The Feeding: AWIU 9-12
Adult/Horror (Graphic and adult language, gore / violence) - about 1900 words
Part Nine
-23:16 hours EST
She took the ramp onto I-990 South.
"Thank you", Chuck said.
She exhaled and nodded.
After a moment she said, "Where we going?"
"Hamburg... You know where that is?"
She nodded. "Ninety west and two-nineteen."
"Right", Chuck said. "You want the South exit, to Armor Duells and then left."
She drove on without a word. Her hands were at the ten and two o'clock positions, on the wheel. It looked like she hadn't been driving long, but that was expected. She couldn't have been much more than eighteen years old.
The studs in her ears caught Chuck's attention, for the first time. There was a nose ring as well, a little hoop, to go along with them. Her eyes were focused on the road, but they were floating in held back tears. At that moment, he couldn't help wondering, if she was wearing contacts.
Chuck turned away and shook his head at himself.
Then he said, "I'm sorry about your friend.”
A wave of pain washed over her face, but she kept going. The silence in the Cruiser became pronounced, after a short while. He thought briefly about asking her name, but he decided the timing was wrong. Instead, he pulled out his cell phone and called Judy's house. Darryl and Judy's house, he thought. After three rings, it transferred to voice mail.
A man said, “This a Darryl”. A woman said, “This is Judy”, and then a child, who was nine years old at the time, said “I’m Jake! Leave a message, please and thank you.” It beeped.
Chuck said, “Judy it’s Charles, pick up the phone please… I know it’s late, I know it’s Sunday, but it’s important, alright? Just pick up the phone, I need to talk to you, hello?
“Look, it’s a serious emergency out here, I’m not playing. Pick up the phone if you hear me, hello? Hello?
“Uh… Darryl?”
It beeped again. Chuck swore and hung up the phone. He tried two more times, but it didn’t even ring; voicemail picked it up, immediately.
“Fuck”, he said, and then, “Wait! That’s the exit right there!”
The girl hit the brakes and yanked the steering wheel to the right. The Cruiser’s passenger side lifted up into the air; it was on two tires for a while. When the car came back down, it bounced hard before righting itself. The girl put her head down on the wheel, and then she started crying.
Chuck said, “Hey, no... No, don’t do that, please, I’m sorry... I know this is hard, and-
“And this is the scariest shit I seen in life… You don’t have to be out here like this, I’ll catch a ride… I’ll catch a ride and you can go home.”
“No!”
She turned around, with tears in her eyes.
“We have to get your son, right? That what you said… We can’t just leave these, fucking whatever they are, running around, I won’t do it… Let’s just get him before something happens.”
She turned the Cruiser and headed the wrong way down the interstate, back to 90 West.
Chuck said, “I can drive if you want… Give you a rest.”
She shook her head.
“You’re not on my insurance”.
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Part Ten
-23:51 hours, EST
As soon as they got off 219 South, they saw a number of bodies. Some of them were red, stripped and laying on the ground, but others it seemed, were up and moving around. They had large wounds in their arms and necks, which were covered with blood clots and scabs. A few of them were missing hands, or feet or limbs, but they still stumbled along.
Chuck said, “What the hell?”
These were obviously corpses. Many of them had pale skin, which was black and flaking around the edges. Others were missing noses, ears, eyes, and skin in large patches. All of them moved slowly, and all of them had cloudy, faded irises that didn’t look normal.
The girl said, “This isn’t some joke, right? They’re not gonna pull off their masks… or wipe off their makeup and show us the cameras or something, right?”
Chuck shook his head. “No.”
She slowed the car down. As they traveled along Armor Duells Road, the amount of things walking around increased. When they passed Hedgerow Drive, the mass of bodies was so large, she was forced to drive at a crawl. Finally she had to stop, as several of them were shambling by, in front of the vehicle.
The girl said, “How much farther?”
Chuck said, “It’s your next left.”
The creatures in front of them moved on, except for one male; he paused and turned towards their direction, cocked his head to one side and sniffed. Something came up to the girl’s window and she jumped. It was a heavyset older woman, with white hair and pale skin; she put her face up to the glass and flared her nostrils, and then her blue lips curled away from her gums and teeth.
Up the street, two things that would have been women before, creatures free of decay, bumped into and knocked over corpses, as they ran towards them.
The girl said, “Oh, God…”
Glass shattered by Chuck and the arm of a very large creature reached in. The hand found his collar, the woman-things climbed onto the hood and another fresh creature smacked into the passenger side; it struck at the rear window and it cracked. Chuck grabbed onto the girl’s seat, but the thing on him was strong; he was being pulled out.
“Shit!” he said. “Back up!”
The car lurched forward immediately, plowing into the crowd. Chuck yelled at her to stop, but that just scared her. The women-things did not let go. The large beast in the window held on as well and they picked up more riders. Unable to see where they were going, the girl hit the brakes a moment too late, and they crashed into a light pole.
The girl hit the inflated airbag. Chuck collapsed against her seat. Blood splashed the side of his face. The women-things flew off.
They hit a nearby store front, fracturing multiple bones.
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Part Eleven
-00:02 hours, EST
A short time passed. Chuck's body was sore in numerous places and his arm started bleeding again. He put pressure on the wound, and then he kicked something by his feet; it was a large, severed arm. He didn't see where the owner was.
The girl was lying on top of her airbag. Besides the visible signs of breathing, she was immobile. Chuck asked if she was alright, but she didn't answer. He wanted to shake her, gently by the shoulder, but he found that he was shaking.
A creature leaned in, through his window and grabbed him. It was a fresh man-thing, free of decay and flushed with blood. It squirmed and wiggled its torso halfway in, clawing and struggling with him, and pulling his arm closer to its open maw.
Chuck heard the whirring of a small motor. The remains of Chuck's window pushed up on the thing, and its back hit the top of the frame. It let go of Chuck instantly and tried to push out. Blood dripped from its chest, where the glass cut in, but it was pushing down onto it; the glass held and the creatures back was forced up, onto the window frame.
It started to panic. Something squealed, from deep inside of the thing, and its efforts to escape became frantic. The girl was confused, but she didn’t take her hand off the dashboard controls.
“Don’t stop”, Chuck said.
She didn’t. Something snapped under the creature’s shoulder blades, and a squeal echoed around in its chest, before the sound escaped. The lips that were curled released and relaxed, and the body fell limp. The girl let go of the switch and the whirring stopped.
She said, “What is that? What is that making that noise?”
“I don’t know.”
Blood trickled down from her nose and she wiped it away.
Chuck said, “You alright?”
She sniffed and wiped at her nose again, and then she nodded.
The girl’s door was jammed, so she followed Chuck out of the rear passenger door. The woman-things were writhing around on the sidewalk in front of them, unable to stand. One of them had cracked her skull on the ground; blood and grey matter escaped from the wound, but she still moved and squealed. Her vocal chords weren’t capable of making a sound like that and Chuck knew it.
Three decaying creatures were coming up, from behind the vehicle. The girl got behind him, but they all turned and shambled around, to the passenger side. They removed the clothes of the corpse in the wreck and they gnawed at him. The girl clung to Chuck’s back and he looked around.
