Flesh and Blood Part 9

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Part 8

            Through sheer force of will, Mary Saint rose to her feet.  She was not sure exactly what Celia had done to her but she was not going to let Celia win.  Mary had faith in a higher power, one that would get her through this and allow her to help her only child.  She could feel the humanity begin to return to her as the feeling of decay gradually left her body.  Reaching up to feel her face she could still feel the effects of the curse, her face was no longer that of a human woman, but of some kind of monster.  However she felt much better than she had mere moments ago.  Mary walked out of the house, determined to return to her own home and find a way to save her son. 

            Upon returning home, the first thing Mary noticed was her son lying down in the dog crate outside.  After being placed there by his father, it appeared to Mary that all of the humanity had left him, that he had fully turned to zombie.  The odor of death and decay increased the closer she got to the cage as well as a sense, a feeling in her that her son was a zombie.  While she could obviously see that with her own eyes, the extra sense was not there earlier, before her encounter with Celia.  Could this be a side effect of the curse not actually working on her?  Was she able to now sense the living dead?  The implications of this, that she would be haunted by zombies for the rest of her days, staggered her a little, but she regained her composure, reminded herself that her faith had gotten her this far, and proceeded into her home, in search of her husband.

            Obadiah Saint was seated at the kitchen table, a blank expression hung like a mask over his face.  His loaded hunting rifle was lying across the table.  He was not sure whether he wanted to use it on any approaching zombies, his son outside, or on himself.  Obadiah licked his lips, the smell of decay created a taste in his mouth that he was unable to get rid of, at least not without drastic measures.  Obadiah placed his left hand on his gun, the heirloom from his grandfather felt cool and reassuring under his callused fingers.  The last few hours proved to him that nothing in this life was set in stone.  That no matter how good of a person that he or Mary was, or even Levi, bad things would find him and his family.  He tried, he really did.  He prayed every day to a God that he thought was a kind a merciful God.  Where was that God now?  That God let Abraham’s only son live, why would he take away Obadiah’s? 

            Obadiah picked up the rifle, turning it so that the barrel was pointed squarely at his head.  He kicked off his slipper.  Obadiah stared down the barrel of that gun for what seemed like an eternity, the solid black hole mocking him with his own futility.  He couldn’t keep his family safe; he couldn’t even kill himself properly.  A tear ran down Obadiah’s cheek as he lowered his forehead and placed it over the barrel of the gun.  If he did it correctly the bullet would pierce his skull and sink right into his brain, killing him and taking away the pain that he felt.  Obadiah lifted his foot to place it upon the trigger, ready to finally end what had been the single worst day of his life.

            “Obadiah, wait!” 

            The hand jerked the gun away before the trigger could be pulled and safely deposited it back on the table.  “Obadiah, it’s me!”  The voice sounded familiar, but the face was different, it was not the face of Mary, but that of a horrible monster, a creature not unlike what his son had turned into.  “Obadiah, she tried to do it to me too, Celia tried to change me too.  But I survived; I am still me, Obadiah.  Do you know what this means?  There is hope for our son, there is hope for Levi!”

            Obadiah put his head down on the table and wept.  There was hope!  His God had forsaken him but he still had hope.  This nightmare was not going to claim him just yet. 

Come to the Throop Haunted Trail, starting tonight to see if the nightmare will claim you.   

Flesh and Blood Part 8

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            Celia led her husband through the forest, knowing exactly where she was going.  If history were any indication, the clearing where her daughter and Levi usually met would again be Sonia’s destination tonight.  Celia had to get there before her daughter did to make sure that nothing bad happened to her.  Mary had made no indication that Levi was not still out, freely roaming the woods, waiting for someone to feast upon.  Celia knew about zombies and their curse.  She may be reckless in terms of throwing her power around but that did not mean that she did not research the hexes themselves beforehand.  A zombie needed to feed almost constantly in order to keep moving, and she was going to do her best to ensure that her daughter was not the appetizer.  Celia and Moses came upon the clearing and immediately saw the carnage.  The ground itself was stained with blood, way too much blood for anything to have survived its loss.  Yet there was no indication that Sonia or Levi were even in the area.  It was possible that the blood was not Sonia’s, that it could have been from an animal that was then carried off into the night, but Celia knew in her heart that it was not true.  Those feelings were confirmed when she saw a shape moving in the darkness of the trees, almost as if it was stalking her.  She looked to her left and was able to make out a feminine silhouette amidst the trees.  It looked to be wearing the same clothes that Sonia had on when she went to bed, but they were dirty and torn.  Celia could not tell in the dark whether the gait was that of man or monster though.  Moses saw it too and immediately moved to intercept what he thought was his daughter. 

