WEBVTT
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Hello, my spookies, and welcome back to another compilation of
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some of the greatest and most terrifying stories ever told
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here on Weekly Spooky. I'm, of course your host and
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narrator Enrique Kuto, and I love putting these together. I
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love the trip down memory lane. And this month's theme
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is equally insane. Hey that rhyme, all right? This compilation
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is all about killers. That's right. No ghostly apparitions coming
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to get you. No monsters crying in the woods at night. No, no.
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The killers in these stories might just live next door
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to your house. You might just see them as you're
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in the produce isle at the grocery store. And if
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that's not terrifying, I don't know what is. So get
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comfortable as I bring you six tales of terror and
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make sure you're subscribed on your favorite podcasting app. As
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we start the first story right now, Blood Rage.
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By Rob Fields.
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It's been seven months since I spoke to you. I
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believe it was during the winter when I was sick
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with the flu. At the time, I was after Delphine Brewster,
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Sloane's daughter Rigby, who had gone on a murder spree
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all because of her love for Franklin, Sloane, Delphine's stepson,
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turned into an obsession. I had Rigby prepared and was
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ready to claim her to satisfy my bloodlust. Unfortunately, my
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sickness became my undoing and it nearly killed me. This
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allowed Rigby to escape. She's still out there as of now,
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which is seven months from that time. Franklin and I
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haven't really talked. Delih fiend still calls me to check
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up on me and make sure I'm okay. I've been
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doing everything I can to keep my sex drive in control,
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but I'm to the point where i must mate. It
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has also been some time since I've claimed a victim.
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In addition to my sex drive, my bloodlust is also
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pushing me. It's late August, the summer semester has ended.
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The fall semester won't begin for two more weeks. I
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currently work as a college intern for the Strickfield Police Department. However,
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I'm also a serial killer. I'm sitting alone in my
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dorm room at Strickfield University brushing my shoulder length, dirty
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blonde hair. I almost always never have a roommate. For
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the record, I have never killed any of my roommates,
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not when all of them were innocent. During my time
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here at Strickfield, you, I've had a grand total of
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three roommates' lunked out, one got pregnant, and one left
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to live with her boyfriend. I sigh when I think
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about how I've lived in this dorm room alone. It's
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good for being a serial killer. However, I'm in desperate
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need of a mate. Then I hear a knocking at
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my door. I put my brush down and go to
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see who it is. I open the door to see
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my potential new mate, Detective Drake Casmirak morning rage. I
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fake a smile, hey you. When I see he's got
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food in his hands, I step aside and invite him in.
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We've got a case, Drake says, I brought you breakfast.
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Then he hands me the coffee he's picked up from
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our campus coffee house, the Bitter End, and breakfast from
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Denoyer's Grill. I remember that Drake lives one block from
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my dorm. The smell of dark roast coffee and the
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pancakes trigger that physical sensation of I want to sit
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down to eat, but Drake is quick to tell me
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we need to go now. You can eat your breakfast
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on the way. Let me put my shoes on and
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we'll leave, I say. After I put my sandals on,
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Drake and I walked to the other side of the
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campus to the fraternity houses. Soon we're at the one
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we need to go into. I was able to wolf
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down my breakfast, but I still had my coffee in hand,
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two physical tastes that I really enjoy in life, coffee
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and pancakes. Two officers are in the bedroom when we
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come in. They explained that a fraternity brother came back
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and found the body. As long as Drake is with me,
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I'm free to act as if I'm a full fledged detective.
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He lets me walk around and look for clues. The
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first thing I check is the body, which I quickly
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notice is very pale, and then I see the two
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telltale puncture marks on the left side of his neck.
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I've seen enough on the body, and look around the bedroom.
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I find nothing else of great importance. Find anything, Devereux,
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Drake asks me, No, I say. Drake examines the body himself.
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Then he looks around the bedroom, but he doesn't find anything.
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No doubt he'll want to talk to me when we're alone.
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As soon as Drake tells the officers to go and
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radio in for the coroner. He does just that. I
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know you know something, Rage, I give him a blank look.
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There's no point in lying to him. He'll stay on
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me until I give him what he wants. You're not
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going to believe me. Talk to me, he insists. Did
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you see the two marks on the neck? I ask, yeah,
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hard to miss. What about him? I just come right
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out with it. It's a vampire. Drake gives me a
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funny look. What I told you you wouldn't believe me.
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I'm dead serious here, Drake, it's a vampire. He gives
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me another odd look. I think you're hitting the books
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way too hard. Rage. Fine, I'll go look for the
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vampire myself, I tell him. He quickly takes gentle hold
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of my forearm. No you can't, honey. Remember you are
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still my intern until you graduate, which won't be for
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another year. Yet. You have to have me with you
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in order to conduct an investigation on your own. I
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fake a smirk. Okay, then, Detective, come with me. I'll
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prove to you that this was indeed a vampire and
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that vampires are quite real. Our eyes meet. Then Drake
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leans in and kisses me softly on the lips. I've
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known for many months that he feels emotions for me.
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In fact, I knew that from the first day we
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met many months ago, when Chief Kasmirak, Drake's uncle, told
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him that he was to be my mentor from that
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point on. The Chief also told me that we would
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be full partners once I graduated from the university and
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come to work for him full time. This isn't the
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first time that Drake's kissed me like this. I wrap
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my arms around him and kiss him back. I've read
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Drake's emotions and know that he's fallen in love with me. Also,
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I'm not blind to his true purpose for coming to Strickfield.
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He's looking to find the Angel of Death and put
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an end to everything. But what he doesn't know is
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that he's kissing the Angel of Death, the name the
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media has given me as a serial killer. Regardless, I've
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decided that this man, who is seventeen years older than me,
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will be my new mate. For the record, I'm twenty one.
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We stop kissing then I tell him if we're caught
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doing this, we could both be in a lot of trouble.
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We're supposed to be professional in a student teach your manner.
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We've been seeing each other for months, Drake whispers to
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my lips. Are you going to tattle? I'm just saying
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those two officers could come back at any moment. I
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whisper back. Drake can't resist me and kisses me again.
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I kiss him back. I need him so badly that
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I almost lose control, but I stay focused on just
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kissing him. When we stop kissing, I take his hand.
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Let me show you that I'm not making this up.
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It is a vampire. How do you know, though, rage
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Drake demands, because I've killed three of them before, I
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admit without hesitation. Yes, I'm taking a big risk and
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telling him this, but he needs to know and understand.
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It's also part of my plan, which you'll find out
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about later. I raise my hand and show him a
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book of matches. I did find another clue on the body.
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Drake looks at it. Shakers. You weren't going to tell me,
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were you?
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No?
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But now that you know, you have to come with me.
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He's still holding me to him. Damn right, I'm coming
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with you. Come on, we'll go investigate Shakers together. We'll
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have to wait until they open at four. They're closed
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now fine, I'll come by and pick you up at
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three thirty. We share one more passionate kiss before he
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walks me back to my door. Drake and I walk
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into Shakers, a bar on the outskirts of the village
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that Strickfield University students tend to frequent. One of the
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workers is there when we walk in. We ain't open
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for another fifteen minutes, he says. Drake shows him as badge.
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That's okay, we just want to talk to you. Were
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you here last night? Yeah, I close most every night,
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he replies. Drake shows him a picture of the victim.
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He looked familiar to you. Yeah. He comes in here
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and drinks quite a bit, usually with his fraternity. Don't worry,
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he's over twenty one. I know he just graduated. Last
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night was goth night. He was in here with some
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different people, goth people, shiny leather, dressed in black, look pale.
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He's been in here with them a couple of times.
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He was sure drunk off his ass last night. Do
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you know where the goth people came from? I ask?
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I mean, do you think they're from the university or
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maybe from somewhere else. He starts to tell us he
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doesn't really know, but then he stops himself. Hold it,
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let me get into the computer real quick. It's one
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of those computers that doubles as a cash register. We
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wait for him as he touches the computer screen repeatedly.
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Then got the record right here. Everything was paid for
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with a credit card. The transactions are still here. The
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card the guy used didn't have a signature on the back,
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so I had to ask for some ID. It was
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a student ID from North Ridgeway University. He hands me
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a copy of the ID. We always scan the IDs
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in case of card fraud. We ask him a few
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more questions before we head out. As soon as we're
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back in Drake's car, we both look at the print
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out again. Looks like we're heading home. Honey, what you
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need to go to class? Drake asks quickly. I thought
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you were done. No, I mean we need to head
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to North Ridgeway. That's where I'm from. You do realize
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we have no jurisdiction in North Ridgeway, right, Drake asks,
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we don't. You're right?
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Then?
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I fake an apologetic look. Maybe I'd better do this
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on my own, Drake shakes his head quickly, not happening rage.
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I told you, I know what you said. I cut in,
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But the person I can get to help us is
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with the North Ridgeway PD and I'm telling you right
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now you do not want to meet her. She's my
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mom and she will eat you alive. What because I
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may be seeing you, Drake asks, with a wicked smile.
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I fake a sneer. You are seeing me, But Mama
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may want you all to herself. She's one wickedly wild cougar.
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I'll take my chances with your mom. I sigh and
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shake my head slowly. Okay, you were warned. Mama answers
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the front door and is so delighted, baby, you finally
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came home. Then she sees Drake and who is this
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yummy guy? She looks at me again, Are you fucking him?
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Because if you aren't, I'll gladly take him. Drake is
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immediately caught off guard when he sees and hears Mama
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and looks mortified. I take his hand and give him
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a sympathetic look that says I warned you. Here's the
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best way I can describe how Mama differs from me physically.
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I've overheard men at the campus describe me as a
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really hot chick. They've even commented on how big my
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tits are. But Mama, she's fifty but looks like she
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could easily pass for around thirty to thirty five. She's
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got a very hot body of her own, complete with long,
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wavy red hair that practically burns like fire, sparkling green eyes,
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six pack abs, and even bigger tits than mine. I'll
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let you in on a little secret. Mama's tits are fake.
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She got them done when she was actually thirty as
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a birthday present to herself. Mine are indeed all natural,
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and Mama sometimes looks at me with jealousy because of it.
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Mama looks at me with a devilish grin. Baby, did
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you come home to tell Mama that you're gonna marry
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this man? Drake is mortified again. Oh my god, I
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let go of Drake's hand and take Mama's. Drake and
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I are on a very important case right now. I'm
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still an intern at Strickfield PD, and he's my mentor.
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We came here to look for somebody a vampire. Mama
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gets real serious now inside. She steps aside and lets
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us come in. Mama's got a huge house, enough for
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a good ten people to live in. This is the
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house I was raised in. Ever since I left for
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Strickfield University, she still chooses to live here all by herself.
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Since Mama is still the hot cougar, she's out getting
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as many young college studs as she can. I catch
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her stealing peaks at Drake, and I know I have
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to keep him with me. If Mama gets him alone
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and works her feminine charms on him, she'll completely devour him.
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This woman has both incredible energy and a very high libido.
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As ravishing as she still looks at fifty, almost no
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man can say no to her. Mama stops checking out
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Drake for the moment and motions for us to come
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to the den where she keeps her computers. You sure
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you're after a vampire?
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Baby?
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Positive? I tell her about the puncture marks we found
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on our victim. Drake hesitates, but he points a shaky
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finger at Mama. You you mean you you actually believe
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in vampires too. Mama looks him right in the face.
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If Baby tells you it's a vampire, then you better
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fucking listen to her. I've had plenty of dealings with
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those blood sucking motherfuckers myself. I taught baby everything I
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know about vampires, among other things.
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If you thought that was scary, just you wait, weekly spooky.
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We'll be right back.
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I hand Mama the picture from Shakers. Have you seen
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this guy before? She shakes her head slowly. I don't believe,
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so that's why I've got this computer. She puts the
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photo into a scanner next to the black computer, her
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dark Web computer. About a minute later, a graphic display
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appears of the guy. Maximilian thoughts with a name like that,
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he's likely to be a vampire. She turns to us,
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and you came to me because your lead is here
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and you need a cop from North Ridgeway to assist you. Correct,
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I reply, but Drake is very observant. Wait a minute,
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Assuming vampires are real, aren't they supposed to not cast
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a reflection? Mama's quick. Some vampires use old bloodstone to
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let them cast a reflection that's old with an E
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on the end. Mama turns to me and folds her
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arms in front of her. You know, baby, I was
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expecting you home for Christmas. If I didn't know better,
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i'd swear you were avoiding me. Am I really that
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bad of a mama to you? Do I really embarrass
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you that much. I tell Mama that I stayed in
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Strickfield to help work cases with the police, which is true. Also,
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I've had to claim victims from a few of those
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same cases. In other words, Mama does not know that
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baby is a serial killer. Mama sighs. Unfortunately, that's one
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of the many sacrifices that comes with the badge. This
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is what you get for wanting to follow in my footsteps.
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Baby Drake brightens up. You're a detective two. Mama shows
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him her badge, Detective Chantelle Devereux, North Ridgeway, PD, And yes,
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I'll help you with your vampire. In fact, I know
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where all the vampire hotspots are here in the city.
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Later that night, the three of us leave the house.
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This time we hop into Mom's fire engine red Corvette.
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Believe me, she loves tearing up the streets with her
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favorite toy. She speeds down one street, then another. Eventually
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she veers right into the parking lot of a nightclub
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called After Hours. After going inside and looking around, we
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don't find anyone matching the description of the photo. We
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get back in the corvette and go to a second club,
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Dark Paradise. No luck there. Third time times a charm,
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Third times a charm. When we arrive at Noir, as
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soon as we show the photograph to a bartender, she
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points Maximilian Thorn out. We approach him to talk. As
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soon as Mama flashes her badge, he throws his drink
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in her face and turns to run. Drake is very
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surprised at my agility when I put my hands on
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the table and leap right up on top of it.
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Then I launch myself and tackle Maximilian to the floor.
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He snatches me up and shows me his fangs before
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he shoves me away so hard that I fall and
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slide almost all the way to the jukebox. Looks like
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Maximilian Thorn is our vampire. Drake comes and helps me up.
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Your Mom's already after him. Come on, Drake and I
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catch up with Mama as she finally tackles the vampire.
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He's about to turn and face Mama. When I come
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to her side, I remove my necklace, a crucifix and
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hold it out to the vampire. When he's clearly not
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being affected, Mamma shoves my arm down and produces her
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own crucifix. Thorn raises his hands in front of him.
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Now I can tell Mama's pissed at me, Reagan. How
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many motherfucking times do I have to tell you you
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need to have faith if you want your cross to
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work on these fucking things? How many times she only
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called me Reagan when she was upset with me? Sorry, Mama,
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I say, She sighs and speaks calmly. I'm sorry I
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went off on you, but this is very important. She
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puts a hand on my forearm. Remember where you came
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from and who raised you? Right, baby, Mama still holds
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her cross as she grabs Maximilian by his hair. Now,
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you motherfucker, you were at a bar called Shakers over
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in Strickfield. I suggest you tell my baby girl here
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everything that she wants to know. Maximilian seems ready to
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argue with Mama, but then he sees me and suddenly
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becomes very scared. What the hell are you? No doubt
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00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:02.519
out he's seeing what many of my past victims have
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called my evil face. They've said that my eyes have
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glowed red, and or that I'm pure evil. I've often
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wondered how I can be truly evil if I'm protecting
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innocence time and time again. For the record, I have
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00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:22.720
never taken an innocent life, not even when my bloodlust
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is nagging me to be satiated. Every serial killer has
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a code they follow, and I have mine. Mama raised
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00:20:30.160 --> 00:20:32.839
me to be a good girl. I truly believe that
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it was because of her teachings and values that I
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destroy the scum that I find and leave the innocence alone.
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Killing innocence is a line I will never cross. Maximilian
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spews out everything he knows to Mama just like that.
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He reveals that it was his sister, whose name is Sheranda,
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that drank the fraternity boy. Apparently he thought she was
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going to turn him, but she only intended to feed.
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Maximilian tells me, Mama that Sharanda's crypt is in the
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big cemetery a few blocks from the university. We listen
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00:21:06.039 --> 00:21:09.079
as he gives us all the details. Then he points
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to me, just keep her away from me. Mama looks
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right at me, then she turns back to him. What
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is your problem with my daughter? Maximilian points at me again,
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Trust me, you do not know what true evil is,
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and he just pissed Mama off. She produces a steak
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and jams it right into his heart. He dies after
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some twitching and shrivels up until he becomes bones. He's
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not a master vampire, so we don't also have to
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00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:45.839
decapitate him. Mama turns to Drake and me, Okay, I've
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got weapons in the car. I can tell you right
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now that this Saranda is not going to be alone.
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She suddenly reaches out and slaps Drake's shoulder. Hey, head
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in the game, boy, you just saw one vampire. Shit's
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00:21:58.240 --> 00:22:01.240
about to get real from here. Now's not the time
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00:22:01.279 --> 00:22:03.599
to be a fucking pussy, especially when you're fucking my
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baby girl. But Drake sputters again, caught off guard by Mama.
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Let's get going, Mama says. We enter the North Ridgeway
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Memorial Cemetery. It's still summer, but it happens to be
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a cool night. Fog is all over the graveyard. I
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00:22:20.359 --> 00:22:24.519
can read Drake's face and know that he's scared. Personally,
360
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I can't blame him. He's finally learning that vampires are real.
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We follow Maximilian's directions until we come to the crypt
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00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:35.000
he told us about. We have to whisper, to talk
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to each other for the moment. There's a vamp outside. Mama,
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I tell her, how do you know he's a vampire?
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00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:45.279
Drake asks, use your mirror. There's enough light by the crypt.
366
00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:49.720
Turn the mirror around and look. Drake gasps and nearly
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00:22:49.799 --> 00:22:52.720
drops his mirror. I catch it and give it back.
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00:22:53.279 --> 00:22:57.720
Careful and be quiet. Vampires have very very good hearing.
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00:22:59.240 --> 00:23:02.359
No telling how many of those fucking bloodsuckers are inside.
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Mama tells us we're just going to have to launch
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and all out assault. She glances at Drake as he's
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holding a weapon Mama gave him. Remember aim for the heart.
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Mama holds up her hand and counts her fingers down
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from five to zero. Now we move. Mama takes down
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00:23:21.119 --> 00:23:23.920
the vampire outside by firing a steak into his heart.
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He doesn't even scream as he falls over and dies.
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We enter the crypt and find four more vampires, including
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a girl. She must be Saranda. The vampires see the
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00:23:34.839 --> 00:23:37.119
three of us and stand up. They show us their
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fangs and produce their claws. Drake and I don't give
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00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:42.240
them time to think. We both fire our weapons and
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00:23:42.279 --> 00:23:44.680
catch two of them in the heart with steaks. I
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00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:49.839
breathe with satisfaction as my bloodlust is finally sated. Ah,
384
00:23:50.599 --> 00:23:54.680
that just leaves the one remaining male vampire and Sharanda,
385
00:23:55.759 --> 00:24:00.680
you won't stop me. Saranda hisses, transforming into a bat.
