Desolace Omnibus Edition

by Lucian Barnes

  The door opened and her brother stepped inside. “Mom wanted to know if the two of you needed anything before she went to bed,” Matt relayed.

  “Nah." Katie gestured as if dismissing a butler. "We were just talking and will probably be going to sleep soon anyway, but thanks.”

  “Okay. I’ll let her know.” Turning away, Matt closed the door gently behind him.

  “Whew! That was close,” Katie sighed nervously.

  “Did you wanna try again?” Julie asked with an impish grin.

  “Maybe some other time. It didn’t seem to be working anyway.”

  “True,” Julie conceded.

  Silently, under the bed, the message indicator slowly moved across the board until it hovered over the word no.

  Chapter 3

  George turned off the engine of his van and stepped out into the warm, late spring sun. Casually walking over to a park bench with a newspaper tucked under his arm, he sat down. As he leaned back to get comfortable, a cool breeze swept up the nearby jogging path. The wind almost seemed to beckon the newspaper, which was now in his hand, to open. Hearing the distant crunch of feet on the gravel, he glanced down the trail and noticed two dark-haired females approaching. One was wearing dark blue sweatpants and a similar sweatshirt that had some sort of logo on it he couldn’t make out. The other was wearing black shorts and a maroon T-shirt.

  This had always been his favorite park. No matter what time of year he came here, there always seemed to be something to catch his interest. Turning his attention back to the newspaper, he unfolded it and gazed at the front page. The articles about him seemed to be getting longer, even though they always appeared to have the same drab story. The only noticeable difference between this column and those of the past were the pictures and the addition of a new name. The story before him had photographs of both missing women, side by side, along with a generic picture of the park entrance.

  Looking up from the newspaper, George smiled as the two women jogged by. The one wearing sweats smiled back as she went by, but the lady in shorts beside her didn’t seem to notice him at all. As they passed, George noticed the logo on the sweatshirt of the friendlier girl, which proclaimed that she was a Toledo police detective. The realization forced his lips into a grin. It seems the stakes have been raised! Shifting the paper to cover the growing bulge in his pants, he turned his attention back to the headline.

  His smile grew wider as he read, knowing that the police were no closer to solving the disappearances of the two women. They didn’t have any new leads. Hell, from what he read, they weren’t even completely sure that the two abductions were linked. Everything appeared to be no more than a hunch, or speculation, with absolutely nothing to back it up.

  Although he was tempted to snatch another woman from under the noses of the police, George knew he had unfinished business to attend to, waiting for him at home. Standing up, he tucked the newspaper underneath his arm and briefly scanned the area around the bench, making sure he had left no evidence of his presence. Satisfied after his cursory examination, he strolled back to his van and left the park.

  Chapter 4

  Misty Hollows was a small, rural town. In some people's eyes it was considered a suburb of Toledo, even though it was close to a half-hour drive away. Being as small as it was, however, Misty Hollows didn’t really have much to offer bored teenagers. It had a converted mobile home that the residents called the post office, Misty Hollows High School, a small bar named Lucky’s—which doubled as a bowling alley and only had four lanes—a corner store on the edge of town called Hollow’s End, and a little mom and pop restaurant named the Tabletop Diner. If you were looking for something to do in Misty Hollows, chances were pretty good that you would make the thirty-minute drive to Toledo.

  Needless to say, when Katie and Julie woke up the next morning they quickly became bored. After Katie’s mom made them eggs and bacon for breakfast, they tried to find something interesting to watch on the television, but didn’t have any luck. The usual run of Saturday morning cartoons was the only thing on.

  Julie turned to Katie as she clicked off the television. “I am sooo bored.”

  “What do you wanna do?” Katie asked, shifting her position on the couch and tucking a leg beneath her.

  “Well, the only idea I have at the moment is going to the drive-in, but we can’t do that ‘til later.”

  “Hmm.” Katie frowned, deep in thought. “What about going to the mall and hanging out for a while, or going to the park?”

