“Who says I can’t start a good fire?”

Wayne was standing right in front of the billowing bonfire with his arms spread and a proud smile on his face. Andrea watched him from her spot on the tailgate of the truck, wondering if he was already drunk enough to fall into the flames. He looked as though he’d just given all mankind the gift of warmth and light.

A beer can bounced off the back of his head. The entire group of friends laughed at him. Andrea cracked a smile.

“Get away from the fire, Prometheus!” Erica yelled to him. “I’m not putting you out if you fall in.”

Andrea didn’t know Erica, but really, she didn’t know half of them. She squinted past the fire, trying to catch a good look at the girl. The redhead seemed like the loudest one at the bonfire the whole night. Andrea didn’t really care for her. She was just too snarky. Her place on the tailgate was suiting her better and better as the night went on.

“Man, it is dark as hell up here,” she heard Ryan say.

“You mean aside from the gigantic fire that Tom Hanks made for us?” Someone asked.

Wayne spilled beer down his goatee before retorting, “You know, I remember a lot of people, not very long ago, whining about… what was it… being cold or something like that?”

Ryan, who Andrea remembered was Tab’s brother, ignored the rest of the gaggle and said, “No, seriously. There wasn’t a single house or street light or anything out on the road. I went to piss a minute ago and I couldn’t even see my dick, man.”

“Well, that’s not because it’s dark,” Erica said giggling. The two girls behind her and Ryan also went into fits.

Andrea kept quiet, like she always did. The group of friends were strangers to her. She couldn’t keep track of them. She’d sworn to herself that she’d open up to these people, to have some drinks and have fun for a change.

It was why she invited them here.

She chewed her lip, watching the group of drunks. Invited was probably a strong word. Andrea was listening to a story that Wayne was telling about some “lame” Halloween costume contest the year prior, when Tab emerged from the trees beside the truck. Andrea felt her insides glow with relief. Tabitha glanced at the fire before turning a grin toward her.

“Geez, how much stuff is he going to burn?” Tab said with a laugh.

Andrea smiled. She could feel her cheeks getting warm, even though her skin was ice cold. Tab pushed herself up onto the tailgate right beside Andrea. She could feel Tab’s eyes on her, but she found it hard to look at the other girl. Instead her eyes were fluttering into the flames. She tried not to think about how close Tab was sitting. No one ever sat that close to her.

“You’re not cold sitting back here?” Tab asked, ducking her head and peeking into Andrea’s gaze.

Andrea blinked and glanced at her. “I’m… I’m fine.”

Tab smiled. “You sure? You look pretty cold.”

“I’m alright.”

“Okay,” Tab said.

She leaned back and reached into the bed of her brother’s truck and produced a half empty bottle of alcohol. Andrea eyed the amber colored liquid and her stomach did a little twist.

“You can’t drink cold beer tonight,” Tab told her. “This stuff will burn when it goes down, but it’ll keep you warm, girl. Well… it’ll make you feel like you’re warm anyway.”

Andrea’s heart was already beating faster. “No, that’s okay-”

“And you don’t get to say no,” Tab interrupted. “You can’t say no to me tonight, remember? It’s Halloween, Andrea! Break loose for a change!”

Andrea snickered. She remembered agreeing to Tab’s terms. The large bottle was in her lap suddenly. Tab’s hand was touching her jeans. Andrea took the bottle from her and cleared her throat nervously.

“I’m… I don’t really drink that much,” Andrea said.

“If you wind up naked and puking, I’ll hold your hair back and keep Wayne away from you,” Tab told her.

Andrea laughed. It felt good to laugh. She’d been laughing a lot lately, and it was usually around Tab. Ever since they’d met some weeks ago, Andrea had been doing a lot of things differently. It seemed likeTab just knew how to push her buttons.

Andrea had just put her lips to the bottle when she heard Ryan say her name from across the fire.

“Nah, it’s Andrea’s old place or something,” he said.

“Holy crap,” Erica barked. “This is Lovergirl’s home?”

As the alcohol burned a trail to her stomach, Andrea had to fight the urge to cough. All eyes had turned toward her. She dared not give them the ammunition to call her a “lightweight”. “Uh, yeah,” she told the group. “I used to live up here when I was little. M-my family did.”

“Well this is just cozy, Lovergirl,” Wayne said. He was nodding and looking around sarcastically.

“I think it’s badass,” Ryan said, pulling Erica close to him. “No cops, no angry neighbors, no anything. We can do whatever the hell we want up here. I should have brought some guns to shoot or something.”

“Guns and alcohol,” Tab said nodding. “Real smart bro.”

Just as Andrea began to think she was slinking out of the spotlight, Erica spoke up again.

“So your tribe used to live up here in the woods?” She asked.

Ryan nudged her. Ignoring the girl’s tone, Andrea licked her lips and answered.

“My grandparents had a trailer just up the way,” she explained. “It’s still there, but it’s run down. They had a little farm here back in the day. After they passed it went to my… my other family… m-my aunt, but she hasn’t really done much with it.”

Erica looked around at the darkness in the trees beyond the fire. “I’ll say.”

“It’s pretty cool,” said a voice to their side. His name was Shane, as Andrea remembered. Or Shawn, maybe. “Bunch of the guys that work at the garage say this whole hill was ‘haunted’ or cursed or something like that. I think they’re full of shit, but it is creepy up here. Fitting for Halloween night, you know?”

Wayne’s eyes got big. “That’s awesome.”

Erica groaned. “Here we go with the ‘it’s haunted’ stuff. Yeah it’s creepy up here. If it was Christmas time, you’d all be saying it was magical out tonight.”

