Skeleton Tree

Skeleton Tree

     Why didn’t we cut down that old dead tree, you ask? Well, let me tell you.

*

     It all started with my Great Grandfather Ellsworth Evans back in 1990 when I was 10. He was 110 years old when he died of a heart attack in his sleep. Mom told me he never felt a thing, but when I found him in the morning, he had a horrible expression on his face. I will never forget those eyes. They still haunt me and speak to me at night, even now. He been sick for a long time. Mom was so sick of looking after him all the time. She complained on never getting sleep and was tired of, “Cleaning his dirty ass.” When he passed, she couldn’t have a bigger smile on her face. Even at the wake, she would walk around with a grin of that cat from that one story. It was unsettling to say the least. I know now why she had that big grin, but I didn’t at that time. That tree died that very night great grandpa E did. But it was part of him and I didn’t want to see that tree cut down and my mom wouldn’t go anywhere near it… She feared that tree.

*

     Ellsworth was born 1880. He lived a very protected and sheltered life. When he was ten, Ellsworth was given a shovel and a tree sapling to plant for fun. It took E a few days to dig the hole and plant his pride and joy. He enjoyed every second of pain he felt to plant this life he can look after for the rest of his. This tree was his control. The only control he had at this point in his life. He spent his life quiet and proper so his mother wouldn’t punish him. His father was loving and wanted to build him up, but she thought that would make him weak. His whole life he tried to live up to her image of him, but he couldn’t please her. Ever. She died shortly after his father did. His father died in his sleep from a heart attack and his mother by suicide.

     Ellsworth married the love of his life and only had one daughter. He raised her and took care of this home as well as he could. There wasn’t a lot around, but enough to maintain happiness. Life was good. Life was good for a long time for them, until his wife died of tuberculosis in 1910. His daughter didn’t understand and grew up bitter at E. She died while giving birth to twins in 1945, a son and a daughter (my mom). Ellsworth tried his best to take care of his grand kids but they had the same bitterness towards him their mom had. My uncle died in a crash racing to the hospital for E’s first heart attack. My mom never looked at him the same again and blamed E for his death. But Ellsworth loved her with all his heart. He tried to understand and be what she needed him to be, but she wasn’t having it.

     My mom had me when she was 35 in 1980. Great Grandpa Ellsworth LOVED me so much. I loved him back. I seemed to be the only girl in the family’s history to. He would sing to me while we rocked in his chair. He would sit at the little table with me and play tea party while wearing a nail polish (which I painted) on his fingers. I always fell asleep in his room while we watched TV and ate snacks. Of course my mom would come get me out the room without waking me, because I would cry and hold on to the sheet and doorway. I wanted to spend every minute with E. I knew his time was almost out, but his spirit and heart were too strong to give into time. He was all I had. My dad never came back the night I was born. He couldn’t stand being around mom. Great grandpa Ellsworth was happy to fill in the role. He started to get sick when I was five. Bad cough and hips wouldn’t support him anymore. My mom had to stay home more and do business from the house. She would lose clients because she would have to tend to him. He would be yelling in pain in the back room and asking for water. By this time he couldn’t have that much water because it wasn’t good for his lungs. She would bitch and bitch about cleaning after him and giving him a bath. She wouldn’t feed him or give him water to minimize his messes. I would spend every day after school talking and playing with E. I would go outside and play on the tree he planted when he was a little boy, he would watch me from the window with a big smile on his face. He would tell me how much I reminded him of his wife. How pretty I was and how my smiled touched a part of his soul only she visited. He made me feel special. I was a little girl, but I knew how important he was to me. People like him don’t come around too often and I was happy and very proud to have him as my great grandfather. My mom thought otherwise of him. Called him weak and an asshole behind his back.

     When I was 9, he had chest pains when we were playing go fish and he couldn’t talk. He just sat there with closed eyes and both hands on his chest. I ran and screamed for mom to do something.

     “Mom! Great grandpa E is hurt!” I screamed.

     “He is always hurt, Bella. He’s fucking 109 years old. Maybe he’ll go tonight.” Mom said bitterly.

     “Stop that! Do something!” I begged and begged. She just sat there going through her work papers, so I ran and called 911. Mother was not happy to see the ambulance and fire trucks outside.

     “What the fuck are these people doing here?! BELLA!! What did you do, you little shit!” Mom yelled at me from the kitchen.