386
00:24:01.039 --> 00:24:05.079
Then she flies right past us. Baby, I I've got
387
00:24:05.079 --> 00:24:07.400
this Mama. I turn and run out of the crypt
388
00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:11.119
and pursue Saranda. Using the skills I've accumulated, both from
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00:24:11.160 --> 00:24:14.319
Mama and my many years as a serial killer. I
390
00:24:14.400 --> 00:24:18.119
track Saranda to another part of the cemetery. You should
391
00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:22.160
have never left your pack, Sharanda purrs at me. Someone
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00:24:22.200 --> 00:24:24.880
has to destroy you. I tell her you killed that
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00:24:24.920 --> 00:24:28.200
fraternity boy and left him dead in his room. She
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00:24:28.400 --> 00:24:32.960
laughs coldly. He thought he was so special because he
395
00:24:33.039 --> 00:24:35.839
was in our company. He wanted to become one of us.
396
00:24:36.559 --> 00:24:40.440
He thought we were just glamour and high society. So
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I seduced him and finished him off by drinking him dry.
398
00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:48.759
And by your admission, you've just condemned yourself into my hands,
399
00:24:49.200 --> 00:24:53.240
I say. Saranda laughs again and raises her claws. I
400
00:24:53.319 --> 00:24:56.480
produce a crucifix and bring her to her knees. I
401
00:24:56.559 --> 00:25:00.039
already know the real truth about crosses. Faith in a
402
00:25:00.160 --> 00:25:03.720
crucifix doesn't mean belief in God or religion. It means
403
00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:07.880
believing that the crucifix will truly protect you. My lack
404
00:25:07.960 --> 00:25:10.839
of faith earlier was all just an act. And though
405
00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:13.920
I did kill one vampire a little bit ago, which
406
00:25:14.000 --> 00:25:19.319
satiated my bloodlust, I still want to kill Charanda. Saranda
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00:25:19.400 --> 00:25:21.920
shrieks and launches herself at me to make me drop
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00:25:21.960 --> 00:25:24.680
my cross. The two of us fight now. Like I
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00:25:24.759 --> 00:25:29.079
told Drake, I've already bested three, now four other vampires.
410
00:25:29.720 --> 00:25:32.839
Thanks to my photographic memory, I know how they operate
411
00:25:32.920 --> 00:25:36.480
and can anticipate their moves. Saranda makes the big mistake
412
00:25:36.839 --> 00:25:39.759
of trying to warp behind me. I have a bottle
413
00:25:39.799 --> 00:25:41.759
of holy water in my hand and bring it up
414
00:25:41.799 --> 00:25:45.599
fast to splash her right in her face. She screams
415
00:25:45.640 --> 00:25:48.160
and covers her head as she falls to her knees.
416
00:25:48.640 --> 00:25:51.799
Then she finds out I'm much stronger than I look
417
00:25:52.079 --> 00:25:54.640
when I quickly raise my foot to her chin and
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00:25:54.680 --> 00:25:58.640
connect hard enough to knock her out. Saranda wakes up
419
00:25:58.799 --> 00:26:01.000
to find that she's secure cured to the top of
420
00:26:01.039 --> 00:26:04.359
a burial vault in the middle of another crypt. I've
421
00:26:04.400 --> 00:26:08.079
got her bound with bungee cords and a crucifix just
422
00:26:08.160 --> 00:26:12.799
above her heart. No, you've bound me with your accursed cross,
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00:26:13.240 --> 00:26:17.680
she growls. You've weakened me. I can't move. Yes, and
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00:26:17.799 --> 00:26:22.559
now you belong to me. I show her my smartphone.
425
00:26:22.720 --> 00:26:25.880
I don't know every victim you've killed, but I do
426
00:26:26.000 --> 00:26:30.000
have one picture to show you. Remember the fraternity boy
427
00:26:30.039 --> 00:26:34.000
you killed. His name was Sheldon Hayes. He may have
428
00:26:34.039 --> 00:26:36.559
been trying to get in with your group, but he
429
00:26:36.640 --> 00:26:40.680
hadn't taken a life. He was still innocent. You killed
430
00:26:40.720 --> 00:26:45.720
him in cold blood, and now I claim you. Miranda laughs.
431
00:26:46.279 --> 00:26:49.079
You think you're going to end the killing with just me?
432
00:26:50.319 --> 00:26:50.480
Oh?
433
00:26:50.519 --> 00:26:52.480
I know there are many more of you out there,
434
00:26:52.759 --> 00:26:57.319
I assured her, But right now I'm only concerned with you. Tonight.
435
00:26:57.519 --> 00:27:01.119
You're going to be my latest victim. You're bound by
436
00:27:01.119 --> 00:27:04.640
that crucifix, which means you're staying right where you are.
437
00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:08.920
Miranda locks her eyes with mine and tries to glam me,
438
00:27:09.640 --> 00:27:12.640
but she's in for a surprise that one of her
439
00:27:12.759 --> 00:27:17.000
kind would never expect. She winces and finally starts screaming.
440
00:27:17.359 --> 00:27:20.920
Seeing that I'm not like other human beings, She finally
441
00:27:20.960 --> 00:27:24.200
turns her eyes away from mine. Like her dead brother,
442
00:27:24.319 --> 00:27:28.559
she also demands, what the fuck are you? You are?
443
00:27:29.039 --> 00:27:33.839
You're true evil incarnate. Now she's really frightened. Get away
444
00:27:33.880 --> 00:27:37.799
from me. I caress the side of her face. Tonight,
445
00:27:38.400 --> 00:27:41.559
your time as a vampire will end. I produce a
446
00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:46.640
steak and raise it, and now, Miranda Thorn, let the
447
00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:51.319
punishment fit the crime. Miranda screams as I bring the
448
00:27:51.359 --> 00:27:54.160
steak down with both hands and drive it right through
449
00:27:54.200 --> 00:27:58.039
her heart. I moan in great satisfaction as I feel
450
00:27:58.079 --> 00:28:02.359
my bloodlust being satiated for the second time tonight. Yes,
451
00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:07.279
vampires are undead creatures, but my bloodlust doesn't care about that.
452
00:28:08.200 --> 00:28:12.000
It's still a kill. And now she joins my hundreds
453
00:28:12.039 --> 00:28:15.200
upon hundreds of kills that are neatly logged in my
454
00:28:15.319 --> 00:28:19.920
photographic memory. I watched Sheranda shrivel up until she's nothing
455
00:28:19.960 --> 00:28:26.319
more than bones, not a master vampire rage. I turn
456
00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:29.680
around to see Drake standing there. What did you see?
457
00:28:30.119 --> 00:28:33.599
I ask him. He raises his hands. Okay, I'm a
458
00:28:33.640 --> 00:28:36.119
believer now, and I know I definitely don't want to
459
00:28:36.160 --> 00:28:39.680
make you mad. If I could feel humor, i'd probably
460
00:28:39.720 --> 00:28:43.440
find the statement funny. Perhaps one day I'll finally come
461
00:28:43.480 --> 00:28:47.839
to know emotions and feel humor. Drake had seen everything.
462
00:28:48.480 --> 00:28:51.480
This is the first time that anyone has seen me
463
00:28:51.599 --> 00:28:55.119
perform a kill in this case that works in my
464
00:28:55.240 --> 00:28:59.160
favor and was all part of my plan. If Drake
465
00:28:59.279 --> 00:29:03.359
ever suspet being the angel of death, this should throw
466
00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:06.559
him off my trail. Mama finds me and congratulates me
467
00:29:06.599 --> 00:29:09.759
on my kill. The three of us talk about how
468
00:29:09.759 --> 00:29:13.039
we're going to close the case of Sheldon Hayes since
469
00:29:13.079 --> 00:29:16.880
we destroyed all the vampires responsible for his murder. Mama
470
00:29:16.920 --> 00:29:20.799
suggests just letting the case be cold. Drake is quick
471
00:29:20.839 --> 00:29:23.559
to agree with her. We head back to Mama's house
472
00:29:23.599 --> 00:29:25.359
so that Drake and I can get in his car
473
00:29:25.400 --> 00:29:29.519
and head back to Strickfield. Of course, Mama tells me
474
00:29:29.599 --> 00:29:32.119
not to be a stranger and to come home more often.
475
00:29:32.680 --> 00:29:34.759
She also tells Drake that if he hurts me in
476
00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:39.039
any way, then he's going to answer to her. If
477
00:29:39.079 --> 00:29:43.720
you only knew, Mamma, if you only knew. When we
478
00:29:43.759 --> 00:29:46.759
return to Strickfield University, I let Drake walk me back
479
00:29:46.799 --> 00:29:49.440
to my dorm. He tells me to let him do
480
00:29:49.519 --> 00:29:52.759
all the talking to his uncle about our case. He
481
00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:55.960
assures me everything will be all right. When we reach
482
00:29:56.000 --> 00:30:00.240
my dorm, I unlock and open my door. Well, I
483
00:30:00.279 --> 00:30:03.000
guess i'll see you at the station tomorrow, Drake says.
484
00:30:04.039 --> 00:30:07.200
I sense he really doesn't want to leave me, and
485
00:30:07.240 --> 00:30:10.440
I know I can't let him go. I take his hand,
486
00:30:11.400 --> 00:30:14.240
stay here with me. It's just me here. I don't
487
00:30:14.240 --> 00:30:19.279
have any roommates. Drake seems uncertain. Should we be doing this?
488
00:30:20.200 --> 00:30:23.000
Like you said earlier, I'm your mentor and you're my intern.
489
00:30:23.640 --> 00:30:26.599
Our eyes meet. We've kept our dating a secret all
490
00:30:26.599 --> 00:30:30.519
this time, I remind him. Drake and I quickly move
491
00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:33.079
into the dorm. He kicks the door shut as we
492
00:30:33.119 --> 00:30:36.680
share a deep, passionate kiss. When we come apart, I
493
00:30:36.759 --> 00:30:39.279
take his hand again and lead him to my bed.
494
00:30:40.240 --> 00:30:42.839
My sex drive is literally screaming at me as we
495
00:30:42.920 --> 00:30:48.880
undress each other. I finally have a mate again. The
496
00:30:48.920 --> 00:30:52.079
next morning, Drake and I enter the Strickfield PD with
497
00:30:52.200 --> 00:30:55.920
bags of Denoyer's grill in our hands. We exchange mourning
498
00:30:55.960 --> 00:30:58.960
pleasantries with Drake's uncle before we head to the breakroom.
499
00:30:59.640 --> 00:31:02.200
Since alone, we put our food down so Drake can
500
00:31:02.240 --> 00:31:05.640
pull me to him and kiss me. You think your
501
00:31:05.720 --> 00:31:09.160
uncle knows, I ask, I really don't care if Uncle
502
00:31:09.240 --> 00:31:12.519
Jeffrey knows. Drake replies, I'm not going to kick you
503
00:31:12.559 --> 00:31:15.400
to the curb. If he does, you do, and Mama
504
00:31:15.440 --> 00:31:19.359
will be after you. Literally, I remind him. I can
505
00:31:19.400 --> 00:31:22.960
tell Drake's still intimidated by Mama. I put his mind
506
00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:26.039
at ease when I kiss him. Then he looks into
507
00:31:26.039 --> 00:31:31.920
my eyes. I love you, he says. I just return
508
00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:35.839
his look and caress the side of his face. After that,
509
00:31:36.559 --> 00:31:39.799
we sit down and have breakfast. He tells me he's
510
00:31:39.839 --> 00:31:42.200
frustrated that he hasn't been able to catch the Angel
511
00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:46.000
of Death yet. I know I'm in a very dangerous
512
00:31:46.039 --> 00:31:50.759
situation now and must always stay many steps ahead of him.
513
00:31:51.720 --> 00:31:56.559
Oh yes, Drake, you truly have captured the Angel of Death,
514
00:31:57.799 --> 00:32:00.359
more than you realize.
515
00:32:00.599 --> 00:32:14.000
Beard The Dinner Guests by Shane Migliavoka.
516
00:32:13.960 --> 00:32:17.599
Orville trench admired his reflection in the car window. He
517
00:32:17.640 --> 00:32:20.799
missed his long black ponytail and beard. His hair was
518
00:32:20.839 --> 00:32:24.480
cut short now. He ran a hand over his smooth chin.
519
00:32:25.160 --> 00:32:27.559
He'd had that beard so long it was like cutting
520
00:32:27.599 --> 00:32:30.759
off a limb. But it had to go. It was
521
00:32:30.799 --> 00:32:33.279
time to get a new car too. The old one
522
00:32:33.279 --> 00:32:37.880
would be drawing too much attention. Soon, Cherry Kowalski, the
523
00:32:37.960 --> 00:32:41.400
love of his life, appeared in the reflection. Her eyes
524
00:32:41.440 --> 00:32:45.480
were large, piercing and dark dark to match her long,
525
00:32:45.759 --> 00:32:49.680
wild black hair streaked with purple and green that hung
526
00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:53.079
to her shoulders. She twirled one of the long strands
527
00:32:53.079 --> 00:32:56.000
of hair around her index finger. Hanging around her neck
528
00:32:56.079 --> 00:32:59.440
was a simple silver necklace. A small plastic baby arm
529
00:32:59.519 --> 00:33:03.359
dangled from from it. You look good, she said, I
530
00:33:03.400 --> 00:33:07.440
didn't ask. Fuck you, she laughed, loudly, giving her lover
531
00:33:07.799 --> 00:33:12.039
double middle fingers. Orville spun around, grabbing her by the shoulders.
532
00:33:12.720 --> 00:33:19.079
His eyes narrowed. Oh, yes, yes, indeed. He scanned the
533
00:33:19.079 --> 00:33:21.960
parking lot of the convenience store. There were only three
534
00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:26.720
cars here, an old pickup truck, a rusting black Camaro,
535
00:33:26.799 --> 00:33:30.440
and a fairly new suv. Not much to pick from.
536
00:33:31.240 --> 00:33:34.359
Shouldn't be that many people inside. He looked at the
537
00:33:34.359 --> 00:33:38.559
sign over the door. It read quick save mart. It
538
00:33:38.559 --> 00:33:41.039
would be quick, all right. He couldn't wait to get
539
00:33:41.079 --> 00:33:44.559
out of East fuck Witt, New York. Orville touched the
540
00:33:44.599 --> 00:33:49.079
cold steel under his jacket, a Colt Trooper MK three,
541
00:33:49.119 --> 00:33:52.960
like the sheriff carried in walking tall, the seventies one.
542
00:33:53.000 --> 00:33:56.759
He loved that film, not that shit remake with that
543
00:33:56.920 --> 00:34:00.640
Nancy Boy wrestler. It hung from a shoulder holster under
544
00:34:00.680 --> 00:34:04.279
his jacket. A flaming devil face was emblazoned to cross
545
00:34:04.279 --> 00:34:08.360
the jacket's back, just as he expected. The door had
546
00:34:08.360 --> 00:34:11.800
a little bell that chimed when it opened. He sized
547
00:34:11.880 --> 00:34:14.800
up the store. Orville liked to think of himself as
548
00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:18.599
a hunter, though what he hunted you didn't buy a
549
00:34:18.639 --> 00:34:23.280
license for. The store was typical. Five asles of various
550
00:34:23.320 --> 00:34:27.119
overpriced crap, cold drinks in the back, and some not
551
00:34:27.320 --> 00:34:30.960
so fresh looking coffee. The kid behind the counter, who
552
00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:33.760
couldn't be older than twenty, didn't even look up from
553
00:34:33.760 --> 00:34:36.280
his cell phone when they entered. He was dressed to
554
00:34:36.320 --> 00:34:41.039
the nines and eminem cast offs. Another white boy wanna
555
00:34:41.079 --> 00:34:45.519
be He'd be easy enough. Picking through the beer was
556
00:34:45.559 --> 00:34:49.400
a bear of a man, dirty coveralls, baseball cap and
557
00:34:49.480 --> 00:34:52.599
a long, graying beard. Had to be the pickup driver.
558
00:34:53.440 --> 00:34:58.000
This one could be trouble. He'd be the first. The
559
00:34:58.079 --> 00:35:02.320
last customer was a young woman mid twenties. Two in
560
00:35:02.360 --> 00:35:06.599
the afternoon, and she's wearing fucking pajamas. Orville shakes his
561
00:35:06.679 --> 00:35:10.880
head too bad for her. She wasn't his type? Anything
562
00:35:11.119 --> 00:35:16.360
good for you, hun, he asks Cherry slim pickens. The
563
00:35:16.400 --> 00:35:20.079
big man came up to the counter carrying two six packs.
564
00:35:20.519 --> 00:35:22.760
He set them on the counter. It took a couple
565
00:35:22.840 --> 00:35:26.079
seconds before the kid looked up from his phone. That all,
566
00:35:26.199 --> 00:35:29.840
mister Scott, the kid asked for now, you know that
567
00:35:29.960 --> 00:35:33.400
damned phone gonna turn you into a zombie. Jimmy, all
568
00:35:33.440 --> 00:35:36.320
you kids just stare at them all the time, sucking
569
00:35:36.440 --> 00:35:40.960
your minds out. Not just kids doing it, seen plenty
570
00:35:40.960 --> 00:35:45.599
of adults too. Scott opens his wallet. Goddamn right about that.
571
00:35:45.920 --> 00:35:49.360
The wife is always doing that Facebook shit. Why you
572
00:35:49.400 --> 00:35:52.480
think I got these for tonight? The two have a laugh.
573
00:35:53.079 --> 00:35:57.079
Cherry makes a mock vomiting face to Orville. Orville mouths
574
00:35:57.360 --> 00:36:03.159
which one. Cherry nods towards large. Mister Scott, gonna start
575
00:36:03.159 --> 00:36:07.000
off Friday night, right, Scott says. Cherry slides up next
576
00:36:07.000 --> 00:36:10.360
to him. She leans against the counter, showing Jimmy her cleavage.
577
00:36:10.760 --> 00:36:14.440
His eyes go right to it. How's about speeding up
578
00:36:14.440 --> 00:36:19.159
all the talkie talkie, she says, Excuse me, young lady.
579
00:36:19.360 --> 00:36:24.119
Scott says, no need to be fucking rude. Orville stood
580
00:36:24.119 --> 00:36:26.880
next to the coffee pot, watching Cherry do her thing.
581
00:36:27.599 --> 00:36:30.360
He poured himself a cup, dropping in a ton of
582
00:36:30.400 --> 00:36:33.679
creamer and sugar, gulping down the cup in one go.
583
00:36:34.719 --> 00:36:36.719
I just want to make a purchase and go. Not
584
00:36:36.880 --> 00:36:40.519
listen to your fucking life story, she says, noticing she's
585
00:36:40.559 --> 00:36:43.920
not even holding anything. Cherry quickly grabs a handful of
586
00:36:43.920 --> 00:36:49.079
slim gems. These delicious treats. Yum, yum. Scott shakes his
587
00:36:49.119 --> 00:36:51.920
head and turns back to Jimmy. What do I owe you?
