Storymania - Moonlit Flowers by Iron Dave

Moonlit Flowers
Iron Dave

Moonlit Flowers

Will watched a long puffy string of clove smoke drift into the endless glitter of moonlight. He blocked out the muddled voices circling around him and tried to think of all the joyful moments that had encompassed his sister’s life. When the coroner zipped her up only a dozen feet away, Will swore that the sounds of rusted metal locking together were the only things he would hear for the rest of his life. He stamped out the cigarette on the apartment steps and sighed, range of shock still at the tip of his brain. The dirty orange glow from two jack o’ lanterns on the porch of the house where Sonia just killed herself reflected off the pale blue of his tired eyes.
It took Will a few minutes to let everything settle in. He was dozing off on the couch around midnight when his cell phone beeped. He rubbed the beginnings of sleep out of his eyes and stared at the screen, pupils struggling to read a text from Sonia. The haze of slumber fighting his vision for control of his mind, he scanned the two words on the screen: Save me. With no return after a half dozen calls to her line, Will threw on his jacket and started to drive to her house. It was only when the Taunton Police Department called him a half hour ago did his night take this unanticipated turn.
Now Will stood in the front of the house in which he and Sonia had grown up. Chipped red and purple paint decorated a frame that had seen better days. Will could clearly recall his home during this time of year. The smell of fresh pumpkins and the promise of loads of candy, the hanging plastic skeletons and endless horror movie marathons on television. Although it remained at the forefront of his brain, his thoughts raced back to what had just happened: Sonia was dead and nobody knew why.
His sister had been inside their childhood home and threw herself to her own death three floors below, and the police couldn’t pinpoint a motive. Will reached into his pocket and fetched the crumpled pack of European cigarettes. Slender black funnel of tobacco between his lips, he lit its tip and took a comforting drag.
“Mr. Dawson?”
Will spun around and faced a man wearing beige khakis and a navy blue blazer. The man outstretched a hand and smiled. “I’m Detective Hannah,” he said.
Will nodded and ignored the handshake. “What happened to my sister?”
Detective Hannah sighed, rosy red cheeks flush with an autumn breeze. “I’m sorry for your loss. We’re doing everything we can. I don’t know how long you lived in this town, but today and tonight are pretty busy for us, Halloween and all. You know?” Hannah looked around and pointed at the array of seasonal directions garnering the neighborhood of homes. “I’m going to have a couple of my guys follow through with this. We’re going to find out why your sister did what she did…I promise.”
Will watched the sparkle in Hannah’s eyes and could tell that the detective was sincere in his words. “Thanks. My sister sent me a text. I only wished I could have gotten to her in time. I was on my way to her house when you guys called.”
Hannah tilted his head. “What time was this?”
“A little after midnight, I think. It said save me.” Will forced himself to hold back a stream of tears. He didn’t know why the emotions were trapped for so long and were beginning to find their way out now. He bit his bottom lip and focused on the minute bit of pain. “I can’t believe she’s dead…”
Hannah placed a hand on Will’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Mr. Dawson. Please go home and get some rest.” He handed Will a creased business card. “Please call me first thing in the morning. We’re going to try and retrace your sister’s steps. There must have been something that forced her to do this. We’re still looking for her car; we’re thinking that she walked here from another location.”
“Thanks.” Will shoved the card in his front jeans pocket and walked away. He wiped the corners of his eyes and savored a long drag of the cigarette. The familiar scent of Halloween danced around him. When he and Sonia were children, they would spend hours working on costumes after school the day before Halloween. As Will turned back and looked at his childhood home, every faded memory of All Hallows Eve dissipated into a smoldering dizziness of gray ash.
#
Will sat at the kitchen table and threw back another shot of whiskey. He looked to the ceiling and repeated her name. He felt the hot sting of tears on his cheeks the entire ride home but he refused to cry any longer. Amber liquid circling in his belly, Will rifled through various pictures of Sonia and marveled at the beauty of his only sibling. He placed each photo on its front side, an array of memories laid out on the table. Three sharp raps filled the room and Will realized someone was knocking on his front door. He jogged to the other side of the apartment and opened the door.
“Will…”
The unmistakable crux in Jake’s voice nearly elicited another set of tears. Sonia’s boyfriend stood in the open doorframe, bags under his eyes like signs of lost love. Will embraced the man in his arms with an immediate hug. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
Will backed away and motioned for Jake to follow him into the house. “I know, Jake. I’m sorry.”