More were coming, but they were headed in the same direction. The large man-thing that lost its arm, was on the ground and surrounded by creatures, about ten yards east of the women. A large pool of blood was underneath it, and the creatures were biting and ripping at him, while pulling off his clothing.
Chuck looked at the female creatures again. They were still shifting and squirming around, but none of the creatures bothered them. In fact, four of the things walked right over them, en route to the feast, ten yards away. Chuck pulled the girl by the arm and they jogged up to the next street; it was Abbott Road.
After jogging down Abbott a short while, Chuck stopped the girl. He put his hands out from his sides and waited. After thinking about it a minute, he motioned for her to follow him, and he turned back towards Armor Duells, back towards the monsters.
She said, “What are you doing?”
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Part Twelve
-00:11 hours, EST
He put a finger to his lips to silence her, and they stepped out cautiously amongst the creatures. Something Chuck hadn’t counted on, was how fast they were able to consume. The large corpse on the floor, was being stripped bare of meat. The corpse in the wreck had been pulled down, to lay face up and be finished off. Nearby, a team of two creatures were devouring the severed arm.
A creature by the wreck, a female, chewed and swallowed and bit off another piece. While it was eating, scabs fell off of it, revealing pink skin untouched by the rays of the sun. Other creatures were changing, as well. The ones on the arm were becoming flushed, from a pallor that was deathly pale.
Two creatures by the Cruiser looked up, and turned towards their direction. As they chewed, gashes they received from their peers closed up, and their cheeks were turning rosy. Their nostrils flared at them, but they bent down and returned to their food. The crowd by the other corpse had finished with that body; they walked around and sniffed.
Some of them were wandering away, but several were walking towards Chuck and the girl, opening and closing their jaws.
“Run!” Chuck said.
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Friday, March 27, 2015
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Parts Five-Eight
"The Feeding: A Woman in Uniform" - 5-8 (of eighteen); Approximately 1,900 words
Adult/Horror (Graphic language, adult language, gore and violence)
Part Five
-22:50 hours, EST;
Despite the struggle and despite Harry's shock and despite the frenzied attack from the woman-thing, the scene was almost silent. Its jaws were snapping and searching and finding nothing at the time, but Chuck wasn't breathing right and he couldn't keep fending it off. Harry's legs seemed frozen in place; his heart beat in his ears and he shook against his sudden immobility, but he couldn't wrench free from the fear. The monster put a knee on Chuck's neck, and the scream from his friend shocked Harry out of it.
He looked under the counter, finding no gun where one should be. Twisting around, he looked for any sort of weapon; finally, he grabbed hold of a steak knife. A horrible yell reached his ears and he turned to see the woman-thing chewing, and then swallowing dripping red flesh. Chuck was covering his right forearm, and blood was seeping out the cracks between his fingers.
Harry closed his eyes shut and then opened them slightly, to squint at the scene. It was blurry and somewhat hidden by beams and reflections of light. He ran to the end of the counter and threw up the divider. With his hand tight on the knife handle and his eyes half-hidden under their lids, he ran up to the creature and raised the blade, before slashing down with all his strength.
It sunk into the skull of the thing, like an ax cutting into firewood. Harry opened his eyes all the way and he froze. It was looking in his direction, but it wasn't really looking at him. Blood poured into the light brown hair and down its face, as It started to lean forward.
Chuck bunched his sleeve over the wound in his arm, and he pressed down hard against the pain. Blood drenched the fabric and he was feeling dizzy, but he was calmed by the fact that the thing seemed to be dying. The creature's hands fell onto the floor, but then it pushed up onto its feet and leapt. Harry cried out and the creature was on him.
He tried to regain his balance and fend it off, but the thing tore a chunk out of his neck. While struggling and trying to push away, Harry lost three fingers, from his right hand. She bit his cheeks again and again as they were falling, and when they landed, she bit the nose off of his face. Chuck heard his own screening in his ears, but nothing else. The thing payed him no attention, as it was focused on feeding alone.
The old man was gone. Cardiac arrest killed him, before they even hit the ground. Chuck grabbed an overturned bar stool and pushed himself up. He was woozy and bleeding, and there was a sound like the shucking of corn, as strips of flesh and muscle were torn off of Harry's face.
Chuck shuddered and grabbed hold of the stool with both hands. Before he could raise it, a shadow spread over his side and there was movement, next to him; it was three other men. One of the males looked like an officer. Another was tall and slim and dressed like he was in the Army. The third guy was Billy, who apparently never made it home.
They were standing in a perfect line, side-by-side. Their eyes were still and clouded over and they seemed to be staring into space. Chuck took a step back and Billy's head turned toward him. Their eyes didn't meet and no words were exchanged, but Billy's nostrils were flaring and the intake of air was loud. Chuck took another step back and Billy's lips curled away, from his gums and teeth.
The soldier's lips curled, and then the officer's lips curled and folded away and Chuck turned to his right to start running, towards some unknown destination.
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Part Six
-23:02 hours, EST
There was no door, no hall entrance, and nothing behind the counter but glass bottles. To the left of the bar was a dark archway, and Chuck ran for it, with the blood from his arm dripping down his side. He plunged into the darkness and tripped on a chair, but then he regained his balance, while knocking two others aside. The three men-things fell over the chairs, but they got up and were coming fast.
Chuck rushed toward a sliver of light, that outlined a door in the wall nearby; it was locked. As soon as he turned the switch on the doorknob, the soldier rammed into him, and then Billy and the cop pushed them from behind. The door flew open and all of the men hit the ground.
Chuck panicked. He shoved his arms under the soldier's neck, while it bit at the air between them and leaned closer. All Chuck could see was gums and tongue and blood-stained teeth. A hand grabbed his boot and he wrenched free, then he pushed the soldier up, as hard as could. Fortunately, the man was a hundred and forty pounds, and he was thrown into the cop, who fell down with him.
Billy lunged at Chuck, but he was knocked back, by a blow to the jaw. The punch staggered the Bill-thing, but he didn't lose his balance completely, and the other two creatures were already up. Chuck turned and ran as fast as he could. He didn't know if the things chasing him got tired, but they were definitely faster than he was.
His shirt sleeve was stuck to the bite size wound in his forearm, and it stung every time he moved it. His upper back hurt, and he thought that the soldier had bruised him, but he ran around the building and into the lot, like he didn't feel it burning. Fingers reached and swept through his hair and he ran even faster. He didn't know which steps were his and which ones were the monsters; they were dangerously close.
He didn't have time to start the truck; he didn't even have time to pull out the keys. Instead, Chuck leapt into the bed and then jumped down, to keep running. The three behind him were following so fast, they couldn't make the adjustment. Billy and the cop smacked into the truck, and the soldier's leap was too short to clear the bed; he hit it before he fell inside.
Chuck dared to glance behind him, as he fled. The things couldn't possibly feel any pain, or tire at all; they recovered inhumanly fast. Before he made it out to the street, they were already a foot behind him. In the corner of his eye, he saw headlights coming his way, at a rapid pace. Ignoring his instincts, he ran out into the road and cut across it diagonally, towards the oncoming vehicle.
