Come Into Darkness (8 page)

“No!”

Laurie tried to pull back, struggling against Mario’s hold. His thumbs moved faster, the skin warming through friction.

“Stop it,” he cried.

“Get off me,” Laurie screamed. She pushed against him and beat his chest. His fingers clasped her skull. “Mario! You’re hurting me!”

Mario turned, seeing movement in the corner of his eye.

Worth stood by his side, clutching the lapels of his dog-eared suit. He leaned closer.

“She doesn’t understand, never has. You didn’t love those other women. They were actresses. Colleagues. Does a lady of the night adore her customers? No.” He paused and peered at the girl, fighting in Mario’s hold. “She tried to hold you back, Mr. Fulcinni, and she hurt you in front of all those people. You didn’t love the women in those films, you loved her…”

“Yes,” said Mario. His eyes seemed to glaze over. He no longer saw Laurie sat on the grassy hill. She swayed slowly on a dance floor in a dark bar, her lips entwined with that of another man.

“Mario,” she moaned. “Let me go! Please, you’re hurting me.”

“When you saw her there, with him, how did it feel?” pressed Worth.

Mario took a deep breath. Adrenaline soared through his veins.

“How did it feel?” he asked.

Laurie jerked to the side, but Mario held her fast.

“Who are you talking to?” she screamed.

“How did it feel?” Mario spat. “Like this!”

He lifted his thumbs from Laurie’s face and plunged them deep into her eyes.

She screeched. Her hands shot up and grabbed Mario’s wrists.

He roared and flexed his thumbs, using his nails to dig in. It felt like a watermelon: hard and smooth on the outside, wet and loose within. He grinned from the thought and delved deeper, aiming to scratch the inside of her skull.

Laurie’s screams cut through the quiet of the pond. Her panicking hands clawed and scratched at Mario’s wrists.

He stopped and slowly pulled his thumbs free. With the plugs gone, blood shot out in two thick jets, splashing him in the face. He wiped his eyes on his shoulder.

Laurie wailed, crying crimson tears. Her eyelids closed but trembled, like a seizure held her in its grip. She flopped to the ground.

“It’s a simple trade,” said Worth, who hadn’t budged throughout the attack. “She wanted to hurt you by making you see, and…well it doesn’t take a genius to appreciate her predicament now, does it?” He chuckled. “Feel better now?”

Mario grinned. “Much.”

He spat, tasting shaved metal on his tongue. He guessed it was true what they said about blood.

Laurie had rolled a few metres away and lay on her back. Her hands pressed flat against her eyelids, and blood flowed down the sides of her face toward her ears. Dylan stood by her head, tail between his legs. The dog watched her with mournful eyes and sniffed her hair. He released a series of high-pitched whines, as if trying to comfort his owner.

“Dylaaaan…” Mario cooed. “What’s the matter, boy?”

The dog glanced up, but stayed rooted to the spot.

Mario leapt from his seat and strode toward Laurie. His footsteps squelched in the mud.

“No,” said Laurie, holding out a hand. “Please!”

Mario ignored her and struggled past. In one step, he swung out his leg and kicked the dog hard in the side. Ribs shattered like lolly sticks beneath his foot.

Dylan squealed and fell onto his side in the mud. His paws kicked, scraping tiny ditches in the wet ground.

“Dylan?” Laurie moaned. “Dylan!”

“Nicely done, sir,” said Worth. “I knew you could get into the swing of things.” Carefully stepping across the slippery shore, he joined Mario and stood over Laurie’s prone body. He peered down. “Blood’s still flowing. I imagine it might for a while.”

Mario glanced at the girl. His pumped body seemed to swell, wanting to escape his skin.

This isn’t right.

He realised the voice spoke from within. His conscience, or whatever scrap of it was left. His mind watched him in disgust.

What have I done?

He stared at his bloodied hands, the shrieking girl and the dog, who now lay still. Its tongue hung from the side of its mouth.

“We can’t just leave her like this,” said Worth. He slowly raised his arm and pointed at the pond. “Didn’t you say she loved this place? I think she might want to stay for good…”

Mario realised the guide’s suggestion and frantically shook his head. “No! No…I can’t!”