  “Now why didn’t I think of that?” Julie laughed. “Both of those ideas sound better than this.” Pointing toward the blank television screen, she sighed.

  Katie blushed. “We can always do both. Maybe it will kill enough time that we can head to the drive-in afterwards.”

  “Good point. Though, if we’re gonna go to the mall I should probably go home first so I can get some money. First National Bank of Dad,” Julie smirked.

  “Oh my God! That is too funny!” Katie nearly fell off the couch laughing.

  “I’ll go grab my keys from your room.” Julie smiled, standing up and stretching her legs before disappearing into the hallway.

  “And I’ll let my mom know we are gonna be leaving.”

  “I'll meet you outside by the car,” Julie called back from the hall.

  As Julie vanished from sight, Katie wandered into the kitchen where her mom was cleaning up after breakfast.

  “What are you two up to this morning?” Patting her hands dry on a dishtowel, she turned to face her daughter.

  “We were gonna stop by Julie’s house for a little bit then go shopping at the mall. We may go to the park for a while after that.”

  “If you decide to go to the park, stick together. Be careful, and whatever you do, don’t talk to strangers,” Mrs. Johnson warned.

  “We’ll be careful. Oh, and we were thinking about going to the drive-in later, too. I'll call if we decide to do that, though, so you aren't waiting up all night and worrying.”

  “Just in case, make sure you have your key. I’m sure I'll be in bed by then.” She smiled. “Have a good time.”

  "Thanks, Mom." After giving her mother a quick hug, Katie dashed to her room to fetch the house key from her desk, and headed outside to where Julie was already waiting with the car running.

  Chapter 5

  A hollow metallic click bounced through the barren, dimly lit room as the lock retracted in the door across from her. The woman's eyes snapped open, but there was something covering them, preventing her from seeing what was happening. As George entered, closing and locking the steel panel behind him, he flicked a switch on the wall, instantly illuminating the blonde prisoner from above.

  She heard someone crossing the room and whimpered through the rag stuffed in her mouth. With her eyes covered by a semi-porous material, she could only see well enough to know that a light had been turned on. A shadow passed before her and she heard someone breathing nearby. George stood still for a moment, letting his eyes wander over her body and imagining what it looked like under her jogging clothes. She squirmed in her bonds, but the restraints only allowed her a couple of inches of movement in any direction. Her entire body ached and her throat felt like it was dry enough to catch on fire.

  The near silence was broken when she heard something click. The noise seemed to come from behind her and it was closely followed by something, or someone, touching her back. Attempting to lunge forward, she screamed as loudly as she could. The chains that held her rattled slightly, but didn’t give way. Although whatever was touching her seemed soft and almost gentle, like the hands of a lover, the sensation it provoked as it moved slowly down her spine sent a chill through her body. As the caress-like touch reached her lower back, the feeling changed. The sound of ripping fabric startled her, and she attempted to thrust herself forward again to escape her unseen tormentor.

  To her horror, time seemed to be running at a near stand-still, like a slow motion scene in an action mo
vie. Again she heard the ripping of fabric, but this time she felt it quickly travel up her back. As the cool air of the chamber hit her bare flesh, she realized that her shirt had just been torn from her body, and the fear of rape, or worse, overwhelmed her. A warm stream of liquid ran down her legs as her bladder released. The stench of urine permeated the room, causing her to gag.

  Feeling the waistband of her sweatpants being pulled backwards, she knew it wouldn't be long before they were also torn from her body. Struggling frantically against her bonds, she heard the urine soaked cloth hit the floor with a wet slap.

  Scared out of her mind, she heard footsteps crossing the room. Her only hope was that her attacker had finally gotten bored and decided to leave. Again she felt the sensation of time slowing to a crawl as she waited, for what seemed like hours, to hear the sound of the lock. Instead, she heard a screeching noise that reminded her of fingernails being dragged across a chalkboard. Goosebumps erupted on her flesh.

