Beneath Her Flesh Ch. 04

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Carly & Xander examine a scene; Carly babysits.
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Part 4 of the 4 part series

Updated 06/09/2023
Created 09/03/2018
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Written & edited by Amnoartist

Chapter IV

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Note: Beneath Her Flesh is a dark horror-themed series with a focus on story and characterisation. Eroticism will likely play a part where appropriate for the plot's benefit and advancement or delving deeper into the characters themselves. There will be no sex just for the sake of it being there. The characters that DO partake in sexual intercourse throughout this series are all aged 23 or older The themes in this series include but are not limited to: mystery/thriller; incest/incest pregnancy; autism; murder; cannibalism & gore. With this all taken into account, go in with a relatively open-mind and enjoy :)

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Carly's car swerved to make a sharp turn, narrowly avoiding an oncoming truck. Xander could barely keep his booze in from her speeding, but they had to make it on-scene soon as they could. Another victim from the cannibal. Just what the doctor ordered. She came to a sudden screeching stop an inch away from hitting a lamppost. Her engine idled for a moment in sync with Xander's heaving breaths.

"I know we were supposed to be here already, but you need to chill with the speeding, kid. We're supposed to examine crime scenes, not be one."

Xander opened the door on his side and left Carly to stew. There he was with that 'kid' comment again. She'd already confronted him about the belittling several times, but he never seemed to take heed of it. Frustrated, she glanced out her window at the crime scene. An old school that had been abandoned for years on account of the supposed threatening level of asbestos. Not just any school, though, but the one Carly attended as a child.

Groaning exasperatedly, she left her car and paced along the path between the inches-tall grass. It seemed nobody from the council had bothered to at least keep the surrounding area presentable. But then, what would have been the point? She stopped at Xander's side but didn't bother to say a word, still miffed. An awkward upward glance at him at best, nothing more. He didn't notice it, too busy waiting for the group of police officers to file out of the school so they could have the scene to themselves. Or maybe he did notice it and just didn't care.

I'm not a kid," Carly scolded Xander through gritted teeth and suppressed anger. She may have been bold enough to make that statement, but in the face of things, being a rookie and having an evident lack of experience in the field were enough to betray her self-confidence. Carly just couldn't see it.

"We'll see," Xander smirked. He admired 'the kid' for her assertiveness. But she was still a rookie. Xander glanced to his right, observing one of the officers taking the only witness's statement, a homeless man. "What we got?"

"Witness claims to have been holing up in the school for years. Found the victim in the main hall where he sleeps," the officer acknowledged.

Carly winced as another on-scene officer stumbled out of the school's door. Dropping to his knees, he let loose a flow of putrid vomit onto the grass. Not one of the best sights. Groaning, he wiped his mouth as he rose to his feet.

"Case in point," Xander retorted, gesturing to the officer's badge. A sergeant. If someone experienced as he still managed to regurgitate at what could only be the display of the crime, it only stood to reason that Carly would do the same in turn.

***

The door creaked open. Even after all those years, Carly noticed it still made the shrill sound that could cut through one's ears. Following Xander's shadow, she glanced at the old children's' drawings that reminded her of a happier time. Of a better Black Peak. That was a long time ago.

They came to a halt. Carly looked over Xander's shoulder, realizing he'd stopped dead in front of two closed double doors that led into the old hall. It was simple enough an action for him to open them, but that wasn't why he stopped. Carly knew this through his heaved breath. As if he was preparing himself for something. Xander, of all people, had to steel himself. The irony. He could see it, and even as he closed his eyes, the image was still burned into his skull. Xander knew Carly was lucky in not being able to see what he could.

He faced her. "Are you sure you wanna do this?"

"Well, yeah. No point in turning back now, right? I mean, we were told to come here anyway, so..."

Xander sighed. Carly was right. "I was afraid you'd say that."

The doors groaned open the same way the last one did, although at a slower pace as if to imply even they didn't want Carly to see the disgusting display ahead. She had to prepare herself, but the question was if she could ever be prepared enough.

Then she saw it, already building herself up to vomit from the initial sight, heaving breaths to fight the urge. Xander was right - she was a rookie, and although she hadn't caved as quickly as he assumed, it made Carly realize she had to wake up. All that was left was the upper torso, bloodied arms tied to a beam so the victim's bare chest was exposed, allowing their entrails to casually spill out from within. Some of them dangled freely, but most were thrown over other beams and tied around them so pressure on the corpse intensified, revealing bone popping and cutting through the skin.