The horn blared as the SUV closed in, over seventy miles an hour. The front bumper missed Chuck by an inch, but it plowed into Billy and the soldier, while the tires screamed. The impact was loud and the broken bodies fell limp against the wreck, as it rushed ahead.
The officer ran on, like he didn't notice the accident. Chuck cursed at himself, for looking behind his back and letting the creature gain ground. His lungs couldn't take much more and his muscles were starting to give. Once he hit the opposite sidewalk, he headed towards a nearby gas station. It was about twenty-five yards away, but he didn't know if he would live to reach it.
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Part Seven
-23:06 hours, EST
They weren't paying attention. The girls in the gray PT Cruiser were talking and listening to music, as they pulled into a space by the corner of the convenience store. All Chuck thought at that moment, was that the passenger side window was down, and that it was his only hope. He wouldn't have fit through it, but he didn't have to; the blond in the passenger seat, opened the door without looking.
The dark-haired girl, behind the wheel screamed. Before the other one turned around, he leapt inside. The officer-thing grabbed and caught his foot and he yanked it free. Chuck kicked, and then he crawled farther inside and kicked again. He heard the gear shift change and felt the car move backwards, but then the girl in the passenger seat was pulled out of the vehicle.
The Cruiser stopped abruptly and he fell against the back seats. The air around him filled with screaming that was so loud, he had to cover his ears.The girl behind the wheel, the girl being eaten, a young man that must have worked there and another guy, an onlooker, were yelling at the tops of their lungs. The jaws of the officer-thing, clamped down on the young woman's forehead; blood ran down her left eye and mixed with her tears, as she struggled in vain.
The girl behind the wheel was hysterical. She was curled into a ball on her seat and she shuddered there. The guys nearby were yelling at the thing, telling it to leave the blond girl alone. Instead, it ripped out her throat.
All the yelling stopped. Chuck laid there ruined by exhaustion, but the rest were shocked still and dumb. The thing ripped another piece off, then another, and it chewed and it swallowed and it turned back to its meal. The employee took a step towards it, but then he stopped and turned. A man with his lips folded inside out, was rushing towards the worker at full speed.
It tackled the onlooker next to him and they fell, in front of his feet. Screams cut into the silence once again, and the young man turned and ran away.
The girl behind the wheel was whimpering; her hands were on her knees, her head was down on her hands and she was shaking. In the distance, another bout of screaming reached their ears on the wind. Chuck knew it was that young man, that was being eaten alive.
The girl said, "Oh my god...
"Oh my god oh my god oh my god".
A figure in the rear view mirror caught Chuck's eye. It was that woman in the cop uniform, walking up from a distance.
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Part Eight
23:12 hours, EST
Her face was normal this time, but the steak knife was still in her head. Clotted blood was in her hair, under her chin and on her clothes. The eyes in her head were as blank and expressionless as before, and she walked at a slow, deliberate pace. Chuck turned back around.
"Get outta here", he said.
The girl cringed and then stopped moving.
Chuck said,"Get outta here!
"Get outta here, c'mon!”
The young woman turned and looked at him. She had piercing blue eyes, which held Chuck in place. After a moment, she looked up and saw the woman-thing's approach. Its lips curled and folded away, from its gums and teeth.
Chuck said,"God, girl... get outta here."
She threw the car in reverse. When she backed up, she hit the woman-thing and it toppled. The girl shifted gears again and the tires squealed, as they left the parking area.
"The thruway", Chuck said. "Take the thruway."
The girl glanced back at him, but said nothing.
"Please", Chuck said. "We have to get my son".
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Adult/Horror (Graphic language, adult language, gore and violence)
Part Five
-22:50 hours, EST;
Despite the struggle and despite Harry's shock and despite the frenzied attack from the woman-thing, the scene was almost silent. Its jaws were snapping and searching and finding nothing at the time, but Chuck wasn't breathing right and he couldn't keep fending it off. Harry's legs seemed frozen in place; his heart beat in his ears and he shook against his sudden immobility, but he couldn't wrench free from the fear. The monster put a knee on Chuck's neck, and the scream from his friend shocked Harry out of it.
He looked under the counter, finding no gun where one should be. Twisting around, he looked for any sort of weapon; finally, he grabbed hold of a steak knife. A horrible yell reached his ears and he turned to see the woman-thing chewing, and then swallowing dripping red flesh. Chuck was covering his right forearm, and blood was seeping out the cracks between his fingers.
Harry closed his eyes shut and then opened them slightly, to squint at the scene. It was blurry and somewhat hidden by beams and reflections of light. He ran to the end of the counter and threw up the divider. With his hand tight on the knife handle and his eyes half-hidden under their lids, he ran up to the creature and raised the blade, before slashing down with all his strength.
It sunk into the skull of the thing, like an ax cutting into firewood. Harry opened his eyes all the way and he froze. It was looking in his direction, but it wasn't really looking at him. Blood poured into the light brown hair and down its face, as It started to lean forward.
Chuck bunched his sleeve over the wound in his arm, and he pressed down hard against the pain. Blood drenched the fabric and he was feeling dizzy, but he was calmed by the fact that the thing seemed to be dying. The creature's hands fell onto the floor, but then it pushed up onto its feet and leapt. Harry cried out and the creature was on him.
He tried to regain his balance and fend it off, but the thing tore a chunk out of his neck. While struggling and trying to push away, Harry lost three fingers, from his right hand. She bit his cheeks again and again as they were falling, and when they landed, she bit the nose off of his face. Chuck heard his own screening in his ears, but nothing else. The thing payed him no attention, as it was focused on feeding alone.
The old man was gone. Cardiac arrest killed him, before they even hit the ground. Chuck grabbed an overturned bar stool and pushed himself up. He was woozy and bleeding, and there was a sound like the shucking of corn, as strips of flesh and muscle were torn off of Harry's face.
Chuck shuddered and grabbed hold of the stool with both hands. Before he could raise it, a shadow spread over his side and there was movement, next to him; it was three other men. One of the males looked like an officer. Another was tall and slim and dressed like he was in the Army. The third guy was Billy, who apparently never made it home.
They were standing in a perfect line, side-by-side. Their eyes were still and clouded over and they seemed to be staring into space. Chuck took a step back and Billy's head turned toward him. Their eyes didn't meet and no words were exchanged, but Billy's nostrils were flaring and the intake of air was loud. Chuck took another step back and Billy's lips curled away, from his gums and teeth.
The soldier's lips curled, and then the officer's lips curled and folded away and Chuck turned to his right to start running, towards some unknown destination.
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Part Six
-23:02 hours, EST
There was no door, no hall entrance, and nothing behind the counter but glass bottles. To the left of the bar was a dark archway, and Chuck ran for it, with the blood from his arm dripping down his side. He plunged into the darkness and tripped on a chair, but then he regained his balance, while knocking two others aside. The three men-things fell over the chairs, but they got up and were coming fast.
Chuck rushed toward a sliver of light, that outlined a door in the wall nearby; it was locked. As soon as he turned the switch on the doorknob, the soldier rammed into him, and then Billy and the cop pushed them from behind. The door flew open and all of the men hit the ground.
