20100827
Detective Frankie Reynolds and Mr. Maisonn Kreiter
Her eyes fell to a car parked on the side of the road, and she slowed her speed as she noticed that it fit the description of the main suspect's car. No way, she convinced herself, but as she pulled closer, her eyes widened as she saw that the license plate matched. "No fucking way," she muttered aloud, and then pulled over behind him.
It was specifically against the rules to investigate a potential murderer alone, but this was huge. She couldn't pass it up. She made sure her gun was loaded and in its holster before picking up the warrant and approaching the car. She tapped on the window carefully. "Maisonn Kreiter? This is entersomecity PD, I have a warrant to search your vehicle."
The back door opened slowly and a man poked his head out of the door, his entire face obscured by a white mask. "I do not accept," he stated simply, his smooth, expressionless face staring up at her. Grungy, disgusting black hair hung all around his shoulders and face, and he stank something awful. "I do not accept. Try again later." He shut the door, his formless black cape hanging slightly out of the door.
She jumped a little at this, but then pulled the door open again. “Sir, I’m afraid it’s not negotiable. I’m Detective Francesca Reynolds, and-”
He merely shut the door again.
Frankie stared for a moment before sighing and leaning her back against the car. She picked up her cell phone and dialed, holding it to her ear. “Yeah, Ozzy? I found the suspect. Yeah, he’s hostile. I’m gonna need some backup asap. Thanks.” She flipped it shut and then went back to her car, sitting in the driver’s seat.
The man opened the other side of the car, pushing himself up and turning to face her. "Not negotiable." He drummed his fingers on the top of his car carefully. "Not negotiable. Not negotiable. Not negotiable."
She stared at him from her car, tingles of anxiety unearthing in her stomach, but she kept a steady gaze, confident to show him she wasn’t leaving.
He stared at her from behind his barrier. "Not negotiable," he repeated, voice gentler. "You're a joke. Come speak to me."
She, after watching him for a bit, stood and shut the door to her car, standing beside it. “Are you willing to talk now?” she asked, raising a brow and brushing reddish-brown strands of hair behind her ear.
"I invited you," he murmured, tilting his head. "People are coming."
Frankie raised a brow, nodding. “Yeah, they are. You’re being what we consider to be a hostile witness.”
"Not negotiable," he laughed sharply, slamming his hand on the top of his car. "Not hostile. People don't need to be coming."
“You’re being extremely hostile right now, Maisonn. You need to calm down.” Frankie leaned against her own car, folding her arms across her chest.
"You won't find anything." He shut his car door, walking around the side of the car to sit on the trunk, facing away from his car.
“Let me be the judge of that, huh?” She pulled out a notepad and pen from her pocket. “I suppose while we’re here, I can ask you a few questions. Did you know Kaitlyn Morris?”
"Kaitlyn Morris was not negotiable," he replied simply, tapping the car again.
“So you did know her,” she prodded, jotting something down. “Did you have anything to do with her murder?”
"Murder. You're not negotiable. I didn't know her." He slid his palm across his car. "Don't be silly."
“But you know something about her murder? Or maybe you killed her yourself?” she continued with a calm voice, focused on writing.
"I'm not a killer." He pushed himself off of his trunk. "They won't find anything."
“You’d better hope not, ‘cause you’re showing an awful lot of signs that you are a killer. So, you didn’t know her, you didn’t kill her. What about Jackson Montag?” She continued writing idly.
"Montag is Monday in German," he breathed. "You won't find anything."Bookmark
“That’s very interesting. Back to the question, did you know him?”
"Jackson Montag is a beautiful name."
She looked up at him and the put the pad of paper away. “Sir, I’m gonna have to ask you to take off the mask.”
"Not negotiable," he giggled softly.
“You’re right about that one.” She pulled the gun from her holster, clicking it into place. “I’m gonna count to three and you’d better remove that mask, or I have to right to arrest you for deliberately disobeying an officer.”
"Put the gun down," he mused, facing her voice. "Put the gun down, Francesca Reynolds."
“Detective, to you. One.”
"Put the gun down."
"Two."
"Put the fucking gun down."
“Three. You’re under arrest, Mr. Kreiter.” She approached him now, with handcuffs. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law.” She undid them, pushing the gun into his chest and pushing him against the car.
He grunted as he was pushed against the car, not struggling. "Oh, oh my god," he whispered, inaudibly, full of real emotion. "Oh my god. You are not negotiable!"
“That’s one thing you’ll learn about me, Mr. Kreiter.” She took his hands, cuffing him, and then led him to her car, pushing him into the back seat.
"No, I can't go in here," he mumbled, and fought against her hands, pushing away from the car with his foot. "My sister, my sister, I can't go in here!"
“She’ll be fine.” Frankie kicked up his leg and then pushed him into the seat in one smooth movement, shutting and locking the door. She picked up her cell phone, dialing again. “Where the fuck are you? I’ve got him in cuffs. Hurry the hell up.”
"She won't be fine!" he shrieked from the back, thrashing violently, kicking against the windows and rolling around the back. "She won't be fine! You're killing her! Let me go!"
“He’s flipping shit, Ozzy. Something about his sister. I can’t keep him here for long.” She hung up the phone and then went to the window, hitting it a few times. “Calm down! Everything will be fine as long as you cooperate!”
"Not negotiable! Not negotiable!" he screamed over and over again, seizing violently in the seat, gripped with panic.
“Oh my God,” she muttered, rubbing her face. “Look, Maisonn, calm the fuck down. People will be here shortly. Everything will be fine.”
"She's dying, she's dying," he groaned, his voice mostly an inhale, his body shuddering uncontrollably. "I can't breathe."
Finally, another car pulled up, and Ozzy jumped out with a couple other people, sirens flashing. “What’s up, Frankie?”
“We need some tranquilizers now. This guy is fucking crazy!” she screamed, gesturing to him, and one of the other officers ran back to the car for the tranqs. After setting them up, Frankie cautiously opened the door and took the syringe. “Maisonn, hold still.”
"Get away," he hissed, scooting away from the door desperately, his wrists already rubbed raw from the cuffs. "Get away! Get her away from me!"
She grabbed his arm, but was pulled away by Ozzy and the other officer. “Hey, what the fuck, guys!?” she screamed, struggling against them. “Let me go!”
“I-I don’t know what’s going on, man!” Ozzy cried, holding her back.
He hesitated, breathing hard, and then rolled forward, falling out of the car onto the ground. "Don't let her go," he gasped, laying weakly on the ground. "Francesca Reynolds. I will not leave my sister."
“What the hell are you doing to them!?” she cried, but then squirmed her way from their grip, effectively knocking one officer unconscious and the other to the ground. “Get back here, Maisonn!”
“What!? O-Okay, okay! I will!” she answered, kicking Ozzy off of her legs and going to him. She took his arm, but then jammed the syringe into it, pushing the plunger down. “Go to sleep, Maisonn.”
"Suffer, Ozzy," he breathed, though he didn't struggle, slamming into the ground hard as the drugs worked through him.
Ozzy screamed in sudden pain, writhing on the ground.
“What the fuck…?” Frankie murmured, but then picked Maisonn up by the collar and threw him back into the car. She took another syringe, going to Ozzy. “Ssh, babe, calm down. I’ve got this.” She injected it into him as well, and sighed as he slipped into what seemed to be still a painful sleep.