Then there was the face. And that's when the problem arose. There wasn't exactly one to even look at, substituted for a skinless mangled mound of flesh with only teeth and two petrified eyeballs staring back, looking at Xander and Carly as though they were to blame for their fate.

Carly vomited, heaving a lot more than the officer did. Pulling her head up to look back at the eyes, her vision blurred for a moment before tuning back into perfect focus. Admittedly, this was one of those moments in life where she wished she couldn't see. Like Xander, the image of the corpse had burned itself into her skull.

"Where are the legs? And the face?"

"Guess is our flesh-eating perp took the legs for steak tonight. If they're not eaten already. No idea what they'd do with the face though." Xander moved in closer to the victim, taking note of the untouched mane of black curly hair and floral dress. So the victim was a female. That was something at least.

Carly looked around the scene for clues. The fact the victim was without a lower half likely laid the groundwork for her search. The homeless man's bed, a few spent needles at the side. Dried blood near the bleachers, likely the victim's. And a gurney oddly placed in the corner. But then Carly realized.

"No shoes."

Xander's brow furrowed. "What?"

"No shoes. She's wearing a dress, so that implies she was going somewhere social. A party or date. She'd probably be wearing heels to compliment the dress. But there's nothing here."

"The perp likely nabbed the victim from somewhere else before bringing them here. Probably lost the shoes in the attempt to escape."

"No, look." Carly moved back over to the victim and knelt in front of the dried pool of blood, pointing leftwards to the faint scratches in the wood. Recent. "There was a scuffle. The victim was bisected here. There's an old gurney in the corner that's out of place. She was likely tied up so the perp could do their 'job' easier. No tools though."

"How did I not notice that?"

Carly smirked. She was about to go deeper into her investigation to find the perpetrator's tools when her mobile buzzed. A text from her sister Wendy:

Gotta head out for a while. Mind watching Jodie for a couple of hours?

Carly was torn. She needed to help Xander with the investigation. But her relationship with Wendy was not in a good position right now. Admittedly, it was a surprise in itself that Wendy even considered Carly as Jodie's minder.

"Damn it. Can you hold down the fort for a couple of hours? I gotta look after my niece for a bit."

"Seriously? You've more important shit to do here." Xander scoffed. He remembered the time Carly was insistent on wanting to be a good detective, 'Learning from the best,' as she put it. If only she knew about Xander's alcoholism at the time. But he knew Carly wouldn't learn anything if she kept leaving him. It wasn't the first time. "That sister of yours sure has a knack for butting in at the wrongest times."

"Come on, man. Do me a solid here, eh?" Carly bit her lip realizing her words weren't penetrating Xander like they used to. She couldn't afford to keep pushing Wendy away. "I mean, it's not like she's going anywhere we won't know about," she added, referring to the dangling victim.

Xander remained silent. Admittedly, he was always so soft on Carly because he liked her. The thing was, like with Wendy, things between them would turn icy if he kept antagonizing her.

"I'll buy you a beer."

Xander's ears pricked up. Carly knew not to exploit his problem like that but she really, really wanted to set things straight with Wendy. Xander groaned defeatedly. He just couldn't resist a good drink. "Two."

"One and a shot."

"Deal."

Carly sighed in relief. "Oh, thank God! You're a life-saver, Xander." Carly headed for the door almost directly, adjusting her suit jacket. Xander watched with a slight smirk as she left, ogling her firm glutes that tightly pressed against her form-fitting trousers.

He turned back to the victim. "Now. Where's your face?"

***

Carly sighed, looking at her watch. Eight-thirty. She'd been waiting outside Wendy's house for nearly two minutes now. Any other time, Carly would have left at this point, but Wendy was always one for keeping people waiting, even family. Carly didn't even have an umbrella, so the torrential rain from the thunderstorm that continued to roll through Black Peak drenched the young woman from head to toe. That wouldn't leave Carly looking presentable for her sibling whenever she bothered to open the door.

