stalk 31

Arms wrapped around Lenneth’s slumbering form, Lezard lifted up his head, casting about blearily for his glasses. Eyes squinted almost shut, he spotted them on the night stand, and he stretched out his arm, finger tips snagging the lens. Settling the glasses on his face, he then looked over at his clock, seeing the neon green flash sharply in the darkened room. The time read after midnight, and Lezard realized he been asleep for several hours.

Shifting, he slid his other arm out from underneath Lenneth’s body, hearing the girl let out a whimper of protest. A fond smile crossed his lips as he watched her roll over onto her side, snuggling closer to a pillow. He reached out to touch her hair, the platinum strands unbound from their familiar braid. At his touch, she seemed to awaken, muttering out a sleepy, “Lezard…?”

“Shhh…” He continued to stroke her hair, a soothing rhythm meant to entice her back to sleep. “Close your eyes…Sleep Lenneth, sleep…!”

“Come back to bed…” She sighed, her voice a soft whisper.

“In a minute.” Lezard said. “I’ve just got to take care of some things.”

“Okay…” She was already nodding off, and Lezard wondered if she’d even remember this moment. One last lingering touch in her hair, Lezard hating to leave her, even for a moment. ~I have to.~ He thought to himself. ~What I’m about to do is for both our sakes. To guarantee our future happiness.~

He stepped away from the bed, heading towards his dresser. He moved aside colorful shirts, seeking out something dark, black as his intent this night. Once the shirt was found, he pulled out a pair of black jeans, turning to leave the room with his cargo in his arms. He paused long enough to pick up a small bag set near the door, and then quietly stepped out into the hallway. It was there that he got dressed, quickly shedding his night shirt, replacing it with the inky black T-shirt. He eased into his jeans, fingers deftly working the button fly closed.

He reached into the bag, removing a skull cap, the same one he had worn when sneaking over to Lenneth’s house, countless months ago. He carefully tucked his hair underneath the cap, making sure no stray hairs escaped their confines. He then removed black leather gloves, sliding them onto his hands with ease. One last item was taken out of the bag, replacing his gold framed glasses with a dull pair, one whose color wouldn’t catch the light and give away his presence.

Taking the bag with him, Lezard all but tip toed through the house, though he knew Mystina was still at the club. He reasoned he didn’t want his footsteps to awaken Lenneth, didn’t want her to ask questions he couldn’t answer. Wouldn’t answer.

He reached the kitchen, pausing long enough to slip on his darkest pair of sneakers, and then he was opening the door. He slipped out into the hallway, peering over the staircase rail. ~Perfect.~ He thought, not seeing anyone out on the landings below him. He quietly made his way down the steps, skipping over the one step that always squeaked loudly, and soon he was on the first floor, and not a soul was wiser to his passage.

No time for relieved smiles, this was only the first of the many tasks he had to perform this night. And as much as he longed to delay it, he knew time was of the essence. He had already had one close call too many this afternoon, he couldn’t rest until he fixed his mistake.

His expression grim, Lezard stepped out onto the streets, and began dashing from car to car. He crouched down low when he heard the engines of an approaching vehicle, seeing the headlights flood the street ahead of it with light. He waited, trembling as the van passed by his hiding spot, and only when it was out of sight did he move once more.

No other cars came by, and he reached Lenneth’s old house without further incident. He didn’t go straight away inside, instead pacing back and forth before the porch, looking for signs of intruders. Perhaps his greatest fear at the moment was that Rufus had returned to the house. He wouldn’t put it past that pot head to come looking for valuables to steal, to pay off Lucian’s hefty debt. What if he had discovered the body? Would he call the cops? Were they lying in wait for him now? Lezard shook his head, squaring his shoulders as he chased away such thoughts. No, it would not do to talk to himself out of his task. If he didn’t do something quick, the body would be discovered, and then he’d be in a whole mess of trouble.

