August 2, 2016

Summer is passing quickly....it's already August, but I have to say, this summer has felt more like a summer vacation than most of those recently passed.  I'm not gonna lie....I am loving it!!  I have not dove into all the projects I wanted to right away, but that is OK.  I am spending time with my grrls and hanging out with the hubby a bit more out and about...things that I have not been able to do much over the past too long.  Once school starts, I will have days to myself to purge and clean and craft and promote my art and new biz.  I am OK with taking a bit o' time off to enjoy the days of summer.


The 41st
MPOTOCKI

Synopsis:  In this purgatorial freak show, the recently deceased perform in altered appearances befitting their sins in life,  viewed by those affected by these sins, who pass judgment on which remain in the traveling show and which move on to the big show.  This rite has been done flawlessly for as long as can be remembered, but tonight, something is different; there is an uninvited attendee seeking vengeance.


The number was always 40.  The moon was always full.  The reactions were always the same slow roll into horror.  This scene had been played time and time again over the ages and Remi had never experienced even the slightest deviation, until tonight.

The show began as usual, sharply at midnight, under a full, bloated moon, the great and all seeing eye within the Autumn sky.  Filament-like clouds slowly worked their way across the heavenly canopy creating a shadowy dimension to the already eerie scene. 

As always, Remi was the first to appear, welcoming the participants to what he promised, would be an evening never to forget.  “If they only knew why,” he thought to himself, scanning the crowd for the usual assortment of family, friends and enemies of the recently deceased.  He expected it to be the same old, same old, but, yet, there was a hint of a foreign feel dancing around the edges of the night.  The faint flicker of long forgotten tales tickled the edges of Remi’s memory.  He set it aside for the time being and stepped in to the spotlight.

“Welcome one and all to our Freak Show,”  Remi stated in his booming voice.  “You are about to witness that which few are ever invited to see.”  “You have been selected to view a spectacle that has been around since the beginning of time and will continue long on after you are all dust upon the earth.”

Remi’s showmanship was impeccable, pausing at key moments and emphasizing just the right words.  He owned the stage and filled it with a palpable presence that was beginning to make those seated in the front row uncomfortable.

“Those that you will see tonight will be performing in a competition that can either keep them in this traveling show or move them on to the big show,” Remi went on, slowly, as the lights were muted and blued to set the stage.  “Let the show begin!!!”  The audience watched in awful anticipation as the first freaks took the stage.

As Remi melted into the night and the first performers came to light, he felt the usual rush of adrenalin brought upon by the gasps of the audience.  “And these aren’t even the worse ones,” he said under his breath.  The rush was quickly halted when the foreign feel about this night became glaringly clear.  41. 

He called to the crew chief and asked, fully aware of the answer, how many seats had been set up and how many were occupied.  “40 on both, sir,” the chief state,  “same as every time.”  “And you are sure they are all full?” Remi asked.  “Positive, sir.”  “Then why is she standing?”

The crew chief followed Remi’s stare to a face at the back of the tent.  “41,” Remi whispered.  “How can this be?”  Invitations were collected at the door and no one but the 40 were let in.

Jenna’s hopes of being unnoticed quickly dissolved when she saw the ringmaster looking at her.  She shifted a bit under his stare, scanning for a less obvious place to be.  When she heard a woman scream and collapse into the crowd, she took the opportunity to disappear.  Dropping to her knees, she crawled toward a set of bleachers just to her left.  She tucked herself into the furthest corner she could, which, thankfully was very dark.

Jenna waited.  She knew he was here but had no idea when he would appear.  Those that came out were hideously scarred and deformed.  She wondered what each one had done in their life to transform them into their current hideous forms.  The obvious ones were easy to discern.  Those that had been sharp of tongue too often now had multiple swollen and pointed tongues, mouths widened to accept their sins.  The physically abusive ones had grossly enlarged muscles that pulsated as if alive and from the look in their eyes, very painfully so.  There were those that were missing parts of themselves and Jenna could only imagine what horrors they had performed to be awarded these mutations.  She continually scanned the crowd for the ringmaster and others that she knew were now looking for her.  She knew they would find her eventually, but that was all a part of the plan.

Forty-five minutes later, he appeared.  Jenna felt him before she saw him.  Her hatred was so pure that it connected her to him like an invisible umbilical.  She knew where he would be tonight even though 13 days earlier, she had attended his funeral.  It came to her in a dream, of sorts.  She was not able to sleep the night before his funeral.  She tossed and turned, watching the evening progress, wanting to sleep.  The more she tried, the more it eluded her.  She finally got up, to take a hot shower, letting the steam wrap around her like a protective shroud.  She tried not to think of anything, focusing on the rhythm of the cascading water.  She closed her eyes to enjoy the moment, beginning to feel at ease and calm when the movie invaded her mind. 

