Final Move  
 

      Cody reached forward and slowly pulled the strip of duct tape off of Alison’s mouth. Her lips parted and she gasped for air as he threw the tape aside. Alison whimpered as he leaned in and kissed her, then turned to pick up a knife off the floor.

      This is it, she thought, he’s not paying attention, do it now! She pulled her hands free of her loosened bindings and grabbed the gun that lay on the table next to her. The safety was off and the gun made a strange clicking sound as she cocked it and prepared to pull the trigger.

      Cody turned slowly and a smile crept across his face. “This is it baby, this is the final move.” He raised the knife and advanced toward her.

      There was a loud sharp bang, which was followed closely by two more similar sounds. Cody stumbled backward coughing, his hand to his chest. Time slowed as Alison watched him fall to the ground.

      The gun fell from her hand, as a desperate looking policeman kicked open the door.  The officer rushed forward to catch her as her legs gave out. Tears flowed down her face as the man whispered to her, “Everything is alright. You’re safe now-we’ve got you. He can’t hurt you now.”

      Alison listened to this soft comforting voice and looked over at Cody’s dead body. What had happened to her boyfriend? She closed her eyes and tried to remember where it had all began.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Two days earlier, Alison had looked out the window and watched as a dented pick-up truck pulled up in front of her house. A tall lanky man, Cody, climbed out of the truck, straightened out his dinner jacket, and patted down his tangled fiery red hair as he walked up the steps to her house.

      Alison opened the door right before he knocked and was greeted by a large smile and three roses tied together by a white ribbon. They walked into the living room and she told him to “sit tight” while she finished getting ready. Cody sat down and began to read the paper as she finished her putting on her makeup.

      Five minutes later they were walking to his car. Alison climbed in and put on her seatbelt. She glanced over at Cody who looked rather unhappy. Brushing his hair out of his face, she tried to ease a smile out of him but all she got was a tight grimace. 

      While they waited for their server to bring them water, Alison’s listened to some women talking at the next table. One was blond and the other was a brunette, the blond seemed very anxious and spoke quickly.

      “I don’t know what to do. That serial killer has me afraid to leave my house now.”

      The brunette spoke up, “I know, who one earth kills people because of their hair color, its ridiculous.”

      Alison turned her attention from the women and stared at Cody who was drumming his fingers on the table. He smiled as the waiter approached and took their orders. Alison glanced around the restaurant and realized how thirsty she was. Unfortunately, the waiter couldn’t seem to remember to bring them water so Cody went to get her a glass from the bar. She drank it greedily, swallowing quickly then pouring more into her mouth.

      She held up the glass to ask for more water, then watched it fall in slow motion from her hand down onto the ground where it shattered. Tiny shards flew up and slowly pierced through the air as they spun off into the empty space in between tables.

      She stood slowly and stared down at Cody then picked up her purse. Cody rose and she shook her head.

      “My water…” She stared at him as the room began to spin. “What did you… do?”

      He didn’t answer and so she turned towards the door. Her feet felt heavy as she stumbled away and out of the restaurant. There was a bus stop outside of the restaurant on the street corner. She hurried over and tried to flag down a bus but someone approached her and took a hold of her wrist. Leading her away from the restaurant and the bus stop, the person loaded her up into a car and quietly buckled her seat belt. Her head tipped back and her eye slammed shut.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

      “A cryptic letter was sent to the police earlier today from a man claiming the recent ‘pair murders’. Along with the letter, the police received a lock of hair from each victim and various pictures. These pictures have been made public and we would like to take this moment to ask anyone sensitive to graphic or disturbing images to change the channel or look away…”

      Alison’s head jerked up as she hurtled back to reality.  She had been asleep for a while, but she couldn’t tell how long it had been. There was a TV in front of her. As she strained to see the time flashing in the corner, the TV screen went blank.

      “No more TV today. Now that you’re awake I want to spend a little time with you.”

      Cody pulled a chair down in front of her and smiled. “How are you, Alison? I’m glad you finally woke up.”

      Alison opened her mouth to answer but her voice got caught in her throat. She suddenly realized how afraid she was. “Cody…”

      “No, don’t say my name. Don’t try to change this, Alison; you knew this day would come. You knew we would have to do it eventually.”

      “No! I didn’t, I had no idea.” Alison felt a tear run down her cheek. “Why does it have to be this way?”

      Cody sighed, “I’m tired of your questions, can we please change the subject? Lets talk about dinner, did you like dinner?”

      “I didn’t get to have any, you drugged my before the food came.”

      “Aaaah…yes that’s right. Oh well. I’m sure you would have enjoyed it.”

      Alison ignored this last comment and looked around the room for a possible escape route. It was a small dirty room with a few boarded up windows and strange brick colored splotches on the walls.

      “Alison, are you paying attention to me?” Cody leaned forward and regarded her sternly.

      “I…yes.”

