Terrifying Love: A Halloween Anthology

by Serena Nova

  I pressed further against the glass and found that I was able to go back through. He dropped his wife as I stalked closer to him and scrambled away. "You can't hide from me Greenwood. You will pay for what you did to me. Your family will never be safe." I sneered as I easily caught up with him and wrapped my hand around his throat. This time I asked, "Do you have any last words before you go to the bowels of Hell?"

  "Please forgive me," he pleaded as I allowed him to speak.

  "Never," I hissed as I dished out my revenge.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Present day...

  The house had cleared out quickly, so it wasn't hard to get to the door this time. The haunting laughter followed me as I dipped in and out of the hanging material. I hadn't seen Lui for a while, so I also kept an eye out for him, but it was hard when every time I looked in the many mirrors, I saw her face. She no longer had streaks of bloody tears, but her face was frightening all the same. Not to mention that I knew she would try to get me next. I struggled with my need to make sure the bodies were taken care of, especially Trey's, and my fear of what would happen to me.

  I think the part of me that became an officer in the first place, that need to know why and find the truth, was the only thing that kept me moving. I didn’t know if it were a good thing or a bad thing.

  A few people milled about the doorway, putting on coats quickly and waiting to be able to get through to the outside. The chatter coming from them was filled with fear and desperation as they tried to get out as quickly as possible.

  I spotted the doorman handing coats and personal items to people as quickly as he could. He didn't seem to be frightened as the others were. When I made it over to him, I talked as I helped him to hand out the coats.

  He smirked, "Thank you. I'm sorry I couldn't get them to stay. They all rushed me, demanding that I give them their belongings. A big group even shoved me away from the door and left in the buff."

  I sighed, "I figured that would happen once everyone freaked out. I don't blame you at all. Actually, I think it's better they leave anyway. We don't need any more deaths. Did the girl ever come back from making the phone call?" I questioned as I handed another coat to who I assumed was a man wearing latex head to toe.

  "She did. She said she couldn't get through, though. Then she came back just before the rush of people came and said ‘Fuck it. I don't get paid enough for this shit’,” he took a moment to make air quotes as he rolled his eyes. "I think she's going to try again when she gets home. At least, I hope. I've asked everyone that I could get to listen to do the same. I'm sure help will come soon."

  I shrugged, "Probably not in time. Look, you're almost done here. Why don't you head out when you're done? It's too dangerous here.” I couldn't protect anyone without a gun and with an invisible perpetrator.

  "You should probably leave, too,” he advised. "No one needs to know you were here. The organizers of these pop-up parties don't keep records of who comes. Somehow, they managed to do some computer wizardry that doesn't keep the names or identifying information on the attendees."

  "It's a good thing you're not telling this to a cop," I said wryly. "I would, but my boyfriend was one of the victims," my voice hitched and tears pooled in my eyes. I whispered, "I can't leave his body until I know he's taken care of."

  "I'm so sorry," he replied sincerely. "I told the owner that this was not a house to hold it in. There are so many stories of a ghost out for vengeance and people dying here. They laughed at me." He shook his head as he handed the last person their coat. "I'm going to head out now. I'll try calling 9-1-1 until I get through."

  He gave me a side hug and I took the chance to ask, "Did you happen to see a man in blue shorts that look like some sort of superhero? Tall, dark, and handsome."

  He chuckled lightly, "Tall dark and handsome describes a whole lot of men here. I think I know the one you're talking about, though. He came in with two other guys similarly dressed, right?" I nodded my head. "Yes, he left with the first wave of people. He was one of the ones in the group that shoved me out of the way."

  I thanked him and watched him walk out the door before I took a deep breath and headed back to where I left Max. It was time for me to send him away and face this woman that, for some reason, had it out for me.

  Chapter Fifteen

  30 years ago...

  My thrill of telling each ancestor my name stuck with me for all this time. The only disappointment was that the Ames family moved away and so much time passed since I was last able to kill one. The Creator granted me the power to exact revenge but only within this town.

  I was tired, though. I wanted someone, anyone, to make amends for the horrors inflicted on my people. None of them ever did. I got excuses and denials right up until the end. The last two I destroyed had little boys, ones that I would kill once they produced more heirs. Maybe I should have allowed the men to live a little longer, to have more children, but the sight of them caused my need for revenge to become impossible to ignore. I struck early and didn't regret it even though I was tired.

  I seemed to be unable to control it, even worse since I couldn't get any more of the Ames. I craved to have the blood of the family that turned against me, a need that burned through my veins and I couldn’t ignore it no matter how hard I tried.

  I would never forget that during the long journey on the ship to the new world, William Ames had been in talks with my parents for his son to be betrothed to me. He was close friends with my parents, and they wanted to join our families together, marriage being the way.

  I didn't know exactly why that fell apart, but I believe it was because neither myself or his son got along. There weren't any hard feelings back then that I knew of. Our families spent a lot of time together up until my parent's death.

  While I was up there, being accused of committing sins that were punishable by death, William shouted out that I was a whore on the ship, and he caught me having relations with the crew. It shocked me as I thought no one knew of the time I spent with the crew on that ship. We were careful and I'd only kissed one. I wasn't a whore and his lies made sure that no sympathy was given to me.

