Sweet and Metallic

We’d been planning this weekend for some time. I’d been looking forward to finally having Tara to myself.

Rain drummed against the window as I lay back and let my mind wander, imagining what was in store.

Tara had wanted to wait. Said our first time should be special.

I wasn’t used to waiting.

I’d waited longer than I usually would. Longer than I ever had to.

That alone made it feel worth it.

I drove down ahead of everyone and made sure there was plenty of alcohol. No excuses.

Tara—this was the weekend.

Tomo was first to arrive, Becca with him. His weekend “fun.” Tara had hitched a ride with them.

Becca was attractive. No denying that. Tomo wasn’t two minutes out of the car before he had her in his arms.

She seemed… off. I put it down to her being reserved—she had a reputation for that until she’d had a few vodkas.

Tara stepped out after them.

Tight leggings. A thin vest. No bra underneath.

Her blonde hair fell over her shoulders as she caught my eye and gave a small, knowing smile.

Danni and Jake arrived last in Jake’s pickup.

Danni was heavily inked, loud in a way that filled space. Jake had always said she was “freaky” in bed.

I supposed that mattered to him.

The girls whispered together, then laughed as I wrapped my arms around Tara.

We went inside. Tara loved the old log fire and the warmth of the cabin. Danni immediately grabbed a bottle of vodka and disappeared toward the far room, Jake following with a grin.

Becca pushed Tomo’s hands away and headed for their bedroom. Tomo shrugged and followed.

Tara pulled me into the chair by the fire and draped herself across me.

Something still felt… wrong.

But this was the weekend.

I let it go.

The walls were thin. Soon we heard Tomo’s usual attempts at charm through the wood.

Tara laughed into my shoulder. I laughed too.

Five minutes later there was only silence, followed by slow, heavy breathing.

“Five minutes,” Tara teased.

Tomo eventually appeared in the hallway.

He looked terrible—face pale, eyes unfocused, sweat damp against his skin despite the cool air.

“Jesus, Tomo,” I laughed. “What happened to you?”

He tried to smile, but it never fully formed.

Tara pulled me into our room and shut the door.

After that, I stopped thinking about Tomo.

I focused on Tara.

When I woke, I was in the bedroom. Naked except for faint lipstick marks on my skin.

I couldn’t remember much of what had happened.

Not clearly.

The room smelled sweet and metallic, thick in my lungs. Familiar but not quite right.

My eyes felt heavy as my body gave way to sleep again.

I was just about to enjoy a nice dream with Becca, not Tara, before a barrage of knocks rattled the door.

“Wait a minute. Just coming!” I coughed, rubbing sleep from my eyes.

Becca stood there when I opened the door.

“Si, it’s Tomo,” she tried to explain, but her voice shook.

“What about the idiot? Did you break him?” I smirked as we shuffled toward their room.

Tomo lay in bed looking pale, skin hot to the touch. A strange scent hung in the air. I figured they just hadn’t aired the room out.

“Tara, what do you think is wrong?”

Becca buried her face in her hands while Tara tried to console her.

Tomo could hardly speak, but tried.

I leaned closer, still smirking at the lightweight.

“There’s something wrong with my…”

He pointed weakly beneath the blankets.

“Dude, I don’t care about your junk.”

I laughed and grabbed more vodka from the kitchen.

Tara followed me out.

“Si, it may be more serious than you think,” she whispered.

Over the next twenty-four hours I watched the girls quietly take care of Tomo. They didn’t let anyone into his room again—not that I was interested in going in there anyway.

Then Jake started complaining about similar symptoms.

Paleness.

Trouble breathing.

Skin hot to the touch.

I knew it was the same thing because Danni told Tara his penis smelled funny and looked… wrong.

Whenever I asked about either of the guys, the girls fell silent and exchanged strange looks.

Before bed on the third night, Tara came into the room looking despondent.

“You better sit down. It’s about Tomo.”

“Did he try to hit on you?”

“He’s dead.”

The words failed to sink in at first.

“What?”

“I’m sorry, babe. The virus or bacterial infection—whatever it was—was too much for his body.”

“Shit. I better phone his mum.”

“You can’t. And hear me out before you react. We need to do something about the body.”

“Call an ambulance.”

“We could. But what if it’s contagious and we unleash it on other people? Remember COVID? Besides, it’ll look suspicious if two out of three of us end up with the same symptoms. They’ll start asking questions. Is that what you want? It’s no secret you and Tomo had issues.”

I was still processing that one of my best friends—even if he was an asshole—was dead.

I was about to question Tara’s lack of compassion when she twirled her blonde locks around her finger and told me she didn’t want to lose me too.

She reminded me she had already lost a sister.

I knew she was manipulating me. Hell, I’d done the same myself.

I agreed to carry Tomo’s body out near a small stream and cover him with branches and brush. There were enough animals in the forest to finish the rest.

While I was hardly a sensitive guy, it was the most unpleasant thing I’d ever done.

The cabin felt quieter afterward, Becca wrapping her arms around me as I walked back inside.

Jake was getting worse, and Tara and Danni cared for him the same way they had Tomo.

There was something detached about them. I guessed they were just trying to keep him hydrated.

Still, I saw something strange when I peered through the gap in the door.

Danni was using a sharp object around his jeans. Like she was cutting near the groin.

That felt wrong.

What the hell was going on?

The weekend had gone from bad to worse.

Before I could investigate further, Tara and Becca led me back to my room and handed me another bottle of vodka.

“Get that down you. Drink one for Tomo and I’ll come take care of you later.”

Tara made sense, and I was too exhausted to argue.

Vodka would numb things.

I opened the window, convinced I was going to throw up.

No such luck.

I could still picture Tomo’s body, limp and lifeless.

As I reached halfway through the bottle and felt the acidic liquid burn through me, my vision blurred.

I was only half aware when Tara told me Jake had died too.

“Don’t worry, Si. It’ll all be over soon. I won’t let you suffer the same fate as my sister Allison.”

As I drifted to sleep, memories flickered through my head like an old black-and-white film.

Allison.

Strange.

There was a girl called Allison before Tara. A bitch I used to date—or just use for sex.

I couldn’t remember what happened to her.

When I woke, I couldn’t move the lower half of my body and one hand was cuffed to the headboard.

My vision still swam. Beyond the door I could hear the girls calmly discussing how to dispose of Jake’s body. Tara told the others to clean everything from top to bottom.

Maybe I was paranoid after everything that had happened, but I had a sinking feeling trouble was finally coming for me.

Then my head pounded and heat flooded through my body.

Tara entered and shut the door behind her.

She was in her underwear, and for one stupid second I thought I was lucky.

Then she held up a photograph.

Allison Ravens.

That was her name.

But Tara wasn’t called Ravens.

The confusion must have shown on my face because Tara smiled.

“Sorry to disappoint. I’m naked because we’re cleaning. I think you’ve worked it out now, haven’t you? Clever man. Clever little man. Not clever enough.”

The pungent scent hit my nostrils like acid.

I tried to speak, but she slapped me hard across the face before taping my mouth shut.

“Did she say stop? Did she say no? Did you ignore her? Your silence speaks volumes.”

*

Thanks for reading!

Author’s Note: This story began after I accidentally stumbled across medical discussions about infection, scent, intimacy, and shame. The more I read, the more the idea lodged itself somewhere unpleasant.