by L. A. Tafe
She threw the keys at me then took off running, having her mom pick her up a few blocks away. She went on to tell me how I probably should not show up at her house anytime soon because of her dad. Things just keep getting better and better for me.
It’s an hour after noon by the time we reach the library and its not nearly as full as it is during the school year, but there’s still at least one person per every row of books, most people on the public computers or sitting down reading at a table.
“Come on, babe,” Amy says while she pulls gently on my hand, leading us to the woman at the front desk. “Hi!” Amy says smiling from ear to ear, bubbly as ever, “We are doing a term paper on like hallucinations and like nightmares. Can you point us in the right direction, please?” “Sure.” The old frail woman steps out from behind the desk and motions for us to follow her. “Thank you so much.” Amy says then looks back at me to mouthing, “B-I-T-C-H.” I’d have laughed only a few days ago. Now I'm not so sure I remember how to laugh. I just give her a small smile and follow.
The old woman leads us past row after row of books, taking us deeper and deeper into this massive library, a benefit of living in a wealthy community, a huge over the top library that turns away hobos and puts security cameras on the inside and outside of the building. Tax dollars at work.
I stare down each passing row, most of them empty with an occasional person that has a post it note in their hand, looking around madly for the book they can’t find.
We pass another isle and I take a look. I See a girl, cant be older than fifteen or so. Dirty blonde hair pulled up in pigtails. I take a second look when I notice her clothes. The girl is in a lavender corset that hugs her body like a glove, coming up to her chest then going out to her arms with sleeves that fit just as tight. Below the corset is a ruffled black skirt that is partially in tatters with stains all over it. Hot girl, weird outfit.
She leans over and pulls a book from one of the shelves, not bending her knees at all, keeping her ass in the air and her chest stuck out. I stop staring and look ahead, following Amy and the old woman.
I look down the next row and I see the same girl, now facing me, eyes closed. I stop abruptly and Amy loses her grip on my hand without noticing.
The girl in the isle lifts her hand and waves at me like a small child, shaking it back and forth playfully. I blink, not quite believing what I'm seeing. She’s still there when I open them. Who is she? She smiles at me. Her teeth perfectly white, her eyes are still closed.
As unsettled as I am, I still find myself thinking how gorgeous this girl is. I begin to smile back when I notice all of her perfect teeth come down to sharp points. Awh fuck.
The girl’s eyes shoot open, revealing gray, lifeless, spheres. No pupil or iris, just milky gray globes that seem to pierce right through me. Her teeth are no longer white but stained red and dripping blood. The girl waves at me again and bats her dead eyes at me, running her long pointed tongue along her stained teeth.
Someone grabs my arm and I jump out of my skin, taking my eyes off the girl and seeing Amy. “Wow.” Amy says, just as startled as I am. “What’s wrong?”
I look back down the row, seeing nothing but books on both sides. No dead eyed girl.
“Lance.” Amy says, moving so she can see into my eyes. “Are you okay?” Amy asks concerned. “I— I saw someth—“ I stutter, getting cut off by the old woman. “Are you two coming?”
Amy stares at me for a moment, blowing off the bitchy old woman. “I’m okay.” I mumble just loud enough for Amy to hear. She looks at me for a moment longer then nods and turns back to the old woman, giving her a smile that said, “Right behind ya . . . bitch.” I take one last look down the row and follow Amy, wondering what is haunting me around the next corner.
The old woman stops at a certain row of books towards the back of the library. “You should find what you are looking for down this isle.” The old librarian says, making a hand gesture to the row of books behind her, then walking back the way we came without a word. “She was just bursting with enthusiasm,” Amy laughs, waiting for me to do the same. When I don’t she gives me a quizzical look and pulls a few books out, skimming through them then putting them back.
I just watch while leaning against the opposite isle, still thinking about the girl I saw in the other isle. She looked familiar. But who could she have been? Glimpses of a hospital room flash through my head, a young child’s screams ring in my ears.
