noveltune Arc 1 | Nightmare Suburbia (9)
Arc 1 | Nightmare Suburbia (9)
arc 1 | nightmare suburbia (9)
nightmare suburbia
part 9
after ten minutes had passed since ashley went upstairs—and dave did not show up—maxine leaned over to adam with a worried gaze to the stairs. “i don’t think he’s coming,” she said.
“is he even home?”
“ashley told us he’s here.”
“he must be busy?” adam craned his neck to peer into the backyard. “well, he’s definitely not out there.”
“and did you see that earlier?” maxine asked.
“see what?”
“i thought ash got blood under her nose.”
adam shrugged. “i didn’t see anything.”
“i think i saw it.”
adam shrugged again. “well, if you saw it—”
“i saw it, okay?” maxine hissed, annoyed. “i’m not blind.”
“what’d you think happened then?”
“i don’t know. something’s weird. and did you smell that earlier? like someone pissed in the room.”
“don’t insult someone’s house, babe. it’s not polite.”
“well, i smelled it.”
“should we just leave? maybe come back later? my parents are waiting for us, max. you know what they are like if we’re late again. we won’t hear the tail end of it.”
“no, we won’t be long,” maxine insisted. “ashley’s probably telling dave to come. yeah.”
“are you sure? i don’t think so, babe,” adam rubbed his hands over his upper arms; he was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt. “shit. it’s cold in here, huh?”
maxine shook her head. “fuck it. i’ll find dave and the gem. find out what he’s so scared about. then we can go to your parents.”
“dave’s always scared about something. what’s he on about this time?”
“hodge told me he sounded scared. something about the gem. and this whole house gives me the fucking creeps.” maxine started walking out of the living room.
“hey, where are you going?”
“i’ll go to his office and look for the gem there. you can stay right here in case ashley comes back down. tell her i went to get water. or, you know, you can help?”
adam let out a breath. “that’s alright with me. i’ll stay right here.” it was clear adam didn’t feel like looking for a lost gem anyway. he was still worried about getting to the restaurant where his parents were waiting.
“i’ll be right back.” maxine walked out of the living room.
i watched adam sit there for a couple more minutes, tapping his fingers on his knees, twiddling with his thumbs, and checking reddit with his phone. he received another message on his phone, smiled, and replied with a purple heart and an eggplant emoji. looking over his shoulder, this was a different woman than the one he texted in his house!
how many women does this sleaze have?
i also checked up on maxine, who looked into the garage and found dave’s car was still inside. “dave is here,” maxine muttered. “where the fuck is he?” she went back to the kitchen and checked the thermostat.
“seventy-five degrees?” she scrunched up her face and visibly shivered. she looked like she regretted wearing a blouse today.
her eyes glazed over to the basement door, and at first, i thought she was going down there, but she walked past it and made a beeline for dave’s office instead. his office looked like my dad’s: a computer desk littered with envelopes, loose papers, bills, folders, the odd gum packet or two, and scattered pens and pencils. she started rummaging through his things.
“where did you keep it, dave?” she muttered under her breath.
in the other room, adam still waited. he got up and peered through the sliding doors leading to the backyard. he was eying the shed. he reached for the handle and was about to slide it open when i triggered [strange noise].
“adam,” i whispered his name right behind his right ear.
startled, he whirled around and found that no one was there. “max?” he called out. maxine was too distracted trying to open one of dave’s desk drawers. “was that you?”
adam was about to head over to the door to unlock it when ashley grabbed his arm with an iron grip, holding him there.
“let go, ash!”
ashley leered at adam. “i know what you like, adam. you’re such a stud.” she stood up, grabbing adam by the collar of his shirt and pulling him close to her. “i’ll give it to you real good like no whore ever will.”
adam was a big dude, easily a hundred pounds more than little ashley. but with the demon inhabiting her body, she chucked him off the ground and slammed him against the bathroom mirror, shattering it. adam grunted, rolled over the counter, and fell on his stomach. maxine stopped pounding on the door momentarily. “adam! what’s that sound? unlock the door!”
“max! call for help!”
still, maxine continued pounding her fist on the wood. “open the fucking door, adam!”
ashley picked up a big shard of the glass from the sink and raised it high, moaning as she stabbed adam’s back multiple times. blood seeped out of each wound. adam screamed.
“i can smell your fear.” she laughed as she plunged the shard deeper into his flesh, then another, and turned him around to face her.
“fuck! fuck! fuck! stop!” adam begged for someone to save him. he kicked and punched at the demon, trying to push her off him, but she kept stabbing him with the broken mirror. blood poured out of his mouth as ashley punctured a lung. “ash! stop!”
“hello,” ashley said giddily.
“i like your pic. you have nice breasts.
“so perky.
“send nudes?
“you like my dick?
“i’m divorced.
“i’m not married.
“you’re so beautiful.
“let’s see each other tonight.
“my wife is not home for the week.
“if i have a choice, i’m leaving my wife for you!”
with each stab, ashley mocked him. adam’s eyes widened, realizing she was repeating what he texted on his secret dating app on his phone with his multiple mistresses. “you have been a naughty boy. you’ll do well with the maggots.”
demon ashley then jammed the shard into adam’s privates. even i cringed and looked away for a moment as ashley took off adam’s shorts and cut off his penis, forced his mouth open, and shoved his dick inside his mouth. she covered them with her free hand, forcing him to choke on the organ.
“take it like a man, adam!” ashley cackled.
maxine banged on the door again. “ashley! stop it!”
ashley grabbed a handful of adam’s hair and pulled his head back, exposing his throat. “say, please.”
adam gasped through clenched teeth. with his hair pulled back, he swallowed pieces of his flesh.
his aura turned blood red.
ashley smiled. “good boy.”
then she slit his throat with the sharp edge of the broken mirror piece.
blood gushed out and hit ashley straight to the face, soaking red. the demon howled in ecstasy as blood dripped onto her naked body. adam’s aura faded into a brighter red glow, which coalesced into a wisp and entered my consciousness. inside ashley’s body, her faint aura also became a wisp; the demon had finished consuming her soul.
[you have gained 2 essences: adam fairlie, ashley yates]
[you have gained 300 crystals]
it was addicting, the rush entering my form like drinking water after hiking in the desert for days or washing off my body from filth after wading through mud. my mind was clearer; my senses more heightened than ever before. i wanted to feed on maxine’s essence next, almost eager to get it over and crush her skull with my mind.
however, revenge is served best cold. and i still wanted to make the people who killed me suffer a worse fate than death.
“she’s next,” i said to the demon, gesturing to the door. “but don’t kill her just yet. i want you to possess her.”
with a creaky voice, ashley said, “understood, master.”