So folks have asked me what I am capable of and I suppose I ought to concede after all the verbal beatings I have handed out in here. I have written about…uuuhhhh 5 or something short stories and managed 2 COMPLETED...(albiet awful) novels and half of a novel (before giving up and pursuing something else). The last time I actually wrote anything was almost a year ago so the span of this works range from 1-5 years ago.
If you are clever enough, you can see where progression occurred as I started studying how to edit literature. (Dear God...I REALLY don't want to upload the novel(s) so I will just start with the shorts). Meh, I'm probably going to upload one every other week or something. shrug
Mind you, most of these were BEFORE I studied how to write these things:
**PS: For SOME reason, the paste function in this site decides to FUSE A LOT of the words together. So yeah, until I can find a better way to post these things. Just read it as it is.
Harbringers Of Rebirth**
! Four Months
! The shears gleamed before Mary's eyes. Its metal surface shimmered inthe bedroom lights. Invisible hands clenched them and began to cutthe air. She struggled to move her hands and legs, but they refusedto budge. She tugged at the unseen restraints and shifted her bulgingbelly. The shears drew closer and snipped her bedsheets. Her eyessearched for Thad, but failed to find him.
Thad,where are you? Weren't you here a moment ago?Sweat poured down her pale face. The shears snipped away her sheets.The serrated fabric tore away to reveal a trembling mass of beetles.The black insects poured out from her mattress and crawled over herlegs. She screamed for Thad, but her husband remained absent. Theshears snipped her toes. Blood squirted from her open wounds. Thesharp blades dug into her flesh and slid upwards. She felt no pain,but the cold metal touch sent goosebumps up her spine. Insectsburrowed under the serrated skin and skittered towards her crotch.The shears drew away from her legs and hovered over her bulbousbelly.
The baby shuddered inside her. “No, stay way,” Mary said. Shewatched the shears' glistening blades inch closer to her stomach.Their sharp tips poked her belly and drew blood. The baby thrashedand kicked. Her body bobbed as the shears snipped away the skin. Thebeetle horde gathered along her thigh. She kicked her legs, but theinsects clenched onto her muscles. The shears dug deeper into herstomach and then it paused. The baby screamed. She raised her head toglance into her exposed stomach cavity, but a voice called to her.
“Calmdown Mary. Wake up.” She opened her eyes, dazed and confused. Sheran her hand across her stomach and sighed. No shears and insects.Her husband sat at the edge of the bed with a glass of water. Shesnatched the bottle from him. “You're welcome,” Thad said. Marytore open the lid and swallowed the contents. Her mind steadied.
“God,I had that dream again.”
“Theone with bugs? What, is this like the third time this week?” Thadrubbed the bags under his eyes and glanced at the digital clock.“Damn, it's two hours til work and I hardly even closed my eyes.”
“HaveI been keeping you up?” Mary asked. Thad shook his head and wentsilent before he stood from the bed.
“Imight as well get ready for another long one,” he said beforeshuffling out from the bedroom. Mary rubbed her stomach. It was onlythe second trimester and the nightmares grew worse. She heard Thadstep into the bathroom to shower and grumble. Guilt festered in hergut.
PoorThad. He's been patient with me so far, but how long will it last?She gripped the blankets and leaned her head against the pillow.Something must be done aboutthese nightmares.
! ***
! Mary returned home with plastic bags of grocery. She found Thadseated at the kitchen counter. A pile of letters smothered thecounter next to his microwave dinner. He held a calculator andscrawled on his notepad with a pen. Sweat lined his forehead, randown his neck, and stained his collar shirt.
“I'm home,”Mary said, but Thad did not respond. He stabbed his meatloaf andshoved it into his mouth. “I'm home Thad,” she repeated. Thaddropped his fork and looked up.
“Oh sorry. I'mjust looking over all the numbers. You know, just to make sureeverything is organized.” He removed his glasses and wiped the lenson his shirt. “Budget is getting tight.” He sighed. “Reallytight. This economic situation is a nightmare. Still, I'll make itwork somehow. I just need to think.” He tapped his forehead withhis pen and grimaced. “I'll find a way.”
Mary dropped the groceries on the kitchen floor to hover over Thad'sshoulder. “Anything I can help with?” Thad's eyes caught hers.
“There'snothing for you to see,” he said, flipping the letters over. “LikeI said, I'll find a way to handle this.” He stabbed his meatloaf totake another bite. Mary drifted away from him and sat alone in theliving room. Stacks of opened boxes still surrounded the dustytelevision set after the baby shower. Thad's grumbling followedbehind her. She listened to his frustrated utterances and sighed. Asudden thought occurred to her.
