Family Eternal

This will be last story in V1 #2. It’s based on something my daughter told me when she was only two years old and it disturbed the hell out of me. She said, “Daddy, when I was six, my mommy broke all my bones and threw me in a dumpster.” I was shocked because that’s not something you would normally hear from a two year old and what got me more was that she had never even heard the word dumpster before. So how could she know what that was or that bones could be broken, i mean she was just learning how to count to ten. I don’t know what to believe about that but even though my daughter is much older and doesn’t remember anymore, it still bothers me. As with dreams that bring out emotion and stay with me, I figured I would make that into a short story too. Here is a part of it.

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Chelsea began having strange dreams that started on her sixteenth birthday. They were of a little boy that looked about eight or nine years old. He had a little trickle of blood that came down the side of his face and it seemed to come from a small fissure above his temple. He told her his name was Brandon and in her dreams, the two would always play at a beautiful park surrounded by trees and flowers, and there, next to a swing set was a picnic basket sitting in the middle of a quilted blanket. For weeks she had lucid dreams of nothing else but being at the park with Brandon and sometimes they would just talk.
One night, she decided to ask him what had happened to him and why was his head bleeding. A sadness came over Brandon’s face when he looked down and said, “My mommy, she pushed me down the stairs and then she put me in the trash can.” She was instantly taken to the top of a staircase and felt a hand push her from behind. Chelsea felt the pain of hitting each stair on the way down, then she was taken back to the park where she now understood what had happened to him. Feeling his anguish, she wanted to make him feel better so she smiled and grabbed his hand then said, “Hey, how about I push you on the swing for a little while.” His sorrow seemed to disappear and his smile that she had grown to love was back. When the sun would set there, in reality the sun was rising and she knew it wouldn’t be long before she awoke. “I’ll be waking up soon,” she told him, “but you know I’ll see you again.” He jumped off the swing, held her hand and looked up at her. “You are so nice Chelsea,” he said, “I want you to meet Hallie and Heather soon.” Becoming curious about them, she asked, “Oh really, are they your friends?” He replied, “They are my sisters.” Then he smiled again and wrapped his arms around her before stepping back and disappearing.
Chelsea awoke to mixed feelings about her dream. She was looking forward to meeting Brandon’s sisters but she was also very disturbed by what had happened to him. “Who could do something like that to their own kid?” she mumbled to herself.

