Promised Land Lane

by Brown, Marcus

  Mark thought his daughter looked like an angel, but there was nothing angelic about the abomination stood before him now. Luke’s black eyes shone and the candlelight flickered off his marble white complexion. The dark purple veins seemed to pulsate under his skin – lips were cracked and covered with welts.

  “Where’s my sister?” Luke asked.

  “She’s upstairs playing with her doll,” Samantha responded. “I don’t know why she gets so much enjoyment out of that old thing.”

  “She still plays with that? I’m pleased she likes my gift.” Luke smiled.

  “It’s the only decent thing you’ve ever done for her,” Mark spat.

  “Father please, you know I have no choice.” Luke’s voice changed pitch – he sounded like a small child.

  “You have every choice, Luke. You can choose to die, as I would rather than harm an innocent child.”

  “Stop it, Mark, he’s our son.”

  “He’s not our son and never will be.”

  “I gave birth to him and you fathered him. He is ours.”

  “You gave birth to a monster.”

  Mark watched as Maisie came slowly down the stairs holding the doll. She sheepishly stood by her father.

  “Hello, Maisie. How are you? I’ve missed you.” Luke approached his sister as she moved and stood behind her father’s leg, hiding herself.

  “He-llo, Luke,” Maisie stammered.

  Mark could feel her trembling behind him.

  “Come and give your brother a cuddle,” their mother said.

  “Daddy, I don’t want to. He scares me.” Maisie hid her face from them.

  Samantha stomped towards her daughter and grabbed hold of her hand. “Stop being silly and give your brother a cuddle. He’s missed you.”

  “Daddy, please. I don’t want to go to him.” Maisie seemed terrified.

  “Samantha, enough,” he said, grabbing his wife’s hand and removing his daughter from her grasp. “You’re scaring her.”

  Samantha stomped away and stood next to Luke.

  “He has to feed, Mark, you know that, and so does she.”

  “Leave her alone. She doesn’t want to go near him. I should never have allowed this madness to begin.”

  “You know she has to do this. It’s the only reason I gave birth to her.”

  “Silence, woman,” Mark roared, his cheeks glowing red with anger.

  “It will be when she is ready. You won’t force her to go through with this if she doesn’t wish to,” Luke said empathetically.

  “But Daddy, won’t he die?” she said peeping out from behind her father, looking at her brother.

  “I should have strangled him at birth and tossed him into the river like the runt he is.”

  “Mark, stop this. He’s our son.” Samantha didn’t want her treasured son to be hurt by his father’s words.

  “He’s your son, and I’m sorry, but I won’t allow this to happen again.”

  “But Father, without my sister’s help, I won’t be able to survive and I don’t want to die.” Luke looked to his father for help. “Please, let me feed and I’ll leave immediately – I promise I won’t take too much.”

  “I don’t care what you want, devil,” Mark hissed at his son.

  Samantha crossed the room again and grabbed hold of Maisie’s arm, pulling her away from her father.

  Mark gripped his wife tightly and removed her grasp from their helpless daughter before pulling Maisie back towards him.

  “Mark, it has to be soon or he’ll die, you know that. He can survive on animal blood, but for one day a year. If you love me, you won’t let that happen to him.”

  “Him!” Mark shouted. “What about our daughter and the pain she suffers every time we allow this to happen?”

  “The way you feel for her is the way I feel for him. You’d sacrifice his life so she doesn’t suffer a little discomfort.”

  “You’re mad. He feeds on her blood.” The more Samantha tried to justify their actions, the angrier Mark appeared to become.

  “He only has to feed once a year so he can survive. You know this. Please, Mark, he must feed from her tonight or he’ll die. If we let that happen, the consequences will be severe. It’s not much to ask, and it’s only a little nick.” she said flippantly, walking back towards Luke. “She’ll be back to normal in a few days, and I swear, I’ll be better to her, a better mother.” Samantha stood next to the table and arranged the dinner plates.

  “It’s too much to ask of a little girl, and I won’t allow it anymore.”

  “Then you leave me with no choice,” Samantha warned.

