Ugly Beautiful (15 page)

'No!' continued Jason, as if being hit by the ultimate realisation. Like his worst fears and nightmares were all coming true at the exact same time. The realisation was like a baseball bat to the head. Was he in fact talking to his beloved Haley?

'Please God no…' Jason gently sobbed, trying his best to restrain from bursting into an even bigger and more uncontrollable break down. He could not even bring himself to say Haley's name aloud.

'Please no.' Jason continued to sob.

'It's me Jay... son.' The thing continued to smile hideously. 'It's me... Gar... reey.'

Jason shook his head hard, almost doing a double take at the creature in front of him. Once again he studied the completely unrecognisable disfigured thing in dismay. Did he just hear right?

'Gary? Gary-Gary.' said Jason almost speechless and still torn in utter disbelief, but with mixed emotions now and a touch of guilty joy and hope that this ghastly, hideous thing in front of him was not his Haley. 'My fucking mate and partner, Gary?'

'The one... and only...pal' spluttered Gary. Jason stared at the hideous creature for some time. His mates Scottish accent was unmistakeable to him now. But he was still aghast that this was one totally unrecognisable human being staring back at him and dressed in what remained of a pretty woman's casual summer outfit.

'But how? How can this be? How the hell can you be here Gary? And what the fuck happened to you man? I don't understand this. I don't understand any of this.'

'It was Brad.' continued Gary pacing his speech, which clearly pained him, even to move his lips. 'He wasnie happy with what ye did Jason. And neither was I ye bastard. You murdered your ain wife, your father, your unborn child. Then ye took oor money and ran...'

More blood trickled from the side of his mouth.

'I'm sorry Gary.' replied Jason, still in a surreal daze, absolutely amazed that Gary was still alive, let alone putting mumbled and understandable sentences together. This last thing he'd expected from this whole damn sick charade was to be making an apology for his recent actions, especially to Gary of all people.

Jason looked down and away from Gary.

'There's not a second of my waking day that I don't regret killing her Gary, and killing that innocent child too. Not a fucking second. I was blinded by rage and emotion. My father I would gladly kill all over again, in a fucking heartbeat, but I can't take back what I did to her Gary. I can't. But I have to live with that for the rest of my life. Which I'm guessing is going to be over pretty damn soon. But whatever happens to me now, here, in this place. I'll die knowing that I deserved everything this sick fuck is going to do to me. If not for my dead wife, but for the soul of that innocent unborn life I took.'

Silence fell upon the cellar. The only sound came from Gary's heavy breathing.

'Why did you no come to me Jason? We could have sat doon with Brad. We could have made a plan. We could have helped to get you away.'

'I just wasn't thinking Gary. I was in no state of mind for a fucking sit down, cup of tea and a kit-kat. I tried to shoot myself Gary for Christ sake, right after. In my own fucking bedroom. I would have succeeded too if it wasn't for empting every last chamber of my gun into that bastard's chest and guts. All I could think about from that point onwards was just getting the fuck out of dodge. Just getting somewhere safe, quiet and peaceful for a few days, to think things through.'

'And did you have a nice wee relaxing week away thinking things through?' Gary sneered, slavering more blood and saliva.

'Fuck you Gary. Fuck you.'

Another long pause filled the air. Jason started to calm down again.

'How did you end up here Gary? How the hell...?'

Gary sniggered. Skin flapped and blood sprayed when he did.

'We questioned a couple of your auld girlfriends. See if any of they bitches knew where ye might of disappeared tae.' Gary coughed violently. 'The anly girl who gave us even a remote clue to where you might be hiding oot was that nurse chick, Amanda.'

Jason recalled the name and face of an ex nurse fuck buddy he'd once known. He'd taken her away one time, just like other girls during his womanising days, up to his deceased uncle's cottage in the highlands for a unromantic, dirty weekend away. To Jason it was another lifetime ago.

'She said that a few years back you'd taken her up to a wee cottage oot in the highlands for a romantic break away, but she didnae have a clue where or how far north it was. Do you remember her Jase?'

Jason broke away from his memories of a forgotten, seedy, lust filled weekend. A memory that seemed to blend effortlessly in to all the other dozen or so dirt weekends.

'Aye… I remember her Gary.' said Jason softly. 'My uncle had just died and left me the cottage. So I decided to come up and take a wee look at the place for myself. Amanda came with me for shits and giggles.'

'Well, we knew it was a long shot, but from the description she gave us of the area on the coast, myself and a few of the boys all took separate cars and drove up here to have a wee scout aboot for ourselves.'

Gary forced an absolutely hideous and ridiculous grin through his half missing fleshy lips and cheeks.

'And lucky old me aye. Looks like I was on the right trail after all.'

'But how did you get here Gary? To this fucking mad house. How did you end up down here in this cellar? I don't understand.'

Gary coughed violently again, spitting out a mouthful of blood onto the cellar floor this time.

'Bloody fucking hitchhiker.' cried Gary. 'Bloody fucking sexy hitchhiking bitch.' He shouted with all the anger he could muster from his bruised and burning lungs. 'She was gorgeous Jase. Blonde hair, blue eyes, tight denim shorts, fit Body. Fit as fuck you know. Just bloody gorgeous.'

Jason remembered the young blonde hitchhiker he'd almost picked up himself a week earlier on his way up to the cottage.

'When I saw her standing at the side of the road all sexy as fuck, I just had to pick her up Jase. I mean hoo could I no man. She was just sae sexy... Just like the girls you used take home at the weekends from the clubs you know. I mean you should've seen her man. I couldnae not pick her up.'