“What are you thinking about?” Amy asks, waking me from my thoughts. “I’m really worried about you.,” she adds, looking at me pleadingly, wanting me to tell her what I saw in that empty isle. I walk over too her, putting an arm around her and giving her a quick peck on the lips, “I’m just tired. Haven’t had the best few nights of sleep, obviously.” I tell her, hoping it will satisfy her. She looks at me for a moment, wondering whether or not she should just let it go. She does. “Okay. Well why don’t you go find a table and ill come get you if I find anything.” I manage a meek smile, “okay.” She gives me a quick kiss then I turn and walk back the way we came, trying desperately to remember that girl.
My mind races with that girl. How she looked at me with those eyes, I have seen those eyes before. Some obnoxious laughter breaks me from my racing thoughts, followed by quite then another round of laughter. Teenagers.
I follow the voices to some round tables with fold up chairs surrounding them. I sit at one of the empty tables, putting my face down on the cold hard plastic tabletop with my hands shielding my eyes from the overhead light. I was right about the teenagers. Laughing and joking, carrying on while everyone else in the library grumbles quietly to themselves, including myself.
I lift my head from my hands and notice all the people around me, scattered about in leather reading chairs and the other tables. Even though I didn’t know any of them, I was happy not to be alone. I rub my forehead gently with my fingertips, trying to massage away my ceaseless headache, feeling the gash on my forehead that I had forgotten about till now. I run my fingers over the stitching, each time a sharp twinge of pain follows. I feel something wet and bring my hand down to look, some fresh blood coats the tips of my fingers. Just great.
“That looks pretty bad.” Says a deep voice. Do I know that voice? “Yeah it’s pretty bad.” I tell him, not looking up at the guy. The man laughs in response, a deep rumble closer to the sound of an earthquake than a laugh. “Yeah. Kind of funny I guess.” I tell him, not sure what else to say. I wish he would just fuck off.
“I’m gonna cut you a lot deeper than He did.” The guy says evenly. What did he just say? “You gonna scream like you once did.”
Who the hell is this guy? I stare at my hands still not sure what I just heard. “It’s so nice to see you again, boy.” Again?
“Who the fuck—“ I look up and see his face, instantly remembering him. Chester.
Standing at the opposite end of the table, Chester is leering at me with his blood shot green eyes, His patches of red hair standing up in every mangled direction. White paint covers his face, surrounding a red painted on frown.
“I'm going to rip the flesh from your bones,” his voice is low and calm, growing louder with each vile filled word, “ground your bones with my teeth, I’ll bath in your blood.” Chester stands and slams his giant fists against the table, rattling the ground beneath me. The man’s bloodshot eyes seem to tear into my own, unsettling me more than anything he’s just said.
“I’m gonna kill you, boy. It’s as simple as that.” Chester says as if stating a fact. Then he disappears. Fading into nothing
just like the girl did. No. Not a girl. Jezebeth. But how? They were the first to die after Oliver saved me; he told me he hunted them down. Told me they would never bother me again.
I blink. Then again. Trying to take in what the fuck just happened, breathing heavily and sweating. I stare for a moment where Chester was, expecting him to appear again out of nowhere. Why now? Why them?
“Ya done screa
ming yet?” Someone says not far away. I look towards where the voice came from and find the table of kids all around my age, all of them staring at me like a circus freak.
“Fucking freak.” One of the guys says, yelling out mockingly just like I must have. The whole table erupts with laughter, all of them pretending to yell between their laughs. I shoot the table a glare then turn away, walking away swiftly. “Reeeeeeeject.” I hear from behind me, another fit of laughter ensues.
I following signs to the bathroom and barge through the door when I find it, going to one of the sinks, turning the water on, splashing it over my face with my hands.
Why them? Why does it have to fucking be them? I douse my face with more water, waiting for my nerves to settle. They don’t. I look up at the mirror and jump as I see my reflection. An unfamiliar face that I know is my own but can’t seem to grasp that it is. I run my hand over what used to be my hair, feeling spiky stubble along my scalp. I am a reject. Crazy and all.