Jake sat on the lone living room sofa and immediately rested his head back. “Is this what shock feels like, Will? I feel like I shouldn’t be able to walk, or talk, or – ”
“It’s shock, Jake. It’ll fade soon.”
Will leaned against the living room wall, thick hooded sweatshirt unable to hide the cold. He peered at Jake’s tired body, his lanky arms crossed over his chest in mourning. Jake was a few years younger than him, and Will had always believed that the difference in age was negligible. He had envisioned his sister marrying the man that was now on his couch, weak with sorrow and burning with inquisition.
“Why did she kill herself, Will?” Jake took a deep breath.
Will shook his head. “I don’t know. What were you guys doing last night?”
Jake pouted his lips in thought. “We had dinner around nine, I think. We had met at the Sundown Pub right after work, and after we ate she got a phone call from Judy, this chick that she works with. They’ve been going to these Reiki sessions on the other side of Taunton.”
“You mean that Japanese spiritual therapy thing?” Will couldn’t remember Sonia mentioning anything about it.
“Yeah.” Jake fiddled with his thumbs, eyes glued to a blank television screen. “Listen, Will, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Will perked up and found himself standing above Jake, ready to burst into a fit of anger at any moment. Although he was positive that the two never kept secrets from him, his sister’s suicide had quickly taught him that not all was what it had seemed. “What is it, Jake?”
Jake threw his arms in the air. “Sonia had a miscarriage last month.”
The word itself –miscarriage- sent a shiver of abandon through Will’s spine. He sat down next to Jake and took a deep breath. To think that his sister was pregnant and lost a baby shattered his already broken heart. “I’m sorry, Jake,” was all Will could muster.
Jake’s eyes began to water. “She was strong through it all, Will. So fucking strong. I kept telling her that we’d try again someday, but eventually it wore down on her. She went to three different therapists and not a single of them could help. The pain…you could see it in her eyes, Will.”
Will nodded.
“She tried everything to get over it. She took tabs of Xanax, Ambien, anything to help her get through the night. But nothing worked, Will. Nothing. And this woman Judy at her office told her about Reiki practitioners, this type of spiritual therapy that would be able to heal her for good.”
“Where is this place?” Will noticed the apprehensive tone of his voice.
Jake stood up and looked out the window. An array of orange lights hung from a neighboring building. “I think it’s near Jamison Road, the west side of Taunton.”
Will looked at his watch and noticed that it was only five in the morning, even though it felt like he’d been awake for a week straight. “I bet they’re not open this early. Do you have Judy’s number?”
Jake nodded. “Yeah, it’s in my cell phone.”
Will unzipped his sweatshirt and tossed it on the back of the sofa. “Go to my room and lay down for a few hours. I’ll sprawl out here. We’re going to this Reiki place when we wake up, Jake. My sister was stronger than that. She would never take her own life in the midst of losing hope.”
“I know, Will. I know.”
Will kicked off his boots. “Get some sleep.”
Jake left the living room and in a matter of moments Will could hear his acute snores emanating from the thin walls of the apartment. He struggled to close his eyes and figured that some background noise would help him sleep. He clicked on the television and the stagnant voices of a news talk show filled the room. In due time, Will drifted off to a dreamless slumber where endless dark haunted every slowed heartbeat, the absence of echoes filling the void of lost memories.
#
Jake took another sip off coffee, foam bubbling at the top of the cup like angry lava. “This town really goes all out for Halloween, eh?”
Will switched hands on the steering wheel, eyes focused on the road ahead. They pulled up to a red light and for a moment he could feel the spirit of the holiday in the air. A large foam pumpkin with charcoal eyes dressed the lawn of an antique store; outlines of sparkling witches adorned a nearby candy store. “That they do, Jake,” he said.
For nearly five minutes, the pair drove in silence. Will was tempted to turn on the radio but didn’t want to deal with the hordes of acts covering “The Monster Mash” that normally commandeered the radio at this time of year. Instead, Will hummed a tune to himself that he wasn’t quite sure even existed. There was no drumbeat or lyrical line in his head; all that bounced off the soft walls of his mind were quick snippets of Sonia’s lonely voice.
When they reached Jamison Road, Will was forced to circle around the square twice before finding a parking spot. “Goddamn town fair’s coming,” he said aloud. “No place to park.” Will slid the car into front of Deb’s Watch and Jewelry Repair, a building that looked like it could have been a rundown bank in the early twentieth century.