      “I don’t think you were. Well that’s fine, we don’t have to talk if you don’t want to.” Cody stood angrily and strode over to the table next to Alison.

      “Wait, Cody-“

      “Shut up. You didn’t want to talk to so we won’t talk.”

      He picked up a roll of duct tape and ripped off a large piece. The tape was pressed over Alison’s mouth.  She tried to cry out but she could barely open her mouth. The sound that did escape her lips was muffled by the tape.

      “Now,” Cody said slowly, “if you’ll excuse me I need to go deal with Shannon.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

      Two years ago, newly single, Alison had gone to her friend’s party. She had stood alone in the corner clutching a red plastic cup full of booze. A tall red haired man had approached her, introduced himself and led her away to the balcony.

      They had been dating for about a year when the “pair murders” began to occur. Cody became extremely protective and didn’t like leaving her alone. He was always irritated and whenever a police car drove by he would get tense and turn away from the street.

      Alison had really noticed how weird he was acting when they went to dinner and he spent the whole night staring at a woman at a different table. She had longish curly blond hair and a large nose. Alison fought for his attention but eventually gave up and left. He called her the next morning to apologize as she was reading a news article about another pair murder. It had taken her a while to realize that the dead blond woman was the woman from the restaurant.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

      Alison had been straining against her bindings for a while and was beginning to grow tired. Shannon had stopped screaming a few minutes ago and Cody’s soft humming floated through the room. He was humming “At Last.” There was a large serrated knife sitting on the table next to the duct tape. He stood and walked over to the table to fetch the knife and another plastic bag.

      She watched as he crouched down next to Shannon’s body and felt her neck for a pulse. It was quiet as he finished shearing off Shannon’s dirty blond hair and placed it in the bag. He turned to Alison and smiled, then went back to humming and disposing of Shannon.

      Alison dropped her head down into her chest and moaned. She had no idea what she could do to get free and get away from what had to be done. The ropes holding her wrists were tight and scratchy, too tight for her to wriggle out of. The tape over her mouth was too sticky and wouldn’t come off.

      Cody seemed to sense her struggle as he turned his attention away from the pieces of Shannon and onto the still living Alison. He stood slowly and approached her, wiping sweat from his face with his forearm. His shirt was splattered with a bit of blood and sweat. Smiling, he gently caressed her face with the back of his hand and whispered her name.

      “Alison, I know you hate me, I really do. But this is just the way things have to be. You had to have known that it would come to this at some point.”

      Alison shook her head and he smiled. He pulled up a chair and sat across from her. His gaze fell across her face and locked upon her eyes. They sat in silence staring at each other and Alison prayed that someone would come and save her from her fate.  She chocked down the sobs filling her chest and felt the hot tears running down her face. He stared at her face and frowned.

      “You’re scared. You promised that you wouldn’t get scared. Maybe it’s time we get this done. I don’t want you to back out.”

      Cody stood and picked up the scissors. He grabbed a handful of Alison’s hair and began chopping it off, leaving the ends uneven and jagged. Alison screamed under the tape and shook her head furiously. He pulled her hair a bit and continued to cut it as she cried hysterically. As he cut her hair, he gently placed it all in a large plastic bag with her name written on it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

      Cody was a doting boyfriend. Whatever Alison wanted or he thought she wanted would be hers. He was very attentive when it came to being intimate. There were things about him that bothered Alison, but none were bad enough to offset all the things she liked about him. He had even charmed her parents, which was a hard thing to do.

      One night, as they lay in bed together, Cody gazed over at her with a strange look of hunger in his eyes. He deftly pulled away the bed sheet and knelt over her. There was no light in the room and Alison could not see his face as he leaned down and pressed his cheek against hers.

      He inhaled deeply and whispered, “Alison, your hair is so wonderful. You’re the most beautiful woman I know, and most certainly the best blond.” He leaned back quickly. “In fact, all those other women are just cheep knock offs of you. No other blonds even compare.”

      There was a moment of silence as she sat up, wrapped her arms around him, and whispered, “Prove it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

      Nearly all of Alison’s long blond hair lay limp in the plastic bag on the table.  Her mascara had run with her tears and created long black streaks down her face. With most of her hair gone and her makeup ruined she felt ugly and tired. Cody stared at her and she looked away, ashamed to have him see her when she was so ugly.

      He smiled and spoke to her quietly, maybe even gently. “You don’t have to look away; you look beautiful. Just like the first time I ever met you. Perfect, I think, is the word I’m looking for. Almost like an angel.”

       There were a few drops of blood dried to his jaw and Alison had an overwhelming urge to lick them off. She closed her eyes and wondered what would happen next. Their time was limited, that she knew, but what could they do with it to make all of this worthwhile? A soft, almost silent, humming hung in the stale air as the old electrical heater turned back on. Alison listened closely to the sound of air entering Cody’s lungs, then exiting, as he took long deep breaths. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

      The first “incident” occurred one night when they went out to dinner and Cody kept looking at a blond woman at another table, then back at Alison.

