CREATIVE WRITING: "The Mojave" by Cristina Perez
Henry and his wife decided to go on their morning jog earlytoday. By five they were up putting on their loose t-shirts and worn-outsneakers. Henry loved his wife; they had been married for 18 years andcounting. The crisp dawn was approaching as they stepped outside. Henry lookedat his wife and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Her eyes sparkled then fadedas the jog started to take her focus. Lucy loved her husband to some extent. Hewould sometimes come home too late from his corporate job in the city, leavethe toilet seat up, and forget to pay bills. Superficial and materialisticthings, yet she needed that companionship. She found solace in chat rooms anddating sites.
At this point, the jog got a little intense and her breathingran jagged. Her husband had no idea what she did and what she considered fun.He thought she was the trophy wife who socialized with the right people andbaked cookies for the neighborhood bake sale. With two kids, one boy and onegirl, their lives could not have been more perfect. The jog went up and downthe block until they came to an end at their home on Sunset Drive. "Whew!"Henry exclaimed breathlessly. "that got my calves burning, how about you,Babe?" Lucy stroked a strand of blond hair away from her face and said "Yea,that run got to me." Henry continued "Listen, honey I’ll be staying late atwork today big case you understand right?" This excited Lucy who had wanted tochat with an online friend for awhile now. His screen name was lonelypuppy36and hers was Lucyloveluck. Today seemed to be a lucky day. "Ok honey, Iunderstand."
That night Lucy logged onto edate.com and found she had amessage waiting for her. It was from lonelypuppy36. The message read "hellothere, where have you been lucyloveluck?" Her heart skipped a beat; this iswhat she had been waiting for. She immediately replied, "I’m sorry I have beenbusy with my kids." Minutes passed before she had a reply. "I’ve been thinkingabout you" lonleypuppy36 replied. "I want to see you, is that possible?" Lucythought this was a little odd, he had never asked to meet up before, this wassupposed to be an innocent chat room expedition. Could she really do this toher husband? What could she say? What could she do? Part of her said no, yetthe other part of her said yes. Butterflies started in her stomach, a tinglingsensation ran through her body as she typed in her response. "I would love tomeet up…where at?" Her heart was pumping as she heard the musical ding thatalerted her that she had a message. "How about the Mojave hotel on the cornerof Westpoint Boulevardand Arkansas7:00?" She read aloud from the computer screen. Instantly she replied "ok seeyou soon." She dashed upstairs to put on her best outfit, did her makeup, andput on her best perfume. The children were out with friends and Henry would beout late so she had time.
She arrived at the hotel right on time, she knocked on thedoor. A voice called out to go in. The room was dark and damp like the insideof a cave. She couldn’t see anyone. The voice rang out again to "sit down." Shesat on the bed and felt something cold and hard. Her hand slid over to whatseemed like a long blade. She jumped up instantly. There was a footsteps comingfrom the bathroom, panic was rushing through every bone in her body. She headedfor the door, but he came from behind. He put his hand around her mouth andmuffled her screams. He dragged her to the bed and ripped off her clothes. Heravished her leaving her a bloody broken mess. In a way to mark his prize orfor the lack of a better word his masterpiece, he took the knife and carved anX on her forehead. This was his mark. He dressed and decided to turn on thelight and admire his work. Lucy was barely moving on her back taking in herlast breaths. The horror seeped into his bones. There lay Lucy slain. There inthe same room stood Henry, his face stone cold.