Jake stepped out of the vehicle and dumped the remains of the coffee on the street. The liquid slithered into a pile of leaves. Will was about to shove the car keys into his pocket when he heard his companion shout. He quickly slammed shut the driver’s side door and ran to where Jake was.
“Jake! Jake! What is it?”
Jake was already a dozen paces ahead of him. Will found himself struggling to keep up, heart racing to a frantic tune. Out of breath and sweat seeping from his brow, he reached Jake and immediately realized why his dead sister’s boyfriend and future husband had started to shout.
Jake knelt next to Sonia’s crimson Mustang, his pale hands running along the lone white stripe that clad its shiny exterior. “Sonia,” he whispered to himself, the words floating above him and soon lost in the gentle October wind.
Will knelt beside him and they remained silent for a few moments. Will finally stood up and grabbed Jake by the arm of his olive-colored jacket. “What the hell is her car doing here?”
Rage appearing in the crevasses of his face, Jake shook his head and ran a finger along the dirty driver’s side window. Both peered into the car, hoping to find some bit of evidence that could back up Sonia’s daring suicide. Will took a chance and slid his fingers under the door handle and in a matter of moments it swung open. Jake’s eyes lit up with hope, and he quickly hopped into the driver’s side seat. After a few minutes of rifling through Sonia’s personal items, he threw his hands up in frustration and shook his head.
“Nothing,” he said, eyes staring straight ahead. “Nothing.”
Will sighed and leaned against the car. He observed a long line of children dressed in various costumes pass by, an array of Frankensteins, witches, ghouls, and princesses. He yearned for the days when he and Sonia would follow their parents around the many spots in Taunton, trick-or-treating and enjoying the warm breeze that would often brush through their hair on Halloween day. I miss you already, Sonia, he thought.
Jake’s voice cut through Will’s momentary daydream. “Let’s go.”
Will nodded and the two took long strides along the sidewalk. They couldn’t help but smile at the joyous faces of the young that were thoroughly enjoying the one day where makeup and masks were normality. October wind beating at their backs, they faced the front door of Your Reiki: Spiritual Therapy for the Soul. Located in a suburban home rather than a business building, Will studied the exterior of the house and noticed that it looked more residential than anything else on the block.
Jake knocked on the front door twice. “This place better have answers for us,” he said.
While they waited, Will lit the last cigarette in his pack. Inhaling the dewy aroma of new tobacco, he took a long drag and closed his eyes. “Has Judy called you back yet?”
Jake shook his head and knocked on the door again. “Nope. Three voicemails and a few text messages, still nothing. Goddamn it, where the hell are these people? It’s nine thirty in the morning. They should be open. I’m going to – ”
At his final word, the door popped open, the jingling of classic store bells heard overhead. A woman no more than five feet tall opened the door, her hair the color of winter ash. Her face devoid of emotion, she waved in the two and pointed them to a purple sofa in the corner of the lobby. A pregnant woman opened the door and the jingles started Will and Jake.
“Hi Maria,” the old woman said to her new guest. Maria nodded once, face like pastel stone, and walked up the single set of stairs across the way. She took each step in the same amount of time, as if she were robotic.
Will noticed that the room was lacking the same holiday décor that graced the rest of the town. “Not much into Halloween, are you?” Will asked.
The old woman ignored his question, her eyes blazing with a tint of orange and blue. “How can I help you guys? I’m afraid I’m all booked up for today, but if you – ”
“My sister came in her last night with one of her friends.” Will wasted no time in getting to the point.
“Lots of women come to visit – ”
“And then she killed herself.” Will didn’t notice that he was only a few inches away from the woman’s face. He could smell the faint aroma of plumeria and wax candles.
The woman grinned. “I have no time for Halloween pranks, young man. Please, either make an appointment or leave.”
Jake hopped from the sofa and slammed his fist to the glass counter on which the woman’s shoulders casually rested. “What the fuck happened to my girlfriend old woman? Tell us!”
The old woman seemed unfounded by the irritation in Jake’s voice. She lost the slight smile on her face and pulled out a large, leather appointment book from under the counter. “What was her name?” Shades of perfect white teeth peeked from her mouth, shades of black lipstick dressing her lips.
“Sonia Morris,” Will said, pulling back the infuriated Jake.
The woman traced each line of the book, long black fingernails searching for the correct name. “Ah, Sonia,” she said. “Lots of powerful life force in that woman. Very, very strong demeanor.”
“She’s fucking dead, you hag.” Jake pushed away Will and was soon in the old woman’s face. “This is the last place she came before she walked off the top floor of her childhood home. What did you do to her?”