“Thad,Stephanie is coming to visit tonight. Is that alright with you? Shesays that she can help me with these nightmares.”
“Yeah? Fine.Fine. Just, let me finish this paperwork.” Mary's heart sank fromhis response. His recent reactions had been nonchalant and distanced.She sighed and waited while Thad continued to scrawl notes, curse,and mumble to himself. Several minutes passed until their apartment'sfront door shook. “I got it,” Thad said. Mary heard her husbandpull open the door and speak to the guest. “Mary's inside. Yeah,she's been waiting for you. Hm? The nightmares?” Pause. “Youshould probably ask her in person.” She heard footsteps approachthe living room. A lean woman grinned and extended her arms towardsMary.
“Long time nosee honey. How have you been?” Stephanie asked in a soft voice.Mary accepted her embrace.
“I've hadbetter days. Especially when I've actually slept through the entirenight.” The two sat on the couch and reminisced about theirchildhood. Stephanie's soothing voice eased Mary's mind. She felt heranxieties seeping out from body. Thad approached the two and satacross from them.
“So what's thisthing about getting rid of her nightmares?” he asked. The two womenpaused to glance at him.
“Night terrorsare typical during pregnancy,” Stephanie said. “But still, thereare various ways to alleviate them. I believe the most effective wayis to confront the psychosomatic demons. Will you be willing to trysomething with me?” She held out her hands before Mary.
“As long as itgets rid of the nightmares.” Mary grabbed her friend's hands.
“Good, nowclose your eyes and breath slowly. Count your breaths. Think ofnothing, but your breathing.” Mary lowered her head, shut hereyes, and focused on her steady breaths. Her mind cleared throughStephanie's instructions. The world grew hazy and sluggish, but herbody felt light and free. Stephanie's voice faded away, leaving onlyMary beating heart in the darkness. She heard a pair of voiceswhisper and chuckle.
“At last she'sfound us,” a deep voice said. “And I feared we would gounnoticed.”
“Indeed, buthere she is. Another one with little understanding of the world,” awoman's voice added. “They all continue to produce more of theirkind to pollute the world. Sick stupid flesh.”
“Indeed,” thedeep voice said. “Polluting the world, sucking off its teet andgiving nothing in return. A pestilence upon us all.”
“Kill it Mary.Get rid of the plague and spare us another leech.” The two voicesspoke in unison “Or we can kill it for you.” A pair of shearsemerged from the darkness and drew towards Mary's bulging abdomen.“It is easy. Simple. Painless. You can escape the pain of it all.Destroy the leech Mary. Destroy the thing before it escapes the womb.This is your only chance.” Mary felt something grip her shoulderand shake it. She emerged from the darkness and opened her eyes tofind Stephanie and Thad watching her.
“Feel better?”Stephanie asked with a smile.
“I don't know.”Mary shook her head. “Don't know what was supposed to happen. Therewere voices saying something about my baby.” Stephanie sighed andturned away.
“It wassupposed to help you relax and clear out your mind.” She squeezedMary's hands. “I'm sorry, I didn't meant to-”
“Don't worry,it was nothing,” Mary said. Thad scowled and folded his arms.
“Too bad, I washoping it would work. Another waste of time.” He returned to thekitchen and resumed his task. Stephanie shot him a nasty look, butMary reassured her.
“Ignore him.He's exhausted. The nights terrors have been rough on him too.”
! Six Months
! Thad sat at the edge of the bed and stared into the glowingtelevision screen. He read the scrolling bulletins. “God, we liveon a sick world,” he said. “Death, economic strife, suicides,theft, corruption, and all the other shit. Makes me wonder why anyonewould bring a child into this world.” A dark shadow drifted overhis eyes. “It's only going to get worse for all of us.” His lipstwisted into a snarl.
“What did yousay?” Mary asked from the bathroom. The shadow faded from Thad'seyes.
“Nothing. Iwast talking to myself.” He turned off the television and crawledunder the covers. Mary collapsed onto the bed with her hands placedover her belly.
“Are youalright?” she asked. Thad sat up and turned off the lights.
“I'm fine,”he said. “As long as you don't wake me again. I just need to closemy eyes and rest.”
“If you sayso.” Mary turned away and clenched the blanket. After a few minutesof silence, she heard Thad snore. She closed her eyes, but the voicesfrom the darkness returned.
“Kill it,”the deep voice said. “Get rid of it and spare us all.”
“That's rightMary,” the woman's voice said. “A child will only prove to be aburden.” The two voices cackled.
Shut up, it's my child and I'm keeping. You cando nothing to convince me otherwise.