Maisonn chuckled a little, but he could only surrender to sleep.
-
Maisonn stared at the ground as it wiggled in and out of focus, his hands cuffed behind his back and to the chair in which he was seated. He was dressed in a prison jumpsuit, his hair shaved into a much more manageable length, his body thin and unhealthy.
Frankie stepped into the interrogation room, shutting the door behind her and setting her papers down on the table as she took her seat. She stared at him for a few hard moments before sliding a photograph of a grisly murder in front of him. “Did you do this?”
He squinted at the picture, swallowing slowly, and then lifted his gaze up to her, his eyes heavy. "I'm incapable of asking questions," he stated simply, blinking for a long time.
“Why?”
"I don't understand inflection." He dropped his eyes down to the murder again, licking his lips shortly. "This doesn't look nice."
“Did you do it?” she repeated, slower, seeming extremely aggravated.
"You raped her." His voice was flat, accusatory but not angry. Every motion was muted. He bowed his head a little.
“Look, Maisonn,” she spat angrily, slamming her hands down on the table. “We’ll give you back your sister and your car and everything as long as you help us out and answer these questions. Got it?”
He shook his head, shifting his weight. "You're a filthy liar," he whispered. "Release me."
“Answer the questions and free Ozzy of whatever the fuck you did to him, and yeah, I will.”
"But you won't give my sister back. You can't. She's raped." He closed his eyes. "I worked a long time to keep her alive. I guess as long as she's being tortured, so is my playtoy."
Frankie rubbed her face in distress, sighing irritably. “You misunderstand. We are not torturing her. She is being kept safe and sound. No one’s touching her, no one’s talking to her, she can even see you right now. She’s looking right through that glass.” She pointed to the two-way mirror. “She’s fine. And she wants this whole thing to be over.”
"She's not here, because she's raped," he sighed. "Francesca Reynolds, you will never understand."
“Maisonn Kreiter, you have no grasp on reality. You are insane. Do you know what that means? That means you’ll go to a white building with lots of other insane people and wear a straightjacket for the rest of your sorry little life unless you help us out. Do you understand me?” she snapped suddenly. “Who’s not understanding doesn’t matter because it’s going to happen to you either way if you don’t help us.”
"I'm not insane. I know how to play your little game." He looked up at her, sitting up a little. "I can pretend, just like all of you, to be 'real'. But we all know that it's society's shitty little game. You're just afraid of me because I'm feral. So afraid that you raped my sister."
“I’m not afraid of you.” She raised a brow, leaning forward on the table. “I’ve never been afraid of you, Maisonn. Confused, yes, but not afraid. Your sister, by the way, was long gone when we found her, so whoever raped her did it a long time ago. You know what, Maisonn, I think you raped her. I think you raped her of a normal, happy life and you felt so guilty about it, you felt compelled to keep her alive in your sick little brain. Society does have a shitty game, but that doesn’t matter because it’s still being played and it’s still gonna kick your ass.”
"I'm not going to tell you anything," he mumbled, staring at her. "I am not an almanac and I am not a rapist and I am not going to tell you anything."
“But you are a murderer.” She pointed to the photos. “You murdered these people just because you wanted to. You raped them of their lives because you felt like it. You are a rapist.” She stood and picked up the photos, pushing her chair in. “Think about it. We have all the time in the world.”
"I'm not telling you anything," he chuckled, closing his eyes.
“Good. Gives me an excuse to keep you locked up.” Frankie turned to the door, exiting the room and shutting it behind her.
20100702
The Best Romance Ever. (Talen and Maelynn but Shakespearean.)
Katharine: Your majesty shall mock at me; I cannot speak your England.
Henry V: O fair Katharine, if you will love me soundly with your French heart, I will be glad to hear you confess it brokenly with your English tongue.
Do you like me, Kate?
Katharine: Pardonnez-moi (Excuse me), I cannot tell vat is 'like me.'
Henry V: An angel is like you, Kate - you are like an angel.
Katharine: Que dit-il? que je suis semblable a les anges? (What does he say? That I am similar to the angels?)
Alice: Oui, vraiment, sauf votre grace, ainsi dit-il. (Yes, that's right, your grace, so he says.)
Henry V: I said so, dear Katharine; and I must not blush to affirm it.
Katharine: O bon Dieu. Les langues des hommes sont pleines de tromperies. (Oh, good God. The tongues of men are full of deceits.)
Henry V: (To Alice) What says she, fair one? That the tongues of men are full of deceits?
Alice: Oui, dat de tongues of de mans is be full of deceits. Dat is de princess.
Henry V: The princess is the better Englishwoman. In faith, Kate, my wooing is fit for thy understanding – I am glad thou canst speak no better English, for, if thou couldst, thou wouldst find me such a plain king that thou wouldst think I had sold my farm to buy my crown. I know no ways to mince it in love, but directly to say 'I love you.' Then if you urge me farther than to say 'do you in faith?'
I wear out my suit. Give me your answer. In faith, do, and so shake hands and a bargain. How say you, lady?
Katharine: Sauf votre honneur (Your majesty,) me understand vell.
Henry V: Marry, if you would put me to verses or to dance for your sake, Kate, why you undid me. For the one, I have neither words nor measure, and for the other, I have no strength in measure, yet a reasonable measure in strength. If I could win a lady at leap-frog, or by vaulting into my saddle with my armor on my back under the correction of bragging, be it spoken. I should quickly leap into a wife. Or if I might buffet for my love, or bound my horse for her favors, I could lay on like a butcher and sit like a jack-an-apes, never off. But, before God, Kate, I cannot look greenly nor gasp out my eloquence, nor I have no cunning in protestation, only downright oaths, which I never use 'til urged, nor never break for urging.
If thou canst love a fellow of this temper, Kate, whose face is not worth sun-burning, that never looks in his glass for love of anything he sees there, let thine eye be thy cook. I speak to thee as a plain soldier: If thou canst love me for this, take me: if not, to say to thee that I shall die, is true; but for thy love, by the Lord, no; yet I love thee too. And while thou livest, dear Kate, take a fellow of plain and uncoined constancy, for he perforce must do thee right, because he hath not the gift to woo in other places, for these fellows of infinite tongue, that can rhyme themselves into ladies' favors, they do always reason themselves out again.
What! A speaker is but a prater; a rhyme is but a ballad; a good leg will fall; a straight back will stoop; a black beard will turn white; a curled pate will grow bald; a fair face will wither; a full eye will wax hollow. But a good heart, Kate, is the sun and the moon – or, rather, the sun, and not the moon, for it shines bright and never changes, but keeps his course truly. If thou would have such a one, take me; and take me, take a soldier; take a soldier, take a king. And what sayest thou then to my love? Speak, my fair, and fairly, I pray thee.
Katharine: Is it possible dat I sould love de enemy of France?
Henry V: No, it is not possible you should love the enemy of France, Kate, but, in loving me, you should love the friend of France, for I love France so well that I will not part with a village of it; I will have it all mine, and, Kate, when France is mine and I am yours, then yours is France and you are mine.
Katharine: I cannot tell vat is dat.
Henry V: No, Kate? I will tell thee in French, which I am sure will hang upon my tongue like a new-married wife about her husband's neck, hardly to be shook off. Je quand sur le possession de France, et quand vous avez le possession de moi – let me see, what then? Saint Denis be my speed! – donc votre est France et vous etes mienne. (France is mine and I am yours - therefore yours is France and you are mine.)