      “You know, she’s not a beautiful as you. She’s just no good at all.”

      He kept comparing them even after Alison asked him to stop. She grew frustrated and a bit jealous.

      “Cody, if she’s not as pretty as me, then why do you keep talking about her? You’re driving me crazy!” She stood up and threw down her napkin.

      He stared up, mouth hanging open dumbly, as she grabbed her purse and stormed out of the restaurant. She got into the car and sat for a moment, waiting for him to appear, then realized he hadn’t followed her. The tires screeched as she sped out of the parking lot, cursing.

      At about four thirty in the morning, she heard the front door open. Cody threw open the bedroom door and rushed to the dresser. He was breathing hard as he quickly removed his clothing. There was blood all over his hands.

      Alison sat up straight, afraid and worried. “Is that blood? Are you hurt?”

      He did not answer her.

      “Cody, What’s going on?” She was shaking from fear and worry.

       “I figured it out. I know how we can prove it to each other.” He spoke excitedly as he went to the bathroom to wash his hands off.

      “Prove what?”

      He reentered the bedroom beaming. “Prove our love for each other. That woman in the restaurant; the one that was no good-“

      “Oh please, Cody, don’t talk about her again.”

      “No wait, listen to me, Alison, she wasn’t as good as you. She didn’t even compare so I stopped her from trying anymore.” He sat down on the bed and took her hand.

      “What do you mean-you stopped her?” Alison raised her eyebrows and regarded Cody curiously.

      “Well, I killed her, how else would I stop her?” He couldn’t seem to understand why Alison was so confused.

      “You did what? You killed that woman?” Alison yanked her hand away.

      “Well, yeah. I did it for you.”

      Alison stared at Cody and wondered if he was joking. Before her eyes, he became a stranger. A dangerous man she had never met before. She stared into his eyes and felt her chest tighten from a mixture of fear and sudden arousal. Slowly, a smile formed on her lips and she leaned forward to kiss him.

      “That’s a good start. But I’m not sure it’s enough.”

      He smiled. “Whatever it takes. I’ll do it.”

      “I’ll do it too. We can do it together.”

      Two nights later they struck together. In an abandoned warehouse they killed and dismembered one blond and one redhead. There on the dirty floor, in the midst of their victim's remains, they made love and reveled in the success of Alison’s first murder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

      Alison watched Cody crouch down next the wall and run his fingers along the meeting place of the wall and floor. A soft whistle escaped his lips as he pulled something out of a small crack in the ground. Cody threw it aside and walked swiftly over to Alison. He removed the duct tape from her mouth as gently as possible and threw it aside.

      “They were listening before, but now they can’t hear us. So this is it baby, this is the final move.”

      He began to untie Alison’s hands.

      “I don’t know how long it will be before they realize I found the bug, but it should be long enough. Okay, you should be able to untie the rest. I’ll get the gun.”

      Alison did not finish untying herself. Now that it was time to go through with their plan, she found herself unable to act. She watched him dig through the bag for the gun and began to cry. They had been planning this ever since Cody had been found out, but she had never imagined that they would actually go through with it.

      “Cody, there is no way I can do this. I just-“

      “Believe me Alison, you can. You have to.” He placed the gun down on the table and finished untying her.

      Tears spilled down her face and she shook her head. “No, I can’t! I can’t do this…”

      Cody crouched in front of her and stared into her eyes. He smiled softly and leaned forward, kissing her on the forehead.

      “I’m ready, I really am. You don’t have to worry about it. This is a sacrifice I’m willing to make to keep our legacy safe.”

      He stepped back and picked up the knife from the table. No sound permeated the air in the room as Alison stood and picked up the gun. Cody smiled and began to walk towards her, slowly, brandishing the knife. She knew it was all for show now, but wondered if maybe he would kill her if she didn’t shoot him first.

      Shocked by this sudden thought of betrayal she became even more disoriented by the sudden sound of pounding feet. Someone was running through the warehouse below towards the stairs to the room. Who could it be, she wondered.

      Cody’s voice broke her thoughts. “Alison! Hurry up they’re coming. Do it now. Now!”

      She squeezed the trigger and felt the hammer fall as he advanced towards her once more. Two more rounds fired off into his chest and he jolted backwards. He stumbled backwards, hand to his chest, and fell to the floor.

      He smiled as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Her hands dropped to her sides but she still grasped the gun. The door burst open as policemen flooded the room. They stopped and looked from her, standing shocked with the gun in hand, to Cody who lay dying upon the floor.

      The gun dropped to the floor and she fell to her knees. A man rushed forward and held her up as she began to cry. She stared at Cody and the thick blood that seeped from his body. Blood that seemed eager to escape the confines of his veins and mingle with the stale air.