Cruel Young

Just a part of this story, the rest is part of Fate’s Darkened Beauty V1 #2

School can be a difficult time for some. Kids can and will be cruel to others but once school is over with and you’re out in the real world, none of the social life that once existed there matters any more. Annie Collins wasn’t one of the cool kids, she wasn’t popular and she didn’t have many friends. Actually she only had one, and she was moving away leaving Annie to face the popular kids by herself. As soon as she would get to school, her torment would begin with other kids knocking books out of her hands claiming it was an accident. Others would say she smelled bad and would pretend to gag, while others would just use her in there jokes. Annie learned to stay hidden and keep to herself for most of the time. She began to wear darker clothes and would often put her feeling down on paper rather than keep them bottled up inside her. She also fell in love with a cartoon called Taco the Rabbit’s Horrible Life. It was about a poorly drawn rabbit who just couldn’t seem to catch a break. Annie love Taco the Rabbit because no matter how bad her day would be, his day was always worse and his character would always make her laugh.
She had gotten a plush toy of him for her birthday over the summer and would always keep him in her backpack at school to remind her that things can always be worse. Sometimes, during lunch, she would pull him out and pretend that he was real to make up for her one friend that moved away. She learned very quickly not to talk to him out loud and draw attention because the popular girls could use that as another excuse to torture her. One day during lunch, Gracie Dice who was the worst of the popular girls, walked by and kicked Taco the Rabbit into some mud saying, “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t see your stinky little friend there.” Gracie and her friends just laughed as she pushed Annie into the mud too while she was trying to retrieve Taco. “Oops!” Gracie said snickering, “Sorry again!” Annie tried not to cry, she didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of knowing they got the best of her. She kept her chin up, wiped the mud from her face and went to the restroom to clean herself and Taco up.
She place Taco in the sink and turned on the water. Shedding as little tears as possible, she washed him off then placed on the counter to dry while she washed off her own face. Annie was startled when she heard a very polite monotone voice say, “That was rude of them wasn’t it?” She slowly removed her hands from her face to see her Taco plush shaking off the water like a dog. She slammed her back against the wall in fright saying, “Oh my fucking god, he’s talking to me. You’ve lost it this time Annie, you have completely lost your mind.” Taco hopped off of the counter and said, “You haven’t lost your mind Miss Annie, I’m quite real.” Still frightened she said, “Why the hell are you talking to me, you’re just a stuffed toy.” “Well,” he spoke as he approached her, “You can think of me as a familiar of sorts. My name is MAK TAH, it means servant of…, well for now, you.” Her fear began to subside when she said, “That’s cool, just give a minute to calm down here. So I have my very own talking Taco the Rabbit? Can I just call you Taco for now? You know, just until I get used to you.” “I don’t see this as being a problem Miss Annie,” he said, “I can see into people’s thoughts and this is the form you would be most comfortable seeing me in. I am here to help and serve you.” She excitedly shouted, “Awesome! I have a real Taco the Rabbit!” He touched her hand saying, “Let’s get you cleaned up now shall we.” All the mud that once covered her was instantly gone. “Come on now,” he said, “put me in your backpack and let’s get you to your next class.”
On her way to class, she couldn’t help but smile about what had just happened. While being lost and excited in her own thoughts, she didn’t see the group of girls heading towards her. Gracie slammed her shoulder in to Annie sending her flying to the floor. She looked down at Annie and with her hand over her mouth she said, “Oops again, I’m so clumsy today.” Then her sinister smile disappeared when she noticed that Annie was no longer covered in mud. “Well,” she said sounding as snobby as she was, “You seemed to have cleaned up nicely, but you’re still an ugly little bitch.” They put their noses in the air and walked around her. As she got back to her feet, one of the girls, Cindy, knocked the books out of her hands saying, “And you still smell too,” then she scoffed before joining the others. Annie collected her books and just under her breath, with her teeth clinched tight to fight off the tears, she said, “I fucking hate you all.” Then she hung her head and made her way to her next classroom.
When the final bell rang, she became excited. Not because she could go home and watch the show that always made her feel better but because she could play with the actual character she had hidden in her backpack. Upon her return home, she opened her backpack and placed him on her bed. “Well now,” he said, “that was quite uncomfortable. Let’s get to it shall we.” She turned her head to side and asked, “Get to what Taco?” “To planning your revenge to get back at them Miss Annie,” he said, “That is why I’m here, to help you.” “Ok, I’m in. Now how do we do this” she said eager to hear the plan. He walked over and sat next to her saying, “I can get in to peoples thoughts, like I did yours. I can see what they fear most and we can use that against them. From what I’ve seen, most fears come from something that happen during childhood. Take Cindy for example, the girl who knocked the books out of your hands, she is terrified of ants. She once fell into a large pile when she was seven and froze out of fear, they tore her up quite a bit before anyone got to her. We can use that against her.” “Ooh,” she said with wide eyes and delight, “We can lead a trail of ants into her room so when she wakes up she will see them crawling everywhere.” “Yes Miss Annie, something like that.” Later that night, Annie and Taco when to Cindy’s house and began leaving crumbs of food leading from an ant pile in the yard to a tiny crack in her window. When everything was in place, Annie kicked the ant pile and ran home. “Oh my god!” she said smiling, “I can’t believe we did it! She is going to be so scared when she wakes up, she’ll probably pee herself. I wish I could see her face when it happens.” Back at Annie’s house, as excited as she was, it was getting late and she was getting tired. She made her bed and set up a place next to her pillow for Taco. “Goodnight Taco,” she said, “you made today awesome.” After about an hour, Taco made sure she was asleep then slipped out of the house.
Morning arrived and a groggy Cindy began to wake. She felt a slight pain in her right foot, only enough to make her wiggle her toes. “That’s weird,” she thought to herself, “my toes are numb”. She paid it no attention until she removed her blanket. She was in such a shock that she couldn’t even scream, just a deep tone sounded at the end of every exhale. Half of her foot was missing and there was very thin layer of a clear plastic like membrane covering the wound. Where her big toe should have been, was an ant trail leading inside of her foot. The pain began to set, she could feel them crawling inside her leg as far up as her thigh. Still she could not scream. Cindy finally passed out when she saw the ants carrying eggs into her body. Her mother found her and called for an ambulance, when they got to the hospital, she was in and out of sleep from the combination of shock and the drugs the doctors had her on. Cindy could hear her mother arguing with the doctor. “Look you son of bitch,” her mother said, “You better save her leg. You have any idea how important we are to this town.” “Yes ma’am, I’m sorry,” the doctor said groveling, “But the ants have blocked up and destroyed the blood supply to her leg. All of the tissue is dead or will be before we could even operate on her. There was a queen already laying new eggs in there, the leg has to come off.” “Fine! Take the leg! How could this have even happened?” “I don’t know ma’am,” he replied, “The tunnels they built should have taken them days, not to mention there was no blood loss. I don’t even think it’s possible. And there’s something else.” “Oh what now!” exclaimed the mother. “These ants had some sort of bacteria on them that has entered Cindy’s blood stream. We have her on antibiotics but, well, even if with amputation of the leg, there’s a strong chance she might not make it.” Cindy pass out again.
Annie went to school with her head held high and a big grin on her face in anticipation of seeing Cindy’s reaction to the prank, …..