588
00:36:52.559 --> 00:36:56.400
Orville lets his eye flicker over the female shopper. She'd
589
00:36:56.400 --> 00:36:58.639
selected some chips and now stood in front of the
590
00:36:58.639 --> 00:37:03.320
soda cooler to the fun up front. Scott paid Jimmy
591
00:37:03.320 --> 00:37:06.760
and turned to leave, picking up his beer. Cherry blocked
592
00:37:06.800 --> 00:37:11.400
his way. Excuse me, miss, No, no, you don't get
593
00:37:11.400 --> 00:37:15.159
to leave until you apologize. Cherry stomped her booted foot
594
00:37:15.360 --> 00:37:18.599
hard on the floor. Just get out of my way,
595
00:37:18.719 --> 00:37:22.880
crazy bitch. He tried to push past her. Angry Cherry
596
00:37:22.920 --> 00:37:25.760
clawed him, opening red trenches on the left side of
597
00:37:25.760 --> 00:37:29.840
his face. Bitch. Scott dropped both of his six packs
598
00:37:29.840 --> 00:37:31.920
to the floor with a crash. Some of the cans
599
00:37:31.960 --> 00:37:35.719
exploded in a foamy blast. He made an unsuccessful grab
600
00:37:35.760 --> 00:37:40.480
at Cherry. Too slow, she laughed. Scott lunged at Cherry,
601
00:37:40.519 --> 00:37:43.480
only to come face to face with Orville's cult trooper.
602
00:37:44.440 --> 00:37:48.159
Orville smiled a wicked smile as he pulled the hammer back.
603
00:37:49.159 --> 00:37:52.880
Hands off, my girl. He pulled the trigger, sending Scott's
604
00:37:52.920 --> 00:37:57.239
brains all over the newspaper rack. Scott fell to the ground, twitching,
605
00:37:57.639 --> 00:38:00.440
lying on his back. Orville fired a couple more shots
606
00:38:00.480 --> 00:38:04.679
into the dying man's chest. He saw Jimmy behind the counter,
607
00:38:04.920 --> 00:38:08.920
his face slack with dull horror. Orville pointed the cold
608
00:38:08.960 --> 00:38:13.039
at him. Stay planted right there, ZiT, boy, You move,
609
00:38:13.480 --> 00:38:18.119
you die. The boy nodded, Shit, Ory, he was mine.
610
00:38:18.440 --> 00:38:22.400
Cherry pouts, and you took too long. The female shopper
611
00:38:22.480 --> 00:38:25.559
screamed at the top of her lungs and bolted. Orville
612
00:38:25.599 --> 00:38:30.920
sighs get her. Cherry let out a blood curdling scream
613
00:38:30.960 --> 00:38:34.039
and pursued her prey. Cherry grabbed hands from one of
614
00:38:34.079 --> 00:38:36.400
the shelves and hurled them at the woman. Where are
615
00:38:36.400 --> 00:38:39.800
you going? Baby? A can hit one of the glass coolers,
616
00:38:40.079 --> 00:38:43.280
cracking it. Another one hit the woman's leg. She fell
617
00:38:43.320 --> 00:38:46.000
against a display of dog biscuits, knocking it over with
618
00:38:46.039 --> 00:38:49.039
a loud crash. Cherry picked up a loaf of bread
619
00:38:49.239 --> 00:38:52.400
and beat the woman with it. Give up, she laughed,
620
00:38:52.639 --> 00:38:55.840
pulling the woman up by her hair. Orville watches the
621
00:38:55.920 --> 00:38:59.360
sad spectacle, laughing out of the corner of his eye.
622
00:38:59.639 --> 00:39:03.519
Jimmy inches towards his phone on the back counter. Don't
623
00:39:03.519 --> 00:39:07.559
even think about it, white chocolate. Cherry marched the pajama
624
00:39:07.559 --> 00:39:10.920
clad shopper up to the counter. Upon seeing Scott lying
625
00:39:10.920 --> 00:39:13.480
on the ground in a pool of blood, the captives
626
00:39:13.480 --> 00:39:17.960
started to sob. Oh, God, don't hurt me. Orville looked
627
00:39:17.960 --> 00:39:21.559
at the woman. Don't worry. Nobody's getting hurt as long
628
00:39:21.599 --> 00:39:24.920
as you give us a little ride. A glint of
629
00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:28.559
metal caught his eye too late. He saw Jimmy aiming
630
00:39:28.599 --> 00:39:31.719
a cheap pistol at him. The nervous boy squeezed the trigger,
631
00:39:31.800 --> 00:39:35.159
trying to fire one handed. The pistol fired wild. The
632
00:39:35.199 --> 00:39:38.079
bullet whizzed past Orville and hit the female shopper in
633
00:39:38.159 --> 00:39:41.159
the throat. Orville took aim with the colt and blasted
634
00:39:41.239 --> 00:39:44.199
Jimmy between the eyes. The boy slumped dead against a
635
00:39:44.239 --> 00:39:49.519
display of lotto tickets. Damn, Orville says, that was something.
636
00:39:50.639 --> 00:39:52.880
Orville looked over at the side of the counter at Jimmy.
637
00:39:53.320 --> 00:39:55.599
What brains he had leaking out of the wound above
638
00:39:55.679 --> 00:39:59.880
his eyes. Orville shot him again, you get to have
639
00:40:00.119 --> 00:40:05.440
all the fun, Cherry pouts. He holsters the colt. Get
640
00:40:05.519 --> 00:40:08.760
some supplies for the road. Orville walked over to the
641
00:40:08.800 --> 00:40:11.360
body of the woman. He crouched down and turned her
642
00:40:11.400 --> 00:40:15.000
on her back. She stares up at him with lifeless eyes.
643
00:40:15.840 --> 00:40:19.000
He rummages through her pajama pockets and pulls out a
644
00:40:19.000 --> 00:40:21.920
pair of keys. He was about to stand when a
645
00:40:21.920 --> 00:40:24.519
bell dinged as a car pulled up to one of
646
00:40:24.519 --> 00:40:27.199
the pumps. He looked back at Cherry filling up a
647
00:40:27.239 --> 00:40:32.159
plastic bag with groceries. Get down, he hissed, We've got company.
648
00:40:32.880 --> 00:40:35.880
Orvill peeked around an end cap of beef jerky. It
649
00:40:35.920 --> 00:40:37.840
was hard to make out the car or the driver
650
00:40:38.000 --> 00:40:40.159
since they were on the other side of the gas pumps,
651
00:40:40.519 --> 00:40:43.880
but he thought he saw a glimpse of long blonde hair.
652
00:40:45.119 --> 00:40:47.679
All the while, Orville kept his eyes on the new arrival.
653
00:40:48.000 --> 00:40:51.039
They stepped from behind the pump. He was right. It
654
00:40:51.119 --> 00:40:57.079
was a girl about eighteen long blonde hair, longer legs. Instantly,
655
00:40:57.199 --> 00:41:00.719
Orville felt his crotch come alive. God, he wanted to
656
00:41:00.760 --> 00:41:03.719
fuck her on the spot. This called for a change
657
00:41:03.719 --> 00:41:07.559
of plans. He'd planned on taking the woman in Pajama's hostage,
658
00:41:07.920 --> 00:41:11.599
having her drive them somewhere secluded and lie low, but
659
00:41:11.679 --> 00:41:15.159
White Chocolate got trigger happy and fucked that up, so
660
00:41:15.239 --> 00:41:17.920
we'd settle for just taking her car and some supplies
661
00:41:18.239 --> 00:41:21.519
and high tailing it. But now Blondie had dropped into
662
00:41:21.559 --> 00:41:24.679
their laps, and if he was lucky, she'd be riding
663
00:41:24.719 --> 00:41:27.800
it later tonight after he was done, Cherry could have
664
00:41:27.840 --> 00:41:31.639
a go. She'd like that. Orville licked his lips at
665
00:41:31.679 --> 00:41:35.639
the thought. From behind the counter. Another urgent beep as
666
00:41:35.679 --> 00:41:39.119
the blonde pressed a button on the pump. Finally giving up,
667
00:41:39.440 --> 00:41:44.440
she walked, frustrated towards the store. Here we go, Orville whispered.
668
00:41:45.199 --> 00:41:48.039
The blonde pulled the door open, making the bell chime
669
00:41:48.119 --> 00:41:53.519
as she unknowingly stepped into hell. Jimmy, you awaken here,
670
00:41:53.840 --> 00:41:58.480
she asked, a second before seeing the blood. Jimmy, nope,
671
00:41:59.000 --> 00:42:04.599
Orville stood. Colt pointed at her. Jimmy's on break blood,
672
00:42:04.920 --> 00:42:08.840
the girl said, biting her lip. Did you? Sure did,
673
00:42:09.199 --> 00:42:12.559
Cherry said, as she walked towards them, carrying an overstuffed
674
00:42:12.559 --> 00:42:18.280
bag of groceries. How sweet fresh meat. She's also going
675
00:42:18.280 --> 00:42:20.039
to be all right out of here, ain't you?
676
00:42:20.119 --> 00:42:20.480
Baby?
677
00:42:21.280 --> 00:42:23.280
The girl looked down at the bodies, then up at
678
00:42:23.400 --> 00:42:28.719
Orville and Cherry dumbstruck, right, Orville said, a bit annoyed.
679
00:42:29.159 --> 00:42:31.440
He took the blonde's chin with his hand and forced
680
00:42:31.440 --> 00:42:35.719
the girl to nod an agreement. Right. He took his
681
00:42:35.800 --> 00:42:40.480
hand away, leaving bloody fingerprints. Who are you, the girl asked,
682
00:42:40.480 --> 00:42:45.360
her voice quivering. I'm a demon? Orville answered, straight from Hell.
683
00:42:45.920 --> 00:42:51.840
I eat up little girls like you. You're gonna kill me, depends.
684
00:42:52.559 --> 00:42:59.239
What's your name, sweetness? Lauren? Lauren Doler? Well, Lauren? Where
685
00:42:59.239 --> 00:43:03.000
were you headed this fine afternoon? The girl took a
686
00:43:03.039 --> 00:43:08.239
deep breath. To my parents for dinner, To her parents
687
00:43:08.320 --> 00:43:13.119
for dinner? Cherry mocked, And where do said parents live?
688
00:43:14.840 --> 00:43:17.159
You don't want to go there, please, I'll take you
689
00:43:17.199 --> 00:43:22.599
anywhere else. Orville snapped his fingers. Where do they live?
690
00:43:23.800 --> 00:43:26.360
I don't want anybody to get hurt, she offered up.
691
00:43:26.880 --> 00:43:33.480
Orville snapped his fingers again. Where defeated? She sighed outside
692
00:43:33.559 --> 00:43:38.880
Hillbury on Old Gorge Road. Sounds homie, just the folks there,
693
00:43:38.920 --> 00:43:45.400
sweet pea. Yes, only child. He grabbed her ass. Great,
694
00:43:46.000 --> 00:43:50.119
let's mount up, road trip, Cherry said, doing a little dance.
695
00:43:50.760 --> 00:43:54.199
Lauren looked down at the dead bodies. You're just gonna
696
00:43:55.079 --> 00:44:00.119
leave them there like that. Cherry looked down at the bodies.
697
00:44:00.639 --> 00:44:03.719
They're dead, honey, they ain't got anything to worry about.
698
00:44:04.239 --> 00:44:07.440
Now move your ass. They filled up the gas tank
699
00:44:07.480 --> 00:44:10.639
of Lauren's Chevrolet hatchback and loaded up the back with
700
00:44:10.760 --> 00:44:14.559
several bags of groceries. Orville had formulated a new plan.
701
00:44:15.119 --> 00:44:17.719
They'd go to the parents' house, maybe spend a day
702
00:44:17.800 --> 00:44:21.760
or two laying low. This massacre would be all over
703
00:44:21.800 --> 00:44:24.360
the news. He could take the time to have some
704
00:44:24.480 --> 00:44:29.000
fun with Lauren. Orville looked over the car. We're all set,
705
00:44:29.039 --> 00:44:35.280
sweet pea. You know the way you drive. Shotgun, Cherry shouted, Sorry, honey,
706
00:44:35.559 --> 00:44:38.119
I gotta keep an eye on our driver. You'll have
707
00:44:38.159 --> 00:44:41.360
to ride in the back seat. Oh fuck, Cherry kicked
708
00:44:41.360 --> 00:44:45.400
the car tire. I never get Shotgun. Orville slid into
709
00:44:45.400 --> 00:44:48.599
the passenger's side and glanced at the blonde. She had
710
00:44:48.639 --> 00:44:52.840
her bloodstained fingers near her mouth. Did she just lick
711
00:44:52.920 --> 00:44:56.679
the blood. No, no, couldn't be just a trick. His
712
00:44:56.719 --> 00:44:59.840
eyes played on him. Orville watched the trees on b
713
00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:03.079
both sides of the road passed by, their branches stretched
714
00:45:03.079 --> 00:45:06.719
out towards him like skeletal arms. It wasn't fall yet,
715
00:45:06.920 --> 00:45:10.159
but all the trees had lost their leaves. What's with
716
00:45:10.280 --> 00:45:14.639
the trees, he asked out loud to nobody in particular. Lauren,
717
00:45:14.760 --> 00:45:18.400
who was focused on the road, answered him that's because
718
00:45:18.440 --> 00:45:21.760
of the original Hillbury. There was a chemical spill back
719
00:45:21.800 --> 00:45:26.159
in the eighties. Shit really, Cherry said, poking her head
720
00:45:26.159 --> 00:45:29.159
in from the back seat. This spooked Lauren, whose hand
721
00:45:29.239 --> 00:45:32.960
slipped on the wheel. Easy there, girl, Orville said. He
722
00:45:33.039 --> 00:45:36.239
slipped his hand to Lauren's bare leg, running his hand
723
00:45:36.320 --> 00:45:40.760
up under her skirt. Can't have you crashing, Cherry slapped
724
00:45:40.840 --> 00:45:44.000
Orville on the shoulder. Lay off, Let her tell the story.
725
00:45:45.159 --> 00:45:49.079
Orville's hand moved away. There came from the cooler skirt
726
00:45:49.079 --> 00:45:53.199
back then. Spooky will be right this story. Just some
727
00:45:53.280 --> 00:45:56.559
company spilled a bunch of chemicals near the town, killed
728
00:45:56.559 --> 00:45:59.960
all the trees and grass, poisoned the water. A few
729
00:46:00.079 --> 00:46:03.639
people got sick. All the townsfolks moved to New Hillbury.
730
00:46:04.039 --> 00:46:06.760
She pointed past Orville. You can see part of the
731
00:46:06.760 --> 00:46:11.239
old town there through the trees there. Orville and Cherry turned.
732
00:46:12.039 --> 00:46:15.400
As the dead trees flew by, a few dilapidated houses
733
00:46:15.440 --> 00:46:20.679
could be seen, weathered, abandoned and forgotten to time. Your
734
00:46:20.679 --> 00:46:23.400
parents live all the way out here. It'll be much
735
00:46:23.440 --> 00:46:27.960
easier that way, away from prying eyes. Orville smiled at
736
00:46:27.960 --> 00:46:31.400
this thought. No need to worry about all the screaming.
737
00:46:32.880 --> 00:46:34.880
My parents like it out in the country, away from
738
00:46:34.920 --> 00:46:39.480
the hustle and bustle. They're a little old fashioned. Orville
739
00:46:39.519 --> 00:46:42.639
let his eyes wander to the girl's chest. Her tits
740
00:46:42.639 --> 00:46:46.400
were nicely sized. He got hard as thoughts of burying
741
00:46:46.400 --> 00:46:50.280
his face and them ran through his mind. Not you, though, huh.
742
00:46:50.719 --> 00:46:55.800
You like the tight, tight, cramped modern world. That's a
743
00:46:55.840 --> 00:46:59.400
hell of a commute for daddy, Cherry piped in. Cherry
744
00:46:59.480 --> 00:47:01.840
knew what he would thinking, and it pissed her off.
745
00:47:02.360 --> 00:47:07.360
He could tell dead kind of works from home. Lucky him,
746
00:47:07.599 --> 00:47:10.719
Orville said. He looked at the sky growing dark as
747
00:47:10.760 --> 00:47:14.239
the evening crept in. The car sank into quiet. As
748
00:47:14.360 --> 00:47:16.480
Orville turned his thoughts to what had to be done,
749
00:47:17.000 --> 00:47:20.559
The parents shouldn't be too hard to control, especially since
750
00:47:20.559 --> 00:47:24.440
he had the girl and the gun. Besides, in a
751
00:47:24.480 --> 00:47:26.760
day or two, the happy family would be dead as
752
00:47:26.840 --> 00:47:31.039
dog shit. Orville looked at the girl, seeing her as
753
00:47:31.119 --> 00:47:37.760
yet another decayed corpse left in his wake. Too much quiet,
754
00:47:38.119 --> 00:47:41.599
Cherry barked from the back seat. Turn on some tunes. Ori,
755
00:47:42.840 --> 00:47:46.639
good idea, he said. He turned on the radio, cycling
756
00:47:46.679 --> 00:47:50.559
through the channels, Most of it was static. The first
757
00:47:50.599 --> 00:47:54.519
actual station he got was a religious one. A woman
758
00:47:54.679 --> 00:47:58.280
was preaching, screaming the words in a frenzy Exodus four
759
00:47:58.440 --> 00:48:02.360
twenty five. You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me.
760
00:48:03.079 --> 00:48:06.159
The woman's voice was raw, like her throat was bloody.
761
00:48:07.280 --> 00:48:11.239
Ah nope, Cherry interjected from the back seat. The next
762
00:48:11.239 --> 00:48:14.760
station he found was a pop station. Dubsteps strained the
763
00:48:14.800 --> 00:48:19.400
car speakers. Hell fucking no. The next station, Kenny G
764
00:48:19.760 --> 00:48:24.639
was playing his heart out crap. Next, Orville switched it again.
765
00:48:25.199 --> 00:48:30.320
Black sabbaths paranoid assaulted their ear drums. Hell yeah, Cherry squealed.
766
00:48:31.000 --> 00:48:33.639
It was dark before they got to the house. Lauren
767
00:48:33.719 --> 00:48:36.920
drove without the headlights on until Orville said something. She
768
00:48:37.079 --> 00:48:39.119
was so nervous, she must have forgot to turn them on.
769
00:48:40.639 --> 00:48:44.440
I can take you anywhere, she pleaded, Please just don't
770
00:48:44.480 --> 00:48:50.480
involve my parents. Really, I'm sorry, sweetness, but no, even
771
00:48:50.519 --> 00:48:52.840
if he somehow took pity on her and it was
772
00:48:52.880 --> 00:48:55.679
too late now anyway, on the left side of the road,
773
00:48:55.719 --> 00:48:59.599
a large house loomed, lights burning quaintly in the windows.
774
00:49:00.239 --> 00:49:02.400
This had to be the place. It was the first
775
00:49:02.400 --> 00:49:06.000
man made structure they'd seen in miles. Lauren pulled off
776
00:49:06.039 --> 00:49:09.159
the road down on a long dirt driveway. Off to
777
00:49:09.239 --> 00:49:12.960
the house's right, a large walled in cemetery loomed, its
778
00:49:13.000 --> 00:49:19.920
stone walls ancient and crumbling. Whoa creepy, Cherry said, pressing
779
00:49:19.960 --> 00:49:24.119
her face to the window. A graveyard. Your parents live
780
00:49:24.199 --> 00:49:28.760
next to a fucking graveyard, Orville asked, Dad's the caretaker,
781
00:49:29.079 --> 00:49:32.480
Lauren answered, as she pulled up to the house. When
782
00:49:32.480 --> 00:49:36.360
the town moved, the cemetery stayed. They still bury people
783
00:49:36.360 --> 00:49:39.599
from the new town here. They got out of the car.