  “You will not do this, Samantha. I won’t allow it – not anymore. I’ll call the constable and tell him what’s been going on in this house… I will, if it protects my daughter.”

  “I won’t allow our son to die,” Samantha said as she picked up a plate and swung it, cracking it against the side of Mark’s head.

  Mark staggered for a few seconds before falling onto the floor. Maisie screamed and knelt beside her father as blood trickled out of a small cut on the side of his head.

  “You’ve hurt Daddy,” Maisie cried.

  “Shut up, you silly girl, and come here.”

  Mark was lying on the floor. The pain from the side of his head was immense and he couldn’t move. He could hear the panic rising in Samantha’s voice. Time was running out for Luke to feed. He watched as Luke staggered forwards, using the table to steady himself, but knew he was weakening. He needed to feed – it had been too long since he had blood.

  “No, Mummy, I have to look after Daddy.”

  “If I tell you to do something, you’ll do it, girl,” Samantha said as she grabbed hold of Maisie’s hair, making her shriek. “Luke, you must help me,” Samantha instructed. “I can’t handle her on my own.”

  “Mother, I don’t want this,” he said feebly. “She has to give it freely. I won’t take it from her.”

  “You must take it, my child. She will no longer give it willingly.” Mark knew Samantha was terrified of losing her beloved son.

  Backing away, Luke said, “I don’t want to, Mother. I won’t do it.”

  “You’ll do as I tell you, Luke,” she ordered. “All of this has been to keep you safe, now, grab that chair whilst I hold her. Hurry,” Samantha said with a flick of her hand as the fire in the hearth suddenly burst into life.

  Luke pulled one of the chairs from under the table and took it to his mother.

  Samantha pushed Maisie into the chair and held her down as she continued to struggle. She dug her fingernails into the little girl’s arms, causing her to cry out.

  “Now go into the garden and get the rope from the side of the doll house. We need to make sure she doesn’t get away.”

  Mark saw their eyes meet from his position on the floor. He felt helpless, unable to move.

  Luke rushed outside while Samantha held Maisie in the chair, he returned carrying the rope, but hesitated.

  “Luke. If you don’t feed now, you’ll die. I know you don’t want to do it, but the consequences would be unthinkable.”

  “What consequences, Mother?”

  “I sold my soul to have a child and swore to our Lord I would keep you strong, ready for the day you would rule this earth.”

  “But I don’t want any of this. I don’t want to hurt my sister.”

  “If you die, Moloch will claim my soul and I will burn for eternity.”

  “There must be another way.”

  “I made the pact. There is no other way, believe me, my child.”

  Luke hesitated, then wrapped the rope around his sister.

  Maisie started to scream.

  Luke covered his ears.

  Samantha struck Maisie hard across the face before picking up a cloth and pushing it inside the little girl’s mouth. There was a small gash on the side of Maisie’s face.

  Mark watched on, helpless as the trickling blood seemed to excite her brother. He knew he needed to help his daughter
as the rage built up inside him.

  Samantha caught the look on Luke’s face and smiled.

  Maisie’s eyes opened wide as panic set in. She was struggling to breathe through her nose and managed to spit the cloth out onto the floor.

  “You have to do it now, Luke. Your father will do everything he can to stop you, if he gets up.”

  Luke approached his sister and as he did, his jaw distended, contorting his face. Maisie began to scream again as his eyes rolled, changing from black to white and the purple veins, now even more visible under his skin, had turned black and began to pulsate and protrude. He licked at his welt covered lips, hunger taking over his senses. He pulled his lips back, revealing his rotted teeth.

  Maisie continued to scream so Samantha picked the cloth up from the floor and jammed it back into her mouth.

  Mark could hear Maisie gagging as the cloth hit the back of her throat.

  “Please, Maisie, it will be quick. I promise you,” Luke’s voice sounded inhuman.

  “Now, Luke, you must hurry,” Samantha ordered.

  Mark watched in horror as Samantha sliced into the side of the little girl’s throat. He couldn’t believe his eyes when his wife smiled at the sight of the flowing blood.

