RETRIBUTION RIDGE: a dark, gripping and intense suspense thriller

by Anna Willett

  Judith hesitated. After a quick look around, she stood and walked the ten or so metres. The fabric turned out to be a hat. She picked it up and felt the damp cloth. It was an odd-looking thing with a flap at the rear. It could have been dropped by anyone and sat out in the bush for weeks. But if that were the case, surely the colour would be faded and the fabric dirty. She turned the hat over in her hands. It had some stains, but they looked fresh and the red too vivid to have been bleached by the sun.

  A few metres farther on, near a small crop of what looked like peppermint trees, an irregular mound became visible. It lay just out of Judith’s visual range making it difficult for her to identify, but from a distance it looked dark – a sprawled human shape. A cold finger of fear ran up her neck. The wind kicked up a notch and the shape rippled. Instinctively, she swivelled her head around searching for signs of the two men. Seeing nothing but wilderness on all sides, she moved closer.

  With each step the shape coalesced until it clearly became a body slumped on the ground. She gripped the handle of the knife. It felt slippery with sweat. All sorts of possibilities flooded her mind. At the forefront, the desperate fear that the body could be Harper. No, she thought. It can’t be her. She repeated the thought over and over as she moved closer on legs that felt disconnected from her body.

  Ten metres out from the body, Judith let out a deep shuddering breath. The shape was too large to be Harper. No sooner had relief come, then her cheeks flushed with guilty heat. The body was a human being. Still, the realisation that her girlfriend might still be alive made her pick up her pace.

  The smell hit her first. Thick and pungent, a too sweet odour. Not until she saw the man’s milky eyes and the gaping wound on his neck did she recognise the smell as something the body emits in death. Her hand flew to her neck and her mouth filled with saliva. The urge to vomit almost overwhelmed her.

  “Oh God.” Judith felt herself sway. She tried to look away but couldn’t drag her gaze from the man’s eyes.

  Time passed. She wasn’t sure how long she stood there wanting to run, but incapable of moving. Bits of information began to make it past the shock and repulsion. The man was clearly elderly; his hair, sparse and white reminded her of fairy floss. His legs were long and thin, sticking out of baggy blue shorts. Her eyes drifted down to his feet. For some reason, the red socks cut through the numbness and brought a flood of tears. She imagined the poor old man putting his socks on this morning. Maybe they were his favourite. Maybe his wife bought them for him. Had he any idea this would be his last day on earth?

  Judith lifted her hand to wipe her nose and realised she still held the red hat. She took a step towards the body and bent over. Not sure why, she felt the need to return the hat to its owner.

  “I’m sorry.” The words came out in a rush. The wind ruffled the dead man’s fairy floss hair. Using her left hand, she sat the hat on the man’s shoulder.

  A rattling sound broke through the patter of the rain. It sounded like pebbles or rocks scattering. Judith straightened and whipped her head around. The possibility that she wasn’t alone hit her for the first time since coming upon the body. The shock of finding a dead man, especially one killed with such violence, had swept away all thoughts of the two men that most likely committed the crime. Now, Judith became acutely aware of her situation.

  The sodden hoodie clung to her and chilled her skin. She held the knife out in front of her as if expecting an attack. She stood in an open space where the ground sloped upwards at a slight angle. To her left salt bushes and sporadic crops of trees; ahead lay open ground and rocks for fifteen or so metres, then snatches of trees and shrubs. It was easy to imagine someone waiting, watching. Judith stood motionless and listened. If someone was lurking out of sight, her only chance would be to hear his movements. She tensed her body hoping to pick up any sound over the volley of water. Standing in the rain next to a dead body, her instincts screamed for her to run.

  After what felt like minutes, she began to relax her arm and lower the knife. Another patter of pebbles came and then a groan. Judith brought the knife up again and tried to control her breathing. The sound seemed close. Straight ahead. She manoeuvred around the body and took a step forward. Don’t get closer, run, her mind reeled. The two men had killed at least once that she knew of, there was nothing to stop them doing it again. Every nerve in her body jangled as she took another step.

