Live Girls (41 page)

The creature behind Benedek bounded onto his back, digging the claws of its wing into Benedek's shoulder. Turning its swollen, cracked head toward Davey, the creature spat,
"We
found him
first!"
It laughed through its bloody grin as it pulled Benedek back down the stairs.

Casey tried to calm the shaking, but it only worsened until it felt as if her skin were shaking right off her bones like gelatin. She was only vaguely aware of Davey and of Benedek's cries on the stairs below and...

Casey turned, looked beyond the trapdoor to Shideh.

She was lying on the floor on her side, rolling onto her back. A bloody, stringy mass stretched from her belly to the floor as she turned over with a painful groan. Trying to sit up, she scooped a hand through the viscous matter beside her and clumsily lifted it onto her belly. The tendons on her neck stood out as she growled.

Shideh pressed both hands over the opening in her stomach, sucked in a deep breath, and let it out in a slow, throaty sigh. She inched her way to a sitting position and turned her head toward Davey.

Davey took the knife from his pocket and went down another two steps. Swinging the knife upward past Benedek's head, he plunged the blade into the creature's left eye, pushing it up to the hilt. A gout of blood rushed out over Davey's hand, onto Benedek's head, and the creature screamed, throwing itself backward, off of Benedek and down the stairs.

The knife remained in Davey's hand as the creature's head slid off of it.

Davey held his bloody forearm out to Benedek. “Grab my wrist!” he said.

When Benedek had a firm grip on Davey's wrist and arm with both hands, Davey stepped back, heaving Benedek up the stairs until Benedek was able to grab the edges of the opening and pull himself the rest of the way out.

Davey's heart was thundering in his chest, his lungs were on fire, and his eyes were beginning to tear, blurring his vision, but not so much that he could not, upon turning around, see Shideh sitting up against the wall. Her smile was confident. She tried to stand but stumbled, and tried again.

Davey pulled Benedek to his feet.

“Davey, they have J-Jackie down there, I f-found her, she's
—
"

“Walter, you've got to get out of here!” Davey snapped, turning him toward the door. “Go outside, go back to the cab, just get away from the building!"

Benedek staggered toward the door but Shideh threw herself forward and wrapped an arm around his leg, trying to use it as a crutch to lift herself to her feet. Benedek almost tripped but spun around.

She held on.

Benedek's right foot was bare and bloody, his left wore only a torn sock. Davey saw the pain in his face as he put his weight on his right foot, and the anger that flared in his eyes as he pulled his left foot back and kicked it hard into Shideh's stomach. The stockinged foot disappeared for a moment into the gash in the woman's belly, then pulled out, dripping with dark fluids.

Shideh let go of his leg and slammed against the wall, her scream strangled by the blood in her throat.

Benedek staggered away from her and fell against the door, opened it, and turned to Davey.

“Come on,” he said hoarsely, nodding toward Casey. “Get her and let's go.” He had to shout to be heard above Shideh's screams.

Davey hurried to Casey and lifted her up, turning toward the door as the tall balding man came back into the room, passing Benedek as if he weren't there and crouching at Shideh's side. He looked over at Davey, bared his fangs, and roared,
"What have you done to her?"
He turned to Davey and tensed, like a cat about to pounce, but Benedek moved faster, shoving the man with his foot,
hard,
throwing him over the floor just far enough to tumble him through the open trapdoor.

Davey kicked the door shut as the man began to scream.

Benedek held the door open and Davey carried Casey to it, stopping when he heard Shideh's voice, but different, thicker, deeper.

“There is nowhere you can go,” she growled, “where I
can't fiiiind
you!"

Her face was dark now, covered with hair. Davey carried Casey out, through the token cage and into the front corridor. Her head was pressed to his shoulder and she was babbling senselessly.

“Here,” Davey said, turning to Benedek. “Take her outside. I want to get the customers out of the booths."

“This place could go any second, Goddammit!” Benedek snapped.

“I won't be long,” he insisted, carefully passing Casey's trembling body to Benedek's arms.
"Get out!"

Davey ran down the musty corridor and rounded the corner into the room of booths. One of the men was already coming from a booth, buttoning his pants through the open front of his raincoat.

“The fuck is goin’ on?” the man barked, brushing back a few greasy strings of his black hair.

“There's a fire!” Davey shouted. “Get out! Now!” He began banging on the doors with his fist, shouting, “Fire! Get out!” He grabbed the handle of one of the doors and pulled hard, jerking it open, breaking its latch.

A short old man gasped, pulling up his pants.

“
Jeez
—
what the
—
who do you
—
"

Davey grabbed the collar of his coat and jerked him out of the booth. The man fell to the floor, his pants just above his knees.

“Get out of here, there's a fire!"

The man began crawling, trying to pull his pants up at the same time.

“Davey!” The voice was muffled, but Davey recognized it immediately.

He looked into the booth and saw Anya pressing her hands to the glass.

She was beautiful.

“Davey, what's happening?” she shouted. “What are you doing?"

Davey smiled coldly as he slammed the door of the booth, wishing he could stay to watch her burn.

Benedek eased Casey into the backseat of the cab, then got in beside her.

“What the hell's going on?” the driver asked. “Whatsamatter with
her?
Look, I don't want no
trouble,
okay?"

