Suggested by the killing of schoolgirl Amy Caravale in Massachusetts in 1993.
Joel and Elisa met Tony and his two friends that August morning on campus, on the sidewalk alongside the Chemistry building, where a narrow and little-used trail led back through dense woods toward the faculty club. "I had that dream again last night," Joel told Tony. "You know, the one where I take Elisa into the woods, and give her a rose, and tell her I love her, and then kill her?"
Tony rolled his eyes in exasperation. He'd heard this a thousand times before, at least. Joel, whom he'd known since both were in high school, felt--and often said--that his whole existence was based on his love affair with Elisa. But he also had a deep and pervasive pessimistic streak, one that caused him to spend many sleepless nights sure that Elisa would someday betray him. Tony didn't think it would ever happen; Elisa was fiercely loyal to him, ready to defend his opinions no matter how stupid they seemed to any and all of their friends. The events of Joel's dream, as he saw it, was a way of proving Elisa's devotion in an ultimate way; if she'd allow him to kill her, she certainly loved him and--naturally--neither would nor could ever betray that love. A romantic fantasy, Tony was sure, something Joel would eventually discard.
But today, Joel seemed more enamoured with the idea than ever. He grinned darkly at the other young men. "I'm gonna do it," he said. "I'm really gonna do it, I'm gonna do it today!"
Tony glanced at Elisa--who was standing right beside Joel, her shoulder almost touching his, listening to every word. She was slender and pretty at nineteen, her hair light brown and tousled, her eyes large and bright hazel. Today she was wearing brief shorts and a tube-top; the end of the summer had left her long shapely legs and flat stomach smoothly tanned.
She answered Tony's unasked question. "Hey," she said with a shrug and a smile, "at least I get a rose!" She laughed. "He never brings me flowers...!"
He frowned at her. "You're as crazy as he is!"
She shook her head; her manner became serious. "No. I love him; I'm his, I'm his girl, he can do what he pleases with me." She looked up at Joel, her quick and charming smile reappearing. "Any way he wants me, I'm his. I showed you that already this morning, didn't I? And last night, too!"
More obviously than he intended to, Tony scanned her body. "What've you guys been up to?" he asked.
"Fucking," Joel said bluntly. "Last night and this morning too." He grinned. "We did it all, buddy. She sucked my dick, too. Swallowed my come." He nudged Elisa. "Didn't you?"
Blushing but smiling, she nodded. "You want to tell them what else we did, Joel? What you did?"
"Nah. You tell 'em."
She giggled. "He gave me a enema," she confided. "He said he read it in a book, that you were supposed to do that before you took somebody out in front of a firing squad or whatever. So they don't make a mess."
Tony was beginning to wonder how serious his friend was about this. "You got a gun, Joel?" he asked.
"Nah." He reached into a long velcro-closure bag he was carrying and, drawing out a knife, showed it to them. It had a dark, six-inch, double-edged blade, small finger-guards, and a soft black handle. "I'm gonna do her with this," he told them.
Tony gave him a sour look. "You're gonna use that. On Elisa."
"Uh-huh." He patted her exposed belly; other than to look down at it, she didn't react. "I'm gonna stick it in her right there." His hand slid up her body until his palm was cradling her right breast. "Here, too. Right through her tit."
"And you're just going to let him do it?" Tony asked Elisa.
She shrugged. "It's up to him."
Tony looked back at Joel. "You don't have the balls," he scoffed.
Joel kept grinning as they walked on. "You'll see," he said. "You'll see." With Elisa close by his side, he walked on; the other men followed. A short distance on up the walk, he took Elisa by the hand and turned into the narrow path that led down through the woods. Tony and the others exchanged glances, and started to move on. Joel, still holding Elisa's hand, stopped too.
"You guys want to watch?" he asked. "I'm gonna get her naked before I do her..."
Again the other men exchanged glances. "Yeah, well, yeah," Tony answered. "Yeah, I'll come along..."
"Well, come on, then."
