Demon

by Laura DeLuca

  “Good Lord!” Professor Carter exclaimed, bending down to examine the poor girl. “Someone call an ambulance!”

  “Help me!”

  The girl sobbed and lifted her hand beseechingly. She raised her bloodied face just enough for everyone to see the two jagged cuts that ran across both of her cheeks.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Opening night was a nightmare. Rebecca sobbed as she watched yet another victim carried away. It seemed like it was a never-ending cycle of violence. Not even discussing the incident with her support group helped to ease her fears. The two weeks that followed dragged by mercilessly, even though things had been quiet. It was too quiet, especially considering the fact that Scott’s confession had been proven a fraud as soon as the new attack occurred.

  Once again, the finger of guilt was pointed at Quinn, but others thought maybe Scott and Chad were in cahoots. That would explain the bizarre changes in the rapist’s agenda and the sudden switch to less random acts. The whole situation made Rebecca’s head spin. She wasn’t sure who to trust, while Justyn just refused to trust anyone at all. The only fact that everyone seemed in agreement on, from students to detectives, was that the guilty party had to be involved with the drama club in some way. That was more than enough reason for Rebecca to be glad the final curtain had fallen on Demon Barber.

  What they really needed was to get away from the campus altogether, at least for a little while. Thankfully, it was the day before Thanksgiving break, and Rebecca was literally counting the seconds until she would be home in New Jersey with her friends and family, away from the nameless monster who stalked her dreams.

  “I’ll meet you back at the apartment as soon as my last class is over,” Justyn told her as he locked up his bike. “Then we’ll get packed up for the ride home tomorrow. Just be careful, okay? I hate that you have to ride home alone. If I didn’t have that calculus exam, I’d just skip the class all together.”

  “I think I’ll be safe enough in broad daylight,” Rebecca replied. “You don’t have to babysit me every single second, you know.”

  She smiled to show she was just teasing him, but he still looked worried as he gave her a goodbye kiss. Really, Rebecca was a little nervous about being alone too. They hadn’t spent much time apart since opening night. But her second class had been cancelled, so after working her shift at the campus post office, she had nothing to do for two hours. It was either head home alone or wander aimlessly around the campus. Home seemed like the safer and more comfortable option. At least there she could get a head start on her packing.

  “I know you don’t need a babysitter. I just…” Justyn sighed. “I had that dream again last night…the one about the fire…when I was just standing there, watching…”

  “It’s just a dream,” Rebecca soothed. “It’s a wonder we aren’t waking up screaming every single night after all we’ve been through. Try not to worry so much. Maybe the cops will have it all figured out before we get back, and our lives can be normal again.”

  Justyn rolled his eyes. “And maybe P.C. will develop a sense of humor before the next production.”

  Rebecca laughed, though it really wasn’t funny. The cops didn’t seem any closer to nailing the culprit, and even Professor’s Carter’s investigation into the razor blade and note had led to only more dead ends. Whatever demon was stalking the campus, it didn’t seem his reign was going to end anytime soon.

  “Well, anyway, this time tomorrow, we’ll be lounging around with Tom and Carmen, and we can forget all about this stuff. At least for a little while.”

  Justyn nodded, but she could see his forehead was creased with worry. Still, if they expected to make it through college, they had to push aside their fears and go to their classes. So they parted ways with one last kiss. A few minutes later, Rebecca sat through her English literature class, tapping her pencil against her desk. It was impossible to concentrate on George Orwell. Her mind kept wandering to thoughts of home, of family and friends, of turkey and pumpkin pie. She couldn’t remember ever being so excited about Thanksgiving before and realized she was really longing for the security of home more than any elaborate feasts. Rebecca was so lost in her own thoughts she hardly noticed when the class ended and hoped they hadn’t gone over anything crucial, because she had pretty much spaced-out through the whole lesson. Rebecca sighed as she gathered her books and walked across the walkway to the post office.