“Who cares?” Tab blurted. “It’s better than hanging around your uppity sorority sisters and yelling across the street to those pervy ass jocks.”

“Easy there, Tabby Cat, you know I’m just kidding around,” Erica said with a smug grin. Her eyes flickered over to Andrea. “So where’s the Indian burial grounds, Lovergirl?”

Andrea swallowed and shook her head. “It’s not haunted. I… I d-don’t know how that got started. I think it’s because my Grandpa was, like, really mean or something.”

“You said their trailer is still up here?” Tab asked.

Andrea turned a surprised look at her friend. “Uh, yeah. There’s a path back behind us. We aren’t too far from it.”

Tab hopped down from the tailgate, dusting off her jeans. “Let’s go see it.”

Her heart leapt into her throat as Tab motioned to her. “I don’t know… are you sure? It’s pretty dark.”

“It’s dark as shit, Tab,” Ryan called to his sister. “You will definitely get lost and I will definitely leave you behind in the morning.”

“C’mon,” Tab persisted. “Bring that rum. I wanna see this place.”

Andrea glanced around at the woods. A walk through the dark woods was not something she was excited about. Already her head was whipping up frightening images. She felt eyes peering out from the black beyond the limbs. Shadows clawed at the night as the flames licked the sky. That cold feeling hit her chest again. This place had always done this to her.

Her eyes found Tab’s, and everything seemed less menacing. She’d be walking with Tab, away from the rest of the wild bunch. Tab had a way of making her try things, of putting her at ease. She watched the taller girl pull the zipper up on her hooded sweatshirt. Tab slid her hands beside her head and swept the waves of chocolate hair out of the hood.

Andrea slid off of the tailgate. “Well, I guess… I guess I can’t let you go alone.”

“Um, ladies? I just would like to point out,” Wayne called, “that this is the part of the night where you go exploring in the dark on Halloween night and get murdered in the woods. When we hear your screams, we’re just, uh… you know, gonna stay right here.”

A few of the others chuckled.

Tab took the bottle from Andrea’s hands. Their fingers brushed for just a second….

“Stay by the fire, Wayne,” Tab said with a grin. “I know you’re too chickenshit to go anyway.”

Her comment made Andrea smile and drew a chorus of whoops and laughter from the rest of the group. Andrea hesitated for only a second, staring into the black beyond the fire. She took a breath and followed Tab into the woods.

****

A brilliant light flooded across the ground in front of Tab. Andrea peered down.

“Flashlight app?” She asked.

“Yep.” Tab pointed her phone to the narrow path in front of them. “Is this it?”

Andrea rubbed her arms through the thin sweatshirt. “Yeah. If we follow this it should lead right to the trailer.”

“And this little bitty path is still here?”

Andrea balked for a second. “Uh huh. I come up here from time to time. S-so does my aunt. The bonfire is actually where they used to burn trash and stuff.”

“You should tell Wayne that your family were cultists that used to burn people for sacrifices.”

Tab laughed at her own idea. Andrea snickered timidly as well. There were a few seconds of silence. Andrea followed the light from the phone, but her eyes couldn’t help drift to the pitch black around them and wonder. Somehow, that bright white light made the woods seem even creepier. It illuminated the path and the branches before them, but the darkness surrounding them seemed even darker. She dared not turn behind to look. She stayed close to Tab and trudged on.

“They like you, ya’know.”

Andrea glanced over at Tab’s smooth shadowed face. She was smiling. Tab was so pretty when she smiled.

“I’m sorry?”

“They may not be the best at expressing it, but Ryan and Wayne and the others really like you,” Tab said. “You’ll come around, too. I thought it was awesome of you to bring us up here.”

Andrea nodded. “Why does Erica call me Lovergirl?”

“Because she’s a bitch,” Tab said with one of her soothing laughs. “That’s less about you and more about me. I don’t really like her all that much but Ryan is crazy for her. So I tolerate the little ginger troll.”

It surprised even Andrea to hear herself burst out laughing.

“Don’t pay attention to her,” Tab warned. “I don’t.”

“What… what did you mean by ‘it’s more about you’?”

Andrea searched the girl’s round features in the dark. Tab sighed and said, “We used to be friends. Me, her, and another girl, Jennifer. She didn’t like me and Jennifer being closer than we were with her… basically… and she started this big thing. I don’t know, it’s stupid.”

It wasn’t much to go on. Andrea didn’t press the issue. She didn’t really like thinking about Erica anyway.

“Here.”

Andrea looked down and saw the silhouette of the bottle of rum. Deciding not to resist, Andrea took the alcohol. She might as well let go a little bit. It wasn’t often she was exploring in the dark with a friend. She knew she needed to have more fun. For some reason, it was just easier to see that beside Tabatha.

She put the bottle to her lips and took a sip.

“No, that’s not how you do it,” Tab told her.

Before Andrea could lower the bottle, she felt Tabatha’s fingers lifting the bottom higher. Andrea managed two gulps before the burn was too much. She sputtered and coughed. At about the same time, her foot caught a root and she stumbled forward. Andrea was barely able to catch herself against the rough bark of a tree.

“Shit, Andrea!”

When she turned, Tab was there. The girl was practically on top of her. Andrea felt Tab’s hand on her side, as though to brace her.

“I’m so sorry, are you alright?”

Andrea nodded feebly and offered a smile. For some reason the silliness of it felt good to her. She leaned back against the tree and blew out a long breath. Tab was right in front of her. It was as if she were worried Andrea would fall again. She realized that it was the closest she’d ever been to Tab, or to anyone.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that,” Tab told her. “Bright side is you’re not a lightweight.”

