Her white dress was draped over her body in a way that instantly brought Jacob’s heart to a stop. His emotions had hit a wall and her smile and beautiful blue eyes had him begging for release from her otherworldly grip on his psyche.
She approached him, her pale but flawless skin saturated by an aura of sexual tension and earning. She smiled at him, and casually brushed the back of her hand across his face. Jacob could smell the sweet smell of the ocean and an essence of summer wind as her hand glided across his cheek. He could feel his knees growing weak and he found himself completely lost in her eyes.
They burned with a power he had never known.
He wanted her.
He needed her.
He loved her?
Her fingers were now running through his hair, and he could feel the burning passion hiding within him fighting to break free. In his mind she was no longer wearing clothes but rather standing before him, begging him to take her and he wanted nothing more than to make her desire come true.
As if she could read his mind, she took his hand and brought it to her neckline, using his fingers as if they were not his own, but rather a mechanical toy for which she had full control. She used his hands to push the thin strap from her shoulder, and at once, as if by some magical force, her dress fell to the floor. His heart raced faster and faster in his chest the blood was pumping faster than he had ever thought possible.
Her sexual aspects were present, outlined and visible in the pale glow of the candle-lit foyer. Her breasts were displayed, perfect in every way and his burning lust was beginning to overtake him. She slowly worked his fingers downward, gliding them into between her bare chest and back up. He stood, frozen in time, as she slid in closer to him, pushing her naked form against his body.
Jacob was no longer clothed, but standing naked as well. His back was against the door and she was massaging his chest with her tongue, running her nails down his arms in a painful, but sexual way. Jacob could feel his grip on reality and pain slipping behind a wall of content desire. His arousal was more than attentive and she gripped it with strength and determination. He closed his eyes and fell into a dream of passion, letting him be taken control of and releasing the last strand of sanity into this moment.
His eyes traveled to the ceiling, and the dancing candle-light displayed shadows on the ceiling like an old movie screen. His blood was pumping so loud now that his ear drums were throbbing with extreme fortitude. His body was convulsing. Her hands were on his buttocks, gripping them in a greedy and wholesome way. He could hear the sound of her breathing, labored and determined and the sounds of her lips as she gave him exactly what he wanted.
As he braced himself further against the wall, he knew the moment was briefly approaching, roaring through his core like a wave of release. His teeth were gritted and his moans were louder than he realized. His whole body stiffened and as he screamed, he felt his worries drain with his orgasm. His body was like Jell-O; his knees were nearly buckling under his weight and he couldn’t remove his eyes from the ceiling.
His breathing was more labored than ever and as he watched the candle-light above, the shadows took form. They were no longer abstract shapes dancing about, but rather claws and terrifying eyes. As he stared, transfixed on the deadly visages above, something dripped from the rustic plaster, falling directly onto Jacob’s forehead. It was soon followed by more and more droplets, and as he brought his hand up to wipe it clean, he noticed it was a deep and morbid red color.
It was blood.
His eyes instantly traveled down to the ground, hoping the images above would disappear and he noticed she was still there. Her face buried into his thigh, her naked body still shaking under the stress and exertion. He knelt below and lifted her face up to meet his, and as he did so, he stared directly into the face of horror. Her eyes were sunken pools of darkness, with lines of red and yellow slits. Her skin was no longer pale and beautiful, but a decayed mass of skin draped solemnly over a skull. Her mouth was un-moving and the tears in the facial skin shown bright glossy bone beneath. Her face was shapeless, as if no meat were between the skin and bones and her matted hair fell eerily across her left eye.
She moved closer to him and he fought to push away. Her hands were still on his thighs and he could feel her nails pushing deeper and deeper into his skin. He could feel the warmth of blood draining from the wounds and her breath was a horrid mixture of rotten decay and sex. She inched closer, as Jacob struggled to break her grip on his thighs. He noticed her entire body was one similar to the creatures that had chased him, and her blood soaked, matted hair swung like pendulums just inches from his face.
He wanted to scream, but the horror of what he was witnessing was too great. It stole every ounce of courage from his mind and replaced it with child-like fear. He fell, naked to the floor and she was at once on top of him. He struggled as much as he could; now realizing her grip was released as they fell. She was clawing at his chest and laughing a familiar and unworldly cackle. Her mouth dripped with drool that fell onto Jacob like hot wax.
He reached around for something, anything that could help him get away. His hands, fighting blindly to find anything, grabbed hold of a solid cool metal box. His fingers wrapped around it, his grip solid, and he swung it as she brought her mouth up to rip out his throat and with a meaty thunk; he found his target. Her body fell limp to the ground and he slowly inched his way towards the far wall. His legs were like anchors, with little to no strength left in them to do anything more than crawl like a child into the next room.
He fell, rolling to the side as he did so, the splinters of the old wooden floor wrapping him in painful, bloody pricks. He pulled himself onto the soft, dust covered sofa and as he fell into the chair, he noticed she was gone. He knew if she came at him, he could not fight her off. He sat there, still holding onto the metal box he had found by the front door and waited for her to finish him off.