     They took E to the hospital and he stayed there for a few weeks. When he came back home, mom was pissed. She wanted him to die in that hospital, and now she had medical bills piling up. She never spoke to him again. She would just clean him and wash him and leave him be. I made sure he ate and got the water he needed. By this time, it was okay for him to have water and non-sweetened tea, but sometimes, I would give him the sweet stuff that he likes. He would still smile and laugh with me. Tell me how he met his wife. He loved talking about her. She died and he knew he wouldn’t find anyone as special as her, so he didn’t look. He stayed in love with her until the day he died. He used to fish at the lake every day after work. He said he rarely caught anything, but enjoyed the sun kissing his skin. One day while he was fishing from the dock he noticed a pretty blonde girl walking the path by the lake. She would steal glances at him and smile. He would return smiles as often as she gave them. He looked back to see if she was still around and fell into the lake. He wasn’t the strongest swimmer, so he was thrashing around, reaching for the dock, when a soft, little hand grabbed his and guided his hand to the wood. Pulling as hard as she could, he got back onto the dock.

     “Why fish from the dock if you can’t swim, mister?”  Anna said smiling.

     “I know how to swim, Miss. I was enjoying the water” He said laughing.

     They talked for the rest of the evening and met at the lake every day for a week. She was the first to take a kiss and they were in love ever since.

     I woke up and the house felt empty. I ran into his room and they had E on a stretcher, taking him outside. With tears filling my eyes I asked, “What happened?”

     “He died in his sleep. His heart wasn’t strong enough.” Mom said.

     “Yes, it was! He has the strongest of hearts, mom!” I yelled.

     “You stop that now! He is gone and there is nothing anybody can do. Now we can move on and live a normal fucking life.”

     I ran outside just out of time to tell him goodbye. The ambulance was already down the road. I wasn’t fast enough to catch up. By the time I got back to the yard, Ellsworth’s tree started to lose its leaves. By that night it was dead like it’s been dead for years. My mom would never go by that tree ever since. For ten years, she would cut the grass and leave the grass by the tree alone. I would have to go do it.

     I lived missing him and his lightness he had about him, and his endless love as well. I found a man that almost matches the love Great Grandpa E had. I’m lucky to have him, and we were helping mom out by this point. We were in the kitchen when my mom blurted out.

      “One of these days, I’ll have the money to pay someone to cut that fucking tree down. It gives me the creeps.” Mom said to me one day while looking at it through the kitchen window.

     “We are not cutting down Ellsworth’s tree. He planted that when he was 10. Did you know that, or don’t you care to?” I asked.

     “I don’t care if the pope planted that Skeleton Tree, I want it gone, and soon. I have nightmares about that tree. Things I can’t even say out loud. For ten years I avoided that tree and it’s me or it.”

     Spring of 2010 I went outside to get the trash cans from the street and noticed my mom swinging from the very top of the tree with both her wrists cut. Blood was dripping down onto the base of the tree and it was starting to bloom.

     No one knows how she got up there, hung herself and cut her own wrists. Never got solved either. They just marked it up as suicide. That year the Skeleton Tree bloomed for the first time since 1990 but never bloomed again. I think Ellsworth finally moved on.

     I could never tell my family this, but, I had nightmares since E died that my mom smothered him in his sleep with a pillow. That’s why he had horror on his face when I found him. His own daughter killed him. He lived for love and died by love. I did get to say bye to him the last day the tree was in bloom. I was sitting under it thinking of him and I heard him whisper, “Goodbye, my love.” In my ear. I told him bye and that I loved him, as well and cried under the tree for some time.

     So we leave this house to you, new owner. And I hope you keep that Skeleton Tree where it belongs. It’s just a ghost of a tree planted by a lovely man. I would like to come back and visit it, since it has been such a big part of my life. See you soon.

Sincerely,

Bella Evans

     

T

T

     “Fuck, I can’t think.” Sean said.

     “What do we do now?” His little sister asked.

     “I don’t know. I never killed our father before, this is new to me.”

     “Well, I got the hammer for you and I’m covered in blood.” Trish said.

     “Fuck! I didn’t know any blood got on you. You can’t have blood on you when they come. They’ll know you helped. I did this to free you, not put you away with me, Trish.” Sean said.

     “I wish you wouldn’t say that bad word.” She said.

     “I know, I’m sorry. Listen, take your clothes off in the back yard and throw them in the fire pit, I’ll burn them after you take a shower.”

     “Okay.” She said.

     Trish went into the back yard and did as her brother asked. She went back inside, took a shower and put on her new clothes. All clean, she goes to check on her brother.

     “Why are you smiling?” Trish asked.

     “I decided to cover this up. We’ll tell the cops someone came in and killed him while we slept, and that we found him like this in the morning. Father was into drugs and a lot of people came through here wanting money. I’m sure someone wants him dead. I think we have a good chance at getting away with this. And who knows, maybe aunt Becky that lives in California will take us in.” Sean said.

