’s wearing a ski mask as well.

I back away slowly, but he rushes me. Grabbing my upper arms, and roughly pushing me up against a tree.

The back of my head ricochets off a solid trunk of pine, knocking my mask askew.

His hot breath wafts into my face, as his volatile voice invades my ears, “What will you offer me to stay silent?” His fingers trail up the exposed skin of my thigh, and I bat them away.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” I bark, jerking my arms free and attempting to shove him away. He staggers, only backing off slightly. I slide my mask up so it rests tight against my forehead. Fuck this man. For touching me, for trying to scare me, and for trying to extort shit from me.

“Don’t be like that. You’re a pretty little thing, I’m sure we could reach some sort of understanding so you don’t get the death penalty, or worse…”

Worse? What does he consider worse than death? His threat hangs heavy between us, and my stomach lurches. I’m positive I don’t want to find out the hidden meaning in his words.

“What do you want?” I snarl. “Money? Sex? My fucking kidney?” I’m so fucking sick and tired of being taken advantage of, being pushed around, and forced into shit I don't want to be a part of.

“I’ll take some hush money, you stupid slut.

” A spark flits to life in my chest as my fear morphs to rage.

I’m not a slut, and fuck him for calling me one.

I was forced into that shit—if I resisted I was beaten until I complied.

“I wouldn’t touch you with a ten foot pole.

I know how many dicks you’ve had in your mouth.

I was always with Dennis, and he offered your holes to just about everyone he came across.

Promising your virginity to the highest bidder.

” This isn’t new information to me, Dennis dangled that threat over my head constantly.

Reminding me that blowjobs are better than being bound and taken against my will.

“ Kill him, ” my insides purr, the sinister idea moving through me like warm maple syrup. “No one will miss the piece of shit.” She’s probably right.

I feel nothing as I stand here contemplating ending his life. The only thing I’m focused on is the rage burning through me like a wildfire, consuming me until I’m nothing but a vessel for my sinister urges.

“No one will notice you covered in blood.” my mind whispers. “Lure him towards the fake pile of corpses, and leave him there. By the time anyone finds him it will be November. Maybe the animals will drag him away, and we won’t even have to worry about it. ”

I can’t deny that she’s right, again. It seems as though my darkness has thought of everything. All I have to do is enjoy myself, and she will take care of the rest.

“It’s not like I have cash on me at the moment, asshole. Where would I put it?” I finally reply to him.

“I guess we’ll be seeing each other again real soon then, hey?

” He turns away, piquing my curiosity. That’s it?

He takes two steps, then turns back slightly, speaking over his shoulder to me.

“Sure hope I don’t run into your boyfriend on the way out of here.

He stands out like a sore thumb with that crown on his head. ”

Suddenly, the music cuts off, and Nox’s voice breaks the silence. “I’d like to thank you all for coming tonight. I know it would have meant a great deal to my Uncle Oscar.”

A sick gleam twinkles in this man’s eye. As if the timing of this couldn’t have worked out any better for him.

“You wouldn’t,” I growl. Lennox’s voice carries on, and I’m pissed this piece of shit is preventing me from standing at his side, offering the emotional support he undoubtedly needs.

“Better give me a reason to stay quiet then, hmmm?” Ugh, I fucking hate this man, and I don’t even know him.

“What do you suggest?”

His slimy gaze rakes over my body, and I feel disgusting. A flicker of something evil darkens his eyes beneath the moonlight, and I know where this interaction is going without needing him to say anything else.

“Maybe I will take a moment to see what all the fuss about your mouth is. ”

“You’re repulsive,” I spit.

“Sticks and stones, slut. You’re still going to suck my cock.”

The fuck I am.

He grabs me by the bicep again, dragging me further into the woods.

I let him. I don’t need my screaming and fighting attracting any unwanted attention during this pivotal moment for Nox.

“Over there,” I say, pointing to an area where the trees are thicker, and any sounds will be drowned out by the speaker nearby.

He huffs, manhandling me over to where I directed, the fake pile of corpses conveniently close by.

I slip the hatchet out of the holster at my side as he drags me to stand in front of him.

He shoves me down to the ground. Jagged branches pierce and scrape my skin, and the blade of the axe head slices open my thigh as I fall atop it.

I cry out, cussing internally, and biting my lip to stifle any excess noise.

“Not so tough now, are you? Look at you, such an eager skank for cock,” he snarls.

Pushing up on my knees as he frees his average sized shaft, I grasp the axe handle in my left hand.

“Oh I don’t know about that, I think I’m pretty tough considering what I’ve been through,” I say, every word dripping with candy apple sweetness.

“Whatever,” he huffs, stroking his dick. “Randy didn’t deserve to die.”