Chuck panicked. He shoved his arms under the soldier's neck, while it bit at the air between them and leaned closer. All Chuck could see was gums and tongue and blood-stained teeth. A hand grabbed his boot and he wrenched free, then he pushed the soldier up, as hard as could. Fortunately, the man was a hundred and forty pounds, and he was thrown into the cop, who fell down with him.
Billy lunged at Chuck, but he was knocked back, by a blow to the jaw. The punch staggered the Bill-thing, but he didn't lose his balance completely, and the other two creatures were already up. Chuck turned and ran as fast as he could. He didn't know if the things chasing him got tired, but they were definitely faster than he was.
His shirt sleeve was stuck to the bite size wound in his forearm, and it stung every time he moved it. His upper back hurt, and he thought that the soldier had bruised him, but he ran around the building and into the lot, like he didn't feel it burning. Fingers reached and swept through his hair and he ran even faster. He didn't know which steps were his and which ones were the monsters; they were dangerously close.
He didn't have time to start the truck; he didn't even have time to pull out the keys. Instead, Chuck leapt into the bed and then jumped down, to keep running. The three behind him were following so fast, they couldn't make the adjustment. Billy and the cop smacked into the truck, and the soldier's leap was too short to clear the bed; he hit it before he fell inside.
Chuck dared to glance behind him, as he fled. The things couldn't possibly feel any pain, or tire at all; they recovered inhumanly fast. Before he made it out to the street, they were already a foot behind him. In the corner of his eye, he saw headlights coming his way, at a rapid pace. Ignoring his instincts, he ran out into the road and cut across it diagonally, towards the oncoming vehicle.
The horn blared as the SUV closed in, over seventy miles an hour. The front bumper missed Chuck by an inch, but it plowed into Billy and the soldier, while the tires screamed. The impact was loud and the broken bodies fell limp against the wreck, as it rushed ahead.
The officer ran on, like he didn't notice the accident. Chuck cursed at himself, for looking behind his back and letting the creature gain ground. His lungs couldn't take much more and his muscles were starting to give. Once he hit the opposite sidewalk, he headed towards a nearby gas station. It was about twenty-five yards away, but he didn't know if he would live to reach it.
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Part Seven
-23:06 hours, EST
They weren't paying attention. The girls in the gray PT Cruiser were talking and listening to music, as they pulled into a space by the corner of the convenience store. All Chuck thought at that moment, was that the passenger side window was down, and that it was his only hope. He wouldn't have fit through it, but he didn't have to; the blond in the passenger seat, opened the door without looking.
The dark-haired girl, behind the wheel screamed. Before the other one turned around, he leapt inside. The officer-thing grabbed and caught his foot and he yanked it free. Chuck kicked, and then he crawled farther inside and kicked again. He heard the gear shift change and felt the car move backwards, but then the girl in the passenger seat was pulled out of the vehicle.
The Cruiser stopped abruptly and he fell against the back seats. The air around him filled with screaming that was so loud, he had to cover his ears.The girl behind the wheel, the girl being eaten, a young man that must have worked there and another guy, an onlooker, were yelling at the tops of their lungs. The jaws of the officer-thing, clamped down on the young woman's forehead; blood ran down her left eye and mixed with her tears, as she struggled in vain.
The girl behind the wheel was hysterical. She was curled into a ball on her seat and she shuddered there. The guys nearby were yelling at the thing, telling it to leave the blond girl alone. Instead, it ripped out her throat.
All the yelling stopped. Chuck laid there ruined by exhaustion, but the rest were shocked still and dumb. The thing ripped another piece off, then another, and it chewed and it swallowed and it turned back to its meal. The employee took a step towards it, but then he stopped and turned. A man with his lips folded inside out, was rushing towards the worker at full speed.
It tackled the onlooker next to him and they fell, in front of his feet. Screams cut into the silence once again, and the young man turned and ran away.
The girl behind the wheel was whimpering; her hands were on her knees, her head was down on her hands and she was shaking. In the distance, another bout of screaming reached their ears on the wind. Chuck knew it was that young man, that was being eaten alive.
The girl said, "Oh my god...
"Oh my god oh my god oh my god".
A figure in the rear view mirror caught Chuck's eye. It was that woman in the cop uniform, walking up from a distance.
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Part Eight
23:12 hours, EST
Her face was normal this time, but the steak knife was still in her head. Clotted blood was in her hair, under her chin and on her clothes. The eyes in her head were as blank and expressionless as before, and she walked at a slow, deliberate pace. Chuck turned back around.
"Get outta here", he said.
The girl cringed and then stopped moving.
Chuck said,"Get outta here!
"Get outta here, c'mon!”
The young woman turned and looked at him. She had piercing blue eyes, which held Chuck in place. After a moment, she looked up and saw the woman-thing's approach. Its lips curled and folded away, from its gums and teeth.
Chuck said,"God, girl... get outta here."
She threw the car in reverse. When she backed up, she hit the woman-thing and it toppled. The girl shifted gears again and the tires squealed, as they left the parking area.
"The thruway", Chuck said. "Take the thruway."
The girl glanced back at him, but said nothing.
"Please", Chuck said. "We have to get my son".
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Parts One-Four
Many thanks to www.WritingForums.com, for their input on this story.
The Feeding: A Woman in uniform 1-4 (of eighteen) 3,208 words
Adult/Horror (Graphic violence and adult language)
Part One:
-Sunday night, 21:00 hours
The lamp threw a spotlight onto the ceiling and Chuck Stoddard was lying in bed, staring at it. Another half-hour passed by, before he got up.There was no music blaring from downstairs that night, or any noise at all from that apartment. Still, he couldn't sleep.
He took off his pajamas and put on some jeans; they were a tight fit. Size thirty-six pants shouldn't have been a tight fit, and they never were before, but that wasn't the only thing that seemed off. The gray in his hair looked worse than he thought it did the day before, and hours ago he realized, that he's been peeing more often.
After getting into the pickup, he turned the key in the ignition and then turned up the radio, nice and loud. Black Sabbath told him to "Read in-between the lines", and it took some considerable effort, to focus on the lyrics and nothing else. During the trip into Amherst, New York, a cop did notice the raised volume, but Chuck smiled and waved at him and as they passed, the wave was returned. He saw no more traffic on the way to Emma's.
The parking lot there was empty except for three cars, and Chuck knew the owners by heart. The Jeep Wrangler in the far corner, meant that Harry was tending the bar. By the side door was an old Lincoln town car, that he knew for sure was Billy's, and in the center of the lot was Jack's Escalade. He pulled over next to it and cut off the engine.
Before he could push his door open, movement caught the corner of his eye. He turned towards his side view mirror to see the edge of -something, running behind the pickup. He turned...
There was nothing behind the rear windshield, but whatever it was could be ducking behind the truck bed. Frowning, he got out. After a step towards the rear, he paused and hesitated there, for more than a minute. It could have been a deer but Chuck didn't think so; he was pretty sure it was on two legs.
He took another step forward and his mind reached for an explanation. It could have been a kid's prank, but if so it was a big kid, not even a teenager. He cocked his head to the right and peered under the truck; there was nothing there but a shadow on the ground and yet this still didn't calm him. As he leaned forward to look into the bed, his temples throbbed and his face was flushed with blood.