     “Aunt Becky?! I haven’t seen her since I was little! She looks just like mom too!” Trish shrieked.

     “Little? You’re only 9.”

     “Well, I was younger than I am now. That means I was little.”

     “You have a point there, little sis. I’m going to burn my clothes and I will be back. Stay out of father’s room!”

     Sean went out back and put his clothes over his little sisters and set them ablaze. While covering himself with a towel, he watched the fire burn the clothes until they were ash and went back inside.

     “I’m taking a shower, and I will tuck you in.” Sean said.

     “I can’t go to sleep.”

     “You have to be in bed when they come, Trish.” Sean said.

     “When is that?”

     “In the morning, maybe 5 hours. I’m going to call them when we normally wake up for school and tell them we found him like this.”

     “Will they believe you?”

     “I think they will. Sad thing though, they will never know how badly he treated us. I had to do this, T, I had to. Otherwise he would kill us both in time.”

     “He whipped us every day and yelled at me all the time.”

     “I know he did. He always makes me change mom’s clothes.”

     “Mom?! I thought she left us. Let me see her!”

     “She ‘left’ us years ago, T. He kept her in the forbidden room.” Sean said.

     “I want to see her right now!” Trish screamed.

     “You can’t see her right now because I don’t know where he hides the key and trust me, you don’t want to see mom like this, Trish.”

     “Is she dirty?”

     “Yes.”

     “Well, I don’t mind. We can break the door down. We can do it, Sean!” Trish said with tear filled eyes.

     “Remember the last night you heard them fighting?”

     “Yea…”

     “Remember the bad smell we had in the house for a few weeks?” Sean asked.

     “Yea. But Dad said it was a dead skunk outside.”

     “Trish, he killed mom that night and stuck her in that room. And makes me change her clothes every other day.”

     Sean held Trish as she threw her head and arms around until she fell asleep.

*

     “Sean!” Trish whispered loudly.

     “What? Is it morning yet?”

     “No, but there is someone in the house.”

     “There can’t be anyone in the house, I locked all the…”

     Sean heard shuffling in the kitchen then heard his dad’s bedroom door squeak open and something hard hit the floor.

     “Fuck! Someone is in the house and going in dad’s room. Wait here. Where’s the hammer?”

     “On the table in the hallway by the forbidden room.” Trish said softly.

     “That’s right by dad’s room. Great. This is going to be fun.”

     “Can I co…”

     “No! Stay here and act like you’re sleeping. Do not open your eyes until you hear my voice. Promise?” Sean begged.

     “Promise.”

     Sean swung their bedroom door open as softly as he could, careful not to make any noise at all. Old houses tend to have old, rusty hinges. The floor cold on his bare feet, he makes it to the table with the hammer. He reaches out and takes the heavy hammer in his hand and slips back in the shadows of the house. There are sounds coming from the bedroom where his dad’s lifeless body rests and he walks closer. Each step is thought carefully where it is placed. Sean lays on his stomach and looks into the room and watches two men go through his dad’s things.

     “You hear that?” The tall man said.

     “Yea. Let me check it out. I’m pretty sure who killed Mark wouldn’t stick around. His kids were sleeping, right?”

     “Last I looked. If they see us, we have to kill them.”

     Sean got to his feet and swiftly went down the hallway to the dark cold kitchen and crawls under the table. Looking down the dimly lit hallway, Sean watches the man peek in the room his sister is pretending to sleep, then walks outside to the backyard. While crouching, he follows the short, fat man outside, hammer in hand. Creeping as quietly as he could, Sean raises his bloody hammer as high as he can and hit the man standing in front of the ember filled fire pit in the back of his head. The man fell onto the pit and Sean made a puddle out of the man’s skull, putting out the embers.

     “No! Let me go!” Sean hears from inside.

     “Fuck. Trish.” Sean says out loud. He runs inside and hears his sister putting up a fight in her room. Running through the kitchen and down the hallway, he grips his slippery hammer tightly. The door is cracked when he reaches it. Pushing softly on the door, he tiptoes inside. Knuckles white from squeezing the hammer, he says, “Hey, Asshole.” As soon as the tall man turns, Sean swings the bloody hammer as hard as he could, breaking the tall man’s jaw. The man drops Trish.

     “Go to dad’s room and lock the door with his big lock and wait for me!” Sean yelled.

     “I can’t go back in there, Sean!”

     “You don’t have a choice. Go!”

     On the way to the door, the tall man grabs her ankle. Sean swings the hammer and breaks the man’s arm. Tall man lets out a scream that shook the room. Sean watches his sister get out the room safely and turns his focus on tall man.

