The Stake

�I�m not worried about any �vampire,� � Larry told him. �I don�t think it isa vampire. But stiffs give me the creeps.�

�That�s a good one, coming from you.�

�I�m scared of my own shadow, man. That�s what makes me good at writing those books. And I tell you, Sagebrush Flat is a lot scarier to me than my shadow. My shadow pales by comparison.�

Barbara chuckled at his pun.

�Even if there wereno corpse under the stairway, I�d still want to stay away from that town. Just the fact that it�s deserted is enough to spook me. There�s something basically frightening about a place where people are supposed to be but aren�t. An abandoned town, an office building at night...�

�That�s really true, you know,� Barbara said. �Like a hotel really late at night when everyone�s asleep.�

�Or a school,� Larry added. �Or a church.�

�Yeah.� Her eyes widened. �Church�s are reallyspooky when nobody�s there. I used to go for choir practice when I was in high school. We�d meet on Wednesday nights at eight.� She leaned forward and gazed at Larry. �One night... God, I�m getting goose bumps just thinking about it.� Hunching up her shoulders, she squeezed her arms tight against her sides. �One night, practice had been called off and I didn�t know about it. I think we�d been out of town. Anyway, the choir director was sick, and everybody knew it but me. So my dad dropped me off in the parking lot and I went in.�

�You taking notes, Lar? Maybe you can use this.�

�Sounds promising so far.� He could feel himself shivering slightly as if Barbara�s fear were contagious.

�There was a light on in the narthex. But the stairway to the choir loft was dark. I went up there, anyway. I figured I was just the first to arrive. The choir loft was dark, too.�

�Why didn�t you turn on some lights?� Pete asked.

�I don�t know. I guess I thought I shouldn�t mess with anything like light switches. But also, I was afraid somebody might... turning on lights, you know, that�d be like giving away that I was there.� Her mouth stretched, baring her teeth.

�That�s the thing,� Larry said. �When a place seems deserted, you�re afraid you aren�t reallyalone.�

�That�s it. Exactly. Because you can�t see what�s out there. God, I started thinking someone was roaming around, sneaking up on me. I even thought I heard someone creeping up the stairs.� Her right hand still held the glass on her lap. Her other hand crossed over to that arm and rubbed it as if she wanted to smooth away the goose bumps. Larry saw that her thighs were pebbled. Though she wore a bra, it was apparently of a light, stretchy fabric. Her nipples made small points against her T-shirt.

I�ll have to remember that, Larry thought. A woman has gooseflesh, the nipples get erect.

Fear makes them hard.

Or is she turned on?

Turned on by the fear?

Barbara kept frowning, rubbing her arm. She seemed lost in her memory of that night.

�So what happened?� Pete asked.

She shook her head. �Nothing.�

�Oh, that�s a great story.�

�I waited around for about fifteen minutes. I was almost too scared to move. I kept staring down at the nave and pulpit and everything, and thought someone was down there in the dark. You know, awareof me. Watching me.�

�Coming for you,� Pete added.

�Damn right.�

� �They�re comingfor you,� � he said, mimicking the voice of the jerky brother in the graveyard scene of The Night of the Living Dead. �They�re comingfor...�

�Knock it off, would you?�

�Nobody ever showed up?� Larry asked.

She shook her head. �I finally beat it. I was never so glad to get out of a place in my life.�

�Not even the hole in the landing of the Sagebrush Flat Hotel?� Pete asked.

�That was different. I was in pain. That�s not the same as being scared half to death.�

�So you finally just bolted out of the church?� Larry asked.

�Sure did. I didn�t even stop to use the phone and call home. I waited in the parking lot, and Dad finally came along at the usual time to pick me up.�

�That�s it, huh?� Pete asked.

�It was enough. I quit the choir after that. Nothing was ever going to get me back into the church after dark.�

�Pretty drastic, considering that nothing happened.�

�It wasn�t exactly as if nothing happened,� Larry pointed out.

�That�s right. All these years have passed, and it still gives me the creeps if I think about it.�

�Still isn�t much of a story,� Pete said.

�A good setup for one,� Larry told him.

�Think you might use it?� Pete asked.

�I can just see it,� Barbara said, smiling. �You�d probably have a homicidal maniac chasing me through the pews.�

�Something like that. Maybe Jesus gets down off the cross and stalks the gal through the church.�

�Oh, sick.�

Pete laughed. �Hey, goes after her with a nail in each hand.�

�You guys.�

�That�s good,� Larry said. �Next morning, the preacher shows up and she�sthe one on the cross.�

�God�s gonna get you for that,� Barbara warned.

�More than likely.�

�I�d better put the steaks on,� Pete said. �Feed him quick before a lightning bolt comes down and knocks him out of his shoes.�

After dinner, Pete presented his surprise � a plastic bag containing three videotapes. �Thought we�d have a movie marathon, unless you�re in a big hurry to get home.�

With three vodka tonics under his belt, and the two beers he�d had with dinner, Larry knew he was in no condition to write, make corrections on his copyedited manuscript, or even read the Hutson novel.

Nor was he eager to be alone in his empty house.

�Sounds good to me,� he said. �Let�s see what you�ve got.� He inspected the tapes through their clear plastic boxes: Cameron�s Closet, Blood Frenzy, and Floater.

�Barb phoned me at the shop,� Pete explained. �So I picked these up on the way home.� He looked quite pleased with himself.

�Oh, this�ll be neat,� Larry said.

�These should put you in a great mood,� Barbara said, �for when it�s time to go home.�

�They freak you out, you can spend the night here.�

�I imagine I�ll be all right.�

They started with Blood Frenzy. Pete watched from a recliner beside the sofa. Larry sat at one end of the sofa, Barbara at the other. After a while she tossed a cushion onto the coffee table and propped her feet up.

When the movie ended, Pete made popcorn. Barbara disappeared for a few minutes. She came back wearing a knee-length blue robe. She filled glasses with Pepsi for everyone. Pete separated the popcorn into three bowls.

Before returning to her place on the sofa, Barbara turned off all the lights.

They munched popcorn, drank their sodas, and watched Cameron�s Closetin a room that was dark except for the glow from the television screen.

Every now and then Larry glanced at Barbara. She was slumped against the back of the sofa, popcorn bowl on her lap, her legs stretched out, feet resting on the cushion she had earlier placed on the coffee table. When she twisted sideways to set her empty bowl on the lamp table, the robe slipped off her left leg. She wore a pink, diaphanous nightgown. It was shorter than the robe. It didn�t reach down much farther than her hip. With a quiet moan of annoyance, she flung the fallen section of the robe back on top of her thigh.

This is sure better than being home, Larry thought.

A few minutes later she took the cushion out from under her feet. She tilted it against the armrest, swiveled herself around and swung her legs onto the sofa. She lay down on her side, head propped on the cushion. �Let me know if I kick you,� she said.

�Maybe I should get out of your way.�

�No, that�s fine.�

Pete looked over. �Oh, here we go. For godsake, Barb, sit up. You won�t last five minutes.