Goodbye Love
Max watched Rich run through the woods until he couldn’t see him anymore. Then he brushed the hair and leaves from his wife’s face. “It’s all right now. I’m here.” He sniffed and wiped tears from his face. “I meant to tell you how much I love you. I meant to tell you I didn’t mean all those harsh words I said to you. Why did we have to argue all the time? We used to make up. Remember those days? We used to make up and everything was fine and then one day we stopped making up. We just let all the anger stay between us. Why didn’t we make up?”
“Because you can be a real jerk sometimes.” Alison blinked several times and opened her eyes and smiled at Max.
“Oh my God! You’re alive!”
“Of course I am.”
“I thought you were … never mind.”
“You thought I was what? I fell and hit my head.”
Max laughed. “Oh my God. I’m so glad you’re alive!” He scooped her into his arms and hugged her.
“You are?”
He held her back. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because you treat me like …”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. You can’t imagine what I’ve been going through lately. It’s been hard keeping everything together.”
“It’s been hard on you?” Alison crawled back. “Hard on you?” Tears sprang to her eyes. “That’s why you hit me? Because you’re having a hard time? What about me?”
“I …”
Alison’s eyes shifted to something behind him.
“What is it?”
“Someone’s there.”
“Who’s there?” Max turned. “Rich, is that you?” He knew it wasn’t. He knew exactly what it was. “I have to take care of this, Alison. Let me take care of this and then everything will be fine.” He took up his rifle. “I’ll make it better.”
She reached for him. “What are you doing? Max, who is it?”
The stench of skunk, earth and shit came thick and heavy, like an overpowering draft that wrapped around and choked him. He’d smelled the same thing back at the cabin right after Alison had disappeared. Deeper in the woods, a shadow moved, coming closer.
“Max, what is it?” Then Alison screamed.
“Get back to the cabin, Alison. Now.” Gripping his rifle, he stood and came face to face with a wall of dark brown hair and the choking stink of skunk and earth and road kill.
“I … I twisted my ankle when I fell. I can’t walk. It hurts too much.”
“Jesus, Alison, can’t you do anything?” Did he have to do everything for her? He tried stepping back so he could bring the rifle to bear on it, but he stumbled over Alison and lost his balance. The rifle fell behind him.
“Max …”
“Get out of the damned way!”
Scrambling back, he grabbed the gun. The thing hadn’t advanced yet. Why hadn’t it? He allowed himself a smile. It didn’t know what a gun could do. That was fine by him. He slowly raised the gun to his hip.
A hand grabbed his head from behind and lifted him off the ground. With the few remaining moments he had to live, he tried pulling the trigger, but the gun fell from his hands.
“Alison! Run!” He watched her crawl as fast as she could, but the creature in front of him ignored her and came at Max. He laughed. Of course. Alison hadn’t shot one of their friends. He and Rich had.
The pressure on his skull increased as the creature started shaking him. He screamed. It crushed his skull as it shook him to death. He had a second to wonder if his neck would snap first or his skull would cave in, crushing his brain.
“I’m sorry, Ali—” His neck snapped. His skull caved in. And then nothing.