     “Why the fuck are you here, you tall bitch?” Sean asked softly.

     “You’re dead, boy. I was just here to kill Mark, but you got him already, huh?” Tall man mumbled.

     “Yea. Trust me, he had this coming. Just like you do for putting your fucking hands on my sister. Close your eyes and I will make it quick.” Sean said.

     Sean raises his arms. The tall man pulls out a gun with his left hand and shoots Sean in the stomach. With his ears ringing and eyes full of stars, Sean falls to his knees and swings the hammer, hitting the floor and breaking his hand. Tall man fires another shot, ripping through Sean’s shoulder. Sean throws the hammer but missing him and hits the door…

     “I think I will let you bleed out and pay your little sister a visit. I noticed that big lock on the inside of the door and won’t take me long to get in there. I’m sure she is lonely in there. I will be right…”

     He is cut off by the lethal blow Trish gave him with the hammer.

     “Keep hitting him, Trish!” Sean yelled.

     She hit him in his head and neck until she couldn't swing her little arms anymore.

     “Okay… I think he is gone. Keep your eyes closed and come here. Don’t look at him.” Sean said.

     “I heard the shots and had to come help you. Are you going to die?” Trish said with tears in her eyes.

     “I don’t know. My stomach hurts and I broke my hand… oh, and he shot me in the neck or shoulder, I can’t tell. I think it’s time to call 911. What do you think?”

     “What do I tell them?”

      “Tell them they came in, killed dad and I had to protect you. The hammer was never in your hand. Okay?” Sean said.

     “Okay. Come with me to the phone.”

     “I can’t get up, T. I can’t keep my eyes open anymore. Get me a towel after you call 911 to soak up this blood.”

     Trish watches her brother close his eyes while clutching his stomach as she leaves the room. She walks over the tall man with her eyes closed and runs down the hallway to the kitchen. She looks outside and sees the short guy on the fire pit not moving. She can’t reach the phone, so she uses the broom to knock the phone off the wall. With shaky fingers, she gives each number a firm press and dials 911.

     911 Operator: 911, what are you reporting?

     “They are all dead.”

The End

Longing

Longing

     Missing the one you love is torture we all feel at some point. I been missing mine for almost 200 years. Vampire, you ask? No, I am not a vampire. I wish. I would be out sipping the finest of blood every night. I’m up anyways, so I would fit right in. Vampires aren’t real. I, on the other hand, am real. Zombie, you ask? Nope, wrong again. Zombies aren’t real either. But, being a Zombie would be nice. I would walk around and eat all the assholes (people, not what you’re thinking, Perv) in the world.

     I am getting ready to die. That is why you are reading this. This is my last few days left and I need to get this out. I was born in 1793. I can’t remember my birthday anymore, but I’m sure of the year. I was born in Philadelphia during the Yellow fever outbreak. Most of my family died, only one that survived was my mother. We had a hard life for most of the time she was alive, which wasn’t long. She died when I was only 14 and had to fend for myself ever since. I did what I could to get through my teen years. I didn’t want to end up in any orphanage. They would rape the girls and boys, they didn’t care. And anyone who would resist would end up getting beat every day and treated like shit. I was not going to let that happen. I bounced around the city until I was 18 and got work as a Baker. Breads, pies, you name it. I was 20 when I met, Ava. Fuck, she was a sight for sore eyes. It’s hard to talk to someone so beautiful when you lived such a fucked up life. She came in the shop almost every day before she went to work. She liked the coffee and blueberry muffins. I remember our first actual conversation like it was yesterday.

     “Why do you get the same thing every morning?” I asked stupidly.

     “Because I enjoy the coffee and love the blueberry muffins.” She said.

     “I like blueberries.” I said.

     “I bet you do, otherwise you wouldn’t bake them early in the morning and wait for me to come in to buy them. I’m sure you’re tired. Bakers start baking early in the morning, right?” She asked.

     “Yes, I do start around 2 a.m., but I like seeing how people enjoy my goods before I go to sleep. And you always love my muffins.”

     “I adore your muffins, and coffee. They keep me going. It was a nice talk and I would love to hear from you more tomorrow if you would be available.” She said.

     “I guess I’ll see you when you come in the get something for the walk back home after work. I could walk you home if you like.” I said.

     She came in after work but didn’t get anything, only me. We walked the whole 20 minutes to her house and talked nonstop. Half way there, she even took my hand into hers and squeezed tightly. It was a wonderful walk. I fell in love that day and has gotten stronger every day since.