She laughs at his broken French.
It is as easy for me, Kate, to conquer the kingdom as to speak so much more French. I shall never move thee in French, unless it be to laugh at me!
Katharine: Still laughing. Sauf votre honneur, le Francois que vous parlez, il est meilleur que l'Anglois lequel je parle. (Your majesty, the French you speak is better than the English I speak.)
Henry V: No, faith, is't not, Kate, but thy speaking of my tongue, and I thine, most truly-falsely, must needs be granted to be much at one.
But, Kate, dost thou understand thus much English: canst thou love me?
Katharine: I cannot tell.
Henry V: Frustrated. Can any of your neighbors tell, Kate? I'll ask them! Come, I know thou lovest me, and at night, when you come into your closet, you'll question this gentlewoman about me, and I know, Kate, you will to her dispraise those parts in me that you love with your heart. But, good Kate, mock me mercifully; the rather, gentle princess, because I love thee cruelly.
If ever thou beest mine, Kate, as I have a saving faith within me tells me thou shalt, I get thee with scambling, and thou must therefore needs prove a good soldier-breeder. Shall not thou and I, between Saint Denis and Saint George, compound a boy, half French, half English, that shall go to Constantinople and take the Turk by the beard? Shall we not? What sayest thou, my fair flower-de-luce?
Katharine: I do not know dat.
Henry V: No, 'tis hereafter to know, but now to promise. Do but now promise, Kate, you will endeavor for your French part of such a boy, and for my English moiety take the word of a king and a bachelor. How answer you, la plus belle Katharine du monde, mon tres cher et devin deesse? (nicest Katharine of the world, my thrice-dear and fortune-teller?)
Katharine: Your majestee ave fausse (has distorted) French enough to deceive de most sage demoiselle dat is en France.
Henry V: Now, fie upon my false French! By mine honor, in true English, I love thee, Kate: by which honor I dare not swear thou lovest me; yet my blood begins to flatter me that thou dost, notwithstanding the poor and untempering effect of my visage.
Now, beshrew my father's ambition! He was thinking of civil wars when he got me. Therefore was I created with a stubborn outside, with an aspect of iron, that, when I come to woo ladies, I fright them. But, in faith, Kate, the elder I wax, the better I shall appear; my comfort is that old age, that ill layer up of beauty, can do no more, spoil upon my face. Thou hast me, if thou hast me, at the worst, and thou shalt wear me, if thou wear me, better and better.
And therefore tell me, most fair Katharine, will you have me? Put off your maiden blushes; avouch the thoughts of your heart with the looks of an empress. Take me by the hand, and say 'Harry of England I am thine,' which word thou shalt no sooner bless mine ear withal, but I will tell thee aloud 'England is thine, Ireland is thine, France is thine, and Harry Plantagenet is thine,' who though I speak it before his face, if he be not fellow with the best king, thou shalt find the best king of good fellows.
Come, your answer in broken music; for thy voice is music and thy English broken; therefore, queen of all, Katharine, break thy mind to me in broken English; wilt thou have me?
Katharine: Dat is as it sall please de roi mon pere (king of my country)?
Henry V: Nay, it will please him well, Kate. It shall please him.
Katharine: Den it sall also content me.
Henry V: Upon that I kiss your hand, and I call you my queen.
Katharine: Laissez, mon seigneur, laissez, laissez: ma foi, je ne veux point que vous abaissiez votre grandeur en baisant la main d'une de votre seigeurie indigne serviteur; excusez-moi, je vous supplie, mon tres-puissant seigneur. (Leave, my lord, leave, leave: my creed, I do not want you to lower your greatness by kissing the hand of one of your unworthy attendants; excuse me, I plead you, my thrice-powerful lord.)
Henry V: Then I will kiss your lips, Kate.
Katharine: Les dames et demoiselles pour etre baisees devant leur noces, il n'est pas la coutume de France. (The young ladies do not kiss before the wedding; it is not the custom of France.)
Henry V: Madam my interpreter, what says she?
Alice: Dat it is not be de fashion pour les ladies of France – I cannot tell vat is baiser en Anglish.
Henry V: To kiss.
Alice: Your majesty entendre bettre que moi (understands better than I).
Henry V: It is not a fashion for the maids in France to kiss before they are married, would she say?
Alice: Oui, vraiment. (Yes, that’s right.)
Henry V: Oh, Kate, nice customs curtsy to great kings. Dear Kate, you and I cannot be confined within the weak list of a country's fashion. We are the makers of manners, Kate, and the liberty that follows our places stops the mouth of all find-faults, as I will do yours, for upholding the nice fashion of your country in denying me a kiss. Therefore, patiently and yielding…
They kiss.
You have witchcraft in your lips, Kate. There is more eloquence in a sugar touch of them than in the tongues of the French council and they should sooner persuade Harry of England than a general petition of monarchs. Here comes your father. They quickly separate.
20100624
Desert Moon
“You never caught it because I never gave it to you.” She smirked and brushed a pitch-black curl behind her pointed ear.
“I'm sorry. I'm not much of the socialite….” He smiled sheepishly.
“Yeah, you didn't really need to clarify that one.”
“Way to press on the assault! I thought the war in the west was over, didn't think there was another front in such a high class place as this! Sorry for disturbing you.”
“I'm not disturbed by you. Would you like to join us?” she asked, a light smirk twitching across her lips.
“Um... sure- I mean, yes, I'd like that. Thank you,” he replied, mildly startled.
“Don't thank me yet,” she responded, scrutinizing her dirty fingernails. “ I intend to put you in many risky scenarios.”
“I think six years in the Imperial Army should help me out there. What are you getting at, though?”
"I'm not quite sure yet. That's what we're trying to figure out, but it's pretty obvious that danger's on the agenda." She yawned and leaned against a pillar, raising a brow dully.
"Well... I am armed if you intended to throw something like that in my way." He patted the coat of his uniform right under his Sergeant Major rank patch. "Habit."
“Good. Then you might be of some use to us. How long were you in the army now?” she inquired with a minor tilt of the head, folding her arms across her chest.
"All my life. I was orphaned into a military academy. I spent the last six years to reach Sergeant Major, or Battle Commander, as the rank is called now." His face grew hard. "Before that it was five years fighting in the 25 in the Northern Reach. Hell on ice, Miss." He brushed the scar on his left cheek. "Twenty-seven years total." He paused. "One question…."
The gypsy simply raised a brow, as she was prone to do.
"Who's this 'us'?" His hand slowly made its way to his breast pocket.
“I’m not really sure. We all just found each other and we’re trying to stop some impending doom that we all separately dreamed of.” She apathetically cleaned the dirt from her fingernails.
"Hm?" His hand dropped to his side. "Impending doom. That's nice." He walked over to the door to the balcony and sighed. "If it's not one thing, it's another."
“As always with the world.” She stretched and sank to a cross-legged seating position. “Still interested?”
"What do you need me for? Military muscle?" He turned and looked her square in the eye.
“Whatever you’re the best at, Sarge.”
"I'll need my kit. Sword, armor, bullets. If you need a soldier, lady, you found one." He walked up close and pulled a medal from his pocket. "Medal of Valor."
“Well, that’s definitely a valuable asset. We could probably use some valor amidst our own shady characteristics.” She smirked, standing. “Is your kit readily attainable, Sarge?”