The Silent Walk

Jennifer, Brian and Stacey were walking to a friend’s house after a night of clubbing. There was supposed to be an after-hours party going on and all of their friends were going to be there. Becky’s house wasn’t too far from the club they were at so they all decided to walk to the party. While they were walking, they were reminiscing about what happened that night, talking about who they saw, who they didn’t want to see and discussing which rumors they thought were true. Then out of nowhere, Brian jumped in front of the girls to shield them. “Oh my god Brian,” a puzzled Stacey said, “What the hell are you doing?” Brian was confused because he knows he saw something and said, “I swear I saw this…this, I don’t know, this dog in the corner of my eye.” Jennifer being very sarcastic said, “Wow, really? Thank you! Oh wait, there is no dog. You doing alright Brian, because you had a lot to drink and we don’t need you acting like an ass at Becky’s party.” Feeling a little embarrassed but still trying to defend himself he said, “Hey, at least if there was a dog, you know I would jump in front of it for you.” They all just laughed and continued walking.
After a few minutes, there was a very quick flash of light. “Brian? What was that?” a worried Stacey asked. “Um, I don’t know,” he replied, “maybe lightning. Who knows?” Jennifer happened to blink at that moment so she didn’t get to see what Brian and Stacey were talking about. “Did I just miss something? What are you guys talking about?” “Jennifer!?” she cried out, “Don’t tell me you didn’t see that bright light. How could you not see that?” She just shrugged her shoulders saying, “Whatever, it was probably a street light blinking or something, doesn’t matter. Let’s get to the party! Whoo!” While walking, they all started to notice that it was very quiet. There were no cars driving, no other people walking and there was no wind. It was so quiet they could hear themselves breathe. Brian was the first to bring it up, “Hey, have you guys noticed how quiet it is? It’s kinda creepy.” Jennifer chucked before she said, “Yeah, so don’t fart Brian.” He shot her with a mean look while Stacey agreed with how quiet it was. “Jen, this is kind of creepy. I can’t even hear the wind, let alone feel it. Maybe it has something to do with the flash.” “See!” Brian said feeling full of himself, “I told you it was lightning. It’s always quiet before a storm.” They began to believe that it could be possible until they heard the growling coming from behind them.
They slowly turned around to see what looked like a large dog snarling at them from the shadows. “Um, Brian,” Jennifer said trembling, “Is that the dog you were talking about? Because I would really like it if you got in front of me again.” As soon as she finished talking, the dog bolted towards them. They turned and ran as fast as they could and they kept hearing the dog’s nails clacking on the sidewalk, getting closer and closer. They turned into a blind alley hoping to escape only to find it was fenced off, they were trapped. Stacey began to climb the fence hoping she could get out of the dogs reach and the others followed. When they got up as high as they could the panic they felt dissipated while the fear remained, the dog was no longer there. “Shit! Brian!” Stacey shouted, “Is it gone!? Is the dog gone Brian?” Out of breath, he replied, “How the fuck should I know? I don’t hear it if that’s what you mean.” One by one, they slowly climbed off the chain link fence looking around, hoping their eyes wouldn’t meet with the dog’s. Brian crept through the alley towards the street leaving the girls behind in case the dog showed up again. As if he wasn’t scared enough, when he neared the entrance to the alley, he heard someone whistle a creepy sharp tune.

