PillowFace by Kristopher Rufty

heavy for the gulley’s size. Spirit Creek. Joel had heard stories of people being sucked into it and dragged downstream to the waterfalls, and then they were never heard from again.  He figured that was bullshit, but the fear it might happen was always there. 
    Approaching the hurried water, Pillowface pulled the cadaver off his shoulder and chucked her in without wavering and ending Joel’s perverted fantasies of getting to fondle her.  His heart broke as she disappeared in the rivulet farther up the course.  He briefly considered tracking the stream to find her, but knew it was pointless to try. 
    Then he noticed Pillowface was looking directly at him. 
    He didn’t seem pleased.
    With his arms folded across his chest, he titled his head, questioning him with his eyes.  Did he have an idea of what he’d been thinking, or what he wanted to do with the woman?   
    Why had he wanted to do that so badly?  Now that she was gone, so were those urges that had consumed him just minutes ago.  In their place were deep feelings of guilt and shame.  
    Pillowface approached him, taking long strides with his steps.  He was dark with the needle-like rays of sunlight backing him. 
    It would be a cool camera angle.
    “Hey,” said Joel. 
    Pillowface answered with a heavy exhale. 
    “I was just…curious…to see what you were doing.” 
    Pillowface glanced behind him, then turned back to Joel. 
    “I saw her.”  Joel looked down, kicking at a broken stick.  “I mean, I won’t say anything.  It didn’t scare me.”  He was lying; it had terrified him, and even worse had been his own sadistic thoughts.  “I’ve seen them before.”  In movies .  “So, I can handle it.” 
    He truly doubted he could handle much more. 
    Pillowface placed a meaty hand on his shoulder, and lightly squeezed, assuring him everything would be fine.  Then he turned and began walking.  Keeping to the left, Joel trotted behind him like a puppy nipping at his heels. 
    “What are we doing now?” 
    Joel followed him through the woods. Though, he’d practically grown up having adventures out here, it all looked and felt different.  They appeared to be darker, more mysterious, and maybe even more evil, as if something sinister lurked out here.  It was a feeling he’d never experienced before, an overwhelming understanding that things weren’t as innocent as people had led him to believe.  After his parents’ death, he’d begun having suspicions, but now, trudging through the forest on a mission to God knew where, he was certain the bright armor he’d been promised was a happy life was actually a rusted illusion, cracked and littered with ill will and pain.
    Pillowface halted ahead of Joel, squatted, and began feeling around the leaf-covered ground. After a quick search he retrieved an object from the debris. 
    A machete: thick, long, and massive. 
    The blade was blemished brown from what Joel figured was old blood since there were also splashes of a fresher red spattered across it.  Joel cringed when Pillowface offered him the blade that had undoubtedly killed that pretty woman. At first, he didn’t accept it, but Pillowface was persistent in nudging him. 
    So, he took the machete. It was heavy like a sword. Joel tried holding it with both hands, but just couldn’t manage it. He let the tip drop to the ground. It stabbed two inches in. 
    Pillowface went back to sifting the ground. Joel looked around the ground and surrounding forestry, noting all the areas swashed in red.  There was a lot more blood than he ever imagined could have come from one person, especially one the size of that girl. 
    He wondered what her name was. 
    “Is all of this that woman’s blood?” Pillowface shook his head.  “Is this your blood?”  Nodded.  “On the blade?  This is what cut you up like that?”  Pillowface found the sheath and stood up.  Joel struggled to give him back the machete.  After he took it, Joel’s