  The flames from the fire shot up high and illuminated the room.

  Samantha stood with her hands clasped together as Luke approached his sister. His face once again contorted out of shape as he grabbed a fistful of Maisie’s hair. He tilted her head back.

  Maisie spat the cloth out of her mouth once again and screamed in agony as Luke clamped his hideously shaped mouth to her throat and tore at her skin with his jagged and rotten teeth.

  “Daddy, please help me,” Maisie screamed and thrashed wildly in her chair, trying to get away. Samantha looked on and smiled at the scene unfolding before her.

  Mark felt an intense burst of energy and dragged himself to his feet. He threw himself towards Samantha and launched her backwards, sending her crashing into the stove where she collapsed into a heap on the floor.

  Mark turned to see Maisie struggling as Luke bit into her neck. His jaw cracked and dislocated, making a sickening noise. Maisie tried to push him away with her feet and Mark saw Luke’s mouth widen beyond imagination. He had three rows of uneven jagged and rotted teeth.

  “Get off her, you monster,” Mark screamed. Luke snarled as he lifted his head once again, blood oozing from his chin.

  His father towered menacingly over Luke, forcing him to move away. He turned around as Mark grabbed hold of the spade that was leaning against the kitchen door.

  Luke’s eyes widened in obvious terror, as his father swung the spade at him.

  Mark chopped his head off in one fell swoop.

  He looked down as his son’s head rolled along the floor.

  Maisie let out an ear-splitting scream.

  Chapter 45

  Sandra gasped and Mark was forced from his reverie once again.

  He shrugged and nodded, before closing his eyes and continuing.

  Samantha groaned and forced herself to her feet. With her hands clamped to her mouth, she stared in disbelief at the child she loved lying dead before her.

  “What have you done? What have you done?” Samantha’s screams echoed around the room as she cried the words over and over again. Dropping to her knees, she picked up and cradled the decapitated head of her beloved son, kissing it.

  Mark dropped the spade to the floor. “I did what I should have done as soon as he was born.”

  “He was our child,” Samantha shrieked, her face filled with hatred.

  “He was an abomination.” Mark turned to tend to his wounded daughter.

  Samantha placed the head of her child on the floor beside the body. Then, picking up a copper pan from the stove, she ran at her husband.

  “Daddy, look out!” Maisie said weakly.

  Mark tried to dodge the blow, but she caught him on the side of the head and he fell to the floor once again. Samantha watched, ready to strike again, as he tried and failed to stand. She knew he was disorientated and gave him an evil grin, turning her attentions to her daughter who was still bound to the chair.

  “He did all this to protect you,” Samantha spat. “And he took away the one thing I loved the most, and now I will show him what grief truly feels like.”

  The second blow to his head had left him motionless, but he was able to see his wife and daughter from the corner of his eye. “Leave her alone, woman. I’m warning you.”

  Maisie closed her eyes.

  Samantha sneered at him, then turned back to their daughter, bending down to whisper in her ear. “Open your eyes, Maisie. I have a gift for you.”

  Maisie did as she was told, then gasped when she realized her mother was standing over her holding a carving knife.

  Mark shook his head, suddenly speechless as he realized he wouldn’t be able to help his precious child.

  Samantha began to chant quietly, repeating the same line over and over. She knew Maisie wouldn’t understand the lost Aramaic language.

  “Mummy, I’m scared.”

  Samantha stopped chanting and looked at the daughter with immense hatred in her eyes. “This will hurt, but don’t worry. It won’t be for long, and then he’ll hate you, just as he hated his son.”

  “I’m scared, Mummy. Please don’t hurt me.”

  Samantha grabbed a fistful of Maisie’s hair to hold her head still and jammed the knife underneath her left eye.

  Maisie shrieked and thrashed wildly as Samantha pulled the knife out, leaving a gaping wound. The blood ran down Maisie’s cheek as Samantha stabbed her daughter again, just above her left eye lid. Blood poured down Maisie’s face as Samantha pulled the eye from her daughter’s head. She severed the muscle with the knife. Samantha laughed as she looked at the bloody cavity and dropped the eye into Maisie’s lap.

