The Understorey

“I’ve waited for a long time for you to find us here,” he said, his eyes briefly darting to mine before refocusing them on Jules’. “You know Julia? You aren’t the only girl I’ve brought down here.”



My eyes widened in fear, anticipating what he’d say next.



“She’s not exactly the best I’ve had down here Elliott but she had her moments. I do think I could have enjoyed it more if you had been here to watch but I relish the fact I can recount it to you in front of her.” He closed his eyes. “Her scream, when I can get her to, I must say Elliott, is phenomenal; involuntarily gravelly I’m happy to say.”



Jules’ eyes began to water and she shook her head violently, trying to keep me from doing something stupid and getting us both killed. My knuckles tightened in fury, the whites of them brightened with a hungry need to hit him.



“Oh calm down, Elliott,” he threatened. “Don’t act so surprised. I told you that I wanted her.” He smiled at some private thought before continuing on, “It’s your fault, you know. If you had just stepped aside as I had told you, it wouldn’t have to be so painful for her.” He raised his red eyes my direction and emphatically insisted with the gun, “You did that to her!”



Jules broke down into sobs as she shook her head from side to side, telling me it wasn’t true. I made a move toward her to comfort her. I didn’t care what he did to me. I needed only to touch her and both our fears, our anxieties, our pain, would dissipate into nothing.



Surprisingly, he made no move to stop me, only stepped further back putting the fire he made between himself and us but kept the gun aimed at Jules.



I touched Jules and it was as if nothing else mattered. Our shared current emanated through our bodies and we were one. I had never felt it pulse so powerfully through us and in that moment I understood that it had been our heightened sense of longing that caused it.



The desperation for the other was never as frantic as it was in that second. Our bodies somehow knew it was the last time our touch would be a reality and were instinctively getting their fill before they extinguished forever. The sensation was more powerful than before, although no less pleasurable. It calmed me yet simultaneously frightened me. It was a sign. A sign that our gift anticipated this was to be the end of our time together.



The tears overwhelmed us Jules and we forgot about Jesse completely. I sat on the back of my legs to remove the gag, inhaling her into the deepest kiss, the softest kiss possible. It glorified all that was good in us, all that was buried in our hearts. I lifted my hand for her face but when it came up a scorching, excruciating pain pierced my left shoulder.



Jules yelled my name as I tumbled onto the stone floor behind me. She lunged herself on top of me and pleaded my name, tears flooding down her face. I hated when she cried, worse than a million gunshot wounds to the shoulder. My chest ached for her.



“Elliott!” She cried over and over.



Jesse lifted her from my torso and threw her against the rock wall purposely slamming her head against the stone and pulled her gag back into place.



“Calm down Julia! It’s only his shoulder. That’s not the shot that’s going to kill him. Trust me,” he said with a cruel smile.



I sprang to my feet but made no attempt to go for the bat at the other end of the stone alcove. I wouldn’t have had time. I had no idea what I was going to do. In my hesitation, Jesse aimed the gun at my other shoulder.



“Please,” I begged.



“What?” He mockingly cupped his hand over his ear. “I’m sorry Elliott, did you say something?”  He laughed maniacally. “Nothing to say for Julia? I really expected more of a protest than this at least Elliott. You’ve hardly said two words. Come now! What kind of boyfriend are you that you can’t even spit out two words to plead for her? Does her life mean nothing to you? Tsk, tsk, tsk.” He turned to Jules. “Look at this loser? He can’t even fight for you. How can you be with somebody so pathetic?”



“You broke his jaw!” She yelled through her gag.



Jesse ignored her, “Should I describe the intimate things we’ve shared tonight Julia? Do you think that might goad some sort of response from him? Why don’t you tell him Julia?” She pleaded with me through her eyes. “No?” He turned his gaze back to me. “That’s alright. I’ll start then.........Hmmmm.” He tapped his gun against his chin, “Well, first off, she’s an amazing kisser Elliott. I’m shocked you never spoke of her lips before.



“I particularly enjoyed her tongue, very warm. I accidentally bit her though. Poor girl. I was too eager.” He turned toward Jules, “I’m really sorry about that by the way,” before returning his eyes to mine. “It was messy as hell, with all the blood and everything, but it didn’t stop me now did it Julia? And those orthodontics? They really paid off I think. I let my tongue feel its way around her mouth and I couldn’t find even one out of place. You’ve been quite a good girl, I can tell. Diligent in wearing your retainers.” He sighed, “I like good girls. You know what I like more? Making good girls dirty. Isn’t that right Elliott? You’ve lent your ear my way to hear a tale or two.