Nothing... No one in the bed and no one behind. He took another step, half-expecting someone to jump out at him, from the passenger side, but that didn't happen. There was nothing to see there at all. While standing there with his head throbbing, he looked around. There was a business park to his right, that was dark and silent. Over the lawn at the rear of the lot, were two homes by a clump of trees.
All was quiet.
"You admirin' the view?"
Chuck looked over and saw Billy in the side door. He was holding it open and smiling at him, under that huge mustache of his.
Chuck said, "I'm stargazin' buddy... and lookin' for your mom, I know she workin' out here."
"Shut up bitch. Yours left here an hour ago, with her panties in her mouth."
"Nice."
Chuck followed Billy inside and closed the door. He didn't hear the snap, which echoed through the trees in the distance. It was followed by the wail of a hound, which was cut just short of two seconds.
-----------------------
Part Two:
Harry's face was a smile of wrinkles when he saw him.
"Chuck", he said. "I swear, you're the last-"
Jack said, "The last one, right?"
"The absolute last sonofabitch I expect on a Sunday. I'm actually lost for words."
They all laughed.
Chuck said, "Gotta keep you on your toes, pop."
"Yes indeed. Will you keep it up with a different order, or..."
"Bourbon's just fine Harry. We'll start with that."
Chuck took his seat by Jack, in front of the beer taps. His friend was 28 years old, so that made Chuck his elder by a decade and Billy the man in the middle, at 34. Despite that, Jack was undoubtedly better off. In addition to their vehicles, which stood as sufficient proof, their styles of dress were also telling. Jack looked like he walked out of a business meeting, while the other two were trimming the lawn, outside.
Jack said, "What's up, old man?"
Chuck said, "Old man my ass. What's up is I wanna talk to you some."
"About what?"
Chuck paused, and then he said, "Let's do it across from the dartboard. What you drinkin'?"
Jack sighed, and slumped forward in his seat. "No no, no no no no."
"What?"
"I'm not doing this. I said I'm not doing this."
"What? What do you mean?"
"Look", Jack said. "I told you my hours are from eight to four, Monday through Thursday... if you want my help, we do it on the clock from now on."
Chuck said, "What's that shit? I didn't know you did business by leechin' off your friends."
"Wha'? Look man... I've gotta eat just like everyone else, okay? I don't do charity work."
"No", Chuck said. "You just like takin' it... How many times I saved your ass in collections, Jack? How many?"
Another heavy sigh. Jack said, "A few times, yeah."
"Quite a few times", Chuck said. "Four at least. And I don't think you'd be practicin' now, if it wasn't for me."
Jack kept silent and shook his head.
Chuck said, "Would you Jack? Would you have got enough money to finish that school, if I let you get fired from there? Would you've got another job, with that potty mouth o' yours? Or would you be stuck in my apartment right now, callin' people?"
Billy said, "He's got a point there, Junior."
Jack shook his head and closed his eyes. "Fine... You wanna play darts let play darts."
---------------------
Part Three;
Chuck was horrible at darts, but the board was close to the windows and far away from the bar. After taking position behind a taped line, twenty inches away from the target, he aimed and threw the first one; it struck the support beam, well above the board. The second went far right, and bounced off the edge.
Jack said, "What's on your mind Charles? Trouble sleeping again?"
Chuck threw number three and it struck dead center: bull’s-eye. Jack laughed and shook his head.
Chuck said, "I'm not sleepin' much yeah... And I'm gettin' testy... You know what I'm saying? It's like I don't have no patience no more."
"Did you pull 'a Jack'?"
Chuck shook his head. "No", he said, and then he bent to pick up darts.
"No, but I could. I'm gettin' close to losing it man, and I could go off any minute... And I been relaxin', like you said. I took some of my time but, I could take a year more off and I don't know if that'd do it."
"Hmmm".
Jack took the darts and stood at the line. His first two throws hit their mark, number twenty on the board.
"When's the last time you been laid?"
Chuck didn't answer. The third dart hit seventeen, and after a pause, Jack turned around and looked at him.
"When's the last time you been laid, Charles?"
Again, no answer. Chuck just looked off to one side, whispering to himself.
Finally, Jack said, "Has it been since the divorce?"
A sigh, and then Chuck nodded in agreement.
Jack said, "Well that's your problem right there. You need some pussy... simple as that."
"Is that your professional opinion?"
"Absolutely."
Jack dug out the darts from the board and handed them over.
Chuck said, "I never heard of no shrink, givin' advice like that."
Jack said, "You want the technical term? Fine.... The answer is copulation."
He shrugged.
"...Intercourse... mating... You need to find yourself a vagina and you need to meet with the medic inside, I know what I'm talking about here."
Chuck rubbed his temples. "Man...
"I'd love to, yes, but you don't understand. I've hung out at the bars, I've been online and nothing works man, you know? It just don't work for me."
"Bullshit", Jack said. "If you want to get anywhere at all, I'm telling you right now, you gotta drop this attitude."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you're a quitter and that's exactly what you've been doing... Look, I can't tell if you're serious or not, but If you want to change your mood, if you want to calm down, if you want to see the sunny side of life, you got three options, okay?"
Chuck nodded and Jack went on.
"Again, the first one is the best. You go fucking commit to that job and I mean seriously, Charles. No getting discouraged, no 'woe is me', you knock on a thousand doors for an answer, then you knock on a thousand more.
"The second way is you start on Driaxyl... that's an anti-depressant. If we put you on that, I'm telling you now, you'll be a ray of sunshine all day, every day... You'll also be a big, smiling idiot".
Chuck took his place behind the tape. He aimed and threw the first dart, which flew far left and bounced off a window.
"I'm listening", he said.
"Option three is we take you to the vet... and we lay you down and we get you neutered".
------------------------------
Part Four:
Jack walked back to the bar and picked up his coat. "Alright guys...I'd love to stay but, the old lady's not down with that."
Harry said, "Alright. Take care Jack".
"Take care man", Billy said.
After Jack exited the bar, Billy turned to Chuck and said, "So what did he tell ya?"
Chuck shot him a look. "... He told me I need sex."
"He gets paid for that?"
Harry laughed.
Billy said, "He's right man, fuck... What's it been? Two years?"
Chuck said, "That ain't none of your god-damned business, alright?"
"I mean since the divorce Charles. Relax man...
"See that's the type o' shit we been talking about, man. You all sprung up an' shit."
Chuck said, "I'm fine, it's just..."
Harry said, "You are not fine son... I could've told you that."
Harry poured Chuck a glass of beer, and handed it over to him.
Now lookit... I cain't say I'm no psychiatrist but, I can say that more people come to me with their problems, than Jack ever gets. So after a decade of that, you get to notice when somethin's botherin someone, and you been bothered a long time, so... If he says you need a meeting, with a nice young woman, I'm willin' to back 'im up."
Chuck said, "I'm trying... I've been doin' something about that every week, but... you know, what the fuck? I'm thirty-eight years old...There's a lot of guys out there younger than me, and better lookin' than me, and with a lot more in the bank and it's just hard man."
