Alyssa walked to the back of the vehicle. It was a black Volvo 940 according to the badge. It looked like a better car than the one she was driving, but at least her car was operational.
She rejoined the girl. “Did you have the radio on?”
“Yeah,” the girl answered. “Kept cutting out before everything went."
“What about the lights on the dash?”
“They went dim. I guess that's when I realized I might be in trouble.”
Alyssa thought for a moment. “Mind if I take a look?”
“Go right on ahead,” the girl said.
Alyssa got behind the wheel and turned the key. Nothing happened. She got out of the car.
“Any ideas?” the girl asked.
“You do a lot of driving today?”
“Uh huh,
all
day.”
“Well, I'm no expert,” Alyssa said, “but in these temperatures, I'd say it's your alternator.”
“And that's bad?”
“Let's just say you're going nowhere without a set of jumper cables, and even then you're not going very far.”
The girl groaned and planted her rear-end on the hood of the Volvo.
A twinkling of lights further along the highway caught Alyssa's attention. Someone else was headed their way.
“You wouldn't happen to have them jumper things, would you?” the girl asked.
“I'm afraid not,” Alyssa replied.
A lie, of course. Alyssa had no idea whether she was in possession of a set or not. The Buick wasn't even her car to begin with. For all she knew, Bradley had a body in the trunk.
“Maybe this person coming has them,” the girl said.
They watched the automobile draw gradually closer.
“I'm Alyssa, by the way.”
“Oh, hey, Alyssa. I'm Julie.”
“Nice to meet you, Julie.”
Julie turned her flashlight on Alyssa. “I take it you're a fan?”
For a moment, Alyssa had no idea what Julie was referring to. And then it dawned on her. “Oh, this...” She pinched the fabric of her tank top. Under the KISS logo was an image of Gene Simmons in full theatrical make-up, sticking out his over-sized tongue. “I suppose I am - I mean,
of course I am
.”
Another lie. Up until she'd dined on Bradley, Alyssa had been wearing a light blue t-shirt. But, because he hadn't exactly went to the dinner table willingly, things had gotten a little messy. Luckily, there was a bag on the back seat stuffed with women's clothing - which is how she came to have on a tank top featuring a band she wasn't particularly fond of. What Bradley had been doing with a bag full of women's clothes was anyone's guess. Most likely he'd acquired it through an act of deviance. Whatever the reason, he'd gotten his comeuppance in the end.
“I'm more of a hip-hop fan,” Julie said. “Probably wouldn't guess to look at me.”
The approaching vehicle wasn't very far now. Alyssa expected it would stop or pass them by within the next minute. “Listen, can I give you a ride? There's sure to be a garage back in Van Horn.”
“That's where I'm headed,” Julie said. “But you ain't even going my way. Wouldn't be right to turn you around.”
Alyssa watched the glow of the approaching vehicle increase. “It's no problem, really. It's only a twenty minute ride at most.”
Julie opened her mouth to decline once again, then hesitated. “Well ... maybe.” She pointed her flashlight at her feet. “We'll see if this person can help first.”
Less than half a minute later, a small white truck slowed to a stop. A man got out. Illuminated in the vehicle's high beams, he looked to be in his mid-thirties. He wore a white shirt, jeans and boots, and had a black cowboy hat on his head.
“Anything I can do to help you ladies out?” he said.
Alyssa looked to Julie.
“I think its my ... alterator.” Julie said.
“Her alternator,” Alyssa replied.
Julie flicked her flashlight on and off. “Yeah, that thing.”
The man eyed Julie from head to toe, then put his hands on his hips and nodded slowly. “If you pop the hood I can take a look.”
“Sure,” Julie replied, and made for the interior of the car.
Alyssa watched her go.
“The name's Brian.”
His hand was outstretched.
Alyssa briefly shook it. “Alyssa.”
“Well, now, that's a real pretty name you got yourself there, ma'am.”
Alyssa folded her arms and forced a smile.
Just then, the hood popped.
“Okay then,” Brain said, “guess I'd better take a look.” He lifted the hood. “Say, I could use that flashlight. Light from my truck ain't cuttin' it.”
Julie appeared and handed it to him.
“Thank you, kindly ...?”
“Julie.”
“Julie - damn, that's another fine name. I'm Brian, in case you didn't hear.”
"Nice to meet you, Brian."
Brian shone the flashlight at the engine. He poked around and touched a few things; made the occasional grunt. Eventually, he lowered the hood and said, “It's difficult to tell in this light, but if everything's as dead as Elvis, we're gonna have to get you to a garage, Julie.”
“
Shoot
!” Julie said. She turned to Alyssa. “No offense, but I was kinda hoping you were wrong.”
“That's understandable,” Alyssa replied.
“Well, I'm headed in the same direction,” Brian said. “I could give y'all a ride.”
“I just stopped to offer assistance,” Alyssa said. “I have my own car over there.”
Brian looked across the median. He could barely make out Alyssa's car. “You're headed the other way then.”
“I was, but I'd be more than happy to drop Julie off at the next town.”
Alyssa looked straight at Julie; willed her to accept the offer.
“I dunno...” Julie said. “I really don't want to put you to any trouble.”
“It's really no trouble,” Alyssa insisted.
Brian handed Julie the flashlight. “Last chance for a ride to the next town if you don't wanna trouble Alyssa here.”
Julie took the flashlight and bit gently into her lower lip. She pondered her decision for a few moments, then said to Alyssa, “This gentleman's going my way. I'll just take the ride from him.”
