Richard Laymon - Blood Games

It was over very fast, but it wasn’t over. They started squirming together in the narrow aisle, kissing and squeezing and groping.

I could be next , Abilene thought.

No. No no no .

There’s Harris. It wouldn’t be worth the guilt.

Besides, Helen obviously intended to be next. She’d already unleashed her breasts. They were swaying wildly as she struggled to get out of her pants and underwear.

Soon, Rick was sandwiched between Helen and Finley.

‘Join the fun,’ Finley gasped.

Cora, looking dazed, got up from her swivel chair and stared down at the writhing bodies. ‘I need some fresh air,’ she said. She turned away and went out the front door.

‘Come on, Hickok. You’re not married yet.’

Rick pushed into Helen. She let out a shaky whimper.

‘More the merrier,’ Rick gasped, and plunged deeper into Helen.

Abilene could feel it.

She wanted it.

She realized she was squirming and her hand was inside her blouse, kneading her breast.

Nobody’ll ever know but us .

She stood above the thrashing bodies and unbuttoned her blouse and took it off and strained her arms up behind her back to release the catches of her bra and the wrongness of it all struck her with numbing force.

Rick was a kid. A big kid and they’d lured him into their camper and given him booze and seduced him. He never knew what hit him.

He doesn’t seem to be complaining, she told herself.

But that didn’t make it any better.

And even if Harris never found out, she would know. She would have to live with the guilt.

Abilene put on her blouse and hurried down the aisle to the rear of the camper.

Vivian was there, lying on a cushioned bench with her knees up, hands folded on her belly.

‘You’re missing out on the orgy,’ Abilene said, and sat down across from her. ‘You got out of there just in time.’

‘Avoiding temptation.’

‘He’s a good-looking guy.’

‘I noticed. Christ. Are they all at him?’

‘Finley and Helen. Cora went outside.’

‘I guess I can’t blame Helen much. I mean, she doesn’t have much luck with guys. Finley, though. Sometimes I wonder about her.’

‘She can get a little nuts.’

There was a knock on the back door. Abilene got up and opened it. Cora climbed aboard.

They sat down.

‘How come you didn’t join the party?’ she asked Abilene.

‘Not my style.’

‘You looked like you were getting awfully homy.’

‘Yeah, well. Guess it was contagious.’

‘I’ll say. Shit. Helen sure caught it. I thought she’d fallen in love with that Frank guy. How can you be in love and drop your pants for a stranger?’

How, indeed? Abilene thought. I came damn close, myself.

‘Just lost control,’ she muttered.

‘If this sort of stuff’s gonna start happening, I’m not so sure we should keep on having our little adventures. Hell, maybe we oughta just go home.’

‘This is the first time things’ve really gotten out of hand,’ Vivian told her.

‘It’s once too often.’

‘We could’ve stopped it,’ Abilene said.

‘But we didn’t. That’s what worries me. We all went along with it. We let it happen. ’

‘I don’t think we should call it quits and go home, though,’ Abilene said. ‘Let’s just keep a tighter reign on things from now on.’

‘Keep Finley away from men,’ Vivian added.

‘Though, actually,’ Abilene said, and hesitated. From the front of the camper, she heard grunts and quiet laughter. ‘I know we really abused the kid…’

‘Raped him is more like it,’ Cora said.

‘But, honestly, I think he’s having the time of his life.’

‘He’ll be back first thing in the morning,’ Finley said when the others returned to the front of the camper. She seemed chipper as she stepped into her jeans. ‘I think he was disappointed you three woosed out. But tomorrow’s another day.’

Helen, her naked body draped by the towel, was sprawled on one of the cushions, gazing at the ceiling. She looked grim. ‘We shouldn’t have done it,’ she muttered.

‘Oh, lighten up. It was a blast. The guy thought he’d died and gone to heaven.’

The next morning, Rick didn’t show up.

‘Probably hung over,’ Finley said. ‘I’ll go find him.’

‘Don’t,’ Cora said. ‘Just leave him alone.’

Finley flapped a hand at her, then headed off into the fog and vanished.

The others caught up with her.

‘You’re not going after him alone,’ Vivian said.

‘And you’re not going to touch him,’ Abilene added.

‘Gimme a break.’

They wandered up the dirt road.

They found tire marks where his pick-up truck had been. They found a mat of drying vomit. But the pick-up was gone.

They didn’t quit and go home.

After the fog lifted that morning, they went to the shore. Abilene stood on the beach, watching while Cora experimented with her surfboard. Vivian sunbathed in her new bikini. Helen, stretched out beside Vivian, read a new William M. Carney paperback. Finley wandered off down the beach by herself. She climbed an outcropping that jutted into the ocean, and sat down on its summit. And stayed there.

Finally, Abilene climbed the rocks and stood beside her. ‘Mind some company?’ she asked.

‘Pull up a chair.’

She sat down. A crashing wave hurled up spray that showered the outcropping just below them.

‘It’s neat here,’ Abilene said.

Finley looked at her. The usual mischief was missing from her eyes. ‘Am I a real jerk?’ she asked.

‘Most of the time.’

‘You know what I mean.’

‘Yeah.’

‘I just couldn’t help it. You know? The minute I saw Rick, all I could think about was getting him to fuck me. Nothing else mattered. Just something about the guy. Now everybody’s pissed at me.’

‘I think we’re pissed at ourselves, too. Especially Helen.’

‘Shit, she wanted him as bad as I did.’

‘I have a feeling we all wanted him.’

‘Well, it’s not gonna happen again. No more guys for me. Not on this trip anyway.’

‘Not worth the guilt?’

The old, normal gleam appeared in Finley’s eyes. ‘You’ve gotta be kidding me. It was worth the guilt and then some. It was tremendous. But if I tried something like that again, you guys would probably trounce me.’

Abilene smiled. ‘Probably.’

‘I just don’t wanta get myself trounced. Especially not by my best friends.’

Finley, shoulder deep in the small pool, glanced from Jim to Cora. ‘If we get enough booze into our friend here, we won’t have to worry about him running off. We might even be able to untie him for a while.’

‘Get him stumble-down drunk, you mean?’ Cora asked. ‘Exactly. Anaesthetize him.’

‘Forget it,’ Cora said. ‘I know what you’re thinking. It isn’t gonna happen.’

Finley’s face darkened. ‘What isn’t gonna happen?’

‘You know damn well.’

‘Oh, real nice. Real nice. Helen’s fuckin’ dead and you think I’ve got the hots for our friendly local hillbilly? For all we know, he’s the bastard that did it.’

‘It weren’t me,’ Jim muttered.

‘Sure, sure.’

‘I just wanta help ya.’

‘And he won’t be much help to us if we get him bombed,’ Vivian pointed out.

‘Why not? We’re just gonna use him for bait. He doesn’t have to be sober for that. Doesn’t even have to be alive.’

Jim raised his head slightly. He looked at Finley as if she’d just told him there wouldn’t be a Christmas this year.

‘That kind of talk isn’t necessary,’ Abilene said. ‘Jeez, Fin.’