Dark Dreams

 

Larry Brooks worked in an office cubicle, he’s worked in the same cubicle for the past twelve years. Naturally he hated his job but crunching numbers and typing reports was the only thing he knew how to do, he wouldn’t know what to do with a hammer if you gave him one. Larry had a boring job with a boring life. As for dating, that concept waved bye bye to him years ago because all he could talk about was what he did at work all day. Sometimes he felt he should have had a different life and wished he could have done something with his hands while he was a little younger. He just needed a hobby or something he could look at and say ‘I made that’ but he never even tried.
One night while he was home alone, as usual, having a few drinks, he started fidgeting with a pencil on his coffee table. He began to doodle on the cover of a magazine and as if he were possessed, he started to transform the cover into a strange landscape. Amazed by what he had done, he quickly grabbed some copy paper and created page after page of these strange landscapes and caves. Moved by this, he ran out to an all-night hobby store and picked up some supplies.
When he returned home, he immediately set up the canvas he bought and started painting what looked like the inside of a large cave with violet lighting illuminating the walls. He became a man obsessed, slinging paint without a care in the world about the mess that it made. When he was finished, he poured himself another drink and sat, staring at what he created. For once in his life he felt accomplished yet he was also a little creeped out by his own work. There was just something about it that struck a chord deep inside him. When he noticed the time, he panicked because he had to be at work in less than five hours so he went straight to bed.
That night in his dreams, his painting was haunting him and came to life.

Wish Four

 

 

Brent Underwood was a college student like any other. He went to school, worked a crappy part time job, he lived off of noodles and whatever he could sneak out of work in his back pack. The two best parts of his day were getting off of work to live out his obsession with video games and the other was passing Carrie in the hall way at school. She filled his every thought but in the back of his mind he just felt he was never destined for love especially with her, she didn’t even know he existed. He was the awkward nerdy type that only talked to girls when they thought he was smart enough to help them with their assignments. Brent would always sit and eat outside the cafeteria hoping to catch another glimpse of her before going to his next class. He would fantasize about asking her out and sweeping her off her feet wishing he knew what to say to her. Sometimes he would wish so hard that he would sweat and one day something picked up the scent of his desperation.
On his way from school to work, he kept getting the feeling he was being watched but blamed it on his games and blew it off. After his shift at Burger Brigade he stuffed some of the leftover burgers in his backpack and started walking to his apartment. On his walk home, he was coming up with a plan for his next move on the game that he played online but he started getting that feeling again, like someone was watching him. He tried to ignore it until he heard footsteps behind him and turned around to see no one was there. He just shook his head thinking maybe he was just tired or something and kept on walking. Once he heard the footsteps again he just started running, he had watched too many movies and knew never to turn around and look for a second time. When he got to his door he unlocked it and dove inside locking it back up again before looking out the window.
When he was sure no one was there, he let his beating heart calm down and said out loud, “Yeah, I wasn’t scared anyway.” Then he turned around to see a tall figure in a hooded cloak.