There was a tent on a moor-like setting, lit only by the full moon above.  People were arriving and walking towards its shadowy presence.  It was a traveling show and he was there.  Her mind told her that this couldn’t be as he was dead, but her heart knew it was true.  She watched the freak show begin, seeing a flash of the person each was in life briefly as the monster they had become in death walked upon the stage.  When he appeared, she saw him only has he had been in life.  He glowed with a dark aura and she felt momentarily afraid, recalling all that he had done.  When the movie ended, she was in bed and her alarm was going off.  It was time for this to end.  To bury it eight feet under should have been the closing to the ordeal she had survived, but after last night, Jenna knew that it would not be over with the burial.   She would have to face him once more.  Then it would be done.  

Jenna survived by killing her captor, partially through luck, but mostly due to his under estimation of her will to live.  He thought that by eliminating everyone in her life she loved, she would allow herself to be drawn to him like a buoy on treacherous waters.  He stalked and killed her dog, her best friend, her parents and her brother.  When she was so beaten down by tragedy, he walked into her life like some sort of knight in shining armor.  Her weakened state allowed him to ease in very close, which was his plan all along.  He wanted her extremely fragile, broken and despondent so he could control her.  His want was vampiric, taking from her again and again until she was a hollow husk of herself.  He would have succeeded if his arrogance had been silent.

They met at her brother’s funeral, the last in the series of deaths in her life.  Brent was tall and confidant and had a way about him that made people notice him.   When he walked towards her at the funeral, she expected him to shake her hand and give his condolences, assuming that he was an acquaintance or co-worker of her brother’s.  Instead, he enveloped her in a hug that took her breath away.  She mistook this for empathy and concern, soon learning that he literally wanted to ensnare her and keep her close. 

Over the next few weeks, he completely and brilliantly photoshopped himself into her life.  She didn’t remember a time when he was not there, though had she not been swimming in a sea of gin and valium, she might have given pause as to why he so wanted to be in her life 

He invited her to stay at his cabin for the weekend a few months after the funeral.  Jenna should have known better than to accept but somehow Brent didn’t leave her the opportunity to decline.  It was in the way he stated it more so than asked.  She found herself agreeing.   Had she not recently buried her entire family, she would have told him where to go, but she didn’t have that strength any more.  She almost liked him telling her what to do.  It saved her from making decisions for herself.  The last few months had been nothing but decisions upon decisions.  She just wanted to curl up and hide or at least sleep til the pain went away.  Brent was offering this and she eagerly accepted.

The drive to the cabin was quiet and long.  Jenna enjoyed watching the scenery change from the concrete and metal of the city to the rolling hills and lushness of the countryside.  Brent had classical music playing and was humming along to pieces that he knew.  She fell asleep on the drive, waking to the sounds of gravel and brakes.

“We’re here. Let me help you out and show you around.”  As Brent spoke, he voice seemed to flatten out and some of the casualness about him was gone.  She was not sure why, but the hairs on the back of her neck all stood up and she shivered.  “Cold?” Brent asked.  Jenna shook her head in disagreement.  His smile made her even more uncomfortable and at that moment, she realized that she had not told anyone where she was going nor who she was with. 

Brent’s transformation over the next couple of days was like watching the de-evolution of man.  He showed her to her room the first day and in there was a list of daily chores.  He didn’t say anything about it, but the next morning when breakfast was not ready when he awoke, he beat her.  She was so stunned, she just did it and everything else on the list, not wanting to piss him off again.  He didn’t shower or speak, just barked orders at her which didn’t allow for hesitation or refusal. He crawled into her bed the second night, animal-like in his want.  She tried to fight him off, but after a few punches to the head, she was too out of it to fight anymore.  His carnal appetite was unsatiable and he took her often.  She felt like an animal.  She cried and begged him to let her go.  Each time she did so, he would beat her.  Jenna retreated to a small room in her mind and tried not to feel anything.

Days and nights bled into timelessness and she had no idea how long she had been here.  One rainy morning, Brent was showered, dressed and drinking coffee in the kitchen when she went in to begin breakfast.  “Good morning, Jenna,”  he said.  “I hope you slept well.”  This was the first time he had spoken to her since they arrived.  She was more afraid now than she had ever been.  Brent stood and poured her a cup of coffee.  “Cream, right?” he asked.  She nodded.  Something had changed but she did not yet know what. 

The tale her told her was like listening to a horror story.  Brent told her how he had stalked her, learned everything about her and then eliminated all that she loved so he could have her all to himself for all eternity.  “Or at least until I get tired of you,” he chuckled, “Then I’ll find myself a new one.”  As this information seeped into her fragmented mind, she felt a rage building.  She held on to that rage for now, acting like she also wanted them to be together.  “I’ll be back shortly,” Brent said as he lead her outside.  These were his last words.