  Pointing the nozzle of the hose at the woman, George squeezed the trigger firmly and completely. His captive recoiled instantly from the blast of cold water, the sudden jerking motion causing a snap in her left arm. The excruciating pain forced a scream from the woman, which—even through the gag in her mouth—was deafening. The ensuing queasiness made it apparent to her that her arm was broken, but seconds later it no longer mattered as much. The bliss of darkness engulfed her as she passed out. Undeterred, George finished hosing off her limp body. By the time he was done, her flesh had reddened from the constant high pressure of the hose and temperature of the water. Satisfied because the stench of piss was gone, George turned off the hose and hung it in its place on the far wall then left the room. He would wait for his new plaything to wake up again before he toyed with her any further. In the meantime, he would go upstairs and rest his eyes for a bit.

  Chapter 6

  The girls wandered through nearly every shop in the mall. They had stopped in Spencer's to browse the latest novelty items because some of the merchandise was outlandish and almost always made them laugh. A couple of curious boys had been following them for the better portion of the last hour, in part, because Julie was a phenomenal flirt. Most times, she could bat her eyelashes at a boy and get him to do anything for her. On other occasions she would act like she was bisexual, playfully flirting with Katie just to see what kind of reaction she could provoke. More often than not, Katie played along, laughing when their audience's faces would get red.

  The boys finally stopped following them when they went into Barnes and Noble, as if they were suddenly intimidated by finding out that the girls could read. Katie and Julie both really enjoyed reading Stephen King books, and they were hoping to find the parts of the Dark Tower series that they hadn’t read yet. After searching unsuccessfully for half an hour, they finally decided to ask the man behind the counter.

  "Those books are very hard to keep in stock," the clerk told them. "I can reserve copies for you when the next order comes in."

  After whispering back and forth for a couple of minutes, Julie opted to order the fifth book and Katie the sixth, both having read the first four installments of the series already. They decided to wait on getting the seventh and final book.

  As fun as it had been teasing the boys that followed them around for most of their time at the mall, there was no sign of them when they left the bookstore. Though Julie seemed on the edge of boredom, Katie convinced her to make one final stop before leaving and heading to the park. National Record Mart was her destination; it was the only music store in the area that carried a large selection of music they both liked. Katie’s interests were slightly more mainstream than Julie’s and would get occasional airplay on the radio, but the bands that Julie liked was another matter as they were rarely played. While Katie’s favorite band was Metallica, Julie preferred the darker metal bands like Cannibal Corpse and Mercyful Fate.

  After an exhaustive search that yielded nothing worthwhile, the girls left the mall, deciding to stop somewhere for lunch on their way to the park.

  Chapter 7

  The sun had almost set when George awoke from his nap, having slept much longer than he had intended. Walking into the bathroom, he splashed cold water on his face and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He sauntered into the living room and slid the bookshelf to one side by tilting a book, revealing his secret passage.

  Tina had regained consciousness a couple of hours ago, though the pain emanating from her broken arm threatened to make her pass out again. The silence of the room was deafening at times, but she was thankful for the reprieve. Things could be much worse.

  Unlocking the outer door at the base of the stairs, George stepped into the small room. Similar in function to the airlock on a spaceship, the tiny area served as a sound buffer to his chamber of horrors, as well as a place to store his gruesome trophies. After securing the aperture, he turned his attention to the shelf on his left, lit by a bare bulb swinging haphazardly in the slight breeze caused by closing the panel behind him. Atop a pile of bones sat the head of Amber Richards. Grinning maliciously, he picked it up by a tuft of red hair. Carrying his trophy like a barbarian, he strolled to the inner hatch and twisted the dead bolt, opening the door and stepping inside.

  The echoing resonance of the lock clanking across the room startled Tina. Recoiling from the sound, she nearly blacked out, once again wrenching her arm in its restraints. Scuffling footsteps approached, the sound of them stopping somewhere close by.

