by

Becca Mitchell

Tiff kicked her shoe on the tile floor and scowled at the poster opposite her. It was an advertisement about Omegas finding the ideal Alphas, Tiff rolled her eyes.

Typical bullshit from the elite, like any of them have ever stepped outside of their safe compounds, she thought and shifted in her chair. 

Oglebay was the city Tiff lived in. On three sides, it was surrounded by ocean and on the one side was the only road leading out to the wasteland. It stretched for miles before it gave way to another city like this one. Being a trafficker for goods, she knew all the roads and paths in and out of the city. She also knew that unless you were among the wealthy or elite, being an Omega meant you were susceptible to being a whore or worse–bonded to a man old enough to be your father or grandfather. It was no different if you were an Omega male, either. Tiff thought of the few she knew who were with either abusive betas or very old alpha females. 

Tiff had heard the people here weren’t divided based on hormones or pheromones. They were able to move freely in this sector. In Tiff’s world, there were three classes with some hybrids here and there. 

First there were the Alphas. They were the aggressors. They had a strong build and were typically in military service or some kind of authoritative position. Alphas were usually first to pick whatever partner they wanted, and it didn’t matter if the alpha was male or female.  They were all the same–strong and the first for rations and goods

Then you had the Betas. They were a bit more submissive than the Alphas and less moody than an Omega. They were even tempered but much more passive than an Alpha. However, Betas could be clever and tricky. For years Tiff had been bonded to a Beta, until recently. His passing freed her from the biting bond from which he had her captive. Her fate was the norm if you lived outside of the harem and inside the city walls. The Alphas always went for harem women. They were prettiest, most knowledgeable, and the elite. The Betas took the leftovers. 

Then there were the hybrids of Alpha Betas. They were  perfect combination of both and most of the elite were Alpha Betas. Typically, they had an Alpha husband or wife by their side. 

Last, there were the Omegas. They were the lowest class, and many were often sold to underground Brothels during their first heat cycle. During a heat cycle for an Omega man or woman, all they wanted was sex. Especially when they were bonded by an Alpha. Elite Alphas picked the prettiest and most desired Omegas in all the land. Until just of late, Powerful Alphas didn’t marry Omegas now. Since the Powerful General married his Omega, Clara, everything had changed. 

Clara was born among the harem Omegas. These were the girls and women, and even men and boys, who were chosen. They had the best singing voices and talent for acting. They were also the most beautiful and the ones with the most knowledge and promise.

Tiff knew she had escaped it due to her birthmark on her face. Tiff realized her fate with her bonded Beta could have been worse. At least he didn’t’ beat her or trick her out when her heat cycle took, which had sadly happened with many of the Omegas she knew.

Harem Omegas were taught to find their soulmate–the one who called to their bond to mate with. They wanted the most handsome and eligible men and women to find them. They all grew up believing it would be a fairy tale, and how you would never resist an Alpha when they purred to calm you. Tiff heard the purr many times, and it never worked. She would get amused at the disappointed Alphas who couldn’t get her to spread for them.

Rape was illegal but Alphas and Betas alike used every trick to get an Omega to go into heat and yank at their clothes. Sadly, most of the misconceptions came from the Harem. Tiff had heard rumors as she worked on what was known as the line. She was told they were being fed hormones to keep those rumors alive and well. Considering the misconceptions, TIff wasn’t all that surprised. 

Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t’ hear the woman call her name. Tiff groaned as she stood up and lifted the heavy hat box. She followed the dark-haired woman to the door she had come out of.  Tiff had to control her emotions as she walked down the hallway. The giggling harems were pissing her off. She stifled an eye roll and a glare. She reminded herself they weren’t all to blame for the many people in the city starving or being prostituted out. Within these walls it was a whole different society. 

The dark-haired girl brought her to an open room. Tiff had heard about this room. It was the warming room and intentionally induced a heat for an Alpha to rut in. Looking at the sterile room, it seemed to be the most accurate representation for the harem. A sterile facility that used the guise of romance to get humans to reproduce. 

The glass surrounding the room was dark, but she felt eyes on her. Her thoughts were interrupted when the door flew open and the light, blonde nymph looking woman sauntered in. Her smile was warm and genuine. There was a quiet strength about her. Tiff stood up and knew she must keep as much peace as possible. 

The blonde sat across from her, Tiff could feel the warmth and perkiness radiating from this woman. Tiff guessed the woman probably heard many compliments of her being like the sun.

As if sensing her thoughts, the woman smiled and took Tiff’s hand. “Forgive my tardiness, I am Clara. It’s nice to finally meet you. I realize that the situation must be dire for you, but I assure you that everything that you have done has been appreciated.” 

Tiff raised her eyebrows and without realizing it, let out a snort. She rubbed her temple and smiled. “If by what I’ve done you mean batted my eyes and flashed my ass at the sworn enemy of the state, I’m afraid you will be disappointed.” 

Clara nodded her head but never dropped her grin. “Alphas really do need Omegas. Sometimes they need our help but, in the end, we pull the strings. We can use our ways to get what we want or need to capture their attention. A true Alpha and Omega bond is unbreakable and powerful. One that is rich and full of love. Yet we Omegas have more sway than we are given credit for. As we do use love and our bodies to ensure that” 

Tiff nodded her head and stared at the blonde with wide eyes. Bringing her thoughts back to reality, Tiff jumped. “Do we?” Clara regarded Tiff and Tiff cleared her throat, trying hard not to get emotional. “I’m guessing you and General Donavan have been together a long time?”

Clara nodded and kept her warm eyes on Tiff.

“Your upbringing was happy,” Tiff asked. “You grew up here? In the harem? Went to school? Only knew General Donavan?”

Clara nodded “Well yes, it is the custom and the law to remain untouched until you are bonded.” 

“Yes, I see,” Tiff glared. “Well I wouldn’t know. The Omegas I knew grew up in the city street, most were selling their bodies for food if they hadn’t been bonded by seventeen. And rarely if ever was it for love, mostly for food and sometimes shelter.” Tiff watched as Clara rolled her eyes and pushed her chair back.

Clara stopped when she heard Tiff speak, “Not all of us had it so easy being born omega’s. I was bonded to my father’s friend when I was fifteen. He wasn’t an easy man to be around, but unlike many of my friends, he didn’t pimp me out. He bonded me when I was eighteen, and when I finally sliced his throat after years worth of his demands and cruelty I didn’t feel a thing.” Tiff finished and watched as Clara huffed.

Clara caught Tiffs eye and spoke, “You outside Omegas astound me. You have more freedom than you think. We on the inside have to be adorable darlings, sex kittens, nursemaids, everything. We do it so we can have freedom throughout and you are all nothing but ungrateful.” 