"Yes, ma'am. The hotel up the way. Blue Dove."
“If you’re ready to come with us, then why don’t you go get your things and then I’ll show you where exactly we’re staying and explain what we’re doing exactly,” she suggested with a light smile, hands on her hips.
His red eyes narrowed. "Fifteen minutes." He left without another word.
The bandit smirked and stretched, heading to the bar and ordering a drink.
Gyre ran hard up the stone street, rain pounding onto him until he reached the Blue Dove hotel, his temporary home after he was discharged. "Never stop fighting Gyre. It's all you've got." He opened the door to his room. It was luxurious, but too much for a soldier as he. His armor, sword, and shield laid out on his bed while a blanket was folded into an armchair where he slept. He began donning his armor.
"I told you fifteen minutes." Gyre was fully armored with a giant red and gold sword slung over his back that matched the plated-mail armor he wore. His helmet was tucked under his arm. "I don't like being late for a nice date." He grinned like a child.
She looked up at this, a half-finished drink in her hand, and she raised a brow. “Ah. A useful characteristic.”
“Punctuality?”
“I’d say so, yes.”
"Thank you, miss... Still no name." He sighed. "What is your name?"
She smirked and took another drink, standing. “C’mon. I’ll show you where we’re staying.”
"Lead on, lady." He placed his helmet on his head and nodded to her.
The gypsy led him up the stairs and into a hallway of rooms, showing him to the second-to-last room on the right. “Here. This one’s mine,” she clarified, pointing to the last room next to his. “That’s Niani’s. That’s ___’s. That’s Araglar’s.”
"Thanks. Um... what do I call you, if you won't give me a name?" He opened the door to the room. "I can get used to this."
“Call me whatever you want, Sarge, as long as it ain’t sexual.” She winked a violet eye before opening the door to her own room and stepping inside. “I’ll knock on your door when the others get back. We’ll discuss our plan of action then. In the meantime, have a good acquaintanceship with your room.”
He nodded, stepped inside, and closed the door. "Damn... never met an elf before. Much prettier than in the stories," he whispered to himself. He sat on the bed and was relieved to hear the creak of old wood. It was like the academy. Like home. He leaned the sword up in the corner and put his helmet on the end table. "Battle Commander Gyre Straldhardt, 1st Echelon Imperial Swordsman? What are you doing in a place like this?" He sat back on his bed and leaned back. "I don't know, but I'm glad I'm here," he answered to himself.
A Bad Dream, a Good Beginning
With a mild groan, I strained to sit up as my eyes quickly adjusted to the uncomfortable darkness. An eerie, lavender light illuminated the parlor-like room, and I brushed the dust off my dress as I pushed myself into a standing position. Faint piano music wafted through the air, along with the musky scent of an attic. Other than that, the room was unnaturally silent.
As my eyes surveyed the room, I flinched when I glimpsed the back of an old woman, statuesque in her stillness, standing at a piano in the corner. She looked dead, arms by her sides, and a tattered, worn nightgown covered her tattered, worn body. A shiver coursed through my back as I realized that she was not playing the piano, yet the music continued.
A thud on the floor sounded, and my head snapped to attention as Illisar approached her, heavy boots clunking across the wooden floor. I wanted to tell him to stop, but my words caught in my throat, and panic was the only sensation I could’ve vocalized. I looked to the others to silently beg them to stop him, but Eon and Gyre seemed just as shocked as I was, and Novakri was more entertained by staring out the window, a black void staring back at her.
A jarring note from the piano ripped my gaze to it, and before I could process that Illisar had tapped an age-yellowed key, the dead woman suddenly reached up and gripped his wrist. He reflexively pulled away, but her hand broke off her arm and shattered into dust. A scream racked my mind. She lifted her head to look up at him, a monster clawing its way forward from within.
Then I really awoke with a gasp.
20100331
Essay
20100328
It's like Christine but less Stephen Kingy and more cheesy romance.
"Well, I have news for you, babygirl. So are you." He grinned and kissed her softly, running his hands up her legs.
She grinned mischievously, kissing him again, for longer.
Jeremy chuckled softly into her lips, sliding his hands up her waist and around her back as he deepened it.
-
Jeremy yawned as he awoke from his peaceful slumber, rubbing his hair ungracefully.
Averi was in the kitchen, humming and making herself some tea happily.
Jeremy smiled at this, exhaling deeply as he sat up and pulled boxers on. He stood, stepping sleepily into the kitchen and looping his arms around her from behind. "Morning, babydoll."
She grinned, resting her head back on his shoulder and kissing his jaw. "Morning. How'd ya sleep?"
"Like a little baby." He grinned, kissing her clavicle softly. "Last night was fabulous, darling."
"God, it was," she breathed, pushing her fingers into his hair. "You're full of surprises, eh?"
"Your first car," Brandy announced, probably for the first time. "God, this is so emotional. I helped you leave your mother's body and now I'm helping you into a death trap."
Valentine laughed, pulling black curls into a ponytail and looking up at him with bright green eyes. "You make it sound like it's a certainty. It's just a car, Dad."
"It is not just a car," he sulked, but smiled.
She looked around with a light laugh, pulling out her cell phone to text. After a few moments, however she looked up and her eyes widened at the sight of the car in the distance. "Dad, I want that one."
"Uh... Okay, I guess we can look at it." He started toward it, smiling.
She stepped quickly to it, stopping in front of the decrepit masterpiece. She stroked the hood, grinning. "Oh my God, we have to get it."
He raised a brow, looking it over. "This is kind of awful. We have four grand."
"Dad, we totally have to get it!" she begged, looking up at him.
He met her gaze, raising a brow. "Um... Okay, I guess we can get it a radio."
"Yeah!" she cried happily, hugging him. "Thank you so much, Daddy!"
"You're welcome, baby," he laughed, rubbing her back. "Let's bring it home."
That night, Valentine grinned as she sat comfortably in the driver's seat, stroking the console and sighing. "This is awesome," she murmured to herself, adjusting the mirrors excitedly. "This is my baby. What's your name?" She opened the glove box, putting her insurance information inside, but she raised a brow at a small slip of paper. She picked it up, brushing black curls behind her ear and crinkling her forehead in confusion at the radio station listed. Valentine turned the car battery on, switching to the radio station.
"Ahhhh..." a low, male voice sighed contently, the lights intensifying, the mirrors shifting in a stretch. "God, I'm sore. What's your name? I'm Christian."
"Hey..." she started, shocked, emerald eyes wide. "Wha...?"
"Oh, yeah, I'm your car," he greeted, windshield wipers flexing.
Valentine stared at the radio with big eyes, frozen, but then she screamed and darted out of the car and into the house, slamming the door shut and running into Brandon for a tight, frightened hug.
Brandon raised a brow, but hugged her tightly. "You okay, baby? What's wrong?"
She was shaking, completely terrified. "Th-The car!" she stammered, looking up at him. "It talked!"
"Your car talked?" he murmured, confused and concerned as he pushed a curl behind her ear. "Are you sure? It's a new radio, maybe it picked up a weird signal or something."
"No! It started moving the mirrors by itself and the windshield wipers and then it said its name was Christian!" she screamed in a panic.
"What's going on now?" Shiloh asked from the kitchen, going to them with a worried expression.
