Sorry it's taken me so long for a new post, haven't been with my laptop much recently. Hope you enjoy the new post of 'Delbert'. Please let me know what you think, comments and reviews, good and bad are always welcome. I've been working hard on a lot more stories, a couple of novels are approaching the final drafting stages. Enjoy.
Thank you,
Harry Daniel.
EARLY THE NEXT DAY.
Delbert Grady’s head felt like it was about to split open
spilling a thick, goey, alcohol ridden mess onto the floor. His brain felt
twice as big as the skull that contained it. He grunted as he rolled off of the
soft four poster bed and landed heavily on his hands and knees. He knelt
coughing raspily for a moment before struggling under the weight of his body to
stand.
When he had risen the room swam violently in front of him,
making his movements unsteady and unsure. A warm and lumpy liquid made its way
up Delbert’s throat and he was violently sick across the collection of chairs
that littered the expensive looking rug of the suite he had woken up in.
More vomit, warm and runny.
Delbert wandered precariously into the bathroom and set
about cleaning him self up. He ran the cold tap on the sink and splashed the
cool crisp water over his stubbly face. He closed his eyes. Bitch.
Grady had heard his
wife on the phone the night before. He was wandering past the office and heard
her. She was talking to the National guard. Cheating
bitch. She was talking about how worrying it was that they were cut off, and asking him to come up and take her away.
Cheating bitch!
Grady sat on the toilet seat. Water dripping steadily from
his chin landing in a pool on his shirt. Tears quickly joined the tap water on
his cheeks and soon he was blubbering like a baby in the bathroom, alone.
How could this have happened to him. How could his wife be
wanting to leave him. Soon he would be alone, no wife, no friends, no family. He
stood shakily and glared at his reflection.
Delbert Grady screamed at himself. All the pain and anger
and torment of the past few days exploded out of him, spittle flying from his
lips, landing in little droplets on the mirror, blurring his reflection. The
walls seemed to close around him, trapping him. The scream was still flying out
of his coarse throat and finally, after what seemed like hours rather than
seconds the scream stopped and, exhausted Grady collapsed on the carpeted floor
and leant against the back of the bathroom door.
The thick brown carpet crept up between his fingers like
rising towers of a cathedral. Delbert liked the soft touch that the carpet had
between his fingers, the way a child liked the touch of a blanket. If only his
own mother had been as comforting as the carpet, how different things might
have been.
He could almost hear his mothers voice drift softly to him
from some far away paradise. Her voice cushioned by softly heavenly tones.
Delbert stood shakily to his feet, his knees unsure on the
weight. He could hear his mothers voice, calling to him, louder and louder. He
was sure of it. With every gentle tone that kissed Delbert’s ears he was more
sure of it. He stumbled out of the bathroom in search of his mothers voice
calling to him. Shakily he approached the double doors of the suite. Grady was
certain that the source of the voice was from behind the thick wooden doors. A
trembling hand twisted the door handle and Grady pulled the door open.
But his mother wasn’t there. Somewhere in the back of his
mind Delbert knew that she couldn’t be, he’d buried her six years ago and
hadn’t shed a tear on the matter.
Standing in the corridor was a beautiful, slim, young red
haired girl. She was wearing a maids outfit with the Overlook’s emblem of the
breast pocket. Although Grady couldn’t imagine Ullman approving her attire. She
wore simple black shoes, filled with white frilly stockings that Delbert could
follow all the way up he perfectly toned legs. The stockings cut off mid-thigh
in little white bows. Above this was a skimpy white silk skirt, which was so
high up the leg that Delbert could see most of her frilly panties, also white.
Her torso was covered by a black shirt, cut off just below the shoulder. It was
unbuttoned to her stomach and her large breasts spilled out, screaming at Grady
to look at them. Her face had little make-up plastered onto it, but she wore
red lipstick, darker than her hair, which itself spilled over her shoulders in
red curls.
“Hello Mr. Grady,” her voice was more gentle and pleasant
than his mothers although the tone was similar. “I’ve been sent here to see if
there’s... anything you need.” The
extra emphasis on ‘anything’ sent Delbert’s knees trembling.
“I-“ Delbert was lost for words. A mix of the screaming and
crying and adrenaline had destroyed his throat leaving his whole mouth dry. His knees were shaking uncontrollably as the
adrenaline was pumped around his blood.
The girl stepped forwards into the room and pushed her right
index finger onto his lips. Next she took his right hand in hers and placed it
firmly on her breasts. The scene reminded Delbert of an erotic film in which
the experienced harlot guides the unsure virgin through his first sexual
experience. All thoughts of his mother retreated from Delbert’s mind. Then he
kissed her. A passionate kiss, more than he had ever shown his wife or any
other woman.
