Still rigid, it kept jumping and spurting for a few seconds after the rest of Willy seemed to be unconscious.
As fast as she could, Marty climbed off.
On her feet, she took a couple of steps backward, then stopped and reversed the revolver and took aim at Willy.
He wasn’t hard any more.
He lay motionless on the ground.
Marty felt blood running down her back, her buttocks, and the backs of her legs. She felt semen dribble out of her and trickle down her left thigh.
Soon, Willy moaned and pressed a hand against his ear. He squirmed a little.
When he opened his eyes, Marty thumbed back the hammer and aimed at his face.
‘Don’t,’ he said. The word came out like a groan of pain and fear. ‘Please, don’t shoot me.’
‘Dirty rotten bastard,’ she said.
‘Please.’
‘Don’t move.’ Keeping the gun leveled at him, she crouched and
picked up his shirt. She wiped herself with it and flung it at him. He cringed as if he expected the shirt to burn him. When it fell onto his legs, he flinched.
‘Don’t move,’ Marty repeated.
Trying to keep the revolver aimed at Willy as much as possible, she put on her shorts. Then she picked up her torn, bloody jersey. She put the gun through its right sleeve and used her left hand to pull the jersey up her arm and over her head. For a few moments, she was blind. But when she could see again, Willy was still on his back.
She changed the gun to her left hand, worked it under the jersey and out through the left sleeve.
‘Okay,’ she said, the jersey still rucked up above her breasts. ‘Pull your pants up.’
As he drew the jeans up his legs, Marty tugged her jersey down. It felt heavy and wet and sticky against her back. It hurt her cuts, but she was glad to be dressed.
She waited for Willy to finish with his jeans. Then she told him to put on his shirt.
When he had it on, she said, ‘Stand up.’
‘Where we going?’ he asked.
‘Back to the car. Let’s go.’
Trying to get to his feet, he staggered and fell down. But he tried again. This time, he made it.
‘Walk ahead of me,’ Marty told him.
He turned his back to her and started walking. He walked awkwardly, sometimes stumbling.
Marty followed him, staying a few paces back and out of reach. Soon after they entered the thick trees, she uncocked the gun to prevent it from going off by accident.
It seemed to take a very short time to reach the edge of the woods.
Marty followed Willy down the grassy slope to where the ground was soggy, and up the embankment to the road. Willy stopped beside the car and turned around to face her.
‘Open the trunk,’ she ordered.
‘Okay,’ said Willy. But he didn’t move.
‘Now.’
‘Whatcha gonna do if I don’t?’
‘Shoot you and open it myself.’
‘You ain’t gonna shoot me.’
‘Just open the trunk and…’
He lurched toward Marty, reaching for the gun.
She pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
Willy grabbed the barrel. As he jerked the gun away from her, he punched her in the face.
Marty dropped to her knees.
‘It’s single action,’ he said. ‘You dumb fuck. Gotta cock it.’
His fist came in, smashing her face again. And again. And again. She slumped backward.
Willy said something, but she couldn’t hear him through the ringing in her ears. She tried to get up. Her legs were bent behind her and her arms wouldn’t work right.
Willy walked toward the rear of his car.
Marty struggled to her knees. Her head drooped. It felt as heavy as lead. The side of her face was burning from the punches. She wanted to let her arms fold, to stretch out on the ground and lie there, on and on.
Instead, groaning with pain, she raised her head. She saw Willy open the trunk of the car. She wanted to ask him what he was doing, but she didn’t have the strength. Then she saw him raise the revolver, cock it, and aim into the trunk.
‘NO!’ she screamed.
The gun blasted, leaping in his hand.
Marty struggled to her feet and staggered to the back of the car. Before Willy could grab her, she glimpsed Dan’s face in the darkness of the trunk.
The top of his head was partly gone.
‘NO!’
She kicked and squirmed in Willy’s arms, but couldn’t get loose until her teeth found his ear and she bit it hard. His yell of pain stunned her for a second. Then she realized that he had let go of her.
She dashed to the edge of the embankment and jumped as far as she could. She made it almost to the bottom before her heels hit the wet grass. Her legs flew forward and her rump hit the slope. She slid the rest of the way down, then scrambled to her feet and ran, splashing through the soggy grass.
‘Stop!’ Willy shouted.
Her legs chugged, carrying her up the rise on the other side of the ditch.
From behind her came the sound of a metallic clank.
The gun hammer dropping.
But there must’ve been no live round in the chamber, because there was only the clank and no blast.
She reached the top of the slope.
Broke into a sprint for the woods.
A root snagged her foot.
As she lurched forward, falling headlong, a gunshot split the night.
30
Willy grinned when he saw the girl walking backward alongside the road ahead, her thumb out. The same girl he’d tried to stop for, back near that town.
She must’ve passed his car while he’d been out in the woods with Marty.
She’d gone a pretty good distance, too.
A mighty quick walker.
He stopped his car beside her. ‘Want a lift?’ he called out the passenger window.
‘Man, oh man, do I!’
The light inside the car came on when she opened the door, and Willy got a good look at her.
Nice. Real nice.
He always did like the young stuff, and the way this gal’s dress was clinging to her skin… He watched it slide up her thighs when she climbed into the car.
‘Where’re you headed?’ he asked.
‘Gribsby.’
‘I’m going as far as Marshall.’
‘Oh, that’s fine.’ Her voice seemed awfully cheerful for so late at night. ‘That’s great. I’m sure I’ll be able to find a ride from Marshall.’
‘Probably.’
She sighed loudly with relief or pleasure.
She folded her arms below her breasts, slouched down in the seat, and smiled at him. ‘This is great,’ she said. ‘It sure feels good to be heading home.’
31
Rolling over, Marty crossed an arm over her face to block the bright sunlight. Then she opened her eyes. When the air touched them, they felt raw and burning. She saw that she was stretched out along the edge of a forest.
For a while, she didn’t remember. Then it all came back. She moaned as it poured into her like a foul liquid, burning and nauseating.