Wednesday, October 21, 2020

WEP Grave Mistake - Cleopatra's Curse


Photo by @rw.studios on Unsplash

Cleopatra’s Curse

Have you ever seen a beautiful young woman with a man that can only be described as ‘toadyish’? He’s at least twenty years older than her, potbelly, short, and mostly balding. She’s a towering model type: perfect body, perfect skin, just exquisite. You wonder, why, how, what?

Well, I’ll tell you. It’s all about the money. What else?

I married a very wealthy man—me, a girl raised in a trailer park who made a living as a waitress and dancer. People even referred to me as white trash, and yet, I made it to the top. And I mean the very top. Gold everywhere. Anything and everything I‘ve ever wanted and more, even acceptance. Now people want to know me, want to be invited to my parties. Hell, they clamor just to be in my presence or merely the same room.

My husband, as I said, is filthy rich, and yes, he bought me. But he also put a diamond ring on my hand and promised me that the world would bow at my feet. He kept his promise, and I’ve kept mine.

I take his abuse. It’s my only job. Make the man happy in the sack, anytime, anywhere, and anyway, he desires it. It was our agreement. I live in the lap of luxury and have people at my every command. Nothing I want is off-limits. I am fulfilled! I am rich, and his temper tantrums don’t last long, neither do the bruises.

You say why? I say, why not? Most of my life was hell: going to bed hungry, various uncles taking advantage at all ages. I was considered a whore before the age of thirteen. The few men I did learn to trust proved to be liars, but now I have a signed contract. Yep, got it on paper, all of it. And if he breaks any of the rules, he pays me a ten-million-dollar settlement.

It took a while, but I soon realized that most men are pigs. All they think about is getting the child, girl, or woman into their bed. And most will take advantage given just half a chance. And some will do it without any invitation or a so sorry immediately on their lips. Liars, users, rutting animals, the whole species!

So why shouldn’t I sell my soul for the best things in life? I couldn’t have gotten them any other way. This has worked for me for the last twenty years. But I will admit that I’m getting bored, and his violence comes much more often and without the usual financial reward. He’s been slipping but only to the point where he hasn’t broken the contract. I think it’s time to say sayonara!

We’re planning a Halloween cruise, so maybe the bastard will fall overboard and drown, leaving me a rich widow? All it will take is a little planning…

*****

Okay, so I figured the bastard wrong, the cheater. He’s not only broken our contract, but he’s also done me in. I can’t collect that cool ten million I was guaranteed because they don’t have lawyers on the bottom at the ocean, my new abode.

Hubby told the world that I fell overboard. Nice. But on Halloween night, the same night I planned his demise, he was a step ahead. I supposedly slipped on a wet deck during a masquerade party and went overboard in my beautiful designer Cleopatra costume, never to resurface again.

Dozens of men jumped into the ocean to find me but failed because, at that time, I was unconscious in the closet of our bedroom. When everyone finally retired, and the police reports were filed, my sweet, generous husband simply dumped me overboard with my feet solidly encased in cement. Yes, I was conscious, but my screams were muted by the gag in my mouth.

I cursed the bastard with each bubble that left my lungs as I tried my best to hold my breath. I did well until the cement my feet were encased in hit the sandy bottom, then in an instant, the air was replaced with seawater.

 

Exactly One Year Later

*****

Detective White carefully made his way into the Tower penthouse. The place was covered in water, sand, seaweed, dead fish, and seashells. If he hadn’t known better, he’d have sworn the site was located on the bottom at the ocean.

“Well, Derek, what can you tell me?” Detective White asked the coroner as he stared down at the two bodies lying side by side in the king-size bed.

“They drowned. No doubt about it. But the why and how, your guess is as good as mine.”

“You sure it’s ocean water, doc? I mean, we’re in a high rise. The doorman said no deliveries were made today or this week. And he saw these two an hour ago, alive and well.”

“Positive. Their lungs are filled with seawater.” He pushed down on the man’s chest, and deep green water seeped out. “I’ve tested it. It’s seawater. Look at the fish, sand, and seaweed. Whoever crafted this murder wanted to make a statement.”

“Yeah, but did they leave any clues?”

“Just the remnants of lipstick on his face. It’s clearly not the same color this young lady is wearing. Maybe that unique color will tell you the dame that wanted this man dead.”

Detective White laughed as he moved to the chaise across the room. A sick sound that had the coroner looking at him oddly. “The only woman I can think of who’d want him dead drowned a year ago. His wife, remember, she went overboard during a Halloween party on his yacht last year. She was wearing a Cleopatra costume.” He held up the wet costume he found lying on the chaise. “I think she came back for a change of clothes and revenge…”

995 Words

Yolanda Renée © 2020

*****

***


Sunday, October 18, 2020

BOO!

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

 Hang your ghastly decorations

black lights, demon pumpkins, and witches.

