Hillary_Flesh and Blood (25 page)

As expected, Hillary could see that Caleigh was throwing up. Unlike the thicker puke from the night before, this spew was mostly liquid and seeped from the opening
she’d left
down to Caleigh
’
s chin and neck, aside from the spatters that escaped and hit the floo
r
due to Caleigh
’
s aberrant head flailing.

As much as Hillary enjoyed the spectacle, she knew she had a lot of work to do and little time to complete her mission. She couldn
’
t spare another second. She quickly undressed from her nightshirt and put on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt.

Leaving Caleigh suffering on her bedroom floor, she dragged the garbage bags
—
one in each hand
—
from her room and down the stairs, allowing gravity to do the work for her. She pulled the bags straight to the foyer, opened the front door, dragged them to the porch, shut the door then dragged them down the porch steps and all the way to the wooded area past her driveway.

Hillary loved the woods. It was her special place, her haven. When the wind hit the trees just right, she could swear that they spoke to her, revealing their secrets to her, as she had revealed her deep, dark, twisted secret to them.

Hillary had a spot she especially loved, a hidden alcove that was all her own. It wasn
’
t much farther from where she had taken her father
’
s car the morning before. It was
less than a half mile from her house,
off to the side of the main trail, within a narrow strip. She deposited the bags deep within the brush and bramble, struggling to push them all the way in to make room for the others she had to bring.

As she jogged back to her house, she examined the scratches she had on her hands. One
scratch
on her right hand was particular long and stung
badly
. She hoped her mother would not notice it and question her ab
out it. She reached her house
quickly and ran up the stairs without closing the front door. She peered over at her alarm clock. She still had almost an hour
—
plenty of time, at this rate.

Caleigh was still freaking out on the floor, making a sound that was more animal than human. Hillary dropped down beside her.

“
How are you Caleigh?
”
she asked facetiously.
“Still fine? Still okay?”

Caleigh continued her movements and noise, uninterrupted by Hillary
’
s comment.

“
Caleigh,
”
Hillary called to her, trying to get her attention.

Still, Caleigh remained engrossed in her anguished song and dance.

“
Caleigh,
”
Hillary repeated louder.

Still no response.

“
Caleigh!
”
Hillary shouted, striking a fisted blow to her sister
’
s jaw.

There was a slight change in the pitch of Caleigh
’
s cries for a second or two, but aside from that, there was no sign that her sister was responsive.

Hillary pulled the tape off her sister
’
s mouth. The soggy, foul piece of flesh fell to the floor. Caleigh
’
s horrified, guttural whimpering grew louder now that the tape was no longer muffling it.

“
Caleigh!
”
Hillary screamed, trying to get her sister
’
s attention.

Still, Caleigh ignored her, continuing on her course of delirium.

Was she in shock?
What now,
Hillary wondered. She grabbed Caleigh
’
s flailing head and tried to hold it steady, trying to make eye contact while she repeatedly called to Caleigh. Nothing was working. Caleigh had a blank, far-away look in her lackluster eyes. Hillary wondered if she
had
pushed her too far. Was she over the edge and never to return? Was her fun already over?

Not knowing what else to do about Caleigh, Hillary left her fussing on the floor next to their father
’
s chunk of flesh while she grabbed another garbage bag and walked over to her closet. As she had done before, she separated the contents from one of the full bags into the empty bag. It amazed her how warm and moist the fleshy parts were. If she had left her father
’
s body intact, it would be cold and stiff by now. The smell was, by far, worse than the feel of her father
’
s mutilated limbs and organs. It was worse than rotting food, worse than anything she could describe. She was glad she was getting his disgusting pieces out of her room
—
and out of her life
—
for good.

Hillary wiped her sticky, slimy hands on
the
sheet that was in the bag next to her nightshirt from the night she had killed her father. It sickened her to think that her father
’
s post-death fluids were seeping into her scratches, seeping into
her.
She had had enough of his juices in her. Scowling, she stuffed the sheet and nightshirt into the lighter bag, grabbed a bag in each hand and started her trek to the woods.

Despite the cool temperature, Hillary was sweating by the time she reached the alcove in the woods. She pushed the bags next to the two others, took a deep breath and slowly trudged back to the house. She was out of shape from all the longs months she spent in bed, wallowing in self-pity and misery.

Eyeing the clock, her heart began to race. Time was flying. If her mother didn
’
t encounter traffic in town, she could be back in just over a half an hour. She had to move quickly. She paid no attention to Caleigh on the floor, who had finally ended her lunatic episode and now lay motionless with her eyes closed. Hillary didn
’
t have the time to wonder or worry if she were alive or dead. She would determine that after she completed her task.

Grabbing a new garbage bag, she tore open the remaining full bag. She stopped as she was about to reach in. The
overwhelming
smell hit her like a punch in the face. It was strong and pungent enough to make her gag and choke. It made the other bags smell like flowers in comparison. She retched and heaved over the empty bag as the waffle she had for breakfast made its way out of her mouth. It left behind a sour, foul taste which caused Hillary to further vomit. She thought about the chunk of flesh she had shoved in Caleigh
’
s mouth, imagining that it must have tasted very much like the putrid taste currently in her mouth.