"Valentine says her car is talking to her," he murmured, looking up at Shiloh, perplexed. His gaze fell back to his daughter and he kissed her forehead reassuringly. "Are you sure you didn't fall asleep for a second or something?"
"I'm sure, Dad! I'm being completely serious! I found this weird piece of paper with an am station and when I changed it, it started talking to me!"
Shiloh raised a brow, putting her hand on Valentine's forehead. "She feels a little hot."
She screamed in frustration, pushing her hand away. "I'm not making this up! It really happened!"
"Okay, okay! Calm down! It just sounds a little weird." He frowned, resting a hand on her arm. "Let's go look at it. Do you want to go look at it?"
She nodded, brushing her hair behind her ear shakily.
He kept an arm over her shoulders, glancing back at Shiloh as he led Valentine out. "So what'd he say, babe?"
"He said his name was Christian and he was my car," she mumbled, looking up at him. The door was still open, the battery still on from where she'd darted away.
20100311
You look like a bunch of retards trying to hump a doorknob out there.
"That'd be cool," he agreed, a little smile breaking through his uncomfortable exterior.
Samantha smiled softly. "Okay. When?"
"This weekend?" He grinned brightly, hopefully.
"Okay. Should I meet you there or..." she asked, tilting her head.
"I can pick you up," he answered suddenly, digging paper out of his pocket as well as a pen. "Here, just write your address down."
"O-Okay," she giggled, writing down her address.
He smiled excitedly, having given up on fake composure. "Cool. Pick you up at six, maybe, on Friday?"
"Okay. I need to babysit Shiloh though..." she murmured softly.
"Don't worry about it. I've got it covered," Lucy interjected with a smile.
Samantha grinned, ecstatic. "Okay!"
He grinned as well, tapping his foot absently. "Okay. I'll see you then!"
"Okay. Maybe we should... um... exchange numbers or something in case there's a change of plans?"
"Sure!" he exclaimed, before throat. "Er. Sure. 555-5555."
"Well, that's easy to remember," she giggled, writing down her phone number on the same page as her address.
He laughed, shrugging a pocketing her information. "Cool."
"So I'll see you then?" she asked with a light blush.
He smiled. "You certainly will."
"Okay." She smiled softly, but then grinned and stood. "I'll see you later!" she called over her shoulder while walking away.
"Bye," he called softly, watching her go dreamily.
Lucy grinned, ruffling his hair. "Love at first sight, huh?" she asked softly.
He looked up at her, chuckling a little and looking away. "Guess so. Was it like that with your husband?"
"Yep. Exactly. Except we were considerably more illegal than that."
He shrugged, eyes dropping to the table. "I like illegal."
"Yeah, well. It was mainly illegal because I was going 110 down the highway, he's eight years older than me, he's a cop, and we hardly exchanged ten words before having sex." Lucy grinned a little.
He laughed, shrugging. "Guess we'll see how many words we get out."
She laughed lightly. "Be safe now. I don't want little Sammybear ending up like me."
He laughed, shaking his head. "We will be."
Shiloh ran her fingers though her curled, black hair as she stood outside the school, waiting for the bus. She yawned, leaning against the wall and closing her quietly green eyes.
"I can't believe I got a fuckin' F in Mr. Shade's class," a girl complained loudly as she approached, wearing several pounds of jewelry and makeup, her dark hair unusually fluffy and her body unusually thin.
Shiloh looked up at this and smirked a little. "Well, you could always give him a blowjob. I heard Marissa Carmichael did that and she passed."
"Um. Marissa Carmichael is the grossest being on two feet?" She stuck her tongue out in disgust.
"Exactly. So if Marissa Carmichael can give Shade a blowjob and still pass then your cute little self definitely can." Shiloh grinned and nudged her lightly.
She grinned, considering this and tapping her chin. "Hm... This might become a personal goal of mine."
"Giving your teachers blowjobs!?"
"No, just him." She grinned, mulling this over.
"Ewww, that's nasty. You have no moral code, do you?" she asked with a light laugh, leaning back against the wall again.
She grinned, shrugging. "I enjoy the taste of men."
"Oh, ewww, Averi. That's just nasty," she laughed, but then shook her head. "Not like I'm not the same way, I guess." The bus rolled up, however, and she stepped up to it, grinning back at Averi.
Averi grinned, waving her goodbye. "I'll see you later, chica! I'm gonna stop by after my bro's party, which you're still invited to, and stuff!"
"I'll be there! And I'll dress hot so your brother CAN'T resist!" she cackled, stepping onto the bus.
She laughed, waving. "Seeya, then!"
"Mr. Shaaade!" Averi called as she knocked loudly on the door, before simply opening it. "Mr. Shade? Don't be shy!"
Mr. Shade was seated at his desk, but then smirked, looking up at her entrance. "What do you want?" he teased, shutting his grade book and standing. Casually disheveled brown hair framed his truly angelic face, glasses reflecting the fluorescent lights above.
She grinned, going to him and setting her things down, sitting on his desk with her legs crossed. "To talk about grades."
"Well, that certainly does deserve some talking," he replied, stepping past her smoothly and packing up his belongings into a briefcase. "Unfortunately, I have a meeting to go to, so I'll have to talk to you tomorrow."
She frowned, watching him from her dark circles of eyeliner. "I really need to talk to you, though, since this weekend is... happening, and such. Is this meeting gonna be long? I can wait."
He laughed a little, shaking his head. "Give it up, Averi. We'll talk Monday. Try actually READING the book for starters."
Her frown deepened and she rested her hands on her knees, sitting up straighter and stretching her back. "I read the book. I do. I just don't... absorb it."
"So read it again. Look at the sparknotes. You need to actually try, Miss Elder." He headed for the door, turning off the lights. "Coooome on."
She watched him through the darkness, and then stood, sluggishly picking up her belongings and smoothing down her short, short skirt. "Are you giving out extra credit for extra special students?" she asked after a bit, looking up at him. "Since I can't absorb the reading..."
He smirked, rolling his eyes. "Nice try, but no. Come on."
Averi frowned again, standing and following him slowly. "I can't do anything? Anything at all? Anythiiiing?"
"'Fraid not, dear. Let's move it." He held the door open for her, raising a brow.
She stepped through, sullen. "Not even kind of a point? I only have a 58, and I was absent during test corrections last time."
"And you were more than able to make those up, but you never did." He shut the door behind her, locking it and starting down the hall.
"You just hate me," she complained, following still. "And I could do so much for you!"
"I don't hate you," he laughed. "I just know that you could do better than what you're doing. What's so bad about that?"
"You don't want to help me," she complained, like a child.
Mr. Shade rolled his eyes, ruffling her hair. "Pipe down, Averi. Stop being a spoiled brat and get some work done. Then you will pull up your grade."
"But you won't help me get it done." Averi smoothed her hair, grinning lightly. "Just tell me what I should do to bring up my grade without wasting my whole spring break, please, Mr. Shade."
"How about you don't waste it and actually do your work? Then your break isn't wasted." He grinned a little, stepping out the door and pulling out his car keys. "Look, just spend two hours a day doing the report. Two very productive hours. Then, by Wednesday, I promise you'll have it done."
She considered this, chewing her dark lip. "Can you help me focus or something? Or... I dunno, I just have this creeping suspicion that I'm gonna do stuff during those two hours that doesn't count or something."
