Page 48 of Wrong Cabin, Right Time
“I don’t think you can wait to get to the motel, can you?” I bite my lip and stop in front of a parked car. “I might need to take care of that right now.”
“Here?” Eli laughs incredulously, looking around nervously. “I’m sure I can wait a couple of minutes.”
“Why not nowandat the motel? I can’t wait another second to taste you.” I walk toward a dark corner of the parking lot.
Eli is hesitant, looking at the darkness, then back at his car. I know what he’s thinking. The things he needs are in the hotel. If he really wanted to do me harm, he needs me there.
“I like things a little naughty,” I whisper, inching closer and pressing my hand to his chest. His breath hitches in his throat, and I know he’s exactly where I want him. “Trust me, it’ll be fun.”
I turn around and walk quickly into the dark corner, not bothering to look back at Eli, because I know he’s following. He mutters something under his breath about not believing this is actually happening. He jogs to catch up to me, and I stop just before we reach the dumpster. From the shadows, Travis gives me the universal “ready” signal—which, in his case, is an enthusiastic thumbs-up like we’re about to do a trust fall at summer camp. I nod back like this is totally normal and not, you know, kidnapping someone next to discarded cheeseburger wrappers.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” Eli says, closing in on me. “Believe me, I’ve had some fun with your pictures, but I never imagined you’d be this filthy.”
I don’t take my eyes off him as I lean my back against the wall of the diner, beckoning him to come closer. Travis moves behind him as quietly as a mouse, a syringe in hand.
“Tell me about all the things you’ve fantasized about doing to me.”
Eli moves closer, pressing a hand against the wall beside my face. He thinks for a moment, opening his mouth to give me whatever filthy answer is on his mind. But before he can say a word, the needle sinks into his neck and his eyes close as the drugs take instant effect.
Eli collapses on the ground, and I stare at him with a scowl on my face. I wish I could wash off the feeling of his breath on me, and I can’t wait for the rest of this plan to unfold.
“You did good,” Travis says, smiling at me. That little bit of reassurance is all I need.
He hardly needs my help loading Eli into the trunk of the SUV.
With Eli in the car now, all I can think about is the possibility of him waking up and scrambling across the car, grabbing the steering wheel, and sending all of us crashing to our deaths. Travis doesn’t say anything as he heads directly to the crematorium he owns.
I’m surprised at how secluded it is when we arrive. Travis told me it was far from the road, and he was right. It is a cemetery—there are hundreds of small gravestones for pets on the lot—and it feels eerie. The building is completely obscured by heavily wooded area.
Travis unlocks the door and brings out a stretcher to load Eli onto while he’s still unconscious. I help him strap Eli’s limp body to the metal before we roll it inside.
I stand back and let Travis take the reins once we’re in the basement. He checks the ties before ripping Eli’s clothes off entirely so he’s naked in front of us.
Travis is focused—more so than I have ever seen him before. While he moves, there’s a faint smile on his lips, showing that he is deriving pleasure from this. Before arriving, I tried to prepare myself for what I’d see. But standing here now, I can hardly believe it.
It feels like I’m sitting in a movie theater watching something unfold on-screen. It doesn’t feel real. I know that it is, and I know that I had a hand in this. But I can’t force my brain to register this as something actually happening to me.
My body feels light as I watch Travis work. I forget where I am, what I’m doing, everything that has led to this. My throat goes dry, and every hair on my body stands up. It’s like I’m having some kind of out-of-body experience.
When Travis is done carefully inspecting everything, he sits down on a stool while he waits for Eli to wake up. Neither of us says a word to each other.
It feels like ages before Eli’s eyes slowly open, and he looks around the room, trying to remember what happened. Both Travis and I watch as the memory of him running into me, having the meet-cute he thought he orchestrated himself, runs through his mind.
Now he’s here, tied up and vulnerable. He looks just as afraid as he probably wanted me to feel. A flicker of excitement runs through me at the idea.
“I bet you’re wondering where you are,” Travis says, forcing Eli to look at him.
Eli tries to say something through the cloth stuffed in his mouth, but he can’t.
“Remember Sage? The woman you flew all the way to Lake Lure in the hopes of meeting. Is that where it was going to end, Eli? Were you only going to run into her at the diner and tell her how big of a fan you are? Or did you plan on luring her back to your hotel room and tying her up? I bet it feels really awful having the tables turned so suddenly.”
Travis stands up and grabs a knife he placed on the table beside Eli. Eli sees it for the first time, realizing that this is the end for him. He squirms against the metal stretcher, screaming into the cloth that stifles every sound.
My heart thuds against my chest as Travis traces the knife along his body. It’s delicate, almost tender, as it scrapes against Eli’s chest and lands right above his heart.
“Did you think you could take what’s mine?” Travis leans in closer, almost pressing his mouth to Eli’s ear as he speaks in a hushed, chilling voice. “I’m going to enjoy this more than any other kill.”
Eli screams again, his eyes bulging as he pleads with Travis to let him go. Travis’s eyes don’t leave his as he plunges the knife into his chest. Eli goes still, the muscles that had been tensed and squirming on the stretcher suddenly limp. Blood pools around the knife and drips onto the metal table below him.
