mousetrap would've already been set off.
A razor blade, then.
She dug more carefully. Alan watched her with a shit-eating grin that made her want to shove a handful of the spiders down his throat.
Good. Very good. Hostility is much better than fear in this situation.
Her fingers scraped the bottom of the box, and she cautiously worked her hand around. It wasn't easy, but fortunately she only had to move a few inches before her index finger brushed against something solid. She grabbed hold of it and pulled out the audiocassette tape.
Alan clapped his hands together. "One point for Becky! Hard to believe anybody still uses those things, huh?"
She turned the key forward, putting the car in auxiliary, then popped the cassette into the player and turned up the volume.
The tape was silent for about fifteen seconds. And then Stephen's voice could clearly be heard. "Talk, damn it! Say something! Let her know you're okay."
"I'm okay, Rebecca," she heard Gary say. Despite his weak, scared-sounding voice, it was unquestionably him. "I'm alive."
As much as Rebecca didn't want Alan to see her cry, she couldn't help herself, and the tears of relief began flowing.
"Tell her you love her, asshole," said Stephen on the tape.
"I love you. But please don't--"
There was the sound of a punch, and a pained groan from Gary. "Can I hit him, too?" asked Alan in the background.
"You shut the fuck up. Now read this."
In the same scared voice, punctuated by a couple gasps of pain, Gary read a few sentences of a news story about an empty hot air balloon landing in a family's backyard. While Gary spoke on the tape, Alan reached into his inside jacket pocket and took out a newspaper. He unfolded it, pointed to the date--today--and then tapped the front-page article that Gary was reading.
"All right, that's enough," said Stephen on the tape.
The tape abruptly switched to an Alice Cooper song. Alan began to sway to the beat as he tucked the newspaper back into his inside jacket pocket. "So, your hubby is all safe and sound. Does that give you a warm happy glow inside?"
Rebecca tried to respond, but couldn't find her voice.
Alan shrugged. He ejected the tape and pocketed it with the newspaper. "Well, I think your intermission is just about over. Things are going to start to get interesting now. And by interesting, of course, I mean dangerous and really, really bloody."
He reached into his inside jacket again. "Too many props in this game, if you ask me," he said, taking out a piece of paper and handing it to Rebecca. "That map will take you to your camping spot. Go there. Set up camp. Your husband and his buddies pretty much just hung out by the campsite all day, so you do the same. I realize that your husband had quite an advantage over you because he has more camping experience, but you have an advantage over him because I'm giving you plenty of warning: expect something very bad to happen."
Alan opened the passenger door and got out of the car. He repeated the wave and smile he'd greeted her with and headed for the woods. As he reached the end of the clearing, he turned back around and called out to her.
"Have a good time, Rebecca! You can keep the spiders."
CHAPTER TEN
Once he was sure he was out of sight, Alan used one hand to brace himself against a tree, then leaned forward and threw up. His heart was racing, his ears were ringing, and he felt like his insides were on fire.
Maintaining a casual, glib attitude was absolute torture when you wanted to cut somebody so badly that you almost felt like a crack addict desperately searching for a fix. When he'd lost control and put the knife to her neck...well, it had taken a superhuman force of will to keep from going all the way.
He wanted to stab her. He wanted to hurt her. He wanted to slice off her face to wear as a mask. He wanted to pound his knife into her body until his muscles ached and there was nothing left of her but exposed meat and chipped
A razor blade, then.
She dug more carefully. Alan watched her with a shit-eating grin that made her want to shove a handful of the spiders down his throat.
Good. Very good. Hostility is much better than fear in this situation.
Her fingers scraped the bottom of the box, and she cautiously worked her hand around. It wasn't easy, but fortunately she only had to move a few inches before her index finger brushed against something solid. She grabbed hold of it and pulled out the audiocassette tape.
Alan clapped his hands together. "One point for Becky! Hard to believe anybody still uses those things, huh?"
She turned the key forward, putting the car in auxiliary, then popped the cassette into the player and turned up the volume.
The tape was silent for about fifteen seconds. And then Stephen's voice could clearly be heard. "Talk, damn it! Say something! Let her know you're okay."
"I'm okay, Rebecca," she heard Gary say. Despite his weak, scared-sounding voice, it was unquestionably him. "I'm alive."
As much as Rebecca didn't want Alan to see her cry, she couldn't help herself, and the tears of relief began flowing.
"Tell her you love her, asshole," said Stephen on the tape.
"I love you. But please don't--"
There was the sound of a punch, and a pained groan from Gary. "Can I hit him, too?" asked Alan in the background.
"You shut the fuck up. Now read this."
In the same scared voice, punctuated by a couple gasps of pain, Gary read a few sentences of a news story about an empty hot air balloon landing in a family's backyard. While Gary spoke on the tape, Alan reached into his inside jacket pocket and took out a newspaper. He unfolded it, pointed to the date--today--and then tapped the front-page article that Gary was reading.
"All right, that's enough," said Stephen on the tape.
The tape abruptly switched to an Alice Cooper song. Alan began to sway to the beat as he tucked the newspaper back into his inside jacket pocket. "So, your hubby is all safe and sound. Does that give you a warm happy glow inside?"
Rebecca tried to respond, but couldn't find her voice.
Alan shrugged. He ejected the tape and pocketed it with the newspaper. "Well, I think your intermission is just about over. Things are going to start to get interesting now. And by interesting, of course, I mean dangerous and really, really bloody."
He reached into his inside jacket again. "Too many props in this game, if you ask me," he said, taking out a piece of paper and handing it to Rebecca. "That map will take you to your camping spot. Go there. Set up camp. Your husband and his buddies pretty much just hung out by the campsite all day, so you do the same. I realize that your husband had quite an advantage over you because he has more camping experience, but you have an advantage over him because I'm giving you plenty of warning: expect something very bad to happen."
Alan opened the passenger door and got out of the car. He repeated the wave and smile he'd greeted her with and headed for the woods. As he reached the end of the clearing, he turned back around and called out to her.
"Have a good time, Rebecca! You can keep the spiders."
CHAPTER TEN
Once he was sure he was out of sight, Alan used one hand to brace himself against a tree, then leaned forward and threw up. His heart was racing, his ears were ringing, and he felt like his insides were on fire.
Maintaining a casual, glib attitude was absolute torture when you wanted to cut somebody so badly that you almost felt like a crack addict desperately searching for a fix. When he'd lost control and put the knife to her neck...well, it had taken a superhuman force of will to keep from going all the way.
He wanted to stab her. He wanted to hurt her. He wanted to slice off her face to wear as a mask. He wanted to pound his knife into her body until his muscles ached and there was nothing left of her but exposed meat and chipped
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