  With her attention off the body, she began to notice other things. A long blue pole and a small grey pack lay a few metres ahead. She hesitated and walked forward, straining her ears for any sound. Over the rhythmic beat of the rain and the rustling of the wind, she thought she caught a gurgling sound. It could be a trap. Or, it might be Harper trying to call for help. Her mind leapt from one possibility to another.

  Harper could be close by needing help, she had no choice but to push on and find her. Even if it meant risking her own skin. She’d do it for me. The thought gave her the strength she needed to stride forward. Within seconds she’d moved up the slope and spotted the mound of dirt. Confused at first, she simply came to a stop and stared.

  Judith took in the heap on the far side of what looked like a trench. She heard scraping coming from below and leaned forward. Her heart jumped before she recognised what she saw. Harper lay on her back in the trench. Her eyes closed, blood covering her lips and chin. There was another body nearby, but all Judith could focus on was the still form of the woman she loved.

  Judith’s legs quivered as she moved forward. The soft dirt shifted under her feet sending her sliding into the trench on her ass. The knife jolted out of her hand. When she came to a stop, her legs touched Harper’s.

  “Harper?” Judith scrambled forward on her hands and knees.

  Harper’s clothes were dirty and torn. Her legs, covered in cuts and scratches splayed lifelessly. Judith leaned over her and listened. The pounding of her own heart blocked out all other sound. She has to be alive. The familiar ache of loss grew like a lump in her chest.

  Judith reached down and touched Harper’s face. Her skin felt chilled. “Harper?” She choked out the name.

  Time seemed suspended. Judith held her breath and watched her girlfriend’s face for signs of life. Harper’s eyes moved under their lids and then snapped open. Her legs drew up and then pushed back down as if trying to gain purchase on the wet dirt.

  Judith let out a gasp of relief and put her hand on Harper’s cheek. She turned her face so they were looking at each other. For an instant, there was only blind panic in the woman’s eyes. Seeing her this way, frail and terrorised, made Judith catch her breath. The men who’d done this would pay, she promised herself she’d see to it.

  “Jude?” Harper whispered her name around a bubble of blood. “Oh, Jude.” Her face crumpled and her shoulders shook.

  “It’s okay now,” Judith leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “I found you. I won’t let them hurt you anymore.” As the words tumbled out, Judith realised the truth of them. Above everything else, including her own safety, she had to protect Harper.

  “How badly are you hurt?” She wanted to ask other questions, find out what they’d done to her, but now wasn’t the time. Getting away from the open pit and somewhere safe had to be her priority.

  “I … I don’t know.” Harper shook her head and coughed. A dribble of pink frothy blood formed at the corner of her mouth.

  “It’s okay, sweetheart.” Judith trailed her fingers across Harper’s forehead, brushing the wet tangle of hair away from her face.

  She leaned back on her heels and stripped off the hoodie. It was almost wet through, but at least it might offer some comfort. She draped the jacket over Harper’s chest and arms. When her hand touched Harper’s right arm, she let out a cry of pain.

  “Is your arm hurt?” Judith asked.

  “Yeah.” Harper gave a nod and her whole face seemed to tremble.

  “It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ll be careful.” Judith used the torn edge of her shirt to wi
pe the blood from her girlfriend’s mouth.

  “He… is he dead?” Harper’s words were choked and halting as if she were having trouble breathing.

  Judith frowned and then looked over at the other body. The figure of a man lay about a metre and half away. Even prone and on his side, Judith could see his imposing size. She didn’t need to ask if he were the one responsible for killing the old man. There was a hulking, menacing aura surrounding him.

  “I’ll check.”

  “No.” Harper’s left hand shot up and grabbed Judith’s shirt. She moaned and her arm dropped back over her body. “Don’t go near him … He’ll hurt you.” Harper’s eyes were wide and glassy with pain and fear.

  “It’s alright. I’ll be careful…”

  “No.” Harper coughed. “No. Run. Before he gets up.” Harper tried to lift her head. Her eyelids fluttered and she stopped talking.