I shake my head, trying to rid myself of the thought. I'm not crazy. I’m not. I close my eyes for a moment and faintly hear a girls laugh. Those teenage fucks are still laughing. I take one more glance at myself in the mirror before leaving the bathroom to go searching for Amy. I just want to get out of here.
In the mirror my brown hair is back, the piercings are gone, and the large sown up gash is also gone. It all looks to normal for me to think anything of it.
I walk to the back of the library where I last saw Amy, but she isn’t there. I double back and check the surrounding aisles but still no sign of her. “Amy?” I call out a little louder than a whisper, wouldn’t want to piss off the old bitchy librarian. Listening silently for a moment waiting for a response. But I get nothing. Damn it Amy. I shouldn’t be mad at her but I just want to leave.
“Amy!” I call out, not bothering to be quite anymore. The old woman can go ahead and throw me out at this point. I don’t care. I walk down row after row calling for Amy, winding my way back to all the tables and chairs. “Where the hell is she?” I mumble to myself, taking a look around. Only the old librarian is here now, I am thankful the table with the teenagers is empty; I don’t need anyone reminding me I look like a freak. The old woman has a cart with her, filling it with books people have left on the tables and lounge chairs.
I take a glance at where I saw Chester, a shiver of fear crawls up my spine and I tear my eyes away. Turning them to the librarian, maybe she knows where Amy is.
“Excuse me, ma’am?” I say, my voice kind of shaky still. The librarian continues what she is doing, not acknowledging me at all.
“Ma’am?” I say, little louder this time. “Have you seen the girl I was with?” Still no response, she just continues loading up the book cart. I take a few steps towards her, now on the other side of the table from her.
“Ma’am?” I say again, now wondering if there might be something wrong with her. “That little blonde twat?” The old woman spats, her voice no longer frail at all, now more like a little girl’s.
“Huh?” I blurt, mouth wide open, not believing what the woman just said.
“No, I have not seen the bubbly little bitch you were with.” The old woman says, each word spews from her mouth like venom. Anger begins to rise inside me, I’m not going to let her say shit like that about Amy “What the hell is your problem, lady?”
The old woman walks away without any reply, looking back at me for only a moment, a small grin on her face and lifeless gray eyes that are not her own. I follow but her eyes stop me in my tracks, allowing her to disappear behind a row of books.
When I finally work up the nerve to go to the row and look down the aisle she is gone, nothing but books upon books on both sides of me. What the hell is going on? I ask myself; the thought doesn’t get a chance to register because I hear someone walking up behind me.
I spin around with a start, instantly calming down at the sight of Amy casually walking from the other side of the tables. With the sight of her I forget all about the crazy librarian and just want to get Amy and leave.
“Hey babe.” I say, happy to see her. “Hey hot stuff.” She says with a sexy little grin, coming over to me and pushing her lips against mine while sliding her hands up my chest. “Uh, Amy?” I mumble through hard her hard kisses. Amy backs up, gently leading me with her till we bump up against a table. Without a look back, Amy reaches behind her and pulls out a chair, spinning me around, making me fall into the chair. Are you ready to go?” I ask her, wondering what has gotten into her. But she doesn’t respond, just spreads her legs and straddles me, kissing me hard once again.
“Amy?” I try to mumble, hardly able to get the word out with Amy’s tongue swirling around my mouth. I gently try to push her off me but it doesn’t work, her tongue continues to forcefully wrestle with my own, enticing me to wrestle back until finally I do. For a moment I give in, closing my eyes and kissing her back, taking in the taste of her tongue and her hot breaths colliding between our faces. A distant thought flashes through my head, a normal thought for most people but an all to real thought for me. I must be dreaming. And that’s when it clicks. I am dreaming.
I open my eyes in a panic, seizing the imposter Amy by the arms and pushing her mouth from mine. Her eyes pop open, revealing Jezebeth’s gray lifeless eyes staring right into my own, her blonde hair up in pigtails, looking nothing like Amy any longer.