            “Wait Moses, I am not sure if that is our daughter,” cautioned Celia.

            “What do you mean ‘not our daughter’?” Moses responded, “It looks just like her.”

            “It may be our daughter, but it may be something else as well.”

            “Do you mean…” Moses motioned to the blood soaked ground with his head, refusing to take his eyes off what he believed to be his daughter.

            “I think so,” said Celia.  With that the figure stepped into the clearing, the moonlight glistening on the blood-stained figure.  Upon closer examination, the Durants could see a large chunk of flesh removed from the side of Sonia’s neck, the jagged edges of skin flopping around with each labored step that their child took toward them.  The eyes were lifeless, sunken pits that bore no resemblance to the bright blue eyes that had once been so full of youth, hope and promise a mere few hours ago. 

            Moses took one step toward what was once his daughter before Celia’s hand on his arm stopped him.  “She is no longer there,” said Celia, “we have to leave here before she feeds on us.”

            “But, but my baby girl,” whimpered Moses, tears now freely flowing down his face, his voice catching in his throat as it tried to move past the ball of sorrow that had quickly taken permanent residence there.  “Tell me you can fix this Celia.  Tell me that you know what to do!’

            “I may be able to help, but I can’t do it if she kills me.  Let’s go.”  With that, the two Durant parents took off through the woods, back to their home.  Celia was only partially truthful with her husband though.  As they ran, Celia pored over her current knowledge of zombies for any indication that the curse could be lifted.  While she may not have the answer readily available, she was more than willing to do the work to figure it out as long as it meant getting their daughter back.  That would mean that Celia would have to create more zombies in order to test and confirm or deny any hypotheses that she may devise. 

This would need a rapid influx of people, one that was not common to this area.  Celia was not out of touch with society, regardless of the archaic nature of her belief system, so she knew that the promise of seeing zombies would bring people to her.  All she needed was for them to be within her reach in order to ensure that she was able to lay the curse upon them.  Once they were fully changed to zombies she would track them down in the forest and use them as test subjects to see if they could be returned to their previous, human form.  Celia would obviously need to keep some of the people as normal humans, and not curse them all.  She needed a control group, her time with Moses taught her that.  She also had to test and see how people reacted to being bitten as well as their reactions to the curse itself.  While this plan was not easy by any means, Celia could not help but chuckle to herself regarding her cleverness as she wound her way through the forest and back to her home.  

Flesh and Blood Part 7

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            If Celia Durant had any neighbors, the banging on her front door would have surely aroused the entire neighborhood.  It took mere seconds for Celia to determine that the knocks were not of a friendly nature, but when she heard the voice of Mary Saint accompanying them she knew that any problem she encountered was one that she could handle.  She strolled out to the foyer where the front door was located, Moses only steps behind her.  Flinging the door open, Celia was ready to give her late-night visitor a piece of her mind when a fist came flying through the darkness, hitting her in the face and knocking her to the floor.  Celia was not the owner of a glass jaw by any means but the surprise of the punch coupled with the emotion behind it caused her to lose her footing. 

            Moses bent over to help his wife up as Mary Saint barged into the house.  “What have you done to my son?” she asked, clearly prepared to act out physically again if she received an answer she disliked.

            “Mary, calm down,” said Moses, doing his best to lower the tension between the two women.  If the daggers in Celia’s eyes were any indication, his good-cop routine was not going to work on these two like it did on his daughter.

            “Don’t you dare tell me to calm down Moses,” said Mary, “What did you do to Levi, Celia?”

            “Your brat got what was coming to him, Mary.  I have warned him about hanging around my daughter.  His inability to heed those warnings was the signature on his death certificate.”  Celia sneered at the look on Mary’s face as it went from anger to dread.  It had just sunk in that there was no going back from this, that Levi was a zombie and that this woman was the person that cursed him.

            “Celia,” whispered Moses, “what did you do?”

            “What I should have done months ago,” said Celia, still smiling at her own handiwork, “that boy will be defiling no one’s daughter anymore.”

            “What will Sonia say about this?  You know how she felt about that boy,” said Moses, trying to return reason to the situation.

            “She is seventeen Moses.  She will get over this.”