Andrea raised an eyebrow. “What?”

She could feel Tab’s breath when she spoke. “I mean, you didn’t spill a drop. That counts for something.”

Andrea stared at her for a few seconds before she burst out laughing. The absurdity had caught her off guard. She couldn’t stop. She caught sight of Tab’s smile, and went into a deeper fit of giggles. There was something inside of her that was expelled. She didn’t know if it it was nerves or fear or worry, but Andrea felt herself opening to actual joy.

When at last she caught her breath, it hung in her chest. Tab’s big beautiful smile was inches from her face. The light from her phone was down by their side, but the shadows kissed her round cheeks. Her brown hair appeared as dark velvety curtains to Andrea. She realized that Tab still held her waist gently. No one had touched her like that, and she found that she didn’t want the other girl’s hand to leave.

Andrea didn’t see Tab’s chest rising and falling, but she felt it. The darkness of the trees both fell away and rushed toward her in the same moment. A realization hit her deep in the chest and fired on like a piston. Tab’s eyes searched hers, but flitted down to her lips. Andrea was frozen in shock… or perhaps she was flattered? She couldn’t decide what she was feeling. She didn’t know what to do. Tab’s lips parted so slightly….

The motion behind Tab took Andrea’s eyes away.

It was the shadows at first, the flicker of black against the light from the phone. Andrea went rigid. She saw it hunkering down. She watched it vanish into the trees. She couldn’t stifle her gasp.

Tab drew back from her, confused at first, studying Andrea’s expression. Something in her eyes spoke of rejection. It was when the leaves crunched and rustled that the taller girl spun. Her arm rose, spilling bright light across the woods behind them.

“What the hell?” She cried.

Andrea looked on wide eyed, frozen against the tree. Tab whirled as she scanned the branches.

“Did you see someone?” She asked.

Andrea stayed silent.

“Hey!” Tab yelled into the dark. “If you wanted to come with us you just had to say so!”

She glanced back at Andrea and grinned. Even such a pretty smile, with round dimpled cheeks and shining eyes, did little to put Andrea at ease. Tab put a hand beside her lips and whispered to her in the shadows.

“It’s just Wayne,” she hissed. “He’s the worst freaking prankster and an even worse pervert.”

The last word should have carried meaning with Andrea. Yet she was trying to blink away the image in her head, the paleness that had crept away into the woods, as lithe as a cat. That was not Wayne, could not have been Wayne. She couldn’t say that to Tab. She’d sound like a nutjob, or a scared little girl. No, she couldn’t tell Tab….

“Hey, is that it?”

Andrea followed the other girl’s gaze and the white light through the trees. She searched for a figure, for a glimpse of the prowler. Tab was staring up the path. She realized what Tab was talking about, and took only a glance for Andrea to confirm. She could see the old rotten screened in porch that her grandpa had build so long ago.

“Y-yeah, that’s the trailer.”

Tab turned her excited eyes back to her. She lunged and took Andrea by the hand.

“C’mon, let’s check it out,” Tab said. Then, she added with a whisper, “Maybe we can hideout and scare the crap outta Wayne. He’s still out here somewhere.”

Andrea didn’t respond. She did well not to drop the bottle of rum as Tab pulled her along up the path.

The clearing was dark. The sky was black. The girls came to stand before the squatting eyeless structure. Andrea glanced over to gauge Tab’s expression. She saw no fear or uncertainty there. Even after all the years of this place, Andrea still got butterflies in her stomach, most especially at night. Ryan had been right. Everything on the hill was dark. It was so black and remote and silent, it made Andrea want to turn and run.

“This is creepy,” Tab said with a smile. She looked at Andrea and gave her hand a squeeze. “Let’s go inside.”

Andrea licked her dry lips. “I… I don’t… maybe we shouldn’t.”

Tab was already pulling her along again. The old sagging trailer seemed to crack a smile in the shadows of the blinding light.

“You can’t say no tonight.” Tab grinned. “Let’s freak those guys out. We could get in there and start screaming and banging on stuff or something. Wayne will shit his pants for sure.”

Andrea’s eyes darted around. Useless. She couldn’t see anything in the darkness. Her mind, however, disagreed. Just beyond where the tendrils of the shadows reached, she imagined pale forms slinking about, and heard the rustle of dry leaves. She drew up close to Tab. She couldn’t let Tab see her that way.

Tab approached the wooden steps to the screen door. As the light of her phone swept over the deck on the back of the trailer, Andrea recognized the broken shambles of wood and torn screen. The screen door itself hung from a single hinge, and was bent and leaning half open. Andrea tried to peek up into the porch, but saw only a pile of junk furniture and trash.

“Well, the door is open,” Tab said. She turned to Andrea and cast the light under her chin. “Spooky….”

Andrea realized she was referencing the back door of the trailer. Tab was right. She didn’t see a door at all. Tab wasted no time. She shoved the screen door aside just enough to slip into the porch, then held the door open for Andrea. Even as her weak legs climbed the creaking steps, she could feel them shaking. She looked at the pile of trash in the porch as she eased inside, but Tab’s light was already shining into the trailer itself.

“Holy crap.”

Tab stooped and made her way inside the trailer. Andrea had her arms crossed beneath her breasts. She clutched her thin sweatshirt in trembling hands. Following closely beside Tab, she examined her surroundings. It all seemed so familiar. The kitchen, the roosters on the placemats, the cubpoards where her tin milk cup stayed until Grandma put it in the freezer to chill. The bar was there, splitting the tiny kitchen from the living room. She remembered sitting at that bar sipping juice from a straw.

