Laymon Laymon - The Woods Are Dark

He swam underwater. His heart thundered. His lungs began to burn. He touched the bottom, and pulled himself forward by gripping the slippery rocks.

When he thought his lungs would burst, he arched toward the surface. His head broke free. He spun, and looked back.

Nobody there.

He’d passed the bend.

But they might be coming.

He charged ashore, and scrambled up the bank on his own side of the stream. Then he ran. He dodged trees. He crashed through bushes. He tumbled into a gully, and crawled along the bottom until he came to a dead tree that had fallen across it. He scooted under the old, barkless trunk.

He stared at the gray wood, less than two inches above his face.

Each time he sucked air into his aching lungs, he felt his chest press against the trunk.

They’ll never find me here, he thought.

The wily fox has gone to ground.

As time passed, he heard no pursuers. Nothing to worry about, on that score.

But Lander felt uneasy. He’d seen something back at the stream—something terribly important. But he didn’t know what.

An ugly yellow spider scrambled over the trunk, just above his face. He watched it, hoping it wouldn’t drop. When it was out of range, he tried to concentrate.

What had he seen at the stream?

Girls and boys and bodies.

Arms and legs.

Legs.

The girls had long, slim legs. Not the chubby girl—hers were short and thick. The other two, who showed up late. The two he only glimpsed.

One, he suddenly remembered, had called out in English.

Get him!”

Was that what troubled him? Her English?

No, her legs.

Or the other’s.

Legs.

He tried hard to picture the girls. Both naked and filthy. Bloody. One taller than the other.

Nice tits.

Pubic hair like arrowheads pointing the way down to dark mysteries.

Ah, he would like to give them a roll, to clutch those tits, rut in those hidden holes.

The head of his erection rose against the wood.

He forgot the uneasiness he’d been trying to fathom. He had a new uneasiness, now, an ache that shouldn’t be difficult to cure.

It only required a woman.

A girl.

He squirmed free of the trunk, and stood. He breathed deeply. The morning air was perfume. The perfume of a lovely woman.

He could have taken one last night. He could have taken many. They’d been so available, as he stalked them in the night. If he hadn’t been so timid…

“Wee timorous beastie,” he muttered.

He looked down at his erection, and chuckled.

Not so timorous now.

Nor so wee.

“Why didn’t they go after him?” Cordie asked.

“’Cause they’re dorks,” Lilly said. “They’re too damn lazy. Or just chicken. Those Thaks can be dangerous, but they’re worth it. You get to keep the whole carcass, and don’t have to share. It’s like a reward—a bounty, you know?”

“What’s a Thak?”

“Like an outcast. If you’re a fuck-up, you get kicked out of the village. Then you’re fair game. The woods are full of ’em.”

“How do you know he was one?” Cordie asked. She stopped dragging the body to wipe sweat out of her eyes.

“You can tell,” Lilly said. “For one, they act crazy”

He bad acted crazy. Yelling like that. And not recognizing Cordie. Of course, it was no wonder he didn’t know her, the way she looked. And he’d only given her a glance.

She’d come damn close to calling out. She stopped herself, though. He would’ve tried to rescue her. They’d have killed him, for sure.

“Also,” Lilly said, “you can tell because they’re strangers. If you see a stranger around here, you can bet it’s a Thak. Gotta watch out for ’em. My best friend got killed by one. The shit he did to her…”

Cordie wondered what could shock a girl like Lilly. She didn’t ask. She didn’t want to know.

“One came in the village, just last night. Christ, he killed half a dozen of us. They’re bad. Real bad. Most of us, we never go anyplace alone, case we run into one.”

They resumed dragging the body. It seemed heavier than before. “How much farther’s this village?”

“We’re almost there.”

“God, I hope so.” She struggled forward. The woods were hot and still. Not a breeze stirred.

Sweat rolled down her skin. Kigit’s ankle was slippery in her wet hands, and several times she lost her grip.

“Can’t we rest?” she asked.

“We’ll be there in a minute.”

“I saw a Thak last night. I’ll tell you about it, if we can rest a second.”

“Okay. Make it quick, though.”

Cordie dropped the leg. With sweaty hands, she wiped ropes of wet hair away from her face. She was dripping. She wished she had a towel.

u saw a Thak?”

Cordie nodded. “Yeah. It killed some kid. And…” She couldn’t bring herself to speak Ben’s name. “And my boyfriend.”

“You mean them?” Lilly nodded toward the boys who were walking a short distance ahead, with their burdens of arms and legs.

“That’s… ?”

“That’s them. Who do you think?”

“I guess I knew,” she admitted.

“Let’s get moving,” Lilly said.

They lifted the legs, and started forward.

“That wasn’t any Thak you saw.”

“Huh?”

“Their heads got ripped off. That wasn’t a Thak. What’d he look like?”

“He was huge,” Cordie said. “I don’t know, maybe seven feet. That’s about all I saw. It was dark, and I only got a glimpse. But I heard him. God, he had a voice like… it was horrible.”

“He yelled Krull,’ right?”

“Yeah.” Cordie blinked sweat off her eyelashes. “Who was he?”

“The Devil.”

In the village, Cordie was led directly to a hut. “Stay here,” Lilly said. “Grar has to see you.”

Then she was alone. She sat cross-legged in the center of the hut. The floor was specked with sunlight from the leafy roof. She sighed. It felt good to be rid of the body. But later…

She didn’t want to think about later.

At least for the moment, she didn’t seem to be in danger.

They’d accepted her.

They’d fucked her raw. Kigit had tried to kill her. But she’d done everything right, so far. She was almost one of them.

With both hands, she wiped the dripping sweat from her face. From her shoulders and breasts.

She would like to go back to that stream.

And Dad.

The pelt over the hut’s entrance flapped open, and a creature swung in on hairy arms. Cordie flinched. She gripped her thighs, digging fingernails into her wet skin, fighting her urges to flee or scream.

The creature, she realized, was a man. A man of hideous deformity, legless and bloated. His mouth twitched into a mockery of a grin.

“Grar?”

The monster swung himself closer.

Cordie squeezed her thighs harder. Her fingernails pierced her skin.

Inches from her knees, he stopped. His eyes roamed her body.

No!

Not him !

Watching his gummy eyes, she knew she would die before letting him take her.

She crossed her arms over her breasts.

The creature growled.

“No,” she whispered.

Robbins woke up, and found Neala asleep beside him on the bed of fur. He raised his head. Sherri was at the front wall, keeping watch.

He gently removed Neala’s hand from his belly, and got up. He went to Sherri. “What’re they doing?” he asked.

“Just standing there.”

He peered out. “What the hell are they waiting for?”

“Maybe they plan to starve us out. Beats getting their heads shot off.”

“Yeah.” He stepped away from the wall, and lifted his T-shirt to wipe the sweat off his face. Then he picked up his rifle. He went to the door, and opened it. The air from outside gave no relief; it felt even hotter than the air inside.