She grabs my crotch with her talons and begins to squeeze, causing my eyes to instantly water in electrifying pain. Her touch is unforgettable, just like it was all those dreams ago, when I was just a small boy strapped to a hospital bed. Within her piercing grasp my once crippling terror subsides; it’s time I get back at her. I’m ready for her this time.
I destroy the chair beneath me with a thought, disintegrating it to nothing in an instant, causing us to crash to the floor. I grab Jezebeth by the arms and we roll beneath the table in a struggle, her hands swinging for my face trying to gouge me. After a moment of struggle I pin her arms to the ground, straddling her as she bucks and writhes beneath me. I raise back a fist and bring it down right between her eyes, letting my anger take hold and hitting her again.
She snarls in response, wiggling a claw free, slashing at my chest and face viciously. Before I can pin her arms down again, an axe slashes into the table above my head, cutting into my ear and nearly taking it clean off as the blade cuts right through the table, splitting it in half.
The pain in my ear is intense, blood freely flowing down from the wound, thoroughly coating my shoulder in blood before I can sow up the wound with a thought.
The table separates from where the blade hit and reveals the axe wielder, his massive belly is the only thing I see before I am grabbed by the back of my shirt and hoisted into the air. Chester brings my face to his own, hit teeth barred in a snarl, looking ready to rip me to shreds just like he said he would.
“Remember us now, boy?” The fat clown yells at me before tossing me away with ease. I crash to the ground a few feet away and scramble to my feet to face them. Both of them chuckle as I sneer at them.
They look just as horrible as I remember. That night scared me for the rest of my life, I thought if I ever saw them again I would be to frightened to move. But fear is not what I feel. It’s anger. Rage. Hatred. I want to kill them. I want my revenge.
Jezebeth snickers, running one of her fingers along Chester’s axe. “Not such a little boy now are ya? No. You’re a big man now. But that little screaming child is in there somewhere, we will find that small boy by the time Lancifer is back to do what he wants with you.” Jezebeth’s words sting like a babies shrill cries sting. Each word is dwelled upon and drug out as if she is savoring the moment.
“Come to me, child. And I promise it won’t be so bad.” Jezebeth says, licking her lips seductively, moving towards me slowly. “The least I can do is give you a good time before Lancifer kills you.”
She keeps getting closer, looking at me like a piece of meat with her dead eyes. My rage
boils over and she must see it in my eyes, but she has no chance of escape, she’s too close. I rush her, grabbing her by the neck, digging in with my fingers while she chokes and thrashes at me. At the sight of her pain a smile creeps across my face, delighted in the fear her dead eyes are showing.
Chester barrels into me from behind, knocking me to the ground hard. He grabs me in his massive hands and throws me on one of the tabletops, grabbing me by the neck with the blade of his axe pressing into my throat, cutting into me enough to draw blood. “Try something, boy. I’ll make sure Lancifer never has to decide your fate,” Chester says, so close I can feel his hot breath on my face, nothing but hate in his eyes. Jezebeth kisses his cheek and looks upon me, her eyes puffy with wet tears on her cheeks.
“Why do you hate me, dear boy?” Jezebeth asks, squeezing my cheeks with her talons. “No matter. Without your guardian you are helpless, pathetic.” I think of Oliver for the first time since the bathroom. Where is He?
Jezebeth moves her face just above my own, her eyes peering into my own, looking into her eyes is like staring into oblivion. I lurch forward, not sure of what Jezebeth is planning. Chester’s axe cuts into me and his fist tightens around my neck, driving my breath right out of me.
I relax, defeated. I know they have me.
Jezebeth giggles at my attempt to struggle and continues to stare into my eyes. In that instant, Jezebeth’s dead eyes come to life, showing me from Jezebeth’s eyes how Oliver killed them.
Oliver standing over Chester with Chester’s axe held high above his head. Bring it down, burying the blade in Chester’s skull, flames flowing from Oliver’s fingers, going down the handle to the blade, engulfing Chester’s body, burning him to ash in seconds.