  It was so satisfying to kill him, more so than the Minister. When he saw me in the mirror and said my name, his son was right there, the one I could have ended up married to. He heard his father say my name and said, "Mary? Why are you talking about that woman I caught sleeping with the ship crew? Father? What's going on?"

  William never answered him and I relished seeing his son's face as blood seeped out of his eyes and I told him, "William, your son is next since you have plenty of them to give me more victims in the future."

  He pleaded with me to let his son live. I laughed maniacally as a thought occurred to me. William valued his son's life more than his own. I let him go and attacked his son, ignoring his pleas.

  As the sobs wracked William's body at watching his son suffer at my hands, I focused my attention back on him. My revenge was complete at his death, but I lusted for more. At the time, I was unsure if the Creator would allow me to stay to enact my revenge on the next generation.

  As I fell back into the mirror, my dark room awaited, and I watched as Mrs. Ames found her son and husband dead on the floor. My own tears fell as hers did, tears of blood that came every time I thought of my Sassomon, Tatoson, and Thomas. I rubbed my empty, yet still swollen belly, as I watched the world pass by through the mirrors.

  My thoughts came back to the present as I watched another Baxter pass by the mirror, chasing after his son. It felt the sting of jealousy as I thought of my own child that never got the chance to see the world.

  "I'm going to get you, Trey," the elder Baxter chuckled as he chased his son. The boy ran off with a squeal leaving the ancestor of Richard Baxter alone and in my sights.

  As I took his life, he refused to acknowledge that his family was wrong, exactly like his great many times over grandfather. Richard was one of the simplest kills and not as satisfying as the rest. I hadn
't known him well in life and was shocked that he spoke out that I'd been a sinner before I left the village, living without a chaperone. Richard shouted to the crowd that he was lucky he refused to marry me and patted himself on the back for being such a good judge of character. As I took the life from him, he still refused to admit he'd never actually proposed to me.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Present Day...

  I sat on the floor next to Trey's dead body as I spoke to Max. "Your friend Lui left according to the doorman. Everyone is gone and you should leave, too."

  "I really don't want to leave you alone here. I don't want to leave Sam, either. He was my best friend. I can't believe he's gone." His eyes glistened and he scrubbed his face with his hands before looking at me intently, "I don't understand how you can be so calm."

  I shrugged, "I'm pretty sure I'm in a state of shock right now. That and my training as a police officer. I just focus on the steps and I'm sure I'll fall apart later. Especially, when I have to tell his mom." I knew I wouldn't be the one to tell her because I wouldn't make it out of the house. "You should really go. It would be great if you could try calling my partner and tell him to get here."

  He sighed heavily before answering, "I suppose you’re right. If I have to, I'll drive over to the police station. Since I'm sure your name isn't Kat, what name do I use to get them here?"

  "Calia Ames. Most people call me Lia." I found a napkin and grabbed one of the tubes of body paint, part of the goodies the club provided, and used it to write my partner's number and name. "Thank you for making sure that help comes."

  "It was nice to meet you, Calia Ames. I hope that we can see each other again. Maybe I'll have to go speeding through the town all the time with the hopes that you are the one that pulls me over," he let out a forced laugh before standing up and leaving me alone.

  As soon as I heard the door close, I called out, "Okay, I'm ready for you!"

  "Calia Ames," the woman's eerie voice echoed and seemed to draw nearer. "I've been waiting a long time for the Ames family to return."

  "Why?" I asked, trying not to let the fear show in my voice. I still couldn't see her. I stood up and started walking around, forcing myself to glance in the mirrors as I weaved through the house.

  "Patience. You will know soon enough," she responded almost teasingly. I jumped back when her face appeared in the mirror right in front of me. Her response was a cackle and it sent my heart racing. She was playing a game with me and I didn't like it.

  "Who are you? Can you please at least tell me that?" My voice was pleading as I hoped she would give me something to go on so I might find a way out of my own death.

  "Mary Worth," her voice was a whisper right in my ear and I spun around to find an empty space.

  Further away I heard her laughter, "There was a legend that I came out when someone says Bloody Mary in the mirror thirteen times. If only they knew how wrong they were."

  "I don't put much stock in legends. I really want to understand what I've done to you. Or Patty, Sam, and Trey. I don't know about the rest of them, but I know I've never met you before," I tried again to pry more from her.

  "They were the heirs of the people who killed me and everyone I loved," she hissed in my ear, "and so are you."

  I turned around and this time she was there, facing me with her hands held out towards my neck. I scrambled back, keeping her in my sights. She grinned at me wickedly as she slowly advanced on me, taking her time. "Little mouse, you can run but you can't hide."

  I held back a scream as my progress was stopped by a wall. I slid my back against it as I used it for guidance to keep moving. I took in her appearance, her face white as a ghost in stark contrast to the darkness that seemed to envelop her dark eyes. If it weren't for the glow that seemed to emanate from them, I would've thought she was without eyes. Her dark hair fell around her shoulders, matted with what looked like dried blood. The white dress she wore was simple, yet in a style that would have been from many centuries ago.