Tiff laughed and said “Freedom? Maybe that is the true irony, none of us are free. We are still whores to whomever wants to rut with us and in the end, we both do it for our own reasons.”  Clara rolled her eyes and started to leave. Tiff spoke again, “Aren’t you curious to find out about your sister? Or would you rather I take it up with the high council, as I’ve heard you advise other omegas who came before me with complaints?” This remark made the blond woman pause. Clara searched Tiffs face, before leaning on a chair. “Tell me about my sister then, and be brief” Clara spoke, her voice detached from emotion.

Tiff pushed the hat box toward Clara. Clara shot Tiff an annoyed look and Tiff knew Clara couldn’t wait for her to be gone. Tiff put her hands on Clara’s and stared into the other woman’s eyes. “You asked me six months ago if I was hungry enough to go into enemy territory to find your sister and the man she allegedly loved. You also tried to induce a heat and get me aroused for one of your soldiers. Not understanding that the bond part of me was destroyed. That I cut  that part of myself out. I did as you asked and seduced your sisters lover, which was easy as you said. However, you sadly did underestimate the genuine love that your sister had for him. I can sense the hormones you’ve been pumping in here in hopes I would go into a heat cycle to distract me and keep me from leaving. I’m afraid thats all over now” Clara’s eye shifted behind Tiff for a moment to alert Tiff that she was right.

Tiff removed her hands off Clara’s, confident in her estimations and now knowing for sure that they were being watched. Tiff watched Clara’s eyes go wide and her face pale.  Clara opened and then slammed the lid of the box shut. Finally she jumped back and shrieked. Tiff never took her eyes off Clara. “Its time for things to change Clara, you all should have taken a stand for your sisters. You should have done something for your genetic kind, let alone for women. Being whored out isn’t a fairy tale, you should have done something.”  Clara shrieked out the order to have Tiff seized, but before anyone could move, Tiff squeezed the hidden detonator. 

No one knew that in the early hours, Tiff had paid a cleaning person to put a large plant one the other end of the building, the plant hiding a bomb. No one also knew that concealed in the evidence she brought to her Omega ruler Clara, was a bomb inside of the decapitated head of Clara’s sister. Tiff chuckled when she thought of how Clara’s sister was taken by surprise by her lover, how she still looked up at him lovingly as he slit her throat and cut off her head. “Foolish girl” Tiff said as her last thought went to Clara’s sister and her lover and how her lover wanted Tiff as soon as he smelled her go into heat. In turn, she remembered his look of surprise before he died, when Tiff shot him as he rutted her. Before everything blew up, Tiff wasn’t sure if she was the foolish girl, Clara, Clara’s sister, or if maybe they all were, for believing they were ever really free.

The day the Omega Harem, castle, and citadel were blown up, it didn’t’ change the dynamic of things just yet…but that was how it all started and how things returned back to the way they were.

The End

The cold fall evening air gave Dennis a chill. With a sigh, he zipped up his jacket. He locked his car along the road in the old town cemetery. The sky was a warm orange, and the leaves were one wind storm away from being blown to the ground. With a sigh, Dennis glanced around at the sunny and peaceful graveyard.

His mind drifted back to their younger days, when he was seventeen and his highschool sweetheart since Junior High, Ashley would come with him up there. On warm summer nights when they were young and wanted to be alone, they would find themselves in the old town cemetery. They would park her car at the last bend on the road and walk up the path to the oldest part, where they no longer buried anyone.

Away from the graves they would sit on their spread out blanket and have a special intimate picnic that often led to more intimate embraces and kisses. Standing by his car, Dennis stared up at the hill with tears in his eyes as he shifted his feet on the gravel road.

Seventeen felt like a lifetime ago for Dennis, not just the twelve years that had passed. Dennis rounded around the gravestones, as the sound of his feet crunching on the ground at his feet filled his ears. Digging his hands in his pockets, his thoughts drifted back to Ashley and his youth.

He wasn’t harping for his lost younger days, but like a friendly photo album he enjoyed taking it out every now and then and leafing through his memories. A smile started to form at the corners of his mouth when he remembered watching her play volleyball in the gym. Watching her sandy brown hair sway as she moved.

That taste of strawberry lip balm taste of her lips when they kissed. They way her nose would twitch when she would laugh. The way her hair always seemed to be tossed when she talked to anyone. Over the years, the memories of Ashley seemed to sum up his youth. When he was a track star, he had plenty of friends, he had Ashley, and his life was all set. It was pleasant and time only made it sweeter.

Brushing his thick hair out of his eyes, he made his way up the hill to the old part of the cemetery. The place he and Ashley would climb many times in the past and he would taste those strawberry lips of hers. Dennis could almost taste her lips in his. Keeping his balance up the grassy hill, he continued to climb to the very top where you could overlook on the whole town.

“It almost seems like that small town is the whole wide world from up here doesn’t it?” Ashley said in her soft voice. Dennis grasped his hand in hers. “I will take you anywhere you want to go.” He said and she felt her chuckle and shake her head. “Wherever you want to be, thats where I want to go. Honestly, I’m just happy here.” That was one of their favorite memories. It was the end of their senior year, and many times over the years Dennis recalled that particular memory. It had been a perfect early June day, with swimming with their friends, followed by burgers at their favorite joint with their friends and then finally they drove out here to be alone. It was always how they ended their nights together, alone and on that old hill overlooking their small town.

Dennis placed his jacket on the ground as he snapped back to his reality. He stared out at the town as he had with Ashley many many times in the past. He chewed his lip as he thought of those days, even after highschool things were still good and fun. He got his scholarship, and he and Ashley were accepted at the same college. Time didnt’ seem to change as most of their friends were still in the same colleges or they at least partied together. For a time everything stayed the same, and Dennis couldn’t have been happier.

He had hoped to marry Ashley one day, but in college they agreed to part for a while as friends to make sure they were what the other one wanted. Dennis was fine with it, being apart hadn’t bothered him as much as he thought it would. Everyone around them was shocked, especially as the months stretched to the duration of their college years and it wasn’t looking like they were getting back together. At the time it hadn’t bothered he or Ashley. “Because when you’re young, you have a way of thinking that a few years is an eternity” Dennis thought as his hand ran over the cold grass as he slowly sat down on his jacket, reminding him of their picnics.

