Brian Freeman - The Burying Place

She was angry. Angry that God had dropped her in the middle of this, when she wasn't prepared. Angry that God had abandoned her. But maybe this was His revenge. Over the past year, she had stopped believing in God and found herself believing only in despair and betrayal. She had grown bitter at the world. She had simply never imagined that the awful road would lead her here.

'You can't run, Kasey,' he taunted her. 'What do you do now?'

She bit her lip, listening to his slow footsteps as he walked away. The beam of the flashlight shifted, streaming through a gaping hole in the far wall. His back was to her. This was her chance, and she didn't dare wait any longer.

I kill you , she vowed to herself . That's what I do now .

She scrambled to her feet and picked up the heavy metal joist. She held it like a club as she edged around the stack of wooden pilings. She put a foot ahead of her, tested the ground, and laid her heel down without a sound. She kept an eye on the flashlight beam in the corridor as she inched across the floor, but as she watched, it went dark. She froze where she was, feeling exposed. She thought about retreating to her hiding place, but she knew she was close to Maggie. In a voice that was barely audible, she murmured, ' I'm here.'

She heard noises of struggle. The chair to which Maggie was tied rocked loudly on the floor, and she heard Maggie grunting with effort as she strained against her bonds. Trying to free herself.

She took another step and spoke again in a soft hiss. 'Maggie.'

This time, Maggie whispered back immediately. 'Get out of here, Kasey.'

It was too late to run. Light flooded the room and pinned Kasey like a convict in a searchlight. She still had the metal joist poised over her head, but he was in the doorway, twenty feet away, too far for her to charge him. Behind the light, he was in silhouette, but she could see that he held Maggie's gun, pointed at her chest. He walked closer, stepping over dirty glass, and stopped six feet away from her. The gun was outstretched in his left hand.

Kasey's back stiffened in defiance. 'You better shoot. That's the only way you're getting close to me again.'

'That's not how this goes down, Kasey,' he said. 'You know what I want you to do.'

'Fuck you, you sick bastard.'

'I want to see you kill her,' he said.

'You're crazy.'

'Take the joist, and crush her skull.'

'I won't do it.'

'Yes, you will. You'll do whatever it takes to save yourself.'

'You don't know me.'

'I know you better than anyone,' he said. 'You're just like me.'

'I'm not like you,' Kasey snapped, breathing harder, watching him.

'We both know you are. Kill her.'

'I'll kill you instead,' Kasey swore, raising the joist higher over her head and clutching it tightly with her hand.

'Don't be stupid.'

'I don't care what happens to me any more.'

'Yes, you do. You know the stakes, Kasey. You know what happens if you fail the test.'

'Leave my family alone. They're not part of this.'

'You weren't a part of my game, but you put yourself in the middle of it. You can't stop playing now.'

'You are done,' she shouted, taking a step toward him. 'You are dead:

He read the violence in her face. 'It's a powerful feeling, isn't it? To hate so much you want to kill. That's when you know you're really alive.' 'This ends right now,' she said.

'I'll sweeten the deal for you, Kasey. Kill her, and I'll let you go.'

'What?'

'I'll let you go,' he told her. 'Game over.'

'You're a fucking liar.'

'I'm not lying.'

The joist felt slippery in Kasey's hand. 'You'll never let me go. I've seen you.'

'But you're not going to turn me in, are you? You wouldn't take that chance. Come on, Kasey, what's another death on your conscience? I'm giving you a chance to walk away.'

'Kasey .' It was Maggie's voice, interrupting him sharply. 'Kasey, look at me. Don't listen to him. Don't believe him.'

Maggie's eyes were calm and focused, as if she were talking Kasey down off a high ledge.

'This guy is pathetic,' Maggie went on, her voice growing loud and sarcastic. 'He's a joke. Look at him. Acne Face here probably had dates laughing at him in high school, and now he's taking it out on women everywhere. Or maybe Mommy liked to dress him up in her lingerie. Which was it, Nie-Man? Nie-Man, isn't that like German for "not a man"? Wow, the shrinks'll have a field day with that one.'

'Maggie,' Kasey murmured.

Nieman didn't move or say a word, but Kasey saw his muscles quiver as his body knotted up in rage. His smile froze on his face and turned ugly.

'So what's your story, Nie-Man?' Maggie asked. 'What turned you into such a miserable excuse for a human life, huh? Did Aunt Penny like to take you into the closet when you were a boy and play with your little wee-wee? Did you grow up on a farm and spend too much time fucking the pigs and goats?'

Nieman's eyes never left Kasey's face. 'Kill her, Kasey,' he said calmly. 'Kill her right now, and you are free.'

'The whole school thing, what's that about?' Maggie persisted, buzzing around his brain like a mosquito. 'Was it a teacher? Did one of your teachers introduce your ass to the end of a broom handle? Or was it the other kids? Did they make the girls watch? Did they laugh at you? Poor, pitiful little Nie-Man.'

'Kill her, Kasey,' he growled. 'Do it right now, or I'll torture both of you in ways you can't even imagine. Do you hear me? Do you think I won't do it?'

Kasey recoiled as he shouted at her, but she understood. Maggie was trying to give her a split second to get to him. One moment of distraction. One chance to attack. And it was working.

'So what's the deal? Are you just an impotent piece of shit, Nie-Man? Can't get your tiny noodle off your balls? You blame women because all you've got is a floppy inch of licorice between your legs? Maybe next time you should pick a name like Harry No-Dick, huh? That's a good name for you.'

Kasey could see it in his eyes. So could Maggie. She had scored a direct hit. Nieman blinked faster, and his blood rage bubbled toward a boil.

'Drop your pants, No-Dick. Go on, do it. Give us a last laugh.'

' Shut the fuck up! Shut up! Shut up !'

Nieman stormed toward Maggie with his right hand clenched into a fist and his arm cocked for a back-handed blow across her face. The barrel of the gun followed his body. His head turned. One split second.

Kasey leaped. He wrenched back and fired as he saw her coming, but he wasn't fast enough. The gun went off with a flash and roar, burning past her ear, and before he could fire again, she hurtled the joist down on to his wrist. The heft of the metal snapped the joint with a loud crack. He howled in agony, and the gun tumbled to the floor.

Kasey reared back to swing again, aiming at his head this time, but he grabbed her shoulders and toppled them both off their feet. They landed hard amid the glass and debris. The flashlight spun away but stayed lit, casting a tunnel of light across their bodies. Before she could twist free, she felt him on top of her, leaning into her throat with his thick forearm. He loomed above her, his eyes black and intense. Seeing his eyes, she took her index finger and jabbed a sharp nail directly into the moist center of his pupil. He screamed, loosening his grip and covering his face with his hand. She hammered a fist into the center of his throat, and then again, slamming the side of his head and rolling him off her.

In the triangle of light, she saw the gun among the rubble on the floor and threw herself toward it. He kicked as he felt her move, and his boot connected with her skull, dizzying her and spinning her on to her back. He jumped and landed on her chest and drove the side of her head into the floor, where the broken glass sliced her cheek and lips. Before he could grab her skull again, she clutched his other hand and twisted his broken wrist. He let go with a screech of pain, and she wriggled backwards.