With the other men following a short distance behind, Joel and Elisa walked on down the path, side by side, hand in hand. "You know I'm serious about this, Elisa," he said, his voice low. He took out the knife, toyed with it.
She glanced at it, then at his face. She showed no sign of fear. "I know," she murmured.
"I have to," he went on. "I have to. If I don't you'll ruin it, you'll betray me, sooner or later. This is the only way."
"I won't. You're wrong about this." She shrugged and sighed. "But, after what Tony said, about you not having the balls to do it, I guess you have to go through with it..."
"I have to anyway. Tony hasn't got anything to do with it." He glanced back. "Get naked, Elisa," he commanded, much more loudly. "I told you I wanted you naked when I do it."
She didn't hesitate. Still walking, she pulled the tube-top up over her head, revealing high pert breasts. A few yards on down, she did stop for a moment to push her shorts and underwear down and step out of them; all her garments were discarded as she took them off, left behind on the path. Nude except for her sneakers, she walked on alongside him. She didn't seem self- conscious about her nudity at all.
After a moment, he put his arm around her, holding her left shoulder. He stopped her; she looked around at him, looked at the knife again. "It's going to hurt a lot, isn't it?"
"I guess..."
She offered him another smile, but it looked fragile now. "It's okay..." she murmured. "It's okay, I don't care if it hurts..."
Slowly, he slipped his hand up the side of her neck to her face. He kissed her, caressed her cheek, looked into her wide eyes. "I love you, Elisa," he whispered. "You're so beautiful. I truly love you." He turned to the other men, who by then had drawn close. "Isn't she beautiful, guys?"
"Yeah," Tony admitted, devouring her with his eyes. "Yeah. Great, Elisa. Just great."
"You want her to suck your dick? She will, if I tell her to. She'll suck your dick and swallow your come."
Giving him a sidelong glance, Tony snorted derisively. "Yeah, sure. I bet!"
"No, she will. She'll do whatever I tell her to. Won't you, Elisa?"
She nodded slowly. "Yes..."
Tony kept staring at her. "Well, yeah," he breathed. "Yeah, shit, that'd be great!"
Joel waved a hand magnanimously, "Get it out, then," he suggested. When Tony did, Joel ordered the girl to suck it; dropping to her knees in front of Tony she complied instantly, first licking it to complete erection, then drawing it deeply into her mouth and sucking it with apparent passion. Joel made the same offer to the other men, and they unzipped their pants too. Gathering close around her, they began to caress her breasts and legs and abdomen. Unfazed, Elisa moved from one to the next, sucking each one--and looking up at Joel whenever her position allowed her to see him. She seemed to be concentrating on putting on a show, brushing her hair back so they could all see each others' erections sliding in and out of her mouth.
The men were excited, none of them lasted long. Starting with Tony, each one sprayed a heavy load of semen into her mouth. Just as Joel said, she swallowed all of it--or almost all, she could not prevent a few trickles from running down her chin. Then, when the last one had finished, she stood up.
"Was that good?" she asked Joel. "Was that what you wanted?"
He stroked her face again. "Yeah," he replied. "Yeah, that was hot, baby!" He glanced at the others, grinned darkly, then looked back at her. "But it's time for the main event now..."
Tony stared at Elisa. "Look," he said doubtfully. "You say the word, and we'll stop--"
"No," she said instantly, looking around at him. "Don't try to save me, I don't want to be saved."
"That's right," Joel agreed. "That's right. And it's time to get to it, right now!" He reached into the bag, drew out a singel perfect rose, and gave it to Elisa; with a soft smile, she took it, sniffed it. "Okay," Joel said, breathing hard. "Okay, okay, here we go. Watch real close, guys!" The men gathered around; Elisa, standing up on her toes, put her arms around Joel's neck, the rose behind his head. Her body was arched slightly backwards, her legs quite straight.
She glanced down at her belly, at the knife, then back at his face. She smiled softly. "If you're going to do it, it's time," she told him. "Like you said. Do it, Joel. Do it now."