Clearing his throat Dennis spoke out loud “Well Ashley, its been eight years since I’ve come back here. I always said I would come here when I was ready to move on. Well the time has come Ashley, I’m ready to settle down finally and be married. ” Dennis looked out at the setting sun over the town and waves of nostalgia swept over him. He shut his eyes and felt a tear slide down his face. Opening his eyes, he continued. “I should have told you sooner. I should have come to you sooner. I also shouldn’t have let you go that night before we graduated. The night we were supposed to go to the movies, that was the night I was going to ask you back. I should have remembered how you hated to drive in the rain.” Dennis shut his eyes as he thought of that night, when Ashley was riding with her girlfriend to meet Dennis and a few other friends for a movie. They never made it.

Dennis never bothered with the details of Ashleys demise, the only thing that mattered was that she never made it that night. He couldn’t even go to her funeral viewing, for fear he would see the details on her body. Instead he came to this old cemetery just in time to see them put his Ashley in the ground.

“I still miss you Ashley. I wish………” Dennis bit back his words and stopped. Shaking his head he stood up. “Well Ashley the sun is going down, and I have to head back my girl.” Dennis stood up and watched as the orange of the setting sun illuminated everywhere around him. He slowly walked back to his car and gave one last look to the place that gave he and Ashley so many happy memories.

Dennis was already putting the headlights on when he exited the cemetery and drove back through the old town where he still lived but on the outskirts. He was driving along the old country road when he felt someone in the seat beside him. He smiled and he grasped the hand that was now rotten and a mere skeleton. In his mind, he still saw it as a young fresh girl who was still waiting for him.

Turning to the skeletal figure, with fragments of hair and exposed bone he smiled. He saw the young girl with strawberry lips and sandy brown hair, the one who still had his heart. “Guess now who holds thee Ashley” The skeleton corpse sighed “I guess its no longer death.” It said with its bulging eyes shifting between the road and Dennis. With a slight laugh, he stared at his illusion. “No sweetheart. Not death, love. Always and forever, and I will never let you go.” Grasping the rotten hand with delicate bones He kissed it and held her hand in his.

“Now that I have you back, I will never let you go. We can be married soon, you are mine Ashley. I will never give you up or send you back” Dennis smiled at his dream and Ashley’s corpse turned sadly, “Thats just what I was afraid of.”

The End

by

Becca Mitchell

The cold air was burrowing into my skin, I couldn’t believe that tonight of all nights my car would break down. I huffed as I realized that with a dead battery and no jumper cables, I would have to call an uber. I sighed and reached for my phone just as some asshole blasted their horn. I jumped and my phone slipped right out of my hand and landed right in a puddle and the screen smashed. 

“Unfucking believable.” I muttered as I looked at the smashed remains. Shaking my head, I tried to think of my options, when I saw another car approach behind mine. It was an old eighties car that I used to see alot of when I was a kid, but I wasn’t sure of the model. The driver kept the high beams on and I heard an odd high pitched voice call out “I’ll give you a lift.”  

I must have stood frozen for longer than I thought. Suddenly, I saw the car door open with a clunky sound. A tall man with broad shoulders got out, he could have been a linebacker with his height and size. Again he asked “Do you need a ride?” The voice was so out of place to his size, it was hard not to stare. Finally after a moment, I figured screw it.  I would have to risk getting killed in order to be saved. “Appreciate it man” I said and I climbed in.

It was like stepping back into time, the car had that musty smell of cigarettes and age and Billy Squires song  In the Dark played softly on the radio. I glanced around the car, it was dark inside, I guessed the dome light must have burned out some time ago. The velour seats  were a tan,but there seemed to be something a tad darker on the seats that I couldn’t quite make out. And for some reason, in spots the seats felt a little damp. Sitting in the seat, I felt dirty, as though I should make sure to wipe my feet when I got out of the car.  

I jumped when the man slammed his clunky door shut. He laughed in that soft laughter “Must be nervous tonight.”  That voice almost sounded like he was intentionally trying to sound feminine, that didn’t bother me, what did was that there was something that scared me when he spoke. Something I didn’t like to hear. As we started to drive along, we began to talk and I started to feel a little less unclean and dirty. 

I wasn’t even sure what all I talked about but the man listened politely as I rambled on and on, nervously I see now. I suddenly felt foolish, as though it was dawning on me how strange and silly I was acting. I was a decent sized guy, however I couldn’t shake this feeling that something was just a little off. We kept driving along the freeway, and as we approached the offramp for my turn he turned to me and said in that soft high pitched voice. “Did you go to school in Chaplin?” I said that I had and he said “Do you recall a Lyndsay Cunningham?  I knew her once, long ago. It would be nice to see her again.” I was a little taken aback. Lyndsay? She was a nice enough girl, nothing out of the ordinary or remarkable. 

I said nothing for a little bit and sat in silence. The journey seemed to be taking longer than usual. “If you need a new car, I could be coerced into selling you this one.”  I looked around this old car. As we drove off the off ramp the car seemed even more dingier than I initially thought. The stains were darker now and I wasn’t sure what the hell happened to it. “It has potential and can be cleaned up like a dream. I’ll give you a great deal, just give it a week and its yours.”  He turned to me and for a flash I could have sworn his eyes seemed hollowed out and his face was sunken in. I adjusted my eyes and he stared back at me. What unnerved me was that there was no sign of emotion, no nothing. His eyes were wide as though he were surprised and yet wild. I saw that he started to speed up and still his eyes continued to burrow into me. 

I was terrified, yet I couldn’t tear myself away from those wide black eyes. Then I noticed he really floored it and the road began to twist. I glanced around and saw we were heading for Pikers Lake. It was this huge lake that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Those eyes still burrowed into mine. I began to realize my driver was not slowing down, I hastily gripped the door handle and I knew I had to jump before it was too late. 

I thought he was going to grab me so I quickly leaped out. I hit the ground hard, but I rolled away. After a moment I got up, I expected to see his tail lights, something. All I could see was the pitch black night. 

I didn’t take another ride that night. I found my way to a twenty four hour gas station where I called a tow and my girlfriend Meg. As soon as I got in the door of my apartment, I showered and decided I never wanted to inquire about that man or his weird car again.  I just wanted to forget this weird night ever happened to me. 

Days passed and my life went on as usual. Then I was invited to Meg’s parents for dinner. Her mother was charming and sweet as always, her father was warm to me then sat back down in his easy chair to watch the news. On the news that evening, they talked about Pikers Lake and finding some old car. I shrugged it off, dozens of things had been found down there. So I wasn’t surprised. As we sat down and began to dig into our food, the conversation changed. My girlfriends mom asked us if we knew a Lyndsay Cunningham. I suddenly had a flash of that man and his eerie voice. “Apparently she died suddenly, poor thing and she was young too.  She got Pneumonia and never recovered.” I thought of that man but I didn’t say a word. In a weird way I think I worried I would bring him back with my thoughts.