Some primal part of his mind was taking over. Delbert
stopped thinking rationally and all thoughts were gone. Only instinct remained
the nature to mate and to breed exploding out of him. All because of this
woman. He wanted her with every fibre of his body and struggled to contain his
excitement. He was fully consumed by the kiss, willing it to turn into
something more. All he wanted was to mate, to breed and to be with this woman.
No love, no emotion, no loyalty. Just sex.
And as quickly as she had initiated the kiss it had
finished. She pulled away and stepped out of his reach.
“But first you have to do something for me.” Grady’s heart
was in his mouth.
“Anything...” He said without really thinking about it.
“Well, Delbert, you wouldn’t want people to call me a whore
would you? You wouldn’t want me to be like your wife would you?” Delbert shook
his head. “Well then Delbert, your wife has to go. Then we can be...” She
stepped towards him and fiddled with the buttons on his shirt. She pulled his
head towards her lips and with a warm, lustful breath whispered; “...together.” The word seemed to explode off of her lips.
“You can’t get a divorce yet though. She’ll take everything you have, she’ll
take your house, your money and replace you
with Dirty Dan the gardening man. You’ll have to get rid of her another way
Delbert.” She stepped away from him again, toying with him. “Get her out
Delbert and whilst you’re at it get those brats out too... they’d only
interrupt us.”
She seemed suddenly so cruel but Delbert knew that it made
sense to him. His wife was cheating on him with that park ranger, and god knows
how many others. She didn’t deserve to be around him any longer. And nor did
the kids, they could go with her, they would interrupt him and the girl.
“But... How? She won’t leave. She wouldn’t go outside.”
The girl took another delicate step back to Delbert,
sexually reignited again. Another whisper; “Kill them Delbert. It’s the only
way to stop the bitch taking your life away from you. Kill them all and you can
have me. Anything you want from me... anything.”
And with that command she turned and left Grady stunned in
the suite, alone. The click of the door was the only sound that filled the
hotel room. Without realising it Delbert was walking to the door after her, he
had questions to asks, all of which were flooding back into his mind along with
his conscious rational thought.
He opened the door not ten seconds after her but could not
see her along the straight corridor. She must have slipped back into one of the
rooms she was hiding in he presumed. After all how else had she managed to stay
in the hotel for so long.
Grady closed the large wooden door and slide down the back
of it, coming to a rest once more on the thick brown carpeted floor. Still soft
and comforting to his touch. He thought about what the girl had said to him.
Could he really do it? In all honesty he had contemplated doing it last night,
but the drink had gotten the better of him and before he knew it he was to
drunk to walk let alone murder. But now, now that he had a real reason, a
purpose to doing the unspeakable act. He could have the girl of his dreams with
three easy, necessary killings.
Delbert knew what he
must do and with the adrenaline returning to his blood he stood steadily to his
feet. He reopened the door and began to stalk the halls. He would need a
weapon, something practical.
As Delbert Grady stumbled along the corridors of the
Overlook hotel in search of a weapon to commit murder with, he was excited
prospect of killing his wife and children.
A FEW MINUTES EARLIER
Claire wandered dreamily across the room she shared with her
sister, to the bathroom. She sat down and did a wee whilst trying to wake up,
knowing that there was a reason for her early rise other than her desperation
to use the toilet. The eldest Grady daughter washed her hands and splashed some
cold water over her face, something her dad always did and something she
presumed would help her concentrate. Claire patted her face with a thick warm
towel that they had bought from home and she gave it a sniff, the last remnants
of her home life still trapped within the odour of the soft material.
She shuffled back into the bedroom and clambered back into
her single bed, trying to be as quiet as possible as to not wake her sleeping
sister. She lay down in bed and stared at the green luminous glow that the
digital clock gave out. 6:30 a.m. the clock read.
Claire shivered under the duvet, the cold having been let in
when she went to the bathroom.
There was a muffled voice from upstairs and Claire twisted
round to face the ceiling, straining her ears to listen. Had she imagined it?
She lay listening for a very long time before she heard it again.
She was sure she had heard it, she leant forward and leaned
over the edge of the bed, looking into her parents bedroom.
Her mother lay there, on her back, arm dangling over the
edge of the bed, head turned away from the side lamp which was giving out a
soft glow. The covers pulled over her. Although young, Claire could see her
mother was troubled, even whilst asleep. The creases of her face deep and
permanent. Her father’s side of the bed was empty and from what Claire could
see he had not slept there all night, again.
