Richard Laymon - Tread Softly

"And us. When we're out of the way, she'll go ahead and finish off Dad and Heather and Rose and Mrs. Gordon. She can finish them with the curse."

"We won't let her. Unless we freeze to death."

"Maybe we should make a fire."

"With what?"

"I've got matches," Benny told her.

"You do?"

"Sure." With his left hand, he fumbled open the button of a shirt-pocket flap.

"Oh, you're a life saver. I wish you'd mentioned that five minutes ago."

"It'll mess up our night vision," he said, taking out a book of matches.

"Who cares?" She stood and held out a shaky hand. Benny gave her the matches. She rushed toward the trees. Crouching, she gathered pine needles. As she returned, Benny swiveled around to face the fireplace. He remembered building it, collecting the rocks by himself and stacking them to form a low, circular wall, the afternoon they arrived at the lake and everyone was mad at him because it was his fault they had to stay here.

Karen, on her knees, tore off the matchbook cover. She tucked it into a small pile of pine needles, and carefully stacked kindling on top.

"It's all my fault," he said.

She looked over her shoulder at him. "What is?"

"Everything. If I hadn't tripped on Heather and hurt her foot, we would've gone to Wilson Lake and none of this stuff would've happened."

"Bullshit."

"It's true."

"You sound just like your dad, you know that? Blaming yourselves. It must run in the family."

"But it's true."

"Save the blame for that bitch and her son. We're just victims, Benny. We happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. A million things could've changed that. And we would've been just fine, camping here, if that sick maniac hadn't decided to rape me."

"He… he raped you?"

Karen hesitated. Then she said, "Yes."

Benny felt as if he'd been punched hard in the stomach. He hunched over. The movement sent pain pounding through his arm. He started to cry.

Karen stood up. She stepped close to him and pressed his head gently against her. The sweatshirt was soft. It smelled good. He rubbed his face against it, feeling her belly through the material. It was the sweatshirt she'd worn last night in her sleeping bag when she held him and she was so warm and he could feel her breasts against him and worried so badly that she might notice his hard-on. Then she'd whispered, "Don't worry about it," and he'd wanted to die with shame. But just for a minute. After that, it had been fine and peaceful. "Are you gonna marry Dad?" he'd asked.

"Maybe."

"I hope so."

"Why?"

"Because I love you."

"I love you, too, Benny."

He'd snuggled against her. He'd never felt so good before in all his life. Thinking about it eased the hurt.

"You okay?" she asked, stroking his hair.

"I… I feel so bad he did that to you." "He's dead."

"I wish I'd killed him."

"No you don't."

"Oh yes I do."

She backed away. Crouching, she kissed him lightly on the mouth. "Let's get this fire going before we freeze." Turning around, she struck a match and lit the piece of cardboard. Flames curled up. The pine needles smoked and crackled and caught fire, igniting the twigs. Karen added bigger sticks from the nearby pile. The blaze grew high, dancing and throwing out heat. 'Wow we're cooking," she said.

Nick and Julie came up from behind. They huddled close to the fire.

"No luck?" Karen asked.

"We think she might've thrown them in the lake," Julie said.

"If she did," Nick said, "they'd have to be close to shore. We shouldn't have much trouble finding them."

"We're gonna take a look," Julie added. She was bent over the fire, the flashlight clamped between her knees, rubbing her hands together as if washing them in the flames.

"Where'd you find the matches?" Nick asked.

"They're Benny's," Karen said.

"Good going, Ben."

"Yeah." Julie smiled at him. "You're not a complete waste."

He smiled back at her. "No kidding."

Nick stepped away from the fire. "Okay, we'll take a look at the lake."

"Want to go with them?" Karen asked Benny.

"Yeah."

"It's better that way," she told the other two. "It's better if we stay together."

Benny stood up, wincing as the movement hurt his arm. The rest of his body felt stiff and sore, but he was glad to be included. Karen stayed close to his side as they headed for the lake.

Nick and Julie had the only working flashlights. They walked slowly along the shoreline, sweeping their beams over the water. The lights bent off to new angles where they penetrated. Through shallow water murky with swirling specks, Benny could see the bottom. The rocks down there were mossy. Patches of seaweed swayed with the currents. Farther out, the beams couldn't reach the bottom. They stopped a couple of feet below the surface, as if too weak to drive deeper into the gloom.

"Well," Nick said, "I still think they're out there. I'm going in."

"No, that's crazy," Julie said.

"Let's wait till morning," Karen suggested. "Even if you find them, the sleeping bags'll be soaking."

"Most of the food should be okay," Nick said. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm starved."

"Nick, you'll freeze."

"We've got a good fire." They followed him to the place where they'd left the packs. "If she threw them in, she probably took them straight over from here." He sat on the ground, put down the hatchet, and started to untie his boots.

Julie sat down beside him. "If you're going in, so am I."

"There's no point in both of us getting wet."

"I don't care."

"Julie." His voice was firm. "I mean it. You wait here."

She looked at him. Her mouth opened. Then it shut. Her shoulders slumped a bit. "Okay," she muttered. "If you don't want me to."

With his boots and socks off, he stood up and took off his flannel shirt. He lowered his jeans and stepped out of them. He left his jockey shorts on, and walked stiffly to the edge of the lake. He rubbed his arms. "Well," he said, "here goes." He charged forward, feet slapping into the water, splashing it high until he was knee-deep. Then he dived, hitting the surface flat out. Karen and Julie kept flashlights on him as he slid along silently below the waves. After a few seconds, he came up. He swung around, and wiped water off his face.

"You standing up?" Julie asked.

"Yeah." The waves reached his chest.

"How is it?"

He answered with a groan of pain. Then he started walking.

Julie's light stayed on him. Karen aimed hers at the water just ahead of him. They walked slowly along the shore, keeping to his pace.

He stopped. His shoulders wobbled slightly. "What do you know!" he said. Then he ducked below the surface. His back was visible for a moment, pale in the flashlight beams, rippling and quivering. Then it sank out of sight. Benny stared at the murky water. He counted silently to ten, and then Nick burst to the surface holding a gray bundle in front of him. He raised it from the water. It was Karen's pack. "They're all right here," he said.

"Fantastic," Julie called.

He lifted the pack overhead, and took a step forward, and just behind him the water seemed to explode. His eyes bulged. His mouth sprang open. The pack fell from his hands. It pounded down on his head, driving him under the surface.

The flashlights clattered to the rocks. Karen and Julie, side by side, dashed into the lake. One flashlight was out. Benny snatched up the other. He saw Karen dive. She swam out fast, vanished under the surface, and came up pulling Nick by his arm. Julie splashed to his other side, grabbed his other arm. Nick's head came out of the water. They pulled him along between them. He was conscious. He was choking. When they reached shallow water, Benny saw that his legs were working.