            “You and your witchcraft are doing more harm than good now Celia, I’m going to go and tell Sonia.  She should hear this firsthand from you instead of finding it out in the morning when she goes to meet him again.”

            With that, Moses left the two women to their bickering and went down the hall to his daughter’s room.  He knocked softly on the door.  If for some reason the commotion in the foyer had not woken her up, he wanted to do it as gently as possible in light of the news that he was about to break to her.  Moses slowly opened the door and whispered Sonia’s name.  Upon walking into the room he noticed the empty bed and the open window.  Fearing the worst, Moses ran out of the room to tell his wife.

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            All of the anger that Mary Saint harbored toward Celia Durant could not break the grasp that Celia had on her.  Celia had a hand on either side of Mary’s face, her thumbs planted firmly on Mary’s eyes.  Celia was not trying to gouge the eyes out, she had much worse for Mary Saint in store.  She was simply holding Mary in place, quietly chanting a curse in a foreign tongue.  Upon completion she pushed Mary’s head away and stood up, wiping the dirt from her knees.  Mary screamed and grabbed her face.  She could feel the skin starting to sag, to die, even though it was still attached to her face.  Was this what Celia had done to her son?  Was that shell of a human what she was going to become, just like Levi? 

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            Moses ran into the room to the sight of Celia standing over Mary triumphantly.  The moaning woman on the floor clutched at Celia’s legs, trying to pull herself up.  The jarring face of death and decay that greeted Moses as Mary looked up at him made him stop and collect himself before announcing Sonia’s disappearance.  While Celia was not surprised at this, she did realize the potential for disaster that this situation had and quickly ran out the door.  Moses followed closely on her heels, both leaving the slowly decaying woman to die on their floor.  

Flesh and Blood Part 6

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The scratching on the door roused Mary Saint from her fitful slumber.  She didn’t have a dog, and most other animals in the area wouldn’t be scratching at the door.  What could this be?  She pulled on her scratchy bathrobe and opened the front door.  Nothing.  As she went to close the door it hit something that halted its movement.  Looking down, an action that had not crossed her mind previously, she saw a figure laying on her front stoop.  The clothing, while ripped and terribly dirty looked surprisingly like what Levi had been wearing earlier that day. 

“Levi?  Levi, is that you?” she asked, bending down to help him up.  What looked into her eyes was something that was no longer even remotely human.  The face was badly weathered, the skin sagging off of it like melted candle wax.  It was covered in dirt and grime and lacked any muscle tension so every orifice gaped open as if the face itself was falling off of the skull.  Hair had begun to fall out as well so all that was left was just patches, as dirty as the rest of the creature. 

Mary fell backwards, hitting her head sharply against the kitchen table.  She let out a scream, more from sheer terror than any pain.  Obadiah, brandishing a lamp, sans shade came rushing out of their shared bedroom, the cord trailing on the floor behind him. 

“Mary?”

“It’s, it’s Levi.  He’s a monster.”

Obadiah approached the creature on the floor, readying the lamp in order to defend himself if necessary.  The look that he received, that of something that was utterly defeated and even longed for the release of death, gave him pause and prompted him to actually lower the impromptu weapon. 

“What happened to him?” asked Obadiah, releasing his grip on the brass light fixture.  The bulb burst as it hit the hardwood, pieces scattering across the kitchen.  Obadiah knelt next to his son, taking the creature’s head in his hands, looking for any semblance of the little boy that he knew and loved, that he had carried on his back through the forest and helped rake leaves into piles so that they could jump into them and start the process all over again.  Obadiah needed something, anything to cling to.  What he saw was the face of pain, of death, of decay.  He laid the head down on the floor and stood up, facing Mary.  “What is this?  This is not my son.”

“Obadiah, this is witchcraft, this is some kind of curse.  This is Celia’s doing.”  The realization hit Mary Saint like a brick.  Of course.  Celia hated the two kids being together, but Mary didn’t realize that she would stoop so low as to do this, to basically resort to murder.  “Put Levi in the dog crate out back, that will keep him from wandering away.  I am going to go have a little talk with Celia Durant.”

Flesh and Blood Part 5

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After one last check on her parents, to ensure that they were indeed fast asleep, Sonia slipped out into the humid night air.  She crept quietly through the yard, glad that the family dog, Beaker, had died years ago so that her actions were not made known to her slumbering parents.  She moved into the forest, heading to the “secret” meeting spot that she shared with Levi. 

