Blood Games (2 page)

    ‘A last resort,’ Vivian said.

    ‘It was famous for its hot springs. And its cuisine. People came here for cross-country skiing in the winter. It was a hunting lodge in hunting season. The rest of the time, people came for hiking and fishing, that kind of thing. The place was quite popular during its heyday.’

    ‘Looks like shit now,’ Cora said.

    A fist reached down between Finley’s legs and rapped on the windshield. ‘Stop the car, okay?’

    When it came to a halt, Abilene said, ‘This is far enough for me,’ and swung open her door. She climbed out. It felt good to be standing up after the long drive. She stretched. She peeled her moist blouse away from her back. She took a deep breath, enjoying the woodsy aromas.

    If the lodge could simply pull a quick disappearing act, she thought, this might be a wonderful place.

    A bit too hot, but…

    Finley leaped down off the roof and landed beside her.

    ‘Awesome joint,’ she said, aiming her camera at the lodge.

    ‘ “With the first glimpse of the building, a sense of insufferable gloom pervaded my spirit.” ’

    ‘Say what?’

    The others climbed out of the car. They all stood motionless, staring at the lodge.

    It was a broad, two-story structure with walls of gray stone that looked solid enough to last for a few thousand years and a steep shake roof that sagged near the middle and might not last through the next winter.

    Some of the porch roof had already caved in, thanks to a tree branch. The branch, over near the north corner, looked like an arm tom from a giant and rammed down through the top of the porch, hand first. Its jagged stub protruded from the roof. Its lower limbs formed a leafless tangle blocking that end of the porch.

    A few of the lodge’s upstairs windows were hidden behind closed shutters. Most of the shutters, however, hung open or dangled crooked or were simply gone. At least half of the windows that Abilene could see were broken.

    At the center of the porch, straight ahead, the lodge’s front door stood open.

    ‘The doorman must’ve been expecting us,’ Abilene said.

    ‘Come on, Hickok, let’s you and me go on ahead. The rest of you guys wait till we’re there, then come on in and I’ll get the big arrival.’ Finley started toward the lodge.

    Abilene joined her. Twigs and leaves crackled under their shoes.

    Though the road was littered with debris from the surrounding forest, enough areas had been swept clear by the wind for Abilene to see patches of gray, cracked pavement. Weeds, wild grass, and even a few saplings grew in the fissures.

    She came upon a broken sapling.

    ‘Look at this.’

    ‘So?’

    She crouched over it. ‘Somebody’s been here. Recently, too. The leaves are still green.’ She folded a small leaf between her thumb and forefinger. It felt a little springy, but it split. ‘I bet it hasn’t been dead more than a week.’

    ‘Maybe Bambi stepped on it.’

    ‘Maybe this place isn’t as deserted as it looks.’

    Finley wrinkled her nose. She nodded. ‘Come on.’

    They continued toward the lodge. In front of the porch, the road flared out like a T. The lane on the right led past the lodge to a long ramshackle structure that appeared to be some kind of parking bam with empty stalls for at least a dozen vehicles. The other lane had a turn at the far corner of the porch and seemed to lead around toward the rear.

    ‘I guess this is close enough,’ Finley said. Halting at the foot of the porch stairs, she faced the road, raised her camera and shouted, ‘Action!’

    For a moment, Abilene watched the Wagoneer rush forward. But the back of her neck felt crawly. She turned her head and stared at the open door.

    All she could see beyond it was shadowy gloom.

    
We must be out of our minds,
she thought,
coming to a place like this. Just for the fun of it. Just for adventure.

    
We must be crazy.

    
Hell, weren’t we always?

    

    

    

    It started with Finley and her new, portable video camera.

    It started at Belmore University in the east wing, second floor of Hadley Hall, one of the campus’s two dormitories for freshman girls. The girls were eighteen, then.

    It was the third week of September.

    It was a Wednesday night.

    Abilene’s roommate, Helen Winters, was hunched at her desk, face low over the pages of a Western Civ textbook. Abilene sat at the window, her back to the hot night, hoping to catch a stray breeze while she struggled to make sense of Othello. With a sigh, she closed the paperback.

