Bab 18: Chapter 17: Trophies
Saturday January 19th, 2013 10 A.M.
Abandoned Trailer
"Why's it so cold out here?" Lizzie asked. Emmy stood behind the girl she crushed over, unable to remove her gaze from the girl's butt. It was mesmerizing how it swayed back and forth. At least something's taking my mind off of this escapade we're on. She thought. The sky was full of dark gray clouds ushering in a blistering snow storm. The three of them - with Eli in the lead - were walking down a long highway. Off to the right an old looking motor home rested, covered in a blanket of white. The entire exterior appeared as if it had been rusted and abandoned for years.
Just keep your mind focused Em. Keep staring at her butt, it'll be better if you don't let your mind wander. "Where are we going anyways?" Lizzie's question broke her out of the staring contest she was in. Eli had stopped just as they climbed over the guard rail. The way her sister floated there, with the icy water droplets falling off of her; it was the most bizarre thing she had ever seen. "This was where he took me. Greg Xaveria resided at this trailor, pining over his uncle's approval." Eli turned towards them; her eyes streamed.
"That sick bastard…He drugged me and brought me here. You'll see; you'll see just how fucked up the Xaveria family really is." "Sis…" Eli waved her words off. "You two just…just keep up." Silence ensued, but soon they were off again. Lizzie lagged behind a bit so that they were level with each other. "Am I the only one here feeling creeped out right about now?" Her breath warmed the side of Emmy's neck, causing a fresh wave of goosebumps to slide down her back. "No. I'm freaking out right now. I…I knew Eli went missing back at that party; she never came home the next day. Our parents filed a missing person report and the cops presumed her dead after a few days."
She wanted to grab her sister and tell her everything would be okay. To just give a shred of hope to that spirit who has been lost for all these years. "I see the pain in your eyes too, Em. The way you look at your sister, it's nearly indescribable. There is a bond that nothing can break. I'm just surprised it took this long for you two to become reconnected." They had arrived at the doorway of the trailer. Over a foot of snow blocked the entrance, which Emmy immediately began moving.
Despite the icy needles stabbing into her already frozen fingers, she continued to throw the snow away. With each passing toss, anger grew. Her eyes were tearing up; her mind buzzed. Nothing would stop her from finding the truth to her sister's demise. "Come on. Come on! Why's there so much fucking snow?! GOD! It keeps-fucking-falling-in!" "Em…Em…? Em, stop it! Stop! Take a breather." She felt the hand of her crush grasping onto her shoulder, but threw it off. "Leave me alone! I need to get in there…" Lizzie's glassy eyes wouldn't even stop her fury."
She returned to the digging. Her hands had gone beyond numb, yet she didn't care. This is nothing compared to what she went through! "Sis. Emmy…Look, the door's unblocked." It was as if her sister's words doused the fires that consumed her at the time. She stumbled away, immediately shoving her hands into her armpits. They refused to stop stinging, especially under her nails. "Fucking New York weather…It hurts…" Breathing became a chore to her. She could feel her lungs screaming in pain from all those sudden intakes of frigid air. "Em. Honey, you need to calm down. Can we get this door open? Huh?"
Lizzie's face appeared in her peripheral. Those bright blue eyes were still glassed over. "I'm so sorry Liz. I-I'm so, so sorry…" Instantly the thick woven fur of Lizzie's coat caressed her frozen cheek. She couldn't help but cry. Something stirred deep inside Emmy's brain as she could picture her sister dying. Over and over again, she could see it. She could see her body sinking; she could practically feel her sister flailing around as her lungs burned for air.
"It's gonna be okay honey. Calm down. Shhh." "She's right, sis. Look at me," Eli stated. That pale, ghostly face appeared before her eyes. Though she could see her sister's tears, they were no longer filled with sorrow. A smile spread across the girl's face as she laughed a bit. "Em. I'm just so happy that you are here. I'm happy that both of you are here." "B-But I could've helped…I-I c-could've done s-something," Emmy muttered. "Don't you say that. Don't you dare go down that blame me road. You had no idea what would've happened that night. Neither of us did. But it sure as shit wasn't your fault, it as Greg's and he will pay. I can feel it in my gut."
"How do you have so much hope Eli?" It was zapping all of Emmy's strength as she continued to cry. A pale hand caressed her cheek as that similar, beautiful smile formed. "Because I knew I'd find you. I knew your gift wouldn't let my death be in vain. I had to; I just had to have faith, and here we are. I'll always remember how you helped me when we were kids and even after I died." The fire relit inside Emmy's stomach. Her numbness started to ebb away; she nodded. "Okay. Let's get inside so I can show you what he did," Eli stated.
Emmy yanked the door open as the three of them entered. Instantly she was blasted with a wave of heat. "My god, it feels nice in here!" Lizzie stated. "Take a look at this," Eli said. Emmy heard her voice just off to her left. A bulletin board rested beside the door. It was loaded with newspaper clippings with Daryl Xaveria making up most of the headlines. "Get a load of this. 'Daryl Xaveria: Former Drug Lord, Current Child Murderer.' They're calling him The Cortland Child Cutthroat," Eli stated.