Upon reaching the spot, an unfamiliar coldness washed over her, one that was wholly uncharacteristic of the hot autumn night.  Sonia was able to make out a shape in the dark, which looked like someone hunched over, on their knees, on the ground.  At first she though that maybe Levi had fallen asleep, but that was an awkward position for someone to sleep in.  Maybe it was JJ.  It was entirely possible that he came back out here without her knowledge in order to surprise her and Levi.  She knew how he felt, but didn’t think that someone that was unable to even meet her gaze would do something as brash as crash her “date” with Levi. 

It must be Levi.  He was probably so tired after doing chores all day, following their late night dalliance of course, that he passed out here.  No wonder his parents came to her door earlier looking for him.  The poor guy must have come out here and fell asleep hours ago.  She thought nothing of it at the time because it was not the first time that he had gone off for a walk in the forest and not been home at dusk, but he always managed to show up for their rendezvous, and usually he brought flowers for her at those times, as the best wildflower spot was oftentimes what caused him to be out so late. 

There were no flowers this time though, a quick scan of the surrounding ground showed that.

And that icy chill was back.

Against her better judgment she walked further into the clearing, knowing that once she got to Levi he would make that ball of fear in the pit of her stomach go away.  She approached the slumped figure and knelt on the left side of it on the ground.  Placing one hand on the ground to steady herself she reached out with the other and gently caressed the back of the sleeping figure.  She felt no movement at all, not even the shallow up and down motion that accompanies an inhale and exhale. 

“Levi,” she said, shaking the figure, the knot in her stomach had migrated to her throat.  Tears started to well up in her eyes as different scenarios began to race through her mind.  Could Levi be dead?  Could this be someone other than Levi?  How could this have happened?  Why was this individual still curled up into a ball post-mortem?

Sonia breathed a sigh of relief as the figure moved under her hand.  That relief was short lived though as a clammy hand grabbed the wrist that was planted in the dirt.  This was not a loving grip of someone that was just roused from a peaceful slumber by someone that he cared for; this was a grip that said that she was not going to leave that spot of her own free will.  Sonia moved to break free of the hand but it held firm.  The jerking motion to free herself aroused the rest of the sleeping individual as its head began to turn.  Sunken sockets swallowed the eyes, giving them a look like they would fall out at any moment.  The features were equal parts human and monstrosity.  It looked right at her, straight into her eyes.  She saw it, the little spark of man left in the husk of monster.  As much as this, this creature looked like a pale imitation of her beloved Levi, she could see that flame in there still.  It beckoned to be brought back, to overtake whatever this monster was that had apparently consumed his physical body. 

“Levi.  Levi it’s me, Sonia!”  She moved her free hand up to the monster’s face, the tenderness of her touch to its cheek defied the gravity of the situation.  She was still in the clutches of this monster, this thing that used to be Levi.  Sonia Durant was not about to let the boy that she loved go out like this though, she could bring him back, she knew she could bring him back if she just gave him something to grab a hold of.  She needed to give the human side something to anchor it here so that she could slowly reel him back in.  “Levi, look at me, stay with me.  I will help you.”  A look of sadness swept the face of the creature, as if it realized that what she was trying to do was hopeless.  For a split second, the human returned, in that expression alone, and it prompted Sonia to double down on her insistence that she could help him. 

While keeping the eye to eye contact in place she moved to sit next to him, taking Levi in her arms, hoping that the human contact of someone that he loved would save him.  This seemed to calm Levi down and he began to reciprocate the affection.  While this did nothing to alter his appearance, his demeanor became much less monster-esque as humanity began to return.  Levi placed his head on Sonia’s shoulder, nuzzling her neck like he had done many times before in this very spot.  As strange as it was for Sonia to have the rubbery skin of this monster on her shoulder, absent of any semblance of breathing that she could feel on the skin of her neck, Sonia was willing to make this sacrifice if it meant bringing Levi back.

As Levi sunk deeper into her arms the leaves outside of the clearing began to rustle as if they were parting for something much larger than the standard woodland creatures that would inhabit the forest at this time.  The calmness that had embraced Levi with Sonia’s arms, rushed out of him as out of the darkness stepped JJ Haven.

“Sonia!  Sonia it’s okay, you can come here now.  We can be together finally,” JJ said, holding out his hand, hoping that Sonia would readily accept his invitation.

“JJ, what did you do to Levi?  What happened?”