784
00:49:40.119 --> 00:49:42.800
Orville glanced up at the house. It looked old, but
785
00:49:43.280 --> 00:49:46.320
in pretty good condition. Daddy probably had a lot of
786
00:49:46.320 --> 00:49:49.760
time on his hands to keep the place nice. Won't
787
00:49:49.800 --> 00:49:53.320
Mom and Dad be surprised, Cherry said, doing a little
788
00:49:53.320 --> 00:49:57.400
skip lead the way, Princess. Orville reached into his jacket
789
00:49:57.400 --> 00:50:00.000
and pulled out an old switchblade. He held the blaze
790
00:50:00.119 --> 00:50:03.880
to Lauren's side. Don't think of being a hero. This
791
00:50:04.000 --> 00:50:07.000
old girl is Sally killed my first dog with her.
792
00:50:07.400 --> 00:50:14.039
She'll gut you all the same. Understand, Yes, good, let's
793
00:50:14.079 --> 00:50:18.239
go meet the folks. Lauren pushed open the door, Orville
794
00:50:18.320 --> 00:50:21.719
right behind her. The house looked homey, he thought, would
795
00:50:21.719 --> 00:50:26.280
be ashamed to make a mess of it. Mom, Dad,
796
00:50:26.800 --> 00:50:30.280
I'm here. Orville could hear a TV playing in one
797
00:50:30.320 --> 00:50:33.400
of the rooms. The smell of something good cooking hung
798
00:50:33.440 --> 00:50:36.559
in the air. A middle aged couple stepped into the room.
799
00:50:36.920 --> 00:50:40.119
Their looks of joy turned to questioning looks upon seeing
800
00:50:40.159 --> 00:50:45.360
their guests. Honey, who are these people? The mother asked.
801
00:50:45.880 --> 00:50:49.639
The father looked at Orville, the recognition visible on his face.
802
00:50:50.840 --> 00:50:55.320
Look who's come to dinner? Daddy, dear, Orville says, behave.
803
00:50:56.320 --> 00:51:01.599
He flashes the colt in its holster. Oh god, Mom stammered,
804
00:51:02.320 --> 00:51:06.239
what do you want? Some grub would be cool. They're
805
00:51:06.239 --> 00:51:10.519
the ones on the news serial killers, Lauren's father said,
806
00:51:11.000 --> 00:51:14.679
Has our little rest stop made us splash already? Orville said,
807
00:51:14.920 --> 00:51:17.800
putting his arm around Lauren. He could see the father's
808
00:51:17.840 --> 00:51:22.320
face light up with anger and then helplessness. This thrilled
809
00:51:22.440 --> 00:51:25.960
Orville to no end. Orville might have to make Daddy
810
00:51:26.039 --> 00:51:29.880
watch as he fucked the girl's brains out. Why don't
811
00:51:29.920 --> 00:51:33.360
we mosey into the dining room and eat? Mom and
812
00:51:33.440 --> 00:51:36.960
Dad led the way as Orville walked, with Lauren Cherry
813
00:51:37.039 --> 00:51:42.400
following behind. What do we have in mom? Orville asked, roast?
814
00:51:42.920 --> 00:51:46.119
But it's still in the oven, she answered, looking nervously
815
00:51:46.159 --> 00:51:49.960
at her husband. I should get it, Cherry. Why don't
816
00:51:49.960 --> 00:51:52.880
you help mom get the food? Orville winked at the mother.
817
00:51:53.519 --> 00:51:58.519
I'll entertain pops. Cherry frowned, Come on, you, old bat.
818
00:51:58.840 --> 00:52:01.760
She took the woman roughly by the arm. Where's the kitchen?
819
00:52:02.599 --> 00:52:05.280
Orville pulled Lauren tight to him. He took a whiff
820
00:52:05.320 --> 00:52:09.920
of her hair and skin. Your daughter smells great, Daddy,
821
00:52:10.519 --> 00:52:13.960
ever have a piece? He could see the hate burning
822
00:52:14.280 --> 00:52:17.920
in the man's eyes. Orville half wanted him to try something.
823
00:52:18.519 --> 00:52:22.119
He ran his hand roughly over Lauren's chest that she
824
00:52:22.280 --> 00:52:26.199
tastes great too. As he hoped this was too much
825
00:52:26.239 --> 00:52:28.519
for Dad. Orville pushed Lauren out of the way and
826
00:52:28.599 --> 00:52:31.239
sent the girl sailing into a small stand. The father
827
00:52:31.400 --> 00:52:34.280
charged at Orville, swinging at him with his huge fist.
828
00:52:34.639 --> 00:52:37.360
Orville sidestepped the swing and grabbed the man by the throat.
829
00:52:37.480 --> 00:52:40.599
He slammed him down hard against a nearby table. The
830
00:52:40.679 --> 00:52:44.440
mother appeared in the doorway, Cherry right behind her. Get
831
00:52:44.480 --> 00:52:47.480
the fuck back in the kitchen, Cherry. Cherry did as
832
00:52:47.519 --> 00:52:49.960
she was told, pulling the woman back to the kitchen.
833
00:52:50.559 --> 00:52:54.440
Orville pulled out sally and sliced a large gash across
834
00:52:54.440 --> 00:52:59.400
the man's right cheek. Bad dad. He took a quick
835
00:52:59.440 --> 00:53:04.679
glance at Lowdlauren. Hey, princess, where's the basement? Lauren stood,
836
00:53:05.079 --> 00:53:09.280
unsure on her feet. Please don't hurt them, Just go
837
00:53:10.440 --> 00:53:14.360
not gonna happen basement now, or Daddy loses an eye.
838
00:53:15.320 --> 00:53:18.760
Lauren led them to the basement door and nervously opened it.
839
00:53:19.960 --> 00:53:23.960
What are you gonna do? Lauren pleaded. Orville dragged her
840
00:53:23.960 --> 00:53:26.960
old man to the stairs. All Orville could see were
841
00:53:27.000 --> 00:53:32.239
some old woodstairs descending into darkness. Can you fly, daddy?
842
00:53:32.960 --> 00:53:35.480
Orville took the man by the collar and threw him
843
00:53:35.519 --> 00:53:38.320
down the stairs. Lauren screamed her guts out as her
844
00:53:38.320 --> 00:53:41.639
father was swallowed up by the darkness. Orville thought he
845
00:53:41.639 --> 00:53:45.199
heard the sound of bones breaking as the man hit bottom.
846
00:53:45.599 --> 00:53:49.679
He looked at Lauren. Tears streamed down her cheeks. It's
847
00:53:49.760 --> 00:53:53.559
possibly survived, maybe she sobbed.
848
00:53:54.719 --> 00:53:55.000
Why?
849
00:53:56.280 --> 00:54:00.280
Orville licked his lips. You don't want mom to get
850
00:54:00.280 --> 00:54:06.400
the treatment? Do you no good? You'll do what I say?
851
00:54:06.440 --> 00:54:11.880
Then she nodded, here's what I want. He knew she'd
852
00:54:11.880 --> 00:54:14.440
still have a room here. The kid moves out, but
853
00:54:14.480 --> 00:54:17.960
the folks always keep the room untouched. Stuffed animals sat
854
00:54:18.000 --> 00:54:22.199
on the bed, silent judgment on their furry faces. Orville
855
00:54:22.199 --> 00:54:25.519
turned on the radio on the girl's dresser. Stevie B's
856
00:54:25.519 --> 00:54:29.639
Postman song was on. Not sexy. But Orville didn't want
857
00:54:29.639 --> 00:54:32.960
to wait anymore. He pushed the stuffed animals off the bed,
858
00:54:33.159 --> 00:54:36.280
scattering them to the floor. He hopped on the old bed,
859
00:54:36.599 --> 00:54:43.599
its springs creaking and protest. Okay, sweet pea, showtime strip.
860
00:54:44.639 --> 00:54:48.679
Lauren gulped. Cherry watched the mom trying to prepare dinner.
861
00:54:48.760 --> 00:54:51.119
Like all hell hadn't just broke loose in the other
862
00:54:51.199 --> 00:54:53.760
room a few minutes ago. She had to hand it
863
00:54:53.760 --> 00:54:56.360
to the old bat. She could keep it under control.
864
00:54:56.679 --> 00:54:59.719
It had grown quiet. Now what could be going on?
865
00:55:00.320 --> 00:55:04.119
Cherry thought, Before she investigated that the smell of the
866
00:55:04.199 --> 00:55:08.440
roast caught her limited attention span. Fully, Cherry stabbed a
867
00:55:08.440 --> 00:55:10.679
big slice of it with her knife and took a
868
00:55:10.760 --> 00:55:16.079
large bite, sending juices dribbling down her chin. So good, mommy,
869
00:55:16.480 --> 00:55:19.519
she said, I think I just came in my panties.
870
00:55:20.400 --> 00:55:23.280
The woman didn't answer. She cut off a slice to
871
00:55:23.320 --> 00:55:28.239
replace the one Cherry took. Bee for pork, Cherry asks,
872
00:55:28.960 --> 00:55:32.639
I can't nail the taste. Putting down the carving knife,
873
00:55:33.119 --> 00:55:37.559
mother cleaned off her hands with a towel. Pork. It's
874
00:55:37.679 --> 00:55:42.760
damn good, mom, Why do you do it hurt people?
875
00:55:43.760 --> 00:55:47.280
Cherry thought for a moment, because it's something to do.
876
00:55:48.239 --> 00:55:51.880
Lauren stood in her bron panties nervously trying to emulate
877
00:55:51.920 --> 00:55:56.199
a sexy dance. Orville watched. It was time. He could
878
00:55:56.239 --> 00:56:00.800
wait no longer. Come here. She walked toward him, her
879
00:56:00.840 --> 00:56:04.199
face pale white. Orville was a little bit disappointed in
880
00:56:04.239 --> 00:56:07.559
her choice of plain pink panties and bra He'd hope
881
00:56:07.559 --> 00:56:10.760
they'd be something a little more exciting or at least funny.
882
00:56:11.599 --> 00:56:16.280
Lauren sat down next to him, her body shaking, undo
883
00:56:16.360 --> 00:56:20.880
my pants. Cherry was getting a little nervous. Where was
884
00:56:21.039 --> 00:56:23.679
or She didn't hear anything out in the dining room.
885
00:56:24.199 --> 00:56:27.039
Maybe Orville was getting rid of the dad. She watched
886
00:56:27.039 --> 00:56:29.960
mother as she washed the carving knife. When can we
887
00:56:30.039 --> 00:56:33.880
go out there? She asked? The food'll get cold, Just
888
00:56:33.960 --> 00:56:36.519
hold your horses. Don't you have any other food to
889
00:56:36.559 --> 00:56:40.000
get ready? It was weird the whole time they were
890
00:56:40.039 --> 00:56:43.480
in the kitchen. She didn't see the woman prepare anything else.
891
00:56:44.079 --> 00:56:49.440
No vegetables, no potatoes, no stuffing, nothing. Did they only
892
00:56:49.480 --> 00:56:53.800
eat meat? The meat had made her thirsty. Cherry walked
893
00:56:53.800 --> 00:56:56.760
over to the fridge. She could go for something cold.
894
00:56:56.960 --> 00:56:59.000
It was too much to hope these fucks had beer
895
00:57:00.480 --> 00:57:05.440
the fridge door. Sitting there on a large plate was
896
00:57:05.480 --> 00:57:08.840
a severed human arm with a rather large chunk cut
897
00:57:08.880 --> 00:57:14.480
out from it. Cherry suddenly felt very weak. Behind her
898
00:57:14.519 --> 00:57:18.360
came noises. No human ears should ever hear the sound
899
00:57:18.440 --> 00:57:23.440
of flesh and bone stretching moving. She spun around. The
900
00:57:23.480 --> 00:57:28.239
woman looked different now, her skin grayish, her eyes black,
901
00:57:28.559 --> 00:57:31.760
Long teeth protruded from her mouth, and her hands had
902
00:57:31.800 --> 00:57:36.400
become claws. We can't eat just any flesh, she growled.
903
00:57:37.039 --> 00:57:40.400
It has to be dead first, the father said. Standing
904
00:57:40.440 --> 00:57:43.519
in the door. He was a little bloodied, but looking
905
00:57:43.679 --> 00:57:44.920
very much like his wife did.
906
00:57:45.039 --> 00:57:45.320
Now.
907
00:57:46.159 --> 00:57:49.239
The only thing between Orville and Lauren was his boxers
908
00:57:49.239 --> 00:57:52.599
and her underwear. He felt like a boy on Christmas morning.
909
00:57:53.079 --> 00:57:56.119
He told Lauren to pull down his boxers. They fell
910
00:57:56.159 --> 00:57:59.679
to the floor. Here he took her head, lowering it
911
00:57:59.719 --> 00:58:03.400
towards his excited dick. He leaned his head back, looking
912
00:58:03.440 --> 00:58:06.519
up at the ceiling. The girl was pretty good at this.
913
00:58:07.719 --> 00:58:11.760
There was a gunshot somewhere downstairs, followed by Cherry screaming
914
00:58:11.800 --> 00:58:15.920
in horror. What the fuck? But it was already too late.
915
00:58:16.559 --> 00:58:20.159
In the next instant, pain sliced through him. He felt
916
00:58:20.199 --> 00:58:23.679
something warm splash his chest. He was almost too terrified
917
00:58:23.719 --> 00:58:27.320
to look down. His crutch was covered in warm, red blood.
918
00:58:27.559 --> 00:58:30.360
The small stump where his dick had been was busy
919
00:58:30.400 --> 00:58:33.679
pumping more out. As he started to slip into shock,
920
00:58:33.960 --> 00:58:38.320
he looked at Lauren, whose body was undergoing a horrible change.
921
00:58:38.360 --> 00:58:41.440
She spat blood from her mouth, along with his severed manhood.
922
00:58:42.239 --> 00:58:44.880
I told you to leave us alone.
923
00:58:45.760 --> 00:58:49.639
Orville could hear the heavenly chorus calling him? They sounded
924
00:58:50.280 --> 00:58:51.440
like Howling.
925
00:58:51.039 --> 00:59:15.519
Wolves, Howling Wolves, The Fall of Man by David O'Hanlon.
926
00:59:18.559 --> 00:59:21.199
I slid down the door and let my head fall
927
00:59:21.239 --> 00:59:24.519
against the pressed wood with a thump. It was a
928
00:59:24.559 --> 00:59:28.039
disappointing sound, and I banged my head against it again
929
00:59:28.199 --> 00:59:32.320
for the same dissatisfying result. It was supposed to sound
930
00:59:32.400 --> 00:59:36.159
like I felt. I didn't know exactly what that sound was,
931
00:59:36.280 --> 00:59:40.840
but it wasn't a muffled thud. Everything was falling apart,
932
00:59:40.960 --> 00:59:44.119
and I couldn't even bang my head against the door correctly.
933
00:59:45.239 --> 00:59:48.320
Emotions cascaded from head to heart in ways I could
934
00:59:48.400 --> 00:59:51.880
actually feel, and it made my skin prickle until I
935
00:59:51.960 --> 00:59:56.360
started shaking. Bile hit the back of my throat, but
936
00:59:56.760 --> 01:00:00.760
I was too distraught to move. Not a weak man,
937
01:00:00.920 --> 01:00:04.079
at least not as far as I was concerned. I
938
01:00:04.119 --> 01:00:08.320
didn't feel things. Feelings come with a vagina to keep
939
01:00:08.360 --> 01:00:11.960
them in. My father always told me. Dad was sure
940
01:00:12.000 --> 01:00:16.559
to punctuate those life lessons with punches. The knuckles made
941
01:00:16.599 --> 01:00:20.480
grooves for the messages to really sink in. Maybe that
942
01:00:20.639 --> 01:00:23.159
wasn't the best way to raise a child, or maybe
943
01:00:23.199 --> 01:00:26.320
it was. It had worked out well to a point.
944
01:00:27.199 --> 01:00:29.719
I had been a stock boy at Brown's General market
945
01:00:29.760 --> 01:00:33.360
for less than three months before making it to assistant manager.
946
01:00:34.280 --> 01:00:37.079
In two years, the owners promoted me to store manager
947
01:00:37.480 --> 01:00:42.159
when the old one died in some bizarre fishing accident. Cohler,
948
01:00:42.400 --> 01:00:47.480
Arkansas had a very high rate of accidents. The Browns
949
01:00:47.480 --> 01:00:50.320
were good people, and I loved them as best I knew.
950
01:00:50.320 --> 01:00:55.000
How they doated on me like their own son, or
951
01:00:55.159 --> 01:00:58.280
like they would have if the whelp had ever accomplished anything.
952
01:00:59.400 --> 01:01:02.039
It was for the Browns when the boy died in
953
01:01:02.079 --> 01:01:05.559
a fire. But it worked out well in the end.
954
01:01:06.239 --> 01:01:08.639
I hadn't been at Brown's a full six years and
955
01:01:08.679 --> 01:01:13.119
their store was more than competing with established franchises like Pigley,
956
01:01:13.159 --> 01:01:17.000
Wiggly and Kroger. Once they died the following year of
957
01:01:17.400 --> 01:01:21.440
age related conditions, the Browns passed the store over to me.
958
01:01:22.559 --> 01:01:26.639
It all worked out perfectly. I loved the store, truly.
959
01:01:27.119 --> 01:01:29.880
It was the only thing I loved. If we're being honest,
960
01:01:30.800 --> 01:01:34.880
my romantic life consisted of a platinum membership at the Inpornium.
961
01:01:35.760 --> 01:01:38.159
I was a three time customer of the month. As
962
01:01:38.199 --> 01:01:40.960
the owner pointed out that morning when I returned my
963
01:01:41.079 --> 01:01:45.559
rented smut. It worked out better for me and everyone else.
964
01:01:46.039 --> 01:01:48.440
If I stuck to the curtained room reserved for the
965
01:01:48.440 --> 01:01:53.440
more extreme tastes, and my tastes have always been very extreme.
966
01:01:54.800 --> 01:01:57.679
I never related to people well enough to date them anyway.