He didn't answer; with his left hand, he touched her cheek, his hand sliding across her face until it was covering her mouth. For a long moment he hesitated, gazing steadily into her wide and trusting eyes.
Then he plunged the knife upward into her bare stomach, burying nearly half of it with a single stroke.
The rose fell from her fingers to the ground behind Joel. Her face contorted, she went stiff, blood welled up; pulling her arms away from his neck, Joel turned her around so that her back was against him. Holding her with his left arm across her chest he forced the knife on in, deeper and deeper. "It's way inside her now," he told his friends, who, transfixed, just stared. "Way deep." He pushed a little more. "Oh, man, it's all the way through her, I just felt it hit my own stomach! Feels real good, man!"
For a moment he held the knife deep inside her, feeling her trembling against him; then, calmly and slowly, he drew it out. She bent forward, pulling against his restraining hand, blood spotting the ground in front of her.
"Jesus," Tony muttered. "Jesus." Like his friends he stared at the girl, studying the rather neat little hole in her belly, watching the blood come surging out.
"I'm gonna do her again," Joel said after a few seconds had passed. "Gotta do her again!" He stabbed the knife downward into her back, just inside her shoulder blade, and she jerked upward as the blade sank in. Evidently it struck one of her ribs, it didn't penetrate deeply and he had trouble getting it free again.
Once he had freed it, he let her go; she turned to face him and took a step backwards. Blood was flowing heavily from her back and from her stomach. He reached out his free hand to her; she took it, let him pull her close again.
Her eyes half-closed, she watched his face. The wound in her belly had spread open a little, gaping dark in the center of her abdomen. She put her arms around his neck again. "Put it in me again, Joel..." she sighed. "Way in, way deep..."
"Yeah." He raised the bloody knife and pushed the point hard against her right breast, just under her nipple. This time he carefully held it with the blade parallel to her ribs. "Watch, guys," he said excitedly. "Watch, I'm gonna stick it in, right here!"
Elisa looked down at it, glanced up at his face; she didn't say anything more, and she didn't struggle with him. After a brief pause he shoved on it violently, piercing her breast; she threw her head back and gave voice to a muted cry as new blood welled up and out. Joel pulled her on toward himself and pushed hard on the knife at the same time, forcing it deep into her chest.
"Oh, man, that feels great!" Joel enthused as it sank on into her body. "You gotta try it sometime, it feels so soft going in, it feels so damn good!" Elisa, wide-eyed, gasped and jerked as it slipped into her, but she still offered him no resistance. Holding the knife with the blade buried inside her, he looked up at his friends. "Look at that, guys," he said excitedly. "Look at that, it's all the way through her tit... oh God this is great, this is great...!"
Elisa, the knife still standing in her chest and her blood pumping out steadily, gasped for breath. "I feel... funny..." She sighed softly. "I want it to be over, Joel..."
He smiled then, looking down at the knife, he slowly pulled it out of her. Turning her around, he pulled her quivering body up close to his own and laid the edge of the blade against her throat. She turned her eyes toward him; he stared into them for a moment.
"Here we go, guys!" he exulted. "This is gonna do it, she's gonna die when I do this!" Elisa didn't protest or move; pressing down hard, Joel pulled the knife across, slitting her throat cleanly.
Choking and bouncing, blood spurting, she sagged in his grasp; he held her up for a moment but finally let her go. She fell to the ground and rolled onto her back. "I love you, Joel," she managed to say, though she was gargling blood. "I love you, I love you..."
Joel knelt beside her. She lifted a hand; he took it. Her body was shivering violently as blood poured from her open throat. Her legs quivered, her feet stretched out hard; after only a few seconds her shivers turned into uncoordinated twitches, and these, too, soon stopped. Joel stood up, stared down at her body for a moment; then he put his knife away.
"That was great," he murmured. "Just great!"
"You're a sick bastard," Tony muttered. Then, with hardly a backward glance at Elisa's corpse,
the four of them headed back down the path toward the street, discussing the killing as they went.
None of them even glanced at the rose, lying crushed in the mud not far from the body.