Free Allhallow's Eve: (Richard Laymon Horror Classic) by Richard Laymon Page B

man lost his grip, and she fell to her rump. She flung herself sideways, rolling, and got to her hands and knees before the man grabbed the back of her robe collar and threw her down. Her back hit the floor.
    He stomped on her belly, driving the wind from her. She doubled and clutched her knees until the man took her ankles. Her robe and nightgown flopped down, covering her face as he lifted her off the floor.
    He swung her by the feet.
    Swung her in a circle like a father playing with his child.
    Faster and faster.
    She tugged at the clothing bunched over her head. Pulled it free. Saw her naked body flying in circles around a huge, grinning man. One of her outflung arms struck the refrigerator. She had no breath to scream at the pain. The twirling man stepped closer to the refrigerator.
    Next time around, more than her arm would hit.
    She tried to curl forward but the momentum kept her stretched and the edge of the refrigerator door struck her face.
    Joe Horner spat in the sink and rinsed his toothbrush. He cupped cold water with his hand, drank some, and rinsed the toothpaste foam off his lips and chin. Putting away his brush, he saw a glob of striped paste and streams of spittle in the sink. Mom, he knew, would nag if he left it there. But she wouldn’t see it before Mike came in to brush his teeth. Let Mike take care of it. He dried his mouth and hurried downstairs.
    Nobody in the den.
    Great!
    He flipped through the channels to Night Beat , a cop show he’d only seen once, on a fabulous night when Jean was babysitting and she let him and Mike stay up late if they promised not to tell.
    He sat cross-legged on the floor.
    Maybe, if he was really good, Mom and Dad would let him see the whole show. After all, he’d been cheated out of the last one.
    Fat chance.
    ‘Not on a school night,’ they’d say.
    Well, if they stayed away long enough …
    He sighed with disappointment at the sound of footsteps in the hall.
    ‘Hey, Dad, this is a really neat …’
    The man who stepped into the den wasn’t Dad.

14
     
    Sam drove back toward Ashburg, listening to quiet music on the radio, his mind on Melodie and Cynthia and his new problem.
    He wanted to see Melodie again. He wanted to look in her wide, eager eyes. He wanted to hear her voice. He wanted to hold her, and feel the warmth of her body against him.
    Melodie, not Cynthia. Damn it, how could this happen? He’d thought he loved Cynthia, thought he wanted to marry her. It didn’t seem right that suddenly, by accident, he should meet a woman who made him want to break away from her.
    God, how could he do that to Cynthia?
    ‘I’m not going to disappear,’ he’d told her this morning.
    ‘I’ve heard that before,’ she’d answered.
    Damn it, she expected him to dump her. As if she thought she deserved to fall in love with men and lose them. Life had taught her some nasty lessons: if Sam left her, he’d be adding his own.
    He couldn’t.
    That’s it for Melodie.
    The pain of the thought made him want to jam on thebrakes, whip the car around and speed back to the motel. He would take Melodie in his arms, kiss … No!
    His clenched hands ached on the steering wheel.
    I’ve chosen Cynthia, he told himself. I can’t go back on her now. It’s too late for that. In a few days, I’ll forget all about Melodie.
    No, I won’t forget her.
    But I can’t have her. There’s plenty of things you can’t have, in this world, and you go along with it because you don’t have a choice.
    I have a choice here, though. I could stop seeing Cynthia, make up excuses …
    That’s no choice.
    I just can’t do that.
    I can’t.
    Why, damn it to hell, did I have to follow Elmer out there tonight?
    He pounded the steering wheel. He was tempted to bash his forehead against it, and wondered if he was going crazy.
    Then, up ahead, he saw a quivering red glow in the sky.
    ‘My God,’ he muttered.
    His foot rammed the gas pedal to the floor.
    Must be the Sherwood place, he thought as he