“I told your mother, she knows about you two.  She put a curse on Levi and made him into a zombie with some magical spell, she wants us to be together Sonia,” said JJ, continuing to hold his hand out.

“No JJ.  Why did you do this?  Why?”  Tears streamed down her face as she realized the permanence of the situation.  Just as Levi had responded to the positive, loving energy that she exhibited when they were alone, he also fed on this new emotion.  Levi lifted his head as the last semblance of humanity left his eyes.  Whatever it was that Sonia had seen there was now gone, replaced by the more primal urge to feed.  Levi looked at the tender flesh of the neck before him, opened his mouth and lowered it on to Sonia.  While he obviously lacked the sharp teeth of more traditional predatory creatures, the force with which he clamped down on Sonia’s neck drove his teeth into her flesh.  He tore his head back, meat securely between his jaws, severing her jugular and trachea in one bite.  The blood followed, spraying out of her newly created orifice and raining down onto the forest floor.  No sound escaped Sonia Durant except for a soft gurgle as blood entered her newly severed wind pipe and trickled down into her lungs.  This did not stop JJ from screaming though.  He bellowed out in agony over losing the girl that he loved as well as the fact that he had just witnessed an act of cannibalism.  Any sense of loyalty he had for Sonia quickly fled as he turned and ran from the scene, not even stopping when his stomach disgorged its contents across the front of his shirt.

With the exit of JJ, Levi quickly regained the last shred of humanity that he had, looking down at the motionless figure of Sonia on the ground, her blood seeping into the soil.  The horror of what had become of the girl he loved quickly washed over him.  Unable to sit next to Sonia corpse for one second longer, he stood on legs that struggled to support his body and made his way through the forest.  If he had working tear ducts he would be crying at the loss of Sonia, but at this point his sorrow was just replaced by a need to go back home.  The little bit of his brain that was still firing pointed him in the right direction and he started to walk as briskly as his dead legs could carry him.  

Flesh and Blood Part 4

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            The warm autumn wind blew through the trees as Sonia slipped silently through them.  It was Saturday and Levi would be outside working on his chores.  If she was lucky she could catch him on the edge of his property cutting the grass or cleaning the fallen leaves.  Suddenly a twig snapped behind her.  Not the slight, unobtrusive snap of a small woodland creature, but the large crack of a twig that gave up trying to support the weight of something much heavier.  Sonia spun around, ready to either run from a pursuer or confront her mother for following her. 

            What actually revealed itself surprised Sonia, as Jeb Haven Jr. walked out of the bushes.  He was a year younger than both Sonia and Levi but was larger than both.  Jeb, or JJ as he was known, clumsily stumbled out of the thicket and quickly looked down at his feet, embarrassed at being caught following Sonia.

            “JJ, what are you doing all the way out here?” asked Sonia.  While she and Levi did not live close by any stretch of the imagination, JJ’s family lived on the other side of her, even further away from Levi.

            “I’m…I’m sorry Sonia, I just saw you out walking and thought that you may want some company,” said JJ sheepishly, barely meeting her gaze.  Her blue eyes had a power over JJ that he had not experienced with anyone before.  JJ was not the smartest person in his class by any means and spent most of his time helping his father hunting around their property, but he still harbored the base animal instinct of attraction; and this he felt for Sonia more than anything.  It is what prompted him to follow her that morning and what caused him to fumble through his words as he tried to talk to her now.

“That’s sweet JJ, thank you,” Sonia smiled at her admirer.  Sonia had seen that look from Levi when they were younger.  She knew what that meant but she still couldn’t bring herself to crush JJ with any semblance of rejection.  At least not on purpose.  “I was just about to go and see Levi, would you like to come with me?”

JJ smiled, while he and Sonia had often walked through the woods together when they were much younger, all of that had slowly evaporated as she became more interested in seeing Levi on her own.  JJ did not know what they were doing when they went off by themselves, but he had a feeling that it was not something that she would ever include him in.  He held out hope though that someday Sonia would see him for what he was, and like him the way that he liked her.  Maybe it would take Levi leaving to wake Sonia up to what she had living next to her.  Regardless, JJ was going to make the most of the time that he had with her, even if it was an awkward walk through the forest to visit the guy she really liked.   