The dinner went on, but I was more quiet than usual. I think my Meg noticed. She kept asking if I was ok. I told her I was but that I was tired. We continued to the living room for coffee and cake. The news was still on. When the conversation hit a lull and Meg’s parents went into the other room for cups and plates my eyes went to the evening news, and I saw that old car that picked me up.  Then a picture of the man who had picked me up. Without a word I went over to the television without a word to my girlfriend as the news caster described my ride. “Phillip Carter, 38 was the owner of the found oldsmobile who disappeared in nineteen eighty six. His family had given him up for dead and his remains have finally been found inside of his oldsmobile.”  

I didn’t notice my girlfriend beside me until she spoke. “What baby? This? Oh, yeah some guy back in eight six apparently took his life by dumping it and himself in that lake. No known reason, had a wife and a couple of kids living the typical life. He was doing really well selling insurance too, wife said she thought he would be promoted soon. Then suddenly he does this without word or reason. They think his throat was cut on the windshield based on how he was found.  Apparently it was wedged deep in his neck from impact, almost cut his head off.”

I never told Meg or her parent what happened. I also never drove on that road again. I just wanted to forget it ever happened. Dear God in heaven, how I wish I could just forget it ever happened!

The End

by

Becca Mitchell

I drove my car alone, along the deserted streets. I wasn’t used to being this alone, especially on these roads. Roads I had traveled on many times since I was young. I always loved riding on them, I learned to ride when I was fourteen, lying about my age, and through the years I improved and became more confident with my riding. The road was now overgrown and dangerous, the gangs mostly took over the roads, greatly outnumbering the cops after the big war and a major viral outbreak wiped out most of the population. Us outlaws were resilient through it all, we were basically the only survivors.

Jasper was like my big brother that I never had before. He was out going and warm as well as welcoming. We grew up together and were born inside of the same gang. I stayed as long as Jaspers father ran things. When he passed we all had hopes that Jasper would continue things as they were. They were a good bunch, other than a few thefts here and there we didn’t’ hurt innocents or venture out for blood. We pillaged but we made sure to have balance and order. With Jasper, that all changed. He wanted to seek out and destroy, he killed for killing sake. I left within six months and never looked back.

The gang I ran with now, we aren’t a bad bunch. We try to be as Jaspers dad had been but it missed that strength and stamina his old man had. Over time, we got word that Jasper and his men were using some kind of drug. We weren’t sure what, but they were wiping out anyone who came into their path, not just their enemies or hostiles. Innocents, cops, soldiers, women, children, anybody.

We took a vote, especially as we were the only group left. The only sane ones, as the only ones left now other than Jaspers gang, were ones so insane no one dared enter their territory. I’m speaking of troglodytes, cannibals, real life ghouls who initiate by having them kill someone they care about and eat them. Those were actually the most civil ones, there were others that were even worse.

I wasn’t above murder and pillaging myself, if it meant survival and better for the group or even myself. Still, I rode along those familiar roads, the overgrowth made the path almost as dark as night. I had volunteered as I knew the path by heart, even though it had been years and years. Where once familiar and warm, was now foreign and strange.

I thought of the rumors we had heard, of people who walked into Jaspers territory and just breathed his air and never came back. I kept a look out, as long as I could get close to Jasper, that was all I needed. Eventually the path was so broken and filled with vegetation, I could no longer drive. I knew I would have to walk.

I slowly stepped around and kept my gun ready. I reached the last hill before I was finally at the compound with Jasper. Looking ahead, there was a haze that filled the air. It made me think of a lucid dream, one that is strange yet so realistic. Everything almost seemed wavy as the sun broke through the trees and I jumped out of my own skin when I saw almost an army of men just standing in front of a shack in the middle of the road.

The only sound was the sound of my boots on the road. I walked slowly up to the strange beings just standing in the road. Upon inspection I was horrified to discover and recognize some of them. I knew it was Ace and Tozer, two members of one of the gangs that suddenly disappeared. Yet, that was almost two years ago.

As I approached I realized that they were literally frozen as though they were getting the rest of their gang of about thirty men, ready for an attack. I recognized the wild eyes and the amused smiles. Whatever they thought they faced, it obviously hadn’t bothered them. I touched their arms and quickly withdrew my hand when I felt hard plastic instead of warm soft flesh. They were plastic glistening statues. I didn’t know what they were, but they were no longer human.

They stood before that shack, like that tomb of that Chinese Emperor I saw a picture of once. I kept going forward, I couldn’t stop, not even to inspect this. I didn’t have the time, I had to keep going. As I got closer to the shack that until now I had never seen before, my vision began to get blurry as though I were under water. I also felt drowsy. A voice stopped me in my blurred tracks.

“Looks like a visitor, a blast from the past” I looked up, that blond hair and those blue eyes with a youthful face, I would recognize Jasper anywhere. He had his small group with him. I guess we were wrong in thinking he was converting other gangs. I realized the truth as I desperately struggled to keep my eyes open.

“Oh yes, Jaspers breath is very strong. Thats what we call it, but soon you’ll get your taste” I realized as I watched Jaspers stoic body guard hand Jasper a black thermos that was filled with this strange powder. They brought out the powder and I knew I had to work fast.

They blew the powder in my face just as I pulled the pin. I didn’t throw it, so I held on to Jasper by the collar. He only laughed and shrugged, “No matter, I can watch especially my former brother, especially you.” He and his men laughed, though Jaspers was more genuine. He was still laughing as my flesh hardened and I couldn’t move and I realized that those statues were still aware. They weren’t dead. I had managed before I couldn’t move at all that, to put the hand held bomb on Jasper himself and I braced for whatever would come.

Jasper was beginning to have his men help him when the grenade went off and it blew the powder on all of them. There was a flash and the screams and laughter were cut off. It took a while for everything to come back in focus. For a while I thought I was really dead, but when I saw the familiar road and the carnage that was Jasper and his men scattered before me with haunted, frightened expressions. I knew that death would be a blessing.

I’ve forgotten how long I’ve been like this. Three months? Four? I don’t know. I’m pretty sure this area is nothing but a rumor now. No one ventures up here. I’m fairly certain my gang has written me off as dead, which is probably smart. There’s nothing anyone can do for me, not now.

I’m never hungry nor thirsty, not hot or cold. I just stand here, frozen in the few seconds before everything blew, and on my collar is Jaspers hand with parts of him everywhere. I should know, its where my eyes were fixed on before they froze and day after day, night after night I stare at the scattered remains. Before the last bits of the powder worked and silenced them forever, I could hear the two mens screams. I could also faintly hear Jaspers laughter, even as they hardened and I knew they would be trapped forever in his own breath, he was still laughing.

