Jameson Hotel - the Dark Suite Series: Parts One, Two & Three (35 page)

Hang down your head and cry

If you love me as I do you

Would you go with me or die.

“The voice
is
gorgeous.”

“That it is... like
a woman I know.”

She blushes and
shakes her head.

“What? Just look at this
scene.” I raise my hands. “Inhale it, feel it, hear it, remember this... I’m
trying to be romantic, for fuck’s sake.”

She laughs and
kisses my cheek. “I know; it’s just amusing that not too long ago I had to beg
for a kiss. You’re funny sometimes... maybe it’s because you’re high again.”

I shrug.

“But I like it,” she
whispers.

“Well, that’s all
you get for now,” I say, pulling her inside. “The sun’s down, let’s take care
of the bedroom situation.”

“What are you doing
with her?”

“Do you have
comfortable shoes with you?”

“Yes, sneakers,
downstairs.”

“We’re going on a
short hike,” I say, putting on a fleece sweater and my baseball cap. “You have
a warm jacket? Gloves? A hat?”

“I’ll get some from
my room.” She heads for the stairs. “Don’t leave without me.”

“I won’t, but hurry
up, we have a lot of shit to do, especially down in the garage before the guys
come for the cars. I still haven’t picked up the tongue.”

“This is exciting!”
she exclaims, before exiting my suite.

“Yep, I’ll make the
popcorn.” I grin, putting my two guns in their holsters, bringing a knife
along, and the keys for the handcuffs. I turn out the lights in my bedroom and
get
Mera
into an upright position, shoot her with K,
then carry her to the garage. I nearly fall down the two flights from her
weight and fidgeting, still waiting for the drug to kick in. Damn, this will be
an exhausting jaunt. It’s times like these when I wish I had a wheelbarrow.

I slip into my
winter coat and wait for Jules, watching the pathetic bulky mass on the cold cement
floor. She sees the blood, the body part, her truck, and groans. But with
slowed movements as she slips into a paralyzed state, I’m able to take off the
cuffs and dress her in one of my old flannel shirts that’s in the garage... not
that I give a shit that she’ll be cold, but so I don’t have to deal with her
flesh and blood against my clothing.

Her eyes stay open,
zoned out on the bloody scene.

“Don’t worry, it’s
not
Dayne’s
blood. His was wiped up last week. That’s
just some random
fuckhead
from last night.”

“All set,” Jules
says, entering the garage.

“Carry the
flashlight and the rope that’s on my workbench; I won’t be able to hold either
tonight. And I also need you to take one of my guns.”

“Why?”

“Bears.”

She nods, following
my requests as I open the garage door. “Close it once you’re out, stick by my
side, keep the gun out, and make sure you don’t turn on the light until I tell
you too, got it?”

“Got it.”

We walk to the side
of my garage and head into the darkness. The snow has stopped and the moon is
out, but the dense pines block most of the light.
Mera’s
silent, Jules is silent, and the woods are still. Branches snap under my boots
and I sink into the thick layers of pine needles. I can see my breath and can
feel the chill on my open neck. I’m beginning to feel my usual rush with
Mera’s
body over my shoulder, her cold lifeless dangling
legs in front of me; it’s an interesting juxtaposition to the vibrant woman by
my side.

I can imagine if
Norman Rockwell was fucked in the head that this would be a fascinating
painting for him to create. A man dressed in a winter outfit and cap carries a
woman’s body through the forested pines. With his faithful sidekick alongside,
they travel under the moonlit sky on the first snowfall. The only thing missing
is an axe and a dog.

“What are you
thinking about?” she whispers.

“Norman Rockwell.”

“What the fuck? Be
serious.”

“Turn on the light.”
I ignore her response. “This is where the land gets rocky and is difficult to
walk.”

She shines the light
on the ground in front of me, moving it in a circular motion, saying “watch
out,” when she sees something I might trip over.

There’s no trail, no
flagged trees, all I have to lead the way is a gut feeling and an idea of where
I was last night. But I’ll know when I come to the right place. Like in Vegas
and out on the lake, I’d drive and then something inside of me would tell me to
stop. I never continue on after that, the first thought to stop is always the
correct one.

“These woods go on
forever.”

“Yep, that’s why I
bought this property. You can see the lake and the populated area from parts of
the hotel, but there’s nothing but miles of woods off to this side.” I lean
against a tree, taking deep breaths.

“Do you know where
your property stops and the National Forest begins?”

“Only when I look at
a map, but it’s all uninhabited so it doesn’t much matter if we’re on my
property or not... keep the light up,” I say, trekking onward.

“Sorry.” She shines
it a few feet ahead, maintaining a steady hand as she stays by my side. “Why
didn’t you kill her before we left?”

“Because I kill
people the way they deserve to be killed. It’s not always a jab in the eye and
it’s over. It depends on the person, what I know about his personality, and why
I’m killing him in the first place. Over there,” I point, “that’s the spot for
Mera
.”

There’s a lone tree
that I place her by in a small clearing with a creek about twenty feet away.
The light of the moon breaks through the open area, shining upon her face.

“She looks like
she’s on stage.”

“I know, this is the
perfect setting for her,” I say. “Hand me the rope.”

I remove the cuffs
from her ankles and wrists and loop the rope around her and the tree, tying a
reliable knot - making sure her legs, arms, and waist are all secure. She’s coming
to, mumbling and turning her head.

“You have something
you want to tell me?” I ask, pulling the tape from her mouth.

Her eyes are
half-open as she tries to speak. “Cold... fucker.”

Jules laughs. “Do
you think she called you a cold fucker, or said she’s cold and then called you
a fucker?”

