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  by

  Jerry W. McKinney

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  Published by:

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  Copyright © 2011 by Jerry W. McKinney

 

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  "I'm sorry." Penny peeked at me through the drape of black hair covering her down-turned face. Using the heel of her hand, she wiped a smear of crimson across her lips — my blood. The bitch just bit me. It was a reflexive move; my arm had sent her sprawling when I felt the pain. I looked across the bed with my hand holding my shoulder. The blood escaped between the grip, running small rivulets down my chest. Her eyes were not upon mine but my wound. Sensing she wanted more, I backed to the wall, in shock and unsure of my next move. Penny crept slowly towards me, making guttural sounds as she neared.

  For weeks I had been watching her in the bar. Penny’s dark hair, contrasted by near porcelain skin … I was completely entranced. Her subtle moves and stares had always been directed toward others, until tonight. She didn’t wait for me to ask but took my hand as we walked into the night. Totally enthralled by the wondrous ecstasy that was to come in her arms, the moments of pure pleasure that seemed inevitable as she led me to her bed — nothing could be more perfect. As we disrobed, her cold touch caressed a multitude of shivers through my body. I closed my eyes as Penny embraced me tightly, and then sank her teeth into my shoulder.

  She crawled across the bed, cutting me from escape. In a sudden motion, the dark-haired beauty turned to pounce.

  “Mommy?”

  The boy looked younger than five years old. His hand still perched on the doorknob as he looked into the gloom at Penny.

  “Mommy, I’m hungry. It hurts, Mommy.”

  “Oh Max,” she comforted while wrapping her nakedness in a sheet. “Let’s get you taken care of.” Penny returned her attention to me. “Please don’t leave, we have to talk.”

  I nodded to her, but had no intention of hanging around. I didn’t want anything to do with this kinky shit. Slipping on my pants as she led the boy through the door, gathering my things quickly as possible, I looked out into the main room in search of an exit. Penny withdrew a cat from a cage. The feline twisted and hissed as she snapped its neck. The boy stared up with eager eyes and tore into it with a ravenous zeal.

  Heck, I didn’t leave … I ran.

  Morning came and went. I spent the daylight hours huddled behind the room-darkening shades that covered the two windows of my apartment. I tried to eat, but it just made me vomit. Knowing that the human mouth is full of germs, I had dressed the wound when I returned last night. The gauze was browning with dried blood, so I removed it. The skin underneath was unblemished. My stomach cramped as the day progressed. And I was quite surprised by a knock on the door as the sun fell past the horizon. I opened the door slightly until seeing who it was, then pushed it back.

  “Ian? I just want to talk, please let me in, it’s important.” Her voice seemed sincere. “Are you sick, Ian? I can help. I promise.”

  My stomach took that moment to double up in an extremely painful knot. I fell to my knees. Hearing me cry out, she pushed on the door. The frame splintered as if it were balsa wood. With unbelievable speed, she held my head in her arms. Using a fingernail to dig a scratch on her forearm, Penny pressed it to my lips. It was cold and sweet, yet it burned in my mouth. The suffering stopped immediately. The ecstasy! My mind became aware of every sound, every movement. I watched her chest heave in a long sigh and her eyes roll back. No orgasm has been as sweet.

  “We need to go,” she pled as she pulled her arm from my mouth.

  “What? Why? I don’t understand.”

  “Ian, I need you to trust me.” Her face was filled with remorse. Those large dark eyes that had haunted me for weeks still held their effect on me. I’d die for her; little did I know … I had.

  The room wasn't cool yet I shivered as I rose to my feet. Penny steadied me before I toppled. Giving me a moment to clear my head, she took my arm and led me back to her basement apartment on the outskirts of the city. We entered and she quickly cast me aside then ran to her son.

  “No!” she cried out. “Max, stop!”

  His miniature form was huddled over what looked like a teenage girl, teeth tearing at her throat with the same exuberance as the cat. He looked up seemingly startled. The girl’s arms still twitched in death throes.

  “I’m sorry, Mommy, I was so hungry and she smelled so good.”

  She scooped him off the body, and then cradled him in her lap as she sat on the floor. His chin wiped blood onto Penny’s tan shirt. She was staring at the young girl while rocking her son.

  “I was so hungry, Mommy.”

 

  “Shhhh … It’s alright, Max. Shhhh …” Continuing her calming sways. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.” I looked over to Penny and realized she was speaking to me. “Tami Frund is … was,” she corrected herself, “her name. She lived upstairs and used to come down and play with my little one.” Penny stroked his hair and kissed the boy. “At least she will never have to feel the pain, the awful hunger of death. What have I done? I’m sorry! What have I done?” As she rocked her child, she looked at me with such pity.

  “We have to call the cops. I mean, the poor girl is dead,” I assessed.

  Penny cried out a laugh that curled the hair on the back of my neck. “Dead? Dead, you say?" She blurted out another hoarse laugh. “We’re all dead, you fool. Tami’s the lucky one. You were supposed to die. Just dumb luck.” Cuddling her son tighter with his head lain upon her chest.

  I was speechless. I hadn’t noticed until then, the air had a deeper smell. The night had a thousand sounds, all wanting to tell me a story. I heard the legs of a cockroach scurry, then footsteps descending an unseen stairway. They approached and stopped outside the door to the apartment. A hesitant tapping on the door.

  “Penny? Penny, are you home? Tami didn’t come home. Thought maybe you’ve seen her.”

  She placed a finger across her lips to bid me silence. I looked at the dead teen on the floor and my heart truly ached for her parents. After a moment the steps ascended the stair once again.

  “Just stay with me tonight and in the morning you’ll understand.” Her soulful eyes burned into me from across the room. “I didn’t mean to bite him. I figured it’s not his fault I’m this way. I could raise him as a normal child, no one would know. While playing, he jumped up into my face. We were laughing and just this once his shoulder scraped my teeth. To another mother, we would have cleaned it well and watched for infection. To him, it was a death warrant. Max has been five for three years now. But I’ve never let him kill.”

  A new smell appealed to my senses. I realized it was coming from the body of the young girl. My stomach growled quite audibly. She smelled delicious.

  Penny smirked, “You’re weak and need nutrition. But please leave her be, there are cats in the other room.”

  My mind raced back to the previous night, watching the child devouring assuredly someone’s lost pet. Penny didn’t move, but cradled her son and they whispered to each other throughout the night. I watched the sun rising from the edges of black paper taped across the window of the door.

  “You can’t stay here.” Standing as she spoke. “Go to the back door and run to the culvert. The shade of the house will protect you. It will be dark enough there to spend the day. They will come looking for Tami.”

  “What about you?”

  “Oh, I need to do something I should have done a long time ago. Now go!”

  I made my way to the backside of the apartment and opened the door. The gloominess of the room was replaced by the light outside. It felt incredibly warm on my skin. I began walking to the pipe s
he had mentioned. In three steps I was running. The air felt like an oven and all I could think about was the cool darkness. I dove into it headfirst. Then turned in time to see Penny, still with her son in her arms, walking out the door. They didn’t come toward the culvert, but into the bright sunlight.

  I’ll always remember those screams.

  In the early hours of the morning, no one heard the noise or just didn’t care. I stayed in the gloom and stink of that pipe all day. Tried to rest, but it was impossible. About midday, I heard new cries of anguish; guess Tami had been discovered. The police drove up quickly in their cars. Drawing back into the black as much as possible, I used the mud from