You’re wasting your expectations.

Ghosts don’t exist.

 How can they haunt or harm

To be frightened, I resist.

 October, Halloween, or

All Hallows Eve.

 The dead don’t rise

and bones won’t walk or rattle

for either tricks or treats.

 So, play your games.

But I don’t buy it.

 Ghosts and ghoulies

are only a figment of your imagination.

The stroke of midnight will show

you’ve wasted your fear 

And now November 3rd is here!

Mwahahaha!!!


YES!



Monday, October 12, 2020

Halloween Fog

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

A Halloween Fog

I’ve seen all the ‘fog’ movies and watched gleefully as the victims paid for their audacity. Slashers, horrendous creatures, and hideous bugs have all hidden their evil in the murkiness of a foggy night. But that’s movie-making, the scarier, the better. In reality, a walk into the thick mist is super energizing.

It allows me to disappear, lurk, stalk, and yes, kill with delicious precision. I bet you thought I was going to talk about how I enjoy being swallowed by nature. How I become part of it and relish the experience. Well, that’s all true, but for me, it’s all about the victim.

After all, I know their fear. It’s the best part. My victim’s terror is what feeds me. I can smell it on them as they cautiously move past me, unaware and yet very aware that I’m there. As the smell of panic becomes more potent, I wonder why they come out? Is it a dare? Are they looking for a confrontation? It can’t be to prove their bravery. They exhibit none! Because no one accidentally wanders into the woods in the dark of night. Well, no one but me.

My favorite victim is the lone young woman. Although I do adore the young couples looking for a place to be alone. But tonight, I’ve hit the jackpot. A young woman is walking nonchalantly down the path. She’s not cautious or fearful, which takes a bit of the fun out the night. The bitch is on her phone and barely paying attention to the direction she’s taken. Still, she’s the perfect victim. Lost, stupid, and unaware. I can’t just let her pass. She’s mine. All mine!

I move ahead of her and get ready to pounce—my best blade at hand.

I jump in front of her, grab her with both arms, and say, “Excuse me. I didn’t see you there. The fog tonight is so thick.” Then I give her my best laugh and wait for her to realize her fate.

She rolls her eyes. “I know,” she says. It was specifically prepared for the night. My people know the perfect thickness for a Halloween cover. It’s the best way to catch predators. Like you.”

Her smile shows perfect white teeth, a lot of jagged, and terrifyingly sharp teeth. I try to shake off my shock at her response. “What?” I mumble, caught totally off guard by her words and that mouththose teeth.

But she only smiles. “What number am I? The tenth, isn’t it?”

“You…you know me?’

“We keep track. Thought the police would take you off the street, but the cops haven’t, so we have to.”

“You? Who are you?” My knife slips from my overly moist hand.

“Your worst enemy, my dear.” Her laugh stuns, and her teeth continue to grow. Before my eyes, her body morphs into the most hideous creature I’ve ever seen.

This monster was a mixture of dark colors, red, black, purple, and flowing with green blood coursing through transparent veins. She had arms everywhere, long, powerful legs and now stood at least ten feet tallher mouth. Oh god, that mouth and those sharp, hideous teeth that dripped with putrid saliva caused my stomach to lurch in revolt. She wrapped her arms around me, and, in a flash, we were in the middle of the forest.

Within minutes I was stripped of all clothes. My hands were tied behind my back with twine, and with a grubby potato stuffed into my mouth, her even uglier friends gingerly lowered me into a large pot of cold water. She dropped in cups full of salt, pepper, cayenne, and several bay leaves.

“Dinner will be ready in about two hours,” she announced as she lighted a fire under the pot I was in. “We want this one to simmer awhile. I like my soup thick,” she told the crowd around her as two other monsters added several large pots of navy beans.

The crowd shouted their appreciation. I watched, dumbfounded, as the monsters settled down on the grass to continue their games and conversations. I noticed that the fog had separated. It circled the area and provided a dome of protection. What I once relished as protection had betrayed me. A higher evil had assumed power.

Fear the fog! Don’t venture down an unknown or even known path on a profoundly thick night, and especially on Halloween.

Listen to what I tell you. I know, I should have heeded my own words. Remember when I said that no one accidentally wanders into the fog on a dark and lonely night, especially on Halloween! What I thought was a beautiful, young girl proves my word.

Yes, I know it’s all too funny. Especially as these are the words of a serial killer. But if folks like me don’t get youmaybe these hungry creatures will!

835 Words

 Yolanda Renée (C) 2020

*****

Join us for the WEP October Challenge

Grave Mistake






Monday, October 5, 2020

A Haunting Challenge

Photo by Daniel Jensen on Unsplash

A Haunting Challenge

It's Halloween, the one night I roam the Earth. It was my decision to leave this world. I was sure it would solve all my problems. I was wrong. Regardless, one fateful Halloween night, I walked into the ocean. Now I rise at 12:01 a.m. and return at 11:59 p.m. every year on that same day, Halloween.