  Judith leaned in and listened. She could hear Harper breathing, a wheezy gasping sound that sent a jolt of panic through Judith’s body. She was alive, but in desperate need of medical help. Judith looked around at the vast wilderness and the body nearby. If only it were that easy.

  She pulled the hoodie up to Harper’s chin then crawled around looking for her knife. She had no intention of approaching the man without a weapon in her hand. After a few minutes of running her fingers through wet dirt, she hit something solid. She brushed the dirt away, relieved to see the handle of the penknife. It wasn’t much when compared to the hulking figure laying nearby. It’s something, she told herself and stood up.

  The rain petered out. Judith used her free hand to push the wet hair back off her face. She stepped around Harper and approached the man. He was dressed in black pants, his wide shoulder’s strained against the fabric of his white vest. Judith held the knife in front of her ready in case he moved. A shaggy mass of dark hair covered the back of his head. She swallowed and bent over him.

  His hair looked wet. At first Judith thought from the rain, but on closer inspection, she could see his hair was coated with something thicker. A dip in the back of his skull accompanied a gash running down his neck. Judith glanced over her shoulder. Had Harper caved the man’s skull in? I hope so, she thought, surprised by her own coldness. She side-stepped the man’s head so she could get a look at his face. It was pressed into the dirt with only the left side visible. Judith crouched in front of him with the knife pointed at his neck. If he moved, she’d stab him.

  His eye hung open, bulging forward at an unnatural angle. His mouth slack and crusted with dirt. She felt no pity for him, only disgust. Yesterday, she’d have argued that no one deserved to be killed for their crimes. But she’d seen what he’d done to Harper and the old man. If Harper had indeed bashed his skull in, it was what he deserved. If that makes me a hypocrite, so be it, she thought with little emotion.

  The dropping eyelid blinked. Judith yelped and toppled back onto her ass. His mouth moved, dragging dirt along his lower lip. She held the knife out with a trembling hand. How is he moving with the back of his head collapsed? She watched in horror as the eye moved and fixed on her. She knew she should leap forward and stab him before he had the chance to get up. He can’t get up, his head is mush, her inner voice reminded her.

  Judith waited, torn by indecision. She’d felt nothing but relief when she thought he was dead. Maybe even pleasure thinking he’d got what he deserved, yet with the chance to finish him off herself, she’d become frozen, unable to act.

  “You!” He spoke with the slushy drawl of a stroke victim.

  Judith moved to her left and the bulging eye followed. “I’ll kill you,” he spluttered. The fingers on his left hand jerked.

  Judith jolted back and the man made a wet snuffling sound. She had to act. There was no telling if he might be able to move or hurt them. The shape of his head and the impaired speech made her think he was beyond being a threat. You thought he was dead a minute ago and you were wrong about that. Judith chewed on her bottom lip trying to think. A difficult task with the bulging eye glued to her every movement.

  It would be best to kill him. Finish him off and then be sure they were safe. Judith looked down at the small knife. Could she do it? Could she plunge the knife into a man’s neck in cold blood? A crisp wind blew through the trench. Judith shivered. The man made another snuffling sound and she realised he was laughing at her. The thought of him still enjoying watching someone suffer turned her stomach.

  She jumped to her feet and made her way back to Harper, her eyes open and filled with tears. “He’s alive,” Judith couldn’t lie to her even to spare her the worry of knowing a killer was still breathing and only metres away.

  “There’s a phone,” Harper whispered. “It’s William’s.” She spoke haltingly as if struggling to draw enough breath to speak. “Call for help.”

  Judith nodded. If she could find a phone and call for help, she might be able to get Harper and the others out by nightfall. She guessed William was the old man. Fleetingly she wondered how Harper came to know his name, but didn’t waste time asking. She remembered the small pack near the dead man’s body. That would be the best place to start looking. The only problem was the other man. She couldn’t leave Harper with him.