“I have a name, young man. You can call me Kyllard,” she said, undeterred by Jake’s anger. “And I’m sorry for your loss, my friend, but all we do here is help people heal themselves by channeling the energy within.”
“Fuck!” Jake screamed and walked away.
Will stepped in and raised a hand. “Did she say anything before she left? Anything that might make you think that she’d soon commit suicide?”
Kyllard shook her head. “Not a thing.”
“Let’s go, Jake.” Will grabbed him by the arm and pushed open the door. The bells made him want to scratch out his eyes. When the two were outside, Jake kicked a nearby trash barrel. It nearly toppled over but Will forced it back upwards to avoid causing a scene and making a mess. He cupped Jake’s head in his hands and gazed deeply into his eyes. “Calm down, Jake. I’m just as hurt, sad and frustrated as you. My sister is dead. Dead. We will find out why she did this, but I need you to calm down.”
“Okay” was the only word Jake could assemble before erupting into a full torrent of tears. Will hugged him for a few seconds and tried to ignore the sound of fresh drops of emotion hitting the ground. As he let go, Jake’s cell phone rang.
“Hello?” Jake was barely able to let out a welcoming tone.
Will heard the first part of Jake’s phone conversation but soon lost the statements as a female scream sliced the Halloween air. He turned around to see a woman clutching her child, who was dressed in a tiny, bright orange pumpkin outfit. The child’s intense blonde hair stuck out in curls of green pipe cleaners, like the tip top of a fresh pumpkin. She pointed up at the sky and shrieked again. Will could see the outline of a figure on the roof of the house he had just left. Squinting in the light of the October sun, he barely recognized the shape as the pregnant woman who had just entered the Reiki practice. She stood at the very edge of the roof, tips of her ruby red flats curling over the landing. In a silent motion, she leaned forward and toppled into the air, body carousing downward until it struck the concrete driveway. Bits of bone and skull erupted from the impact, strips of pink flesh plopped across the nearby grass. Will winced and turned away just as Jake walked into him. The two collided and as he caught the supple glow of Jake’s tender eyes, Will vomited a stream of brown fluid on the ground. Head warm with fright, he pointed to the pregnant woman’s lifeless body before a row of steel-colored clouds covered the defenseless sun.
#
Detective Hannah shrugged his shoulders. Will couldn’t read their lips or make out the conversation between Jake and the detective. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed since the pregnant woman jumped off the roof, but the sun was starting its nightly descent into the mountains just beyond the border of the town. Nighttime was beginning to take shape, a Halloween of death and destruction.
Jake walked away from the detective and Will immediately noticed the nervous twitch in his eye. Jake started to speak but instead curled his lips inward. He looked up, then away, before talking. “Will…Sonia’s friend Judy is dead. It was a…suicide.”
Suicide. The word reached into Will’s lungs and clutched gentle breaths. Will felt dizzy and sat down in the open driver’s side of his car. “Jesus,” he said.
“I told Detective Hannah that all three of these girls were at the Reiki practice before they died. They’re doing a search right now and questioning Kyllard.”
Will bit his bottom lip. “They won’t find anything.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Something’s going on in there, Jake. And our little simple police department isn’t going to figure it out on their own.” Will threw back the towel that the police had covered him with and grinded his teeth.
“What are we going to do, Will? We don’t even know for sure that Kyllard is causing those women to kill themselves.”
Will stuck a finger in Jake’s chest. “Say that again and think of your dead girlfriend. Say that again and think of my dead fucking sister.”
Jake backed away and curled his fingers into two meaty fists. He bowed his head and spit on the ground.
“Exactly,” said Will. “We’ll wait until the police are done over there.”
Jake bit the tip of his thumb. “And then what?”
“And then we go in.”
#
Will took a long sip of beer from the bottle and stuck it between his legs in the front seat of his car. Jake leaned his head against the passenger’s side window and from a distance, watched the final Taunton police officer leave the Reiki practice. He could barely see Kyllard smiling with glee, waving at the officer as he walked to his cruiser. The overweight man waved back and heaved himself into the car. He slowly backed out of the driveway and drove into the night.
Finishing his beer, Will flung the bottle into the backseat and looked out his window. A final horde of trick-or-treaters walked past the car, each digging into their pillowcases of candy. Will smiled at a pair of children, presumably siblings, who argued over a single peanut butter cup. The girl shoved her brother, who quickly shoved her back before their mother stepped in and broke the candy into two pieces for the children. They ran off into the night, moonlight dripping onto their macabre costumes. Will looked to the sky. “Another Halloween come and gone,” he said aloud.
