Hillary_Flesh and Blood (24 page)

“
Besides,
”
her mother continued,
“
we
’
ve got to figure out what
’
s causing that nasty smell.
”
Mrs. Greyson crinkled her nose as she waved her hand in front of it suggestively.

You have to get rid of her...she knows....

“
No!
”
Hillary yelled out to the voice in her head.

Why would she react like that...unless....
Mrs. Greyson thought worriedly.

“
Hillary, it
’
s not healthy...
”
she answer
ed
, forcing her thoughts aside.

“
It
’
s my room,
”
Hillary argued.

“
It
’
s disgusting,
”
her mom said firmly,
“
and I
’
m starting to smell it out in the hall.
”

“
I
’
ll clean up, don
’
t worry about it.
”

“
Well when I get back I
’
ll help you. I
’m curious to
know what
’
s causing such a gross stench.
”

Mrs. Greyson turned and left the room before Hillary could argue any further. Joshua was waiting for her downstairs in front of the television. She walked down to meet him, shutting off the television before scooping him up in
her arms. She carried him to the
foyer and opened the closet. She put him down so that she could grab his zippered sweatshirt. She helped him put it on, grabbed her keys from the nearby hook on the wall then exited the house with Joshua
’
s hand in hers.

From her bedroom, Hillary could hear her mother
’
s car start. Her heart raced. She knew she had to act fast. Thankfully, Joshua
’
s school was close to her mother
’
s workplace and would take about forty-five minutes to get to. Hillary estimated that she had about an hour and a half before her mother returned to investigate the odor in her room.

She had thought about dumping the bags in woods but didn
’
t know if she would have enough time to accomplish it before her mother returned. What if her mother spotted her in the woods? Then she
’d
really be suspicious. And what about Caleigh? What was she going to do with her sister? Should she just kill her too?

You can have so much more fun still....

Yes, this time, Hillary agreed completely with the voice. It was such a thrill tormenting her sister. She wasn
’
t ready to stop having fun with her just yet.

Jogging to her closet, Hillary opened the door. Her mother was right about the smell. It seemed to be ripening by the hour. Caleigh
’
s eyes were closed, but Hillary could see the slow swells of her chest as she breathed. Her face was nearly unrecognizable
—
bruised and swollen, crusted with dried brownish blood. She wondered how Caleigh was feeling, what she was thinking. There was one way to find out.

Hillary reached down and ripped the duct tape off Caleigh
’
s mouth. Caleigh awoke with a start and gasped loudly in pain.

“
Rise and shine, sleeping beauty,
”
she said jeeringly.

Caleigh moaned softly as her eyes adjusted to the light.

“
So, how did you sleep?
”

Caleigh
’
s mouth was dry. She licked her chapped lips.

“
Water,
”
she said in a raspy, unfamiliar voice.

“
Later,
”
Hillary replied,
“
I want to know how you slept.
”

“
Okay,
”
she answered, though it was a hellish night. She spent the night struggling to breathe. Her nasal passages were swollen, she was congested and she had that accursed duct tape over her mouth. Sleep was an infrequent,
u
nfriendly visitor. When she managed to drift off, she awoke in what seemed like mere minutes, as
a
result of horrifying nightmares.
And to add further insult to injury, h
er neck hurt from the awkward angle it was forced to sustain.

“
Okay?
”
Hillary asked, disappointed.
“
Really?
”

“
Uh-huh,
”
Caleigh muttered.

“
Did you like the way Dad smelled?
”

“
Fine,
”
Caleigh responded. She knew that Hillary was trying to get a rise out of her. She wou
l
dn
’
t give her the satisfaction. Besides, between the congestion and the vast amount of time she was crammed into the closet, the smell was barely noticeable to her any longer. As long as she didn
’
t think about what her useless body was jammed up against, she was fine.

Hillary was annoyed by Caleigh
’
s nonchalant attitude. She had just spent the night shoved against bags full of the smelly remains of her decaying father and the only words she could use to describe the experience were
“
okay
”
and
“
fine?
”

“
I
’
m sorry you were so bored,
”
she huffed,
“
I wish I had more time to entertain you.
”

“
Please,
”
Caleigh begged, her voice cracking,
“
water.
”

“
Now that
’
s interesting,
”
Hillary said,
“
maybe I
’
ll give you water tomorrow. Do you remember how you broke your promise to me? How you started screaming when you told me you
’
d behave?
”

“
Please,
”
Caleigh repeated then swallowed hard, the scant amount of saliva leaving her throat feeling even drier than before.