967
01:01:58.079 --> 01:02:00.960
There had been a few attempts over the year. The
968
01:02:01.039 --> 01:02:04.159
most recent was two years prior with one of my stokers,
969
01:02:04.639 --> 01:02:08.679
a curvy country girl named Autumn. Aside from her bubbly
970
01:02:08.760 --> 01:02:12.960
personality and constant need for attention, sleeping with an employee
971
01:02:13.039 --> 01:02:16.840
was a boring cliche. I ended it after twenty seven
972
01:02:16.920 --> 01:02:19.800
days and patted myself on the back because it was
973
01:02:19.840 --> 01:02:24.400
two days longer than my last relationship. I was practically
974
01:02:24.480 --> 01:02:29.960
a social butterfly flap flap. Most people that claim to
975
01:02:30.000 --> 01:02:34.079
dislike other people at least have pets. I don't really
976
01:02:34.199 --> 01:02:39.000
understand that either. It's not that I hate animals. In fact,
977
01:02:39.119 --> 01:02:41.199
I leave out scraps for one of the strays at
978
01:02:41.199 --> 01:02:44.599
my apartment. On Tuesdays, I tossed some of the stale
979
01:02:44.639 --> 01:02:47.960
bread to the ducks that congregated in the little retention
980
01:02:48.119 --> 01:02:52.360
pond behind the store. I just don't get it. Why
981
01:02:52.440 --> 01:02:56.119
keep a pet, We don't have anything in common, and
982
01:02:56.280 --> 01:02:59.760
time away from the store could be spent bettering myself
983
01:03:00.840 --> 01:03:04.760
playing with an animal didn't have any intrinsic value. I
984
01:03:04.880 --> 01:03:07.840
tried a bita fish once, but flushed it down the
985
01:03:07.840 --> 01:03:11.039
toilet after only a week. I guess I'm just not
986
01:03:11.199 --> 01:03:15.360
capable of that much commitment. A tear splashed on the
987
01:03:15.360 --> 01:03:17.280
back of my hand, and all I could do was
988
01:03:17.320 --> 01:03:22.280
stare at it curiously. The crystalline drop seemed to shimmer
989
01:03:22.320 --> 01:03:25.800
in the blue lights dancing through the blinds. I probed
990
01:03:25.840 --> 01:03:29.320
my eyes and felt their dampness. Before the dam broke,
991
01:03:30.119 --> 01:03:33.880
and three decades of emotions poured down the spillways of
992
01:03:33.920 --> 01:03:37.960
my cheeks. The fists battering the front door made my
993
01:03:38.039 --> 01:03:41.679
heart pound. That's the sound I was trying to make.
994
01:03:42.480 --> 01:03:45.639
It was the sound of fury and loss and everything
995
01:03:45.639 --> 01:03:49.880
else I was feeling. The banging intensified, and I rocked
996
01:03:49.960 --> 01:03:54.639
my head against the bedroom door in rhythm. I found
997
01:03:54.639 --> 01:04:05.519
my voice and cried until it became laughter. I could
998
01:04:05.519 --> 01:04:09.079
practically feel the browns padding me on the back as
999
01:04:09.119 --> 01:04:12.000
I noted a four percent increase over the past quarter.
1000
01:04:13.039 --> 01:04:15.320
It was twenty till one and I was ready to
1001
01:04:15.360 --> 01:04:18.280
call it a night. I emailed the numbers to my
1002
01:04:18.320 --> 01:04:21.480
accountant and then read the message from my attorney for
1003
01:04:21.519 --> 01:04:26.480
the sixth time. The local Pigley Wiggly, Still six miles away,
1004
01:04:27.000 --> 01:04:33.079
was going under. Thanks entirely to my efforts, we negotiated
1005
01:04:33.119 --> 01:04:36.440
the sale of their building and store fixtures at thirty
1006
01:04:36.480 --> 01:04:41.280
grand less than expected. The contracts would be ready by noon.
1007
01:04:42.519 --> 01:04:46.079
I laced my fingers behind my head and smiled at
1008
01:04:46.079 --> 01:04:50.400
the ceiling. Expanding the Brown's General Market brand was the
1009
01:04:50.400 --> 01:04:56.480
next step. Stores in Fort Smith, Springdale, Huntsville, and Almah
1010
01:04:56.840 --> 01:05:00.320
were already lined up. Over the next two years, I
1011
01:05:00.320 --> 01:05:03.400
had photoshopped pictures of each store done up with the
1012
01:05:03.480 --> 01:05:07.079
new Brown's logo hanging on a wall around a motivational
1013
01:05:07.199 --> 01:05:12.639
cat poster. I'd just turned thirty seven. By forty seven,
1014
01:05:13.000 --> 01:05:16.639
I'd have sold the franchise to Walmart and retired to Ecuador.
1015
01:05:17.480 --> 01:05:20.440
Like the cat on the wall said, good things come
1016
01:05:20.480 --> 01:05:24.679
to those who act meal. A crash on the sales
1017
01:05:24.679 --> 01:05:26.960
floor made me jump, and I rushed to the two
1018
01:05:27.000 --> 01:05:31.000
way mirror. The last of the stalkers went home at midnight.
1019
01:05:31.760 --> 01:05:34.400
No one ever wanted overtime, especially when I worked the
1020
01:05:34.480 --> 01:05:38.239
night shift. I glanced at the safe and scrunched my nose.
1021
01:05:39.079 --> 01:05:43.119
Mister Brown insisted on keeping a revolver inside it, just
1022
01:05:43.199 --> 01:05:47.719
in case shooting myself by mistake or worse, Putting a
1023
01:05:47.760 --> 01:05:50.559
hole in the store would be ridiculous if it was
1024
01:05:50.719 --> 01:05:54.280
just a collapsed shelf. Some of the fixtures were purchased
1025
01:05:54.280 --> 01:05:56.719
in the nineties, and the new shelves didn't clip in
1026
01:05:56.800 --> 01:05:59.719
as well as they should. From time to time one
1027
01:05:59.719 --> 01:06:03.159
would slip out. I opted for a pair of scissors
1028
01:06:03.199 --> 01:06:08.760
as my personal protection, just in case. However, Aisle seven
1029
01:06:09.039 --> 01:06:15.360
Condiments salad dressing, pickles, peppers, and salsa. The smell of
1030
01:06:15.400 --> 01:06:18.960
pickle juice hit my nose from ten feet away. I'd
1031
01:06:18.960 --> 01:06:23.599
never liked pickles. They were demonic appendages, severed from the
1032
01:06:23.679 --> 01:06:27.880
cruel hands of catonic terrors that scared the shit out
1033
01:06:27.880 --> 01:06:32.119
of me as a child. Don't judge me. Unlike the
1034
01:06:32.159 --> 01:06:36.880
monster under your bed, pickles are real. At least shards
1035
01:06:36.880 --> 01:06:40.960
of glass spread like shrapnel across the floor. I hated
1036
01:06:41.000 --> 01:06:43.320
that floor, but didn't want to have to close the
1037
01:06:43.320 --> 01:06:47.280
place to replace it. The deep russet tiles had faded
1038
01:06:47.320 --> 01:06:50.800
to something closer to tawny, while the white tiles were
1039
01:06:50.840 --> 01:06:55.199
now darker, stained over the years to a champagne like yellow,
1040
01:06:56.000 --> 01:07:01.360
brown and yellow like used underwear. The red was a
1041
01:07:01.400 --> 01:07:08.599
new touch. So was the dead body. I gawked stupidly
1042
01:07:08.639 --> 01:07:12.320
at the corpse, sprawled between spilled pickles and broken glass.
1043
01:07:13.199 --> 01:07:15.960
The head was missing, but the victim was wearing a
1044
01:07:16.000 --> 01:07:20.599
brown's vest atop bejeweled jeans. The curves of the diminutive
1045
01:07:20.599 --> 01:07:26.039
figure were unmistakably female and familiar. I tried to picture
1046
01:07:26.119 --> 01:07:30.000
the body bent over my desk. I said, sleeping with
1047
01:07:30.079 --> 01:07:35.559
employees was cliche, not that I didn't still do it, Bianca.
1048
01:07:36.440 --> 01:07:40.880
I stepped closer and inspected the area. Her head wasn't missing,
1049
01:07:40.960 --> 01:07:45.199
after all, it was sitting right there between two jars
1050
01:07:45.239 --> 01:07:46.920
of lacic spears.
1051
01:07:47.519 --> 01:07:49.199
Clean up on Aisle seven.
1052
01:07:49.599 --> 01:07:52.079
A distorted voice said over the PA system.
1053
01:07:52.920 --> 01:07:55.679
Just a simple murder, no big deal.
1054
01:07:56.639 --> 01:08:00.920
There were four phones on the sales floor, the meat department,
1055
01:08:01.320 --> 01:08:05.159
one in my office, seven at the registers, and another
1056
01:08:05.239 --> 01:08:08.559
at the service desk, and they could all dial into
1057
01:08:08.559 --> 01:08:13.280
the PA. The killer could have been anywhere. I went
1058
01:08:13.360 --> 01:08:16.319
back to main Street, the path between the registers and
1059
01:08:16.359 --> 01:08:20.239
the grocery aisles, and looked for any sign of the intruder.
1060
01:08:21.279 --> 01:08:24.199
The coast was clear, so I bolted for the front doors.
1061
01:08:24.840 --> 01:08:28.720
I hit the crash bar and bounced off. I tried again,
1062
01:08:29.039 --> 01:08:32.920
twisting the lock back and forth, but the doors refused
1063
01:08:32.920 --> 01:08:37.760
to budge. The voice said, you can't leave without pay.
1064
01:08:38.479 --> 01:08:44.760
I wasn't scared. Hatred, anger, those are functional emotions. Dad
1065
01:08:44.840 --> 01:08:49.439
was okay with me feeling them. Fear that was a weakness,
1066
01:08:49.479 --> 01:08:53.640
almost as pathetic as love. My father taught me that
1067
01:08:53.720 --> 01:08:56.399
you were only worth as much as you do. You
1068
01:08:56.439 --> 01:09:00.399
can't do anything if you're dead. Survival was the name
1069
01:09:00.439 --> 01:09:03.359
of the game, and you win by putting your functional
1070
01:09:03.359 --> 01:09:07.720
emotions to use. I pushed the door again and heard
1071
01:09:07.720 --> 01:09:12.359
the chains rattling on the other side. The person knew
1072
01:09:12.359 --> 01:09:18.840
my routines. They had planned it out. Hatred, anger, yeah,
1073
01:09:19.119 --> 01:09:21.800
I was feeling those. I was feeling the fuck out
1074
01:09:21.840 --> 01:09:22.279
of those.
1075
01:09:22.720 --> 01:09:24.800
Please return to your shopping.
1076
01:09:24.640 --> 01:09:27.319
The voice growled, Have you considered.
1077
01:09:26.840 --> 01:09:29.800
A seafood option to pair with your pickles?
1078
01:09:30.359 --> 01:09:33.920
The bastard was trying to suggestive sell me in my
1079
01:09:34.039 --> 01:09:37.720
own store. I adjusted my grip on the scissors and
1080
01:09:37.880 --> 01:09:41.600
ran to the service desk. No one was there. I
1081
01:09:41.680 --> 01:09:44.840
went to the paper goods asle next and checked that phone.
1082
01:09:44.960 --> 01:09:46.159
It was still on the hook.
1083
01:09:46.800 --> 01:09:50.920
Good customer service is reserved for good customers.
1084
01:09:51.319 --> 01:09:52.600
My stalker told.
1085
01:09:52.399 --> 01:09:55.000
Me follow directions, Terence.
1086
01:09:56.000 --> 01:09:59.479
I stalked along the aisle, hunkered down and keeping my
1087
01:09:59.560 --> 01:10:03.079
body close to the shelves. I stopped short of a
1088
01:10:03.119 --> 01:10:06.479
back road, what we called the lane that ran parallel
1089
01:10:06.520 --> 01:10:09.560
to Main Street and separated the aisles from the meat,
1090
01:10:09.640 --> 01:10:14.319
seafood and dairy departments. I took a deep breath and
1091
01:10:14.479 --> 01:10:18.079
sprang from the aisle with the scissors raised over my head.
1092
01:10:19.239 --> 01:10:22.920
No one was there. I walked past the last dairy
1093
01:10:22.960 --> 01:10:26.199
bunker where we kept the riccatta cottage cheese and all that.
1094
01:10:26.920 --> 01:10:30.439
I sprinted past the stock room doors, but no one
1095
01:10:30.560 --> 01:10:33.720
lunged out for me. I was almost to the meat
1096
01:10:33.720 --> 01:10:37.560
department entrance when I paused at the seafood counter. The
1097
01:10:37.600 --> 01:10:40.840
team emptied the case before going home every night and
1098
01:10:40.960 --> 01:10:44.399
sprayed it out to keep the smell down. But there
1099
01:10:44.439 --> 01:10:48.520
it was a whole red snapper lying on a sheet
1100
01:10:48.560 --> 01:10:53.560
of ice, staring at me with a single dead eye.
1101
01:10:53.960 --> 01:10:56.640
A Brown's name tag was pinned to its body with
1102
01:10:56.720 --> 01:11:00.920
the filet knife. I swallowed hard. The tag had a
1103
01:11:00.960 --> 01:11:04.600
gold border denoting a member of the management team, and
1104
01:11:04.640 --> 01:11:09.239
the name Barry emblazoned across it. Barry Glover was the
1105
01:11:09.279 --> 01:11:13.880
store manager that died in that fishing accident. He slipped
1106
01:11:13.920 --> 01:11:16.359
and stuck himself in the chest with a filet blade,
1107
01:11:16.720 --> 01:11:21.479
severing his aorda. The coroner spent three days examining every
1108
01:11:21.560 --> 01:11:25.640
tiny detail to prove it really was a bizarre accident.
1109
01:11:26.800 --> 01:11:30.520
I spent six months practicing with dummies and pork shoulders
1110
01:11:31.159 --> 01:11:34.119
to make sure I could get those tiny details right.
1111
01:11:35.279 --> 01:11:40.479
And I had no one knew anything. So how could
1112
01:11:40.520 --> 01:11:41.479
this person.
1113
01:11:41.560 --> 01:11:42.720
See anything you like?
1114
01:11:43.239 --> 01:11:45.199
They asked from the overhead speakers.
1115
01:11:45.680 --> 01:11:49.560
If our seafood isn't to die for, maybe try or
1116
01:11:50.239 --> 01:11:51.800
fresh cut meats.
1117
01:11:52.199 --> 01:11:55.159
That sealed it. They were dialing in from the prep
1118
01:11:55.279 --> 01:11:57.800
room and wanted me to come running into their ambush.
1119
01:11:58.520 --> 01:12:01.520
It wouldn't work. They were trying to play my game.
1120
01:12:02.199 --> 01:12:06.199
But I've been playing on pro courts for years. I
1121
01:12:06.359 --> 01:12:09.319
was thirty when I started at Brown's, looking for a
1122
01:12:09.359 --> 01:12:13.640
new career. The old one wasn't panning out. I started
1123
01:12:13.680 --> 01:12:16.319
in the mail room there. I worked my way up
1124
01:12:16.359 --> 01:12:20.479
to a sales lead position. Then people started looking at
1125
01:12:20.520 --> 01:12:24.079
me funny around the office. That town had a problem
1126
01:12:24.119 --> 01:12:30.199
with accidents too, and relocations seemed prudent. Terence Horowitz wasn't
1127
01:12:30.279 --> 01:12:34.079
using his identity anymore, not after I buried him in
1128
01:12:34.119 --> 01:12:39.079
that crawl space. They say people like me have rituals.
1129
01:12:39.439 --> 01:12:43.039
Mine is the planning. No one could know about Barry,
1130
01:12:43.640 --> 01:12:47.359
just like they couldn't know about the real Terence or
1131
01:12:47.399 --> 01:12:51.680
the others. Whoever this was. I got them like that
1132
01:12:51.840 --> 01:12:55.880
snapper and come away looking like a hero. I went
1133
01:12:55.920 --> 01:12:59.520
into the prep room and found it dark and deserted.
1134
01:13:00.199 --> 01:13:04.640
A twelve inch butcher's cimeter sat on the polypropylene surface
1135
01:13:04.680 --> 01:13:08.439
of the cutting table. I traded my scissors for it
1136
01:13:09.000 --> 01:13:12.960
and opened the cooler, expecting to meet my tormentor in
1137
01:13:13.000 --> 01:13:18.960
a violent final clash. The motion activated light switch engaged
1138
01:13:19.359 --> 01:13:23.760
and revealed excessive amounts of meat for the upcoming Independence
1139
01:13:23.840 --> 01:13:31.000
Day sails. Still no vindictive maniac minus myself. I guess
1140
01:13:31.760 --> 01:13:34.399
you two's I still haven't found what I'm looking for.
1141
01:13:34.520 --> 01:13:40.279
Started playing hardy fucking har harr. I stormed back onto
1142
01:13:40.319 --> 01:13:44.800
the sales floor. The CD player was kept at customer service.
1143
01:13:45.680 --> 01:13:48.840
I ran down aisle ten breads and snack cakes and
1144
01:13:48.960 --> 01:13:52.159
slid onto main street. I hopped the service counter and
1145
01:13:52.199 --> 01:13:56.239
went around the partition to the employee area. The monofilament
1146
01:13:56.279 --> 01:13:59.880
line snapped as I rounded the corner. The thin plaster
1147
01:14:00.039 --> 01:14:05.039
extrand melts and becomes indistinguishable from carpet fibers in a
1148
01:14:05.079 --> 01:14:09.880
house fire. Just ask Doug Brown. I used the same
1149
01:14:09.960 --> 01:14:12.960
trip wire in his kitchen to cause the electrical fire
1150
01:14:13.079 --> 01:14:17.199
that night. The wall burst with a spray of sparks.
1151
01:14:17.600 --> 01:14:21.720
Wires crackled and popped as their exposed copper cores bumped
1152
01:14:21.760 --> 01:14:26.119
into one another. The overhead lights shattered and covered me
1153
01:14:26.199 --> 01:14:29.600
in glass. The music shut off, and the wall ignited
1154
01:14:29.640 --> 01:14:33.680
beside me. It was just like I'd done. If they
1155
01:14:33.720 --> 01:14:38.159
knew that, then they knew. Oh shit. I leapt away
1156
01:14:38.159 --> 01:14:40.960
from the flames and stumbled backwards out of the service area.
1157
01:14:41.640 --> 01:14:43.399
I needed to get to my apartment.
1158
01:14:44.039 --> 01:14:49.039
Attention shoppers, the store is now closing. Please make your
1159
01:14:49.079 --> 01:14:50.239
way to the front of the.
1160
01:14:50.199 --> 01:14:55.199
Store, the voice said. I turned, and there was the intruder,
1161
01:14:55.600 --> 01:14:58.880
dressed in a black ski mask and billowing parka that
1162
01:14:58.960 --> 01:15:03.600
hid any clue of their real identity. They raised the
1163
01:15:03.680 --> 01:15:05.239
voice changer to their lips.
1164
01:15:06.159 --> 01:15:08.159
This concludes our business.
1165
01:15:07.800 --> 01:15:11.760
Day, they said, and threw the device to the side.
1166
01:15:11.800 --> 01:15:15.560
I charged with a furious roar, leaping onto the conveyor
1167
01:15:15.600 --> 01:15:18.319
of the nearest checkout lane and jumping to the next,
1168
01:15:19.079 --> 01:15:23.439
then the next, the third. The intruder waved for me
1169
01:15:23.520 --> 01:15:26.359
to come on, and I did, with the butcher knife
1170
01:15:26.399 --> 01:15:29.840
cocked back and ready to split their fucking head in two.