Sonia was correct about the location of Levi, as he had busied himself raking leaves on the edge of his parents’ property, out of the sightline of any prying parental eyes.  Sonia snuck up on him and squeezed him around his stomach, her shorter frame providing the perfect angle to do so.  Levi, immediately knowing who it was that had snuck up behind him, whirled around to reciprocate the embrace.  It had only been a few hours since their interrupted rendezvous in the woods, but it felt like forever.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

A quick glance to Levi’s left clued him in to the fact that they were not alone.  “Hey JJ,” he said, either not realizing or not really caring what JJ’s true motivations were for walking through the woods with Sonia, “How have you been?”

The fact that Levi did not bother to remove his arms from Sonia while he spoke to JJ bothered the young neighbor, but he tried not to let his feelings show as he gave a quiet “fine” in reply.  The more he thought about it, the more he hated Levi; not just for being so callous about public displays of affection with the girl that JJ was in love with, but Levi had an air of arrogance that surrounded him.  JJ did not like that.  He pledged to himself that he would figure out a way to bring Levi back down to earth.

With the pleasantries out of the way, Levi turned his full attention back to Sonia.  “I want to see you again tonight,” he said, looking right into her eyes to ensure that she knew how serious he was. 

“Levi, I don’t know.  My mom is starting to get real suspicious.  If I keep this up she may find out what’s going on.”  She broke his gaze, a visual confirmation of her trepidation to accompany the verbal one that she just uttered, “I don’t want to lose you because my mom goes crazy and sends me away or something.”

“I won’t let her Sonia.  She may disapprove, hell my own parents disapprove too, but I don’t care.  I will do anything to have you be a part of me.”  Levi touched her chin with his thumb and forefinger, bringing her gaze back to his.  JJ, witnessing all of this, couldn’t believe she was going to fall for his line.

“Usual place?” asked Sonia, a smile crawling across her lips as the doubt she’d had melted away.

“Usual place.”

“Okay, I’ll go make sure that our blanket is still hidden there.”

With that the two reluctantly parted and Sonia melted back into the woods as Levi continued his chores.  JJ followed Sonia like a lost puppy as she floated between the trees, oblivious to any weeds or branches brushing past her skin.  Her mind was on one thing; Levi, and seeing him later that night.

She came to the little clearing, nearly halfway between the Saint and Durant property and made sure that the blanket was still stashed under a pile of leaves, and had not been used as a latrine by any woodland creatures.  After securing the area, she turned to go, finally remembering that JJ was behind her.

“JJ, you can’t tell anyone about this place, okay?  This is going to have to be our secret.  If any of our parents found out they would go crazy.”

“I understand Sonia,” JJ responded, looking down at his feet again as they lazily traced circles in the dirt.  

Flesh and Blood Part 3

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           The next morning Levi Saint awoke to the sound of breakfast being prepared.  It was Saturday, which meant chores and then church.  Levi’s father, Obadiah, was a local pastor, and even though Levi was not as religious as his parents would have liked, he still knew that a sermon without the presence of the Pastor’s family would not be highly regarded in the community.  Of course Levi was more than happy to make these small concessions, especially in light of what he was doing after dark and his parents were asleep. 

Levi rolled himself out of bed and made the short walk to the kitchen.  The house itself was small, but that was how his parents preferred it.  On many occasions, they made it known that they would rather have clean souls and a small house then a mansion tainted by dirty hearts. 

            As he sat at the table, Levi’s mother, Mary, poured him a glass of orange juice.  Upon placing the glass container into the refrigerator, Mary took her usual seat next to Levi.  Her hair was in curlers and the old, weathered bathrobe that she wore every morning made a scratching noise against the cheap plastic seat of her chair as she sat down.  This time, instead of instantly depositing three spoonfuls of sugar into her coffee, as was her normal routine, she turned to Levi, who had just placed his half-empty orange juice glass on the rickety wooden table and was reaching for his napkin to dab the juice remnants from his upper lip.  Something was wrong.  Mary never broke routine. 

            “Levi.”

            “Yes, mother?”

            “Listen, son.  We know about Sonia Durant.”

            “What do you mean you know about her?” asked Levi, doing his best to throw his mother off the trail before she dug up anything incriminating.

            “Your father and I know how you feel about her,” replied Mary, finally adding the sugar to her coffee cup, “ Isn't that right Obadiah?”

            “Son,” said Obadiah gruffly.  He did everything gruffly, but because of his faith all that gruffness came across as that of a gentle giant, someone that was only concerned for the well being of those around him and never annoyed by it, “Sonia is a nice girl, don’t get us wrong, but her family is not one that we should be socializing with.”