  Judith ran her hand over her mouth. All sorts of possibilities flooded her imagination. Not the least of them, the killer getting to his feet and reaching Harper while Judith was off looking for a phone. She let her gaze fall on the killer. He remained unmoving, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t get to his feet the minute she left the trench. She noticed he wore some sort of black nylon utility belt. It gave her an idea.

  She left Harper and went back to the injured killer. The hardest part of the plan would be touching him. As much as the thought of putting her hands on him made her skin crawl, Judith had no choice. She knelt down at his back and reached around his waist. She could feel his stomach rising and falling under her hand. He gave a grunt and muttered something incoherent. She found his belt buckle and began working it loose. It quickly became obvious that freeing the belt would be a two-handed job. Judith cursed under her breath and made her way around his body.

  His eye, still open, watched her. The glassy orb moved over her body. To get both hands on his belt, she had to kneel in front of him. She could smell sweat and something acrid. She held her breath and worked the buckle as quickly as her cold fingers would allow.

  “You’ll die.” It came out as a slushy breath but there was no mistaking the anger.

  “Shut up,” Judith snapped and tugged the belt free of his pants.

  With the strap in her hands, she moved to get up, then noticed a rectangular bulge in his front left pocket. Her heart jumped in her chest. She reached her hand into the pocket trying to ignore the heat of his legs. Her fingers found the metallic object. As she slid the phone out, he started making the snuffling noise again.

  Judith looked up and gasped. One side of his upper lip curled revealing a row of small white teeth. He was smiling at her. She wanted to pull away, close her eyes and try to block the image of his staring eye and pink gums from her mind. Instead she forced herself to hold his gaze.

  “Laugh it up freak,” she said with all the contempt she could muster. His lip dropped, but the glassy brown eye didn’t waver.

  Judith positioned herself behind him so that she could tie his wrists behind his back with the belt. Before she started, she checked the phone. It was turned off. She depressed the button and held her breath. It seemed like minutes before the icon appeared and the phone turned on.

  “Harper, I’ve got the phone,” she called over her shoulder. Without waiting for an answer, she punched in triple zero and waited. A lump formed in her throat and her heart fluttered. The call connected and a woman asking if she needed fire, police or ambulance.

  “I… I need help… Ambulance.” She hesitated. “Police too.”

  “Redirecting your call.” The voice sounded disconnected and unemotional.

  Within seconds, a female vo
ice clicked on the line and asked her about the nature of the emergency. The words tumbled out so quickly, the woman had to stop her twice and ask her to repeat herself.

  “I’m sending police and medical help,” the woman said. “Are you in any immediate danger?”

  Judith hesitated and glanced at the man’s back. Lucas said there were two of them. Maybe the other man was nearby. “Yes.” Judith let out a shaky breath. “We’re in danger. I don’t know where my sister is. She fell and hurt her head.”

  “Stay on the line.” The woman sounded calm, there was kindness in her voice. “Someone will be there soon.”

  “There’s not much charge left in the battery. I don’t know how much longer it’ll last.” Judith felt a finger of panic uncurl in her stomach.

  “I have your location, if the phone dies just stay put and wait.”

  “Yes.” Judith nodded even though the woman couldn’t see her.

  She put the phone on the ground so she’d have her hands free. They weren’t in the clear yet. She reached over the man and grabbed his wrist. His skin felt sticky. She pulled his arm behind his back. The other arm was under him. She’d have to roll him forward slightly to get at it.

  “Judith are you still there?” The operator’s voice sounded loud and urgent.

  “Yes,” Judith answered through gritted teeth and pushed the man forward. His body felt like a dead weight, but she could hear him making noises and trying to speak.

  “Police and medical have been notified, they’re on their way.”

  “Okay.” Judith managed to grab hold of his right arm and drag it behind his back. Now the man lay half on his stomach. She wondered briefly if he would be able to breathe, but quickly decided she didn’t care.

  She fastened the nylon belt around his thick hairy wrists and drew it as tight as possible. Then used the excess to wind around the gap between his hands. When she finished, she gave the belt a tug. It felt secure.