The Stake

by Richard Laymon

  “Time for me to hit the shower,” Lane said.

  “Didn’t you just have a bath before supper?”

  Her smile fell away. “I’m feeling kind of grubby.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah. Everything that...” She pressed her lips together. Her chin began to tremble and tears glimmered in her eyes.

  Larry’s throat suddenly tightened. “I’m sorry, honey.”

  She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. “Why do things... have to get so fouled up?”

  “I don’t know. It’s life, I guess.”

  “Life’s a bitch, then you die.”

  “Don’t say that, honey,” he whispered. “Everything will turn out fine.”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  “Jim isn’t the only guy in the world. Just wait and see. You’ll run into some fellow, one of these days, and fall head over heels for him.”

  “Good way to break your back,” she muttered against the side of his neck. Relaxing her hold, she kissed his cheek. “Anyway, thanks.” She stepped back and wiped her eyes on a sleeve of her sweater.

  “You’ll feel better in the morning,” he told her.

  “At least until I wake up.”

  Larry stretched out between the sheets of his bed. They were cool and felt good.

  “Lane back?” Jean asked in a husky voice.

  “Yep.”

  She sighed, and seemed to fall asleep again. Larry listened to her deep, slow breathing. Soon, he heard the distant windy sound of the shower.

  He wondered if Lane would go right to bed when she was done.

  You don’t need to look at those pictures again, he told himself. Go to sleep and forget it.

  What if Lane caught you looking at them? A girl her own age. A dead girl, to boot. She’d think you’re no better than Jim. Worse. Guys are such pigs. Including Dad.

  Just explain you’re writing a book about her. She was murdered, and tomorrow...

  Tomorrow.

  Larry had struggled, ever since lunch, to push that out of his mind. Whenever he thought about returning to Sagebrush Flat, a sick hot feeling swept through him. It came now. He kicked free of the top sheet and blanket.

  Call it off?

  What do you tell Pete? Sorry, I changed my mind. Right.

  We’ve got to go through with it.

  What if we find Uriah?

  We won’t. We were there twice before, and he didn’t put in an appearance.

  Maybe he just happened to be away the other times. Taking a stroll in the desert. Killing coyotes.

  Or right there, hidden, watching us.

  Terrific.

  Now I’ll never get to sleep, he thought.

  Think about something pleasant. Think about Bonnie.

  No! I’ve got to stop thinking about Bonnie. It’s crazy. It’s wrong.

  He heard the shower go silent.

  Lane was done. Give her fifteen minutes, he thought, to make sure she’s asleep. Then it’ll be safe to take out the pictures.

  Might as well, if I can’t sleep anyway.

  No.

  Besides, what’s the point? She’s dead. She won’t come back.

  She might. When I pull the stake.

  Bullshit,

  But what if she does?

  She won’t. There’s no such thing as vampires.

  * * *

  “Pull it and find out,” Bonnie said, her voice soft and teasing in his mind.

  “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” he told her.

  “Very much.”

  “I suppose it can be arranged.” He straddled the coffin and smiled down at her.

  It was confusing. He hadn’t pulled the stake yet, but she was already alive, naked and beautiful and talking to him.

  “How come you’re already alive?” he asked.

  She gave him a playful smile. “Vampire magic.”

  “So you area vampire?”

  “Never said I wasn’t.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You want me, don’t you?” Her hand reached up from inside the coffin and stroked him.

  “It’s not as simple as that, Bonnie.”

  “You want me, don’t you?”

  “But if you really are a vampire...”

  Bonnie lifted her legs, spread them apart, and hooked her knees over the sides of the coffin. “You dowant me,” she said.

  “I know, but...”

  “And I want you.” Her hands went to her breasts, caressed them, squeezed them. “Take out the stake, and I’ll be yours.”

  He didn’t want to pull the stake. He ached for her, but she had as good as admitted that she was a vampire. If he freed her, what would she do?

  “I won’t feed on you or your family,” she told him, as if reading his mind.

  “How do I know that?”