He chained her in the garage and waved as he backed out and shut the garage door.  Jenna went insane.  The rage exploded out of her and she began tearing through everything in her path.  Tears blurred her vision as she blindly threw boxes and dumped over bins.  Collapsing in a heap after an hour of this, she tried to pull herself together.  She had a reason to live now - vengeance.  Drying her eyes, she looked around.  The garage was a horrible mess and she felt the hands of conditioned panic squeeze her tightly.  The thought of being beaten again, or worse, propelled her to begin to hastily pick up the mess she had created.  Most of the stuff was easily stuffed into empty boxes and as she completed the task, she began to feel a slight release to her chest, allowing her to breath a bit deeper. As she tossed the last of the junk into a corner under the stairs, a glint of something peeking out from a chipped corner of the pavement caught her eye.  She could barely reach this spot, but found a screwdriver to chip away at it to see what it was.  Sweat rolled down her back as she feverishly hacked away to see what this treasure could be.  The shiny spot turned into a hinge which became a wooden case.  Within that case was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.  It shown and glinted in the waning light of day.  Jenna turned over a crate and sat down, eager to share its beauty with Brent.  It was days before Brent returned and in that time, with no food or water, Jenna slipped into a hazy existence.  She dreamt the same dream over and over again:

Once every millenia, a seer is chosen to attempt
to keep better balance between right and wrong. 
Once every fourth millenia, a seer with the power to change is chosen. 
Only thrice before had this happened. 
None of the three had chosen to wield their full given powers. 
The fourth chosen one, though unaware of her fate,
would be the first to take full advantage of the powers
bestowed upon her by the gods of creation. 
She came into the world in a typical way.  
Born to an average woman in an average town. 
Second child but first daughter. 
She grew and flourished in her normal environment
but always on the edge of her dreams,
she felt a darkness she could not explain. 
As she grew older, the dreams would invade her slumber more and more
and extend their tendrils into her days. 
The affect was that she grew stronger beyond her years,
both physically, mentally and emotionally. 
She would come to learn that this was by necessity
for she was a warrior waiting to follow the path
set in motion long before birth. 
Tho’ her path had long been chosen,
being the seer with the power of change,
allowed her choices not available to most seers. 
Her vengeance would fuel her to invoke upon her tormentor
the full extent of her given gifts.


Jenna knew the moment she pulled the trigger that she had given him the easy way out.  He deserved worse, so much worse than death for what he had done to her and the others she was soon to find out about.  The following days were a blur of police interviews, doctors offices and dodging reporters.  Apparently she was not Brent’s first victim and there was much media frenzy when ‘serial killer’ was inadvertently mentioned in an interview with a cop fresh out of the academy.

Brent had taken many names over the years, coming from a century of family money that could buy and support his thirst for control.  By 20, he had taken over the family business, made his first billion, was married, divorced and in a serendipitous meeting with a childless loner, was bestowed an inhuman legacy. The cabin where death finally found him, belonged to this man, who took Brent to it and began the telling of his lifetime of selection, domination and power.  He had lost track of the number of victims buried in the woods over the years, but passed on all he knew about finding prey, stalking it and bringing it back to the cabin for play for as long as it would entertain him. Brent was an eager student and quickly added the old man to the unmarked cemetary in the woods, embracing his new venture with a passion unrivaled by any he had previously known.  By the time he had set his sights on Jenna, he had added nearly a dozen men and women to the forest’s silence.

Nearly two weeks later, Jenna found herself facing Brent again at a freak show in the middle of nowhere.  This time she was not afraid.  She loved seeing the fear in his eyes as he walked on stage.  As she crawled out from under the bleachers and strode toward Brent, her eyes locked with Remi’s as he stepped into her path.  Remi saw all in her stare and now understood why she was 41.

“I’ve  come for him,” she stated firmly, her eyes remaining fixed on Remi’s as she pointed to Brent on stage.  “That you have,” Remi said.  “You know what that means, don’t you?”  “Yes”, she hissed.  “How long will this take?”  “Just a few moments,” Remi told her. 

Remi moved so Jenna could continue until she was standing in front of Brent.  He could not speak due to his mutations.  The fear hung in his eyes.  She had all the power now.  Jenna spat in his face.  “You don’t deserve death,” she snarled, “I’m taking it back.” 

Remi had joined them on the stage and had begun chanting.  Those left in their seats rose to better see and the rest who had begun to crowd toward the back of the tent turned to watch, compelled to witness the next performance.

All those present knew something had occurred but their eyes were not able to tell them what had happened.  There was a brightening and dimming of light around the girl and the freak, then a flash.  All in all, pretty anti-climatic, except for the feel of the air.  It was prickly and cold and made it hard to breath.  A few passed out.  Some vomited. 

Remi was the only one who knew of the exchange.  He could see it in their eyes.  The painful look had left the eyes of the freak, replaced now with the glow of victory.  The freak began a slow dance around the girl, whose look of terror and bewilderment was preternatural.  Remi had a new star for the traveling freak show.  Smiling, he led it off stage.  The crowd was ushered out and the freak show packed up to move on. 

The last one left in the draining moonlight as dawn began it’s awakening, was the girl.  Tears ran down her face and fell to the ground as the realization of what had just transpired broke with the rising sun.  Within this body lie the soul of Brent, now fated to live his victim’s life with the constant reminder of who he had been etched into the flesh of this body.  A horrific tapestry of sins for all the world to see.  Knowing that death would never find him again made him drop to his knees. Brent had never experienced regret for even a moment during his previous life.  He would now taste it every day for eternity.  The bile rose to his mouth and he heaved.  Shivering with sweat, he crawled to Jenna’s car.  The reflection in the window made him recoil in horror and scream an animal’s scream.  This was Hell.  Hell on Earth.  His to live forever as a freak.