Cursing herself for being so weak and
for
wasting so much time, Hillary pulled herself together and reached into the full garbage bag. It was instantly obvious why it was the smelliest. Unlike the other bags that had mostly flesh and bones, this bag was wet and heavy, full of internal organs. Her father
’
s intestines, along with the filthy, nasty contents once housed within, were in pieces stewing next to other organs, such as his heart, liver, kidneys and stomach.

Holding her breath, Hillary quickly scooped up handfuls of her father
’
s innards and transferred them to the bag she had thrown up in. If she had more time, she could have
tons
of fun with Caleigh and all of these especially repugnant parts. The thought of tormenting Caleigh gave her the necessary drive to tolerate the horrendous smell and work faster in separating the contents into the new bag.

When at last she thought she was done, she tied the bags and grabbed them, ready to drag them forward. As she lifted the original bag, it dripped a trail of dark blood. Cursing, Hillary ran for another bag
—
the last garbage bag
—
and struggled to get it over the still-heavy, leaking bag. She looked at the mess it had left on the floor of her closet and shook her head despairingly. She would have a huge mess to clean up when she returned.

With the bags in tow, Hillary hurriedly walked back to the woods, panting all the way. She jammed the bags with the others, pulled some brush in front of them for cover, wiped her dirty hands on her jeans then marched back to her house, thankful that her mother
’
s car didn
’
t pass her on the way.

Out of breath and panting loudly, she ran straight to the refrigerator, grabbed a bottle of water and guzzled it down, ignoring the spills that ran down the side of her mouth. The cold made her shiver slightly and covered her arms with goose
bumps. Leaving the open, empty bottle on the counter top, she pulled her rolled-up sleeves down then ran upstairs to her bedroom.

Caleigh was sobbing on the floor, much to Hillary
’
s relief. She was glad that her sister was still alive. Her eyes darted from Caleigh to the clock. She had barely ten minutes left. Her heart hammering within her chest, Hillary grabbed the cleaning supplies she had dropped to her carpet earlier. She wasn
’
t pleased with her choices, but under the circumstances, they would have to do. She opened the bathroom cleaner and poured in on the floor of her closet.

“
Hill...
”
Caleigh moaned softly.

“
Not now, Caleigh,
”
Hillary replied, as she sprayed the fresh drip marks on her carpet with a kitchen cleanser.

“
Please...
.
”

“
Quit whining!
”
Hillary shouted. She grabbed the duct tape and tore off the last strip on the roll. It was barely enough to fully cover Caleigh
’
s mouth. She would have to figure out where to stash Caleigh before her mother returned home. She had thought about putting her in her own closet, but what it her mother went looking in there? She had thought about dragging her to the woods, but now there wasn
’
t enough time to make the trip there and back in time to get some cleaning done.

“
Shit,
”
she exclaimed, worriedly. Each passing second increased her anxiety. She was on the verge of having her own hysteric episode.

The basement....

“
The basement?
”
Hillary said aloud. She considered it. Her mother was often in the basement doing laundry. What if she heard Caleigh moving her head around or grunting through the tape? Then again, there was a good area toward the back that they had used for storage. It was near the boiler, which would help to conceal any sound Caleigh would make. Hillary smiled. It was perfect. The voice of reason had come through for her yet again.

Hillary stepped quickly to
Caleigh
, grabbed her tied ankles and dragged her out of her room and down the stairs. She ignored the loud smacking sound that Caleigh
’
s head made each time Hillary descended a step. She ignored Caleigh
’
s subsequent muffled outburst.
She
’
ll survive,
she told herself. She dragged Caleigh down the hall and to the basement door. She opened it slowly, took a few steps down then pulled Caleigh along, again, ignoring the thumping of her head against the steps and her pained cries.

“
You need to lose weight,
”
she commented to Caleigh, as she caught her breath at the bottom of the stairs. The basement was only partially finished. Hillary dragged Caleigh
’
s body over the rough concrete floor and over to the storage area to the right side of the hot water heater and boiler. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed Caleigh from under her arms and pulled her behind a stack of boxes and plastic totes. There was barely enough space to hide her sister
’
s body. Of course, Caleigh
’
s sustained, muffled protests
only served to increase
Hillary
’s anxiety and frustration.

When Hillary thought she had done a sufficient job concealing Caleigh
’
s body, she walked around to the front of the pile to take a look.
Caleigh
’
s feet stuck out beyond the containers and would be noticeable if her mother was facing that direction.

Sighing heavily, Hillary walked back to Caleigh
’
s body and struggled to move her over to the other side. It was a daunting task given the lack of space with which Hillary had to maneuver her own body, let alone Caleigh
’
s lifeless, heavy one. Finally, Hillary had fulfilled her goal. Caleigh was carefully stashed behind the storage containers. She breathed heavily as she ran up the basement stairs, stopping only to grab the roll of paper towels before bounding up the stairs to her room. She had no sooner entered her bedroom when she heard the front door open.