  “Trust me. Pull it.” Then her head lifted. It came up off the bottom of the coffin. As she writhed and massaged her breasts, her neck grew longer. Slender and white and curving forward. It lowered her head toward the jutting stake. Her tongue slid out, long and pink, dripping, and curled around the wooden shaft. Slid down to where the wood entered her chest. Cheek resting against the smooth skin above her breasts, she looked up at Larry and smiled. “Pull it,” she urged him, somehow able to talk in spite of her extended tongue.

  Larry watched, breathless, his heart slamming.

  Bonnie’s tongue, wrapped around the shaft, wound its way to the top. Her head followed. She drew in her tongue. And then she stretched her lips wide and lowered her mouth over the blunt end of the stake. She sucked on it.

  She’s going to suck it right out of her, Larry thought.

  It’s okay if shedoes it. As long as I’m not the one...

  “Cop out!” A stranger’s voice.

  Bonnie’s head jerked up, fluid spilling down her chin, her eyes furious. With her long neck, she reminded Larry of a cobra rising to the tune of a snake charmer. Her head swiveled toward the sound of the voice.

  Larry looked, too.

  The stranger wore the dark robe of a monk. Its hood hung low, hiding his face.

  “Uriah?” Larry asked.

  “Do not be deceived by the evil one,” the stranger said.

  “Kill him, Larry,” Bonnie said, her voice low and calm, coaxing. “That’s Uriah, all right. He’s the one who did this to me.”

  “Get thee back to Hell, demon!”

  “He’s a madman,” Bonnie said. Her voice sounded farther away. And different. There was nothing sly or seductive about it. She sounded very much like Lane. Larry felt his chest tighten. “He murderedme. And it hurt. It hurt so much.”

  Larry looked away from the stranger.

  The coffin was empty.

  For a moment, Larry thought, It’s too late! She sucked the stake right out and she’s alive!

  Then he saw her. She stood on the other side of the coffin. Tears gleamed in her eyes. Her chin trembled slightly. There was no stake in her chest. Somehow, she now wore Lane’s white sweater, jeans and boots. But she was Bonnie, beautiful and innocent and weeping softly.

  Larry suddenly realized he was naked. He looked down at himself and sighed with relief. He now had his robe on.

  “He killed me,” Bonnie said, her voice trembling.

  “Vampire!” Uriah bellowed. “Hideous slut!”

  “Shut up,” Larry snapped at him.

  “I’m no vampire,” Bonnie said. She sniffled. “Uriah’s crazy. He... he murdered my friends and me. We never did anything.”

  Larry scowled at Uriah.

  “She’s lying, you fool.”

  “Oh yeah?” Larry snapped. “You goddamn maniac, you...” And he was suddenly rushing the man. “I’ll kill you, you fucking maniac!”

  Uriah hurled the severed head of a coyote at him.

  The eyeless head rumbled through the air, blood spraying from the stump of its neck, its maw wide, fangs dripping. Larry flung up his arms to block it. The teeth snapped shut on his forearm. He yel
ped and flinched and woke up.

  The house was dark and silent. He lay uncovered on the bed, trembling, his skin tingling with goose bumps and bathed in sweat. He sat up. The bottom sheet peeled away from his wet back. Looking past the vague form of his sleeping wife, he squinted at the alarm clock. Almost one. He couldn’t have been asleep for more than half an hour.

  Not even closeto morning.

  He ran his hand through his drenched hair. The muscles along the sides of his neck felt tight and cold. They seemed to be squeezing pain into his head.

  He climbed out of bed, stepped quietly to the closet and put on his robe. It clung to his damp skin. Knotting the belt, he went into the hallway.

  He passed Lane’s open door on the way to the bathroom. Her light was off, but he wondered if she was asleep. He didn’t stop to check.

  It doesn’t matter, he told himself. I’m not going to look at the pictures.

  What willI do? he wondered.

  He knew what he wouldn’t do — go back to bed. Not right away, at least. He felt wide awake. Besides, there was no point in trying to sleep until the headache subsided. And he didn’t want to risk another dream. Not like that one.