    ‘God, it’s hard to think when you’re baking.’

    Helen dropped a yellow hi-lite pen into the gutter of her book. She turned her chair around. She looked forlorn, miserable. And even more unattractive than usual. Her brown hair, cut in a style resembling a football helmet, was greasy and matted against her scalp. Wet ringlets clung to her face. She had speckles of sweat under her eyes. Dribbles streaked her heavy cheeks. In the crease of one nostril was a white-peaked zit that looked ready to erupt. Her lower lip bulged out so far that it cast a shadow over her chin.

    Sullen eyes gazing up at Abilene, she said, ‘I hate everything about this place.’

    ‘It’s probably just the heat.’

    ‘It’s everything.’

    ‘Homesick?’

    ‘That’s a good one.’

    ‘I sure am. I wish I was there right now. Mill Valley’s great this time of the year. I sure wouldn’t be sweating my butt off.’

    ‘Do you want to take a shower with me?’

    Abilene felt as if her stomach had been pushed off a cliff. She realized her mouth was hanging open. She shut it. Not knowing what to say, she shrugged.

    Helen blew out a long breath that puffed out her cheeks and lips. She rolled her eyes upward. ‘Hey, if you don’t want to, it’s all right.’

    ‘Well…

    ‘You aren’t a lesbian, are you?’

    Abilene’s face went hot. ‘No!’ she blurted.

    ‘Me, neither.’

    ‘Well, that’s good. Not that… you know.’

    ‘So how about a shower?’

    ‘Now?’

    ‘Yeah. It’ll feel good.’

    She grimaced. ‘I don’t know. I was planning to wait till morning.’

    ‘Please?’

    ‘Geez, Helen.’

    ‘It’s just that… I really don’t want to go alone. There might be some other people there. Strangers.’

    ‘If anyone’s there, it’ll just be kids from our sector.’

    ‘But I don’t know any of them. Not really. And they kind of scare me. If you want to know the truth, I haven’t taken a shower since last Thursday night.’

    'Last Thursday?'

    ‘I just haven’t quite worked up the nerve again.’

    ‘Did something happen?’

    ‘Well, that was the night I walked to the movies. I saw a really scary one. It was great. You were asleep when I got back. The place was really quiet. I thought everybody in the whole sector was asleep, so I figured it would be a great time to take my shower. Anyway, I was in there and all of a sudden the lights went off. Somebody turned them off. It was pitch black. I couldn’t see a thing. I couldn’t hear much, either, because of the water. I was sort of spooked, but I figured it was just some creep’s idea of a joke. So I went on taking my shower. I was soaping myself, you know? And suddenly there was an extra hand on me.’

    ‘Holy shit,’ Abilene muttered.

    ‘The one that wasn’t mine… it squeezed one of my breasts. I kind of jumped back and slipped and landed on my butt.’ She shrugged. Making a sickish smile, she said, ‘And that’s the true story of why I haven’t taken a shower since Thursday night.’

    ‘No wonder.’

    ‘So, will you come with me?’

    ‘Okay. Sure.’

    ‘Great. You’re a real friend.’

    ‘Hey, after hearing that, I’m not sure I want to take any more showers alone, myself.’ Abilene shoved the chair out of the way with her feet, scooted off the low bookcase and stood up. ‘What happened after you fell?’ she asked.

    ‘Nothing.’

    ‘Nothing?’

    ‘Well, I sat there for a real long time. But nobody touched me again. Whoever it was just left, I guess. Finally, I worked up enough nerve to get up and leave.’

    ‘God,’ Abilene muttered. ‘You never got any kind of look at her? She never said anything, or…?’

    ‘For all I know, it might’ve been a guy.’

    ‘Jesus.'

    ‘It probably wasn’t,’ Helen said, and started to unbutton her blouse.

    Abilene took that as her cue to move on. She walked past her bed. Facing her open closet, she stripped to the waist and put on her robe. Then she pulled down her shorts and panties, stepped out of them, and knotted her robe’s cloth belt. She didn’t realize, until she was done, that it was a pretty dumb way to undress.

    Why worry about modesty at a time like this?