1171
01:15:30.720 --> 01:15:33.840
I got the fifth lane, and it turns out I
1172
01:15:33.960 --> 01:15:38.159
wasn't the only one that liked planning things. The vegetable
1173
01:15:38.159 --> 01:15:42.439
oil was nearly invisible on that black rubber belt. My
1174
01:15:42.560 --> 01:15:45.840
shoes slipped across it, and I came down hard enough
1175
01:15:45.880 --> 01:15:49.399
to bend the aluminum frame of the checkout. I laid
1176
01:15:49.439 --> 01:15:52.439
on the floor, watching the black hiking boots with the
1177
01:15:52.479 --> 01:15:56.760
extra thick soles clopping toward the front door. You shouldn't
1178
01:15:56.800 --> 01:15:59.680
play with a girl's heart, the intruder said, with the
1179
01:15:59.760 --> 01:16:04.239
delicate twang of a true Southern bell, especially not one
1180
01:16:04.239 --> 01:16:08.279
that likes true crime shows. I know what you've done.
1181
01:16:08.520 --> 01:16:11.439
All the way back to Maryland, I got lots more
1182
01:16:11.479 --> 01:16:15.720
ideas for our next date night, Terry. She was gone
1183
01:16:15.800 --> 01:16:18.479
before I could get back to my feet. I ran
1184
01:16:18.600 --> 01:16:21.279
to my car and drove straight to the apartment. I'd
1185
01:16:21.359 --> 01:16:24.039
dropped the knife back at the store. I had no
1186
01:16:24.159 --> 01:16:27.880
doubt it was the one used to kill Bianca. They'd
1187
01:16:27.880 --> 01:16:31.000
write me off as a jealous pig boss that murdered
1188
01:16:31.039 --> 01:16:34.119
an employee for not putting out, and then torched the
1189
01:16:34.199 --> 01:16:37.920
scene in a panic. I'd never panic after a kill,
1190
01:16:38.239 --> 01:16:41.319
and I'd never burn the store. I loved that store.
1191
01:16:42.039 --> 01:16:45.680
Autumn had taken it from me, taken it using the
1192
01:16:45.720 --> 01:16:49.680
same methods I'd employed to get it. God damn it.
1193
01:16:50.079 --> 01:16:53.399
I beat my fist on the steering wheel. Autumn the
1194
01:16:53.520 --> 01:16:58.399
Season of dying. What an appropriate name? How much else
1195
01:16:58.439 --> 01:17:02.319
did she really know? I jumped the sidewalk and left
1196
01:17:02.319 --> 01:17:05.680
my car running in the lawn. I knew what was
1197
01:17:05.720 --> 01:17:10.000
waiting inside. I ran straight to the bedroom and found
1198
01:17:10.039 --> 01:17:13.000
them there. I shut the door behind me and slid
1199
01:17:13.039 --> 01:17:16.800
down the cheap wood finish. Mister and Missus Brown were
1200
01:17:16.920 --> 01:17:20.720
lying on top of the bed spread, stark naked, just
1201
01:17:20.800 --> 01:17:23.000
as they'd been before. I put them back in the
1202
01:17:23.039 --> 01:17:27.159
freezer for safe keeping. I told you I loved them,
1203
01:17:27.199 --> 01:17:30.479
and the only way I knew how I heard the
1204
01:17:30.560 --> 01:17:34.399
sirens coming down the street. Even if any one believed me,
1205
01:17:35.239 --> 01:17:38.479
would it matter. I banged my head against the door.
1206
01:17:39.319 --> 01:17:43.079
It was a disappointing sound. The copse broke in, and
1207
01:17:43.159 --> 01:17:47.920
I stood slowly, preparing to turn myself in. There was
1208
01:17:47.960 --> 01:17:52.600
no point in resisting I'd lost the love of my life.
1209
01:17:52.800 --> 01:17:55.880
What was left to fight for? I stepped out of
1210
01:17:55.920 --> 01:17:59.239
the bedroom, still laughing at the insanity of it all,
1211
01:18:00.079 --> 01:18:03.640
and laid down on the floor. The cuffs went on tight.
1212
01:18:04.439 --> 01:18:07.079
They'd probably been coming to tell me about the fire
1213
01:18:07.159 --> 01:18:10.680
when they got the call about Bianca. As they escorted
1214
01:18:10.680 --> 01:18:13.760
me to a police car, I stepped on a discarded
1215
01:18:13.800 --> 01:18:18.840
ski mask, A strange sight in July, but the officers
1216
01:18:18.880 --> 01:18:23.560
didn't seem to notice. I smiled and looked around the
1217
01:18:23.600 --> 01:18:30.279
gathered crowd. There she was My season of.
1218
01:18:30.279 --> 01:18:43.199
Dying deb Debbie Deborah by Shane Wigley.
1219
01:18:43.239 --> 01:18:50.800
About that, the cat thinks I'm fucking nuts. She may
1220
01:18:50.800 --> 01:18:55.359
be right. I'm wearing my nicest dress. Dean Martin is
1221
01:18:55.359 --> 01:18:58.640
on the stereo, and I have a gun to my head.
1222
01:18:59.720 --> 01:19:05.479
I'm dancing with my dead husband on Valentine's Day. Angel,
1223
01:19:06.239 --> 01:19:10.279
our cat, died three days ago. Her ashes sit on
1224
01:19:10.279 --> 01:19:13.520
the mantle in an urn next to my husband's. I
1225
01:19:13.600 --> 01:19:17.039
see her on her favorite spot on the couch, watching me.
1226
01:19:18.359 --> 01:19:22.199
She really is an angel. Now I pull the hammer
1227
01:19:22.239 --> 01:19:26.960
of the revolver back. I'm ready to join them. Click,
1228
01:19:28.079 --> 01:19:35.319
son of a bitch. Empty, Good job, Deborah. I forgot
1229
01:19:35.640 --> 01:19:40.039
the fucking bullets. I dropped the snub nose on the
1230
01:19:40.039 --> 01:19:43.720
coffee table. I haven't found where Johnny hid the bullets.
1231
01:19:44.560 --> 01:19:47.600
He bought the gun for me, worried about us being
1232
01:19:47.640 --> 01:19:50.880
all alone out here in the boondocks. What good is
1233
01:19:50.920 --> 01:19:55.359
a gun if the bullets are hidden. Excuse me, mister rapist,
1234
01:19:55.800 --> 01:19:59.079
while I find the bullets to shoot you. Maybe Johnny
1235
01:19:59.119 --> 01:20:02.159
never got around a b any. Ain't that a kick
1236
01:20:02.159 --> 01:20:06.239
in the head, Dean. I dropped to the couch, defeated.
1237
01:20:06.680 --> 01:20:09.920
My mind isn't what it used to be. Grief and
1238
01:20:09.960 --> 01:20:13.199
despair have pushed everything out to the point that I
1239
01:20:13.239 --> 01:20:16.680
have trouble dealing with the day to day shit. It's
1240
01:20:16.720 --> 01:20:20.359
for the best, I suppose. I'm not a religious woman,
1241
01:20:20.439 --> 01:20:24.000
but I'd like to think there was something waiting, you know,
1242
01:20:24.680 --> 01:20:28.079
after that I could be with them in some kind
1243
01:20:28.119 --> 01:20:31.560
of way. If there is a God and suicide is
1244
01:20:31.560 --> 01:20:35.800
a sin, I better not risk it being sent to hell.
1245
01:20:36.680 --> 01:20:41.039
I'd never see them again. If you ask me, this
1246
01:20:41.239 --> 01:20:48.920
is hell, this world, Johnny, My Johnny, I missed that
1247
01:20:49.000 --> 01:20:52.720
lopsided grin of yours, The way your stubble felt when
1248
01:20:52.720 --> 01:20:56.319
you kissed me, how your hair fell across your eyes
1249
01:20:56.359 --> 01:20:59.920
when you woke up. The touch of your coarse hand
1250
01:21:00.119 --> 01:21:06.880
on my shoulders gone all gone. Five and a half
1251
01:21:07.000 --> 01:21:11.920
years ago, a drunk driver named Dave Robins. Johnny had
1252
01:21:11.920 --> 01:21:14.239
been on his way home from work when the bastard
1253
01:21:14.359 --> 01:21:18.680
ran a red light and struck Johnny's car. I still
1254
01:21:18.720 --> 01:21:22.520
remember the trooper showing up at work. He stood there
1255
01:21:22.560 --> 01:21:27.319
in his uniform, looking so out of place. His words
1256
01:21:27.319 --> 01:21:32.039
were unintelligible as my heart pounded in my ears. They
1257
01:21:32.079 --> 01:21:36.600
gave that man ten years in prison, ten fucking years.
1258
01:21:37.319 --> 01:21:40.640
He took away our future, and they gave him ten years.
1259
01:21:41.000 --> 01:21:45.560
He got out in four for good behavior, Good fucking behavior.
1260
01:21:46.199 --> 01:21:50.399
I dreamed about killing him for so long. How I'd
1261
01:21:50.479 --> 01:21:53.640
do it, how I'd drag it out, make him suffer.
1262
01:21:54.039 --> 01:21:56.479
I'd even toyed with the idea of killing his family
1263
01:21:56.520 --> 01:22:01.199
in front of him. But no, there was angel to
1264
01:22:01.239 --> 01:22:06.960
think of. The cat, a housewarming present from Johnny, got
1265
01:22:06.960 --> 01:22:10.760
me through that first grim year. She was there for
1266
01:22:10.840 --> 01:22:13.439
me when I got home from another dreary day at work,
1267
01:22:14.039 --> 01:22:17.600
happy to see me, purring her feline heart out. She
1268
01:22:17.800 --> 01:22:20.720
was such a tiny little thing. Then he surprised me
1269
01:22:20.760 --> 01:22:23.640
with her. She hid under the couch for the first
1270
01:22:23.640 --> 01:22:25.720
couple of days, until one night I sat on the
1271
01:22:25.760 --> 01:22:29.000
couch watching the evening news, waiting for Johnny to come
1272
01:22:29.000 --> 01:22:32.199
home from work. I felt something small and warm curl
1273
01:22:32.279 --> 01:22:36.399
up next to me. Now she's gone too, I'm left
1274
01:22:36.439 --> 01:22:38.920
all alone in this house that used to represent our
1275
01:22:38.960 --> 01:22:44.079
future together, a house that's become a tomb. The house
1276
01:22:44.199 --> 01:22:47.000
was so empty and vast when I'd come home from
1277
01:22:47.000 --> 01:22:50.479
the vet carrying little angels, ashes and a small container,
1278
01:22:51.439 --> 01:22:54.520
nobody there to greet me at the door. I dread
1279
01:22:54.560 --> 01:22:56.319
the thought of coming home after a day at work
1280
01:22:56.359 --> 01:23:02.239
to this empty, god forsaken place. But I'll have to.
1281
01:23:03.560 --> 01:23:06.039
I took a couple sick days, told Emily I had
1282
01:23:06.079 --> 01:23:08.720
a bug. They don't need to know the real reason.
1283
01:23:09.279 --> 01:23:11.960
Most of them look at me with some sort of pity,
1284
01:23:12.600 --> 01:23:15.840
walking on eggshells around me. The others treat me as
1285
01:23:15.840 --> 01:23:20.039
if this sickness in my heart can simply be sent away,
1286
01:23:20.159 --> 01:23:25.000
that I should get over it and move on. There
1287
01:23:25.039 --> 01:23:29.279
is no moving on. I could take some medication, I guess,
1288
01:23:29.319 --> 01:23:32.960
something to help me at the cost of this hornet's
1289
01:23:33.000 --> 01:23:36.239
nest of pain in my stomach, the pain that helps
1290
01:23:36.279 --> 01:23:41.239
me remember them, that keeps them in my thoughts, would
1291
01:23:41.279 --> 01:23:45.239
I lose their memory in a haze of medication. The
1292
01:23:45.319 --> 01:23:49.039
record ends. I stare at the snub nose. I should
1293
01:23:49.079 --> 01:23:55.039
really find those bullets. There's other ways I could do it, pills, sure,
1294
01:23:55.279 --> 01:23:59.399
or that old razor blade in the bathtub. Bit, those
1295
01:23:59.399 --> 01:24:03.720
are easy. I suppose hanging myself is off the table.
1296
01:24:04.399 --> 01:24:07.560
I can't tie knots for shit. Besides, some idiot might
1297
01:24:07.600 --> 01:24:11.239
think I was trying to get off and died by accident. Shit,
1298
01:24:12.119 --> 01:24:15.399
fuck it. The phone rings. I pick it up, looking
1299
01:24:15.399 --> 01:24:19.439
at the number. It's Catherine Wade from work, probably checking
1300
01:24:19.479 --> 01:24:23.560
up on me. Hello, Kat, how are you feeling, trooper?
1301
01:24:24.039 --> 01:24:29.359
She answers in her unbearably cheery voice. I lie, Oh okay,
1302
01:24:29.640 --> 01:24:33.079
just a bit of a bug. You need anything? No,
1303
01:24:33.319 --> 01:24:36.640
I'm fine. Thanks. I want to hate her for caring.
1304
01:24:37.520 --> 01:24:41.079
Damn it, I just can't. The phone crackles with static.
1305
01:24:41.600 --> 01:24:47.239
Aren't you forgetting something? Deb Another voice asks Kat you there?
1306
01:24:48.199 --> 01:24:51.199
I can hear something metallic on the other end. Have
1307
01:24:51.319 --> 01:24:55.439
you checked the basement? Who is this? I ask, my
1308
01:24:55.520 --> 01:25:01.079
voice trembling, but no answer. God, damn it, who is this?
1309
01:25:02.079 --> 01:25:08.199
Are you? Okaydab Cat asks, sounding a bit shaken. Yeah, yeah,
1310
01:25:08.279 --> 01:25:12.439
just this bug. I think I need a nap before
1311
01:25:12.479 --> 01:25:16.399
she can finish saying goodbye. I hang up. What just happened?
1312
01:25:16.920 --> 01:25:20.199
I'm not even sure. I take a deep breath, I
1313
01:25:20.279 --> 01:25:23.039
get off the couch. Maybe I should just go buy
1314
01:25:23.119 --> 01:25:28.079
some fucking bullets. Looking out the window, I see I'm
1315
01:25:28.079 --> 01:25:31.199
not going out anywhere today. The snow is coming down
1316
01:25:31.239 --> 01:25:35.159
in a heavy white blanket. Frustrated, I turned the TV on.
1317
01:25:35.640 --> 01:25:39.800
They're calling it the Valentine's Day blizzard, the weather man proclaimed,
1318
01:25:40.079 --> 01:25:43.720
as if he was a proud father praising his golden child.
1319
01:25:43.760 --> 01:25:47.039
These cocksuckers really piss me off. And how much they
1320
01:25:47.119 --> 01:25:49.960
get off on bad weather. I think they get hard
1321
01:25:50.000 --> 01:25:55.079
over delivering bad news. Expect record snowfalls, Expect me not
1322
01:25:55.199 --> 01:25:58.239
to give a fuck, I say, wishing about now. The
1323
01:25:58.279 --> 01:26:01.720
gun was loaded so I could shoot the TV. I
1324
01:26:01.800 --> 01:26:06.399
never hated anybody till Johnny died. Now I can't stand anyone,
1325
01:26:06.680 --> 01:26:10.840
most of all myself. The smiling weatherman is replaced by
1326
01:26:10.880 --> 01:26:14.119
a nicely dressed Chinese woman. The day's other big story,
1327
01:26:14.399 --> 01:26:17.119
all but one of the escaped convicts have been captured.
1328
01:26:17.880 --> 01:26:20.880
Police gather round an overturned prison bus and a ditch
1329
01:26:20.920 --> 01:26:23.960
as the anchor woman goes over the details. Police are
1330
01:26:24.000 --> 01:26:28.560
still searching for Charles Lee Andrew, convicted serial killer and rapist.
1331
01:26:28.840 --> 01:26:32.399
He's considered highly dangerous. Should you spot him? Why do
1332
01:26:32.479 --> 01:26:35.800
these assholes always have three names? Is it a serial
1333
01:26:35.880 --> 01:26:39.920
killer thing? They linger on his face? He's handsome enough
1334
01:26:39.960 --> 01:26:43.319
except for the scar over his left eye. Crazy burns
1335
01:26:43.359 --> 01:26:46.039
hot in those eyes. Even in a photograph, you can
1336
01:26:46.079 --> 01:26:51.399
feel his stare just penetrating your soul. Bored, I walk
1337
01:26:51.439 --> 01:26:55.319
out to the kitchen a drink maybe, and a sandwich.
1338
01:26:56.000 --> 01:26:59.560
Dirty dishes clog one of the two sinks. I've let
1339
01:26:59.560 --> 01:27:02.720
the house go to shit. Haven't felt like cleaning since
1340
01:27:02.720 --> 01:27:06.119
the cat died. I pour myself a glass of brandy
1341
01:27:06.119 --> 01:27:08.880
and make a roast beef sandwich. I hold a stainless
1342
01:27:08.880 --> 01:27:13.000
steel knife in my hands, catching my reflection on the blade.
1343
01:27:13.119 --> 01:27:15.279
The house isn't the only thing that's gone to shit.
1344
01:27:16.039 --> 01:27:19.560
I look terrible. My hair's a mess, there's bags under
1345
01:27:19.560 --> 01:27:22.600
my eyes. Fuck it all? Why should I care how
1346
01:27:22.600 --> 01:27:25.840
I look? It's all a sick joke. The blade quivers
1347
01:27:25.840 --> 01:27:29.520
in my hand so sharp, one of those as seen
1348
01:27:29.560 --> 01:27:32.479
on TV jobs. You get it A save mart? Why
1349
01:27:33.000 --> 01:27:37.039
I bet if I just took the knife and sliced Debbie.
1350
01:27:38.279 --> 01:27:41.319
A sweet sing song voice echoes out from the living room.
1351
01:27:42.159 --> 01:27:49.640
The TV has to be a coincidence, deab the voice giggles,
1352
01:27:50.199 --> 01:27:54.319
who's there? I call out, feeling a bit embarrassed, because
1353
01:27:54.319 --> 01:27:58.159
it's most likely the TV. I griped the knife. Stepping
1354
01:27:58.159 --> 01:28:01.920
into the short hallway towards the living room, I can
1355
01:28:01.960 --> 01:28:04.960
hear a soap opera on the TV. I stop and
1356
01:28:05.079 --> 01:28:09.560
listen under the din of dialogue from the TV. I
1357
01:28:09.640 --> 01:28:14.279
hear the wind outside, the tick tick sound of snow
1358
01:28:14.760 --> 01:28:21.319
and freezing rain against the windows, and then floorboards creaking
1359
01:28:21.399 --> 01:28:27.600
with the unmistakable sound of someone walking over them. Debby,
1360
01:28:28.319 --> 01:28:32.479
the voice giggles again, come and find me. I storm
1361
01:28:32.520 --> 01:28:35.239
into the living room, ready to confront the weirdo intruder.