Harry said, "Well, what have you been doing?"
"I'm on SingleSite-dot-com."
Billy said, "Uh uh, man. That ain't no way to go. Look..."
Billy finished off his Budweiser, and then he put the bottle down.
"Look at me. You ain't never seen me without no girlfriend, and that's because I'm out there every day... talkin' to people, gettin' to know people. Online it just ain't the same. Women can't get who you are from no picture... You gotta smile at 'em and talk to 'em or yeah, they gonna go for the buff guys with the six pack every time. If you can't come up to no woman and ask for her phone number man... I'm tellin' you, you not going anywhere."
Harry said, "He's right. I was married before all that internet stuff was big and that's not how we did it back then. I can tell you for a fact, that if Emma ever sat down in front of some monitor, to read my pitch and eye up my picture, I'd never have married her."
"That's right", Billy said. "You gotta stop all that typin' and shit and start talkin' man."
Chuck nodded.
Billy said, "Let me get some 'Sam Adam's' Harry... That Oktoberfest one."
Harry reached under the counter and started searching. "You got it."
Billy said, "What else is up, man? How's the little one?"
Chuck said, "He's good. We went up to the park today and threw the ball around. He's big enough now that he can almost tackle me, without me faking it."
Harry opened a beer bottle and slid it over to Billy. "Who, Jacob? How old is the boy now?"
"He's eleven".
Billy said, "Woooow... Shit, I'm gettin' old, man."
Harry said, "He still with his Mom?"
Chuck sighed. "His Mom and Darryl…
"Yes he is... And if it was up to them, I wouldn't see him at all."
Billy said, "Fuck man... She should be payin' you alimony."
Billy took a sip of beer and then glanced over at Harry. The old man had a startled look on his face, so Billy turned to see what he was staring at. Chuck also turned. There was a woman walking in, from the side door.
Chuck's eyes moved from her face, to her light brown shoulder-length hair, right down to her cleavage. The tan brown skin was moist with sweat.Her breasts were stretching out her blue shirt, and that was unbuttoned right down to her navel. After she took another a step forward, one of the overhead lights bounced off of something metal on her blouse, and a spot of reflected light danced up her chest, to her collarbone. Another step forward and that metal shined in Chuck's eye; it was a badge.
It looked like a badge from the Buffalo, New York Police Department, but that didn't seem right to him. It was tough for Chuck to focus on anything, but those breasts and that skin, and her face and her hair, but he did so long enough to see the rest of the story. She wore blue pants, with a single dark stripe on the outside of each leg. The stripes led up to an empty gun belt, but she had a baton strapped to her left side and that looked real.
Nothing else made sense to him, though. Chuck had seen plenty of female officers around, but none of them looked like that. Women cops were professional and conservative; they wore caps, or they tied their hair up into buns. Most of them had bullet proof vests on, and they tried their best to mute or hide their attractiveness. They did not wear makeup, they did not wear lashes and they certainly weren't unbuttoning shirts and bearing skin.
As she moved closer though, Chuck could see her well enough to know that her shirt wasn't unbuttoned; the buttons were missing. The shirt was also dark and damp around the collar, but that was probably just the sweat, that was glistening on her skin. He caught himself getting excited, so he looked away.
Harry said, "Uh... good evening officer. Is there something I can get for you?"
She didn't respond. Instead, she moved to the far right corner of the bar away from everyone, and she took her seat with her back to the bathrooms. The three men were silent for a moment. There was a light directly above her, and it illuminated her hair and her skin, in both an enticing and a very surreal way. Chuck thought that she looked like a fantasy, or a dream.
"My good God", Billy said.
"Hmmm...”, Harry said.
The men looked away from the woman with raised eyebrows. After a sip of beer, Chuck saw that Harry was looking at Billy, and then Harry looked in Chuck's general direction, before snapping his eyes back to their mutual friend. What was happening was obvious.
"Well alright", Billy said, and then he got up. "I don't want Marlene to wait too long."
He took a long drink of beer and then he put the bottle down.
"Goodnight boys".
Chuck sat there, with his mouth open. Billy made a quick exit, leaving him and the bartender alone with that woman; that cop that shouldn't be there looking like that, or acting like that. Why would an officer enter a bar in uniform? It didn't make sense to Chuck at all.
If she was a cop it was wrong, but Chuck doubted she was a cop. Maybe she was a stripper with a really good looking uniform. Or a stolen one. That had to be it.
Chuck finished off his beer and then he looked up, to find that Harry was staring at him. The old man was giving him a look; his lips were pursed, his eyebrows were raised and there was an inquisitive look in his eyes. Chuck threw his hands up.
"Fine", he said. "Give me two glasses of wine, White wine."
Harry obeyed and Chuck grabbed them, before leaving his seat. The woman was sitting there almost motionless, and Chuck started to feel uneasy. He told himself it was more than just nervousness; she was young and attractive but, she was looking at nothing at all and she was breathing heavy, for some unknown reason.
Her nostrils were stretching, to consume as much air as possible, and with that, her chest expanded and compressed in a very noticeable way; it didn't help. With each step, Chuck felt his stomach getting queasier. He took a deep breath, and tried to walk over as straight and mechanically as he could. Taking the seat to her left, he placed one glass in front of her, within reach.
"I hope you don't mind", he said. "You look like you had a rough night."
She didn't answer. Her head moved slightly in his direction, but she didn't look at him. Chuck leaned over to make eye contact, but when he did, she seemed to look straight through him. Her eyes were brown but clouded and her nostrils were flaring.
Chuck said, "Are you okay?"
She cocked her head in his direction and her lips partially opened. Their eyes were in line with each other, but Chuck saw nothing in hers; they were absent. The corners of her mouth moved up and Chuck smiled wide, in response.
"Hi...Are you alright?"
Her lips parted a bit more, and then they curled.
Chuck didn't understand what he was seeing; the lips had folded inside out, and away from her gums and teeth. The white of her enamel was stained pink, and her mouth opened wider than he would have thought possible. The skin, by the corners of her mouth stretched thin.
Chuck leaned back. His temples hurt and his vision was blurred and he noticed that he had stopped breathing. The woman or thing leaned forward in her seat and then pounced on him.
----------------------------------------------
The Feeding: A Woman in uniform 1-4 (of eighteen) 3,208 words
Adult/Horror (Graphic violence and adult language)
Part One:
-Sunday night, 21:00 hours
The lamp threw a spotlight onto the ceiling and Chuck Stoddard was lying in bed, staring at it. Another half-hour passed by, before he got up.There was no music blaring from downstairs that night, or any noise at all from that apartment. Still, he couldn't sleep.
He took off his pajamas and put on some jeans; they were a tight fit. Size thirty-six pants shouldn't have been a tight fit, and they never were before, but that wasn't the only thing that seemed off. The gray in his hair looked worse than he thought it did the day before, and hours ago he realized, that he's been peeing more often.
After getting into the pickup, he turned the key in the ignition and then turned up the radio, nice and loud. Black Sabbath told him to "Read in-between the lines", and it took some considerable effort, to focus on the lyrics and nothing else. During the trip into Amherst, New York, a cop did notice the raised volume, but Chuck smiled and waved at him and as they passed, the wave was returned. He saw no more traffic on the way to Emma's.
