noveltune Arc 1 | Nightmare Suburbia (10)
Arc 1 | Nightmare Suburbia (10)
arc 1 | nightmare suburbia (10)
nightmare suburbia
part 10
ashley slinked back into the mist and into the shower stall.
the door swung open.
maxine stood shaking by the door frame, mouth hanging open, covering it with her hands. she couldn’t scream. she couldn’t process what was in front of her—adam lying on the ground, eyes wide open, covered in blood, his throat slashed clean to the bone.
“a-d-am?” maxine let out a stuttered breath.
seeing her husband’s body was enough to plummet her resolve from a bright orange to a hungry darker shade. her heart rate sped up as she stepped closer to the corpse. then she noticed ashley’s silhouette in the mist and backed away slowly.
“ash,” she whispered to her. “what did you do to him?”
“i didn’t mean to, max,” ashley whimpered. i was impressed by how the demon could imitate them uncannily lifelike, almost close to trolling maxine’s grief. the demon mocked a sob. “i didn’t mean to! you have to believe me!”
“you killed him, ashley,” maxine whispered as if saying it out loud made it untrue.
“it’s not me!”
“you...you killed him!” maxine regained a little bit of her strength, stepping forward. “you killed my husband! fuck! i’m calling the cops!”
“no, don’t!”
“i’m calling the cops, ash! you stay right where you are!”
“maxine! please! you have to believe me!”
“stay back!” maxine pulled out her phone from her back pocket. “you stay back, ash!”
“ashley isn’t here, you stupid fucking bitch!” ashley shouted. “we’re feasting on their souls in hell!”
ashley lunged out of the mist, but maxine was faster, pivoted around, and hid behind the door frame, avoiding ashley’s tight grasp. ashley crashed into the bed, thrashing to get back up.
maxine ran out of the door and dashed down the stairs, trying to dial 911, but she dialed 901 instead. “shit!”
“you’re next!” ashley cackled, rolling off the bed. “you’re next, little piggy! oink! oink!”
maxine reached the front door’s handle, sobbing, hand still clutching her phone, when suddenly, the rug underneath engulfed her. the force lifted her off the floor and threw her across the room, crashing against the wall; the hanging portraits fell on top of her.
“oink! oink!” ashley laughed maniacally as she climbed up the railing on all fours and stalked toward maxine like a spider, licking her lips.
“no!” maxine screamed, trying to get the rug off her, suffocatingly wrapped her body. “let me go! let me go!”
she kicked. screamed. i threw her through the window, shattering upon impact. maxine tumbled out into the patio deck in the backyard, shards of glass cutting through her skin. she rolled, loosened her grip on the pendant, and it went flying into the grass. she scrambled to look for it.
“no. no. no, no, no, no...” she muttered.
i sensed ashley’s presence behind me, and maxine whirled around, must have had a fright to find ashley leering through the opening, grinning at her. without her pendant, it shed her resolve down to red. she ran for the side gates, but my telekinesis was still up. i grabbed her entire body, lifted her off the grass again, and dragged her back toward the broken window.
she reached out, grabbed hold of a drain pipe by the side of the house, and screamed for help. she caught sight of two teenagers up on the second-floor window next door. spreading out my many-eyes, i was bombarded by loud music as the two teenagers started making out on the girl’s bed, oblivious to maxine’s cries fifty feet away.
“help me! help me!”
but her grip loosened, and i dragged her back into the patio deck by her ankles, her skin scraping through the broken shards of glass and then through the broken window. she howled in pain, and i realized a large piece of the glass still attached to the windowsill stabbed her abdomen and kept her there momentarily.
“i don’t have time for this.” i yanked hard on maxine’s ankles, and the glass split into two and embedded deep into maxine’s belly. with the last second of telekinesis, i chucked her across the dining table, rolled over, and dropped right in front of ashley’s feet.
ashley straddled her, and maxine tried to get her off weakly. it was no use. with a wide grin, ashley vomited a torrent of blood and chunks of her gut all over maxine’s face and open mouth. such force looked like maxine got hosed down by it. i wanted to gag.
ashley’s eyes rolled over, and she collapsed beside maxine.
she stopped moving.
maxine wiped the blood off her face and crawled away from ashley’s body, taking in labored breaths. i watched the demon emerge from ashley’s pores, now hovering above maxine’s. maxine’s resolve dropped to a dull red as she stared at ashley’s body, too shocked to move.
her phone rang. on the screen:
hodge.
she was about to click the green button when i sent a sliver of [mind shock] her way, stunning her momentarily.
[power: 4/10]
she started shaking like she was having a seizure, her hands twitching violently, and dropped the phone. i watched, fascinated, as the demon, in the form of her husband, stood above her.
“a—adam?” maxine croaked.
adam crouched down in front of her. “i love you,” he said. “i love you so much, maxine.”
she was still under my psychic grasp, and all maxine could do was shed a single tear running down her cheek. she’s afraid, so afraid i relished with her pain like putting in new clothes. it made me smile, my heart beating faster, anticipating what the demon would do next.
maxine knew she was hallucinating her husband, but her emotions overwhelmed her, kept her in place, and whispered, “love you” between clenched teeth.
demon adam smiled and caressed her chin with his thumb. “i know, baby. i know. i love you the way i love sliding my cock inside half the town because you are a shriveled old hag. all i wanted to do was skin you alive so my parents could see what a gold-digging slut you are inside. i’m going to enjoy wearing your skin.”
and then he dissipated into a puff of black smoke and slid inside her open mouth, eyes, nose, and ears.
maxine’s eyes glazed over, convulsing for several seconds. then, she stopped moving, laying there for a handful of heartbeats before she opened her eyes again and stood up.