  With everyone leaving for home, mail was pretty slim. It only took Rebecca about ten minutes to divide up the piles according to box numbers and sort the letters into their appropriate places. Afterward, she was so desperate for a way to pass the next few hours, she started dusting out the empty slots. She had finished about half the office when her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. The one quick buzz signified a text message had just come through. Curious, she flipped it open to see who was messaging her. She expected it to be Carmen. Her friend had been texting a daily countdown of the time left until they would be reunited. Obviously, Carmen was a little homesick too. It made her smile, just thinking about her best friend. But when she flipped open the phone she saw the message wasn’t from Carmen. It was from Frankie.

  That seemed odd. Rebecca couldn’t imagine why Frankie would be texting her. She was pretty sure he should be on his way to the same advanced calculus class Justyn was heading to. With a shrug, she pressed a few buttons and got the message to display on her screen. As soon as she read it, it all made sense.

  It’s J. Cell dead. Bad headache. Skipping class. Hurry home.

  Rebecca would have smiled if she wasn’t instantly worried. Justyn was so eloquent whenever he spoke, but when it came to texting, he was technologically challenged. His messages always came through in broken English, and usually with extra letters that made them hard to translate. He also had a bad habit of forgetting to charge his cell phone altogether. It wasn’t the first time he had to borrow someone else’s phone to check in with her. Still, he hadn’t mentioned having a headache that morning, and it wasn’t like him to skip class even when he did. He must have been feeling really awful to even consider missing his exam. She tried to call him back to see if he was okay, but Frankie’s phone went right to voicemail. Again, it didn’t surprise her. Cell phone service was patchy at best, since the campus was in the middle of the boonies. She still went ahead and left a message.

  “Hey, Frankie. It’s Becca. Just checking to see if Justyn is still with you. If he is, have him call me, okay? Thanks.”

  The senior who was the manager of the post office was giving her dirty looks when he saw her with the cell in her hand. Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, she closed the phone, stuck it in her pocket, and went back to dusting. When her shift was over, Rebecca handed in her time card and flew out the door so she could get home as quickly as possible. She expected Justyn would be there already, since had he texted her over an hour before. Yet when she pulled her new bike into the shed, she noticed right away that his was missing. Maybe he had felt too sick to ride his bike home and had a friend drive him. Or maybe he passed out halfway there and was lying unconscious in the road somewhere. Both scenarios made her uneasy.

  “Calm down, Becca,” she told herself. “He’s probably either inside sleeping or on his way.”

  She was still anxious as she jogged up the three flights of steps to their apartment. If he wasn’t there, she was already planning a search and rescue. She couldn’t help herself. Not knowing whether Justyn was okay, especially after all that had happened, made her feel panicky. The utter silence in the hallways didn’t help. The apartment building was comprised of mostly middle-class residents who worked the nine-to-five grind. So it tended to be eerily quiet in the afternoon during normal business hours. She didn’t see or hear anyone else along the way—at least not until she got closer to her apartment. At her door, the unnatural silence came to an abrupt end. Inside, she heard the unmistakable sound of voices singing. She put her ear to the door and recognized the movie soundtrack of Demon B
arber.

  When she stepped inside the living room, the music grew a little louder, but she didn’t see any sign of Justyn. She sighed as she tossed her bags down by the door and flipped on the overhead light. Rebecca was considerably relieved to know Justyn had made it home safely, but she shook her head. She didn’t understand how he could still be so obsessed with Sweeney Todd, but he had yet to let the fascination go.

  “Justyn? Are you home?”

  There was no answer. He probably couldn’t hear her over the blaring music coming from their bedroom. She could barely hear her own thoughts as Mrs. Lovatt started singing The Worst Pies in the City. Fighting the urge to be annoyed with him when he wasn’t feeling well, Rebecca stomped into the bedroom.

