Primrose & Brimstone Page 3

  Carmen still walked hunched over slightly to the bathroom. She hadn’t wanted a C-section but complications had changed all of that when little Andrew had decided not to turn in the right direction and was breached.

  She finished on the toilet, stopping to wash her hands. Her reflection in the mirror looked horrible still, her dark Hispanic features accented by the dim light provided by the night light. The pain she felt etched on her face from the birth incision. She was so thankful to have Chloe there helping with Andrew.

  Her mind drifted to Chloe for a second. What an amazing young girl. So, sweet and intelligent, considering the environment she had grown up in. Carmen would never forget the day that the little blonde headed waif walked into her after school program slightly dirty and hair unkempt. The two had formed a bond that had survived after Chloe had left the program. Carmen always kept in touch with Chloe and Carol begrudgingly allowed the relationship to continue, so it was natural for Carmen to consider asking Chloe to come and help out with the baby.

  It would also give them time to spend together; it had been a while. Chloe was hers finally after all these years she thought with a smile. How she wished she could have gotten her sooner. At least this way, Chloe would always have a home to come to and someone she could count on.

  Carmen was also worried about the medical issues that Chloe was facing. Knowing how unattached Carol was, and how selfish she was, Carmen assumed that Chloe had been facing all of this with little support at home. She was also grateful to the nurse who had taken the time at the hospital to sit with Chloe and talk with her. Carmen was born with a mother’s instinct and had given up on hating Carol for the way she was and had learned to just focus on Chloe and only deal with her mother when she had to.

  She had grown to love Chloe and was so inspired by the young girl's ability to stay focused on building a better life and her studies while dealing with everything she had to deal with at home, and now this unsettling medical issue. And yet even today Chloe had been sitting at the kitchen table working hard, to not fall behind in her studies. She was so driven and so alone and it broke Carmen’s heart to even think about it.

  Carmen was still tired and in pain but still wanted to check on baby Andrew, she looked in the nursery, not finding him she made her way downstairs to check on the baby and Chloe. What she found was a ghastly scene that would never leave her mind, but would haunt her for the rest of her days. Chloe sat asleep in the rocking chair, breast exposed holding Carmen’s dead baby.

  “Andrew!” She shrieked. “Oh my God Chloe what did you do?”

  Carmen lumbered toward Chloe and her dead baby. She knew the baby was dead in her mind, but her heart was driving her forward to save it. Chloe awoke with the start and saw Carmen come to take the baby from her. As Carmen walked forward Chloe became angry, and the voice screamed insanely in her head.

  “I told you she would take the baby, they don’t want you to have your baby,”

  Chloe kicked out as hard as she could; her foot catching Carmen in her incision, dropping her instantly. Sensing the threat was over, Chloe stepped over Carmen, taking the dead baby with her. Her bare feet silent on the wood floor as she made her way to the kitchen, not realizing she was leaving bloody footprints as she went. Chloe stopped at the butcher's block selecting the large chef’s knife. A dead baby in one hand and knife in the other she made her way to the basement door and stepped down into the darkness.

  Carmen lay gasping and bleeding. The kick had busted her incision open. The staples and skin could not stand against the force of the impact. What made it worse is the blunt force trauma not only busted her incision, but also the incision under the skin that held her muscles in place so they could knit back together. As she rolled in agony, her intestines spilled out.

  She used her nightgown to hold her guts in place, the slimy strings slipping out as she crawled to her feet, and made her way to the stairs. The pain was unbearable. She wasn’t sure if she would die, but she had to get to her phone up in the bedroom, and she needed to be somewhere safe in case Chloe came back.

  She nearly fainted several times from the pain and the trauma of her injury. Baby Andrew was dead, blue and dead, it was a picture she could not get out of her mind. If she survived, she doubted she ever would recover from this. Finally, she made it to her room and locked the door, feeling somewhat safer with something between her and Chloe. Her mind reeled that this girl she had loved like a daughter could kill her baby and try to kill her.

  She collapsed on the bed from pain, grief, and exhaustion. Her intestines spilled onto the floor with a wet sickening splat. She wanted to close her eyes and drift away but willed herself to reach for her cell phone with bloody fingers.

  She tried to swipe the screen to activate the phone but found she couldn’t due to the blood and gore that her entrails had left on her hands. Frustrated, she whipped her hands and bloody phone on the bed spread leaving a dark trail of blood, slime and shit from her ruptured bowels.

  She breathed a small sigh of relief when she got the phone to work and called 911 where a sleepy operator answered expecting another routine call. A few seconds later the operator was wide awake and the rest of the 911 call center was in action, alerting the proper authorities. As the others acted the original operator coaxed Carmen into giving her more information about what had happened. Carmen told her stories between sobs over the loss of her baby.

  Officers Dancy and Burns sped toward the address the dispatcher had radioed to them. Someone was injured in some kind of domestic dispute. The address and a GPS map flashed across the laptop that was mounted in the car. It designated their location in real time with a white arrow pointing them in the right direction.