“This place is trashed,” Tab said as she inched through the kitchen.

It was a wreck. Newspaper, insulation, and other random garbage was strewn across the scarred linoleum. A single broken stool was sitting near the bar. The refrigerator was gone. Someone had shattered every window in the place. Andrea saw the carpet was shredded in the living room. For what reason, she couldn’t imagine. The big couch was there. She had actually called it “the big couch” as a little girl. Grandpa’s chair still sat against the other wall. Andrea couldn’t count the nights she had run into that room at night to curl up in Grandpa’s lap.

“What happened to this place?” Tab asked spinning around.

Andrea shook her head, still staring at the mess. “No one keeps it up anymore. Technically, m-my aunt owns it. She doesn’t come up here too much, though.”

Tab stepped into view. Andrea tensed.

“Why is that?” Tab asked her.

“She just… sh-she just doesn’t.” Andrea fumbled for the right words. “Mama doesn’t… they don’t get along really.”

Tab cocked her head. “You’ve never talked about your mother before. About any of your family, actually.”

Andrea tried to ignore the question. The chill nibbled at her thin sweater, and she rubbed her arms.

“You’re so shy all the time,” Tab said. “Remember the fair out in Franklin? We had such a great time that day.”

Funnel cakes filled Andrea’s nose once more. She could hear Tab’s laughter and the echo of all those voices. A smile crossed her face. Andrea tried to summon good memories. Her fingertips brushed the arm of the old “big couch”. She felt warm again inside. The way things were before.

“Wayne is probably freaking out somewhere out there,” Tab said chuckling. She was peering out a broken window at the other end of the couch. “He won’t step foot in here that’s for sure.”

Fear struck Andrea again suddenly. The images of the woods came back. Warmth fled her body, and the chill gnawed at her anew. She shivered. Tab spotted her and shined the light of the phone in her direction.

“You’re cold,” Tab stated.

Andrea started to protest, but Tab had already unzipped the hooded sweatshirt and pulled it from her shoulders. She wore a simple low cut tee underneath. Andrea was shaking her head when the sweater came flying toward her.

“No, y-you need this more,” Andrea said. “It’s just a little chilly is all.”

“Uh-uh.” Tab straightened her shirt and ran her fingers through her long brown hair. “I’m good, I don’t get all that cold. You’re the one shaking, and you don’t get to say no tonight.”

Andrea studied the grey sweater absently. She closed her eyes and focused. Without looking up at Tab, she gathered her nerve to speak.

“Y-you told me I couldn’t say no,” Andrea started. “To get me to… open up.”

Tab looked at her, but was scanning the room with her phone.

Andrea licked her lips. “Is that what you wanted outside?”

Tab directed the light toward her. Andrea could see her shadowed brow furrow in confusion.

“What?”

“Outside,” Andrea said. “B-by the tree… the path… you were trying to get me to… y-you wanted….”

Andrea could hardly breathe. It was hard to look at Tab, who stood frozen several feet away. Tab blinked, and her nervous chuckle dissipated as quickly as it formed. She lowered her head, toying with the rubber case on her phone. When her eyes rose, her face was full of worry.

“Did you not know?” Tab asked quietly.

Andrea couldn’t find the words. It all started to come together. She merely thought she’d finally found a dear friend, yet every interaction she and Tab had in the past weeks suddenly meant something entirely different. The shock still hadn’t faded. More than that, her emotions writhed in her chest. Andrea was reeling between elation and terror.

Tab sighed. “I’m… I’m sorry, Andrea. I don’t know what I was thinking. I just thought… well, you were….”

Andrea felt a twist in her heart as it sprung into her throat. Tab shook her head and rubbed her temples.

“It was stupid of me,” Tab muttered. She looked away as she headed for the back door. “I’m so sorry.”

Andrea hesitated. Her mouth opened, but she couldn’t speak. At the last second, she grabbed Tab’s arm. The bigger girl turned slowly to meet her gaze. Even in the gloom she could see the wetness in Tab’s eyes. Andrea hoped that what she wanted to say was written on her face, for the words were lumped in her throat. With a swallow she gently pulled Tab toward her.

Tab’s soft round face was inches from hers. With a trembling hand, Andrea reached up to touch the other girl’s cheek. The words that finally came forth were little more than a gasp.

“Don’t go.”

Recognition swept across Tab’s shadowy features. Her free hand slipped around Andrea’s neck and pulled her lips to hers. Shards of time seemed to fly in every direction in Andrea’s mind. She was frozen in that moment. Tab’s full, soft lips were on hers. They were kissing. She was kissing her friend. She was kissing a girl. A girl!

Their lips parted for a second. She felt Tab’s tongue slide across hers. Waves of energy hit Andrea’s spine. It felt too good. She let her tongue dance with Tab’s, slowly, deeply. Tab’s arm hugged her close. She could feel the taller girl’s breasts mashing against her. A whimper was muffled against their lips as Andrea felt the cool straight whisps of Tab’s dark hair.

Andrea was reeling, physically falling back. The sweater slipped from her fingers into the dark. She dropped onto the cushions of the couch behind her. Tab was in her lap in an instant, greedy for her lips. Andrea was stiff and unsure. She hadn’t meant for it to happen so fast but she didn’t want to say no. Her back arched and her head pressed back to the cushions. Chocolate hair drifted around her face to tickle her skin. Smooth cheeks brushed against her own. The girls kissed desperately. They breathed each other’s breath, gasping for the next taste.