  It was really dark in there too, but a little easier to see, because there were at least twenty candles lit and glowing around the room. In the center of the candles, Rebecca finally found Justyn. He was standing with his back to her, looking down at the alarm clock that doubled as a stereo while Mrs. Lovatt moved on to sing Poor Thing, the song that explained how Lucy came upon her miserable circumstances. Though he was dressed in a plain black T-shirt and sweatpants, he was inexplicably wearing the black-and-white wig of Sweeney Todd.

  Now that was strange, and not only because she could have sworn he’d left the wig backstage with the other props. She knew sometimes Justyn had a unique sense of romance, and if he were role-playing as Erik from Phantom, complete with the sexy white mask, it might have piqued her interest. But dressing up as Sweeney Todd in their bedroom was a little too disturbing, and it was unusual behavior, even for him. For the first time since walking in the door, Rebecca’s heart started to beat a little faster.

  “Justyn? What are you doing? I thought you were sick.”

  The music kept playing, but Justyn refused to turn around or speak to her. Instead, she watched him lift up the crystal geode he had given her. Though his back was still turned to her, she could see him turn it around in his fingers. He studied it as though he were seeing it for the first time before finally laying it back down on the nightstand.

  “Okay, Justyn, you have officially freaked me out. Can you please stop this now?”

  She took a few steps closer to him and lifted a hand to touch his shoulder. As soon as she touched him, she knew for sure things weren’t what they seemed. She was familiar with every curve and sinew of Justyn’s body. It was hard for her to see clearly in the candlelight, but that one touch made everything crystal-clear. The person in front of her was too thin, their shoulders not broad enough. He wasn’t even tall enough to be Justyn. She couldn’t believe she had been so easily fooled. For the second time, Rebecca had allowed herself to be set up. Her heart started to pound even before the impersonator turned around.

  “Sorry, Lucy, Justyn couldn’t make it.”

  “Li-livy?” Rebecca asked, stunned to see those deeply outlined eye staring at her, taunting her. “Wha-what are you doing here?”

  “Just getting ready for the final act in Demon Barber.”

  That familiar jeering voice had tortured her since she’d arrived, but it was never quite as threatening as it was at that moment. With the wig and the masculine clothes, all hint of beguiling elegance was gone. Livy just looked crazy. And Rebecca knew crazy. She had seen it before with Debbie. That same deranged look was in Livy’s eyes. Even though she wasn’t waving a gun around, every fiber of Rebecca’s being was telling her to turn and run, and she was smart enough to listen. The only problem was, when she tried to inch her way back out of the bedroom door, she found it was already blocked. Rebecca turned to see what obstruction was blocking her path to freedom, just as Livy’s smile widened with delight.

  “Oh look, Becca. The real star of the show has arrived. I do believe you’ve already met the demon barber of the campus, so I won’t bother with proper instructions.”

  It was true. Though the face was hidden from her view, the physique, the large rough hands, the callous stare, were all things she had seen before and would never forget. Rebecca stared into the cold, colorless eyes behind the ski mask for a full minute, paralyzed by fear, before she finally opened her mouth to scream.

  Chapter Thirty

  Rebecca started to scream, but barely half a shriek made it past her lips before a gloved hand came up and smacked her so hard her ears rung. She stumbled backward and fell to the ground. She was already dazed when Livy knelt down beside her and slammed her head against the dresser, just for good measure.

  “No, no, Becca.” Livy tsked. “We can’t have any screaming. Someone might hear you, even over the music. You wouldn’t want to ruin the show, would you?”

  Rebecca was too dizzy to reply. She had to blink a few times before Livy’s face came back into focus along the featureless mask beside her. She wasn’t sure which of the two figures looming over her was more threatening. The nameless man or the crazed Goth, whose eyes blazed with an almost feverish rage as she watched Rebecca cower. Rebecca recognized the clothes she was wearing now. They were Justyn’s clothes—the shirt and the pants were just a few of the items that had mysteriously vanished from their apartment over the last few months. Obviously Livy had been planning—whatever this was—for quite a while. Still, Rebecca harbored some small hope she would be able to get through to her. She couldn’t imagine any woman, even Livy, helping the horrible man watching silently from the doorway,

  “Livy…” Rebecca reached out to the other girl. “Please … why are you doing this?”

