Her Terrifying Love

Part 7

Through the murky woods, Jack carried Keenan by his wrists, Lyla gripped the corpse's ankles above his scuffed boots. They staggered blindly, gasping for breath. The wet leaves and moss coating the forest floor made the arduous trek all the more challenging.

She slipped then wheezed, "I don't think... I can go... much further."

A few yards away, hazy moonlight filtered through the trees illuminating what appeared to be the crest of a hill. 

"Come on," Jack urged. "Just a little farther."

Lyla desperately wanted to be finished with this dreadful task, but she had run out of gas. She released Keenan's ankles. Dead legs slapped the hard ground. 

Jack let go of Keenan's wrists and looked at her with concern. "Are you okay?" 

She barely had enough energy to nod.

Behind her, a limb snapped followed by rustling through the brush. Dozens of panic-driven fragments of thought ricocheted inside her head. She whipped around, lost her balance, and landed in a blanket of leaves.

"Who's there?" she cried out in a weak voice.

No response.

Jack helped her to her feet. "Probably just a raccoon. Maybe a deer," he assured her.

She glanced over her shoulder and shuddered when she saw a massive deer standing in the shadows. 

"What is that?"

"What? What are you looking at?"

She realized that what she'd thought was a rack of antlers was a tangle of branches from a fallen tree. 

"Nothing. I just thought..." She wiped her trembling hands on her jeans. 

"I haven't seen any cars," she said. "Up on the road,... have you?" 

He shook his head. "I can't see the road. We're too far down."

A piercing ringtone rang out. Lyla's throat clamped shut. Jack's wide eyes stared at a cell phone, nearly buried in the sticky leaves. Keenan's cell phone illuminated the incoming caller: JOJO. 

"Somebody's looking for him!" Jack panicked. "Come on," he said. "If we get caught moving this body..."

Lyla needed no additional motivation. She seized Keenan's cold ankles. They dragged the corpse to the edge of the hill, which overlooked a ravine.

"Okay. Let go." He placed his foot on Keenan's body and gave it a shove.

She peeked over the ridge as the corpse thrashed through the dark thicket and stopped abruptly. 

Jack squinted through the blackness. "I don't see him."

She pointed. "I think he rolled down into that crevasse."

"Yeah, yeah, I think I see him now. Let's move his car and get the hell out of here."

Lyla eyed Jack. He was scarcely recognizable, his face lined with worry and grief. He dusted plant debris from his wool cap.

"I'll drive," she offered. "My DNA is already in that car. If they find traces of you in there..."

"You okay to drive?" 

She nodded, hoping that adrenaline would continue to override the effects of the drug.

He picked up Keenan's cell phone and handed it to her. "Maybe leave this in his car."

They climbed back up, up, up toward the cars. The steep hillside seemed to rise forever before it opened up onto the road. Lyla's legs were becoming rigid, her lungs burned from the exertion.

The moment she slid behind the steering wheel of Keenan's car, an overwhelming smell filled her nostrils. She jerked her head around to ensure that he wasn't sitting in the back seat. Of course, he wasn't. His body was wedged inside a narrow rock opening almost a half hour's hike from the road. But the car reeked of Keenan, an unmistakable cocktail of perspiration, weed, beer, and some cheap cologne he'd apply to attempt to disguise the odor.

Jack drove past the car, signaling Lyla to follow.

Their first sighting of another vehicle came almost five miles from the accident scene. A speeding pickup truck roared past, traveling in the opposite direction, leaving behind a trail of loud country music. She watched the pickup disappear in the rearview mirror.

Jack steered his car to the shoulder of the road then waved her forward, directing her to drive Keenan's car to the edge of the steep embankment.

"Put it in neutral and get out," he instructed. 

Just as she exited the car, Keenan's phone rang. She yelped and clutched her chest. It was another call from JoJo. She turned off the phone, tossed it onto the floor, and bolted out of the car.

She watched Jack at the rear bumper as he pushed the car forward. The car rolled down the rugged hillside, accelerating as it bounced wildly through the darkness. The sounds of breaking glass and bending metal reverberated off the rocky topography.

And then silence. The deed was done.