"Trust me, you'll do fine. Just try, Averi. I promise it'll be okay." He unlocked his car, glancing back at her. "Need a ride home?"
Averi smiled, nodding and clutching her books. "That'd be pretty damn awesome."
"Alright. Where do you live?" he asked, climbing into the front seat and starting the engine.
She raised her eyebrows. "Somewhere around 3rd street or something. I can get you there with my words."
Mr. Shade smirked and rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright." He backed out of the parking lot, turning onto the road. "Which way?"
"Left, I think." She looked around. "Wait, no! Right! Sorry."
He rolled his eyes but then turned right, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and lighting one up. "Do you mind?"
"Nah, my brother smokes." She crossed her legs, yawning a little.
"It's a terrible habit, you know." Mr. Shade grinned, inhaling and rolling down the window to exhale in smoke.
She grinned, looking up at him. "Then why do you do it? Lack of anything else to put in your mouth?"
"Hahaha. No, I have lots of things I can put in my mouth. At this point, it's more of a nicotine addiction."
"Mm, that's no fun," she replied simply. "Do your lungs hate you?"
20100306
Angry Birds is my GAME
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Hair/Eye: Black/Blood
Species: Blood Abishai
Name: Terrance Teagan Thomas
Age: 24
Gender: Male
Hair/Eye: Dark Brown/Light green
Species: Earth/Plant Abishai
-
Flashing lights pursued her car, the driver seeming less than enthused to be in chase, the siren wailing overhead.
The girl sighed and rolled her eyes, considering accelerating for a few brief moments before exhaling exasperatedly and pulling to the side of the highway.
He followed, taking his sweet time to eventually emerge from the car, completely in uniform as he rubbed his scruffy face. He scratched the back of his head as he knocked on her window, yawning a little.
She rolled down her window, looking up at him and pushing the sunglasses from her eyes to rest on her forehead. Her blood-red eyes fixated on him with an eerie fascination, and she tilted her head, naturally pale skin accentuated by her wavy, black hair.
He stared at her for what felt like forever, countless seconds inching by until he finally blinked, looking away and then back to her. "I, uh... do you know how fast you were going, ma'am?"
She seemed enchanted for a few moments, but then her eyes widened, and she threw the car into drive, abruptly speeding away.
He cursed, backing away from her car to return to his, disgruntled. He almost called for backup, but decided against it, simply flipping his siren back on and jumping back into pursuit, determined.
The girl, no older than sixteen, cackled as the highway blurred past her, turning sharply down a deserted road in an attempt to lose him.
He skidded after her, chasing her and waiting for her to stop. He clicked off his siren - he needed no assistance, after all, and so no attention.
She glanced in her rearview at this, but then narrowed her eyes, increasing speed. After maybe five minutes or so of this, though, she groaned and suddenly squealed to a stop, throwing the car in park and turning off the car only to jump out and dart into waist-high grass, making a rapid dash into the nearby forest.
He rolled his eyes, slamming on the brakes and exiting the car. He took his gun and keys, running into the forest after her doggedly.
Several hours later, as the sun began to sink, Terrance gave up. He kicked some stones away from a clearing in between trees, observing the surroundings, and then lifted his hands, focusing.
Trees sprouted from the ground, their roots hardening into a small hut, perhaps six feet tall and seven feet in diameter. He left a hole in the side for circulation but otherwise there were no openings, the inside of the hut carpeted with a bedding of clean grass. He set his gun, keys, cigarettes, and belt on the ground, encasing them in a thick safe of rock with a few simple hand movements, and then pulled off his shirt, yawning.
By the time night arrived, Terrance was soundly asleep in his new shelter, completely exhausted from the physical trials of the day.
Lucy crawled into the hut after he'd fallen asleep, curiously approaching him. Outside of the vehicle, it became apparent that short-shorts and a tight, black tank top fit admirably to her curves. She went to him, bending down close to him and inhaling his scent deeply. She closed her eyes, pushing long, black tresses behind her ear as she engulfed herself in his aroma.
He shifted as he noticed this, eyes fluttering open as he looked up at her, swallowing calmly. He reached up, gripping the back of her neck and pulling her down to inhale along her neck deeply.
She grinned and shuddered a little, pressing her hands into his chest and touching her lips to his neck lightly. "Can I bite you?" she whispered with a light chuckle.
"Have at it," he laughed softly, resting his free hand on the small of her back as he simultaneously basked in her scent while kissing along her neck and shoulder hungrily.
"You're a terrible police officer," she giggled, but then sank her fangs into his neck, groaning a little and gripping the back of his head to keep him close.
Terrance stiffened, digging his fingers into her skin and gasping through suffocating joy. He closed his eyes as he gradually relaxed, melting into enjoyment beneath her.
Lucy wrapped her legs around his waist and arms around his back, keeping him pressed against her, but then forced herself away with a gasping breath, licking the blood from her lips.
He shuddered, his scent muddled with lust and euphoria, and then he met her lips longingly, tightening his grip on her.
She moaned into his mouth, keeping her arms and legs tight around him as she vehemently responded to this.
-
Lucy kissed his chest, inhaling deeply and running her fingers through his hair. "You know I'm sixteen, right?" she whispered with a chuckle.
"Nope," he replied simply, a loose, comfortable grip on her. "Guess I'm a bad cop after all." His eyes were closed, a faint smile playing across his lips in a mixture of humor and bliss.
"How old are you, police man?" she teased, sucking a teasing hickey into the nape of his neck.
He grinned, looking up at her and then shifting to hold himself over her, kissing her lips and her cheek and her neck, obsessed with her touch. "Twenty-four, naughty girl," he chuckled.
"Mmm... I've never slept with someone that much older than me before." She grinned up at him, running her fingers through his hair. "So why didn't you call any backup, police man?"
Terrance smiled, running his fingers slowly up her thigh, kissing her eyelids lightly. "Didn't need any, now, did I?"
Lucy shuddered, giggling a little. "You're a veeeery terrible police officer, Mr. Police Man," she teased, kissing his neck and shoulder affectionately and digging her fingernails into his back.
His grin broadened and he gripped her thigh in a hand, simultaneously holding her in place and enjoying her curves as he met her lips deeply.
She groaned softly at his touches, pressing her body against him and wrapping her arms tightly around him.
-
"What's your name, police man?" Lucy asked, wearing only her bra on her top half and shorts on her bottom half. She was sitting semi-cross-legged, sketching idly with a colored pencil in her teeth.
"Terrance Teagan Thomas," he answered, accentuating the T's as he lit a cigarette, inhaling the smoke and exhaling in a ring. "And you, my rulebreaker?"
"Lucille Adrian Morrow," she replied, looking up at him and tucking her hair behind her ear. "So, Mr. Thomas, are we in love with each other?"
He met her gaze, tilting his head minutely, and then flicked the end of his cigarette absently. "Yeah, I imagine so," he answered after a bit. "And that's Officer Thomas to you, young lady."
"Yeah, well. Since when do I acknowledge authority?" She took the pencil from her mouth, yawning and stretching comfortably.
Terrance chuckled, poking her with his toes playfully. "I guess never."
Lucy giggled, slapping his feet away. "S'right. Don't you forget it." She crawled into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and smiling up at him.
He grinned, taking the cigarette from his lips to press a kiss to the side of her mouth. "Wouldn't dream of it."