Heart Broken

Amy was a young woman who seemed to have a normal life. She worked during the day and took classes at the local college in the evening. On the nights she didn’t have school she would have coffee at a nearby poetry lounge called The Written. Like a lot of the people there she was brokenhearted and began to write about what she was feeling. When she had found that place, she felt like a great weight had been lifted off her heart. Amy finally had a sanctuary where she could fit in, share her feeling, her thoughts and not have to worry about being judged as she let her bottled up emotions out, this became her way of coping with heartbreak.
After going there for a few weeks she made quite a few friends and began getting close to a young man named Aaron. His writings were so similar to hers that she instantly felt a connection with him and soon after, they began dating. She kept writing and reciting her poetry and stories at The Written only they began to change as did her feelings. Her words that were once dark and full of pain and anger began to show a cryptic form of hope.
Being with Aaron, she felt that she not only picked up the broken pieces of her life but built a castle out of them. When they began to perform pieces together she felt that it was time to let down the walls she built around her heart and let him in, she was falling in love. She decided to tell him on stage, the same stage that put her on the path to heal her heartbreak, the stage that brought them together.
That night she was very nervous during her performance because she brought Aaron up on stage to reveal to him and everyone else there that she has fallen in love with him. When Amy finished reciting her work, she put her arms around Aaron, kissed him and nervously said to him, “You make me feel a wonder I’ve never felt before. You helped me pick up the pieces of my shattered life and rebuild them into something incredible. I love you Aaron.” He closed his eyes and took in a very deep breath through his nose and held it for a few seconds. The feeling of terror began rising in her blood until, he let out his breath, opened his eyes and stared into hers saying, “I love you too Amy.” The crowd stood up and cheered for them. To her, life couldn’t be more marvelous, this was everything she had been dreaming about.
In Amy’s mind that night was absolutely perfect, it was magical in every way but the night was reaching it’s end and they made their way back to Aaron’s apartment. Inside she threw herself on his couch and affectionately said, “I can’t believe it. I even love saying I love you.” He sat down on the couch next to her gently placing his hand on her leg then stared into her eyes. At this point he knew she was genuinely in love with him so he decided it was time to let her in on his little secret.
He tapped her nose with his index finger and revealed his intentions. “I love you too! I can smell the love in your blood, now I have to spice it with fear before I consume it.” She became very confused by this and even a little frightened when she asked, “What do you mean by that?” He laughed and simply replied, “Oh I intend to drink your blood, all of it. It’s my life force, that’s how I survive.” “Are you like a vampire or something? Are you really going to kill me?” she asked with terror in her voice. The smug grin on his face was instantly replaced with angry eyes as he struck her cheek with the back of his hand and yelled out, “How dare you compare me to such a filthy creature, I am divine! I waited so long to fill your blood with love, the endorphins mixed with adrenaline is unlike anything else. And now that you are filled with fear, it’s time to dine.”
“Wait” she cried out as she wiped away her tears still holding her bruised cheek. “I have a secret too, I’m not really scared … at all. I really love you, I do and that’s why I get so heart broken, when I have to kill my loves. I feed off of the fear that gathers inside their heart.” While he was in complete shock she walked right up to him and as if to mock him said, “It tastes unlike anything else in the world.” She then pounced on him and proceeded to tear into his chest ripping off the flesh and pulling apart his rib cage. The sound of bones snapping filled the room along with his ungodly screams. He lived long enough to see her pull out his heart and bite into it. Looking as though she felt pure ecstasy she said, “Oh my god, I love you.” then smiled wiping the blood from her lips.
Moments after she devoured his heart, Amy was on her knees next to his mutilated body crying into her hands. She was heartbroken.