  The lights cast eerie shadows as the cruiser sped along the nearly empty streets. The details of the call sounded sketchy to their way of thinking from years of experience; but they did their best to not jump to any conclusions as that could be dangerous and had gotten plenty of officers killed over the years. To think a lady may be disemboweled by a teenage girl just didn’t sound right, but they both realized it could happen. People did bad things to each other every day.

  They pulled up in front of the address; an old two story that had seen better days, in a neighborhood that would never shine again but that had not yet become ghetto. In another five to ten years this area would be a war zone likely at the rate of decay, in terms of both the living conditions and quality of people trickling in.

  Officer Dancy notified dispatch they were on scene and exited the car, taking the keys with them. They were ordered to secure the building for EMS so the victim could be treated. They had passed the ambulance a few blocks away where it had pulled over and waited for them. Dispatch had emphasized that the victim’s condition was critical and that there might be a dead infant also, and the assailant was believed to still be in the house.

  Guns drawn, they stepped onto the dusty porch, each of them hating each creak of the old wood. They peeked into the windows and doors. The living room was the only room visible to them and appeared to be empty. While Dancy covered them, burns donned leather gloves and broke the glass out of the door. Reaching in, he released the lock allowing them entry.

  They cleared the living room as they saw it was empty. Officer Burns saw a puddle of blood and the trail leading up the stairs along with the bloody footprints. He also noticed a second set of footprints that led off to a kitchen. What the hell? It looked like maybe the information could be true. Damn it!

  The Officers cautiously followed the footprints through the dining room, clearing as they went. They reached the kitchen quickly, seeing no one; as they quickly scanned the kitchen Burns noticing the missing knife from the knife block. He pointed this silently to Dancy who nodded in understanding. Dancy walked to the sink to see if the knife was there but the sink was empty save for a plate and a fork. They had to assume that the suspect was armed with a knife.

  The radio squawked. The dispatcher came over the airwaves. “
Unit 43 be advised that the subject is 17-year-old Chloe Montgomery. Copy?”

  This caused the two officers to pause a moment. With a sigh Dancy put his gun away and switched for his Taser, giving them a non-lethal option. Confirmation of a minor being involved made them both uncomfortable.

  An eerie giggle from the open basement door caused them to spin around, gun and Taser pointed toward the sound. Dancy was rethinking his decision to put away his gun for the Taser.

  “Oh fuck!” Burns whispered. Dancy quietly chuckled at his longtime partner. Burns had a real dislike of basements and spiders and the two seemed to go hand in hand.

  “Least we know where she is buddy.” Dancy whispered with a smile as he tried to shed a positive light on a horribly bad situation.

  With a sigh, Burns cleared his throat. “You in the basement, this is the Martinville Police. Come up and keep your hands where we can see them. We don’t want to hurt you, Chloe. Please just come up.”

  They waited a few minutes for any signs of Chloe coming up or surrendering, with only the occasional giggle and incoherent babble. They desperately hoped that Chloe would emerge from the dungeon-like atmosphere below. But after repeated calls to surrender and come up, they had no choice but to go down and get her.

  They started down the stairs each with their flashlights and choice of weapons; Dancy with his Taser, and Burns with his Glock. The beams from their lights did little to illuminate the dark basement almost as if there was no match for the darkness below.

  They reached the landing and found the first room empty. With a nervous glance between them, they made their way to the next room, the doorway even darker than the rest of the basement. The Officers crept along, hearing nothing as they silently made their way toward the yawning doorway of the next room.

  Dancy pleaded once more for Chloe to come out, but to no avail. They entered the room, flashlights finding Chloe. She was naked with bloody cuts on her breasts, abdomen, and thighs. In her right hand, she held the butcher's knife. In her left hand, she held the babies severed head.

  The officers recoiled at the sight but maintained their composure. Experience had proven time and time again that getting emotional in the middle of a crisis just made the situation more dangerous. But the scene before them was hard for them. Dancy and Burns were both in their 40’s and had children of their own close to Chloe’s age. This call was getting harder and harder to deal with. All either one wanted was to get through this call with no one else getting hurt.

  Chloe dropped the head with a sickening thud. They both fought to keep their eyes on her as the head rolled a bit toward them. They could see her tighten her grip on the knife.

  “Chloe please put the knife down.”

  She charged without a word. The gun was deafening in the confines of the block walled basement.

  Chloe woke in a panic. How was she alive? Where was she?

  “Chloe baby you’re awake!” Her mother gushed, rushing to the bed. “I was so worried about you, that you would never wake up.”

  Carol cried as pent up emotions released. She had been so scared and so worried that Chloe either would not wake up at all or if she did, she would be brain damaged from the surgery to remove the parasitic twin.

  Chloe struggled to determine what was a reality, and if her brain was just playing tricks on her. She reached a hand touching the bandages gingerly that wrapped her head.

  “Did I get shot, mom?” She asked scared of the answer.

  “No baby. Carol chuckled. You had that thing removed. Daddy stepped out to make a call. He will be so happy you’re awake.”

  Chloe laid back on the bed relieved the horrific events had all been a dream. Her mother loved her, her father loved her and was present, and she was OK.

  Burns stood with his gun in his hand. Hard training had taken over as it should. He had had no choice. The confines of the basement had them trapped, he had to protect himself and his partner. Silent tears rolled down his cheeks, living with this would not be easy.

  Dancy spoke into the radio. “Shots fired suspect down, send the ambulance the scene is secure.”

  Dancy put a hand on his partner's shoulder. “Come on buddy we still have to check on the victim. Maybe we can get lucky and save someone today.”

  Big Foot

  Amy sprawled on the chaise lounge letting the sun warm her bare skin on the deck of the little house she rented with Lizzy, deep in the Kentucky Mountains. Amy’s family owned the entire mountain so there was little chance for her to be seen as she lay nude. She loved laying out naked her curvy body had no tan lines to detract from the youthful perfection of her body.

  She lay there day dreaming, the heat from the sun making her feel deliriously content. She heard the slider open behind her, and the soft padding of bare feet. Her stomach flipped flopped a little. Lizzy and Amy were together, lesbians - not so much, but they had met and fallen for each other. No one had ever made Amy feel like Lizzy did. Lizzy was beautiful, sensual, smart, funny, sweet, and knew how to seduce Amy like no boy ever had.

  It made her feel sexy to know that her lover was standing there studying her naked body, wanting her, needing her, and truth be known, Amy needed Lizzy the same way. Both girls were beautiful, thick, and reeked of sex appeal and their attraction to each other bordered on addiction.

  Lizzy smiled down at her sun-drenched beauty, she wore a wife beater tank top and the tiniest thong that left little to the imagination. She stripped down, her skin was lighter than Amy’s. The slight contrast always looked sexy in her mind. She picked up the bottle of olive oil and sat down on the edge of the lounge chair. She could see Amy’s pulse quicken in anticipation, Amy wanted her and that was intoxicating to Lizzy. She could feel herself getting wet with anticipation.

  She leaned in and lightly brushed Amy’s lips with her own, Amy kissed her back pulling her close, her tongue pushing her way into Lizzy’s mouth. They kissed deeply until Lizzy pulled away despite the protests from Amy.

  Lizzy took the lid off of the olive oil, made warm from the sun, and slowly, seductively began to pour it onto her lover’s skin. The sun light glistening on the rivers of oil. She slowly but firmly started to rub the oil in roughly working and kneading Amy’s large breast just like she liked. Amy was a freak and liked it rough, Lizzy was always happy to oblige.

  Lizzy worked the oil in all the way down to Amy’s toes and then starting at her perfectly shaped and painted toes kissed and licked her way back up Amy’s legs settling in between her thighs.

  In the woods lurking out of view the hairy beast hid, watching the two humans. He could smell their excitement, their sexuality carried on the air with the same power as opening a door to a kitchen with fresh baked bread in the oven. The scent interested him. He wanted to breed with them but they were not of his kind but they were close, he was cautious.

  Feeling safe that the two were not aware of his presence he stood to his full height of nearly seven feet tall. He flared his large nostrils, on a flat ape looking nose, as wide as he could trying to smell more, to learn more.

  He took a few cautious steps, he was on the edge of the clearing another step and he would be in the sunlight and visible. The girls continued with their lover making oblivious to the world except their own selves and pleasuring each other.

  The smell of the girls’ sex was driving him crazy now. The urge to breed welled up inside of him; turning his fear and caution of being seen by the humans bred into him for thousands of years, a distant memory.

  He took another step picking up speed as long powerful legs propelled him forward.

  Sheriff Mason stood looking at the grisly scene on the deck, hat in his hands. He had seen many things in his career in law enforcement, but this was the damndest thing he had ever witnessed. The deceased girls were torn apart arms, legs, head on one ripped off, and blood was everywhere. But that wasn’t really what was bothering him although that was bad enough.

  Whatever or whoever had done this to these girls had a
lso tore their genital area up bad too. There was no obvious object that had been used on them, had the killer taken it with him? He just had so many questions and so little evidence to go on. Already the family and news media were demanding answers and he just didn’t have any.

  He wished he had retired months back when his wife wanted him to and gone on that RV trip she had wanted, because this case was going to be a pain in the ass. He put his hat on his head and made his way off the deck.

  “Sheriff!” One of his deputies called to him. “I think you’ll want to see this sir.”

  Mason sighed, it was going to be a long night he thought as he made his way over to the deputy who was shining his flashlight down at the ground. Mason stopped stunned, in the dirt was the largest bloody footprint that he had ever seen.

  “That’s not all sir.” The deputy said swinging the flashlight up to a tree with a bloody hand print at least twice the size of a man and at least six feet off the ground.

  CHANNELING TINA

  Tina took a deep breath and walked into the room full of housewives. A longtime client and friend had arranged for a girl’s night out reading at a local restaurant. This was something that happened several times a year, but she was always nervous with large groups like this one. She’d been a medium ever since she could remember, her childhood had been rough because of it. Her parents didn’t understand it and being intensely religious they had taken her to several preachers. Where they had tried to cast imagined demons out of her to no avail. The dead still came to visit her.