I take his dick in my hand, rubbing up and down his length. Stopping at the crown, I swipe my thumb over the tip and he groans in appreciation. His head falls back and eyes flutter shut, as I try to contain my giddiness .

“Sure he did…” I coo. “And so do you.” I swing the hatchet upward with all my might. Making sure to keep my fingers clear as I sever his dick from his body. Blood spurts like a geyser from his dorsal vein, coating me in a hot, steady stream of crimson.

This man’s shocked and pained scream rips through the area, echoing through the party.

Well someone definitely heard that…shit.

There’s a long deafening silence before Nox says, “Seems like someone is thoroughly enjoying tonight’s festivities.” My body freezes, coiled tight with anxiety about what could happen next as another lingering hush blankets the atmosphere.

My soulmate lets out a hearty laugh, melting away any lingering tension in my body. “Thank you all for coming, and have a wonderfully filthy fright.” The crowd erupts in applause as Nox’s voice cuts off, his speech coming to an end, and the thumping bass of the music returning.

I can’t believe I wasn’t there for him. It’s this unknown man’s fault, and he’s about to pay for it in the biggest way.

The masked man falls to his back before me, scrambling to get away as I return to a standing position, slipping the porcelain doll mask back down over my face.

“You crazy bitch!” he yells. It falls on deaf ears, drowned out by the screams coming from the haunted hiking trail.

Maybe I am crazy…maybe I always have been… But it’s people like him that made me this way.

“That’s me!” I smile. “I promised myself I’d never let another man touch me against my will again, and you did. So now you, and all the vile fucks like you, are going to know what the true wrath of a woman scorned feels like.”

I raise the axe high above my head, and his eyes bulge out of their sockets, hands held up in defence. “Say hi to Randy for me.” I wink, then bring the axe down as he screams again. Over and over, I strike his body.

“I’m not a slut,” I yell. Thwack.

“I was a victim.” Thwack.

“ Fuck you!” Thwack.

“ Fuck Dennis!” Crunch. His leg separates from his body as the blade cleaves through his knee.

“And fuck my mother!” I half-scream half-sob.

Red rains over my vision, and I can’t contain the urge to crush the very essence of this man in my hands. I reach down to the lifeless body, pulling the hood back and slipping the saturated mask off his face. For someone who claims to have been with Dennis all the time, I don’t recognize his face.

One more clean chop to the front of his skull, and it splits apart like a dropped melon. There, beneath the bone and layers of protective membrane, sits his brain, slightly worse for the wear. I scoop it out, feeling its weight in my hands.

Is this really all we are at the core? Three pounds of gelatinous tissue and cells, neurons all shooting off like fireworks as they send messages to the rest of our body? No wonder I’m so fucked up. Johnson was right…a few more knocks to the head let all my loose screws fall free.

I curl my fingers, sinking them into the soft, warm matter. His brain squishes and squelches in my hands, oozing out through my fingers.

Fuck you, you piece of shit , I think, completely remorseless.

Flinging the remaining bits of his brain into a tree trunk, I watch as they explode and splatter against the bark.

The sludge slides down the abrasive wood, plopping into the long grass at the base of the pine tree.

Satisfied and satiated, I turn and leave the area.

Thankfully, no one even looks twice as I make my way through the throng of gyrating bodies.

The people throwing water balloons at the naked man tied to a spinning wheel are none the wiser that I just killed someone.

The crowd cheers as another balloon pops, raining what I can only assume is ice cold water, down over the man.

His skin is red, wrists and ankles rubbed raw from the restraints, but the erection standing at full attention proves he’s probably enjoying this more than everyone else is.

A woman approaches him, stopping the spinning and hanging him upside down.

She sucks his cock into her mouth, and he moans his appreciation as the on-lookers whoop, starting to engage in their own brand of filth.

The back of my neck prickles with the sense of being watched and I pick up my pace. The last thing I need is to be caught red-handed, literally , by Nox, doused in fresh blood with brain juices dripping from my fingertips. This cannot be what he meant when he said I look stunning in red.

“Mallory! Wait!”

Well, that’s not Lennox…

I freeze in my tracks. Do I stay or do I go?

She’s at my back in seconds, but I can’t let her see me like this. “I’m sorry,” she pants, out of breath from racing after me. “Can we talk?”

Now? You want to talk NOW?! This is the worst possible time for a reconciliation.

I look down at the blood saturating every inch of my costume.

It drips from my mask, spreading through the lace on my chest. I want to turn around, grab her, and crush her in a long-overdue hug.

Tell her I’m sorry, and I’ve missed her so fucking much. But I don’t.

“No,” I croak, leaving before she gets a chance to reply.