He heard noises from down the hall and a dragging sound coming ever closer. It sounded like a body was being dragged. There were no places to hide, no places to run, and he lacked the strength to do either.
The sound came ever closer, now only a few feet from the opening to the living area. The candle light brought little light into the room and he could see only shadows in the hallway outside. A figure appeared in the doorway, shadowed by the light and it stood staring at him with curiosity.
“Jacob?” Erin’s voice broke through the terror and fear, cutting directly into Jacob’s mind.
“Erin!” Jacob tried to stand but was tackled.
Erin sat on top of him, holding him closely in her arms.
“I thought you were dead!” they both said, in exact timed unison.
They sat there for moments un-ended. Peace slowly started to fill Jacob’s heart once more. Erin finally pulled away and gave him a look of curiosity. He remembered at once he was still naked, covered in his own blood and in obvious pain.
Jacob’s eyes met hers, searching for compassion and caring and as tears ran down his face, he began to tell her about the woman.
Erin listened to every word, obviously hurt by his sexual experiences with this mystery woman, but never once telling him or stating it out loud. Then came the part of her turning into one of the creatures and trying to kill him, and with that she gave him a “serves you right” kind of look. She could see he was ashamed and afraid and that he truly felt that what had happened was not something he had any control over.
His eyes were glazed with an almost drugged kind of appearance. He lingered on each syllable with a hidden apprehension, afraid of her reaction to his crazy story. As he finished the last part, just before he sat down in this chair, he began to wince as she moved onto his legs.
Erin sprang to her feet quickly; forgetting that the story he just told was only a few moments before and as she looked down at the wounds, she watched in unbelievable confusion as they slowly but surely began healing right in front of her eyes.
Jacob met her gaze and looked down, also as perplexed as she. The blood had stopped flowing and the wounds had already closed over, now appearing as nothing more than light pink scars. Erin’s eyes looked slightly afraid, but more curious.
“And how long have you been able to do that?”
Jacob’s eyes met hers once more, “I noticed it the first time when I fell in the lighthouse. I could hear my bones breaking and reassembling and my whole body seemed to go on autopilot. I should have died down there. The sane part of my mind knew it, but I was so caught up with everything else that was happening that I didn’t have time to think back to that moment, until just now.”
Erin sat, deep in thought, mulling over the onslaught of confusing information Jacob had laid on her. She was accustomed to strange men, attracted to them in a weird high school girl manner, but this was probably the weirdest man she had ever met. She looked up and saw he was once again lost in that state of confusion and thought when it suddenly occurred to her that she had one more question.
“Where are your clothes? You didn’t tell me the part where you took them off, though I can venture a guess as to why you did.”
“Actually, I haven’t the slightest clue.” Jacob returned, suddenly aware that he didn’t have a single piece of clothing on. “All I remember is blanking out temporarily and when I came to, I was completely naked. They have to be around here somewhere though.”
The room was a small room, not much bigger than the room they had stayed in at the lighthouse. The dank odor of dust and grime was evident, though the house had held up to the wear of time. Jacob stood up, still embarrassed of being nude, and walked over to the foyer to look around for any signs of the woman. He saw none.
He stepped out and looked around for his clothing, noticing them at last neatly folded on the staircase that lead to the second floor. Although he knew the house was old, the wooden craftsmanship that went into the elegant designs and molding of the entry way was something seldom seen any more. It was a masterpiece. Though dust and cobwebs littered the hallway, he could see the splendor of the room by the light of the candles.
He put on his clothes and walked back into the room, plopping down at last beside Erin on the overstuffed floral sofa. Dust flew up in a cloud, causing them both to start coughing.
“Sorry.” Jacob said, not meeting her eyes once more due to embarrassment.
Erin gave him a curt smile and shook her head.
“You never told me what happened to you.” Jacob said, suddenly remembering her disappearing in the woods.
“I was running, right behind you, when I tripped over something in the darkness. As I fell to the ground, I could hear those things running beside me on all sides so I leaned up against a tree and prepared to die. I kept my eyes closed, not wanting to witness the inevitable end that was soon to come when I heard the last of them run by me. I was too scared to get up and feared that you were dead.
I sat there in the darkness, suddenly aware that I had nearly broken my toes on my right foot when I fell.”
She took off her shoe, which had scratches and a series of large gashes in the thick leather. She removed her sock and her toes were a mass of swollen and bloody appendages. It looked like she had run over her foot with a lawnmower, Jacob thought.
“I limped along in the darkness, too afraid to cry out or scream for you when I came to the clearing in the field outside. I could see the house in the distance, and saw what I thought was a light. I had just made it here, and came through the back door when I found you.”
“Did you see the fire?”
“Yes, it was all around us. What kind of question is that?”
“No, I mean the camp fire. That is where I was headed when I lost you.”
“No, I didn’t see the fire. I must have fallen down before you saw it.”
Jacob stood, brushed the dust off of his clothes and provided a hand to Erin to help her to her feet.
“Well, regardless, I think we should check this place out. I want to see if there is anything we could use as a weapon, or if nothing else, maybe there is some old radio that still works so we can get out of this hell-hole.”