            “Whoa, dad, we shouldn't be socializing with them?  That sounds a bit prejudiced don’t you think?”  That’s it, just keep them on the defensive, thinking that they are the ones in the wrong for even suggesting this.

            “Levi,” continued Obadiah, unfazed by the sudden accusation, “Sonia’s father is a scientist, which you know flies right in the face of our beliefs.  To make matters worse, Sonia’s mother has been know to practice witchcraft.  Actual real witchcraft, son.  Do you understand what I am saying?”

            “Come on dad, a witch?  That’s just ridiculous.”  With that Levi’s mind raced back to the previous night and the mention of witchcraft from Sonia.  Celia isn’t actually a witch is she?  The very thought of this caused a shiver to run through him regardless of the relative heat in the air at eight in the morning.

            “Son, regardless of whether you believe or not, the evidence is quite clear.  While your mother and I will pray that you make the right decision, the choice is up to you.”

            Nothing more was discussed as the family finished their breakfast quietly.  In the Durant household, the morning discussion was far less peaceful.

            “Mom, how many times do I have to tell you that nothing was going on out there.  I was sleepwalking!” shouted Sonia, unable to believe that she was having this discussion with her mother again, regardless of how right Celia was.  “I haven’t even seen Levi in the past three months, since that night you told me not to.”

            “Sonia, this sleepwalking story is awful hard to believe, especially based on its frequency.  Are you sure that there is nothing that you want to tell us?  It’s better that we find out now instead of catching you in the act.”  The accusation spewed forth from her mouth, unencumbered by the cereal that was in its way.  “Moses, help me out here.”

            “Now Sonny, I have to agree with your mother on this.  If there is something that you are not telling us, it is in everyone’s best interest if you brought it out in the open now instead of keeping it from us.  Secrets can lead to poor health.”  Moses was obviously caught in the battle of being the “good cop” to Celia’s “bad cop” but he also wanted to maintain that positive relationship with his daughter, a relationship that was obviously deteriorating between Sonia and her mother the further Sonia got from infancy.  Moses was determined not to let that same thing happen to him, regardless of how much it may anger Celia.

            “I have nothing to fess up to dad,” said Sonia, placing her plate in the sink and washing the toast crumbs off of her hands.

            “Okay, if you do need to talk about something, your mother and I will be here for you.”

            “Thanks dad, I’m going to go for a walk.  Are you going to your lab?”

            “Yes, I’ll be home this evening.  Science waits for no man, you know.”

            “Oh, I know.”  She kissed her father on the top of his head and walked out the door, saying nothing to her mother.

            “You know how much I hate ‘good cop-bad cop’ Moses,” Celia growled at her husband through another bite of cereal.

Flesh and Blood: Part 2

 “Sonia!  Sonia Durant!  If I find you with that boy I will skin you alive!”

             Sonia awoke with a start, the last remnants of her nightmare filtering out of her head like a dissipating cloud.  Any fear that still remained quickly evaporated as she realized the gravity of her current situation.  This was not a dream about flesh eating monsters; this was a real life problem that was worse than any zombie could be. 

                “How does your mom know where we are?” asked Levi Saint, getting up off the ground and quickly moving away from Sonia and eying the dark woods suspiciously.

                “I don’t know, Celia’s a witch,” replied Sonia, quickly getting off the ground to join Levi on the lookout for her mother, “I have no idea how she does half of the things that she does.”

                “Like a real witch?  Like cauldrons and eye of newt and stuff?” said Levi, putting his shoes on and preparing to run.  Levi wasn’t really sure if he believed that Sonia’s mother was an actual witch or not, but he knew for sure that she would have no problem finding ways to do him harm if she caught him with her daughter, regardless of the fact that the lifelong friends were still in the early “hand-holding” stage common of many young relationships.

                “Levi, if I told you about my mother you would never come around me again, trust me,” Sonia explained as she gave Levi one last peck on the cheek before pushing him off into the night.  This was not the first time she had snuck out so she had her story armed and ready to throw her mother off of the relatively harmless trail.  Sonia brushed the twigs off of her shorts and turned to face her mother, plastering a look on her face that would hopefully convince Celia that she was dealing with a chronic sleepwalker and not someone that had found her first love in the neighbor boy that she had been friends with her whole life. 

            “Mama…” groaned Sonia, throwing a little extra sleepiness into her voice for dramatic effect “is that you?”

            “Sonia!” her mother’s voice cut through the night air.  “What are you doing out here?”