"Sake. Hurry up." Carly knocked on the door again, louder this time. She even considered hitting it with the edge of her boot for extra loudness, but decided against it. Looking down, she made sure the bag of soft jelly sweets she bought for Jodie was in her handbag and not left in the back seat of her car. They poked out next to her lipstick and purse.

The door finally opened, much to Carly's relief. There was a hint of annoyance gently boiling away in her veins, but she managed to hold it back. Wendy's face peeked out first, caked in makeup. The briskest of smiles she flashed was all Carly got in return for having waited so long. Wendy pulled the door open wider, revealing the thick muscular arms and floral dress pressed tightly against her clearly pregnant belly. Carly didn't need that reminder but had to live with it.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

"Uh-huh." Carly rolled her eyes as she entered the house, resting her handbag on the small table. The old wooden statue was still there since the last time she visited months earlier. The framed photo of Wendy and Jodie was there, too. Carly rummaged into her bag and pulled out the bag of sweets for Jodie.

"Oh, it's too late for her to have them now." Her tone didn't suggest it as such, but Wendy was annoyed by her sister having produced the bag of confectioneries. Carly could tell just by the look in her eyes; no explicit gaze that suggested disdain, but the eyelids that narrowed only slightly. "We're watching what he eats."

"Wendy, she's a kid. Let her live a little." Carly removed her shoes placed them squarely next to Wendy's running shoes and a pair of black Oxfords. "We were kids once ourselves. You wanted sweets all the time."

"I don't need you telling me how to raise my child, Carly. Especially when it's obvious you won't be having one of your own. Someone had to continue the family."

Carly looked away, playing deaf and dumb to her sister's wisecracking. Inwardly, though, she screamed. She had a Hysterectomy for a reason - and a good one at that. Wendy was the reminder of what could've been. Looking to the floor, Carly noticed the two large duffel bags resting behind Wendy. Putting two and two together, Carly realized her sister wasn't going out on a social call.

"An overnight stay? Really? Wendy, I can't afford to watch Jodie all night. You can't just dump her on me. I've got shit to do." Carly grew exasperated at the fact she'd been baited into being the overnight babysitter while Wendy— The fact was it wasn't the first time she'd been duped. Carly wanted to mend the rift between them, but that'd be impossible to do if Wendy kept running off. "Two hours is as much I can offer before I gotta bolt back to—"

"Carly!" Jodie's chirpy voice was always soothing. Like a glass of warm milk to help you sleep at night. Carly found herself easing out of her anxiousness as her niece approached. "Are you staying tonight?"

"I dunno, I—"

"Pwease, pwitty pwease?"

The urgency in Jodie's plea was like a punch to the gut. Carly was torn. It had been a long time since she visited Jodie, but at the same time, she had work to do. Xander was only gracious enough to give her a couple of hours. But Jodie's pleading eyes—

Carly sighed. "Okay. Go set things up in the living room. We'll watch a movie together." Handing her the bag of sweets, she watched Jodie bounce up and down with excitement before running off into the kitchen.

"I told you not to give them to her." Wendy's tone was a clearer indication of displeasure this time. Carly had overstepped her boundaries and she'd only just set foot in the house only a moment ago. Wendy's attentiveness to her daughter's wellbeing was almost obsessive in a way. Carly just couldn't see it.

"Lay off it, will ya? Christ."

"I could always get Missus Thatch to watch—"

"Now, now, ladies. Let's keep things civil."

The voice from upstairs brought Wendy's warning to an abrupt halt. Turning to the staircase, she boasted a smile as her smartly-dressed father, Aldus, a big, strapping guy with an impressive beard, adjusted his baby blue tie before making his descent. Aldus took up most of the staircase's width, he was so wide from his musculature. Carly noticed he wasn't wearing any shoes before realizing the Oxfords she saw belonged to him.

When he reached the bottom of the hall, Aldus's signature smile met Wendy's gaze. She rubbed her belly erotically at the mere fact he looked at her. "It's the weekend. Let him have a little treat."

"I just don't think—"

"Come now. Carly's right, she's just a girl."

Wendy shot a glance at her sister. It may have lasted only a brief moment, but Carly could tell Wendy was seething with rage. And for once, she actually took pleasure in the fact.

"And how's our little one doing?" Aldus knelt on both knees and kissed Wendy's belly. She made sure to rub it slowly, knowing her father loved it when she did that. Wendy was positively radiant, glowing even.

