Michael Hunter - Come Get Me

“What’s all this shit really about?” He demanded. “It can’t all be just because I didn’t fall madly in love with you when I got here. There has to be some other reason for all this.” The look in her eye wasn’t pleasant but he didn’t care. He was trussed up like a Christmas pig and he wanted to know why. “And another thing,” he added, “what in the seven bells of hell have you done to Jill? She looks like the poster child for drug abuse. Oh yeah, last but certainly not least, will you quit looking like the evil step-mother from some fairy tale and say something. Usually we can’t shut you up but now when I want you to talk I get nothing.”

“My, my, my,” she said looking at him thoughtfully, “we’re just all kinds of full of questions tonight aren’t we?” she looked at Pete then continued, “Freak boy, here figured out some of it. Isn’t big handsome Jimmy intelligent enough to figure out the rest?”

Jim was sick of the games so he just gave her a bored look and said nothing. He figured it was better to put on a brave face. If she thought he wasn’t afraid maybe she wouldn’t try to do anything.

“To answer or not to answer, that is the question,” she said when she saw he wasn’t going to talk. She tried to sound like she was really having a hard time deciding but he knew she’d talk. He was right when he’d said it was usually hard to shut her up. If there was a chance for her to brag about something she would do it. Now he just had to wait and see what came out when she started talking. “Well, I guess it won’t hurt anyone if I explain everything to you. Except you that is, since you won’t be leaving here alive. That usually ends up hurting a little bit.” Jim didn’t find anything about the whole situation the least bit funny but she must have since she started laughing. Johnny joined in but he didn’t seem to think it was as good a joke as she did. Jim’d almost forgot he was there he was so quiet.

“So where to begin?” she asked when she’d calmed down. Jim couldn’t help but look her in the eyes when she talked. He didn’t like what he saw. He’d heard you could see things in people’s eyes but had never believed it. He did now. All that was behind Maria’s eyes was insanity and hate and it was all directed at him. He didn’t know what he could’ve ever done to deserve something like that. He didn’t have time to dwell on it though since she was still talking. “The story is so long I don’t really know where to begin.” She glanced at Johnny from the corner of her eye. “Johnny, where, oh where, do you think I should start?”

“I guess you should start where ever you want,” Johnny said sheepishly after a few seconds of internal debate.

“That is usually where normal people start isn’t it? But since when am I normal? Plus, it’s just oh so boring to be predictable like that but I guess for speeds sake it will have to do. So, Jimmy,” she said turning her gaze back on him, “let me tell you a story. Let me take you back, way back to yesteryear, not just yesteryear but all the way back to a time you should remember quite well. Why would you remember it? I’ll tell you why. Because it was back in your heyday, back when you were a big man on campus, as it were. Its high school where my tale begins, and no not a tail from my butt so don’t ask.” This was mostly directed at Pete. At the mention of a tail he’d perked up and raised his hand to ask a question. When his dreams had been dashed he sadly went back to cleaning his finger nails.

Maria seemed to be taking quite a bit of pleasure being the center of attention. She’d slowly started walking around the room waving her hands in the air as if she was trying to paint a picture of what she was talking about. If anything it made her look even crazier. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a grown woman walking around in her negligee telling a story surrounded by candles. It was almost but not quite comical. There was no doubt she was just as gone as Pete but whereas he was calm most of the time she was off the deep end. She was totally gone. He shot a glance at Johnny to see what he was making of the performance and was heartened to see he didn’t appear as sure of himself as he had. Jim could tell just by the look in his eye he still worshipped her but he also might be realizing she wasn’t all there. Jim quickly turned his attention back to Maria as she turned her attention back on him.

“Would it surprise you if I told you I had a huge crush on you back then?” she asked. “You must’ve known. There was no way you couldn’t. I mean I worshipped the ground you walked on. I followed you everywhere. Basically I made a total fool of myself but that didn’t matter to me as long as I was close to you. Unfortunately, instead of returning my feelings you acted as if I didn’t exist. Sure, you were nice if you saw me in the hall or happened to notice I was stalking you. Sometimes you even deigned to talk to me but usually nothing more than a quick hello or something but oh, how I lived for those little things. I tried working up the courage to actually carry on a conversation with you a few times but you were always too busy with your mean, little friends. I know they poisoned you against me. That’s the only reason I can think of that you never talked to me. Because of them.” She was becoming more and more excited as she spoke. Facing him she took a deep breath. This seemed to calm her because when she started talking again her voice sounded a little closer to normal.

“Tommy, Rob, Pete, and Jim bestest friends forever,” she said in a sing song voice. “Never letting anyone or anything come in between their close knit group. You know a lot of people thought you four might be gay or something. But I knew you weren’t. You had all the time in the world for girls, just not me! I would’ve treated you way better than any of them did. I would’ve treated you the way you should’ve been treated. I would’ve given you anything and I mean anything. But no, you thought all you needed was them. What bullshit! You didn’t need them! All you needed was me!” She’d become agitated again and had slowly been walking towards him. Before she was finished speaking she was so close he could feel the spit flying from her mouth as she yelled. She stood looking at him for a few seconds, shoulder heaving from her excitement before suddenly spinning and walking towards Johnny. He stepped forward and put his hands on her shoulders as she approached and whispered something to her. Jim hoped he was trying to talk her out of continuing what she was doing. She shook her head so whatever it was obviously hadn’t worked.

Jim took this break in the story for another opportunity to look around and try to figure some way out of this mess. He hadn’t had much luck before but maybe he’d missed something. Peeking at Jill he saw she was still dead to the world and Pete just continued rocking and mumbling. He was just getting ready to give up when he noticed something odd. He’d seen Pete rocking but he hadn’t seen him moving. Each time he rocked back he used his feet to push himself a little closer to the wall. Looking over Pete’s head Jim saw an open space with night and starry sky behind it. He was slowly working his way to one of the windows. Jim was sure it was just by accident but if it wasn’t and if he got close enough he might be able to jump out and run for help. The only thing tied on Pete was his hands. If he got out he really might be able to find help and bring them back but Jim didn’t hold much hope of that idea working. Pete wasn’t suddenly going regain his sanity and save the day. He was just sitting there rubbing his hands together and rocking back and forth without a care in the world. Nothing else. There was no grand escape plan forming behind those dark little eyes. He was in his own world where he was safe and nobody could hurt him. Why come out now?