Erin could hear the tone of fear within Jacob’s words. She was afraid too. Nothing made sense and somehow they were both entangled in this web of confusion, horror, and fear of what was to come. She took Jacobs hand and with ease he brought her to her feet. She felt, though temporarily, that feeling of power resonating off of him as he held her hand. The energy was electric and almost raw. It was that feeling similar to getting shocked when one grabs a metal door handle or railing after wearing socks, only less instant.
Jacob led the way, back out into the hallway and front foyer. The staircase wrapped along both sides of the room, leading up onto a balcony above. In between the stairs and directly below the balcony was the hallway that led into the kitchen and in a straight parallel line was the back door. The door appeared to be shut, but as Jacob’s eyes studied it, he could almost see the outline of a face in the glass, though it quickly faded and disappeared.
“I think we should check the upstairs first.” Jacob said, with slight hesitation in his voice.
They each grabbed one of the lit candles off of the stand and walked up the left side of the staircase. Its design was beautiful, with a cherry banister that surrounded and encompassed the twin staircases. Above the foyer was an old fashioned chandelier that was not electric, but rather had pedestals for larger and brighter candles to be set upon them. Some were still there, though they were half burned.
Jacob made a mental note, that if they decided to stay in this house; they would do their best to light them all in order to prevent any of the creatures from outside from getting in or coming near the house.
As they reached the landing above, the balcony led to a narrow hallway, that was lined with doors and old fashioned portraits covered in dust, they noticed more candles were light at the far end, on either side of a large wooden door.
“I don’t think I recall you mentioning which way she went after you hit her.” Erin spoke, softly just inches behind Jacob.
He could tell by the way she was shaking and the closeness of her body that she was more than afraid.
“I didn’t see which way she went. I thought she was coming back after me when I saw you. In truth, I don’t think I heard a door open or close, which means she may still be here. Keep your eyes open and watch our backs. There is a door to the left I think we should try.”
Erin’s eyes followed his arm as he pointed at a smaller door, which led to either a bathroom or a closet as she was guessing, though it was closed from their view. Jacob walked forward, inching his feet along the floorboards as to not make much noise. Although this house was finely crafted, age was still present in everything. The floor squeaked and moaned relentlessly under their weight.
He opened the door, which opened towards them and into the hall and stood staring into the gaping black hole, waiting for some of the dust to clear. The room smelled dank and musty and had obviously sat undisturbed for many years. It reminded Erin of the way her grandmother’s house smelled, when they found out she had Alzheimer’s and had been living alone for 2 years.
As she stood, ever still in the hallway, she saw a rocking chair gliding back and forth in front of her. There was someone sitting in it. A tight grey mass of hair was pulled tightly into a greasy bun on top of this person’s head. Erin felt for Jacob’s hand in the darkness, but he was gone.
She walked forward, inching her feet along towards the person sitting in the chair. There was a piano playing, somewhere. It cast a melancholy aura to the atmosphere. It was suddenly sunny outside, as rays of pure golden light poured into the room through clean white lace curtains and danced across the bright yellow wallpaper that lined the walls on all sides. At an instant the person started humming along to the tune of the piano. It was the voice of her grandmother.
Erin approached the rear of the chair, just two feet from the back before stopping. Her heart was a raging inferno of fear and curiosity. The smell of lavender and wintergreen filled the air and resonated through Erin’s memories of her past. She could almost picture her grandmother, turning towards her to smile and hand her one of her famous white wintergreen mint candies that she so loved.
Her fear subsided at this thought and she tried to form words in her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. It was as if she had forgotten the past few weeks of her life and was once again spending her summers on her grandparent’s farm. The piano drudged on from all around, placating the memory like a movie script. She moved her arm out to reach for the back of the chair, but was suddenly aware of her height and how short her arms were. She was no longer a young woman, but instead a pre-pubescent child once more. Her fear once again returned, finally aware that this was not a memory she was remembering, but rather one she was reliving.
The chair squeaked in an old fashioned groan and began to turn. Erin stepped back and tripped over something lying on the floor. Her grandfather’s legs were twisted behind him, as he lay face down on the center rug. The floorboards, splintered from age, raked at Erin’s palms and made them bleed and shot sharp pains up her arms.
The chair was in view now, as if watching by the side and she could tell already that this was not the memory she had thought it was. It was all coming back to her now. Why she had stopped going to her grandparents farm during the summer and why she was never around on the holidays and to see her off on her voyage with Mark.
The chair came into full view, rocking back and forth slowly before her like a pendulum of horror. Her eyes met the empty and brooding gaze of her grandmother’s, suffocated and sunken. Her body was frail beyond belief and blood soaked the front of her blue floral dress. The smell of wintergreen was replaced by the stale smell of blood. Erin tried to scream out, but something was around her neck preventing any sound from escaping.
Someone’s hand was grasping at her, choking her and pulling her backwards towards a closet that was open. She fought the thing that had her, but it was much stronger than her 10 year old self and she was losing the battle. Before she disappeared into the blackness of the closet, she noticed the piano was still playing and her grandmother’s mouth humming along in a hollowed pitch, her mouth moving ever slightly behind a twisted grin.
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