"Kicking as usual" Wendy disclosed with a wince as her expected child kicked after the fact. "And don't you forget. There could be two in there."

Carly looked away. She'd known about Wendy's relationship with their father for years. At first, it started as light petting, nothing too strange. But as the years went by and Wendy aged, Aldus's fervent "interest" in his daughter matured, in turn. When she turned sixteen, Aldus had comprised a plan to groom Wendy into his fantasy woman - a bodybuilder pumped full of steroids. The thing that jolted Carly the most was that Wendy complied.

Then the sex behind their mother Katherine's back started. Carly had already figured it all out on her own by then, having developed a keen mind for finding clues, but Katherine was blind to it. Eventually, though, Carly came home from detective training one day and found her mother hanging from the living room fan. Wendy assumed it was owing to the depression that came with knowing about the decline in Black Peak's former virtue, but Carly knew the truth, even if Wendy didn't - especially now.

Carly considered informing the police about what happened but hesitated on account of not knowing where it put her in the equation. Carly had worked long and hard to be a detective and didn't want the going-ons within her household to tarnish her name or what it meant for her going forward. Since then, she'd been carrying a secret. Since then, Wendy had gotten pregnant. Since then, Carly had been helping Wendy raise her sister Jodie.

Carly mustered the courage to look back at her sister and father who casually exchanged kisses of passion. Aldus had his hand up Wendy's dress, pleasuring her like he used to while she ran a hand down the length of his trousers that hid his monster cock.

Carly coughed in an attempt for her relatives to break away from their lust. "There's a time and place for that sort of thing. And apparently, you've paid to stay there for the night."

"Of course." Aldus pulled away from Wendy who tried to lean in for another quick kiss, but he was insistent. Grabbing the bags, Aldus headed for the door and reached out to kiss Carly in the cheek, but she pulled away with a flinch. Aldus smirked. "I forgot. You're not like your sister."

Wendy smirked devilishly, rubbing her belly again. "All the more for me."

"if you need anything, give us a call. Though I imagine we'll likely be in bed by ten," Aldus mentioned.

Wendy chuckled girlishly at her father's insinuation, while Carly visibly cringed at what he implied.

Carly closed the door behind her. her rage towards the whole situation was unfounded. She didn't notice she'd been digging her nails into her palms, or that she'd been biting her lip. The fact was she'd been tethering towards the edge. Inwardly again, she threatened to genuinely scream this time. But Jodie's dull giggles from the living room compelled Carly to calm. She was none the wiser.

***

Sat on the couch, Jodie chuckled at the movie heartily as she munched away at the packet of golden puffs she found stashed away in the kitchen cupboard. Carly watched her with a smile, taking a sip from her glass of juice. It'd been ages since the two of them sat together like this. It was just a shame Jodie didn't know the truth about her birth. Would he ever find out? Or would he forever be raised by Wendy to believe Carly was her aunt? She dreaded to think it would be the latter. In fact, it gave her a headache to do so.

The logs in the fireplace burned with a crackle. Carly looked up at the framed photos on the mantle. Wendy with her first place trophy from the Black Peak amateur bodybuilding contest a couple of years ago. Wendy with her first place trophy at the pros last year. Then a photo of Wendy in a white shawl turned sideways to flaunt her pregnancy - that was taken only a few weeks back. It was upon closer inspection Carly realized none of the photos had her in them, as if the mantle was a shrine to Wendy.

Carly's head throbbed. Reaching into the inner pocket of her jacket, she searched frantically for the bottle of pills she'd been taking for months behind Xander's back. They were simple painkillers but she'd developed an addiction. The bottle was empty. Shit. What was she supposed to do now? It would be irresponsible to leave Jodie. And she couldn't go with her to see her supplier. There was only one thing to do. Rummaging through the other pocket, she pulled out her phone.

***

Kimberly had been staring at the book on the store shelf for the better half of ten minutes. Should she? Shouldn't she? A book on Autism in the family and how to cope with it had been tempting her back and forth long enough for other customers to think she was a misplaced mannequin. She had a small basket over her arm filled with a mix of items: meals for two, deodorant for Ivy, tampons and a bottle of breakfast juice. They were all necessary, but to Kimberly, the book felt prized.

Her mobile buzzed, bringing Kimberly out of her trance. It was Carly.

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