Richard Laymon - Tread Softly

"Yeah." He moved the beam down her body.

Julie groaned as it lit wet shiny places and crooked teeth marks on Karen's left shoulder and breast. "God," she murmured.

Fingers had put scratches and red imprints on her skin, but Scott saw no blood, no stab wounds.

"Is everybody okay?" Benny called from outside.

"Yes," Scott answered. "Stay out there."

The marks ended at Karen's rib cage. He nudged Julie. She leaned out of his way and he bent over her body and shined the light on her vagina. There was no blood, no semen. Her legs looked okay.

"Dad?" Julie whispered. "He raped her."

He nodded.

"Do you think she'll be all right?"

"I don't. " His voice cracked. "I don't know. Here." He gave Julie the flashlight. "Go over to my tent. Get her sweatshirt. It's in my sleeping bag."

Without a word, she hurried from the tent.

Scott found Karen's sweatpants in the space behind her boots. They were folded neatly.

God, she must've been lying here naked, waiting for him. If only Benny had fallen asleep a few minutes earlier… if the rain hadn't come… if he hadn't been so damned worried about everyone else, and simply tented with her all along.

He stroked the length of her outflung leg, slipped his hand under her calf, and lifted it. He slipped the sweatpants over her foot and drew in her other leg. By the time Julie returned, he had the pants in place. Together, they lifted her to a sitting position and pulled the sweatshirt over her head. Scott worked her limp arms into the sleeves. He lowered her gently, and smoothed the cover of the sleeping bag over her.

Julie was kneeling beside him, staring down at the dark bundle. He put an arm around her. "How are you doing, tiger?"

"Okay."

"Jesus."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"You're gonna freeze."

He realized, vaguely, that he was naked except for his jockey shorts. He was wet and shivering. "I'm okay," he said.

"I guess the guy's dead."

"Yeah. I'm sorry it was Nick. He didn't have to. I — it's too bad." "I'll go see how he's doing. If you don't need me anymore."

Scott nodded.

Julie eased away. She brought her own sleeping bag over, and wrapped it around him. "Benny and I — we'll stay in the other tent." She kissed him lightly on the cheek, and left.

Benny grabbed Julie's arm as she stood up outside the tent. He stared at her, the rain splashing on his glasses. "Is she okay?" he asked.

"She's unconscious."

"What'd he do to her?"

"He knocked her out."

"I know, but. "

"Why don't you go back to the tent? You're drenched."

His chin started to shake. "I gotta know how she is!"

"She'll be fine."

"Goddamn stinking rotten dirty bastard!"

Julie put her hand on Benny's cold, dripping cheek. "She'll be all right. You'll see."

"He won't! He's dead! I wish I'd killed him!" Benny suddenly threw himself against Julie and hugged her tightly. She wrapped her arms around him. He was sobbing out of control. His stocking cap was sodden and cold against her cheek.

Beyond his head, Julie saw Nick sitting on a rock by the dead fire. He was wearing a hooded poncho. He was slumped forward, staring at his feet.

Her own poncho, which she'd left on the ground when the storm hit, was spread over the dead body. It was barely visible through the darkness and sheeting rain. She thought of what was under it, and turned her eyes away.

Flash, in a clear plastic rain slicker, was crouched in front of the far tent, apparently talking to Alice and the girls.

He shouldn't have left Nick alone.

"Come on," Julie said. "Dad's gonna stay with Karen.

If you're staying outside, why don't you go get your poncho? And try to find Dad's for me. Okay?"

With a nod, Benny backed away and walked toward the other tent. Julie went over to Nick. He looked up as she stopped in front of him. "How are you doing?" she asked.

"I still feel a little sick. How about you? Did he hurt you?"

"Bruised me a little. He got Karen pretty bad, though. He raped her.''

"God. How is she?"

"Unconscious. He hit her with something. Maybe the knife handle."

"Will she be okay?"

Julie shrugged. "You were great, going after the guy that way."

"I heard you scream," he said. His voice sounded flat, as if his mind were far away. "I saw you on the ground. And your dad hit him. I didn't know what was going on. I just knew I had to get him. I didn't plan to. kill him." He stared up at Julie with wide, unblinking eyes. "I don't know. I guess I did want to kill him. I just knew he'd hurt you and I grabbed the hatchet. I feel kind of strange."

She stepped between his knees and pressed his face against her body. "Don't feel bad. If you hadn't done it, I think Dad would've."

"That's what my dad said. He said the guy was 'dead meat.' "

"Here it is," Benny said.

Julie stepped back. She shook open the wrinkled plastic sheet, and pushed her head through its hooded hole. As she snapped the sides under her arms, Flash approached. He squeezed her shoulder. "How're you doing, young lady?"

"Fine, I guess."

"What about Karen?"

"She's beat up some. She's unconscious." With Benny standing there, Julie didn't want to mention the sexual assault. "He messed her up pretty good."

"Well, Nick messed him up pretty good. She'll be all right, won't she?"

"I guess so."

"That's good to hear. How you holding up, Nicky?"

"Okay," he muttered.

"I know it's not easy. I've put the nix on a couple of guys in my day. It's never easy. Nothing to worry about, though. A clear case of self-defense. What I think we'll do is get some snapshots of the body. We can't exactly pack it out with us. We'll wrap it up good and tight, and bury it here. Let the authorities come back for it."

Julie watched him reach into his clear slicker and pull an Instamatic from the pocket of his jacket. "You kids can wait here. No need for you to watch."

He walked to the front of the tent where the man had struggled with Julie. The knife was still embedded in the muddy ground. He tugged it free, and went to the dark bundle. With the point of the knife, he swept the poncho aside.

Julie was ready to look away, but the ground where the corpse should have been sprawled was bare.

Benny groaned.

Julie felt a shiver crawl up her spine, squirm on the back of her neck.

Nick muttered, "Holy shit," and leaped to his feet. He ran toward his father, Julie and Benny following close behind.

Flash was walking slowly toward the shoreline. He stopped at the edge of the water. When they caught up to him, he was standing motionless, arms hanging at his sides, eyes staring out at the black ruffled surface of the lake.

"Dad?"

Flash shook his head. His voice came out in a whisper barely loud enough to hear over the sounds of the wind and rain. "He was dead. I know he was dead."

With a sudden intake of air, Karen sat up straight. Scott put a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and looked at him with wide, pale eyes. "It's all right," he said. She raised a hand to her face, and moaned. Then she lunged forward, scurried out of her sleeping bag, thrust her head through the tent flap, and vomited.

Scott found her water bottle propped up between her boots. He took it to her. She was on her hands and knees, half outside the tent. She'd finished throwing up, and had raised her head. She was staring through the rain. Scott saw four dark figures with flashlights wandering among the rocks and trees to the right.

"What are they — " Karen muttered.

"I don't know." He gave the water bottle to her. As she washed out her mouth and took a long drink, Scott gazed at the place where the body had fallen. He saw a rumpled shape on the ground. Good, they'd covered it. He patted the wet back of Karen's sweatshirt. "Let's get in where it's dry."