            “Out here?  Where, where am I?”

            “Sonia you are out in the woods, what’s going on?  Have you been seeing that Saint boy again?”  The way her mother said Levi’s surname made it sound like a curse word.  But Sonia wasn’t going to let that get to her, she was determined to see this ruse through to completion.

            “I-I must have been sleepwalking again mama, I don’t know what happened.”

            “Come on,” said Celia, taking Sonia by the shoulders and leading her back to their home, “let’s get you home before something bad happens to you out in these woods.  Your father and I were worried sick about you.”

            “I’m so sorry mama, I don’t know what happened.  The last thing I remember, I was at home in bed, and then, this,” said Sonia, trying to pour on the scared little girl act in order to really sell her performance.  She couldn’t believe that her mother was buying it again.

            “It’s ok, dear,” said Celia, in her most comforting voice possible, “we will get you home and back to bed, I’m sure your father will just be happy that you are home.”  While Celia would have liked to have believed her daughter, at this stage of the game she knew better.  That Saint boy was always coming around, asking if Sonia was available, and each time he was rebuffed by Celia.  Celia was once a young girl, she knew how boys, and girls, at that age thought and was not about to let her only daughter become a pawn in some boy’s twisted games.  At this point all the “midnight sleepwalking” was coincidental at best, and not something that Celia could do anything about without some sort of proof, some concrete evidence that these two were getting together in the woods on these nights.

            The mother and daughter finished their walk home in silence, both thinking very hard about the events of the night.  One was reveling in the perceived ruse of her mother while the other was formulating a plan of action to put an end to these dalliances once and for all.

Flesh and Blood pt. 1

October 19th the Throop Haunted Trail at the town hall in Throop, NY begins.  Before you make your way over there to get scared shit-less, read the following story (new parts coming to you every Tuesday and Thursday on Eat @ Shrimpy's until the 19th) to get a back story on the characters and how we have gotten to the point of zombie apocalypse.   

            The hot night air hung heavy over the woods as Sonia Durant wound past twisted tree trunks and low-hanging branches.  Twigs cracked under her bare feet as she moved swiftly through the dense forest, dancing past patches of poison ivy and bramble bushes with the deftness of someone who had grown up in these woods and traced this path many times before.  Sweat and the muggy air caused her thin nightshirt to cling to her slight frame as she ran away from her pursuer.  The lumbering, heavy steps that trailed behind her were not cognizant of the same path that she was following.  Each footfall landed with a singular purpose; to hunt Sonia down, preferably before she reached the clearing that led to her home.  While Sonia would not be entirely safe there, it was better than getting caught out in the woods where no one was around to help. 

She listened as the steps grew closer, her pursuer was not only running, but also, because of the apparent disregard of the preordained path through the forest, was cutting a straight line through the overgrowth as opposed to zigzagging along as Sonia found herself doing.   

Sonia knew that if she did not take a chance and make one last, desperate plunge for the clearing, she would not make it.  Her pursuers would be upon her and she would be lost.  She could see the moon lighting the grass, like a runway to safety and knew that she would be safe. 

Just a few more steps.

As her bare foot hit the soft wet grass she felt a hand on her shoulder.  It was cold and clammy, as if the hand carried no life, and only sought one thing, her.  It pulled at her t-shirt, ripping the material as it tried to grab on to something more substantial than flimsy cotton.  She struggled to break free, more than willing to sacrifice the garment if it meant saving her life.  As she felt the shirt sleeve rip free, she thought she had made it, that she was safe and she would be home soon.  As she made one final push to get home she felt the cold grip return to her wrist.  As brittle as the hand was that clung to her, it refused to let go regardless of how hard she pulled.  She tried to scream but the heavy air and the exertion of running through the forest left only a small whimper in her throat.  Sonia lost her footing on the wet ground falling backward and landing sharply on her backside, still in the clutches of her pursuer.  She looked up into lifeless eyes and a toothless smile as dry, cracked lips peeled back across its face.  Tears streamed down her cheeks as the gaping maw of the dead man descended upon her, its only desire to satiate a hunger that grew within its once lifeless husk.  Sonia Durant was nothing more than a snack to this creature, a slight detour as it wandered, searching for its next meal. 

The first bite was the only one that hurt, as each subsequent piece of Sonia that was ripped away from her body just sent her into a further state of shock.  She was dead before she could remember the name of the creature that attacked her.

Zombie.