With her beautiful friend straddling her lap, Andrea did not know how to act. She let herself go, allowing Tab to lead the way. Bright light danced across the room for a moment. The phone had tumbled to the cushion, she realized. Trembling fingers brushed a lock of her hair from her forehead. Tab dove for her neck. Andrea groaned when she felt the girl’s tongue sliding up to her ear. Soft nibbles and sucks made her toes curl.

Tab rose. In a blur of deft motion, she was peeling the t-shirt off and over her head. Andrea could only watch in awe. She’d never experienced this. Tab was suddenly half naked in her lap. In the light from the phone that flared toward the ceiling, she let her eyes drift down across the exposed skin in front of her. Feelings she’d never encountered rushed to the surface. The only time Andrea had ever eyed another woman’s breasts was with envy. Now she was staring wide eyed at the cups of bulging flesh. She was petrified, as though stagefright had seiged her body.

Dark hair hid Tab’s face in shadow. Her waist rolled. Her hips thrust across Andrea’s, their jeans sliding together. The pressure felt amazing, and Andrea wanted to press back.

“Is… this okay?” Tab breathed the words.

Swallowing hard, Andrea nodded. Her hands were sliding across the thin denim on Tab’s thighs. She watched her own hands grip the round hips that were rolling across her lap. It was Tab. She was touching Tab. Tab was making her feel alive. The thoughts ricocheted off the walls of her mind.

Tab leaned in and their lips met again. Just as Andrea thought she might drown in the kiss, Tab pulled her head down toward her breasts. It was all such a rush. Andrea moaned against the girl’s chest. The scent that filled her nose was intoxicating. She couldn’t resist. With her face buried in Tab’s cleavage, her lips opened and she sucked the flesh into her mouth. Fingers dug through her hair. She heard Tab let out a moan above her.

The cup was folded down. The bra strap slid away. Andrea was suddenly tonguing a stiff nipple. She could hardly breathe but she didn’t want to. Flesh was clouding her senses. She groped at the smooth skin of Tab’s back. Deep inside, she felt a cold thrill. Andrea was shaking, but it was all nerves and excitement. She couldn’t believe what she was doing. She wanted more of it.

Falling. She was falling again, in more ways than one. Tab guided her to lie flat on the cushions. Staring up at the half naked girl on top of her, she felt a glow deep between her hips. Andrea’s lip quivered at the sight of the single huge areola staring back at her. It was dirty, all so dirty. She ran her fingers through her hair and tried to catch her breath.

Tab was there though. Chocolate colored hair swarmed Andrea’s face. Hot breath brushed her cheek. Cold air hit her skin. Her skin! With a single hand, Tab was pulling Andrea’s sweater up her body. She bit her lip when her small breast was groped roughly through her bra. There was a clatter. The light in the room flashed for a second before going dark. The phone had fallen. Everything was happening fast. Andrea waited for her eyes to adjust.

She didn’t need her sight to know what was happening. Tab unfastened Andrea’s pants. For a glimmer of a second, Andrea had the urge to protest. She felt like she was hanging ten toes on the edge of a skyscraper. Tab flipped her long brown hair behind her and slid her hand down Andrea’s stomach.

She felt the fingertips at the edge of her panties. Andrea tensed. She gasped. A naughty grin spread on Tab’s face as she slid her hand deeper. Andrea’s legs locked. She felt the urge to both squeeze her thighs shut and spread them wide at the same time. Smooth fingers cupped her sex. Her jaw fell open as she whimpered.

Andrea’s eyes had adjusted. Tab lowered her body and adjusted herself on Andrea’s thighs. Their faces were close. The hand, snug in her panties, started to move. The pressure and the gently ebbing motion of Tab’s palm was perfect, and Andrea threw her head back against the cushion. Her eyes rolled. Tab chuckled into her ear.

It was as if a warm flame burned below. The sensations and racing thoughts bombarded Andrea’s brain. She realized she was wet, so pleasantly wet, for Tab’s palm glided in circles with ease. Soft lips kissed her cheeks. She could feel the brush of a nipple on her bared skin. As Tab started to roll her crotch across her thigh, Andrea grabbed her around the shoulders. Tab dug deeper, with both her hips and her hand.

Andrea’s eyes went wider. Her nails dug into the other girl’s back. She imagined she could feel the heat from between Tab’s thighs being smeared across her leg. Tab inched two fingers deeper into Andrea’s panties. Andrea felt her lips parting below. The fingers dove slowly. The girl’s met eyes as their bodies rose together in a great inhale of the pleasure. Colors zipped across Andrea’s vision when she felt the penetration. She cried out in ecstasy.

“Oh, God!”

Tab quickly muffled the cry with her lips. Beneath the curtains of the beautiful brown hair, Andrea moaned into Tab’s kiss. Their lips parted after several seconds.

“Shh, shh, not so loud,” Tab whispered against her with a grin. “Wayne is somewhere outside probably trying to perv’ on us.”

As if Wayne was standing in the room, Tab glanced about. Adjusting herself awkwardly, the girl settled herself against Andrea.

Then she began to thrust.

Andrea’s mouth flew open and her eyes squeezed shut. No sound came from her, but her mind was wailing. Tab thrust against Andrea’s crotch — where her fingers were still deep inside of Andrea. She never moved her hand. Tab only thrust slowly, her hips driving her own palm against Andrea’s lips, and her fingers into her pussy.