  As my eyes fell upon her swollen belly, I gasped and tears welled up in my eyes. This entity was pregnant at some point in time and it looked like she was very far along. I still had no idea if she were a ghost, a demon, or what in the hell she was. She certainly couldn't be a regular human with the way she jumped in and out of mirrors.

  Mary seemed to notice me staring at her belly because her hand went to it and blood red tears dripped down her face, the stark contrast almost beautiful. "I was pregnant when I was murdered. My baby died with me. I've carried the dead body of my child inside me for four hundred years."

  "I'm so sorry, Mary. No one should have to live through that pain," my sincere words made her stop and cock her head at me. She was silent for a long time as she studied me.

  When she finally spoke, I was humiliated by the actions of others before me, "No one has ever said that to me. Not even when their death was near. They've always blamed it on me. I wonder, Calia Ames, if you would still feel remorse if you knew the whole story."

  I lowered my head, "I don't know, Mary. I wish I could promise you that. Please tell me what happened."

  "That's not how this works, Calia Ames. I must show you, make you feel all the pain that I felt." Suddenly, Mary was right in front of me with her hands wrapped around my neck.

  Flashes of her life flew into my mind and I felt the misery she felt as a young woman stuck in a life she didn't want. I could feel her desire for freedom and for every desire that the Puritans felt was evil. What she wanted was the life I lived, filled with sexual freedom, satisfaction, and love. Tears welled up in my eyes and my heart ached as I felt everything she did.

  The pain relaxed as I watched the love unfold between Mary and her three men. The joy they brought each other, the ecstasy they shared, how everything was so right. Tears fell, this time from happiness of the overwhelming emotions of love as she lived her life with them.

  Pain stabbed at my head as I watched the Minister and his followers. I felt sick as I was forced to watch the way her people were slaughtered, their village burned, and her lovers protecting her until two of them were killed right in front of her. Tears streamed down my face as I felt her pain and was horrified at the actions of the settlers.

  The deaths of that evening at the club all came together as she showed me being dragged through the streets of town, humiliated, heartbroken, and scared. The insults from people that turned against her when she needed mercy angered me to no end. And then to see Thomas, the last of her lovers hung beside her, his death coming before her own, and then the loss of her child when the Creator, as she called him, set her spirit free to enact her revenge. I understood it even though I couldn't ever condone deaths. Yet, a part of me celebrated the way she killed those who betrayed her and left her shattered.

  "Do you have any last words to say before you die?" she asked as the pain lessened. I was unable to move my body as she somehow fed me her own memories, and I still couldn’t move anything other than my mouth.

  "Mary, they were so wrong for everything they did to you. I wish there were some way I could go back and stop it, or help you find peace. I wish you could be reunited with your lovers and your child in the afterlife," my voice hitched as I felt overwhelmed with emotions.

  "No one has ever understood me, even when I showed them the same way I did you. Your friend Baxter, even though I watched him all night with different women, he told me that I deserved it for going against the rules back then. I should have known the consequences."

  "Trey said that?" I was shocked at how heartless he could be. "I'm so sorry. I never knew he was that ugly deep inside."

  "They all blamed me, Calia Ames. Including your many times over great-grandparents. I'm so tired of being angry and alone." Mary's bloody tears fell again. "But I have to kill one person from every generation of each family that I cursed. The desire to kill has never left me." She quietly added, "Until now."

  "You don't want to kill me?" I was shocked at her admission.

>   "No, Calia Ames. I have no desire to kill you, yet my soul tells me that I must. The Creator shows me that you are a part of my people, the Wampanoag. Is this true?"

  "It is. I don't know all of my family history, but I do know that my blood runs with that of a long-lost tribe of Native Americans," I admitted. "I'm not sure how that happened."

  Anger flashed across her face, "Your ancestors destroyed me, yet chose to do the same thing I was killed for?"

  "It's not fair, is it, Mary? Please, take my life. Maybe with my death you'll find the peace you need." I didn't understand how her magic or her curse worked, but I figured I'd pull something out of my ass, "With my death, may the horrific atrocities of my ancestors and those that hurt you, be absolved. May you find peace and go to Thomas, Sassomon, Tatoson, and your unborn child in the afterlife. I beg the Creator to let it be so."

  "Thank you, Calia Ames. I will honor you in death and make it fast. I won't let you feel too much pain. The Creator says your death will not be in vain," with those last words, a shot of electricity ran through my body and up to my head. It felt as if my brain were on fire and I felt the blood seeping from my nose and my eyes. I held in the screams, not wanting Mary to feel any more pain. She'd had enough in her life that was needlessly cut short.

  The edges of my vision became black and I tried to focus on her face. It was no longer filled with the anger from before, but instead, an expression of sadness and regret. I heard sirens in the distance, a little too late, but I wasn’t disappointed. Instead, I was relieved that our bodies would be found and returned to our families. My last thought before everything went black was that I hoped Mary found peace.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Present day...Mary

  After Calia's life force faded away, I gently set her upon the floor, making sure she was comfortable in her death. I refused to allow her body to drop to the floor as I always did with the others.