“
You wanna scream now? Go ahead. Scream away.
”

Caleigh turned her head weakly. She closed her eyes hoping she wouldn
’
t lose any tears. She wasn
’
t sure she had any left to shed.

Hillary grabbed Caleigh
’
s feet and dragged her limp body toward the middle of her room. Caleigh
’
s heart raced. She grew
anxious wondering what Hillary
would do
t
o her next.

Leaving her sister on the floor, she quickly walked downstairs and gathered a stockpile of cleaning supplies and garbage bags. She carried the armload of items back to the room.

Caleigh
,
the human worm
,
looked dead. Her eyes were closed and she remained still even
as Hillary
dropped the cleaning supplies and bags to the floor beside her.

“
Wake up!
”
she shouted, as she kicked her sister in the head.

Caleigh
’
s head jerke
d to the side with the force that
Hillary
’
s foot exerted. Her eyes opened and she grimaced, looking up at Hillary.

“
Water,
”
she begged feebly.

“
Gimme a break,
”
Hillary sneered,
“
it hasn
’
t even been a full day yet...people can go days and days without water. You always were a drama queen.
”

She rolled her eyes then looked loathingly down at her sister. She thought it was quite humorous that her hands and feet were still bound even though she could no longer move any of her limbs. She had thought about cutting the ropes, but what difference did it really make?

“
So...thirsty,
”
Caleigh persisted.

“
Since when did you become a caveman?
”
Hillary mo
cked
“
so thirsty, me so thirsty.
”

“
Please....
”

“
Shut up already!
”
Hillary shouted, irritated by Caleigh
’
s incessant whining.
“
I
’
ve got to hurry up and get Dad
’
s nasty
parts
out of here before Mom gets back.
”

Hillary reached down and grabbed one of the large garbage bags. She carried it with her over to the closet and opened the bag that contained her father
’
s head, amongst other various body parts. Malodorous fumes plagued her nostrils. The parts were bloodied, moist and rancid. Hillary emptied half of the contents from one bag into the next. There was no way she would be able to drag them off to the woods otherwise.

She tied one of the bags, reached in to the other and found a hand-sized piece of her father
’
s flesh. It was hard to tell what part of him it had been cut from, but it would do nicely for what
H
illary had in mind. She reached up and grabbed the duct tape. She tore off a long strip and carried it, along with her father
’
s putrid body part, to Caleigh.

“
Look what I
’
ve got here,
”
Hillary taunted, waving the part over Caleigh
’
s head.

Caleigh
’
s eyes widened in disgust. She turned he
r
face away. She didn
’
t want to
look at
it.

“
You know what it smells like,
”
Hillary said light-heartedly,
“
now you
’
ll know what it
tastes
like....
”

She lowered her hand w
ith the once-human monstrosity toward Caleigh
’
s face.

“
No, Hillary,
”
Caleigh cried fearfully, knowing even as she spoke the words that Hillary was going to feed her
the nasty piece of rotting flesh
.

“
You know how many times I said
‘
no?
’
It never did me any good,
”
Hillary said, her smile fading and her brows furrowing.

“
Please....
”
Caleigh cried.

Give it to her, she
’
s begging for it....

Hillary crouched down beside Caleigh. She rubbed her father
’
s dank, fetid flesh over Caleigh
’
s butchered face while her hysterical sister moved her head spastically, desperately trying to avoid contact with the repulsive thing. Hillary positioned her thigh against the side of Caleigh
’
s face to keep her from moving. She plied open Caleigh
’
s dry mouth and shoved the decomposing chunk of meat inside. Caleigh tried desperately to expel the flesh from her mouth, but Hillary was quick to grab the strip of tape she had torn off and place it over Caleigh
’
s
stuffed
mouth. To be safe, she positioned it at an angle, secure enough to keep Caleigh
’
s mouth shut over the nasty body part, yet open at the left corner of her mouth in case she vomited again.

Hillary stepped back to take in the sights and sounds coming from her frantic sister. Her head was thrashing about so wildly, Hillary feared Caleigh might cause herself to get whiplash. She smiled as she thought about how helpless her once-perfect sister must be feeling.