    From their first night as roommates, less than two weeks ago, they’d maintained unspoken rituals to keep their privacy. They’d jumped at every opportunity to change while the other was away from the room. When that failed, they’d turned their backs to each other. Abilene often stood facing her closet - more to avoid a view of Helen than to prevent Helen from seeing her.

    
Silly
.

    If they’d been more open about things, maybe Helen wouldn’t have felt compelled to take that shower alone in the middle of the night.

    She crouched, scooped up her clothes, and sidestepped past her dresser. She tossed them onto her bed. ‘You about ready?’

    ‘Yeah.’

    She turned around. Helen had her nightgown on, but her arms weren’t in its sleeves. They were busy underneath the loose gown, removing her bra. When they appeared, one was towing the undergarment out through a sleeve.

    ‘You won’t tell anyone, will you?’ Helen asked.

    ‘About what happened?’

    ‘Yeah. It’s… you know, kind of embarrassing. There’d be an awful lot of gossip. I’d rather just forget about the whole thing, okay?’

    ‘Fine. I won’t tell. We don’t know who it was, anyway. It’d just spook people.’

    ‘Thanks.’

    They gathered their washcloths, towels, soap and shampoo. Abilene dropped her room key into a pocket. She followed Helen into the corridor, then pulled the door shut and made sure it was locked.

    The corridor was filled with music, voices and laughter. On their way to the restroom, they passed several open doors. Girls in the rooms were sprawled on beds, sitting at desks, some studying, while others carried on discussions or watched small televisions. A few were eating snacks and drinking sodas. Abilene nodded and smiled at those who noticed her going by. Though she recognized all of them, she wasn’t sure about some of the names.

    The restroom was just this side of double doors that separated the east wing of Hadley Hall from the main stairs and west wing.

    Abilene entered first. She saw no one. But sounds of rushing water came from the shower room.

    ‘Maybe we should try later,’ Helen whispered.

    ‘Don’t be ridiculous. Come on.’

    Helen grimaced, but followed her past the toilet stalls to the dressing area. Steam was drifting in from the shower room. Voices, too - cheerful, amplified by the tile walls. A couple of robes and towels had been left on the bench.

    Abilene slipped out of her sandals, emptied her hands onto the bench, and took off her robe. She rolled it up, set it next to her towel, then picked up her washcloth, soap and shampoo. She looked at Helen just as the girl’s large breasts, briefly caught by the hem of the nightgown, came free and dropped, bouncing and swinging. Helen finished dragging the nightgown off her head, gave Abilene a somewhat frantic glance, and deposited the nightgown on the bench.

    ‘Here goes nothing,’ she muttered, and gestured for Abilene to go first.

    Abilene stepped over the low, tile barrier, and entered the shower room. The steamy air wrapped her.

    She raised a hand and said ‘Hello’ to the two girls who stood under nozzles near the far end. She recognized both of them. ‘Cora, right?’ she asked the one near the corner.

    ‘Tucson?’

    ‘Abilene. This is my roomy, Helen.’

    ‘Hi,’ Helen said from behind her.

    ‘I’m Vivian,’ said the other girl. Abilene had never actually met her, but she’d seen her around and knew her name. She supposed that everyone knew her name. Vivian Drake was easily the most beautiful girl in the freshman class: tall and slender with dark auburn hair, emerald eyes, a flawless complexion and a stunning face.

    Abilene had stayed clear of her, certain that she must be a conceited bitch.

    Now, she said, ‘Nice to meet you,’ went to the shower right beside Vivian and turned on the water. She stepped out of the way, testing the spray with her hand. When it felt hot, she moved underneath it.

    Helen chose the shower on the other side.

    ‘Abilene’s a cool name,’ Vivian said.

    ‘Thanks.’

    ‘Is that where you were conceived?’ Cora asked.

    ‘No, I was named for the song.’

    Vivian began to hum it as she soaped her legs.

    Abilene began to like her.

    ‘It was my parents’ favorite song,’ she said. ‘It was their song, you know? Also, my dad’s a western writer.’

    ‘No kidding?’ Cora said. ‘No wonder you’re such a hot-shot in Dalton’s class.’

    ‘I’m sure having trouble with Shakespeare.’