All Emmy could do was peer over those clippings and with each passing one, she'd become more queasy. "Greg must've been obsessed," she whispered. Everything around her didn't seem to exist, not even that usually warm touch she'd receive from Lizzie. "The Cortland Child Cutthroat. Triple C's. You know, that reminds me of TC3. I wonder if that's where the media made the connection." "I don't know Em. I'll tell you what though, I feel absolutely disgusting just standing in this trailer. I'd rather be outside, freezing my ass off," Lizzie bitterly replied.
She appeared finally, after everything around Emmy began to return. Straight behind her lover, a small bedroom appeared, just behind a dark blue sheet. All throughout that trailer, garbage and beer cans were carelessly strewn across the floor. Emmy nearly felt herself trip over a half empty bottle of Jack Daniels. "This guy is such a slob…" I agree Liz. She thought. Eli called out from behind; she had been staring at the wall that rested behind an old worn out couch. "What the fuck…?" Emmy asked. Framed pieces of fabric were tacked to that wall.
Each one had a name underneath. "Carrie Walsh, Chelsea Sakes, Elise Schillar, Hannah Syter, Cassie Cryll, Kolleen Bailey… Jesus! The entire wall is covered in this shit," Lizzie murmured. "He's got almost every letter from a to z. The only letters he's missing are S and L. What do you think he's gonna do?" Eli's question kept ringing through Emmy's head. Curiosity had been getting the better of her, despite her want to keep investigating. Something is behind that sheet. I can only assume it's his bedroom…But what does he keep in there?
"Em? Where are you going?" She shook Lizzie's hand off of her and pulled the sheet back. A makeup table rested to the right, with a large mirror. Only one of the many light bulbs worked, making that eerie glow of the candles all the more creepy to her. A bed lay unkempt to the left and the closet nearby was locked. She ignored the urge to break it and pursued the table. All of the candles appeared as if they were burning for some time now. Half of them were gone; they melted over the edges of that table, creating tiny pools of wax on the floor. Black and white, Polaroid pictures were taped all along the side of the mirror, with scribbled names underneath each.
Eli's sudden shudder behind her, nearly made her leap out of her skin. Her sister had been cupping her mouth as her eyes darted to all the photos. "H-He took me here." When her sister gazed over at her, those tears were back. "What did he do to you?" Emmy asked. Her sister just shook her head and averted her attention away. "Em? You'll wanna take a look at this," Lizzie stated. A smooth hand grasped her shoulder as Lizzie pulled her over. "Look at the pictures from the bottom up." The moment Emmy saw the first photo, something pulled her towards it.
A girl sat on her knees, with a scarf around her mouth. She had long dark brown hair, a small nose, semi-wide mouth and a slender face. Her eyes were wide in terror as she stared at her killer. Why's it making me wanna touch it? Emmy thought. She traced her fingers over it; everything around her disappeared into a whirl of wind and darkness. She clenched her eyes shut in a poor attempt to keep them from streaming and when they opened, the bedroom was gone. All around her was a thick forest. The sky overhead was clear, but the sun had been setting.
She could smell the flowers that surrounded her as well as a thick aroma of urine. A man before her had been brandishing a butcher's knife in one hand and an old Polaroid camera in the other. "So… You thought you'd try to take me out did you? You and your pathetic Cortland P.D. posse; well I'll tell ya what." She couldn't see his face. It had been hidden behind a mask; it looked like the symbol for a theatre. The right half was happy whilst the left had been sad. Just the look of it in the oncoming night made her shudder. Did he say Cortland P.D. posse? Was this poor woman a police officer? Emmy thought.
"I see you thinking there, Officer Cassie. I assume you're probably saying, 'Oh, this guy's gonna get it. Soon my squad will find me and they'll nail this bastard to the wall.' Am I right?" Don't answer him. Don't break. "Speak to me when I am talking to you!" He sprinted up to her, touching the blade to her throat. The poor woman is crying… I can't stop crying. "Yes… Cry for me baby. Make it all the more better." A sharp pain ravaged her right arm as the blade punctured her skin. "You like that don't you? That's why you cut yourself all the time, isn't it? Well… ISN'T IT?!"
"Please… Stop…" "'Please…S-Stop…' Blah! You're no fun. Where's the fun when all your victim does is cry and wallow in her own piss?" "Owww!" The blade sliced deep into her right leg. "You'll n-never get a-away…" "Ah, ah, ah! You don't get to be brave and pull the, 'You'll never get away with this,' bull shit! I've studied you for a long time and I finally, finally get a chance to exact my revenge."
Slice. "Ugh!" The blade had been shoved deep into her left thigh. She could see it sticking out only a few inches, with blood trailing all around the wound. "I punctured a major artery there missy. The moment I…pull… this blade out…there we are, you'll begin to bleed to death." I gotta make it stop. I-I can't move my arms! "Yes…Struggle for me bitch! Struggle! Squirm like the little worm you are!" "You're a sick…fuck!" The energy was draining out of her fast as the blood continued to ooze out. The man before her just stopped laughing. The knife fell from his hand as he readied the camera. "Smile pretty for me. You're going up on my wall of fame, congratulations!"