1362
01:28:35.600 --> 01:28:42.279
You picked the wrong fucking time empty. I switched the
1363
01:28:42.319 --> 01:28:46.439
TV off and I listen again. Maybe my mind finally
1364
01:28:46.479 --> 01:28:49.600
has hitched a ride to crazy town. The house is
1365
01:28:49.680 --> 01:28:55.079
still silent save for the wind and snow outside. The
1366
01:28:55.079 --> 01:28:58.520
furnace in the basement rumbles on, making me flinch. I
1367
01:28:58.600 --> 01:29:02.920
laugh like a maniac, sting my eyes as laughter gives
1368
01:29:02.960 --> 01:29:08.640
way to crying. I really have fucking flipped out, wiping
1369
01:29:08.680 --> 01:29:11.600
them away. I see them there, reflected in the black
1370
01:29:11.640 --> 01:29:16.479
of the TV screen, watching me from the hall, darting
1371
01:29:16.479 --> 01:29:19.319
away before I can turn. Scrambling to my feet, I
1372
01:29:19.319 --> 01:29:21.560
grabbed the empty gun and give chase. I can hear
1373
01:29:21.600 --> 01:29:25.399
them upstairs. Yesterday, upon the stair, I met a man
1374
01:29:25.439 --> 01:29:28.560
who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today, Oh how
1375
01:29:28.600 --> 01:29:31.479
I wish he'd go away. The voice sang out from
1376
01:29:31.479 --> 01:29:37.359
somewhere upstairs. I know that poem from a long time ago,
1377
01:29:37.439 --> 01:29:41.000
when I was a little girl. I creep up the stairs,
1378
01:29:41.680 --> 01:29:44.920
no easy feet, since they're creaky as how A door
1379
01:29:44.960 --> 01:29:48.600
slams shut somewhere upstairs. How the hell did they get in?
1380
01:29:49.520 --> 01:29:53.079
I didn't hear anything. Everything is locked. I didn't forget something. Right,
1381
01:29:54.000 --> 01:29:56.000
With a knife in one hand and an empty gun
1382
01:29:56.039 --> 01:29:58.880
in the other, maybe I can scare the living crap
1383
01:29:58.920 --> 01:30:03.000
out of them. Yeah right, Why am I scared? I
1384
01:30:03.079 --> 01:30:06.359
was thinking about ending my life moments ago. No, it's
1385
01:30:06.399 --> 01:30:09.439
not death that frightens me. It's what could happen in
1386
01:30:09.479 --> 01:30:14.840
place of that. Rape, being maimed, being paralyzed, a coma.
1387
01:30:15.399 --> 01:30:18.520
Those things frighten me A living hell. I can't escape.
1388
01:30:19.199 --> 01:30:21.800
I search the upstairs, trying to look as bad ass
1389
01:30:21.840 --> 01:30:25.800
as possible with an empty gun. That's when it hits me.
1390
01:30:26.760 --> 01:30:30.680
I am fucking nuts. There's not a living soul up here.
1391
01:30:30.960 --> 01:30:33.960
I search every room, every nook, every cranny under the
1392
01:30:34.000 --> 01:30:37.159
beds in the Closet's not a sign of anybody being
1393
01:30:37.279 --> 01:30:41.359
here other than me. Nothing out of place, nothing touched.
1394
01:30:42.439 --> 01:30:45.720
Feeling tired, I walk into the bathroom connected to the bedroom.
1395
01:30:46.000 --> 01:30:48.439
I run cold water over my face and stare at
1396
01:30:48.439 --> 01:30:52.960
my haggard reflection in the mirror. Through the open door,
1397
01:30:53.000 --> 01:30:57.520
I see the bed sitting there, legs hanging over the side,
1398
01:30:57.560 --> 01:31:02.399
A dark figure watching me. I spin around, nearly slipping
1399
01:31:02.439 --> 01:31:05.680
on the tiled floor. Who the fuck, I blurt out.
1400
01:31:06.399 --> 01:31:10.279
The dark, featureless figure, almost an outline of a young woman.
1401
01:31:10.800 --> 01:31:14.680
Its long hair and pigtails hang down on black shoulders.
1402
01:31:15.720 --> 01:31:19.760
It tilts its head and waves, hey, Debbie, long time
1403
01:31:19.840 --> 01:31:25.199
no see. I gawk at it for a few minutes, speechless.
1404
01:31:25.960 --> 01:31:32.119
There's something about this thing, this girl, that seems familiar.
1405
01:31:32.960 --> 01:31:35.760
Something's been buzzing around the back of my head all day,
1406
01:31:35.840 --> 01:31:40.520
wanting to get out. Is this it? I should feel scared,
1407
01:31:40.600 --> 01:31:46.319
yet I don't. I feel oddly reassured. What's wrong, Sunshine?
1408
01:31:46.760 --> 01:31:52.039
No hello for good old Maddie. Maddie. I stammer, my
1409
01:31:52.119 --> 01:31:56.399
mouth suddenly dry. Was that you running around the house?
1410
01:31:57.119 --> 01:32:00.119
None other? Don't you remember, Deb, how we used too?
1411
01:32:01.239 --> 01:32:05.600
I rubbed my head. There's a stabbing pain. Something wants out.
1412
01:32:06.319 --> 01:32:10.039
Poor old Deb went and grew up. It's a delusion,
1413
01:32:10.159 --> 01:32:12.640
that's all. I walk out of the bathroom, waving my
1414
01:32:12.800 --> 01:32:16.319
arms about go away. You're a figment of my deteriorating
1415
01:32:16.359 --> 01:32:20.479
mental state. You're not real, Good old Maddie slides off
1416
01:32:20.520 --> 01:32:24.800
the bed, sauntering towards me. Not real. She pokes me
1417
01:32:24.840 --> 01:32:28.880
with an ebony finger. That real enough for you. I
1418
01:32:29.000 --> 01:32:34.039
flinch as I involuntarily back up. You made me, poor
1419
01:32:34.119 --> 01:32:38.359
little Deb, her parents always fighting, Nobody at school likes her.
1420
01:32:38.680 --> 01:32:41.279
She reads too much, She's too much of a tomboy.
1421
01:32:41.359 --> 01:32:46.800
Boo hoo. Maddie mocks me, making a tearful face. Somebody
1422
01:32:46.840 --> 01:32:49.880
needed a friend, and Maddie got the call. Her voice
1423
01:32:49.920 --> 01:32:56.720
suddenly changes, becoming cold, until somebody tossed me aside. Maddie
1424
01:32:56.800 --> 01:33:00.720
backs away from me, her gaze locked on me. But
1425
01:33:00.840 --> 01:33:04.079
I didn't go away. Couldn't that figure in the corner
1426
01:33:04.079 --> 01:33:06.600
of your eye. That shadow in the dark room, that
1427
01:33:06.840 --> 01:33:10.720
was me. She does a little jig. You can't kill yourself, deb,
1428
01:33:11.039 --> 01:33:14.399
I won't let you. If I made you, I can
1429
01:33:14.520 --> 01:33:17.279
unmake you. I grab a small ceramic statue on the
1430
01:33:17.359 --> 01:33:20.359
dresser and throw it at this Mattie. It bounces off
1431
01:33:20.359 --> 01:33:23.800
her head when I expected it to pass right through ow.
1432
01:33:24.439 --> 01:33:27.199
She hollers, the manic joyfulness gone from her voice.
1433
01:33:27.720 --> 01:33:28.159
Bitch.
1434
01:33:28.920 --> 01:33:31.159
She runs out of the bedroom, holding her head. I
1435
01:33:31.199 --> 01:33:33.760
can hear her feet on the stairs as she goes down.
1436
01:33:34.640 --> 01:33:38.079
Looking down at the plush royal blue carpet, I see
1437
01:33:38.079 --> 01:33:43.880
a trail of crimson blood. I follow Mattie's blood downstairs
1438
01:33:43.880 --> 01:33:47.319
to the kitchen. Bloody handprints on the door frame welcome me.
1439
01:33:47.359 --> 01:33:50.600
As I enter, Mattie has bent over the sink, washing
1440
01:33:50.640 --> 01:33:52.760
the blood off of her forehead with a wet towel.
1441
01:33:53.399 --> 01:33:56.920
Fuck you, Deb, you always did have a temper. She
1442
01:33:57.039 --> 01:33:59.960
turned to glare at me, a gash of bright crimson
1443
01:34:00.079 --> 01:34:03.920
and her black forehead. She holds the wet towel to
1444
01:34:04.000 --> 01:34:06.960
it as she finishes off my glass of brandy, leaving
1445
01:34:07.000 --> 01:34:12.560
behind bloody fingerprints on the glass. I'm sorry. I think
1446
01:34:13.439 --> 01:34:17.199
you can feel pain well. No, duh, of course I
1447
01:34:17.199 --> 01:34:20.680
can feel pain. She pours herself more brandy, gulping it
1448
01:34:20.760 --> 01:34:23.359
down in one go. This is some good shit. By
1449
01:34:23.399 --> 01:34:27.600
the way, got any bandages. I go to the downstairs bathroom,
1450
01:34:27.640 --> 01:34:30.880
grabbing some bandages from the medicine cabinet. When I come back,
1451
01:34:30.960 --> 01:34:36.119
Maddie and her bloodstains are gone. Suddenly I feel light headed.
1452
01:34:36.159 --> 01:34:40.199
My head is buzzing. Uh. I take more aspiren than
1453
01:34:40.239 --> 01:34:43.640
the recommended dosage. Lying down on the couch, I feel
1454
01:34:43.640 --> 01:34:47.359
as if I'm melting into it, becoming one with the upholstery.
1455
01:34:48.880 --> 01:34:51.399
I wake up some time later. The sun is low
1456
01:34:51.399 --> 01:34:54.479
in the sky, Snow still falling, but not as heavy
1457
01:34:54.479 --> 01:34:58.640
as before. My head feels better now. Maybe that was
1458
01:34:58.680 --> 01:35:02.119
all a dream. The snubnose sits on the coffee table,
1459
01:35:02.199 --> 01:35:07.199
next to the knife. I'd left those upstairs. Yes, yes,
1460
01:35:07.399 --> 01:35:09.600
it was all a dream. I'd just fallen asleep on
1461
01:35:09.640 --> 01:35:12.960
the couch and dreamed the whole damn thing a fever dream.
1462
01:35:13.760 --> 01:35:16.800
The floorboards upstairs creak and my heart skips a beat.
1463
01:35:18.720 --> 01:35:22.640
You're not safe yet, weekly Spooky will be right back.
1464
01:35:29.000 --> 01:35:31.359
This is an old house. It's just settling, that's all.
1465
01:35:31.840 --> 01:35:35.159
I pick up the gun still no bullets. That hasn't changed.
1466
01:35:35.439 --> 01:35:39.600
What also hasn't changed is it's still fucking Valentine's Day.
1467
01:35:39.920 --> 01:35:41.720
Why couldn't I have just slept through the rest of
1468
01:35:41.760 --> 01:35:45.119
it instead of the day that won't end, dragging on,
1469
01:35:45.399 --> 01:35:49.119
not letting me forget what I've lost. I remember one
1470
01:35:49.199 --> 01:35:54.279
Valentine's Day, Johnny made this specialty for dinner, spaghetti and salad.
1471
01:35:55.079 --> 01:35:58.359
We watched an old western on the TV, something starring
1472
01:35:58.399 --> 01:36:01.359
the guy that played Superman's dad. It had been an
1473
01:36:01.359 --> 01:36:03.439
exhausting week for both of us, and we fell asleep
1474
01:36:03.479 --> 01:36:06.000
on the couch halfway through the film, my head on
1475
01:36:06.039 --> 01:36:09.319
his shoulder. The holiday didn't end up in a moment
1476
01:36:09.399 --> 01:36:13.960
of passion and ended in a moment of mundane tenderness,
1477
01:36:15.760 --> 01:36:18.720
and I wouldn't trade it for anything. A knock at
1478
01:36:18.720 --> 01:36:20.760
the front door startles me out of my fond memory.
1479
01:36:21.359 --> 01:36:24.479
I wait, holding my breath. Perhaps it was just a
1480
01:36:24.520 --> 01:36:28.159
noise and not somebody at the door, some snow falling
1481
01:36:28.199 --> 01:36:31.800
off the roof for the like. Then another knock comes,
1482
01:36:32.039 --> 01:36:37.640
ruining my fabrication, followed rapidly by a third Hello. A
1483
01:36:37.680 --> 01:36:39.920
man asks from the other side of the door, is
1484
01:36:39.960 --> 01:36:43.600
anybody there? Don't answer it, Mattie says, dropping into the
1485
01:36:43.640 --> 01:36:46.840
recliner in the corner. The chairs old springs straining from
1486
01:36:46.840 --> 01:36:50.000
the sudden weight. Fuck me, I blurted out in surprise.
1487
01:36:50.119 --> 01:36:52.800
Where did you come from? I notice her features have
1488
01:36:52.840 --> 01:36:56.680
become more defined now, the darkness lessening somewhat. Her head
1489
01:36:56.760 --> 01:36:59.720
no longer has a bandage, nor a bloody gash. I've
1490
01:36:59.720 --> 01:37:03.520
been about sleepy head. She tilts the recliner back. You
1491
01:37:03.600 --> 01:37:05.960
know you talk in your sleep. Mattie looks up at
1492
01:37:05.960 --> 01:37:09.680
the ceiling. Who's Rex? Johnny used to kid me about
1493
01:37:09.720 --> 01:37:14.880
talking in my sleep? Rex? Why does that name seem familiar? Hello?
1494
01:37:15.319 --> 01:37:18.319
The knocking at the door becomes more aggressive. I can
1495
01:37:18.359 --> 01:37:20.520
hear you in there? Please come to the door. The
1496
01:37:20.520 --> 01:37:24.920
man pauses, His voice sounds strained. I need help. I
1497
01:37:24.960 --> 01:37:27.800
pick up the empty gun, holding it like a magical
1498
01:37:27.880 --> 01:37:30.239
charm capable of warding off evil. As I approach the
1499
01:37:30.279 --> 01:37:33.640
front door, I look through the people at the man outside.
1500
01:37:34.119 --> 01:37:36.920
He stands on the porch, a desperate look etched on
1501
01:37:36.960 --> 01:37:40.720
his face. His hair looks recently shaved off, and he's
1502
01:37:40.760 --> 01:37:43.079
wearing snow covered clothes and a band aid on his
1503
01:37:43.119 --> 01:37:45.920
forehead over his left eye. The man looked over his
1504
01:37:45.960 --> 01:37:49.560
shoulder anxiously before turning back to the door. Please you
1505
01:37:49.640 --> 01:37:52.239
have to hurry, the man pleads, as he knocks again.
1506
01:37:52.600 --> 01:37:55.119
I reach for the dead bolt. I wouldn't do it,
1507
01:37:55.279 --> 01:37:59.199
Maddie warns me. Shush. I turn the lock on the door,
1508
01:37:59.399 --> 01:38:02.399
only partly convinced there's really someone out there and it's
1509
01:38:02.439 --> 01:38:05.239
not another delusion. I pull open the door a little,
1510
01:38:05.560 --> 01:38:08.960
peeking through the crack at this unwelcome stranger. His clothes
1511
01:38:09.000 --> 01:38:11.560
look ill, fitting a size or two too big for
1512
01:38:11.600 --> 01:38:14.319
his frame. Behind him, I noticed his tracks through the
1513
01:38:14.359 --> 01:38:19.680
ankle deep snow. Yes, you took long enough, the man grumbles.
1514
01:38:20.279 --> 01:38:24.479
Excuse me, The man shivers, looking around. I'm freezing out here.
1515
01:38:24.520 --> 01:38:27.720
Can I come in? Can I trust him? Should I?
1516
01:38:28.640 --> 01:38:32.640
What are you doing way out here in a storm? Suddenly, violently,
1517
01:38:32.840 --> 01:38:35.119
he pushes the door open, knocking me to the floor.
1518
01:38:35.319 --> 01:38:37.479
I land hard on my back. The air pushes out
1519
01:38:37.520 --> 01:38:40.319
of my lungs, the empty gun sliding across the floor.
1520
01:38:40.760 --> 01:38:43.479
I don't have time for your shit, he angrily screams
1521
01:38:43.520 --> 01:38:45.960
as he slams the door shut. Gasping for air. I
1522
01:38:45.960 --> 01:38:48.279
tried to get to my feet, get a weapon. It's
1523
01:38:48.319 --> 01:38:50.399
no use. The man pushes me to the floor with
1524
01:38:50.439 --> 01:38:53.800
a snow covered boot. Is there anyone here? Are you alone?
1525
01:38:54.439 --> 01:38:56.520
His head darts back and forth as he takes in
1526
01:38:56.600 --> 01:38:58.920
the room. He gives me another love tap from his
1527
01:38:59.000 --> 01:39:02.359
booted foot before retrieving the gun from the floor. He
1528
01:39:02.479 --> 01:39:06.279
checks the cylinder, laughing, what were you gonna do? Wave
1529
01:39:06.359 --> 01:39:10.159
this around and use harsh language to scare me? Mattie
1530
01:39:10.159 --> 01:39:12.680
slides up behind him. Told you not to let him in.
1531
01:39:13.479 --> 01:39:16.479
I didn't let him in. I managed able to breathe again.
1532
01:39:16.760 --> 01:39:20.560
The man looks around, perplexed. The fuck you talking about?
1533
01:39:20.640 --> 01:39:21.000
Lady?
1534
01:39:22.079 --> 01:39:25.079
What do you want? I ask? I don't have any money. Oh,
1535
01:39:25.119 --> 01:39:28.000
we'll see about that. He pulls me up, dragging me
1536
01:39:28.079 --> 01:39:30.159
to the couch. Both our eyes go to the knife
1537
01:39:30.159 --> 01:39:32.880
on the coffee table before meeting again. He hurls me
1538
01:39:32.920 --> 01:39:34.960
into the couch. When I managed to sit up, he
1539
01:39:35.039 --> 01:39:38.479
hits me in the face hard, hard enough that the
1540
01:39:38.520 --> 01:39:42.239
world goes black. When my eyes open again, the man
1541
01:39:42.319 --> 01:39:45.960
stands over me, the knife in his hand. Just what
1542
01:39:46.039 --> 01:39:48.760
the hell were you up to here? He leans forward,
1543
01:39:48.760 --> 01:39:51.479
giving me a good view of the knife. I'll ask
1544
01:39:51.560 --> 01:39:56.560
you again, is there anybody else here? I shake my head,
1545
01:39:56.960 --> 01:39:59.039
noticing I've been tied to a dining room chair in
1546
01:39:59.039 --> 01:40:01.640
the living room, I can taste blood on my lips.
1547
01:40:02.439 --> 01:40:05.760
If you're lying, I can make it very unpleasant for you.
1548
01:40:06.159 --> 01:40:09.079
I glare at him, more angry at myself than him.
1549
01:40:09.840 --> 01:40:12.359
For once, I should have listened to the delusion prancing
1550
01:40:12.359 --> 01:40:16.800
around my house. As he looks down at me, I
1551
01:40:16.840 --> 01:40:22.479
recognize who's invaded my home, Charles Lee Andrew, serial killer
1552
01:40:23.199 --> 01:40:27.239
and rapist. With this revelation, a stark fear creeps into
1553
01:40:27.239 --> 01:40:31.319
my belly. Yes, I want to die, but not like this,
1554
01:40:32.119 --> 01:40:36.119
and not by his hand. I'm gonna go poke around. Uh,
1555
01:40:36.239 --> 01:40:40.439
you sit tight. He goes to leave and stops. Last chance.