  At the end of the hallway he entered the bathroom. He shut the door but left the light off, knowing it would hurt his eyes. The mellow glow from the night-light was enough. As he stepped toward the medicine cabinet, he breathed deeply of the scents that still lingered after Lane’s shower. Feminine, flowery aromas from her soap or shampoo or body powder... who knows what? But they filled the bathroom with her presence, and Larry felt himself relax a little.

  He took two aspirin, washing them down with cold water.

  He returned to the door. He took hold of its knob.

  He realized that he didn’t want to face the dark, silent house beyond the door. He didn’t want to lie in bed and wait for sleep. He didn’t want to sleep. He didn’t want to sit alone in the living room and try to read or watch television. He didn’t want to sneak into his office and slide open the file cabinet and take out his pictures of Bonnie.

  I’m just fine right here, he told himself.

  He thumbed down the button in the middle of the knob. The door locked with a loud ping.

  He lowered the toilet seat and sat down. Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his knees. He stared at the bath mat. Even in the faint light he could see where Lane’s wet feet had matted down the nap.

  He breathed through his nose, savoring the comfortable, familiar mix of aromas.

  Bonnie can’t get to me here, he thought.

  A knock on the door startled him awake. The bathroom was gray with morning light. “Dad, my teeth are floating.”

  “Just a minute.” He pushed himself off the floor, picked up the bath towel he’d used to cover his legs, hung it on the rack and straightened his robe. He flushed the toilet. Then he lifted its seat and stepped to the bathroom door. “What’s the secret password?” he asked.

  “I’m gonna pee on the floor!”

  “That’s it.” He opened the door.

  Lane rolled her eyes upward. “About time.” As she sidestepped past him, she stopped and frowned. “Are you okay? You’re looking kind of weird.”

  “Rough night,” he said.

  “Case of the trotskis?” she asked.

  “Just a headache.”

  “Good. So you didn’t stink the place up.”

  “Smells fine in there.” It smells like you, he thought. He rubbed her mussed hair. She stepped past him and shut the door.

  In the bedroom he found Jean still asleep. He closed the door, hung up his robe, and crawled into bed. The sheets on his side were cool. He rolled, and curled himself against Jean’s back. He slipped an arm down across her belly. She was warm and smooth. He eased his face against her hair. The smell of her was like those that had kept him company through the night.

  She and Lane must use some of the same stuff, he thought, snuggling against her.

  “Time to get up?” she mumbled.

  “Not yet.”

  “Good. Hold me for a while.”

  Thirty-three

  “Try not to shoot each other,” Barbara said through the van’s open window. She gave Pete a kiss, then stepped backward.

  Jean, by the passenger window, frowned at Larry and said, “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  “I’m okay.”

  Ever since getting up, he’d been plagued by stomach cramps and loose bowels. Jean had suggested he phone Pete and cancel the outing. He’d been tempted. But he knew that his problem was caused by nerves. If he called off the trip to Sagebrush Flat, Pete would insist on trying it again tomorrow. Better to get it over with.

  “What’s the problem, pardner?” Pete asked.

  “A little indigestion,” he said. He didn’t want to discuss his runs. Not with Barbara standing there. “I’m fine now.”

  “Okey-doke. We’re off.”

  Jean kissed Larry and moved out of the way.

  Pete turned the ignition key. Click-click-click. He twisted it again. Nothing. “Shit!”

  “Must be the battery,” Larry said.

  Pete tried again. Again he said, “Shit.”

  Larry felt like celebrating.

  “Do you want to jump it?” Jean asked, approaching the passenger window.

  “No. Damn it!” Pete whacked the steering wheel with his palm.

  “Calm down,” Barbara told him. “It’s not the end of the world. Why don’t we jump it, and you can stop by the service station on the way out and have the problem taken care of?”

  “It’s probably gonna need a new battery.” He pounded the wheel again. “There goes the rest of the morning.”

  “It’s not that big a deal,” Barbara insisted.

  “Maybe we weren’t meant to go shooting today,” Larry said.

  “We’ll take your car,” Pete told his wife.

  “Oh? Terrific. And how am I supposed to get to the grocery store?”

  “You can walk, for all I...”

  “Oh, sure thing. Why don’t you...”

  “Wait,” Jean interrupted. “Hold it. Why don’t you guys just take one of our cars?”