The camera flashed bright into her eyes; he waved the photo around and slid it into his back pocket. When her eyes readjusted her was standing only a foot away with a massive axe dangling from his right hand. "Oh my god! W-What're you gonna d-do?" He readied the weapon. "No…NOOOO!" "QUIET BITCH!" The axe dug deep into her right shoulder. "STOOOPPPPPPP!" Swing. Chop. Swing. Chop. He kept digging the blade deeper into her shoulder until her arm barely hung on. "Of course I'm gonna need me a trophy. All us killers have em'!"
He grabbed a hold of her skirt and cut off a chunk with a razor blade he pulled from his boot. "Em? Are you okay? Wake up!" L-Liz? Where are you? "Say hello to my mother for me!" The axe was driven straight into the middle of her skull. It instantly separated her brain and then everything was gone. The wind returned; she jumped off the floor, scurrying away. "What the fuck happened?!" "He…He was hacking her to pieces. That poor, poor woman!"
"Did you see into their lives? Like before they died?" Eli asked her. A wavy, ice cold hand held onto her shoulder. "Yes…It was horrible! I could feel the knife digging into my flesh. The axe that kept lobbing away at my arm… I felt every single tendon ripping away. Just before you pulled me out, Liz, the blade was wedged deep into my skull." The only thing she received from Lizzie, was a look of upmost horror. "That's exactly what I'm saying. This man…He's horrible! He was laughing at that woman all the way through and mocking her."
"Do you want to see anything else?" Eli asked. "No! Absolutely not! I c-can't stand another minute of torture like that." Lizzie grasped her arm as she was pulled back to her feet. She couldn't stop staring at that mirror. The police officer just kept gazing back as she watched her killer wave that knife around. The way the candles glimmered off of the shiny exteriors of those photos made her cringe. "Well, I wanted to show you two just what Greg Xaveria was like. I think I have my sister's vote that he's a terrible man." "You have more than that," Emmy replied.
Her attention turned back to the closet a few feet from her. As she drew closer a pungent smell of fermented juice met her nostrils. A tiny bit of decay had been laced with it. "How're we gonna get this lock off without him noticing?" She asked. "Hold up, let me do this." Lizzie stepped beside her, pulling a pin out of her hair as she did so. "It just takes a little bit of…finesse, there we go!" The lock detached and the closet doors cracked open. The smell intensified; Emmy traced it down the shelves to a giant pickle jar resting on the floor.
"What's in there?" "I'd like to know as well Liz," Emmy said. The jar was heavy and full to the brim with a clear liquid. "Oh my god…I think I'm g-gonna…" She could hear Lizzie throwing up behind her. Had she not of gone through the criminal justice program, she would've too. Floating around in a thick liquid were numerous tiny limbs and body parts. A woman's slender ring finger, with a wedding ring still in tact. A pair of blue eyeballs tied by the roots. Teeth lay scattered throughout it, as well as long, thick bloody muscles that resembled tongues.
What she found at the base of that jar immediately burnt into her brain. A skull - not much bigger than a small child's - lay there. A pair of green eyes stared back at her. "Jesus…This…Ohhh my god…" Bile began to rise up Emmy's throat. She set the jar back down, and nearly heaved all over it. Everything from the previous night billowed out of her onto the carpet. "I-I can't believe what I just…ugh god!" More bile flew out of her, until all that rose up was acid. She had to get away from that thing; she had to create as much distance as she could.
"Do you see why I brought you here now?" Eli's voice seemed to be the only thing anchoring her sanity at the moment. Lizzie's labored breathing from behind wasn't helping her. I don't blame her though. She thought. "Get back to your feet, sis." She stumbled around until she was able to get shakily back up. The wall held her upright; she still couldn't rid her mind of that image. Every time her eyes shut she saw those bright green one peering back at her. "Please listen Emmy. You too Lizzie. Em, look at me." Though all she saw was darkness, Emmy recognized that icy touch.
Her sister was only a few inches away and Lizzie had been making her way back around the bed. A shaky hand was pressed to her lips as she fought her vomit. "Do you both understand my dlemma now?" She saw Lizzie nod and then her sister looked at her. "Yes." The answer left Emmy's lips before she could even concentrate. The heat in that room felt ten degrees hotter. I'd give anything to be back out in that snow again. I c-can't stand being in here anymore! Her thoughts screamed like a banshee, and it took everything not to let them use her voice.
"I know you're struggling to cope with this, sis, but stay strong. I had to show you two this, so you knew just what you were up against. Come here." She was pulled into a tight hug, Lizzie's arm around her back and her sister's above her lover's. A battle of cold and warm fought her as all their heads touched. "Then we make a vow. We bury the remains alongside my body - once we find it - and we put an end to Greg Xaveria." Her sister's words were empowering her. She nodded as did Lizzie. "Okay then. Let's get out of here, and make sure this bastard pays!"
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone