She still stood in the bathtub, deep in thought. The bubbles on her slim oriental body had all washed away now.
Marie looked down at her new body; at her small, firm, tanned breasts and dark brown nipples; at her smooth belly and the black pubic hair beneath; at her boy-like hips and legs. So smooth... if she didn't know any better she would have believed she was wearing silk stockings... but of course she wasn't.
She sat down into the warm soapy water. Lorne would find her, wouldn't he?
* * *
New York City
Dec. 24th, '92
Christmas Eve
Nana Thompson was a grandmother of five. The oldest of her five grandchildren, Robbie, was ten years old and had gone to bed tonight at nine o'clock sharp! Oh, how they were excited, this being Christmas Eve and all!
They had been bursting with energy all day, anticipating the arrival of good old St. Nick!
Santa Claus, Nana thought. A man who traveled the world in one night giving out gifts to children. A man who must be immortal, or at least very, very old. Indeed, ancient! She had silently chuckled to herself.
Who'd want to live forever?
She had half pitied her grandchildren for believing in something so blatantly fictitious. But, then again, they were only children and Christmas was for the children, wasn't it?
Nana Thompson had placed Robbies's present – a Casio keyboard she had gotten him – under the Christmas tree. The present said it was from Santa Claus for she knew that Robbie's mother couldn't afford the gift and she didn't want to belittle her.
She had her cup of tea and cookies and had gone to bed.
Nana Thompson died in her sleep at 10:16 pm, Christmas Eve. She died of natural causes. Her death wasn't painful. Indeed, she had died while dreaming of her beloved grandchildren! It was a painless and tranquil death. The kind of death most people hope for... it was placid – or should have been...
* * *
11:40 pm:
Nana Thompson sat downstairs in the darkness. Everyone else was fast asleep.
She had opened Robbie's present – the Casio keyboard – and was trying to play it. Nana had great difficulty. Her hands hadn't the manual dexterity for it. They were weak and old. But she tried. It was a strange piece; a hauntingly alien one.
Eventually she stopped playing – frustrated that she simply could not get it right. She stretched out an old withered hand and shut the keyboard off.
The red light blinked out.
She sat motionless in the dark, thinking. She knew that she would have to begin searching soon. Searching for his wife. She was somewhere in the world. In some body...
Nana Thompson was tired. She climbed the stairs and crawled back into her warm bed.
The multiminds of Lorne S. Gibbons subsided to unconsciousness and dreamed of his beloved wife, Marie.
Further Referenced Reading
Anyone familiar with Howard Philips Lovecraft's work will readily recognize numerous references, as well as other authors' works heavily influenced by Lovecraft in this novella.
For those who have not yet had the fortune, it would be my utmost pleasure to introduce you to the elder, horrific, and wondrous world of Lovecraft!
There are several somewhat obscure references throughout this story, particularly in chapter 4.
Herbert West - Reanimator, H.P. Lovecraft, 1922
The Call of Cthulhu, H.P. Lovecraft, 1928
A Shadow Over Innsmouth, H.P. Lovecraft, 1936
At the Mountains of Madness, H.P. Lovecraft, 1936
and of course,
The Music of Erich Zann, H.P. Lovecraft, 1922
Interestingly, references to Nyarlathotep itself in Lovecraft's works are both ubiquitous and obscure.
Nyarlathotep (poem), 1920
The Rats in the Walls, 1924
The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath, 1927
Fungi of Yuggoth (poem, 21st sonnet), 1930
The Whisperer in Darkness, 1931
The Dreams in the Witch House, 1933
The Haunter of the Dark, 1936
The Shadow out of Time, 1936
And finally, there is the reference on the back cover.
The Horla, Guy de Maupassant, 1887
All titles well worth the read.
Enjoy!
Look for
The Hunt: Symbiosys
the exciting sequel to
The Symbiot
Following immediately on the heels of The Symbiot, its events segue directly into "The Hunt: Symbiosys."
Barely eclipsing global extinction, the Gibbons' couple are forced to flee and hide from clandestine forces intent on their eradication.
Centering between Montreal and Tokyo, this sequel introduces an unimaginable new world threat!
A slow burning intercontinental chess match quickly escalates into its fast paced and violent conclusion!
This book drops delicious hints of the advent of Lovecraftian-mythos monsters! Foreshadowing a hidden but impending doom, this entire sequel is haunted by an unnameable undertow which promises to reach fruition in this trilogy's upcoming conclusion, Necropolis.
Afterward
If you liked this book, please review it on Amazon, Kobo, Google Play, Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, or Goodreads. Every review helps an indie author come up in the searches more often, so it gets more exposure.
I have a Facebook page as Michel Weatherall, Pinterest, and a twitter account under @brokenkeys9.
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