“Of course you can. You wouldn’t want the girl to suffer further, would you, sir? Perhaps you would…” He stroked his moustache. “Go on, Mr. Fulcinni…” His voice lowered, gasping out between his lips. “She’s in pain. She broke your heart.”

Mario glanced down.

Laurie’s eye sockets still poured with blood. Her weakening hands waved in front of her face.

“Drown her…”

The fuzziness returned to Mario’s mind and he roared, clasping his head by the temples. The sound echoed across the water.

Yes.

Drown her.

“No!” he cried again.

“Come, sir,” said Worth. “Isn’t this what you came to do?” He sniffed, removed a handkerchief from the inner pocket of his jacket and wiped his nose. “I’m catching a cold already. Finish her so we can be gone.”

Finish her.

Drown her.

Yes…

Mario squeezed his fists and tried to focus on the horizon. It blurred, appearing as an abstract work in grey and green. Mario swayed.

Drown her.

“…yes…”

Staggering through the mud, he snatched at Laurie’s hand, catching her wrist. He walked on.

“Help…” she moaned, her voice barely a sigh. “Please.”

Her body carved a trench into the wet shore as Mario dragged her to the edge of the water. They passed Dylan, whose eyes rolled up to glance at them. The dog raised his head, yelped, and flopped back down.

Mario strode on, shoes sinking into the mud. It swallowed him up to his shins.

“There we go, sir,” said Worth, remaining on the higher ground, “you’ll feel good again after this.”

Mario knew he would, yet that small, appalled part of his mind observed his actions. Like a child watching a horror film, it wanted to turn away, to run from the blood and violence.

You’re no murderer.

Aren’t I?

The other voice thundered around his skull, bullying his own into silence. He took a deep breath and stepped into the water.

The pond shocked him with a numbing blast of cold. He shivered, but unperturbed, dragged Laurie further. Her body dangled from her outstretched arm. Mud coated her hair and clothes. She appeared as a figure made from fresh clay, ready for the kiln.

“That’s it,” said Worth. “Just a little farther.”

Yes!

Drown her…

Mario grinned and licked his lips. Blood still flavoured them, and he relished the taste. The water chilled his legs, and his scrotum shrivelled as it dipped into the pond.

Laurie jerked, her face emerging from the murky surface. She coughed, inhaled and released a scream.

“Shut up,” snapped Mario. He headed for the centre of the pond.

Struggling against his pull, Laurie fell back under. Her legs kicked, doing nothing more than splashing the water.

Mario stopped, bobbing slightly in the water. He gazed upwards, studying the lazy clouds meandering across the grey expanse. Bending, he drove a hand into the water. The moment his fingers touched Laurie’s sodden hair, he grabbed a fistful, close to her scalp. She thrashed, and her hand shot out, waving in the air. The other strained against Mario’s grip.

“There we go,” called Worth. He clapped. “Bravo, sir! Bravo indeed.”

Still watching the clouds, Mario relaxed a little, feeling Laurie’s kicks die down. He maintained his hold.

The rain cascaded without warning, and Mario closed his eyes, enjoying the droplets striking his face. The water seemed to vibrate around him, its surface churning from the downpour.

Mario waited.

Laurie fell slack. Her body drifted in the water. Mario released her.

“Very good,” said Worth. “Now, let’s get out of this horrendous weather, shall we?”

Mario stepped back. He studied Laurie, suspended in the pond. She floated facedown, arms out and over her head like she’d been frozen middive. Her hair fanned out and her body started to sink.

You did it. You drowned her.

Good riddance.

He waded forwards, heading for the nearest shore.

“We’ll get you dry in no time,” said Worth, walking in pace with Mario beside the pond. “No time at all.”

Mario bowed his head. The pond gently lapped against his body. He pushed his legs through the water.

Splash!

Laurie’s hand darted out. She grabbed Mario’s arm.

He screamed.

8

The pond, the dunes, the sky and ground washed into each other, like a chalk masterpiece on a rain-slicked pavement. Mario’s insides slithered, and he closed his eyes. The ground trembled, and he had the sensation of standing in a descending lift.

The hand still clutched his arm.

Mario gasped and jerked it free.

“Ow!” said a female voice. “I was only trying to help.”

He opened his eyes in time to catch a scowl from Kerry, who stood in front of him, rubbing her hand.

