The
Peeper |
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By Jim Christopher and Ellis Vidler Chapter One Elliott Cash felt at home in the shrubs outside the window of the Harvey C. Brown Dorm for Women. The campus cops rarely shined their search light in his direction. Gardeners pruned the shrubs’ exterior surface into a smooth shape, creating a dense screen around the foundation but leaving a sheltered tunnel underneath and against the building. Elliott could have brought in a bed and set up housekeeping and no one would have known. Tonight the campus was almost deserted. Most of the students had left for the Thanksgiving holidays. Elliott crept along in the dark until he reached a lighted window. Ah, Julie, his angel. She was beautiful and kind. He’d seen her on the campus and she smiled at him. A narrow opening in the curtains limited his view from the covering shrubs, but he knew the room. Once when she was out, he’d gone inside and absorbed the story of her life through the pictures and trophies and things scattered around the room. She did that gym stuff he saw on TV. One photograph showed her upside down in midair in one of those tight, shiny suits, and another with her hair slicked back tight and holding a big trophy. There was a woman, an older version of Julie—her mother, he guessed. And one of a much younger Julie standing beside a man, maybe her father. No recent pictures of him. He was out of her life. Elliott liked opening her drawers and touching her things. He wanted to watch her when she returned, see if she could tell, but Jeremy told him it wasn’t safe, that he had to hide. Tonight a red duffel bag lay on her bed, and
he could see
her shoving clothes into it. She didn’t look happy. All the letters in
her desk
came from Julie was his special friend. He thought about loving her. Maybe one day he and Jeremy would live with her and take care of her and she’d never be sad. It was too bad she wouldn’t be able to hear Jeremy, but Jeremy talked only to Elliott. Elliott could hear music from further down his tunnel, so someone else was still in the dorm. He hoped it would be his favorites, roommates he figured were experimenting with girl sex like he’d seen on someone’s computer, but sometimes the roommates had men too, so it might be a passing phase. That was okay. He’d enjoy it while it lasted. Julie didn’t behave the way the roommates did. She might be his angel, but she wasn’t as interesting. He crept along under the bushes, carrying his stool, till he reached the lights and music. He smiled, feeling the excitement bubble up in him. The blinds stopped a few inches above the window sill, hiding him while providing a perfect view. Elliott watched the two girls as they danced nude in a lusty rendition of the seventies disco song “Boogie Nights.” Elliott liked music. He often listened to faraway stations during the night, when he couldn’t sleep. The girls flaunted their perfect bodies with embraces and occasional kisses and tongue sucking. Elliot was getting aroused. He’d watched them as they studied, as they laughed, and at times like now, when they made love. Elliot made love with them, there in the dark shrubbery. The warm sperm filled his hand, and he closed his eyes as orgasmic shivers consumed his being. Rustling noises further along in the shrubs disturbed his afterglow, and he hopped down out of sight. Elliott knew he wasn’t alone. For two weeks he’d watched as someone else entered his domain. Elliott and Jeremy staked out this spot more than a year ago, and now his sanctuary was being violated by this land jumper. Elliott eased deeper into the shadows and wiped his sticky hand on some leaves. The intruder crouched behind the bushes near the door and remained quiet. Elliott didn’t like him, wished he’d go away. Jeremy didn’t like
him either. He’s bad, Elliott. Stay away
from him. Don’t let him see you. Elliott shivered, but he was afraid to move in case the intruder noticed him. The roommates’ music blasted out. He imagined the bumps and grinds, the sexy gyrations. He wanted to see, but he had to stay still until the intruder left. Headlights swept across the shrubbery, startling him, and a black car jumped the curb and lurched to a stop beside the maintenance building near the dorm. A man got out and stumbled toward the back of the building. He fumbled around and after a minute, Elliott saw light bounce off his piss. Steam rose in the pale light as the urine hit the metal siding and ran down to the cold ground. Elliott watched as the man zipped up. Then the guy turned and fell over a stack of paint cans. They clattered against the metal building, and Elliott heard glass break. Lights came on in the house that backed up to the campus, right behind the maintenance building. The man held his finger to his lips, as if shushing the cans, and weaved his way to the car. He started the engine and drove in a wide circle in the frozen grass, almost reaching the house behind before he headed back to the street, jumping the curb once more. The car turned away and disappeared. The light in the nearby house went out. Behind Elliott, Julie’s light went out too. Interesting night, Jeremy said. Quiet descended once more. Maybe the drunk scared the intruder away. Elliott resumed his business. Music still poured from the window above him. He hoped the girls were dancing again. He stepped up on his stool and peeked at the roommates. They lay on the bed closest to him, and he could see every stroke and caress. He felt himself hardening again. A twig snapped. Elliott whipped around, searching for the source. He wasn’t alone after all. The intruder hadn’t left. Hide, Elliott.
Don’t move till the intruder
leaves. Elliott hunkered down and wrapped his arms around his knees, cold now, and watched through the bushes. He wanted to rub his arms for warmth, but he had to listen to Jeremy. Jeremy always knew best. A minute later the building door opened, and Julie stepped out on the porch, her duffel bag on her back. She hitched it higher, but the strap slid off her shoulder and the bag fell. It rolled down the steps and she jumped after it, bent to pick it up. An animal roar cut through the music. The intruder leapt from the bushes and grabbed Julie. Elliott froze. She screamed but the sound was cut off before it reached any volume. Low growls sounded. The hair on Elliott’s neck stood up. Julie and the intruder vanished into the shrubs. Noise sounded—thrashing, growling, a whimper. Was it an animal? Images of werewolves flashed in Elliott’s mind. Ohgodohgodohgod. Jeremy, help me. Tears ran down Elliott’s face. What could he do? The noises continued. A struggle. Slaps, the thunk of a fist, and the whimpers. The whimpers cut into Elliott’s soul. He knew what was happening. His poor Julie. The music above him played on. Soon the animal noises stopped. The intruder stepped out and looked around. Elliott’s heart pounded in his chest. His breath came in short gasps. A trickle of warmth ran down his leg. The man stooped, then rose again with the girl slung over his shoulder, and loped along in front of the shrubbery, hugging the shadows. He passed right in front of Elliott, holding something white to his nose, and the light from the moon shone on his face. Julie hung there, her bare ass balanced on his shoulder, her pale hair swinging against the man’s hips. The quick glimpse was enough. Poor Julie. Hot tears ran down Elliott’s cheeks. That image would haunt him forever. Jeremy, help me. The intruder carried her to the fish pond in the front garden. He laid her on the ground and shoved. She slid into the pool with hardly a sound. Oh, god. Please make him go away now. The man turned back toward the shrubs. Elliott stuffed his fist in mouth and held his breath. Sweat ran down his spine, under his arms, and between his legs. It mixed with the urine and the semen he’d released earlier, and the acrid stench reached his nostrils. He forced back the bile in his throat, trembling uncontrollably. God, what if he smells me? The intruder passed in front of him again and ran back to the bushes. He reappeared with Julie’s duffel and darted along the shadows to the back of the maintenance building. Elliott watched, sick, as the man riffled through the bag, tossing clothes and objects onto the ground. He snatched something, shoved it in his pocket, and took off, leaving the red bag and all her possessions strewn across the hard earth. |