Biting hard on her lip, Andrea reached to clutch and handful of Tab’s round ass. It didn’t help. She could feel the muscles in Tab’s cheeks clenching in her jeans every time the bigger girl thrust. Shuddering beneath Tab’s body, she could already recognize the pleasant burn below. The warm glow in her crotch was growing fuller. Andrea’s hips gyrated, which only helped Tab’s hand glide across the sensitive flesh in her panties.

Andrea started to go into spasms. She could only writhe beneath Tab. It only encouraged Tab to work her body faster. Her abdomen twisted and rolled like a slithering snake. Andrea didn’t know where to grab. She felt like her brain was melting. Her breath became choppy little gasps. In the dark, she could see Tab smile. The heat was starting to kindle.

The yell that burst from Andrea’s mouth was stifled quickly by Tab’s lips. Andrea tried to return the kiss, but her body was straining from the force of her orgasm. Her legs tightened, her back arched, and her fingers dug in Tab’s soft brown hair. Her screams became long moans that were muffled against Tab’s mouth. Tab rode her still. The sensation seemed to build and swell to unbearable limits with Tab’s continued thrusts. Andrea bucked and jumped beneath her.

The orgasm waned. Andrea relaxed. Her body sank into the couch cushions. The girls broke the kiss, and both gasped into each other. Where once she was cold, Andrea felt clammy and warm all over. All over she felt light and weak. Tab still ground her crotch against her, but ever so slowly. Andrea let her head roll to the side as Tab nestled beside her neck, breathing hard.

Andrea stopped breathing. There was something odd about the calm that followed. Her senses were returning. She strained her ears. She swore she could hear….

Tab lifted her head. She blinked and looked around. Her eyes met Andrea’s.

“What is that?” Tab hissed.

Andrea struggled to gather her thoughts. Was that running water? No… that was wrong. Where was it coming from? Was it the trees rustling outside? No, there was no wind. She listened close, and could almost make out….

Words. Someone was whispering.

Andrea’s lip quivered, and with a hushed voice she said, “Tab, someone’s in here!”

Whispers turned to grumbling somewhere inside the trailer. The voice was a jumble of grunts and unintelligible jibberish. Quick heavy breaths punctuated the sounds. Fear pierced Andrea’s chest like a speeding arrow. It was coming back to her. The fog of lust melted away to the horizons of her mind. What was she doing?

There was a cough, then the sound of someone spitting. Andrea then heard a peculiar squishing noise.

“What the hell?” Tab cried.

She jerked her hand from Andrea’s panties, sat up, and whirled. Tab peered through the darkness for a couple seconds before leaning down and feeling for her phone. When she turned, a blast of white light swept across the trailer and illuminated the kitchen. Andrea’s chest rose and fell rapidly. She pushed herself up on her elbows as much as she could, staring wide eyed toward the kitchen.

“T-Tab?” Andrea whimpered.

“Wayne?” Tab yelled. “Are you fucking serious? Get out of here!”

Tab rose from the couch and quickly adjusted her bra. Before Andrea could reach for her, she was walking toward the kitchen with phone in hand. Andrea searched the objects in the blinding beam of the cell phone light. She saw nothing. Until she spotted the figure hunkered behind the bar.

Tab stopped short, peering into the kitchen.

“Wayne? Get the fuck out!”

Andrea sat forward. “Tab, don’t!”

“Jesus,” Tab gasped, “what… what are you doing?”

Andrea heard the wet squishing noise, louder than before. A strange groan followed.

Then a figure rose stepped out from behind the bar. Andrea’s fears were confirmed. It was not Wayne.

The light that flooded the kitchen began to shake. Tab was trembling. The bent figure spread it’s skinny legs and all but crawled on the linoleum. It was a person, if he could be called such. He wore clothes, but in no way that made sense. A loose yellowed t-shirt hung about his narrow torso, while he wore yet another darker ragged shirt around his waist as though it were a dress.

He was never still. Leaning this way and that, shaking and twitching, he cocked his head and stared up at Tab with wild eyes. With his free hand, he scratched and tugged at the tufts of messy hair on his scalp.

Tab was shaking her head. “What the h-hell….”

The scrawny man jabbered and hissed, as though Tab’s voice excited him. He scrunched up his scarred and twisted face and grinned. There might have been five jutting teeth that Andrea saw. The thin hunkered man worked his right arm up and down between his bony thighs like a piston. Andrea saw the glistening thing in his hand, and understood the source of the sloppy sounds she’d been hearing.

“Nnngff… uhhnngfff… like likey uhn yee… ohh ho….”

Tab was backing away. Her shoulders heaved with her breath. She uttered sounds that were the onset of a scream.

“Tab!”

It was no use. Tab had wheeled around and darted for the back door of the trailer. Andrea saw a flash of motion. Something collided with Tab. Andrea heard the phone skittering across the linoleum. The light danced before flooding toward the ceiling. The scrawny person still stood by the bar, but another was on top of Tab on the floor. The newest man was in a wild frenzy, flailing his arms at Tab. It laughed and yelled something unintelligible at Tab, who was wailing in terror and pain. The thing on top of the girl beat and clawed at her relentlessly while the other crouched low and worked his arm faster, apparently pleased with the scene.

As Andrea scrambled to her feet, she screamed as another figure darted past her. Another wretched ugly man dashed into the light, crawling at an uncanny speed on all fours. Andrea stumbled and screamed again. Two madmen flung themselves about on top of her friend, her only friend, her sweet Tab. A sickening dance in the glaring light of the phone, casting spidery shadows on the walls and ceiling, all while Tab screeched and squealed and cried. The strange men yowled and yammered as they beat at the girl.