Alyssa looked at Brian. He didn't seem particularly sleazy or threatening (he was even moderately good looking). But then, they never did. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, but thanks so much for stopping and taking the time.”
“It was nothing, really,” Alyssa said. “I Hope everything works out well for you.” She raised a hand as a goodbye gesture. “Take care.”
Brian tipped his hat. “You have a safe ride, Alyssa.”
Julie gave a little wave. “Thank you.”
Alyssa walked back to her car. Halfway across the median, she looked back. Julie was getting into Brian's truck. She hoped the girl would be okay.
She slipped inside the Buick and lit a cigarette. Blowing smoke out the window, she watched the truck peel off the shoulder and pass the stricken car. She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel and tried to ignore the gnawing sensation in the pit of her stomach. Nothing but a low hissing sound could be heard from the car speakers. She turned off the stereo and sat in perfect silence for a while.
Alone with her thoughts
.
When she was through with her cigarette, she flipped it away and rolled up the window.
Julie would be okay
.
Alyssa put the car into drive and resumed her journey to nowhere in particular. The distant landscape was indistinguishable from the sky.
Dark enough out there to get away with just about anything. Like hiding the body of Bradley Evans.
… Or perhaps Julie with the car trouble
.
Alyssa spun the Skylark one hundred and eighty degrees and gunned the engine. The force of the acceleration pushed her back against the seat. She drove across the center median and merged with the road west.
What the hell had she been thinking? Letting an attractive girl - who didn't look a day over eighteen - get into a truck with a complete stranger?
And a man
.
She kept her foot pressed firmly on the gas pedal. The needle swept past the 60 mph mark. Her heart was pounding. Why hadn't she listened to her gut? It had started to gnaw at her the moment she laid eyes on the truck's lights twinkling in the distance.
The needle climbed past 70 mph and crept steadily towards 80.
Still no sign of the truck's tail lights. They couldn't be that far ahead. Surely Brian wouldn't be doing anything like 80 mph.
Alyssa watched the needle crawl past the 80 mark. She hammered the steering wheel in frustration. "Come on, you fucking piece of shit!"
It was then that she noticed a light in the middle of nowhere.
It had to be the truck.
She twisted the wheel sharply to the right; cut across the median onto East Broadway then headed straight onto rough desert terrain. Dirt and stones flew under the spin of the tires, and rattled against the car's underside and bodywork. She crossed a small railroad track. Her teeth clattered and her spine quaked, but her foot remained firmly planted on the gas pedal.
Please, don't make me be too late
.
When she eventually arrived at the source of the light, it was too late.
Alyssa threw open the car door and quickly got out. The ride across the expanse had been nerve-jangling. Her legs were trembling.
Brian stood in the glow of the truck's lamps. His hands and shirt and pants were covered in blood. He was still wearing his hat. He moved around the body of Julie. His motion was almost drunken. He was laughing deliriously.
Alyssa found herself paralyzed with horror at the sight of the girl's body. It lay spreadeagled on the desert floor, and was completely naked. The area between her thighs was nothing more than a bloody, mutilated mess, and her throat had been slashed.
“I cut out her secret place,” Brian said.
Alyssa looked up. The glare from the truck's headlamps dazzled her eyes. She squinted. Brian was holding a knife in one hand.
He moved in front of one of the truck's beams.
“I cut out her secret place,” he said again. “You wanna see?” He started to fish around in his right front pocket.
A wave of revulsion hit Alyssa. She raised a quivering hand to her mouth.
Brian produced a lump of gore from the pocket. He held it out to Alyssa, then started towards her. “Cut it straight from her. Now she'll be no more trouble.”
So much horror witnessed in Alyssa's long lifetime - some of it up close, some of it from afar; some of it dealt by her own hands, some of it dealt by the hands of others - but only once had she felt as utterly numb, as completely wrought with guilt as this.
Somewhere in the distance, a dog howled. It was such a mournful sound, and seemed to sum up the scene entirely.
Brian started to sing a slightly tailored version of the
Bad Boys
theme song from the television show,
COPS
: “Bad girl, bad girl, watcha gonna do? Watcha gonna do when I come for you?”
He stopped advancing, then closed his eyes and laughed hysterically. When he reopened them, Alyssa was gone.
He spun around. “Where the hell'd you go!”
He staggered back towards Julie's body, then stopped and scanned the darkness. “Brian ain't finished with you yet, y'hear?”
He threw his handful of Julie to the ground in a fit of rage, then whirled; was sure he'd felt Alyssa breathing down his neck. “Goddamn you, cunt, where you at?”
The distant, plaintive cry of the dog could be heard once again.
“I'll cut out your secret place and feed it to that damn dog!”
The hairs on the nape of Brian's neck stood on end. He turned quickly. Alyssa was standing in front of him. She slapped him hard across the face. His head whipped to one side and his hat flew off. “What the fuck!”
And then she was gone again.
“Show yourself!” he yelled, and slashed his knife at the cold night air.
Behind you
.
Brian spun. Alyssa was there. She slapped him harder this time – with so much force his legs almost buckled.
“Jesus H Christ!” he spat, and raised a trembling hand to his face.
Brian
.
He turned again, and this time Alyssa slapped him so hard he staggered to one side and tripped over his feet. He struck the desert floor and wailed like a hysterical child.
“No more!” he cried, and thrust out a hand to protect himself.
But Alyssa was nowhere to be seen.
The dog continued to wail. It sounded closer than before.
Brian picked himself up. He thought he saw something, but wasn't sure what. All those slaps had caused his eyes to water. He blinked several times. Gradually, two small lights came into focus. They hovered in the darkness.