“No?” thedeep voice said. Mary blinked her eyes and shuddered.
Was that voice in my head or did I actuallyheard it this time?She lifted her head and rubbed the sticky residue from her eyelids.Her eyes adjusted to the darkness and focused on the trembling shadowstanding before her bed. It held a pair of shears in its hands. Thesilver blades glistened in the moonlight.
“The worldcries because of your kind,” the deep voice said. “And we cannotstand idly by while you and countless others continue to destroy it.”
“Well said. Nowfinish it,” the woman's voice said in her head. The shadow raisedits weapon and plunged it into Mary's torso. She screamed and flailedher arms. The shadow grabbed her arms and pinned them against thebed.
“Snap out of itMary,” the shadow said in Thad's voice. “Good god, you're goingto wake the neighbors.” Mary opened her eyes and found Thadstanding over with her hands pinned. In his left hand, he held a pairof shears. She struggled away from him. “Snap out of it.” Heglanced at the shears and tossed it aside.
“What were youdoing with that?” Mary edged to the corner of the bed, clenchingthe blanket.
“I don't know.It was here.” Thad held up his hands. “You need to calm downMary. You had another nightmare. Take deep, slow breaths.”
“You're the onepinning me down and holding shears over my head. And you're asking meto calm down?” Thad sighed.
“Look, I don'tknow where the shears came from alright? You were thrashing in bed soI held before you fell off,” he said. “And the shears were justhere on the bed. Besides, what would I be doing with them?” Maryloosened her grip on the blanket while her heartbeat steadied.
“I'm sorryThad. You're right.” Tears gathered along her eyelids. “It wasreal. The words, I heard them. The shadow was right there too withthe shears.” Thad drew closer towards her with his arms extended.She embraced him. “I'm sorry.” Thad stroked her hair.
“Don't worryabout it. Whatever it is, it's gone now.” Mary tilted back herhead to gaze into Thad's eyes. For a brief moment, she spotted a darkshadow under his eyelids. It drifted into his pupils and vanished.Thad blinked and shook his head. “Let's get back to bed,” hesaid. “We can deal with this tomorrow. Alright?”
! Ten Months
! Several more weeks passed and the two voices grew stronger. Maryheard the deep voice speak to her, urging her to kill the child tospare the world, but she fought it. However, Thad's attitudedwindled. He cursed and slammed his fist against the counter where hestudied the bills. Shadows emerged from his eyes and shaded his face.Mary gasped when his eyes changed colors under the kitchen lights.
“What is it?”He bared his teeth. “Something on my face? Well? Say something.”
“Are youalright? You seem really off recently.”
“Why should Ibe alright?” He crushed the papers in his hands and held it up toher. “Look at this. You know how much everything's costing me?”The papers trembled in his fists. “Goddamn country is fallingapart. I can't stand it anymore. The money, where am I suppose to getthe money? What should I do huh?” Thad threw the papers into theair and pressed his fists against his eyes. “How are we suppose tolive?”
“I'm sorry. CanI help with anything?” Mary placed her hand on his shoulder, but hebrushed it away.
“Yes. You canhelp me.” He stood and pressed his index finger against herstomach. His lips twisted into a fierce grin. “Get rid of it. Youcould fix all our problems with just one decision. All the stress.All the financial concerns. All the fears. Gone. Just when we get ridof this leech.” Mary's eyebrows furrowed.
“You sickbastard.” She punched him in the gut. Thad stumbled backwards,toppled over the scattered bills. “What's wrong with you?”
“Nothing'swrong with me. I'm just thinking clearly.” He crawled onto hisknees and lifted his head. “There's still time Mary. I know a lotof businesses that can still get rid of it in the third trimester.”
“Don't you darecall our child 'It'.” Tears flowed down Mary's cheeks. She clenchedboth her fists and stood over Thad. Her husband shook his head.
“I prefer notto get attached to a leech,” he said. His body trembled and heaved.“It'll suck away our youth, our livelihood, and leave us nothing inreturn.”
“Are you out ofyour mind?” Mary asked. Thad met her eyes and laughed.
“No, I'mperfectly sane Mary. It just took me a little while to figure out,but now I know.” He pushed her aside and crawled onto his feet.“When we get rid of all the leeches, we can then spare the world ofits inevitable destruction.” Dribble spilled from his lips. Helifted his trembling hands and approached Mary. She kept her distancewith her fists raised. She spotted the shadow surrounding Thad'sbody. A rusted shear materialized in his left hand.
“It'll onlytake a second Mary,” a deep voice said from behind Thad.