“Wouldn’t you agree I’m quite good at that?” He paused, waiting for an answer that wouldn’t come. “Well, I think I am. You’ll actually be able to judge for yourself here Elliott in just a few minutes. Anyway,” he said waving the gun absently, “her hair is quite soft. I’ve never smelled anything so appetizing before. It was a shame it got so bloody and filthy, I had plans to run my knife through it. A souvenir would have been nice. Oh well,” he sighed in disappointment. “Let’s see, what happened next?”



Jules closed hard at the memory of it all and tears poured slowly down her cheeks. He stared at her reaction and it must have reminded him of what he had done next.



“Oh yeah!” He laughed, “Her legs. I must admit Elliott, out of all the legs I’ve slid my hands up, hers were the most enjoyable. She kept trying to squeeze them back together and I was forced to lay my knees against them.



“That took care of that, didn’t it Julia? She may have a few bruises but after that it was no trouble at all to feel what I wanted to feel. Of course, mind you, it was over her jeans, a problem I plan on remedying soon, now that you’re here.



“It was a good thing you came when you did too, because I was really starting to become impatient. I am so enthralled with her. She seems so, what’s the word, uptight. I can’t wait to lay my hands on her.



“That’s something you’ll never get to do, is it Elliott? Rightfully so. I never really understood the hype around you. Technically you were no better at sports than I, but that didn’t matter, it was the position people coveted and they just worshipped you for it, didn’t they?



“Academically? If I was being honest with myself, I’d have to admit you have me there but I just don’t care.



“The only thing I didn’t want you to have was the university life you held in such esteem. You rattled on and on about it, constantly wafting it in front of my face.



“It’s not fair that you got a full ride when you barely earned it. I saw how little you studied for your exams this year, tediously preoccupied with the girl and all, while I worked myself to the bone trying to earn a friggin’ D and yet, as always, you ended up with your perfect scores.



“Then, you had the gall to accuse me of slacking off. Granted,” he laughed, “I was preoccupied myself with most of the girls volleyball team this semester but how dare you accuse me of slacking off when you barely spent a few minutes with me at all! What kind of friend does that make you?



“You’ve completely ignored me since your experience with her that first day and I gotta’ tell you, it really rubbed me the wrong way. You knew I wanted her, you even threw the fact that you were on to me in my face. That ticked me off but I thought, ‘it’s Elliott. Get a hold of yourself. He’ll come back around, you’ll see’ but I was wrong wasn’t I? You never did. You grabbed hold of the nonsense that she was your Julia and ran with it, leaving me to cough and choke on the remnants of your dust.”



   I knew the guy had a selective memory but to be so insane as to make stuff up and convince yourself of the validity?



“You pretended like Julia was so special. Like she was more than a good roll in the hay but I know what she really is. She’s nothing but dirt underneath my fingernails, o nly good for one thing.”



I was struggling with the extreme anger surging through my muscles. I drew my bottom lip through my teeth, despite the excruciating pain, to keep from charging him and getting myself killed before I could save Jules. I needed to get my bat, badly.



I regretted hesitating earlier and should have grabbed it before he could regain control of his gun. He continued with the retelling of his cruelty but was totally unaware of the building wrath that I would descend upon him with every single word he spoke. I wore a mask of calm and let the storm erupt within me waiting for the perfect moment to unleash it.



“Let’s see.........Oh! And her stomach! Smooth and flat. Not one ounce of fat, yet still as soft as I’ve ever felt. I must say, I didn’t anticipate liking her body so much.



“You know, I claimed earlier that she wasn’t as good as some I’ve brought in here but I only said that because she struggled so mightily and I could barely control her.



“I’d like to retract that statement,” he said, pinching his lower lip between his thumb and forefinger. “No, in fact, I think she’s the best. I think I enjoyed it all the more because of the fight. It’s too bad you’ll never get to have her. I’m sure you would have found her as incredible as I will.” He sighed, apparently approaching the end of his speech and shrugged his shoulders.



“I had so much more I wanted to say to you Elliott but I just can’t remember now. I just can’t seem to get Julia out of my head, sort of anti-climactic.”



He snorted.



“You know when you’ve been looking forward to something for a long time and then when the time comes you sort of lose interest? No matter, Julia will more than make up for it. Won’t you Julia?”



He kept the gun pointed at my shoulder and carefully walked over to Jules, then with his free hand wrapped her hair around his fist. He yanked her head backward and she squealed in pain. He aggressively pulled down her gag. I reigned in the rage once more. Soon, I promised myself. He pulled her up to him and she stood, trembling. He pushed her head to his and kissed her.



“Gotta’ get the taste of him out of your mouth. You will never taste him again, you hear me?”



She watched him.



“Acknowledge me!” He yelled.



Her body tightened in response before she nodded.



He kissed her again, harder. It was painful to her because she began to groan but that only served to spur him on and he kissed her even more harshly. When he pulled his face away from hers, their mouths were covered in her blood. Jules wailed and spit the blood toward the stone to keep from choking.