The End

by

Becca Mitchell

“Another damn pet” Gavin thought as he looked at the fish tank in his sons room. Shaking his head he went back to his office at the end of the hall and shut the door. He sighed heavily as he put down his coffee cup and sat back down at his computer. He was happy that he was able to work remote with his graphic design work, however his wife Lisa always seemed to take advantage and typically heaped most of the domestic responsibilities on him.

Gavin slammed the door to his office in the backroom and grumbled as he chugged his coffee. He tried to get back into his work, which wasn’t exactly easy when interrupted. He pushed his resentful thoughts out of his mind as he started to drift to Lisa and her list of “chores” for the day.

He finished his work thought and went back to his sons room to unwrap the new “pet”. Gavin knew it was mostly to buy off his children’s affection and let them remember where their mother came from and that it was her side that had money. A topic that at first was never an issue between them but as time, insecurities and other issues began to sprout up, that too became yet another “issue”.. As in the meantime Lisa’s parents showered their children with gifts.

Gavin and Lisa shared a life of image. Two perfect kids who were detached from their cold and distant parents. Two high class cars that were a missed payment away from repossession. Then there was the perfect house on the lake in the woods that was bleeding them dry. Yet, both Gavin and his wife Lisa, they both loved their image and did whatever it took to keep it alive and well.

Gavin pushed it out of his mind. When he didn’t have to, he didn’t think about his wife much, nor his life. He pushed it deep down inside. He tore open the brown packaging and noticed for the first time there was no return address, there was nothing, just Gavins address. Shrugging he finished unwrapping it. Gavin jumped when he opened up the sealed tank that had been hand delivered.

Sitting in the tank was a creature Gavin had never seen before. It was like a twisted combination of a salamander without a tail and a fish with a primate type face and head. Instead of a tail it had two long fins that looked like long legs. it had smaller fins near its head and the head had a pierced mouth like a fish, but its eyes were like that of a snake, but with deeper colors. The scales were an army camouflage that covered its whole body. Gavin shuddered, he wasn’t sure he wanted it near his son or daughter, so he put the tank in the dining room and thought about what he wanted to do with that thing.

“I guess I’ll ask Lisa when she gets home” Gavin thought and tried to avoid going into the same room with it. He cringed at the thought of feeding it. Working up his remaining courage he went in to feed it. To his horror it was trying to escape. He watched as it lifted the lid up and was trying to get out. Shaking his fear off he tried to carefully put it back in his tank. The small reptile snake bit his hand and drew some blood. Gavin thought he saw the creature suck up some of the blood but he wasn’t sure.

He snatched his hand away and eyed the creature as it sunk into its tank and ignored the food Gavin put in for it. Never taking its eyes off Gavin, it stared him down as Gavin left the room. “Obviously its been fed, so hopefully this can be taken care of when Lisa comes home.”

Gavin went back to work and pushed that strange staring fish out of his mind. Some time later he was distracted by the sounds of something dragging across the floor. He wondered if maybe one of the dogs had come into the house. Gavin listened for a minute, then heard nothing. Shrugging he went back to work. A short time later he heard it again, but it was closer. “Stupid dog” Gavin mumbled and went to the hallway. He stopped when he saw the ruffled end of a fish tail. Frozen in fear he stared as it seemed to shake. Then he saw a bloodied dog collar get thrown against the wall.

Gavin must have gasped because the snake like thing slowly moved toward him and he saw it was the size of a small dog. In his mind as Gavin watched it run toward him he knew it had eaten their dog Sheila. That it took over whatever characteristics of its meal because he could see Sheila’s dead puppy face flopping inside of its skin. Gavin snapped back but it was too late and he felt the one long tail wrap around his legs and the other around his arms. Locked in place, he felt the fish like thing crawl up on him and work its way up as though it were about to kiss him. It pried Gavin’s mouth open with its jaws and shoved its snake like tongue down his throat. Gavin felt and heard a crunch as its tongue broke his ribs and pushed its way through. Gavin finally felt shock over take him when he saw the thing bring out his intestines and begin to slurp them up as though they were noodles.

Lisa slammed the door to her car, and looked tired as she tried to usher the kids inside. “Figures, he couldn’t even flick on the lights. Probably drunk and passed out somewhere” She thought with agitation.

The dark house hid the blood trails of Gavin and his dog. The creature was by now as tall as Gavin and about twice his size. Gavins death face stuck out of the creature on the one side, as did the dog’s face.

Hearing the door open and watching the light go on in the kitchen and the sounds of family approaching. The creature smiled and knew there would be three more faces to match his new ones. With the lake on the property and how serene, the pet knew he had finally found a place to call home.

The End

by

Becca Mitchell

“The house is yours now free and clear.” The Lawyer spoke calmly to Avery. Avery looked at the giant Georgian style house in the photograph. Looking at the Georgian Pillars her mind drifted back to the bright summer days she would spend there. Avery recalled silently how she would stroll through the pillars and pretend she was a ruler in ancient greece. Running with her cousins in the gardens around the house.

Avery was startled out of her thoughts when she glanced at a picture of her aunt Paula. Paula Creston, the popular romance writer who was almost officially deemed the lady of love. Avery never really cared for her work personally, but she heard time and again how her aunt had brought love and hope to so many people. Even though Paula Creston lived for romance, Avery knew that her aunt was what people used to call an old maid. She had never even been engaged, let alone had a steady love or even a fling that Avery knew about. To the world Paula was the queen of Love and Avery knew her as a gentle lay who kept to herself and seemed far away and lonely.

Touching her picture faintly, Avery glanced at the attorney telling her the details of her aunt Paula’s will and estate. She thought of how none of it mattered now, the sweet and gentle voiced aunt was gone and not coming back. “Let me sign the rest of the papers and I’ll take the keys if you will.”

Driving up the long deserted looking drive, she saw the duck pond out of the corner of her eye. The beautifully tended gardens, all of it looked like the perfect settings in one of her aunt’s romance novels. Pulling up to the front of the now vacant house, Avery stopped and hesitated before grabbing her bag and heading inside.

The inside was just as grand as the outside. Most of the furnishings were still there. Avery had to stop for a moment as nostalgia flooded back to her. The warm summer nights, her aunt floating down the staircase to her in one of her chiffon colored silk gowns. The warm dinner parties her aunt hosted with her friends.