Moving like a shadow, Lezard walked through the overgrown grassy lawn, reaching the porch in just a few moments. He tried to walk lightly, to not put his full weight down, but still the boards creaked and groaned, sounding thunderously loud to the nervous man. He slinked closer to the house, pushing open the door, peering inside. Lezard wondered how long a house had to be abandoned before squatters showed up. ~It’s too soon!~ He snapped, annoyed with himself. ~Stop being paranoid, stop trying to think of reasons to turn back home.~

He stepped inside, easing the door shut. The house was deathly quiet, even the area surrounding the property was still, no chirps from insects or the sound of one’s TV to break the silence. It was almost creepy, and Lezard rubbed his arms, feeling a chill that had nothing to do with being cold. He wanted to turn on the lights, but feared that would give away his presence. Instead he shuffled forward in the darkness, his eyes slowly adjusting to the dim lighting that filtered in through the curtainless windows.

He reached the closet, and let his hand hover over the handle. His vision swam, the room wavering before his eyes. Funny, that had been happening a lot lately, and he wondered what it meant. He shook, Lezard’s hands starting to tremble, and he frowned. Now was not the time to be scared, Lucian couldn’t hurt him, couldn’t hurt anyone anymore.

With that thought in his mind, Lezard opened the closet, and almost screamed as the body fell forward on top of him. Down to the floor they both fell, Lucian’s weight pinning Lezard down. “Urgh!” Lezard cried out, scrambling to escape the press of cold flesh a top of him. For one brief moment he lay still, breathing through his mouth. Shutting off his nose, though he knew it was too soon for Lucian’s body to start to sink. The calm faded away as panicked set in. Frantic, he eased out from under him, throwing off Lucian’s arm from his chest. He panted, more from fear, than the exertion he had used to get free, and he quickly clamped his hand over his mouth, thinking he might be ill.

He sat next to the body for a few minutes more, just trying to regain his composure. And then he was moving, crawling forward, turning Lucian onto his back. Dull eyes stared up at nothing, his skin pale from the loss of blood. His lips were already tinged with blue, and his nose was broken. Lezard gazed at his face with a sense of detachment, keen interest noting the changes from life to death. It wasn’t often he was around dead bodies, and this was the first corpse he himself was responsible for. He stretched out a finger, poking the tip of it against Lucian’s cheek. It was hard not soft, stiff and unyielding under his touch.

When he reached to touch the broken nose, Lezard shook his head, stopping himself. This was no time to study the marvels of a dead human body! He sat up on his knees, reaching for his bag. “You know Lucian…” He said conversationally. “I’m really going through a lot of trouble for you.” The object he pulled out crinkled, a shiny black garbage bag. “You should be grateful I’m even considering given you a burial.”

He shook the bag, opening it out to it’s full length. “I thought long and hard on what to do with you.” He lifted up Lucian’s legs, sliding them into the bag. “There’s so many ways to dispose of a body!” He gave out an excited laugh, struggling to get Lucian’s lower half into the bag. This would be easier with two people, one to hold the bag open, the other to do the heavy lifting. “I almost went with the acid bath. It sounded too perfect….nothing would remain, not even the tips of your toes after a soak in the tub. But where would I find that much acid….?” He grunted, easing the bag up Lucian’s waist.

Higher the trashbag went, until at last it was ready to be pulled over Lucian’s shocked face. “I thought of sending you over a cliff in a car….a fiery explosion to burn away the body. But…” Lezard tsked. “It’s a waste of a good car.” He yanked the bag over the head, tying it close.

Standing, hunched over the bag, he eased his hands right about where Lucian’s shoulders would be, and began dragging him towards the kitchen. It was slow progress, Lucian being far heavier than Lezard remembered. It left the man winded, struggling forward, wondering how someone who had lost so much blood could still weigh so much. Lezard grunted, and paused in the kitchen, leaving the body on the linoleum. He opened the door that lead out into the backyard, propping it open with a chair. And then he returned to the body, muttering under his breath as he dragged Lucian outside.

He looked around, seeing the yard at least was tended with love and care. Seeing the flower beds Lenneth had planted, Lezard recalling watching her toil endlessly over the colorful plants, bending over in that deliciously skimpy bikini of hers. He dragged Lucian closer to the flowers, breath huffing out as he exerted himself. He left him near the gerebellum bush, casting about for the shovel he had seen earlier in the day. He had spotted it through the privacy fence, laying near the side of the house, and he walked over there now.