Ignoring her, Benedek slammed the door and said, “Start the car and pull up there,” pointing toward Live Girls.

As the cab began to move, Benedek leaned back in the seat and clenched his teeth against the throbbing pain in his foot and back. Looking through the windshield, he saw several men running out of Live Girls, their long coats slapping behind them, some with their belts unfastened and flies open.

The cab stopped and idled before Live Girls.

“God
dam
mit!” Benedek hissed when he saw a tall, naked woman bound through the black curtain and run down the sidewalk, her black hair sweeping behind her as she took long, graceful strides. Another followed her. “They're getting away."

“
Who's
getting away?” the driver demanded. “Look, whatever you guys are doing, I don't want no part of it, so get your ass outta my cab!"

“Davey?” Casey whispered, huddled against the door of the cab.

Benedek put an arm around her. She was convulsing violently; her lips were pulled back in a grotesque, painful grimace as she looked up at Benedek. There were tears in her eyes as she clutched the collar of his coat.

“I'm ... so ... hun ... greee...” she sighed. Her breath, damp with rot, made Benedek wince.

Benedek said softly, “Is there anything I can do?"

“Didn't you
hear
me?” the driver barked. “I said I want you outta
—
"

“I
heard
you, but I gotta sick woman back here, okay?” He leaned closer to Casey and asked again, “What can I do?"

She touched his face softly, and as she spoke, she moved her hand over his ear to his neck, around his throat, fluttering it over his shoulders as she looked into his eyes.

She had beautiful eyes. Benedek had not noticed the first time he saw her just how beautiful they were, how big and soft and inviting, how embracing...

“I have to feed, Walter,” she breathed, “I have to feed soon or, or I don't know what's going to happen to me, something bad, I, I feel like my, like my
skin
is melting off, and I'm afraid..."

She put her hand over his on her shoulders.

“...that if I don't feed soon..."

And gently lifted it, pushing the sleeve up a bit.

“...it
will
melt. Right. Off. My bones."

Benedek took in a deep breath as she touched her lips to the underside of his wrist, looking up at him through long lashes.

“Casey,” Benedek said, but his mouth only formed the name soundlessly.

“Just a little,” she whispered, her breath warming his skin. “That's all, just a little..."

When he felt the sting, Benedek suddenly felt weak and leaned heavily against the back of the seat.

Casey stared up at him, unblinking.

She slurped softly.

Benedek wanted to close his eyes and relax, enjoy the feeling of ease that was blanketing him, but he did not want to lose sight of her eyes...

“How much longer is your friend gonna be, anyway, huh?” the driver asked.

Benedek blinked, glanced at the driver in the rear-view mirror, then down at Casey. He saw a drop of blood beading at the corner of her mouth and jerked his hand away, the ease he'd felt an instant before turning to nausea as he slapped a palm over his bleeding wrist.

Casey fell away from him, leaning against the opposite door, smiling slightly and licking her bloody lips, laughing quietly deep in her throat, her whole body trembling orgasmically. She closed her eyes and folded her arms across her chest, hugging herself.

“Did you hear me?” the driver asked. “How long is your..."

Massaging his wrist, Benedek spotted Davey through the wet window over Casey's shoulder. He was running from Live Girls.

“He's coming now,” Benedek said.

Davey stumbled to a halt on the wet sidewalk, frantically looking for the cab.

“Davey! Over here!” Benedek called.

Running toward the cab, Davey began screaming, “Drive! Drive! Drive!” as the cabdriver shouted over her shoulder, “I want you bums outta my Goddamned cab or I'm gonna
—”
and Benedek beat a fist on the partition and roared, “Just drive the fuck outta here
now!
"

Davey threw himself inside the cab.

The door slammed.

The driver put the car in gear.

And the dark doorway of Live Girls belched fire with a bone-cracking
WHA-BOOMPH!

The car jolted with the explosion as it pulled away from the curb.

“Faster!” Davey shouted.

“This ain't a fuckin’ freeway!” the driver replied, her anger replaced by fear and confusion.

Davey and Benedek looked at one another for a moment
—
Davey felt a smile pushing the corners of his lips up
—
then they turned their eyes to the back window.

Pedestrians were hurrying across the street away from the burning building; some fell; a woman's coat was on fire; flames licked the sidewalk and rose toward the night sky. There was another explosion and the building next to Live Girls began to burn; its windows exploded outward, showering the street with glass, and a flashing sign that promised a live sex show sprayed sparks onto the sidewalk as it fell and shattered.

A burst of flames broke away from the fire, shooting up then billowing as it swept down in a bright arc over the street, taking shape, stretching out its wings.

“Oh God,” Davey whispered.

Diving downward, straight for the cab, screaming...

“Drive faster!” Davey shouted, hitting the partition.

It was a loud, hurt, and angry scream.

Shideh's scream.

The creature landed with a heavy jolt on the trunk, slamming its head against the window, spreading a web-like pattern of cracks over the glass.

Her face was barely distinguishable amid the flames that had already destroyed her flesh and were exposing bone beneath as she spread her burning wings over the window and screamed wordlessly as she slowly slid off the trunk and landed in a burning pile in the street, jerking violently a few times, then remaining still as the flames died away in the rain.