Andrea bolted for the door. The three savages seemed not to notice. She threw herself against the screen door on the porch. The door flew open and she stumbled down the steps to the ground. In a flash she was up and running. Her every breath was a crying wheeze. Her feet found the path in the opening of the trees. The night rushed by her. Dark branches clawed at her. Roots and sticks reached up to grab at her. Andrea’s eyes darted about, trying to pierce the darkness enough to carry her away.

She collided with someone and yelped out into the night. She batted at the arms but it was no use. They held her firm.

“Whoa! Holy fuck! Lovergirl?”

Andrea’s eyes were wide. She wanted to scream but she couldn’t. Her mouth was sealed and her breath came in rapid bursts through her nose. She was shaking.

“Andrea! Andrea! Calm the fuck down! What is happening?”

She saw him. Wayne. It was Wayne. She could hardly make out his face in the dark, but it was Wayne. Andrea panicked. If he was here they’d find him. If they found him….

“Andrea! What is it!”

Andrea looked back up the path. “T-Tab. Tab… they got Tab. They got her.”

“What? Who is–”

There was a sickening thud as Wayne’s head whipped to the side violently. His hands went limp and dropped from her wrists. She screamed as he fell to the ground. Andrea reeled and crashed backwards into the leaves. Kicking at the earth, Andrea frantically retreated into the trees. Her eyes darted back and forth searching the dark. Something was there. It could be standing right over her! Where was it?

For several moments, it seemed like nothing was happening. Had the attacker gone? Andrea honestly wondered if she should leap to her feet to flee or lie hiding until daylight.

She froze when she heard the rumble. Breathing. Something was breathing. It had to be the person that had struck Wayne. Andrea fought to control her own breathing. She lowered herself, trying to hide from the attacker on the path. Every sound she made seemed deafening.

Andrea couldn’t see it. Not entirely. She could make out Wayne’s pale arms sprawled wide on the ground. The shape that loomed over his body was enormous, tall enough that Andrea could trace the silhouette against the tree limbs overhead and the purple sky beyond. The figure was standing motionless, apparently staring down at Wayne. Andrea trembled in the dark. The figure stooped. The crunch of leaves under foot told Andrea it was walking. The person clutched one of Wayne’s legs, and it dragged the body along. That low rumble of breath was still audible.

Then all became suddenly silent. Andrea could see the huge person’s head. She could tell that the dark face was turning, scanning the trees. Her jaw fell open and she was quick to cover her mouth with her hand. The head swiveled slowly… then stopped. It was staring right at her.

No! It couldn’t possibly see her. Yet the shadowed visage of the huge person was directed right at her. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears for what seemed like an hour. Andrea held her breath for so long that her chest ached.

The huge person trudged on, dragging Wayne’s body by his foot. Andrea watched the figure fade into the darkness up the path. It was headed in the direction of the bonfire. For several moments, Andrea simply lay in the woods shivering. She had to get up. She needed to get to them, the others. She had to know….

Swallowing hard, Andrea forced herself to her hands and knees. She coughed and wiped her eyes. She kept seeing the shadows in the trailer, and Tab screaming. She strained her ears, but heard nothing from the direction of the trailer. They got Tab. She knew she would never get used to those words.

Andrea rose to her feet. In a wide eyed daze of shock and dread, she headed up the path toward the fire. She had to see the others.

xxxxx

The branches reached out into the path like a thousand spider legs. The auburn glow ahead guided her way. She tried not to think of the darkness around her. Her feet stayed on the beaten dirt path. With each breath she quivered.

Andrea drew closer to the fire. She became more alert, but did not slow her steps. As she came to the clearing, she spotted the vehicles. Tab’s car. Ryan’s truck. Tab’s friends had not escaped. Andrea’s senses were numb. Only that cold feeling in her chest remained.

The passenger door of Ryan’s truck, the closest vehicle, was open.

Andrea didn’t turn her head. She only cut her eyes to look. Through the substance that coated the windshield, she could see a figure moving. Andrea kept walking. She passed the open truck door. The person hunkered in the truck seat worked busily on the body behind the wheel. His shoulders shook. The sounds alone were repulsive enough to make Andrea want to vomit. The body beneath the haggard person was not moving.

The scrawny thing snapped its head around. Andrea jumped only a little. He studied her over his pale shoulder with a single bloodshot eye. Andrea tried not to look into the cab of the truck. She knew what was happening. The person glared at her for only seconds before it resumed chewing. Her feet kept moving. When again she glanced into Ryan’s truck, the pale bony savage had returned to its business in the driver’s seat, its skinny form shaking as it tore at the corpse in the seat.

Andrea had reached the fire. The bodies were sprawled around. Some she recognized. Some she hardly knew. She stopped walking and crossed her arms over her chest. It was warm by the fire. The flames weren’t as high as they were, but she already felt better.

She saw the shapes moving, bustling about the bonfire. There were three, no four. Five. One of them was pulling the shoes off of Erica’s twisted form. It lifted the shoe up and examined it with wide eyes in the light of the flames. The wiry figure put its crooked nose to the sneaker and inhaled. Another oddly dressed being was licking the cheek of a girl near Ryan’s truck tire. Andrea didn’t even know her name.

It spotted her. Andrea tensed. The thing shook its head. The long tufts of hair on its skull danced. She recognized the sweatshirt draped around its skeletal frame. The man dropped its jaw and let out a yowl. It scrambled across the earth on all fours. It was charging right at her.

“Stop.”

The freakish person stopped dead in its tracks. It was as though it had been struck. In a fearful flurry the thing whirled. Andrea wearily followed his gaze.