Jake nodded and poked at the windshield. “About time?” he asked. “The place looks empty, Will. And I can’t see any more officers swarming the house.”
“Let’s go.” Will waited for Jake to step out of the car before he locked the doors. The clinching of the locks sounded like a closing casket. Will opened the trunk and pulled out a wooden baseball bat. Jake reached into the trunk, and after tossing aside old books, videotapes and clothing, he found a rusted crowbar. Holding it his hands, he closed his fingers around the cold metal. He nodded at Will and the two took quick strides towards the house. Crouching behind a row of bushes in the neighboring home, Will leaned into Jake and whispered. “I’ll knock, and make sure you hide that crowbar. When she lets us in, we’re going to force her to let us take our own look at the house.”
“Sounds good,” Jake whispered back.
Will jogged to the front door and knocked twice, baseball bat hidden behind his legs. Jake hid to the side of the door and out of sight. Kyllard pulled open the shades and shook her head in disgust. Will could tell that she was cursing. She finally opened the door a few inches, long silver hair hanging well below her shoulders.
“What do you want? The police just left here and found nothing, young man. The woman today had a lot of issues going on. We couldn’t help her and she took her own steps to end her life. That’s what I told the police, and that’s what I’m telling you.”
Will held up a hand. “Five minutes is all I want. Just to talk. Please, for my dead sister.”
Kyllard tilted her head back. “Fine,” she said, opening the door. “Five minutes and no more.”
As soon as there was enough room, Will pushed her down and Jake erupted from his hiding spot. He slammed shut the door and twisted the two locks above the handle. He pulled down the shades and held out the crowbar.
“We’re going to take our own look, you goddamn hag. Stay right there and don’t fucking move.” Jake held the tip of the crowbar to her face, but not a single shred of fear was evident on her wrinkled skin.
Will searched behind the counter and found a variety of oils, rubs and pamphlets. He pushed them all to the side and they tumbled onto the carpeted floor.
“Young man! Be respectful of my store!” She turned to Jake. “You will be the first, my friend.”
Jake pushed the crowbar further into her face. “What the fuck are you talking about, bitch?”
“Calm down, Jake.” Will hopped over the counter and back into the lobby. Only a single light bulb hanging in the center of the room provided them with dull light. He held the baseball bat to the side of her head. “We’re not here to hurt you, Kyllard. We just want to look around. Jake, you go upstairs first. I’ll stay here with her.”
Before Jake could walk up the stairs, a dark shape entered the room from beneath the staircase. Will stood back and raised the bat. The figure wore a pure white mask, murky drops of green protruding from two shadowy eyeholes. It was draped from head-to-toe in a black velvet shawl. It grabbed Jake by the throat and in one quick swab knocked him to the ground. The crowbar flew from his hands and landed against the wall. Kyllard pointed at Will and the figure ambled over to him, arms outstretched. Will took a swing with the bat but the shape was too swift and strong; with one slap Will felt the searing sting of pain across his cheeks.
Kyllard stood and brushed herself off. “Get them upstairs.”
The last thing Will saw was the infinite dark of the figure’s eyes and the droop of moonlight fighting with the dreary glow of the single light bulb.
#
Will opened his eyes, the sweat of a dying dream slipping onto his nose and cheeks. He couldn’t figure out where he was or what happened to him. A coverlet of orange radiance filled the room. Four or five large jack o’ lanterns, black candles blazing inside, decorated the corners of the room. He looked down to see his arms and legs tied to a brown, polished rocking chair.
“Awake now, aren’t we?” The haggard female voice shocked him into full awareness, and he realized where he was.
Kyllard.
Will spit a long strand of blood from his mouth and it dangled on his chin like a crimson spider web. When he saw the display in the center of the room, every bit of bile in his stomach rose to his throat. Three figures lay quietly on a glass table, each body completely devoid of skin, revealing a thick layer of wet, moving muscle. Their chests heaved in and out with gentle motion.
They’re alive, Will thought.
“The life force,” Kyllard said, “it keeps them alive, young man.” She laughed a maniacal chuckle and lifted Will’s chin with a single, bony finger. “Your sister, those girls, they were all full of it, my friend. And now their souls, their energy, are keeping my family alive.”
“Alive? What the fuck are those?” Will could hear the angry pinch of terror in his voice.