     We were together for 3 years when I got the curse put on me. Her dying was torture enough. I put on my baked goods early in the morning and fell asleep in the kitchen. We had a fight the night before and I was exhausted. I woke up in flames and couldn’t run upstairs to get her. We lived above the Bakery until it took off. I had no choice but to run and get help. That night, her mom came and put a curse on me. She was Native American and wasn’t happy I let this happen. She said I would feel this pain for 200 years and as long as I have Ava’s handheld mirror, I would keep my youthful body. But if it broke, my body would show its age and I would have to live amongst the beast the rest of my life.

     I witnessed a lot in my life and felt pain from losing Ava every day since. Each day worse than the other. I couldn’t kill myself or be killed. I tried. I was too scared to smash the mirror in fear of being a monster.

     I am currently in the house I was born in. Ready to die. The mirror broke a few months ago and my body is just a corpse. My legs fell off a few days ago, few fingers are gone, skin and bones, old scars opened up revealing bones and I’m not having the best day. I think I have a few days left to live. But those 3 years with Ava was worth all of this and I would do it again if I had a chance. I wouldn’t have had a fight with her over such trivial things though. She was so gorgeous, she didn’t deserve what happen to her. I should have been there to protect her. But that’s why I am going through this hell… I deserve it. But I still long for her.

The End

    

Damien Clark IV

Damien Clark IV

     Damien jumps the gate into the graveyard. He looks around for bright headlights coming from the main street; there are none. He walks down the east path to the far end of the graveyard. He hears it is where ghouls and ghosts come to life at night. The moon is high in the sky and the air is cold and crisp. All the headstones are old and crumbling away in this area.

     “How old is this part of the plot?” Damien said to himself.

     He continues around the trail and hears a noise coming from behind a mausoleum. He looks back towards the road and sees only darkness and fog. Wind chilling him to the bone, he walks towards the sound. Walking very slowly and timidly, he reaches it and grips the handle and pulls. He pokes his head inside and doesn’t see anything but brick walls and an open empty coffin.

     “I am not fucking checking that out… Nope.” He bursts out.

     Damien closes the door and starts to walk away when he hears the noise from inside again. He takes three fast steps and opens the door wide open. Taking a big breath, he walks to the coffin. Covered in goosebumps, he looks inside and the door slams behind him. He runs to the door and kicks it.

     “Open this fucking door, asshole!” He yells.

     “You’re not supposed to be out, Damien.” A voice said from behind him.

     He feels weak and turns around and looks at the bloody woman standing in the coffin.

     “You been away for too long, better get back where you belong.” She said.

     “I just got here. You’re not real. I must have had too many tonight. I can’t even think straight.” Damien said.

     “I am real, Damien. And so are the dangers.”

     She was gone as soon as he blinks his eyes. Damien reaches for the door and walks out. The fog was getting thicker by the minute. Needing a break, Damien went to sit down by one of the old headstones. Noticing he cleaned part of the headstone, he was curious of the name of the poor soul he was sitting on top of.

     “Damien…Clark IV?” He said. “That can’t be right.”

     He looks at the birth and death date and sees: 11/07/1902 – 11/07/1992

     “I was born in 1992… This isn’t right.” He said as he started to get up.

     He put his hand down on the cold ground and it opens up. A hand pulls him close to the ground, another hand comes out and pulls him under the earth. He is completely covered and the grave starts smoking and opens up. A dried out corpse floats above the grave and steaming blood starts to rise and covers the corpse. Fully replenished, he places his feet on the solid ground. He looks at the grave and watches it cover the dried out remains of Damien.

     “Fuck, that was a long 24 years.” Damien Clark IV said.

The End

He

He

     He is in front of the door.

     He grips the door knob timidly.

     He twists the door knob slowly.

     He pushes the door open.

     He notices the candles lit in the corner.

     He steps in with his left foot.

     He follows with his right foot.

     He smells the room.

     He looks at the bed and admires a naked woman on it.

     He looks at all the blood on her body.

     He walks toward the bed.

     He wipes some blood off of her arm.

     He licks it slowly.

     He tells her he is going to kill her soon.

     He grabs her by her hair and kisses her.

     He walks to the other side of the bed and looks for the knife.

     He can’t find the knife.

     He looks under the table.

     He feels a sharp pain shoot down his left arm.

     He reaches with his right hand and touches his left shoulder.

     He feels around and the knife he been looking for is lodged into the base of his neck.

     He leaves it in, knowing if he pulls it out right away he is a dead man.

     He looks at the bloody woman.

     He grabs her left ankle and pulls her to him.

     He puts a knee on the bed.

     He gets ahold of the bloody woman’s neck.

     He puts his other knee on the bed.

     He forces her down on her back.

     He lifts his left leg and straddles her.

     He uses all the strength he has to choke her.