  Gently placing Amber’s head on the floor near the wall, George arranged her hair in such a manner that he could clearly see her face. The flesh was beginning to sag slightly as it entered the first stages of decomposition. Satisfied with his display, he crossed the room to Tina's bound body and moved behind her. Running his fingers lightly through her hair and slowly down her back, he smirked with pleasure as he felt her body tremble. His hand paused on the clasp of her strapless bra and he pinched the ends together with expert precision, instantly causing the garment to fall to the floor.

  Startled by the suddenness of her breasts being exposed, Tina futilely attempted to cover herself. George's lips upturned in a demented grin as he relished the pain he had just caused to her arm. Continuing his torment, he ran his fingers down her back as she squirmed and screamed. Stopping with his hand resting lightly on her ass, he cocked his head slightly and observed her reaction. She's learning. This time she did not try to pull away, and only a slight whimper escaped from her.

  Squatting, he continued to run his hand slowly down her body. Mesmerized by the beauty of her thighs, he encircled her leg with both hands, the flesh beneath his palms as soft and smooth as a baby's bottom. Goosebumps arose on every inch of her skin and her whimpering began to sound panicky.

  Just when Tina thought she could take no more, his hands left her body and she heard him crossing the room. An almost audible sigh of relief escaped her lips. For a few seconds, she entertained the thought that he would go away for a while. If only a wish like that would come true. A clunking noise, like something heavy pounding on metal, brought her back to reality. The sound was closely followed by a quick scratch and pop, and as she caught the faint scent of sulfur in her nostrils, she realized a match had been struck. What the hell is he doing? Is he going to burn me now?

  Watching the fire as it started to take hold of the dry wood in the fireplace, George sat down beside it and waited for the heat to intensify. Using a cast-iron poker, he began picking up Tina's clothes. Piece by piece, he placed them in the fire. When the last of her garments was introduced to the roaring flames, he left the poker resting against a log to sear any remaining fabric from its tip.

  At first, Tina had been frightened and unsure of his motives for lighting a fire, but as her skin started to grow warm, she began to feel hope. Is it possible that he has a heart? Even though she knew herself to be naked and bound, she couldn't help but think that her captor was showing a little sympathy. Maybe this ordeal is almost over. She hadn’t heard t
he person leave, but yet there had been no more touching, or anything else for that matter. Whatever the twisted reason was for her being here, she was starting to think the individual had changed his mind and decided not to continue any further.

  After watching the naked blonde woman for a few minutes and getting the impression that she was starting to relax, George turned his attention back to the fire. The flames should have seared any remnants of fabric from the poker by now. Pulling the iron rod out to check, he saw that his assumption was correct. The tip of the instrument glowed bright orange, showing no trace of anything other than ash on it. Smiling, he stood up and crossed the room with the poker hanging from his right hand.

  Stopping in front of her, he listened to her breath quicken as she felt his presence. Reaching up with his left hand, he firmly grasped one of her breasts. A gasp of air hissed through her gag as his hand clamped on to her, causing Tina to nearly inhale the rag into her throat. Frightened again, she tried to pull away from his hand. She cried out as she wrenched her broken arm, but fought through the pain and continued trying to keep her distance. Too late, she realized his touch was merely a distraction. An intense heat blossomed between her legs, and before she had time to react, the hot poker slammed into the flesh of her inner thigh. The pain was too great to bear and darkness claimed her once more.

  The smell of cooked flesh hung thick in the air. Pulling the poker away from her skin, George returned the tip of the iron to its former resting place, propped against the log in the fireplace. Satisfied that she would be unconscious for a while, he removed her blindfold and loosened the gag, allowing it to fall to the concrete floor with a wet slap. As he left the room, George paused for a minute in the pantry-like chamber between the inner and outer doors, retrieving a duffel bag from the small closet. Placing Amber’s remaining bones inside, he tied the sack shut and headed upstairs with it.