Avery almost expected one of the servants to greet her as they had in the old days. Then she remembered what the attorney had said to her after she had gotten the phone call from him in the city. “Yes, Ms White, I regret to inform you that your aunt Paula Creston, is dead. She died some time ago.” There was a long pause, but Avery still caught it. It had been about ten years since she had talked to or even seen her aunt, ten years, right when she graduated from college. “The servants are all gone, she didn’t say why but she said it was important that no one stay in the house with her after dark. Occasionally a woman from town would come up to clean but nothing has been worked out so if you wanted some kind of arrangement, you would have to work something out between you. You have been given the house, but there is an addendum that no one is to stay with you after dark in that house. No one except for you is to stay on the property at all for the first three months, after that you may do as you wish or even sell. If you fail to adhere to the request, everything is null and void.”

Those words echoed in her mind as her footsteps did the same thing down the large hall toward the grand staircase. Avery cringed as she felt as though she were a Scarlett O’Hara knock off. She turned on the lights and looked around the rooms. Silence and shadows was all she was met with.

She opened each window allowing the breezy Virginia air into the house. As the curtain flickered something in the corner caught her eye. Nothing in the house had changed since her childhood, yet there was a table, chair and some books she knew she had never seen before.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she walked over and looked through her find. “Thats odd, Aunt Paula was never one for witchcraft or the occult.” Avery muttered to herself as she looked over the book of love spells and witchcraft. “Can’t say I blame her too much, it was so important to her and yet she was always denied.” Avery thought sadly. Though she hadn’t faired much better, she didn’t make it her all as her aunt had done, or her mother who had killed herself when her father had left her and Avery for another woman. “The curse of the women in our family, we are successful in every way except for love.”

The red wing back chair sat with a single candle on the stand beside it and Avery cringed when she saw that the book was left open to a section on conjuring. She shivered as the wind through the window seemed to pick up and she slammed the book shut. “They didn’t say anything about destroying things in the house, surely I can burn this stuff in the morning.” She thought to herself walking out of the library.

Making her way upstairs she couldn’t shake this unnerving feeling of being watched and those books of spells, she couldn’t shake the images and the words for invoking a spirit from the other side. “What could she have been thinking? For what reason?” Those thoughts raced through her mind as she tried to sleep in her old bedroom. It was too strange to stay anywhere else.

Sleep found her easily and then the nightmares came shortly after. She kept seeing her aunt Paula float up the staircase to her room. Only her eyes were sunken in and her skin was pale and leathery. Her mouth was agape, muttering something but Avery couldn’t hear her. She saw her aunt open her door and stand over her as she slept and mutter words, but no sound came out.

Each time Avery would startle awake, but there was nothing there. Yet when she returned to sleep, it was the same dream. Near dawn when she awoke again, her aunt was at the foot of her bed and she stepped toward Avery and let out a blood curdling scream. Avery felt herself black out.

The morning sun woke her up. The room was peaceful around her. She checked the house, but all was still and comfortable. She dressed and made herself some coffee and sipped it out in the warm southern sunshine. That day she burned the books and even the chair, and with it the bad dreams as well as any dark thoughts.

“I’ll make this place fresh and live again as it was meant to.” She thought as she watched them go up in flames. The summer passed and she began to clean the house up. She had hopes of selling the large house as a bed and breakfast once the time was totally up. The summer passed with her prepping the gardens and the house. Before long, it was the last weekend of her three month sentence.

She was anxious to sell the house and get back to her own life. Hopeful that this “bed and breakfast” could bring happiness to someone else. Avery was almost asleep when she felt a cold hand grip her mouth tightly to keep her from screaming. Unable to move or speak she heard a gravelly voice ask “Guess now who holds thee?”

Unable to answer, Avery thought “Intruder? My death is coming” Tears fell down her cheeks and she heard the gravel voice near her ear and a putrid smell of rotting animal and puss filled her nose. “Not Death, but love. Love that your aunt so craved and is now here. And now I am here to collect, everything has a price my dear girl. She sold you to us so that she may have the love of fans for her work. Fair trade, lover for lover.” Avery thought of the spells and her frightened eyes beheld the shape that was climbing on top of her. “Your aunt sends her regards” A white scaly thing with black eyes and no lips with sharp teeth. It was like a horrible combination of man, snake, and corpse.

It leaned down and bite down on Averys lips and bite them and consumed them. When she tried to scream, it bite off her tongue and she gagged as she watched it eat and devour it. When the beast chewed off her throat she finally went into shock before she could watch it eat her the rest of her.

By morning there was nothing left but a large blood stain on the bed. The beast and Avery were never seen again. The house fell vacant and before they tore it down, many reported seeing a light in the window upstairs and the sound of crying and soft romantic whispers to someone in the night.

I was going to submit this for the recent stitched Saturday but alas, time got away from me. Regardless, here is the story, enjoy!

Bridgette Stoffa watched the two women opposite her laugh and smile as the brightness of the sun’s rays beamed on them.  Bridgette watched as their children played and listened with joy as their giggles filled the air. One of the women patted the other one’s bulging, pregnant belly.  Bridgette turned away and shut her eyes against the forming tears. She didn’t know why she tortured herself like this. She looked down at her own flat stomach and the only thought she heard in her mind was “barren”.  She cringed at the word then stood up and threw away the rest of her half eaten turkey sandwich. She brushed her black hair out of her face and walked back to her office. 

Bridgette arrived at the same time as another woman from the accounting department. They both stepped through the door.

“Surprise!” Everyone shouted.

 Bridgette jumped then turned and realized they meant it for the woman behind her. 

“Oh, congratulations Jennifer! I’m so happy for you!”  Everyone expressed their joy for the woman behind her. 

Bridgette felt Jill, her only friend at work, lean in close to her. “I guess they had been trying for almost two years, it seems the fertility treatment worked, I thought I had told you,”  Jill said with an apologetic tone. 

Jill was the only one who knew Bridgette had even resorted to a fertility clinic and a sperm bank to get pregnant. 

Only to be told it didn’t take. 

Bridgette bit her lip and said a soft congratulations to a beaming Jennifer then went back to her desk. She hadn’t noticed that Jill had followed close behind. 

“Look, you’ve been trying, I know it’s not your thing but maybe you could even try the old fashioned way–”  

Bridgette half glared up at her. 

Jill shook her head and waved her hands “No, you’re right forget it. You already told me, I’m sorry. You’re right anyway, if the treatments didn’t work, then why would a man–”  Jill shook her head. “I’m sorry.” 

Bridgette didn’t say a word. Instead she turned back to her computer. 

“Oh hey, I did find something. Maybe she can at least make some of the negativity go away.” Jill dug a black card out of her pocket. 

Bridgette paused when she saw the pentagrams on the card. In the center was a name and address. “Agnes Lasako, professional witch”  Bridgette read off her address to herself and thought tomorrow during her lunch hour, she would pay a visit.

The next day Bridgette found herself at the door of Agnes Lasako. A dark thought loomed over her: in many ways, this really was her last resort. Shrugging it off, she knocked on the door before a warm voice beckoned her to enter.  

