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The sun climbed higher, casting long shadows across the forest floor. The air grew warmer, but my heart had yet to find the same respite. The weight of our actions bore down on us, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were living on borrowed time.
As we pushed deeper into the woods, I finally spotted something familiar–a cluster of rocks, a tilt in the terrain. I stopped, turning to Adriana. “I think this is it.”
I could hear the nerves in her voice when she responded. “You ran far.”
I nodded. “Further than I thought.”
And then we saw it. The body lay sprawled on the forest floor, stiff and lifeless, coagulated blood crusting around the open wound in his chest and trailing down into the ground below him. His clothes were soaked through, and his face was pale, drained of all color.
It was a grim reminder of the violence we had both experienced…violence I’d wanted to keep Adriana and our child away from.
But it was harder to escape the sins of the father than I’d ever imagined.
“I was worried he was still alive,” Adriana took a step closer to him as she spoke.
“No chance. I got him in the chest,” I said, taking a moment to survey our surroundings. I was reasonably sure we weren’t being watched. “We need to get him. He’s not going to keep himself covered.”
She didn’t need to be told twice. We quickly moved to the body, Adriana taking one end while I took the other. The weight was a struggle to bear, but I’d carry the world for her if I had to. For our child.
As we lifted the man’s body, I couldn’t help but think about the life he must have led. He was a murderer, a man who had taken another’s life, and now he lay at our mercy. It could have been me–maybe it would be one day, buried in a shallow grave. That was the end I’d always imagined for myself, anyway…before Adriana.
“Where are we going to put him?” she asked.
“There’s a clearing nearby, with a lake. Let’s get him there. Fill his pockets with rocks.”
“You’re gonna Virginia Woolf him?” Adriana raised her eyebrows at me.
I couldn’t help but laugh at her sarcasm, but I knew she was right. We couldn’t leave him here. “Maybe not Virginia Woolf him, but…yeah, that’s the plan. We weigh him down, and the lake will take care of the rest.”
We dragged the body through the woods, each step more gruesome than the last. It was so early in the morning, we weren’t spared any visuals. The man’s back was sticky with drying blood, and he was dragging leaves and twigs with him.
Adriana’s eyes flicked towards me, her gaze filled with concern. “You alright?” she asked.
“Shouldn’t I be asking you that? Isn’t this making you feel sick to your stomach?” I replied.
“You know, blood isn’t too bad. Garlic, though. That makes me feel sick.”
I laughed. “He’s not too heavy for you, is he?”
“No, I’m fine. Just a little wiped,” she admitted, wiping the sweat off her forehead. “God, I hate this.”
And I couldn’t agree more. The weight of the man was unbearable, but we had no choice. We couldn’t let him be found, and carrying him was the only way to make sure he didn’t haunt us for the rest of our lives. Well, his body. He might still come back and haunt us, I had no idea.
“We’ll get him to the lake soon. Promise,” I said, taking a deep breath.
Adriana nodded, her lips set in a grim line. We trudged on, the crunching of leaves and the occasional snap of a twig the only sounds to break the silence.
“How much further?” Adriana asked.
“Not long,” I replied, turning my head to look at the lake from the corner of my eye.
She sighed in relief and we picked up the pace, dragging the body through the forest, the sound of water getting louder as we approached our destination. Our progress was slow, each step a struggle against the resistance of the body we were carrying.
Finally, we stumbled upon the clearing, the lake shimmering in the morning light. We had made it. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment, a feeling I hadn’t felt in a long time. It was a twisted kind of victory, knowing that we had successfully disposed of this man, preventing him from causing any more harm. At least to Adriana.
“Before we throw him in the lake, we should search his pockets,” I said.
Adriana nodded, her eyes fixed on the body we’d been lugging behind us. It wasn’t a job anyone ever wanted, but it was necessary. As I dropped off my end of the body, she began going through his pockets, her fingers shaking slightly as she pulled out a wallet and various other items. The wallet had one of those clear windows, and I let out a low whistle when I saw the picture inside.