“Probably the
first.” I smirk.

“Motherfucker,” she
utters.

“That was clear.
Hey, Calloway.” I tap the side of her face. “This is it.
Your
final resting place.
Sorry, there’s no cable or room service, but you do
have a beautiful view.”

“What do you mean
this is it? You’re just leaving her here to starve?”

“She won’t starve.”

Mera
looks at Jules and shakes her head, in
disbelief that she fell for her trap.

“Hi,” Jules says.

“Sarah,” she groans.
“Bitch.”

“It’s Jules and I
don’t give a shit if you think I’m a bitch, bitch. You kidnapper, abuser,
torturer, evil wench, cunt rag... hey, what are you doing?” she asks,
distracted as I unzip my jeans.

“I’m not sucking...
you off,”
Mera
mumbles.

“Fuck,” I laugh. “I don’t
want your filthy mouth on my dick, especially after it’s been on
Dayne’s
.” A pool of urine forms at her feet, leaving a
strong odor in the air. “I’m ringing the dinner bell.” I turn back to Jules
with a grin. “She won’t be alive long enough to starve. A bear will eat her by
morning.”

“You asshole,” she
calls out, coming quickly to life. Jules moves in, putting the tape back over
her mouth.

“You see that area
over there?” I take the flashlight and shine it down by the creek, about a
hundred feet from where we’re standing. “What do you see?” I wave it left and
right.

“Trees, the water,
same as here.”

“Yep, exactly.”

“I don’t get it.”

“That’s where I
stopped last night.”

“You mean with the
guy? He’s already gone?”

“The bears are
preparing to hibernate this time of the year and are very active, eating twenty
hours a day. This is like a food court for them. You’ve got the watering hole,”
I shine the light on the creek, “with the growth along the banks, this open
area, and a guy like me giving them free handouts. They’re drawn to this
place.”

Mera
kicks, refusing to surrender to her fate
while yielding muffled screams. I lean next to her and give her some friendly
advice. “
Shh
,
shh
, listen.
If you stay silent they’ll walk right past you, unless they pick up a whiff of
my piss, then you’re fucked... hmm.” I scratch my head, being a total ass and
loving every minute of it. “I’ve heard they have the best sense of smell out of
any animal on this earth, so yeah, F-U-C-K-E-D.” I taunt her by patting the top
of her head. “There’re mountain lions out here too, so be very, very quiet
tonight. They creep, so you won’t know when one’s going to strike... but in a
flash it will latch onto your skull and puncture your brain or crush your
trachea. Dead. But hey, I have an
idea,
let’s play a
game, you and me. See this?” I pull out one of my old knives and set it in the
ground, just out of range of her feet. “We’re leaving you here, but if you can
figure out a way to get to the knife, you may be able to get out of this shitty
situation you’ve found yourself in.”

I take one last look
at the moon before reaching for Jules’ hand, wanting more than anything to get
her back to my suite so we can fuck.

“You’re really not
going to kill her?” she asks, taking the flashlight from my hand.

“I did kill her.”

“What if she gets
away?”

“She won’t.”

“What if...”

“Jules, do you have
the gun?”

“Yes.”

“Keep the light
steady, okay?” I distract her, not wanting to discuss the fact that I did this
partly for my sister, and partly because I’m a pussy and can’t bring myself to
kill a woman. A man? No fucking problem killing a guy, but I think a lot of bad
shit would happen if I ever stuck my knife inside a woman’s flesh. Like the
devil would appear and shove his dick down my throat... or... or my father would
finally tell me that he loved me.

I stop and think
about that for a moment.

“What’s up?” Jules
turns and asks.

The woods turn even
darker and colder than before. I sense his presence looming around us,
suffocating me, mocking me because I just walked away from a kill. Looking
back, I wonder if I need to finish this.

“Mark, what’s
wrong?”

My body trembles. I
feel like I’m eight, being slapped around and told that I’m a pussy, wanting to
fight back but too small to beat him. If only I could’ve killed the fucker in
his sleep when I was a kid.

And I wonder again,
would he tell me that he loved me if I go back and kill her? Would the voice in
my head be silenced? That’s what I search for with each kill, and maybe this is
the one.

“You okay?” she
whispers with a gentle touch to my arm.

“Only sometimes,” I
reply.

She nods like she
understands, but she knows nothing about my father.

“Tell me what’s on
your mind.”

“Changing the past,
or if a choice in the present could change your perception of the past.”

“I don’t believe
that’s possible.”

“I know this is a
common question, but what would you change about your life? Your past?”

She looks down and
shuffles her feet, digging into the pine needles with the toe of her sneaker
until she reaches the soil. “Not much. I would’ve gone to school for something
that would’ve given me a more stable income, and of course, I never would’ve
gone out with Roland, but there wouldn’t be many extreme changes besides
those... I probably wouldn’t have colored my hair dark auburn back in middle
school, that was a bad idea, especially with my light eyebrows... if you’re
wondering about meeting you and my life now, I wouldn’t change any of that. I
can’t think of much else.” She puts the light under my chin, illuminating my
face in the darkness. “What about you? What would you do differently?”

“I’d kill my
father.”

I say those words
like they were shot out of a cannon, an explosive charge that hits her face and
explodes. The light turns off and we’re both silent until I feel an urge to
repeat it.

“I’d kill him when I
was a child, not as an adult. I’d stop him before he slipped out of our lives
so he could never reappear years later. He should’ve been my first kill.”

She’s quiet, but
remains by my side as
Mera’s
muffled cries echo into
the night. The light shines down to the tree, over the knife, to the creek then
to the forest ahead of us.