1556
01:40:40.880 --> 01:40:44.840
There's nobody here, right, because if there is, they're fucked.
1557
01:40:45.920 --> 01:40:49.119
I shake my head again, satisfied. He leaves me alone
1558
01:40:49.119 --> 01:40:53.079
as he searches the house, our house, Johnny and me
1559
01:40:53.199 --> 01:40:56.840
and little Angel. He has no right to be here.
1560
01:40:57.600 --> 01:41:00.479
Fear begins to give way to anger, this time directed
1561
01:41:00.520 --> 01:41:03.439
towards this interloper. I can hear him in the kitchen,
1562
01:41:03.880 --> 01:41:07.039
opening and closing the fridge. He walks back into the room,
1563
01:41:07.079 --> 01:41:11.279
eating a leftover chicken leg good chicken, you make it,
1564
01:41:11.720 --> 01:41:16.279
He smirks, a greasy chicken smile. I stare holes through him,
1565
01:41:16.439 --> 01:41:20.039
imagining his body being riddled with bullets, jerking around in
1566
01:41:20.119 --> 01:41:23.000
a death dance as flesh and boner shredded in a
1567
01:41:23.039 --> 01:41:25.800
hail of lead. Of course, that would leave a hell
1568
01:41:25.840 --> 01:41:28.960
of a mess when I really wouldn't want to clean up.
1569
01:41:29.680 --> 01:41:32.199
You know, you look like shit, he remarks, setting a
1570
01:41:32.199 --> 01:41:34.319
plate with the half finished chicken leg down at the
1571
01:41:34.319 --> 01:41:37.319
coffee table. I mean, other than where I socked you
1572
01:41:37.399 --> 01:41:40.399
in the kisser, I watched as he looks out the window.
1573
01:41:41.319 --> 01:41:44.279
This is perfect, with the storm and this place being
1574
01:41:44.319 --> 01:41:47.560
in the middle of nowhere in East Jesus, the cops
1575
01:41:47.560 --> 01:41:50.520
won't be around. I can definitely lie low and catch
1576
01:41:50.560 --> 01:41:53.279
a breath. He bends down close to me and locks
1577
01:41:53.319 --> 01:41:57.039
me in his gaze, and I definitely plan on having
1578
01:41:57.119 --> 01:42:00.439
some fun before I go. He tries kicking me on
1579
01:42:00.479 --> 01:42:02.960
the lips. I managed to pull away, and he kisses
1580
01:42:03.000 --> 01:42:06.720
my cheek. I turn my head in disgust. Seeing Johnny's
1581
01:42:06.800 --> 01:42:10.359
urn on the mantle, I start to cry. I don't
1582
01:42:10.359 --> 01:42:14.840
want him to see this, not my Johnny. The bastard
1583
01:42:14.920 --> 01:42:17.439
notices my tears, sees the urn and the picture of
1584
01:42:17.479 --> 01:42:21.479
Johnny next to it. Aw, what are you crying about,
1585
01:42:21.479 --> 01:42:24.479
sweet cheeks? He picks up the picture, gawking at it
1586
01:42:24.520 --> 01:42:27.880
with those soulless eyes, before turning his attention to the urn.
1587
01:42:28.720 --> 01:42:32.680
This your your dead, hubby, Fuck you, I spit out
1588
01:42:32.680 --> 01:42:37.399
between sobs. You will, don't worry, you will. He drops
1589
01:42:37.439 --> 01:42:41.000
the picture to the floor, shattering the glass. First, I
1590
01:42:41.039 --> 01:42:44.079
think I'll look around and then freshen up, maybe take
1591
01:42:44.119 --> 01:42:45.840
a nice shit and see if you still have some
1592
01:42:45.920 --> 01:42:49.359
of your old man's duds. Seeing your little shrine here,
1593
01:42:49.399 --> 01:42:53.079
I'm willing to bet that's a yes. And then I'm
1594
01:42:53.159 --> 01:42:56.520
left alone, left alone to think about this mess. I'm
1595
01:42:56.520 --> 01:43:01.359
in mess. It's a fucking nightmare. I can hear him
1596
01:43:01.399 --> 01:43:05.720
moving about the first floor, ransacking the place and making comments,
1597
01:43:05.760 --> 01:43:09.840
stoking the boiling anger inside me. I struggle against the
1598
01:43:09.920 --> 01:43:12.560
ropes holding me to this chair. I flex my muscles,
1599
01:43:12.560 --> 01:43:16.000
imagining myself bursting through the ropes with sheer force of will.
1600
01:43:16.359 --> 01:43:19.720
When this fails, I slump in the chair, tired and defeated.
1601
01:43:20.920 --> 01:43:24.560
Maybe I will die this day, just not how I envisioned.
1602
01:43:25.119 --> 01:43:28.279
Come on, you can do it, kiddo. Mattie sits down
1603
01:43:28.279 --> 01:43:30.560
on the floor in front of me. Easy, for you
1604
01:43:30.640 --> 01:43:33.520
to fucking say, I grumble. Why don't you help me?
1605
01:43:34.079 --> 01:43:36.520
She lies down on her side, propped up on one elbow.
1606
01:43:37.439 --> 01:43:41.399
It don't work like that. Gotta do it yourself. That
1607
01:43:41.560 --> 01:43:45.920
fucking figures cheese it, Maddie warns me. I could hear
1608
01:43:46.000 --> 01:43:48.680
him coming back down the hall. After a tense couple
1609
01:43:48.680 --> 01:43:52.039
of minutes waiting, he appears in the doorway. Not much
1610
01:43:52.079 --> 01:43:55.199
down here. Got a question, though, what's with the lock
1611
01:43:55.239 --> 01:43:59.560
on the basement door? I shrug. I don't know. Doesn't
1612
01:43:59.560 --> 01:44:03.560
everybody have that? Sure I'll deal with that later. For now,
1613
01:44:03.840 --> 01:44:06.800
I'm headed upstairs. Hope this shithole gets better on the
1614
01:44:06.840 --> 01:44:10.279
second floor. Maddie sticks her tongue out as he walks away.
1615
01:44:10.680 --> 01:44:13.399
What a dick, She turns back to me. Come on,
1616
01:44:13.760 --> 01:44:17.239
now's your chance. While he's screwing around upstairs, I'm thinking,
1617
01:44:17.279 --> 01:44:20.000
I'm thinking, I say, before letting out a loud fart.
1618
01:44:21.079 --> 01:44:25.399
Maddie backs away, waving at the air. Oh fuck, really, sorry,
1619
01:44:25.680 --> 01:44:30.720
just the stress. I think something died. Maddie coughs. You
1620
01:44:30.720 --> 01:44:34.319
could kill him with that reek. Sure you can smell that.
1621
01:44:34.439 --> 01:44:37.880
Yet you can't help me. Hey, I don't make the rules.
1622
01:44:38.119 --> 01:44:41.319
She stands, holding her nose. I'm gonna sit this one out.
1623
01:44:41.960 --> 01:44:45.279
Maddie leaves, finally a chance to think. I can hear
1624
01:44:45.319 --> 01:44:49.159
him upstairs doing God knows what. Maddie's right. I have
1625
01:44:49.199 --> 01:44:52.359
to get free, Unable to do anything but look around
1626
01:44:52.359 --> 01:44:55.720
the room and think. I start to form a desperate plan.
1627
01:44:56.439 --> 01:44:58.840
By the time he comes back downstairs, dressed in some
1628
01:44:58.880 --> 01:45:02.439
of Johnny's clothes, night had fallen outside, and I had
1629
01:45:02.439 --> 01:45:04.840
a plan. He now has a piece of paper in
1630
01:45:04.880 --> 01:45:07.600
his hand. He holds it out, showing me a newspaper
1631
01:45:07.600 --> 01:45:11.399
clipping about a missing man. Who's this? You got all
1632
01:45:11.439 --> 01:45:14.399
these clippings about the search for this guy? He picks
1633
01:45:14.479 --> 01:45:17.760
up Johnny's picture from the floor, shattered glass falling off.
1634
01:45:18.640 --> 01:45:21.479
Don't look like your husband, he grins. Did you have
1635
01:45:21.600 --> 01:45:25.199
something on the side? My heart races somewhere deep in
1636
01:45:25.239 --> 01:45:28.560
my mind. A loud banging starts. A door that desperately
1637
01:45:28.600 --> 01:45:31.800
wants to open begins to crack. I know who you are,
1638
01:45:32.439 --> 01:45:36.439
Charles Lee Andrew. You're on the run, he grins, a
1639
01:45:36.600 --> 01:45:40.680
devil's grin. My reputation precedes me. Then you know how
1640
01:45:40.800 --> 01:45:44.760
dangerous I am. I know you're just a sad, sick
1641
01:45:44.960 --> 01:45:48.760
shit who gets off hurting women, then you should be
1642
01:45:48.840 --> 01:45:52.479
nice to me. I ignore his words, watching how my
1643
01:45:52.560 --> 01:45:56.920
words hit him. What's wrong? Daddy beats you. Mommy didn't
1644
01:45:56.960 --> 01:46:01.600
love you enough. Boo fucking who Charlie. I fake cry.
1645
01:46:02.000 --> 01:46:04.600
This was too much for him. He storms over to
1646
01:46:04.600 --> 01:46:08.840
the mantle, grabbing Johnny's urn. Shut your fucking mouth, or
1647
01:46:09.479 --> 01:46:12.479
he opens the urn, forcing my husband's remains into my mouth.
1648
01:46:13.159 --> 01:46:16.359
I choke on the ashes, my eyes burning finished. He
1649
01:46:16.439 --> 01:46:19.079
throws the urn down across the room. That's one way
1650
01:46:19.079 --> 01:46:21.600
to suck your husband. The son of a bitch laughs.
1651
01:46:22.479 --> 01:46:27.159
I stained for air, coughing out clouds of black. That's
1652
01:46:27.199 --> 01:46:30.880
all you got, pussy boy, I say, hoping to push
1653
01:46:30.920 --> 01:46:33.520
him further. I bet Mommy used to touch you and
1654
01:46:33.640 --> 01:46:36.239
call you her special little boy, and you liked it.
1655
01:46:36.319 --> 01:46:38.840
Give you a nice hard one, did it, I smile
1656
01:46:38.880 --> 01:46:42.560
with ash covered lips. No, maybe it was Daddy who
1657
01:46:42.560 --> 01:46:47.359
did the touching, cunt. He screams, every letter filled with venom.
1658
01:46:47.640 --> 01:46:50.119
Lifting me in the chair off the ground, he slams
1659
01:46:50.159 --> 01:46:52.439
me down on the floor. I scream out in pain
1660
01:46:52.479 --> 01:46:54.279
as my arms are pinned to the floor by my
1661
01:46:54.319 --> 01:46:57.279
own weight, not wasting any time, My now numb hand
1662
01:46:57.359 --> 01:47:00.920
gropes around on the carpet. Come on, come on, they
1663
01:47:00.960 --> 01:47:03.520
have to be here, somewhere. Those shards of glass from
1664
01:47:03.600 --> 01:47:05.880
Johnny's picture. If I can just grab one and get
1665
01:47:06.000 --> 01:47:09.399
enough time to use it. But this enraged asshole isn't
1666
01:47:09.439 --> 01:47:11.560
giving me much of a chance. He looms over me,
1667
01:47:11.920 --> 01:47:14.439
kicking at my down body. I need to get a
1668
01:47:14.439 --> 01:47:17.680
look at the floor. Thankfully, this douchebag didn't see fit
1669
01:47:17.720 --> 01:47:20.039
to tie my legs to the chair. I kick out.
1670
01:47:20.199 --> 01:47:22.680
After a couple of tries, I score a direct hit,
1671
01:47:23.079 --> 01:47:26.079
hitting him in the balls, doubling the bastard over and
1672
01:47:26.159 --> 01:47:28.960
buying me some time. I roll over onto my knees,
1673
01:47:29.000 --> 01:47:32.640
my eyes searching the carpet. There a couple of big
1674
01:47:32.680 --> 01:47:35.560
shards of glass. I roll over onto my back, trying
1675
01:47:35.560 --> 01:47:37.720
to keep the gap of the chairs back even with
1676
01:47:37.800 --> 01:47:40.560
the glass. I keep my eyes glued to the bastard
1677
01:47:40.600 --> 01:47:43.079
as my fingers run over the floor, feeling for more.
1678
01:47:43.520 --> 01:47:45.960
Charlie glares at me as he clutches himself in pain.
1679
01:47:46.239 --> 01:47:48.840
The jagged glass cuts into my fingers when I find it,
1680
01:47:49.000 --> 01:47:50.920
I poke my arms a couple of times as I
1681
01:47:51.039 --> 01:47:53.840
line the glass up with my bonds, the glass slicing
1682
01:47:53.880 --> 01:47:56.000
into my hands as easy as it does. The ropeer
1683
01:47:56.039 --> 01:47:59.000
straining me. I feel my hands come free as Charlie
1684
01:47:59.039 --> 01:48:02.239
limps toward me, anger so intense, I can feel its
1685
01:48:02.279 --> 01:48:06.359
heat boils out of his very Being freed of the chair,
1686
01:48:06.399 --> 01:48:09.319
I push away from it, kicking it into his path. Pained,
1687
01:48:09.359 --> 01:48:12.600
he barely dodges it, his face red with rage. Charlie
1688
01:48:12.640 --> 01:48:15.279
lunges at me, his hands at my throat. I strike
1689
01:48:15.319 --> 01:48:20.960
out with a shard of glass. Thank you, officer, I
1690
01:48:21.000 --> 01:48:23.880
appreciate it. I smiled at the trooper on my porch,
1691
01:48:24.840 --> 01:48:27.760
just doing our job, ma'am. The storm really hindered our
1692
01:48:27.800 --> 01:48:31.039
search well, as you can see. I really got snowed
1693
01:48:31.039 --> 01:48:34.239
in here. Not that it matters. You're the first visitor
1694
01:48:34.279 --> 01:48:37.479
I've had in ages. After a little small talk, the
1695
01:48:37.520 --> 01:48:40.960
trooper leaves. I watch him leave, locking the door as
1696
01:48:40.960 --> 01:48:44.840
he drives off. I lucked out. I was shoveling off
1697
01:48:44.880 --> 01:48:47.560
the porch when the trooper showed up. My cut hands
1698
01:48:47.560 --> 01:48:50.399
were covered up by black and purple gloves. If he'd
1699
01:48:50.399 --> 01:48:54.760
seen them, would he have known, would he have probed further?
1700
01:48:56.000 --> 01:48:58.319
I don't know. I pick up a set of keys
1701
01:48:58.359 --> 01:49:01.079
from the stand by the front door, and still sensitive
1702
01:49:01.119 --> 01:49:04.079
as they begin to heal. I walk to the basement door,
1703
01:49:04.560 --> 01:49:07.920
unlocking the silver padlock and stepping down into the darkness.
1704
01:49:08.319 --> 01:49:11.439
The nauseating smell of feces and pists burned my eyes
1705
01:49:11.479 --> 01:49:14.159
and nose. I need to buy a couple dozen air
1706
01:49:14.199 --> 01:49:17.560
fresheners for down here. My hand runs over the walls,
1707
01:49:17.680 --> 01:49:21.000
stopping at the light switch. The basement lights hissed life
1708
01:49:21.039 --> 01:49:23.880
below me. I feel as if a great milestone has
1709
01:49:23.920 --> 01:49:27.439
been taken off my shoulders during that fight with Charles
1710
01:49:27.520 --> 01:49:31.119
Lee Andrew. The door buried deep in the back of
1711
01:49:31.159 --> 01:49:36.000
my mind finally flew open, just in time too. I
1712
01:49:36.039 --> 01:49:38.960
step onto the cold cement floor, and I'm greeted by
1713
01:49:39.000 --> 01:49:44.720
a pitiful, sobbing grunt. Music to my ears. How are
1714
01:49:44.760 --> 01:49:47.960
we doing today? Charlie chained to a wall in a
1715
01:49:48.000 --> 01:49:51.720
pair of stained briefs. My new pet groans into his cloth,
1716
01:49:51.800 --> 01:49:55.199
gag his bare chest and back a map of scars
1717
01:49:55.239 --> 01:49:59.319
and bruises. I wheel out my tray of toys, selecting
1718
01:49:59.359 --> 01:50:03.720
a nat looking box cutter. Are we ready for playtime?
1719
01:50:04.319 --> 01:50:08.760
Charles Lee Andrew, once a feared killer, tries to plead
1720
01:50:09.000 --> 01:50:12.600
through his cloth gag, no doubt, begging me to let
1721
01:50:12.640 --> 01:50:16.399
him go. Don't worry, Love, the cops don't even think
1722
01:50:16.439 --> 01:50:19.159
you're in this county anymore. From the other side of
1723
01:50:19.159 --> 01:50:23.239
the basement, chains rattled as he stirred. A thin, filthy
1724
01:50:23.319 --> 01:50:27.399
man emerged from the shadows, crawling on all fours. His
1725
01:50:27.520 --> 01:50:31.920
knees bore the scars of two bullet wounds. Don't worry, Rex,
1726
01:50:32.359 --> 01:50:36.359
Mommy won't forget you again, I coo, I turned back
1727
01:50:36.399 --> 01:50:40.399
to Charlie. I think Rex is a little jealous of you.
1728
01:50:41.319 --> 01:50:44.000
Don't worry you two will have plenty of time to
1729
01:50:44.039 --> 01:50:47.640
get to know each other. Perched on the stairs, Maddie
1730
01:50:47.680 --> 01:50:58.479
watches with delight as I begin to slice. Well, my spookies,
1731
01:50:58.520 --> 01:51:04.239
you've survived yet another terrifying compilation of frightful featurettes. So
1732
01:51:05.359 --> 01:51:09.720
I guess it's time to relax. Things are going to
1733
01:51:09.760 --> 01:51:11.239
be safer from here on out.
1734
01:51:12.000 --> 01:51:12.239
Right.
1735
01:51:13.000 --> 01:51:17.640
Well, I can't guarantee anything, but I guess only time
1736
01:51:17.720 --> 01:51:21.079
will tell. So thank you for listening, And if you
1737
01:51:21.119 --> 01:51:24.000
want to hang out with other spookies like yourself, head
1738
01:51:24.000 --> 01:51:27.640
over to Facebook and type in weekly Spooky's Tomb of Terror.
1739
01:51:28.119 --> 01:51:30.880
It doesn't cost anything, and it's a great way to
1740
01:51:31.000 --> 01:51:33.720
hang out with me and the other authors and share
1741
01:51:33.800 --> 01:51:38.960
your favorite spooky tidbits. But now I'm gonna head back
1742
01:51:39.000 --> 01:51:40.960
into the crypt and get back to work on even
1743
01:51:41.039 --> 01:51:45.680
more terrifying bits of horror goodness for you to enjoy.
1744
01:51:45.960 --> 01:52:02.000
So stay scared, stay spooky, and thank you again for listening.
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