She kissed his cheek several times, giggling and fussing with his scraggly hair. "Good. 'Cause then I'd have to correct you." She kissed his lips for a few long seconds, snatching his cigarette and then inhaling from it.
He laughed, kissing along her neck and then nibbling on her earlobe. "Well it's a good thing we see things the same way."
Lucy smiled, hugging his neck and closing her eyes happily. "Yes. A very good thing."
Terrance smiled also, tightening his grip on her and kissing her neck. "Do me a favor?"
"Depends," she replied, looking up at him and running her hands through his hair.
"Abide by the speed limits so that you don't get imprisoned?" He rested a hand on her neck, touching their foreheads together.
She frowned, kissing him softly. "No."
He kissed her in return, longer, and then mumbled, "But I won't always be the cop tailing you," against her lips.
"Why not?" she mumbled against him in return, framing his face with her hands.
He closed his eyes with a little sigh. "I can't drive with you everywhere you go. Other people will find you, and you'll get in much more trouble, and I won't be able to defend you."
"Why not?" she asked, pulling back and tilting her head a little. "Besides, I can protect myself. I haven't had a good meal in a long time anyway." She grinned lightly.
"But if you get caught killing and speeding and running into a forest and it's not me, you'll get arrested, and jailed, and nothing good will happen." He looked up at her, raising his dark eyebrows.
Lucy frowned and shook her head. "I can defend myself. Honestly. I'm sorta famous for it."
"I believe it, baby." He smiled a little, inhaling from the cigarette and exhaling away from her. "I just don't wanna be called on to assist someone incarcerate you, because they won't be nice, and I won't be able to help you, and I'll have to watch, and... it'll suck."
"No, it won't." She kissed his lips softly. "It'll be fine. I always get my way out of sticky situations."
Terrance kissed her again, silent for a moment, before inhaling from the cigarette again, exhaling his stress away. "You tire me out," he teased, closing his eyes. "I need you to abide by the speed limits, for me, please. You're gonna get a helicopter chase or something."
"That'd be fun, though! And then I could go dragon and be like RAAAAWR!" she cried, giggling and rubbing his face playfully with her hands.
He smiled, kissing her sweetly, but then untangled himself from her. "I need to take a piss," he murmured as a door opened in the side of their hut, stepping out of it and unbuckling his pants with a sigh.
"That's gross," she answered, falling back on the ground and yawning. "Hey, baby?"
"Mm?" he called back.
"Can we get married?"
"Well, I gotta divorce my wife first."
"How long will that take?" she yawned, closing her eyes and stretching.
He shrugged, letting his head fall back, tired. "After you divorce somebody, you have to wait six months before you can get married again. Polygamy laws."
"What about Vegas?" she asked, rolling over onto her stomach.
He yawned as he closed the front of his pants, turning to return to the hut, the door weaving shut behind him. "That'll work, so long as nobody finds out."
"Who're we gonna tell?" she mumbled, eyes closed comfortably.
"Good point." He sank to the ground beside her, linking an arm around her and pulling her close, kissing her temple. "I'll get the divorce papers pushed through by the end of next week."
Lucy curled up against him and kissed his chin. "Good. Then we can sneak off, right?"
Lucy yawned, sinking into a chair at a nearby lunch table and looking around awkwardly.
"Hey, lookit this," a blonde boy chuckled as he set down his bag. "A chick's at our table."
Darryl chuckled, setting down a tray of food beside her, his scent the scent of cigarettes and animal. "Well, well. What's your name?"
She looked up at him and smirked. "Who's askin'?"
He grinned charmingly, sinking into a seat beside her. "I'm Darryl. So who are you?"
"Lucy. Nice to meet you." She grinned a little.
Darryl chuckled, nodding and popping open a soda. "So, Lucy. You seem new. Wanna hang out after school today?"
"Hell yeah, but I can't. I have to pick up my daughter from daycare." She picked idly at her food, smiling up at him.
He grinned, resting his chin in a hand. "Just bring her. We won't smoke around her or anything."
"Where are we gonna go?" she asked, leaning back in the chair casually and tilting her head.
"Dunno. Saxon has a shack behind his house that's awesome for idling, and we could run by sonic. It's happy hour, after all."
"Uh, no thanks to Mr. Saxon shack. Don't want any pot around my kid, thank you. I've been down that road, brosky." She grinned a little. "But Sonic sounds good. I guess I'm meeting you there?"
"Works for me. See you at three?" He grinned, munching on a mozzarella stick.
The blonde frowned. "We don't smoke THAT much pot..."
"I suppose so, Mr. Darryl." Lucy looked to the blonde and smirked, raising a brow. "Yeah, yeah. I've been to shacks before. I'm not retarded."
Darryl chuckled, kicking at Saxon's chair. "Very awesome."
"And don't you be getting any ideas, either." She held up her left hand, wiggling the finger that was decorated with a diamond ring.
He laughed, shaking his head. "I'm not here to interfere with your mister. I've just never found somebody to relate to. You know?"
"What, are you a dragon, too?" she asked with a smirk, tilting her head. "I thought I smelled something about you."
He shrugged. "And I you. But I won't try anything funny. Promise."
Lucy nodded in approval, grinning and taking a drink of juice. "Alrighty then. As long as you know about me, I think we're set." She looked to the blonde and raised a brow. "Am I clear?"
He grinned brightly, holding up his right hand. "I swear. Besides, I'm harmless."
"You're Saxon?" she asked, tilting her head.
"So i am, little miss." He smiled, offering a hand. "And it is nice to meet you!"
She shook his hand with a smile, cradling her chin in her hands. "It's nice to meet you both too. I think I'll fit in with you guys, huh?"
"Yeah, i think so," he agreed, grinning warmly. "You seem pretty rad."
"Nobody says rad anymore, idiot," Darryl chuckled, and Saxon stuck out his tongue.
"Um, I say rad. Duh." Lucy grinned, sipping her drink.
He beamed, and Darryl laughed. "You're both lame."
"YOU'RE lame," she corrected, laughing a little in return.
20100302
Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks
Hello, Gabriel Elder. My name is... well, that's irrelevant. And, besides, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise.
I am a nightly-evil creature like you. The taste of human life is the sweetest, don't you think? Of course you do. I've been watching you, you know. I finish off what you leave behind, my dear, dear beloved. And with trembling fingertips, I trace your calling card and relish in wishing it on my own neck.
Oh, Gabriel. I wish to meet you so badly! I wish you knew who this was, but I need a way to keep you interested. Little boys like to chase little girls and it's only about sticky lust if the girl doesn't play coy, hmm?
Oops! I guess I just told you my gender. But I meant to do that, hmm? As this is a written letter, there are no accidents.
My, how you've grown. You're an assassin now, eh? I must say, I didn't predict that from you, my darling. Society's little outcast. Oh, yes, I do remember you well. I know you will remember me, too, because you're perfect in every way. Oh, how I long to sink my fingernails into your skin, Gabriel. My lips are licked when I think about the way you must taste, the way your shirt fits over your Adonis body and accentuates every rippling sinew that calls my desire and makes me shudder in my sleep. Even now, imagining our bodies pressed together in sweaty matrimony makes my fist clench and pushes a sigh from my longing throat.