Haunted Ivories

Our story begins with a man who owns a piano shop. He had built and played pianos his whole life and every day in his spare time he would work on what he called his greatest creation for himself. He carved every detail of this piano from the scroll work on the frame to the names of great piano players scribed on to every key. This would be his masterpiece on which to play a masterpiece. He was hard at work on completing the last keys he had shaped, scribed and polished then placing it on the piano. There were still a few keys missing but he pressed his hands together and looked at his creation with such an overwhelming joy when he heard the bell at the front door ring. He quickly scrambled to put his tools away so he could greet the customer.
A young woman stood in the show room, her face had soft features and she had very long and slender fingers that she ran across the top of a soundboard. She looked around for a moment then noticed she could not find any one so she called out, “Hello? Is anyone there? I need some help please.” Then suddenly the double doors toward the back of the room sprang open and out comes a very well dressed middle aged man with white gloves. He seemed quite nervous and jittery but he was always like that even when he was by himself.
“Yes, yes. I’m here. I am Tavarius. Welcome to my shop and showroom.” he said then took a bow, “How may I be of service to you?” She saw how squirrelly he was then smiled saying, “It’s nice to meet you Tavarius. I’m Sharon. I am actually looking to buy a piano. Yeah, my keyboard just isn’t doing it for me anymore. I’m looking for something a little more real you know.” He clapped his gloved hands together with delight and said, “Oh yes yes, sometimes keyboards are so overrated and there’s nothing like the sound of a real piano. Let’s get started shall we. Now let me see your hands.” She looked a little confused but gave him her hands anyway. “Why would you need to look at my hands, they’re nothing special.” He tilted his head as he replied, “Nothing special? The hands are very important, you see I build all of these pianos myself and each one will fit certain people like a glove.”
He inspected her hands thoroughly looking at the muscle tone and structure, the bones in every finger occasionally saying “yes yes,” and “oh my!” until he put down her hands and said, “Yes I’ve got it. I know exactly the right model for you. Come this way please.” He led her over to nice looking upright with a dark finish and sits her down. “Now then let us see if this glove fits you comfortably. Well come on come on then, try it out.” he said anxiously.
She gently placed her fingers on the keys and when she began to play, Tavarius’ eyes lit up in wonder and amazement. “Oh my! Oh dear! Such marvelous talent, such grace and beauty. The way you play is so magically. The loveliest sound I have ever had the pleasure of listening to.” She was pleased by his complements but in her mind she never really thought she was that good. “Thanks,” she said with a smile, “but I don’t think I play that great. I just like to play.” “Oh nonsense, you were absolutely stunning,” he said as he placed his finger over his lips, “Curious, have you ever performed to an audience before?” Still smiling she shook her head and replied, “No, nothing like that. I’ve never really played in front of anyone before.” “Very interesting. Well then, if you practice for my concert coming up in a couple of months I just may have a part for you.” he said. With a sheepish grin she asked, “Yeah? You really think so?” He quickly clapped his gloved hands together and said, “Oh yes yes, I absolutely have the perfect part for you.”
She became very excited until he started to tap his finger on the price tag saying, “Now about the piano.” When Sharon saw the price she almost choked. “Oh wow. I guess I didn’t even think about the price. I’m so sorry, I could never afford that.” Tavarius threw his hands in the air and said, “Nonsense! We can come up with some sort of payment plan and for the meantime I can set your piano aside in its own room and you can come in and play it whenever you like.” Unsure she asked, “How much would that cost?” He threw his hand up in the air again and voiced out, “Oh! I’m offended. I would do this for no charge of course, it would be an absolute shame to waste such talent. Besides I would love to hear you play the part I have in mind for you. In fact that will be payment for the room rental. You shall practice your part and allow me to listen to you play your beautiful music.” Sharon was overwhelmed with joy and accepted the agreement.
Two months went by and every day Sharon would show up to play her piano and practice the music that Tavarius had given her and every day he was delighted to hear her play. Tavarius would also practice the piece he wrote on his personal grand with the missing keys. Two day before their performance he went into her practice room to see how she was doing and as always he was very pleased. She asked him, “So, how am I doing? You really think I’m ready for the performance?” He pressed his gloved hands together and said, “Oh absolutely. I’m sure the crowd will absolutely love your part, in fact I would love to hear you play the piece on my personal grand that I will be playing.” she stood up and bowed saying, “Thank you Tavarius, it would be my pleasure.” He began clapping, “Oh splendid, splendid. This way, come.”
He led her through the double doors where she was first introduced to him and stopped at a red door at the end of the hallway. “Well,” he said pulling a key from his pocket, “This is where all the magic of my piano crafting happens” Then he unlocked the door holding it open for her to reveal the most beautiful piano she had ever laid eyes on. He walked over to his piano and wrapped his arms around it, as if he were giving it a hug and said, “Magnificent isn’t it? This is my greatest creation.” “Yes,” she said in amazement, “It’s so gorgeous. I love it… but there are a few keys missing. Are you going to be able to play it at the performance?” His eyes widened when he said, “Oh my dear Sharon, let’s just say the missing keys are on their way and everything will be in place by show time, yes yes. Now then, have a seat. I’m so anxious to hear you play.”
She sat down and could barely contain her excitement. Sharon gently placed her fingers on the scribed keys and began to play the piece. Tavarius closed his eyes and said, “Exhilarating yes yes. It sounds as if angels were singing through your fingertips.” He listened for just a bit more saying, “Now I know your part will be an absolute perfect fit.” He then raised an axe behind her and delivered a single fatal blow to the back of her head.
On the night of the performance, he played the greatest music anyone had ever heard before and the audience was in tears. He play his piano with a full set of 88 keys and there on the keys that were once missing, Sharon’s name was scribed.