  Thanks a heap, Larry thought.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “I’d hate to take a chance on the Dodge overheating...”

  “Take the Mustang.”

  “Maybe Lane has plans.”

  “Don’t worry about it. If she wants to go someplace, she can take the Dodge.”

  Larry nodded. Why argue? We’re meant to go after all, he thought.

  They climbed from the van. They transferred the VCR camcorder, their firearms, food, and beer to the red Mustang. Larry settled in behind the steering wheel. Pete harnessed himself into the passenger seat.

  “Let’s hope this one works,” Pete said.

  “Yeah.”

  He knew it would work. Nothing was going to save him from his rendezvous with Sagebrush Flat.

  He turned the key. The engine grumbled to life.

  The wives stood side by side, smiling and waving as Larry backed the Mustang onto the road.

  “Is this exciting, or what?” Pete said, grinning.

  “Or what.”

  * * *

  “Should be just around this next bend,” Pete said.

  Larry hoped he would find the town occupied. This was a Saturday, after all. Maybe some folks on an outing had stopped to explore the “ghost town.” Maybe some kids had dropped by to decorate the walls with grafitti or shoot the place up. Even a biker gang would be a welcome sight. Anyone would do. Just so the town wasn’t deserted and they had to give up their hunt for Uriah.

  But he rounded the bend, and the broad main road through Sagebrush Flat stretched in front of him, glaring in the sunlight, empty except for a tumbleweed rolling lazily past the saloon.

  “Stop the car,” Pete said. “I’ll get us some footage.” He climbed out with his video camera. Standing in the middle of the road, he turned slowly from side to si
de, panning the area ahead. Then he stepped closer to Larry’s window. “I’ll get you driving in. Head on up there and park at the hotel.”

  “Seems kind of dippy to me.”

  “Hey. Did Doug MacArthur complain when he had to wade ashore at Bataan?”

  “I don’t think it was Bataan.”

  “Wherever. This is usreturning, pardner.”

  “Right,” he muttered.

  He drove the rest of the way alone, swung off the road in front of the hotel and got out. Pete, still about fifty yards away, was walking slowly forward, the camera to his eye.

  “Open the trunk!” Pete called. “Strap on your shootin‘ iron.”

  He opened the trunk, lifted out his holstered Ruger .22, and strapped the belt low around his hips. Squinting at Pete, he tugged the brim of his battered old Stetson down across his eyes.

  “Terrific!” Pete called. “Now, slap some leather!”

  “Get real,” he said.

  “Well, at least loadit.”

  He supposed that wasn’t a bad idea. If they somehow did manage to run into Uriah, he didn’t want to be standing there with an empty gun.

  He sat on the rear bumper, dumped some .22 magnums into his hand and started feeding them into the cylinder. By the time he finished, Pete was only a couple of yards away.

  “Gimme an Eastwood sneer.”

  “If Uriah’s watching all this, he’ll think we’re clowns.

  “Good. Give him a false sense of security.”

  “False, huh?” He dropped a handful of cartridges into the pocket of his shirt and set the box down inside the trunk. “Should we have a beer before we start?” he asked.

  “Not yet. Here, take this. I don’t want to be left out.”

  He gave the camera to Larry and showed him how to work it. Larry stepped away from the car, picked up Pete in the viewfinder and recorded him strapping on his gun-belt.

  “A couple of real hombres, huh?”

  “Yup,” Larry said.

  It felt good, he realized, to be dressed up in his boots, faded jeans, old blue workshirt, and cowboy hat. It especially felt good to have the holster against his leg and know it held a real six-shooter with live rounds in the cylinder. Like playing cowboys for real.

  Pete, though smaller than Larry, looked twice as tough. He wore scuffed and dusty combat boots. The cuffs of his jeans were frayed. The sleeves of his plaid shirt were turned up, revealing his thick hairy forearms. The shirt, too tight across his chest, bulged with the push of his muscles. His dirty straw hat, sides curled up and front swooping low, looked like something he might’ve swiped off a drunken old-timer in an alley behind a saloon. But the best part was the black handlebar mustache, sprinkled with flecks of gray. The mustache was more than dress-up. It was real.