  A silent scream left Mark frozen to the spot, unable to comprehend what his wife was doing to their baby girl. He watched his wife standing over their daughter giggling.

  Maisie began to struggle more. Her screams of terror becoming louder. The blood ran down her cheek and into her mouth, making her choke. Spitting the metallic tasting blood out she continued to scream and thrash about in the chair, trying to get loose.

  “No, Mummy, please no, it hurts,” Maisie begged through sobs. “I’ll do as I’m told, but please don’t hurt me anymore.”

  “Not long now.” Samantha bent and whispered in their daughter’s ear. She wiped a drop of blood from Maisie’s cheek with her finger and then made a play of licking it off. Then she smiled, looking pleased with the taste of Maisie’s blood. Samantha grabbed hold of her daughter’s hair again. She jammed the knife above Maisie’s remaining eye lid as the helpless child shrieked in pain. Removing the knife from the socket and quickly stabbing it back underneath. Maisie’s second eye popped out as Samantha squealed with delight, before she again, cruelly severed the muscles. Then she dropped the knife and picked up the other eye from Maisie’s lap and threw them both onto the kitchen table.

  Maisie sat in the chair with blood oozing from the cavities that her eyes once occupied. The screaming had stopped and was now replaced by an eerie silence.

  Mark wanted to climb to his feet, but felt dizzy and tried to focus his vision. His head was pounding and he found it hard to balance. He struggled and fell flat on his face.

  After a few minutes, he managed to stand up and focus, but what he was seeing couldn’t be real. He was surely seeing things.

  Samantha smiled wickedly at him as she stood next to their daughter who was still tied to the chair. Blood covered Maisie’s face and he couldn’t tell if she was breathing.

  “An eye for an eye your Bible says. Well, I gave you two.” Samantha spat as she pointed to the table where two grotesque eyes stared back at him.

  “How could you?” Mark screamed in disbelief as grief overwhelmed him.

  “I took away the thing you loved most in this world, just as you
did to me.”

  He was too scared to approach his daughter, but he knew she was dead.

  “You murdered your own daughter in revenge for me taking that monster’s life.”

  “Taking her life would have been so easy, dear husband, but I’ve given you so much more.”

  “What have you done?” Mark screamed.

  “You’ll get your daughter back, but not as the snivelling little bitch she was. By this time tomorrow, Maisie will be reborn -- more evil than this world has ever known.” Samantha laughed maniacally. “Don’t you realise what you’ve done by sacrificing your son? How many innocent people do you think will suffer at her hands? Your perfect child will rule the world. She will devour the flesh of humans and take life without mercy - will you still love her then?”

  Mark stood shaking, unable to take his eyes off his little girl. She sat in the chair like a life-sized doll, her dress splattered with dark red blood.

  ”May God forgive you for what you’ve done,” he cried.

  “Your God is of no interest to me. I will get my rewards in hell,” she said, as her voice wavered.

  Mark picked up the garden spade again and swung it ferociously at his wife as the flames roared in the fireplace. “If that’s how you feel, then take your rewards now.”

  She closed her eyes as the spade struck her neck. The first blow practically took her head off in one go, just like it did to her monstrous son. But a few straggling pieces of skin needed to be severed before her head came clean off. Samantha’s body slumped to the floor and her head rolled towards Luke’s. Her eyes had opened at the moment of her death and were now eerily fixed upon the eyes of her son.

  Dropping the spade onto the floor, Mark walked towards his daughter’s body and stood over her for a few minutes willing her to breathe. A sob escaped his throat as he bent down and began to untie the ropes that bound her. As he did, she fell into his arms.

  His heart broke as he held onto Maisie. He knelt, sobbing and clutching the body of his beloved child to his chest. Holding her tightly, he struggled to his feet and carried her into the living room. He lay her on the sofa and began to remove her blood-soaked clothing. He found a blanket on the back of a chair and covered her tiny body. Returning to the kitchen, he picked up a bucket from the corner of the room and made his way out of the backdoor towards the well.