  “Isn’t it obvious, Becca?” She pulled back the sleeve of her shirt, revealing the jagged scars that covered her arms. “I’m paying you back for humiliating me at the party and getting Justyn to myself, all in one delightful end game.”

  “But you can’t be helping this…this monster,” Rebecca argued. “No matter how you feel about me, you have to think of all the other women he’s hurt…how could you possibly let him get away with it?”

  “We all do what we have to do, Becca. Let’s just say, he and I have a…mutual understanding.”

  “You’re crazy,” Rebecca sobbed.

  Livy’s eyes flashed, and for the first time she seemed to lose her ever-present cool. “I am not crazy! My mother was crazy, but I know exactly what I’m doing. I’ve been planning this whole thing for weeks. Believe me, Becca, my plan is brilliant, and no one is going to screw it up this time.”

  Livy gave the man in the corner a dirty look, but it was impossible to read his expression through the mask. He had yet to speak, which led Rebecca to believe Livy was the one in charge. Could the rapist be Chad? He had always been wrapped around her little finger. Or had Livy found some proof against Quinn and convinced him to help her get rid of Rebecca in exchange for her silence? There wasn’t anyone else Rebecca could think of who would be a party to Livy’s lunacy.

  “So, Becca, what do you think of my wardrobe choice?” Livy asked. “I really took the clothes for my own personal collection, but you know me. I can’t resist a dramatic entrance. Of course, I do love wearing Justyn’s clothes. They still smell like him, you know.” She lifted the sleeve of the shirt to her nose and inhaled deeply, her face taking on a look that was almost euphoric. “It makes me feel closer to him.”

  “Can we just get on with this, Livinia? We don’t have all day, you know.”

  Finally he spoke, and despite the fact he merely sounded bored, Rebecca wished he hadn’t. The gruff voice made her shudder. As strong as she had thought she was, just those few words left her paralyzed with fear. She couldn’t even bring herself to look up at him again, though she could feel his eyes boring into her.

  “Oh, we have plenty of time.” Livy waved her hand in dismissal. “I’m sure Becca is dying to know how I pulled this off, aren’t you, Becca?”

  Keep her talking, Rebecca told herself. That was how she managed to get one over on Debbie. Maybe eventually she would come up with some brilliant escape plan. Of course, she was completely on her own and outnumbered two-to-one. But she couldn’t let
herself think about that now. She had to focus on survival.

  “How did you get Justyn’s clothes?” Rebecca asked, sure to make her voice tremble so Livy would think she was already defeated. It really wasn’t that hard since she was completely terrified.

  “When you grow up like I did, you learn a thing or two. Most days, my mother didn’t even get out of bed. If I hadn’t learned how to pick a pocket, I would have starved to death. With all my experience, it was easy to lift Justyn’s keys when I came over to congratulate him on getting the role of Sweeney Todd. I made a copy for myself and then left the originals where someone else would find them.” She laughed insanely, and the refrain of the Sweeney Todd ballad seemed like fitting background music. “I’ve been slipping in and out of here for weeks,” Livy admitted. “Lying in his bed. Using his shower. Getting familiar with all that he is. And he is perfect, isn’t he, Becca? Charming, talented, romantic. And let’s not forget drop-dead gorgeous. Really, Justyn is the perfect man. That is the one thing I know we agree on. I can see why you don’t want to let him go.”

  Even as she spoke, Livy seemed lost in her obsessive thoughts. She picked up and admired one of Justyn’s gargoyle statues. Then she lifted the vial of his essential oil cologne. She closed her eyes as she dabbed a few drops onto her scarred wrists. She was so caught up in her fantasies that Rebecca was forgotten for a moment. She thought perhaps she could take advantage of the reprieve and sneak a little closer to the door. She made it a few inches, but again, the man stood in her path. He didn’t try to touch her, but he made sure the only exit was blocked.