But! All that must wait. I've got to toy with you a little, hm? I must be keeping you on edge so that when we meet, you can release on me all your built-up tension and I can finally satisfy my itching fingernails and teeth. Therefore, I must build up your tension to its maximum capacity, Gabriel Elder, so that when we meet, our reunion will be the most beautiful, divine, fierce reunion there ever was.
I miss you, Gabriel. I'll be watching you.
20100204
Epitaph
I'd been coming here for years. This hallowed ground knew my footsteps, had grown comfortable with my worn soles and pensive stare. Others knew of it, but nobody could relate. Such a predicament had never been heard of.
There it stood, confident and smug in the cold ground. I knelt slowly in front of it, an unconscious sigh pushing out of my chest and slipping into the surrounding mist. I never dared to touch it, though I logically understood that it couldn't have possibly struck me dead on the spot, but logic failed to explain even its existence, so I didn't want to risk anything.
This grave, perfectly worn with casual cracks and splinters, bore the curse and spite of my name, Ambrose Nietzsche carved delicately into the stone. I ran my hand through my hair stressfully, my eyes tracing over the words in perplexed grief as they had for as long as I could remember. There must've been another Ambrose Nietzsche, as strange as the name was, but despite the oddity of this occurrence, it was not the strangest element to this stone.
Underneath my name, the date, July 7th, 1989, stared up at me with a smile - the exact date of my birth. Not only was my name a strange one, but the likelihood of another Ambrose Nietzsche born on July 7th, 1989 had to be a million to one.
Considering that my name was Ambrose Nietzsche and the day of my birth was July 7th, 1989, then the nonchalant July 7th, 2010 carved next to it had to be the day of my death.
For long hours, I would stare at this stone, trying to reason with it, trying to understand its purpose. Who put this stone here? Was I being watched? Was it simply a prank? Was someone trying to warn me of impending doom? Its existence molded my mind into something darker and more paranoid than I had been so many years ago. Each day the weight it pressed upon me pushed me into a darker oblivion, and despite the small fortune spent on therapy, nothing would stop its incessant gnawing in my mind. I would die on my twenty-first birthday.
Cautiously, I stood, watching the tombstone with prying eyes. Today was February 14th, 2010 - Valentine's Day, four months and twenty-two days away from my death. It always seemed like ages away, but this day, this evil day, now seemed to be getting closer and closer. Each step I took bore a burden so heavy I could feel the breathing slow in my chest and rattle my ribcage. Each monotonous ticking of each monotonous clock roared with jarring anticipation of the worst. I knew my time would come, and I even knew when.
With a quick exhale, I turned and walked away, the soft ground cradling my weary footsteps. I didn't have to die that day, I convinced myself. I could control my fate. No fake tombstone could tell me what day I would die. I controlled my fate. That's what my therapist had told me so many times before. Yet, still, I had no reason to believe that that was not the day I would die.
The days and nights waxed and waned, as they always did, with the restless uncertainty of impending doom clawing its way into my harrowed soul. I developed a severe case of insomnia, unable to sleep for fear of never waking up. I had time, I coaxed to myself. I had time until July.
A loud clock chime in the middle of the night told me I didn't have time.
Eleven o' clock, July 6th. It had already come? This quickly? My thoughts oscillated rapidly and erratically around and around and around: I was going to die in one hour.
In my dilapidated apartment, I paced back and forth, and every creaking floorboard sent anxious tingles through my emaciated body. There was no way to stop time, no way to change what the world had created. My heart beat like the fluttering gasp of a butterfly’s wings, pushing and pulling hot blood through my temples.
Eleven-thirty. Mere minutes separated me from the day of my demise.
Therapy could do nothing for me now. This was reality.
I bit my fingernails into bloody stubs as I stared and stared at that grandfather clock. I watched as it morphed into the tombstone, the roman numerals etched into its stone face, so that each tick and each tock reverberated through the dark, shadowy corners of my mind, begging long-repressed demons forth from their crypts.
I squeezed my eyes shut, clenching my fists as I lay trembling on the ground. There was so much that I hadn't done with my life, so many years wrought with misery and worry.
A knock pounded on the door.
My head snapped to attention. I looked at the clock. Eleven-fifty-eight. No, it was too soon. It was too soon. I had two minutes until my twenty-first birthday.
"Ambrose?" a tender voice called.
I knew that voice from some distant world. The voice was soothing and calm, quietly concerned. I couldn't remember who it belonged to. All I knew now was death.
"Stay away from me!" I shrieked, voice cracking with heightened strain. I stood and staggered backward, away from the door. "Stay away! I want to live!"
"Ambrose, it's Eve! Please open the door!" she cried again, knocking on the door once more. "I don't want you to be alone!"
Eve? I knew the name, too. I knew her. I knew her beauty and her little laugh that told me everything would be alright.
"No!" I screamed. She was obviously a distraction. She was sent here by fate and that epitaph to aid in the end of my life. I would not succumb.
"Ambrose, please. Please open the door. I know you can get through this. You just need to stay calm and wait this out! You're not going to die!"
I ran my fingers through my hair, squeezing my eyes shut and shaking my head, as if it would dispel this demon from my door. "No! No, you stay away from me! I know what you want!"
"Ambrose, I'm not going to hurt you! Please unlock the door!"
"No! No, get away form me!" The words clawed its way from my throat like fiery rebellion, singeing my lips. I looked up at the clock. Eleven-fifty-nine. Oh, God, my time had come. This Eve would steal my one minute away.
"I'm going to get the key from the landlord. Don't move, okay? I'll be right back and everything will be okay!"
"No! No, I want to live!" I took two trembling steps back, but where I had barricaded my window with a few chairs, I tripped and cried out as I fell backward. The window shattered under my weight, and I screamed her name as I soared out of it.
Eve. She was my girlfriend.
I vaguely heard the grandfather clock chime midnight as I plummeted to the unforgiving earth.
20100121
Dark Passenger
at my mother's office
because I drove all the way here
so I didn't have to be alone
because when
I am alone
I tend to
forget things like
homework and food
and little pleasures sometimes
so I try
not to be alone
because it hurts
to be unable to help the people
that matter most
and it hurts
to know that I am hurting them
because I hurt
When every soul cries out in spitting, repugnant disorder
And every living thing in the universe shrivels into forsaken mites and muscles
And every piece of art fragments and recesses into swallowing darkness
And every Big Brother is watching
And every shiver that prickles and swims under your skin raises a zigzag array of goosebumps
And every clock just ticks and tocks and ticks
And everyone knows you're not there
And every rhythm repeats the same resounding, thudding drumbeat
And every drop of rain cascades into crevices that don't exist
And every sneaky businessman walks down the halls with a sneaky little smirk
And every pretty face bares fangs of the darkest silver when your back is turned
And every fiery abandonment lunges its crescent tongues at you
And every chaotic shriek sends shrapnel into your ears
You know insanity.
You know me.
You know everything about me, don't you?
You know every
Detail of my serene face
Subtle nuance of my twisted grin
You know the very
Breadth of my influence
Prowess of my invasive stare
I am your
White knight
Dark passenger
Subservient villain
I am the
Cheese to your macaroni
Syringe to your drug
Lacy edge to your flower
I am the
Fingernail decorated with blue
One that stands out
One that draws your attention
You know that I am
Everything you could ever want
The disease that wrecks and throws your quiet mind
Yes, you know me.
You know me very well.
You know my name.
You know my name is
Depression
Solitude
Misery
Void