A woman stepped into the fire light. The eyes. Andrea saw her eyes first. It looked like they were glazed white. The rags that hung around her frail form did little to cover her flesh. Her graying hair was knotted and tangled beside her face. She stepped closer, slow and unblinking, like a woman hypnotized.

Andrea didn’t move. The ghastly woman came to stand right in front of her. The scrawny being that had dashed toward Andrea seconds earlier hunkered behind the woman, its long cracked fingernails digging into what flesh clung to her legs. For a time, Andrea stared at the ground, watching the light of the fire dancing on the grass. When she did look up, the woman cocked her head to the side, still studying her.

That gaze was hard to meet. The woman’s cold glare was as enchanting as an owl’s, but as chilling as the lifeless stare of a corpse. The glow of the firelight on her face only added unsettling dimensions to her face. Half of her face appeared cold and dead, while the other seemed frightfully alive.

The savage at the woman’s legs peeked around and grunted. It snarled its nose and gritted its jagged yellowed teeth. Andrea regarded the thing with a knot in her stomach. It’s face was wrinkled, twisted, and haggard. The skeletal woman looked down at it, then traced its gaze back to Andrea.

The woman’s head twitched. Then her lips parted to speak.

“You smell strange.” Her voice was hoarse, and crackled just like the fire beside them. “They hardly recognize you anymore.”

Andrea nodded. Her eyes darted down at the savage. It chewed its fingers and watched her from behind the woman’s dirty legs.

The woman twitched. She looked toward the path. “What happened? Why was you back there?”

Andrea shifted. “They… we were at the trailer. They g-got some of them there. Bobby scared me is all.”

The pale glazed eyes scanned her face. Andrea didn’t miss the woman’s scrutinizing look toward her jeans, which were still unfastened. Her pink panties were visible. Memories of Tab’s face, her smile, her round cheeks… it was all assaulting her mind. Blinking hard and squeezing her hands into fists, Andrea prayed the woman didn’t ask.

Instead the woman turned. “Bobby? Your sister sayin’ you gave her a fright.”

Looking past the fire, Andrea saw the gargantuan figure in the old black suit, a ragged patch of clothing that was far too small for the lumbering man. It still clutched the ankle of what had once been Wayne. The body was missing too much to still be considered Wayne, however. The massive man turned his head toward them. Andrea still couldn’t bring herself to meet the fleshy featureless glare of her enormous brother. She turned her eyes down.

“You alright girl?”

Andrea looked up. “Y-yes, Mama.”

The thin woman twitched. Again her eyes looked down toward her crotch. Andrea crossed her arms. She felt embarassed and ashamed. Tab’s dimpled cheeks flashed in her mind. She couldn’t bear it. Maybe she wouldn’t ask her.

“Your Auntie been talking to you again?”

Andrea shook her head.

The woman looked down at the thing at her legs. “Thomas, go and find the book. It’s almost time.”

The scrawny man muttered something and scurried off, barking toward the others.

The dead gaze was back on Andrea. The girl swallowed hard and found the courage to speak.

“Is Grandpapa okay?”

The woman studied her. “They’re fine, girl. Him and your Maw is doin fine.”

It wasn’t the answer Andrea was looking for.

“You ought ta’ stay tonight,” Her mother said. “I worry ’bout you down there. You ain’t never got the blight, but you’re still my blood.”

Andrea managed a weak smile. “I can’t, Mama. I just can’t.”

The pale woman’s eyes narrowed. “You not thinking ’bout running again, are ya’ girl?”

“No, Mama,” she said shaking her head.

With an unsettling twitch, the old woman snorted. “Can’t nobody hide from Him. You should know that. He is the provider. He calls on you. He’s always watching from the dark.”

Andrea nodded. “There’s a diner. It’s right beside this truck stop, a gas station, you know? They’re… they’re hiring and I though I c-could maybe–”

The old woman paused. At last she nodded.

“Do what you must, baby girl,” her mother said. “Our family is gettin’ bigger. Your brothers look forward to seeing you.”

The woman turned and walked toward the fire. Andrea looked around at the bodies strewn around in the clearing. Bobby still watched her with his faceless gaze. Erica’s body lay naked in the grass. Her red hair was littered with blood and leaves. Andrea turned her eyes toward the black of the woods beyond. The black always scared her. She knew too much about what her family lived alongside.

The others were already coming back, crawling from the dark woods on their knuckles and toes. Andrea couldn’t count them. She spotted a few dragging the huge spit. Her skin flushed warm when she saw the bones that adorned the thing. All she could see was Tab’s sweet smile. She closed her eyes.

“Mama?”

The frail woman turned. “Yes?”

She swallowed. “Do you think He will be pleased?”

Her mother’s glazed eyes caught the firelight. The stare was painfully long. Finally, the ghastly eyes turned toward the woods.

“Yes,” the older woman said. “Yes, you done good, baby girl. Just… don’t forget about us. Harvest is the most important time, but we need you, too.”

Andrea nodded and offered a weak smile.

“Happy Harvest, Mama.”

She turned and headed in the direction of the gravel road. She’d have to walk through the woods, Mama said He was pleased. It’d be okay to walk through the woods. Andrea thought of a northern accent. Yes. Boston or something like that. Maybe she just moved here. She’d always wanted to be a tough girl. Maybe snarky. Like that redhead. What was her name? Erica. Andrea did like the name. Maybe she could be an Erica. She’d have to be tough at that truck stop anyway. Snarky. She practiced swaying her hips as she walked.

Erica. She liked that.

THE END