The parking lot there was empty except for three cars, and Chuck knew the owners by heart. The Jeep Wrangler in the far corner, meant that Harry was tending the bar. By the side door was an old Lincoln town car, that he knew for sure was Billy's, and in the center of the lot was Jack's Escalade. He pulled over next to it and cut off the engine.
Before he could push his door open, movement caught the corner of his eye. He turned towards his side view mirror to see the edge of -something, running behind the pickup. He turned...
There was nothing behind the rear windshield, but whatever it was could be ducking behind the truck bed. Frowning, he got out. After a step towards the rear, he paused and hesitated there, for more than a minute. It could have been a deer but Chuck didn't think so; he was pretty sure it was on two legs.
He took another step forward and his mind reached for an explanation. It could have been a kid's prank, but if so it was a big kid, not even a teenager. He cocked his head to the right and peered under the truck; there was nothing there but a shadow on the ground and yet this still didn't calm him. As he leaned forward to look into the bed, his temples throbbed and his face was flushed with blood.
Nothing... No one in the bed and no one behind. He took another step, half-expecting someone to jump out at him, from the passenger side, but that didn't happen. There was nothing to see there at all. While standing there with his head throbbing, he looked around. There was a business park to his right, that was dark and silent. Over the lawn at the rear of the lot, were two homes by a clump of trees.
All was quiet.
"You admirin' the view?"
Chuck looked over and saw Billy in the side door. He was holding it open and smiling at him, under that huge mustache of his.
Chuck said, "I'm stargazin' buddy... and lookin' for your mom, I know she workin' out here."
"Shut up bitch. Yours left here an hour ago, with her panties in her mouth."
"Nice."
Chuck followed Billy inside and closed the door. He didn't hear the snap, which echoed through the trees in the distance. It was followed by the wail of a hound, which was cut just short of two seconds.
-----------------------
Part Two:
Harry's face was a smile of wrinkles when he saw him.
"Chuck", he said. "I swear, you're the last-"
Jack said, "The last one, right?"
"The absolute last sonofabitch I expect on a Sunday. I'm actually lost for words."
They all laughed.
Chuck said, "Gotta keep you on your toes, pop."
"Yes indeed. Will you keep it up with a different order, or..."
"Bourbon's just fine Harry. We'll start with that."
Chuck took his seat by Jack, in front of the beer taps. His friend was 28 years old, so that made Chuck his elder by a decade and Billy the man in the middle, at 34. Despite that, Jack was undoubtedly better off. In addition to their vehicles, which stood as sufficient proof, their styles of dress were also telling. Jack looked like he walked out of a business meeting, while the other two were trimming the lawn, outside.
Jack said, "What's up, old man?"
Chuck said, "Old man my ass. What's up is I wanna talk to you some."
"About what?"
Chuck paused, and then he said, "Let's do it across from the dartboard. What you drinkin'?"
Jack sighed, and slumped forward in his seat. "No no, no no no no."
"What?"
"I'm not doing this. I said I'm not doing this."
"What? What do you mean?"
"Look", Jack said. "I told you my hours are from eight to four, Monday through Thursday... if you want my help, we do it on the clock from now on."
Chuck said, "What's that shit? I didn't know you did business by leechin' off your friends."
"Wha'? Look man... I've gotta eat just like everyone else, okay? I don't do charity work."
"No", Chuck said. "You just like takin' it... How many times I saved your ass in collections, Jack? How many?"
Another heavy sigh. Jack said, "A few times, yeah."
"Quite a few times", Chuck said. "Four at least. And I don't think you'd be practicin' now, if it wasn't for me."
Jack kept silent and shook his head.
Chuck said, "Would you Jack? Would you have got enough money to finish that school, if I let you get fired from there? Would you've got another job, with that potty mouth o' yours? Or would you be stuck in my apartment right now, callin' people?"
Billy said, "He's got a point there, Junior."
Jack shook his head and closed his eyes. "Fine... You wanna play darts let play darts."
---------------------
Part Three;
Chuck was horrible at darts, but the board was close to the windows and far away from the bar. After taking position behind a taped line, twenty inches away from the target, he aimed and threw the first one; it struck the support beam, well above the board. The second went far right, and bounced off the edge.
Jack said, "What's on your mind Charles? Trouble sleeping again?"
Chuck threw number three and it struck dead center: bull’s-eye. Jack laughed and shook his head.
Chuck said, "I'm not sleepin' much yeah... And I'm gettin' testy... You know what I'm saying? It's like I don't have no patience no more."
"Did you pull 'a Jack'?"
Chuck shook his head. "No", he said, and then he bent to pick up darts.
"No, but I could. I'm gettin' close to losing it man, and I could go off any minute... And I been relaxin', like you said. I took some of my time but, I could take a year more off and I don't know if that'd do it."
"Hmmm".
Jack took the darts and stood at the line. His first two throws hit their mark, number twenty on the board.
"When's the last time you been laid?"
Chuck didn't answer. The third dart hit seventeen, and after a pause, Jack turned around and looked at him.
"When's the last time you been laid, Charles?"
Again, no answer. Chuck just looked off to one side, whispering to himself.
Finally, Jack said, "Has it been since the divorce?"
A sigh, and then Chuck nodded in agreement.
Jack said, "Well that's your problem right there. You need some pussy... simple as that."
"Is that your professional opinion?"
"Absolutely."
Jack dug out the darts from the board and handed them over.
Chuck said, "I never heard of no shrink, givin' advice like that."
Jack said, "You want the technical term? Fine.... The answer is copulation."
He shrugged.
"...Intercourse... mating... You need to find yourself a vagina and you need to meet with the medic inside, I know what I'm talking about here."
Chuck rubbed his temples. "Man...
"I'd love to, yes, but you don't understand. I've hung out at the bars, I've been online and nothing works man, you know? It just don't work for me."
"Bullshit", Jack said. "If you want to get anywhere at all, I'm telling you right now, you gotta drop this attitude."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean you're a quitter and that's exactly what you've been doing... Look, I can't tell if you're serious or not, but If you want to change your mood, if you want to calm down, if you want to see the sunny side of life, you got three options, okay?"
Chuck nodded and Jack went on.
"Again, the first one is the best. You go fucking commit to that job and I mean seriously, Charles. No getting discouraged, no 'woe is me', you knock on a thousand doors for an answer, then you knock on a thousand more.
"The second way is you start on Driaxyl... that's an anti-depressant. If we put you on that, I'm telling you now, you'll be a ray of sunshine all day, every day... You'll also be a big, smiling idiot".
Chuck took his place behind the tape. He aimed and threw the first dart, which flew far left and bounced off a window.
"I'm listening", he said.
"Option three is we take you to the vet... and we lay you down and we get you neutered".
------------------------------
Part Four:
Jack walked back to the bar and picked up his coat. "Alright guys...I'd love to stay but, the old lady's not down with that."
Harry said, "Alright. Take care Jack".
"Take care man", Billy said.
After Jack exited the bar, Billy turned to Chuck and said, "So what did he tell ya?"
Chuck shot him a look. "... He told me I need sex."