“Don't run.Hold still for a moment darling.” Mary heard the female voice inher head.
“Mary, we needto do this,” Thad said. He raised the shear into the florescentlight. The discolored blades shimmered. “For our sake.”
“All of youshut up.” She scrambled behind the couch in the living room. “Don'tcome closer Thad. I'm warning you.” Her husband edged towards herwith the shears aimed at her torso.
“We can go to aclinic and get it taken care of now. There's hundreds open twentyfour seven with experts who make it painless and easy. These peopleare saviors, Mary. Sparing the world from pointless hordes ofleeches.”
“Well saidThad,” the deep voice said. “Now do away with it.” Thad leapedtowards Mary and scrambled over the couch. Mary punched his nose.Blood spilled over her hand. She screamed and darted away from hermoaning husband. Thad lowered his shears to grasp his bleeding nosewith his free hand.
“Dammit Mary.”He smeared the blood across his face and raised his shears. “Fine.Lets do it the hard way.” He kicked the couch aside, grabbed herhair, and pulled back her head. She punched his nose again whichcaused him to loosen his grip. He fell to knees, dropped his shears,and collapsed on his side. The deep voice screamed at him.
“What're youdoing man? Get up. How can you let a petty wound get you down?Pathetic flesh.” The shadow leaped from his body and materializedinto a tall man in a black leather duster. The coat's popped collarsand tilted wide brimmed cap concealed its face. The shadow driftedaround Mary and stretched its arms across the doorway. “No escapeMary,” it said. Mary stepped back and scrambled away.
“Why are youdoing this to me?”
“You're not theonly one,” the female voice said in her head. “You and countlessothers are now subject to our objective to rejuvenate Earth.”
“Indeed,” thedeep voice added. “It's a revolution that will cure the madnessfrom consuming our planet. We are the heroes, Mary, not the villains.Now hold still. It will all be over soon.” The shadow towered overMary and drew a pair of shears from its belt.
“I don't careabout the reasons. You can't have my child.” Mary turned to herside before the shears could pierce her belly. She cried when theblades struck her ribs and tore the skin. Thad opened his eyes andturned his head to Mary.
“My god, Mary.”He scrambled to his feet, snatched the shears from the shadow, anddarted into the bedroom. The shadow turned from Mary and pursuedThad. “Get out of here,” he shouted to his wife.
“I'm sorryThad. Forgive me,” she said before she crawled into the kitchen.Her body screamed in pain, but she persevered. The infant inside herkicked and shuddered. She pressed her hand over her belly andgroaned.
“Don't leaveMary. I'm not done with you,” the shadow said from the bedroom.“When I finish off Thad, I'll take care of you and that leech.”
“Even if youescape, I'll follow you,” the woman's voice said in Mary's mind.“Nowhere to run darling. Nowhere at all.” She ignored them,shoved open the front door and toppled down the front steps. Sheheard Thad struggle with the shadow behind her. Tears stained hercheeks. She felt the infant squirm insider her, struggling to escape.Warm fluid leaked down her crotch and stained her jeans. She pattedher pockets and found her cellphone. Her fingers managed to press9-1-1 and summon the dial-tone.
! Postpartum: One Day Old
! The third trimester came to an end in spite of the nagging voice inher head. The shadows' threats followed her. After giving birth toher daughter, the voices vanished. She leaned her head against apillow in the recovery room. The television screen flickered to thenews where a tall man glared into the screen with a microphonepropped up to his lips. He adjusted his tie and spoke.
“The statisticsare staggering, folks. Never have I seen such a substantial rise inmiscarriages, abortions, and disappearances in my life. We have atleast several homicides in each counties per day with ninety percentof them being pregnant women attacked by their husbands. This is atruly a national epidemic. If this trend continues, we could easilysee-” She raised the remote and switched to another channel where apriest stood before his congregation. He waved his hands and waltzedacross the stage.
“It's the endladies and gentleman. Like it was prophesied in end times, the Lordhas raptured the pure unborn before the second coming. We are nextbrothers and sisters. Prepare for yourself, for the end has come.”A cold sensation spread through her gut.
It is really happening isn't it?She thought. The revolution?She shut off the television and closed her eyes. Her thoughts turnedto Thad, but she suppressed them before the tears flowed. The policenever managed to find any traces of him and the shadows. Atleast the baby is safe. That's all that matters.
“You think soMary?” Thad's voice asked in her mind. “It's not over. You willhave many years left to raise the leech alone. The pain will neverend.”
“You're notThad,” she said.
“Doesn'tmatter,” Thad's voice continued. “Prepare yourself Mary, therevolution will not stop until the planet's balance is restored.”