Jason remained silent, still thinking hard about his close call with the hitchhiking psycho. He thought briefly about how lucky he'd been to just drive away, not ending up like Gary here. Ha! Jason chuckled at the thought. How lucky he'd been alright. He let out a deep sigh at just how lucky he was to be in this hellish mess.

'So I took a leaf oot of your book Jase. You were always telling me to be mare like you no, and man up? Start thinking with ma dick for a change rather than ma heart no? So of course I picked the sexy wee bitch up. We drove for a few miles. We talked, we laughed, we flirted, just like a pair of randy wee teenagers. And it felt so good to connect with someone like that you know.'

Gary fell silent, happily reminiscing about that afternoon spent driving around with the blonde woman.

'And then finally I drove her up here to this bloody, fucking farm.'

Gary closed his eyes, transporting himself back to that very moment that sealed his agonising doom. That moment where he still had a choice to drive away after he dropped the girl off outside the farmhouse. A choice to just let the cute little blonde exit his car and leave. All he had to do was bite his tongue and drive away. Drive the fuck away and continue with this chasing after Jason nonsense.

'Just before she got oot of the car, the bloody bitch came ontae me did she no. Fucking rubbing ma leg, giving it the auld dirty talk you know. How horny and randy she was living here all alone in this house day after day. How living on a farm was so lonely and boring. How long it had been since she'd had a good auld fashioned piece of human beef between her thighs. What a filthy mooth on this girl I tell ye Jase.'

Gary chuckled at the thought, but the pain of opening his mouth too wide completely over ridded his nervous system and he began sobbing pitifully instead.

'And so with an erection the size of the forth road bridge I followed her inside this place did I not. Like the lustful, pathetic wee fool I am, into this house, into these gates of burning hell. And while ma back was turned, well she beat me Jase. She beat the living piss out of me with a fucking spade.'

Gary stopped sobbing and released a few deep breaths, trying to regain his composure.

'And noo... Here I am.' continued Gary. 'A little mare worse for wear.' Gary half chuckled, forgetting the shear utter pain this motion caused. He broke into a pitiful fit of sobs again. 'And look what she's done to me Jase? Look what that fucking whore has done tae me? I cannie even move ma legs Jase. I cannie even feel them.'

Jason glanced grimly at Gary's missing legs and tried his hardest not to grimace.

'I can hardly see and I've anly got feeling in one fucking arm. She must've drugged me up real good.' Gary sobbed even more, turning his attention back to Jason. 'What aboot ma face Jase? How's ma face man? I've hud sae many bad dreams aboot what that sick bitch has done tae me I cannie even remember what's real anymare.'

Jason's surreal expression soon turned to one of absolute pity and discomfort.

'How's ma face Jase? Pal? And be honest. Please... How dae I look?'

There was an awkward pause. Jason stared uncomfortably at Gary's ghastly and hideously disfigured, blood stained face.

'Your face... Gary mate.' Jason replied completely at a loss for words.

'Please... Please tell me.' Pleaded Gary in a cowardly desperation. 'It feels so tight on one side, sae soggy on the other. Sometimes it throbs a lot too. Is it okay? Is it okay pal?'

'I...' Jason tried to find the right words, or any words for that matter. 'Your face... Gary... it looks...'

Jason tried his best to be positive forcing a half wry smile to match his words.

'It looks just fine and peachy from here my friend. There's a few... minor... wee scratches, bumps and bruises here and there but... I think... I think you'll live man. I mean... I think you'll be okay mate.'

Gary closed his eyes sobbing hard, not believing a single word Jason had just uttered. Jason felt slightly ashamed of his kind, yet untruthful words. He focused his shameful gaze down towards the cellar floor. He closed his eyes, desperately trying to transport his mind into another time, another place, far, far away from this horrific nightmare.

Jason's vision of a far away sunshine land full of clear blue skies, rainbows, apple green palm trees, golden honeycomb sands, gorgeous crystal clear blue seas, a boat and Haley, was crudely and brutally shattered by Gary's sudden and horrific, torturous screams.

Jason opened his eyes to see the crazy blonde woman back and standing adamantly over Gary from behind his wheelchair. Her left hand was shoved deep and rough inside his mouth, while her right hand held a razor sharp edged kitchen knife underneath his tongue. Gary screamed, moaning like a hundred and twenty pound woman trying to give birth to a sixty pound gorilla baby, even though the woman had yet to inflict any wounds or pain thus far.

'What are you doing? What the fuck are you doing to him? Leave him alone. Leave him the fuck alone you sick crazy bitch.' Jason freaked, reacting furiously. The woman just giggled like a cheeky child as she wrestled to grab a firm hold of Gary's wet and squirming tongue. Finally she captured the wriggly little beast, placing her knife hard against the bottom fleshy pad of the captured muscle.

'PLEASE!' pleaded Jason. 'Please... just leave him be... just leave him be.'

The girl chuckled harder without even a flicker of acknowledgement towards Jason. Then she cut out Gary's tongue.

'YOU SICK, SICK FUCK!' Jason raged in utter disgust. His face turned bright red with anger. His neck veins bulged like they were pumping ten times the amount of blood through his body. 'You sick psycho BITCH. Leave him alone. Leave him the fuck alone. What's wrong with you? What the hell is wrong with you?'

The crazy blonde woman finally pulled the bloody, fleshy pulp tongue right out from Gary's squirming mouth. All Gary could do was watch and groan with muffled mumbled sobs and moans as the woman took his tongue from him.

'Please. PLEASE! What the fuck is this? What the hell are you doing? What the hell do you want from us? This is insane. This is fucking INSANE.'