Mini Series: Springview Mysteries #2

 

#2 The Things In My House

Molly was gone.

Hannah and Ted sat in the police station from sun up to noon being questioned. However as soon as they reluctantly mentioned the man in the park, the officers just looked at them with pity. They had spent some time searching the park, but it was a halfhearted effort. They knew they wouldn’t find her.

They told Ted that his parents were coming to pick him up and he held Hannah’s hand, shaking uncontrollably, until his mom walked in. She held him tight and told him she had left his father. Ted sobbed and clutched unto her, repeating over and over that he wanted to go home. She cried too and took him away.

Hannah sat alone in the police station. The police tried to contact her parents, but she knew they wouldn’t be able to. A few nights ago her dad had forgotten to lock the backdoor before bed. Something had come into the house that night –she saw it from under her bead– a twisted shadowy thing that’s bones cracked when it moved. Her parents were gone the next morning, but she hadn’t told anyone. No one would care anyways, that’s just how things were in Springview.

“Hannah?” and officer said, catching her attention. S

“I’ll be back,” he put his hands firmly on her shoulders, “Just sit tight for a minute.”

He hurried off and she heard his rushed voice talking down the hall. She could only continue to sit and wait, wondering what kind of thing was coming to get her. Time stretched on, officers ran back and forth but no one spoke to her. Then there was a while where no one ran by.

The next person to approach her looked like her mom, but also didn’t.

When she thought of her mom, she thought of wild auburn curls, bags under her eyes but a wide smile. Torn bell bottoms and bright t-shirts. She shuffled when she walked and snorted when she laughed. The woman that walked in had her hair straightened and pinned up, and a full face of makeup. Her floral dress swished gracefully around her legs as she walked and the clicking of her heels announced her presents. She had never seen her mother like this except in her wedding photos.

“There you are.” She gasped in perfect pitch, falling gracefuly to her knees in front of Hannah, “We’ve been looking everywhere for you sweetheart.”

Her mouth was dry and sticky, holding her tongue back from speaking. The thing that wasn’t her mother hugged her tight and smelled like the pine trees on the edge of town. The officer she had tried to ask for help stood back and watched them. She begged him with eyes, ‘Please, please don’t let this thing take me!’

He didn’t move. He didn’t try to save her, just stood back and watched the performance.

“Lets go home sweetheart,” The Thing said so soft.

“Mom doesn’t call me that.” She replied hard and cold.

The Thing smiled wide, just a bit too wide, “Your father is waiting in the car, sweetheart.”

She looked to the cop on last time, then bowed her head in surrender. She stood and followed the Thing through the station.

“Wait!” the officer called out. He darted forward and shook her hand. “You stay out of trouble you hear?”

“I-I will.” She tried to keep her voice even as she carefully took the piece of paper he pressed into her palm. The paper disappeared into her sleeve. She allowed the Thing to take her out to the car and she as hit with another jarring site. Her dad was standing by their car but he also didn’t look like himself. Her father was always shaggy. Shaggy hair, shaggy cloths, a worn out leather jacket that hed had for too long. He sang really loud and bad, then said it was “Metal”. This Thing in front of her had cut her dads hair short and combed it back, and wore a dark blue suit with a black tie. He didn’t smile when he saw her, his eyes didn’t crinkle.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” He asked arms crossed.

“…”

“Nothing at all?” He prompted again.

“…”

“Your in big trouble,” he said with no heat in voice or life in his eyes, “Get in the car.”

She stared at the door terrified if she went in she’d never come back out again, but she had no where else to go. Clutching the paper in her hand till stung, she climbed into the back seat and lowered her head.

Two monsters and a little girl rolled down the street, not saying a word. Her “Dad” didn’t even turn any music on, even though she knew his Nirvana CD was in. The silence6 churned her stomach. It went on for block after block, and the second she spotted her house she jumped out of the car. She heard her “moms” voice yell after her, the concern sounding so sincere. She kept running, shoes slapping against the pavment, then grass. Barreling through the front door, brown paneled walls blurred in her vision as she reached the safety of her bedroom. She locked the door behind her and shoved the dresser she painted pink with her mom over until it blocked the way.

The quiet rolled her stomach around inside her, scrapping up her insides while she waited. Not breathing. 

Poem: Brave

 Text for screen readers

 title: Brave

I wish i was brave

I wish words didn't barb my throat

I wish they didn't scratch and scrap at my insides

I want to be rid of them

But they won't come out 

The cuts are infecting, bleeding 

If I was braver I'd feel lighter 

If I could say what I wanted

I could fight the world 

But I'm not brave

Short Story: Open 24/7

 

Open 24/7

The world was filled with horrors. Some beyond comprehension and others tangible and far too real. For Lucas nothing was more terrifying or evoked more dread than exam season, and the ever looming shadow of college debt. He had barely been sleeping, hardly been eating, and his hands never seemed to stop shaking. To top it all off, his roommates were loud, obnoxious, and generally dicks. He could never seem to find a moment's peace. 

That is, until he found a coffee shop down the street from the library that was open 24/7. It was a dimly lit place, filled with vintage furniture, massive bookshelves you could borrow from, and a jukebox loaded up with music from just about every era. The coffee wasn't actually that good, but it was dirt cheap, and the shop was always quiet despite being fairly busy. He wasn't sure why, but the place drew in a gothic crowd. Not his usual vibe, but he could appreciate black leather and a well fitted corset. 