     He watches her eyes go wide and mouth fly open.

     He watches tears flow.

     He smiles.

     He looks at her left hand.

     He notices that she pulled out the knife and she is getting bathed in his blood now.

     He is still choking her when she thrusts the knife into his throat.

     He is losing sight of her, all he can see is darkness.

     He loses grip of the bloody woman and falls to his side.

     He gets a glimpse of the bloody woman standing at the end of the bed, looking at him with wild eyes.

     He looks at the bed and he feels the blood pooling around his chest.

     He looks back at her and she has the knife back in her hand, ready to strike.

     He waits for the lethal thrust, but it never comes.

     He is 9 months old and sees his dad beat his mom.

     He is 2 years old and watches his dad burning cigarette butts on his mom while slapping her.

     He is 3 years old and hears his dad beating his mom in the living room.

     He is 5 years old and is told to get his dad a belt so he can watch his mom get beaten with it.

     He is 7 year old and calls 911 because both of his mom’s arms are broken.

     He is 10 years old and his dad makes him choke his mom with a belt.

     He is 15 years old and he beats his girlfriend within an inch of her life.

     He is 19 years old and he kills his dad in self-defense.

     He is 24 years old and he killed his first victim.

     He is 36 years old and he is laying in a pool of blood, looking at his 54^th victim watch him die from the doorway.

     He blinks his eyes one last time.

The End

    

    

    

The Fifth

The Fifth

     The more things change, the more they stay the same. I told them not to kill anyone and bring back body parts. They do this over and over without any remorse. I lived in the country most all of my life, until the recent years. Figured if bodies show up around where I live, it’ll be easier to avoid suspicious eyes in the city. They don’t listen! But they never had any aggressive feelings toward me, they protect me, really. They are just sloppy with what they do. They will leave for days and come back bloody and covered in gore. I’m sure they can wash off in the lake or river, they don’t. I put them in the bathtub and wash them off when they get home. It’s like our quality time. I kind of enjoy it. They’re so cute, you’d never guess they need to feed once a week. They only weigh 10 pounds apiece, but need to eat 80 pounds of human flesh a piece or they… I don’t know, they never got that low before. They always find someone to kill. Well, hunt, I should say. I mean, they are eating what they kill.

*

     I was only 23 when they first came into my house looking for food… being me. It was around 3 am when they came. I was in the study reading the newest King book “Cell,” when I heard something in the kitchen. I turned my lamp off and picked up my .45, pulling back on the slide, I ventured out into the dark and cold hallway. I heard low growls and high pitch squeaks. I made it to the living room and looked around for shadows. There were low shadows coming the glow of the kitchen. I ducked by the wall, keeping to the shadows and made it to the kitchen. I crouched as low as I could and peaked around the corner. There were 5 of them playing around. All furry with different colors on their coats, except one. They were no taller than spider monkeys. Floppy ears and big doe eyes. One was smiling so big, I could see what looked like 100 needles for teeth. They had bright colorful coats of all colors, but one was solid bright green. He was the first one to see me. He made a chirp sound and turned completely black along with the rest of them. Little puffs of smoke and they were gone. I jumped back and looked around the living area, dining room and kitchen. Nothing was around. No traces of them either. I went to the fridge and opened a can of beer. Sitting at the kitchen table, I thought about what just happen and if it was real. I didn’t drink but a few glasses of gin that night. I finished my beer and went back into the study and fell asleep within a half hour. I woke up to them on top of me. I could barely see them in the dark because they were still in their black coats. I knew the green one was on top of me, his coat was solid black, and the others were just shades of black because of the different colors of their coats. Green (that’s my name for him) looked at me with his glowing eyes and huffed in my face. I huffed back and that threw him off for a second, just enough time for me to get my .45 off the arm of the chair and shoot the one by my foot. The blast took its arm off and stunned the rest. I got out of my chair and pointed my gun to shoot again, but they all turned to color again and went to the wounded one. All 4 of them looked down and held hands (which only had 3 fingers, well, 2 fingers and 1 thumb), and started to make noises. Humming and whistling at the same time, the wounded one started to fade away in a colorful smoke. When it was gone and the smoke disappeared into the air, they came to me, slowly, and started to circle me holding hands. They started to howl one at a time. One would get done, and then the next one would go in a different pitch. Once the 4^th one howled for 3 seconds, the rest joined in to form a perfect harmonized note. It was beautiful and they illuminated brilliantly. Colorful hair standing on end, they all looked up into my eyes. My head on a swivel, I looked at each one individually for a good while. I was mesmerized by them, I lost time, hours maybe.