“Perfect.” Lezard said, lifting up the shovel by the handle. He walked back to the flower beds, and sank the flat of the shovel into the dirt, upending soil and flowers. He hated to do it, hated to ruin Lenneth’s hard work, but this was the only spot where the dirt was freshly dug up, and would not garner any unwanted attention. He lifted the shovel, flinging dirt over his shoulder.

Lezard worked for hours, sweating profusely, grunting and groaning as his back protested the hard work. He forced himself to go without a break, scooping up shovelfuls of dirt after dirt, digging a hole deeper and deeper into the garden. At last he deemed the hole deep enough, and he gratefully laid down his shovel. His clothes were stinking to him, dirty with huge patches of sweat.

Breathing heavily, he turned to Lucian’s body, stifling a groan. He grabbed at the bag, this time by the feel of snagging him by the feet. He began the laborious task of dragging Lucina forward, huffing and puffing as he moved him towards the hole. “You worthless sac of meat!” growled Lezard. “You couldn’t have left town….you couldn’t have made this easy on me….no…even in death you continue to pain me…” He shoved, the body teetering over the edge of the wide hole.

“Well I’m done with you now…” He kicked the body, allowing it to fall that last step into the pit. “Finished…”

Lezard straightened up, wiping the sweat from his brow. He turned away from the hole, taking weary, almost stumbling steps into the house. He paused in the kitchen, gratefully drinking much needed water straight from the tap. He long to put his head under the faucet, let some of the ice cold water pour on his face. But that could wait. One last sip of water, and he was walking into the hall, reaching the closet. He removed a suitcase, stuffed to overflowing with Lucian’s clothes. He lifted up the suitcase, carrying the heavy luggage out into the back yard. There he flung it down into the pit, hearing a satisfying crunch as it hit Lucian’s body.

With a weary sigh, he picked up the shovel, and began shoveling the dirt back into the ground. It didn’t take him as long as it did to dig the hole in the first place, Lezard working quickly. He patted the ground with the shovel, smoothing out the dirt. Crouching over the covered hole, he began stuffing flowers back into the ground, trying to arrange them as best he could remember.

“There now…” Lezard stood, nodding to himself. “No one will ever find you. Not that many will bother to look for you. Lenneth certainly won’t. But don’t worry Lucian…” He smirked. “I’ll take good care of her. She’ll be happy…far happier than she ever was with you. You’ll fade away from her life, and soon you won’t even be a distant memory.”

He turned, walking towards the house without a backwards glance, heading into the kitchen. Lezard paused long enough to pick up his bag, slinging it over his shoulder. Through the hall he traversed, chuckling darkly as he passed by the closet. He shut the door behind him, easing off the porch and hurried home. Lenneth was still laying where he had left her, quiet in his bed, her sleep without nightmares for once.

He walked into his bathroom, closing the door behind him, Peeling of the dirt stained clothing, letting his jeans hit the floor. He turned on the shower, and stepped inside, easing the glass door close. Lezard sighed happily as the water pounded his body, washing away the excess of sweat. He stood under the shower head, eyes closed, letting the water just pour over him, cleansing him of the foul deed he had done this night. Rivulets of brown wet dirt colored the bottom of the tub, and soon it was joined by bubbles, remnants of the soap sliding down his skin.

Song bubbled up in his throat, Lezard humming as he scrubbed at his skin. He fastidiously cleaned every part of himself, careful to get the dirt out from beneath his fingernails. Shampoo trickled down the sides of his face, Lezard’s fingers massaging his scalp as he worked the concoction into his hair. He fiddled with the faucets when the hot water began to die down, desperate to squeeze out every last drop of warm water.

Finishing his shower, he rubbed a towel on his head, drying his short locks. He stopped before the fogged up mirror, rubbing his hand across the glass. He smiled at his reflection, clean and refreshed once more. He adjusted a towel around his waist, skin dripping wetly on the floor as he walked out of the bathroom. Lezard shuffled forward quiet as a mouse, reaching the bed.

Easing back the covers, Lezard slid underneath the comforter, naked except for the towel, making himself comfortable next to Lenneth. She let out a murmur and rolled over, wrapping her arm around his waist. He smiled and snuggled closer to her, feeling her press her cheek on his chest. His eyes gleamed in the darkness, and he stroked her hair, thinking to himself how all was now right in the world.

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By Michelle