The most important thing was that he could sit down and study without being bothered. 

It was on one night, when he was sitting at a back table, caffeinated out of his mind and hands shaking more than usual, that he was approached. A pale man with dark hair and darker eyes; he was wearing a dress shirt that looked like silk and pants that looked like leather, both black. There was also a woman, dark red dyed hair, face painted porcelain white with red and black eyeshadow and black lipstick; she wore a floor length gown, red with black sheer fabric layered over it, and a black corset pulled tight around her waist and only went up to just below her bust. 

Compared to many of the other regulars, they were dressed really tame, but his mouth still went dry, as the man pulled out a chair for the woman, and then joined her in sitting across from him. Before they even started speaking the man gave him a look, and for a split second there was a twitch of a smirk on his stoic face. That's when Lucas knew he was done for. 

 

"I've seen you here a lot recently." The red head said, resting her chin on her hands. "What's your name?" 

"Oh uh, Lucas!" He said a little too quickly, snapping out of his daze. "It's Lucas."

He felt her thick platform boot rubbing up and down the side of his leg and nearly yelped. 

"Are you from around here?" She asked as if nothing was happening.

"T-The college down the street." Good Lord he had started to stutter. "I'm a student at the college down the street." 

"Oh," She said simply, as she moved her boot from the outside of his leg to the inside. 

The man hadn't said a word the entire time, just leaned back in his chair, eyes locked on Lucas, and one arm draped over the back of the women's chair. His gaze was intense. Neutral, but intense. He was just as beautiful as the woman he accompanied- 

Slam!

Lucas's train of thought was cut off but the man's foot slamming down on the chair between his legs and for a second, he couldn't breathe. That look was on the man's face again, the shadow of a smirk. 

"She asked you a question." The man said calmly. 

"Oh uh, I'm sorry." Lucas said, snapping back to reality. "What did you say?" 

"I asked if you're roommates would mind if you stayed at our place tonight?" The woman said with a little laugh.  

What the fuck was happening? It's not like he'd never been picked up before, but this was completely different. This was the kind of thing you joked about but never actually happened. There was no way, right? 

"Are you going to answer?" The man prompted again. 

Lucas looked back and forth between the two people in front of him. This just couldn't be for real. 

*****

He realized, as he sat in the back of a black car with tinted windows, that it was very possible this could go bad. They could be trying to rob him or even be serial killers for all he knew, but in the moment, he didn't care one bit. Natalia, she had told him their names when she shoved him into the car, was straddling him and kissing him harshly. She was so aggressive in her assault of his lips he wondered if she would bite him. Arche, so he had been told was her "partner’s?" name, was driving casually, as if nothing was happening in the back seat. 

He was almost scared to touch her, like it would wake him up from whatever dream he was having, but pushed through the fear and wrapped his arms around her tentatively. 

 

They didn't drive far before the car pulled over. Natalia didn't let go of him until Arche opened the door and literally yanked Lucas out by his shirt. The man dragged him into a nearby apartment building. It was rundown, bricks chipping, walls peeling, lights flashing, graffiti everywhere. Arche was shoving him around like baggage, still gripping his shirt. He was starting to think that they really were going to murder him, and when Arche shoved him into a door and started making out with him as well, he immediately stopped caring again. 

The door behind him opened and he was pushed back into a dark apartment, unaware of his surroundings until the back of his legs hit a table. With hands all over him he realized how starved he'd been. How alone. He wanted this so bad, whatever this was going to be. Arche leaned over Lucas to kiss and nip at his neck, and he watched over the aggressive man's shoulder to see Natalia strutting in and slamming the door behind her. It took an agonizing moment for his eyes to adjust to the dark. Moonlight shined through the windows offering some help, and he was able to see the shape of Natalia, slowly pulling at her corset lacing. He realized why she had been dressed so simple when the corset dropped to the floor, dress falling with it. It was an easy outfit to take off. 

        She strutted across the room, long legs like a model, and disappeared behind him. Arche's bites were getting more aggressive, and he hissed in pain. Soothing hands touched his shoulders and Natalia's legs slid against his, and he felt her press against his back. Her lips caressed the opposite side of his neck from her partner, and her hands appeared to stroke down his torso. It was when she started unbuttoning his pants that he started fading away, disappearing into all the sensations. Pleasure and a tinge of pain. Her hands where in his pants then-

        "AHHHH'' he screamed, a sharp spike of pain running through every nerve in his body. He jumped down from the table falling to the floor, hands fumble around his neck in the dark. He felt something hot and wet on his hands. He looked down at them and could only see dark on his fingers. The pair was laughing almost hysterically, and he didn't think, he just ran. Their laughter only grew louder, chasing him down the halls, echoing through the abandoned building. He ran, and he ran, and he didn't stop until he got to his dorm. 

        His roommates were shouting at him as he came in, but he couldn't hear anything except the sound of his own heartbeat. He went straight to the bathroom, locking the door behind. It was no wonder his roommates had started yelling. His reflection in the mirror looked like a crime scene, soaked in blood from his chin to his waist. He yanked his shirt off in a panic and looked closer in the mirror to see the two sets of puncture wounds on his neck. Fang marks.

        He breathed deep, slowing his heart rate, and he came to the realization... he had completely fumbled.