"He gets paid for that?"
Harry laughed.
Billy said, "He's right man, fuck... What's it been? Two years?"
Chuck said, "That ain't none of your god-damned business, alright?"
"I mean since the divorce Charles. Relax man...
"See that's the type o' shit we been talking about, man. You all sprung up an' shit."
Chuck said, "I'm fine, it's just..."
Harry said, "You are not fine son... I could've told you that."
Harry poured Chuck a glass of beer, and handed it over to him.
Now lookit... I cain't say I'm no psychiatrist but, I can say that more people come to me with their problems, than Jack ever gets. So after a decade of that, you get to notice when somethin's botherin someone, and you been bothered a long time, so... If he says you need a meeting, with a nice young woman, I'm willin' to back 'im up."
Chuck said, "I'm trying... I've been doin' something about that every week, but... you know, what the fuck? I'm thirty-eight years old...There's a lot of guys out there younger than me, and better lookin' than me, and with a lot more in the bank and it's just hard man."
Harry said, "Well, what have you been doing?"
"I'm on SingleSite-dot-com."
Billy said, "Uh uh, man. That ain't no way to go. Look..."
Billy finished off his Budweiser, and then he put the bottle down.
"Look at me. You ain't never seen me without no girlfriend, and that's because I'm out there every day... talkin' to people, gettin' to know people. Online it just ain't the same. Women can't get who you are from no picture... You gotta smile at 'em and talk to 'em or yeah, they gonna go for the buff guys with the six pack every time. If you can't come up to no woman and ask for her phone number man... I'm tellin' you, you not going anywhere."
Harry said, "He's right. I was married before all that internet stuff was big and that's not how we did it back then. I can tell you for a fact, that if Emma ever sat down in front of some monitor, to read my pitch and eye up my picture, I'd never have married her."
"That's right", Billy said. "You gotta stop all that typin' and shit and start talkin' man."
Chuck nodded.
Billy said, "Let me get some 'Sam Adam's' Harry... That Oktoberfest one."
Harry reached under the counter and started searching. "You got it."
Billy said, "What else is up, man? How's the little one?"
Chuck said, "He's good. We went up to the park today and threw the ball around. He's big enough now that he can almost tackle me, without me faking it."
Harry opened a beer bottle and slid it over to Billy. "Who, Jacob? How old is the boy now?"
"He's eleven".
Billy said, "Woooow... Shit, I'm gettin' old, man."
Harry said, "He still with his Mom?"
Chuck sighed. "His Mom and Darryl…
"Yes he is... And if it was up to them, I wouldn't see him at all."
Billy said, "Fuck man... She should be payin' you alimony."
Billy took a sip of beer and then glanced over at Harry. The old man had a startled look on his face, so Billy turned to see what he was staring at. Chuck also turned. There was a woman walking in, from the side door.
Chuck's eyes moved from her face, to her light brown shoulder-length hair, right down to her cleavage. The tan brown skin was moist with sweat.Her breasts were stretching out her blue shirt, and that was unbuttoned right down to her navel. After she took another a step forward, one of the overhead lights bounced off of something metal on her blouse, and a spot of reflected light danced up her chest, to her collarbone. Another step forward and that metal shined in Chuck's eye; it was a badge.
It looked like a badge from the Buffalo, New York Police Department, but that didn't seem right to him. It was tough for Chuck to focus on anything, but those breasts and that skin, and her face and her hair, but he did so long enough to see the rest of the story. She wore blue pants, with a single dark stripe on the outside of each leg. The stripes led up to an empty gun belt, but she had a baton strapped to her left side and that looked real.
Nothing else made sense to him, though. Chuck had seen plenty of female officers around, but none of them looked like that. Women cops were professional and conservative; they wore caps, or they tied their hair up into buns. Most of them had bullet proof vests on, and they tried their best to mute or hide their attractiveness. They did not wear makeup, they did not wear lashes and they certainly weren't unbuttoning shirts and bearing skin.
As she moved closer though, Chuck could see her well enough to know that her shirt wasn't unbuttoned; the buttons were missing. The shirt was also dark and damp around the collar, but that was probably just the sweat, that was glistening on her skin. He caught himself getting excited, so he looked away.
Harry said, "Uh... good evening officer. Is there something I can get for you?"
She didn't respond. Instead, she moved to the far right corner of the bar away from everyone, and she took her seat with her back to the bathrooms. The three men were silent for a moment. There was a light directly above her, and it illuminated her hair and her skin, in both an enticing and a very surreal way. Chuck thought that she looked like a fantasy, or a dream.
"My good God", Billy said.
"Hmmm...”, Harry said.
The men looked away from the woman with raised eyebrows. After a sip of beer, Chuck saw that Harry was looking at Billy, and then Harry looked in Chuck's general direction, before snapping his eyes back to their mutual friend. What was happening was obvious.
"Well alright", Billy said, and then he got up. "I don't want Marlene to wait too long."
He took a long drink of beer and then he put the bottle down.
"Goodnight boys".
Chuck sat there, with his mouth open. Billy made a quick exit, leaving him and the bartender alone with that woman; that cop that shouldn't be there looking like that, or acting like that. Why would an officer enter a bar in uniform? It didn't make sense to Chuck at all.
If she was a cop it was wrong, but Chuck doubted she was a cop. Maybe she was a stripper with a really good looking uniform. Or a stolen one. That had to be it.
Chuck finished off his beer and then he looked up, to find that Harry was staring at him. The old man was giving him a look; his lips were pursed, his eyebrows were raised and there was an inquisitive look in his eyes. Chuck threw his hands up.
"Fine", he said. "Give me two glasses of wine, White wine."
Harry obeyed and Chuck grabbed them, before leaving his seat. The woman was sitting there almost motionless, and Chuck started to feel uneasy. He told himself it was more than just nervousness; she was young and attractive but, she was looking at nothing at all and she was breathing heavy, for some unknown reason.
Her nostrils were stretching, to consume as much air as possible, and with that, her chest expanded and compressed in a very noticeable way; it didn't help. With each step, Chuck felt his stomach getting queasier. He took a deep breath, and tried to walk over as straight and mechanically as he could. Taking the seat to her left, he placed one glass in front of her, within reach.
"I hope you don't mind", he said. "You look like you had a rough night."
She didn't answer. Her head moved slightly in his direction, but she didn't look at him. Chuck leaned over to make eye contact, but when he did, she seemed to look straight through him. Her eyes were brown but clouded and her nostrils were flaring.
Chuck said, "Are you okay?"
She cocked her head in his direction and her lips partially opened. Their eyes were in line with each other, but Chuck saw nothing in hers; they were absent. The corners of her mouth moved up and Chuck smiled wide, in response.
"Hi...Are you alright?"
Her lips parted a bit more, and then they curled.
Chuck didn't understand what he was seeing; the lips had folded inside out, and away from her gums and teeth. The white of her enamel was stained pink, and her mouth opened wider than he would have thought possible. The skin, by the corners of her mouth stretched thin.
Chuck leaned back. His temples hurt and his vision was blurred and he noticed that he had stopped breathing. The woman or thing leaned forward in her seat and then pounced on him.
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