“I’ll let you fall on your arse next time,” she said and hunted in her pockets.

They stood in the corridor. Chandeliers twinkled, casting a golden glow. All the closed doors stretched away in either direction.

Mario closed his eyes again. His temples throbbed.

We can’t be here!

He slowly raised his eyelids, studying his surroundings, assessing the walls and floor.

It looks real enough…

But how?

Something snapped onto his shoulder, and Mario twisted to find Worth clasping him.

“Good show, sir. That’s how we do things around here. How do you feel?”

Mario laughed and staggered back. His shoulders struck the wall, and he leaned back, resting against it.

“How am I feeling?” He covered his face with his hands. “I’m going insane,” he moaned. “I’m on the floor of a dressing room somewhere with some kind of shit pumping through my veins!” He remembered the blood on his hands and flinched. He whipped them off his face and moaned again.

“Sir?”

In the light from the chandelier, Mario turned his hands over and peered at them. No dark red and brown smears marked the skin. His fingernails, even underneath, were immaculate from his latest manicure.

“I want out,” he said. “Right now.”

“But you’re doing so well,” said Worth. “Really getting into the spirit of things. I beg you to reconsider.”

Mario slid down the wall and sat on the floor. He bent his knees and tucked his legs against his chest.

“I didn’t want any of this,” he cried. Guilt consumed his body like a black flame. His stomach gurgled. He slumped his head. “I…I don’t know what happened! I wasn’t myself. Something made me do that.”

“Do what, exactly?” asked Worth. He removed a shiny gold pocket watch from the confines of his jacket, checked the time and replaced it. “You think you are a murderer now?” He chuckled.

Mario stared at his hands, seeing his thumbs punch into Laurie’s eyes. He shook his head.

“I…I…”

“…did nothing wrong,” Worth finished. “Things work differently here, sir. No one is killed. I don’t think anyone has even stubbed a toe in the House!”

Mario pointed, but with no target, waved his finger around. “The pond,” he yelled. “Laurie! And the dog! You saw what happened.” He breathed deep. “What have you done to me?”

Worth stood watching with quiet patience. He cleared his throat.

“Sir,” he purred. “I assure you, no one has been killed. How could Miss Foster attack her own mother? Her own
dead
mother? You think we dug her up and brought her back to life? No, sir. Nor did we travel the country searching for your ex-girlfriend and pet just for your amusement. Think about it.”

Mario pressed two fingers against his throbbing forehead. “I…can’t…think!”

Cigarette smouldering between her lips, Kerry walked down to the corridor and sat beside him.

“No. You’re thinking too much. I’ve been here before. It’s like a theme park. Whatever goes on is all smoke and mirrors, and you should enjoy it. We have to get off the ride soon.”

Slowly, Mario turned and met her eyes.

“I didn’t want to do that,” he said. “Something
made
me do it.” He rubbed his head. “This is so fucked up!” He reached out and plucked the cigarette from Kerry’s mouth.

“Hey!”

Ignoring her, Mario sucked a drag and held the sour smoke in for a moment. He exhaled, his head floating from the nicotine.

“If you’d just have asked,” said Kerry, “I could’ve given you one.” She fished out another and lit it.

Need to get out.

Mario stared at the closed door on the other side of the corridor. He dragged on the cigarette again. It tasted slightly better.

“I think we should press on,” said Worth. “Can’t dilly-dally too much. The pair in the next group might catch up. We can’t have people waiting.”

Glancing up, Mario said “Press on? You’re crazy! You’re both crazy.” He struggled to stand. “Get me out of here right now!”

Worth sighed. “Very well. Although it is the company’s policy that no refunds be given, and that you maintain our confidentiality agreement…”

“Just get me out of here. I don’t care about the damn money. I just wanna go.”

Kerry blew out a smoke ring. “Big mistake. You don’t know what you’ll be missing. It’s my turn again next, too.”

Worth shook his head.

“Only if sir wants to leave,” he said. “I was so impressed with his performance that I’m tempted to let him go again straight away.”

“Hey!” said Kerry.

“No,” said Mario and lay his head back against the wall. His hands, although clean, seemed to stick with drying blood. He knew it was still there. He felt Laurie’s eyes pop beneath his thumbs. He shivered. “I’m getting out of here.”