     And we have been together ever since. They don’t talk to me but I feel what they want and need. They communicate with growls, chirps, purrs, huffs, smacking their mouths together and body gestures. They have hidden powers I didn’t know about until recently, but let me not jump the shark on the story.

*

     I only had them for a week when I found out what they were about. We were in the back yard and their coats went dull. I asked what was wrong and Green looked at me with his glowing eyes and went pitch black. The rest followed his que and they were gone. I spent the rest of the day outside doing yard work, well, waiting for them. It was dark when I noticed something flickering through my kitchen window. I ran inside and they were in the kitchen with brand new coats. All brilliant colors and Green was playing with all of them. All giggles and chirps. I noticed all of them were wet on the front of their bellies. I asked for them to come to me so I can check on them and when I reached down to pet Blue (I call him blue, but he always comes back with a few patches of other colors) and noticed he had blood all over him. I went onto Tiny (the fat one, I have no clue how he gets around with the rest. Fat tummy and little chubby legs, but he manages to keep up) and he is covered in blood and giggling. Rainbow (the 4^th one is always changing colors, seemed to fit) was standing proud covered from head to toe in blood.

      “What the fuck did you guys do?!” I screamed at them.

     Didn’t do any good, I just walked to the bathroom and started a warm bath.

     “I don’t know if you guys are cool with water, but you need to be clean if you guys are going to stay with me. Now get in the tub!” I said firmly.

     They came around the hallway corner dragging their arms and whimpering. Green and Blue wasn’t too happy about getting in the tub. They slowly crawled into it. Rainbow stood in the corner and wouldn’t move. Tiny was the last one to come into the bathroom, he ran and jumped right into the bath, splashing the two. They started to chirp and giggle, that made Rainbow comfortable enough to crawl in the tub. They played and laughed the whole time. Happy critters in a bloody tub.

     They were always happy, until they weren’t. They would always leave every 6-10 days and come back bloody. After a year they would start bringing back flesh with them. I never knew what it was from, just thought they would go to the nearby farms and get some pigs. Then I started to notice human fingers on my property. I would ask them and they would be full and vibrant with a new coat, they didn’t pay attention.

     They kept coming back bloody and with more body parts I could count, so I figured it was time to move. In a small town, it’s hard to keep a secret, so I moved to the city.

*

     The first night I was in the city, they went on a hunt. I just unpacked and waited for them to come back. I couldn’t tell them not to bring back anything, because they did what they wanted. I am not sure if they wanted me to get caught and go to jail, or just move again; I’m not sure. They came back bloody as usual, body parts in the trash cans in the alley.

      “Why bring body parts back?!” I yelled

     They just played and chirped until I gave them a bath. Swimming in bloody water, I started to understand them. It wasn’t just chirps and giggles anymore.

     “Soon he will be one us, and we can continue our mission. It won’t be long.” Green said.

     I never heard them like this before. Later that night, I noticed some black fur coming from my arms and legs. I normally am not a hairy man, but this wasn’t hair, it was fur. I am hungry tonight for something I never craved before. I can’t explain it. I want something.

*

     I woke up with them and we all started to play. Early morning hours tend to bring the spunk out of them. I’m not a morning person, but I will be for them. Green stopped playing and went black. He looked at everyone else and they went their own different shade of black.

     “You are coming with.” Green said.

     “I am not going with. I don’t even know how you guys…”

     That’s when we exploded into clouds of smoke, the world went dark and everything turned into shadows. After going through a dark tunnel, I was back into the physical world alongside them. We ended up in a kitchen. The lights were out and I heard a woman coughing in the far bedroom.

     “What now?” I asked.

     “We feed. She needs to be right though, otherwise we get sick and won’t be able to eat for a few cycles. We are very vulnerable during this time.” Green said.

     Of course Green was completely black and everyone else their own shades of black, I was back in my own skin. My fur is black and I have some black smoke coming off of me from my ride. I could sense everything and feel the pressure in the air. She was close and she was right for us, I could tell. My mouth watering and my stomach growling, Green opened the door slowly. He didn’t have to speak to us, we knew what he wanted us to do. We all got in our positions and waited for his signal. I noticed a big sign above the bed that read, “Sue” How fucking vain is this bitch? Tiny scrunched his nose and looked at me with floppy ears.

     “Do you smell that? I heard in my head from Tiny.

     “Yea, smells like rotten fish. Maybe there’s an old fish dinner in the bag next to the bed.” I whispered to him.

