“Are you crazy? Are you crazy, Montessa?”
He kissed her again and again. Her scalding skin, her singeing hair, her blistering lips. The inferno wasn’t affecting him, but her? She was going up in flames, just as she always knew she would. Burning as a candle. A wick. A witch.
She breathed in the smoke but choked. The hot air burned her lungs and she tried not to scream. Tried to hide her agony. Pressed herself into her lover and thought about him instead.
Her clothes were smoking, the blood on her shoes baking and smelling like spoiled, grilling meat. Tears ran down her sooty face, as they ran down his. But he was smiling.
“I love you,” he said. He said it into her mouth, her face, her neck. “I love you, I love you.”
She opened her eyes, which burned and stung. She licked the tears off his cheek.
“Happy tears. Tastes sweet,” she said, and coughed.
Lu held her. Held his wife. Kissed her fingertips and her red thread wedding ring. Kissed her long and hard and deep. He was still kissing her, holding her, running his hands over her smooth skin when he thrust the knife up under her ribs, straight into her heart.
Montessa convulsed. Shivered and shook. Blood ran from the wound, ran from her mouth. She stared at Lu and stared and stared until her pale eyes were wide, until there wasn’t anything to stare at anymore. Lu cradled her body, held her close. Watched her hair ignite, her clothes combust. Her flesh seared and peeled away. Still he held her.
“I love you, baby. I’ll be right there.”
He dropped the knife on the ground. The First Kill knife, which was now his Last Kill knife. It sparkled in the firelight. Shone. Was more perfect than it had ever been. He held the body of his wife in his bloody arms. His other half. Apocalyptic Montessa, counterpart to his Nuclear Lulu.
He took the gun from its holder, held it under his chin with one hand. Kept Montessa close with the other. Watched her ignite completely, watched her body leave this world in the grandest of manners. He’d go next. Be right behind.
A single shot. That was all.
That was all.
APOCALYPTIC NOTES
The concept for Apocalyptic Montessa and Nuclear Lulu: A Tale of Atomic Love has been flitting around in my head for a while now. I thought it would be lighter, a whimsical tale of two quirky people in love. Ultimately, it turned out much darker and deliciously bloody.
I’ve always thought the idea of soul mates was a romantic notion, but I don’t believe there is one specific person out there waiting to be found. Knowing my luck, my soul mate would be murderous or killed, and I’d be chained to them forever in misery. No, thank you, and I think Montessa echoes my take on them.
But still, I wanted to explore that notion, the idea of being swept away, of putting two people together and having a lethal match. Together, they do the most horrible of things. But they also love in a very real, very fierce way. I wanted there to be some sympathy for Apocalyptic Montessa and her Nuclear Lulu. They are two broken people who can’t be fixed, but they hold each other together as best they can. There’s a tragic sweetness to them.
Ultimately Apocalyptic Montessa is a love story, not a romance or a horror. Love can be horrible, true, but ultimately this is a tale about doomed adoration.
Mercedes M. Yardley
Las Vegas
8-28-13
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MERCEDES M. YARDLEY (@mercedesmy) wears red lipstick and poisonous flowers in her hair. Apocalyptic Montessa and Nuclear Lulu: A Tale of Atomic Love is her first work for Ragnarok Publications. Mercedes has been published in several diverse anthologies and magazines, ranging from John Skipp’s horror anthologies to the upcoming I Will Survive book with Gloria Gaynor. She also works as a contributing editor for Shock Totem Magazine and lives in Sin City. Her short story collection, Beautiful Sorrows, came out in 2012.
Visit Ragnarok Publications Online | www.ragnarokpub.com | @RagnarokPub
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