Claire got out of bed again and tip-toed over to the door,
pulling her dressing gown from the hook at the back as she went. Her father had
stopped talking in the room above but she still wanted him with everyone else.
Claire was worried about him, she was much like her mother in more than a few
ways.
She swung the dressing gown around her body and tied the
belt tightly. She slipped on a pair of shoes and quickly checked that her
sister was still asleep, no need getting her worried as well. When Claire saw
the Mary was fast asleep, breathing deeply under her covers she left the room
and crept out of the family suite.
***
Delbert span the wooden handle around and around in his hands
as he walked through the main reception area.
After wandering the halls for almost half-an-hour he had
found the hatchet down in the basement under piles of old newspapers and knew
that this was his weapon of choice.
His initial thought had been to get a knife from the
kitchen, nice and simple, but something had stopped him. Somewhere deep inside
him, in some twisted black ball the lay in the pit of his stomach there had
been a voice that told him they wouldn’t splatter
with a knife. That it would be too quick
and easy with a knife. So he had gone looking for something which would
please the voice, something more murdersome.
Delbert reached the foot of the grand staircase. He followed
the banister up to the top with his eyes, taking in every detail of the
beautifully crafted wood, every twist and turn of the wood was perfectly
shaped. Grady place his left hand on the wood letting the hatchet swing beside
him in his right hand. He stroked the wood softly, similarly to the soft brown
carpet from the bathroom floor. The wood was cold under his hand.
Delbert seemed to freeze in place, as if suddenly realising
where he was and not being sure whether he should make a move or not. Suddenly
in a fluid and meditated fashion his lifted the hatchet high over his head and
swung it down violently onto the wood. Upon impact it splintered, sending
shards of wood flying in all directions. The deep brown of the banister had
been split and replaced with a chipped light cream colour. The sound of the
hatchet swinging down had been quickly replaced by the almighty crack that was
given off by the wood.
Grady was laughing. He hadn’t been so happy about anything
for as long as he could remember. He was happy and excited, the site of the
splintered wood had his heart racing at the very thought of what he was going
to do. If the blade of the hatchet could do that much damaged to wood he loved
the thought of the damage it could induce to his children. He was almost giddy
with joy at the thought of the blade breaking the flesh and bone of his
daughters.
“Daddy?”
Grady’s laughter cut out with a yelp. He span round to face
the top of the stairs to find Claire standing in her dressing gown, gawping at
him. Delbert’s eyes tightened the way a predator does when it sees its prey.
Claire must have sensed that her role had now become prey because she suddenly
turned and ran faster than she ever had done.
The adrenaline raced into Delbert’s blood, the thrill of the
chase fully upon him. He ran up the stairs two at a time, bounding after his
daughter with the excitement of a Labrador puppy. The hachet blade glinting in
the light as he ran.
“Claire! Claaaaaaire! Come here, I wana show you sumin’!”
The excitement had taken over. Grady was barely touching each step. Barely
aware of anything other than the blade of the hatchet, his own heartbeat and
him catching up to Claire. He was almost up the stairs and she had only just
gotten around the corner.
Then his right foot hit the top step only to slide of the
edge again. Then his knee and shin hit the steps with a crack of shocking
similarity to the wood. Delbert was sent tumbling backwards down the stairs,
hitting a different part of his body with agonising pain as he went. He landed,
slumped on the floor with the hatchet just to the side of him, some how not
having pierced Delbert’s skin.
Delbert lay still of the wooden floor.
***
Mary woke from her dream with tightly squinted eyes. She was
unaware of the real world apart from hands on her shoulders shaking her.
“Wh...-?”Mary’s throat was dry and stiff.
“Mary, we have to go, right now.” It was her mother’s voice.
“Come on Mary, we have to hide.”
Mary slowly came round and took in her surroundings. Her
sister was crying, tears streaming down her eyes. Her mother was the same, but
much more controlled about it, she had to be. Without really knowing what was
happening she sleepily agreed and swung her legs out of bed and into her fluffy
cream slippers. Julie put Mary’s coat on her and then hurried the girls out of
the room.
Julie had been woken by Claire storming into the bedroom,
she quickly explained what had happened and Julie had cried from the moment she
had heard her husband had a hatchet. She knew that they were in trouble, the
drink had gotten to him and they would have to hide until it was over. If it was ever going to be over.
The three Grady girls quickly left the family suite and
hurried in the opposite direction of the main stairs and headed to the fire
exit at the end of the hall which led down towards the kitchen. Julie reckoned
they were best to hide in there as there were the most exits to which they
could escape or he could come in.
The three of them crept into the kitchen and huddled
together in the far corner where they could watch all of the doors. They sat,
listened, hope and waited. They all cried silently.