The room was decorated with Victorian lace and antiques. The walls were a textured dark red. Seated at a dark mahogany desk sat a small nymph like woman with large cat like eyes and reddish brown hair. “Good afternoon Bridgette, I have been expecting you.”  

Bridgette tilted her head, her expression one of confusion. 

Agnes Lasako smiled and shook her head. “My apologies, I didn’t mean to surprise you. It’s just a casual greeting I assure you, so what is it you are seeking?”

“I thought you would tell me.” Bridgette said in an offhand way, something she did often. 

Agnes expression grew sharp. “I would be careful how I addressed someone who was trying to give you what you wanted.” 

Bridgette dropped her eyes and nodded. 

Agnes crossed closer to her and she grasped Bridgette’s hand. “May I have your permission then?  Your permission to know, your permission to see?”  

Unsure what she meant Bridgette nodded anyway.  Agnes shut her eyes for a second and Bridgette kept her attention on Agnes. 

Bridgette was thinking the whole thing was a waste of time. 

Agnes flung her eyes open and put her hand to Bridgettes stomach. Bridgette tried to move her hand away but Agnes’ grip was firm. Before she could get a wod out, the hand was gone and Agnes went back to her desk.  

Bridgette looked at her “So is there anything I need to do”  

Agnes sat down and gave her a strange glare. “It’s all been done. There’s nothing you need to do, you willed it so, I just aided.”  

Confused, Bridgette grabbed her purse “So how much do I owe you then?”  

Agnes shook her head.“It will all be paid in full, don’t you worry.”  

Bridgette was more taken back and couldn’t wait to leave.

After Bridgette left, she felt foolish for having gone and she pushed the whole afternoon out of her mind. Days passed and soon Bridgette forgot all about it. However, her dreams were bizarre. She kept dreaming of sex–intimate, passionate and everytime she pulled back the head of her lover after they were both spent, she could never see the face. Then one evening about four weeks later, with night after night of passion, she saw the face of her lover. It was her own demonic looking face with a wicked toothy smile.

Bridgette woke up with a start from the dream. The dream disgusted her. She lay back in bed a few moments then arose to start her morning routine. Bridgette was brushing her teeth when the nausea hit her.  She began to hack and spit, then she vomited. She guessed it was the vileness of her dream that made her throw up. 

Day after day, both mornings and afternoons, Bridgette was ill. She came up with various reasons as to why she felt so bad, but none were right. 

She had nearly given up all hope of motherhood when they told her the long awaited news, she was having a baby.

Bridgette kept it to herself at first, afraid something may happen. Over time, she began to show and she let others in on her wonderful secret. Jill and everyone guessed it was the fertility clinic that finally got through. Bridgette didn’t’ care, she was just relieved and happier than she ever thought she could be. 

The months went by and the planning and happiness resonated off her. She never thought of Agnes Lasako or that odd day, but deep down she was grateful to her. Finally on a warm day April, her water broke. She wasn’t able to get a hold of her regular doctor and was closer to a hospital she hadn’t visited before.  It was fast and before they could get her information she went into full labor. Surely they could get her information after the baby was born. 

Bridgettes hips locked and it was hard to breathe. The pain was almost intolerable, but with each wave of pain she remembered how much she had wanted this and looked forward to all of her life.  With a final push she could almost feel the baby rip her apart. She didn’t care, she laughed a little when she heard the small cry. 

Bridgette tried to sit up and she found she couldn’t. She thought she heard the doctors around her gasp.  She found that she was too weak to move and she was surprised that the nurses were able to pick her up and clean her off as though she were tiny. She tried to speak but her voice was gone, so she just listened.  

“Oddest thing, I’ve heard of a phantom pregnancy, but this is unreal”  Bridgette heard the nurses saying “Her clothes, everything is missing so we don’t even know who she was and now she’s just gone.”  Another nurse came into the room “She left behind this beautiful baby girl, poor thing. I guess she didn’t want her baby afterall.”  Bridgette was appalled, but she also wondered why they talked about another patient. 

She was confused and getting tired, but she felt comforted as they cleaned her off with tender care. They wrapped her up tightly and Bridgette felt comforted. She tried to speak again but she found she was still unable to. When she tried to move, she was totally blocked in as though she were wrapped up in a kind of straight jacket, as she was unable to  move her arms. A sick feeling of horror seeped through her as she became aware of her overly large surroundings and her blurred vision. When she saw her reflection in the plastic bin she was in, she started to scream and cry, a baby cry. 

Before the nurse came in and picked her up, she suddenly knew. She knew this was her price for going to that witch and wanting a baby. She had paid in full, and in kind with her own adult body. The nurse calmed and comforted her and she heard them speak about the woman who had given birth to her and seemed to have slipped away. Bridgette shut her eyes and knew they would never find the adult she was, nor any trace of her. “Two identical things can’t occupy the same space” she thought wearily and she drifted off to sleep.

The hospital tried to find Bridgette, as did her friend Jill, but everyone guessed she had simply slipped out of her life. The hospital could find no record nor any trace of her clothing, they guessed she had gone their to simply ditch her baby. Jill couldn’t find her anywhere and guessed she had moved on, but as time crept on, the memory of Bridgette began to fade.

A day or so later Bridgette now was like a normal baby girl. Blissfully unaware of the life she had lived up until her birth. SHe was adopted by a nice nurse and her husband. She was loved and cared for and she grew up into a quiet and shy woman that they had named Bridgette. 

Just as before, Bridgette had this undeniable urge for children. Same as before she couldn’t get pregnant and once again, she found Agnes Lasako. This time, it wasn’t because of Jill.  Jill had long since become a manager at the company and was getting ready to plan her retirement, though she had admitted that the new receptionist looked sort of like her Bridgette but she couldn’t be sure. 

Bridgette knocked on the door of Agnes’ office and waited for her to say come in. Agnes recognized the girl who was both mother and father to herself. The one who had  long ago made a deal with the devil to have her beloved child and in return was mother and father to herself. WIth a bright smile Agnes stood, though her own reddish hair was graying and the sparkle was started to fade, she couldn’t help but be amused at the woman before her who would never get past her thirty sixth birthday. Agnes smiled and welcomed her as she always did, as had her mother, her grandmother and her great grandmother, over the past hundred years or so. Agnes smiled to herself as she thought of the future generations that would welcome her as well. “Good afternoon Bridgette, I was expecting you.” 

The End

The moonlight shone brightly in my window. All was silent and still until a distant howl broke the silence and stirred my rest. Shaking off the bed cover I slowly made my way to the window. The bright light of the moon beamed into my face, and I heard the howls and shouts getting louder. They sent chills down my spine as I jumped from the window. 

