In Shelly's Eyes

He pulled over near the overgrown ditch and sat motionless staring out of the windshield of his Chevy Chevelle as he relived the events of the night, his memory looping fragmented highlights over and over again. Feeding a relentless torrent of pleasure and satisfaction that coursed unbridled throughout his entire system.

The way that her smile reached her eyes when he approached her at the counter of the library. That's what really got him.

When he first laid eyes on her he had no idea she would resemble his Shelly and it took him quite by surprise. She had been busy tucked away from the library's front counter where he stood waiting to be checked out. She was hunched over an old metal desk shuffling papers and books back and forth in a mysterious manner completely oblivious to his presence forcing him to finally clear his throat to draw her attention to him. She finally looked up and smiled at him in a way that made her eyes sparkle with magic and perfection.

Shelly... he thought.

And at first the resemblance was such a shock to him that he could hardly believe it himself. It was certainly not what he had expected. He watched her, spellbound as she took his library card and stamped each book's due date with practiced precision. He was so enraptured by her that he didn't realize that she had spoken to him until he noticed her staring at him blankly, confusion clouding those beautiful eyes of hers. And that's what made him snap back to reality, what made him realize she was waiting for something from him. It was how her eyes had shifted and changed as she smiled at him expectantly. And he realized then too that he enjoyed the idea of her anticipating him.

"I'm sorry?" he asked, his eyes never leaving hers.

She smiled again and that's when he made the decision, he had to have her. "Would you like a bag, Sir?" The sincerity of her sweet innocence exuded from her being and had him transfixed, intoxicating him... just like his Shelly.

He hurried to his car and tossed the books into the confines of his glovebox and headed back to the steps of the library, sat down, and lit a cigarette. His knee jackhammered up and down as he monitored his watch as it slowly ticked away.

Anytime now, he thought.

And he was right too. Just like he was right about those perfect eyes of hers. He was still stamping out his cigarette butt when she came through the big glass doors and pulled out her key ring and began systematically locking each door shut for the night.

He approached her then and asked her if she'd be willing to give the books that he checked out a look over with him. When she smiled nervously he told her how beautiful she was and how her eyes had captivated him such that he just had to see her again, which was the truth. The way that she smiled at his confession in just the right way that it made her eyes twinkle with delight told him she had been thinking of him too.

A perfect match. A perfect catch.

She willingly followed him down the steps of the library, telling him her name and how she'd grown up on a cattle farm out in the country and had just moved here to the city and barely had made any friends at all. Linda?... No... maybe it was Brenda?...

Hmm... it escaped him now mere hours later. He closed his eyes and thought of Shelly. If only she hadn't left him he wouldn't be sitting here now in his car with a nameless problem on his hands.

He sighed. The truth was it had been an amazing night. Much better than the girls before.

In fact, this just might have been his best catch yet. A glimmer of a smile tugged at the corner of one lip before he caught himself.

Get ahold of yourself, man. You're not done yet, he thought.

He squinted as he looked across the dark expanse of the gravel road for any sign of life but was met with only the sound of his own uneven raspy breathing.

He cranked his window down all the way and shoved his head out of the window as his lungs filled with the intoxicating scent of wet earth and cold air. He carefully examined the sprawling expanse of road in both directions. His breathing shallow and his ears perked as he strained to listen.

Still nothing. Nothing at all.

It felt as though time had finally stood still.

Good. It was time.

He leaned over into the passenger seat, opened the glovebox and shoved the books aside as he blindly fingered around the interior for the button to release the trunk. The loud thud-clunk as the trunk opened sent chills down his spine amid the hallowed silence that surrounded him.

His eyes flickered to his side mirror to examine one final time for any car lights approaching from behind. Just one mistake could cost him his everything.

Finally satisfied he quickly exited his car and softly pressed the car door shut against the closing mechanism until he heard a faint click, and made his way toward the trunk. The sound of his feet crackling at the pavement breaking the sunken silence. It sent a delicious thrill of excitement that jolted at his stomach and sent an electric buzz to the edge of his skin, heightening all of his senses. He had nearly forgotten just how thrilling this part of the hunt was. Almost as thrilling as the chase, he thought.

Almost.

He rounded the corner of the back of his car, looked down, and smiled to himself.

Damn, but she sure was a pretty little thing in death. A crying shame that he had to get rid of her out here like this. Her eyes had been almost a dead ringer for Shelly's.

He bit his lip thinking about it. Remembering the terror in this nameless girl's eyes as he played cat and mouse with her. Edging her. Edging himself.

Just one more peek, he thought to himself.

He reached out and ruthlessly pried the nameless girl's eyelids wide open. He began to salivate before jabbing his index finger into the side of her eye socket and fished the thing out until it detached, leaving only a tangled web of fibers connecting the gelatinous orbs to her body. He pulled out his Swiss army knife from his pocket and severed the remaining connection before repeating the same procedure on the other.

Mine, he thought as he carefully examined them, one in each hand.

Perfect.

He walked over to the passenger side of his car, opened the glovebox and tossed them in next to his library books.

He made his way back to the trunk as he wiped the greasy sludge that remained on his hands onto his pant legs. He stared down at her again thinking about how empty she seemed now.

He heaved her out of the trunk and over his shoulder with ease.

Well, there would be more from where she came from, he consoled himself as he headed out into the woods that spilled mile after mile beyond the edge of the gravel road. Plenty more just like his sweet deceptive Shelly waiting for him to find and catch.

There were always more "Shelly's".

Always.