Kyllard chuckled and pointed to the body in the middle. Its lips remained open, spots of drool dressing its shiny face. “No one dies in my family, young man. No one.”
Will tried not to look at Kyllard’s face and instead moved his head to the right. Jake sat cross-legged near the table of bodies, drool escaping his lips and dripping onto his chest. “I see it. I see it. I see it,” he repeated, his voice sullen and wavy.
“Oh my God!” Will screamed. “What the fuck did you do to him?! And what the fuck are those things?!”
Kyllard walked over to Jake and patted him on the head, emaciated hand pushing down his thick black hair like he was a tired dog. “My boy, what do you see?” Her voice was different now, and Will could hear the evil crisp in her tone.
Will felt the force of desperation grip his entire body, each fiber of every muscle struggling to break free of the horrid scene playing out in front of him. Jake stood up, his eyes now two black slits with red drops in the center. He calmly shuffled over to Will like he didn’t recognize him as his future brother-in-law. Instead, Jake angled his head in confusion, soft dark bangs hanging over his forehead. He leaned in front of Jake and smiled, salivating at the tips of his lips like a frightened child. He stared at Jake for a solid minute before Will heaved himself over, chair falling to the ground. The impact of his head against the wooden floor wasn’t as painful as the anticipation of death.
Kyllard shook her head. “Now, now. It’s not going to do you any good to try and leave.” She motioned for the large man that only a short while ago cracked his fist against Will’s unsuspecting skull. The husky man, still draped in black with a mask covering his face, picked up Will by his chest and forced the chair back to its original position.
“What the fuck is wrong with you sick bastards?” The weight of Will’s words did nothing to sway the mood of the ceremony in front of him.
Kyllard knelt in front of him and licked her top lip, tongue slithering over faint orange lipstick. “These beings, they’re my family,” she said, pointing to the line of degloved bodies in the center of the room. “We’re keeping them alive. Pretty soon that warming glow in your heart is going to be given to them so they can spend more time on this earth.”
“No! No!” Will attempted to force his arms upward and break the thick rope holding his wrists to the chair, but they were tied without escape in mind. He sent shocks of frantic breaths through gritted teeth.
“I can see it now,” said Jake. “I can see it now. I can see it now.” He repeated the phrase until it was tattooed on the walls of Will’s mind.
Kyllard stood up and patted Jake’s bare arm. “What do you see?”
Jake raised his arms to the air as if reaching for the invisible heavens hidden beyond the ceiling tiles. “I can see it,” he whispered. “A thousand black flowers draped over a field of red grass. They’re all for me. I can see it now. The light, it’s so dark and welcoming.” At his last word, his fingers collapsed into fists and he looked to the lone window in the stuffy room.
“Go to it.” Kyllard opened the window and pointed to the moon.
Jake walked over to the open window and stuck his head into the air, the winds of another Halloween caressing his hair. One leg found its way through the window and he followed it with the other.
“Jake, no! Jake!” Will’s words were muffled by the deafening static in his ears.
Jake reached at the moon and in seconds he flung himself out of the window, body falling through the air like a lightweight mannequin. The static in Will’s head subsided and all he could hear was the crunching of bone against concrete.
“Jake, no…” Will let his head drop down in sorrow.
Kyllard closed the window, last bits of wind blowing at the bottom of her silver hair. She stooped next to the long glass table and gently slid a finger alongside one of the bodies. Its mouth opened at her touch, thin tongue protruding from the dark hole. The being’s brown and rotten teeth clamped together before its pupils danced underneath the absence of eyelids. Will felt bile rise at the top of his stomach and in a matter of moments it all flowed out of his mouth like a rogue river. It dribbled down his chest and collected on his lap.
Grin plastered on her now sweaty face, Kyllard took steps over to Will and placed her palms over his knees, just out of reach of the trickles of vomit. She said something that Will couldn’t hear. She looked up at him and closed her eyes. “And now for you,” she said, her hand finding its way to his heaving chest. The large man grabbed the base of Will’s head and although he wanted to scream with his last bits of sanity, all he could do was let tears slip from his angry eyes.
Kyllard stood and both of her hands were now on his temples. She bowed her head, mumblings lost in carroty light. In a moment Will couldn’t tell if his eyes were open or closed, elastic pinches of illumination flashing every few seconds. He heard the murmur of Sonia’s voice and the sweet tinge of affection in his heart. Her voice soon faded away, replaced by stagnant noise and the unmistakable orange glow of jack o’ lanterns. His vision gave way to complete darkness, the snap of life’s final breaths.