For a moment or so I was to afraid to move, something inside of me needed to know, to see the truth. I threw on my robe and pulled my slippers on tightly and made my way outside. The moonlight was able to light my way as I walked along the wooded path. For a long time I walked quickly, letting my instincts guide me and keeping a close ear to the sound of the howling and snarling.

After a half a mile of walking, I came to a clearing and it was there that I saw the source of the unnatural sounds. Through the trees that hid me, I saw these upright beasts frolicking in the moonlight. As my eyes adjusted I saw that they were not covered in fur, but their skin glistened with something dark in the light of the moon.  As my mind processed what I was seeing, I finally let it all sink in. They were not beasts, but men, normal but yet wild men growling and snarling in the moonlight. They were naked and almost dancing around wildly. As my eyes finally focused I saw what made their skin look as though it had been painted. They were covered in blood and they were dancing and waving around body parts. It was then that I noticed, they had happened upon a group of unsuspecting campers. The remains of their victims had been thrown about at their feet. 

 I stifled a gag and a scream as I watched one man grab a human stomach and drain the remains in his wild snarling mouth.  Another, a blond haired man laughed maniacally and waved around a human intestine while the third man chewed on a small hand, I shuddered at the thought of how old the victim had been.

They all danced and growled in their carnage and I was terrified to move. They hadn’t seen me and I was too afraid. I kept thinking “They might see me, they might”  As if in one of those nightmares where your monster can hear your thoughts and can easily find you, my worst nightmare happened. They all turned in my general direction and smelled the air. 

They didn’t speak a word, but when they were confident that they had caught my eye, they paused. The three men stood for a second and became slow in their movements. The three kept their eyes locked on me, I could feel they were waiting for me to move. I wasn’t sure how, but I was able to turn and run and I could hear their howling behind me and I knew they were all three giving chase. I heard one behind me to my left, another to my right and the third right behind me. 

I felt as though I were a deer trying to outrun my predators. I ran back the way I came,but I kept making different turns. Surely these woods could be my friend and I could outwit the three mad men intend on ripping me apart. I was almost to the safety of my home, where I prayed I could get in my bed and pretend it was a dream while I waited for help to arrive. As I approached I saw that the blonde one had blocked my path. I could feel the one behind me gaining and I saw the dark haired one was gaining on me. I lost my footing and I fell in the water near the house.

I shivered in the cold water and I ducked low and hid behind the rock as I heard their approaching footsteps. I watched as they stood above me, high up on the hill that overlooked the water. The three of them sniffed the air for me and the moon thankfully hid behind some clouds. I was relieved it hid me further. Watching I realized, they were like hounds, they had a hard time sniffing me in the water. I tried to get as much of me in the water as possible. Suddenly before my eyes, they dropped to their knees and their bodies broke and morphed. Fur sprouted everywhere and their faces  grew out and their barks became like that of wolves and not men. “The moonlight makes them madmen, they aren’t werewolves, they are weremen.” I thought loudly in my mind. I shook as I watched the now wolves, one white, one black, and one gray howl at the night sky.

I quickly swam away as they continued their howls and got to the back of my house where I entered quickly.  Their howls grew ever fading away as I remembered fondly the wolfbane around my house and relaxed. After a quick rinse off of the dirt and filth I climbed back into bed determined that I would never venture out of my warm safe bed on nights when the moon is full.

Some time later I woke up again to a soft growling and a discomfort in my stomach. I began to awake. Thinking I was merely hungry I went to move and found I couldn’t. Slowly my eyes opened and my hand felt wetness near my stomach.  The growling grew louder and with wide frightened eyes I locked on the wereman who was chewing something dark and stunk of blood. I saw the black haired one draining another stomach as the third blond one smiled at me. 

I glanced down and saw that I was cut open. I faintly hoped they had found another victim or were still snacking on their earlier meal. All hopes were dashed as the blond one approached me and pulled the skin back on my stomach. He glanced up at me with a wicked smile and pulled out my intestines. I felt death finally coming for me as I watched him start to swing my guts around and the blood hit me in the face as my weakness and weariness overtook me and I was in torment no more. 

The End.

We can learn so much from History and one of my favorite things to read and learn about was Rondon, Rosevelt and the River of Doubt. A trek that was meant to help aide in a broken dream brought its own terrifying and pivotal course. I think its a trek we have all metaphorically traveled on at one time of our lives or another.

My footsteps crunch on the shattered remains of possibility, hopes, promises, and dreams.

I glance around at all the damage done and the carnage where I gather it all to bury it deep so it won’t look as bad as it seems.

At the vast graveyard I look upon and I feel the wound in my heavy heart as I watch the uncoming dawn.

Another day another way for some, for those like me the damage is done.

Gathering what is left of my heart, collecting the tiny remains of my unbroken things I pack them in my small case and depart.

I cast a glance at the shadows where I once found respite, it is mine no more and its dark call no longer leaves me longing and desperate.

I quicken my steps heading for the plane of my departure that will carry me away, I hold tight to my travel case as I board the plane, though my heart is heavy it can not be swayed.

I look back at the town of terror and thrills where my happiness was once alive and well. The friendly faces who keep going forward in their terror are confused and reluctant to wish me farewell.

Among them I see the face of the one who holds my heart and happiness in their hands. They aren’t surprised but I can see the slight agitation as I seemingly refuse to take my stand.

I shake my head sadly as I know they can not comprehend that for some people their dreams must come to a shocking end.

There is no rebirth, no rise from the dead, and it is ok that some things come to an end.

I face forward in my seat as we lift off into the sky, I behold all that once was and its both pleasing and hurtful to the eye.

I don’t turn away, this is a pivotal shot. Maybe new hopes and dreams? Its too hard to hold to more than a single thought.

In my grief and despair I turn in my seat, the stewardess handing out drinks as I sit in my personal defeat.

Sighing I am about to open a book, to distract me from pain then something catches my eye and I have to look

A pale face with fangs turns and gives me a wink, a man with fur as skin looks up from his drink

A white skinned mystical witch nods from her window seat, then casts her eyes down on her book of shadows for her enemies to defeat.

“So you thought you could lose me?” a familiar voice booms. I shut my eyes and almost smile as he looms

He sits beside me and holds my hand, then he speaks softly, “I am here to make sure you keep your stand.”

He adjusts in his seat our eyes lock, his smile entrances me and he breaks down my block.

We gaze at each other as we embark on our unnatural flight, Holding fast to each other we release the others plight.

Lost for the moment, unsure in our current bout, we hold fast to each other as we both embark, down our River of Doubt