     Green looked at me with fierce eyes and huffed. Tiny opened the bag and it was full of dildos and sex toys. She must have never washed these things. The smell filled the whole room and she shifted in her sleep. Green climbed the bed with his fit 2 foot tall frame and straddled Sue. Tiny pushed the putrid bag of toys under the bed and grabbed ahold of her right arm. Blue took her left arm from the other side of the bed. Rainbow took her left leg and I took hold of her right leg next to Tiny. Green was dark as night, hair on end and eyes were on fire. I never seen his eyes so bright before. He put his hands on each side of her head and started to let out a black stream of smoke from his mouth. The smoke blanketed her and she opened her eyes, unable to move. She couldn’t speak, yell or anything. She just moved her wide eyes all over the room, looking at each of us repeatedly. Green opened his mouth and his teeth seemed the multiply into 100 skinny needles and bit her throat out. Blood spraying from her open neck covered all of us in gore. They all had their heads back with big smiles on their little faces. While Sue was still alive, they started to pull off her limbs. Tiny ripped off her right arm at the elbow, Blue took her left arm at the shoulder, Rainbow took Sue’s foot and I was fucking shocked! I didn’t know what to do. I can’t rip off limbs like that, I had no clue how they were doing it.

     “Look at yourself.” Green said.

     I looked down, I was covered in black fur and I was looking Rainbow at eye level. I turned into one of them and I tore that leg off from the hip and started to feed. Nothing tasted better in my whole life and I never felt more alive. We fed on Sue until there was nothing left but her ugly head and bones. We rolled around in the blood and gore, then left. Taking body parts with us as a prize.

     Back home in my kitchen, we were covered in blood. I locked eyes with Green and slowly started to grow back to my normal height. I gave them a bath and I took a shower after they were clean. I needed that time to reflect on what the fuck happen. I had to use a whole bottle of shampoo because I still was covered head to toe with black fur. Luckily it was gone before I went to bed.

*

     I woke up with them on the bed looking at me. Fresh new coats, they were almost neon in color. I looked at my arms and I was me again. Not one fur patch on them. Green pulled my arm to get me out of bed, so I got out and stood next to it. The morning sun was flooding my room when Green called the others. They all got around me and connected hands. As soon as Blue closed the circle by grabbing Tiny’s hand, everything went black like it did when we went hunting. We were in a foggy, shadowy place. This was my room, everything was there and wasn’t at the same time. They had their eyes closed and heads back. I heard someone start whispering in a language I didn’t understand, then I heard another, then another, before I knew it; there were what sounded like tens of thousands of voices all talking at once. Some whispering, some shouting from the distance. Some sounded like they were screaming through water, others like they were in mile long tunnels.

     “Do you hear them?” Green asked without moving his mouth.

     “Yes… Who are they? What are they saying?” I asked.

     “They are former members of us. We call ourselves, Tiou.”

     “What happen to them? You call yourselves, “Tiou?” I asked.

     “They died, but live here and help us that still remain in the physical world get around in this world.”

     “Why are you showing me this?”

     “We for thousands of years, always needed a Fifth. Without the fifth we are weak, and can die easily. The one you shot in the arm couldn’t eat for a few cycles and was weak, that’s why he died. He went hunting without me and ate someone not right for us. So, you killing him, makes you the Fifth.” Green said.

     “Where did you come from? Aliens?”

     “I wish. We were pets and keepers of tombs in Egypt. We traveled through all those tunnels within the Pyramids protecting the dead and eating slaves that couldn’t work anymore. Our father, Shepseskaf-Ankh was the head Physician and Magic Man that made us immortal. He was very close to the King, so he had all the power in the world. After the fall of Egypt, we left and roamed the earth. Feeding on people that are right for us. We need the right people...”

     “Or you get sick, I know. Do I have a choice? I mean, I wasn’t living the best life but I kind of want to stay human.” I said.

     “No. You killed one of us, his life force and spell entered you already. It’s time we bring that out of you. You will become your own version of Tiou. From the looks of last night, you will always stay black. Physically stronger than any of us, you will be the Fifth and new leader.”

     They all opened their glowing eyes and started to sing. Each one held their note out and formed that chord I heard the first night I met them. I felt pressure in my entire body and felt heat coming from the Tiou. The world was getting pitch black, then a brilliant flash blinded me. I squeezed my eyes shut as hard as I could until everything went quiet. I slowly opened them to look Green right in his big eyes. I was back in my bedroom with the morning sun bouncing off of my new shiny black coat. I never felt more alive in my life. I guess that’s something I will have to get used to.

*

     It has been quite some time since I transformed. Ate a lot of people and witnessed things I thought never existed. But, we cannot stay here any longer. There is no one left to eat in this country. We have to move to the other side of the world for worry free nutrition. The only people we can eat are descendants of Egyptian slaves. The hunt begins.

     So, when you come in this apartment looking for me and why I haven’t paid rent… This is why.

The End