I pray for the day my soul will finally be released, the day my problems will indeed be solved, but that can only happen after I pay penance for my error.

You see, suicide is wrong. It goes against all the laws of man and God. I knew this but didn't fully believe it. So yes, I committed the ultimate sin.

Given two options, hellfire for eternity or heaven, I chose forgiveness even though I knew a penance was due.

The devil would gladly accept my soul, he's told me so, but I want to prove that I'm worthy of God's grace, and the only way I can achieve that is to keep one hundred other people from doing the deed I accomplished. Since I died on Halloween night, it's the only night I can return to Earth to save like-minded souls.

Not an easy task as I am the way death has left me. Getting folks to accept a bloated corpse, dripping with seaweed, sand, and saltwater is not an easy task even on Halloween. My skin is gray-green, and I have open wounds caused by hungry sea creatures. With hanging flesh, dripping hair, and blackened eyes along with hesitant movements as I try to remember how to walk on land vs. floating in the dark void of the sea, I frighten more than impress.

My only salvation is that most of the world is also in costume. I get numerous compliments, mostly from drunken partiers, but finding a suicidal person willing to listen to my message is nearly impossible. I've been haunting Halloween night for over seventy-five years, and I've only saved thirty people. Not surprisingly, at first, I drove just as many to madness or death. Until I learned a method to the madness that worked.

Of late, I've heard through the rumor mill that I may get amnesty if I continue to do my best and complete a hundred years of service to the cause, but I've also heard rumors of an even longer punishment.

The task is challenging, but I haunt on as I have a goal to achieve because the sea's moist, icy darkness is much more palatable than Hell's arid burning brightness!

Please, my dear sad and lost souls, consider your quest. Your penance may be much more challenging and way longer than mine.

463 words

Yolanda Renee © 2020

****

Don't forget to check out the newest challenge

from the WEP

Write...Edit...Publish.

Grave Mistake




Thursday, September 24, 2020

We Saw It Coming!

October the month of 
Halloween 
is just days away!
My favorite month of the year.
To celebrate
I've written several flash fiction shorts for your enjoyment.

This is one of the first, and although my husband told me this wasn't a Halloween tale. I beg to differ. Dystopia, a word I've been hearing almost daily on the various news shows brought me this story during a nightmare. And honestly, it frightens me more than any of the other others that I've posted.

But I'd love to hear your thoughts...

Happy Halloween!


Photo by Taylor Simpson on Unsplash

We Saw It Coming!


Exactly one year after the 2020 election, the knock at the door came at noon. We still weren’t ready. But the two men with AK-47’s who came to escort us to the waiting bus didn’t care.

“Weapons?” he asked.

“No, sir, we don’t own any.” And we didn’t. In our younger years, we’d each owned guns. We even enjoyed shooting them, but when the babies arrived, we sold them to keep the house safe. We’d never bothered to replace them.

The man grunted. “Figures. Stupid liberals,” he said and smiled. Nodding to his buddy, he shoved my husband forward. “Should’ve kept your Republican registration, you might have had a chance.” Me, he let pass with only a sneer while mumbling, “Independent, slut!”

We were being moved to new quarters. A camp for the elderly, they said—a place where we’d be taken care of. Medicare and Social Security had been done away with, and those of us that relied on it had to sell off our assets and agree to move to the ‘camps’ for continued care. The bus was full of folks in the same position, and then I saw the young mother and her child, sitting in the back seat. We took the seat in front of them.

“What are you doing here, dear?”

“I need care for my child,” she whispered. Without government assistance, I can’t provide for her special needs. I was told I could go to the camp and work there for the care we both need.”

“I see.” I gazed at my husband. He shrugged, already resigned to the future.

“I’m glad you’ll be with us. It'll be nice to have some youngsters running around," I said, trying to remain optimistic.

“Thank you,” she said. “Anny’s already missing her granny.”

“Did she go someplace else?”

“Oh no,” the young woman said. She was killed during the takeover. When the Patriots came to claim our city, she and Grandpa were on the front lines with a sign of protest. They were shot. Killed immediately.”

“I’m so sorry,” I said.

She gave a weak smile. “It’s all right. They knew what would happen. I think they welcomed death. Ever since the election, and all the changes, with COVID-19, all the unrest and violence. Neither of them wanted to live to see their free America destroyed. I would have gone with them, but I couldn’t do that to my sweet Anny. She needs me.”

I nodded and turned in my seat. My eyes filled with tears. I had wanted to do the same thing, but my husband said it couldn’t get any worse, be patient. He was wrong.

We saw it coming. The madman in the White House calling all the shots. Illegal, outrageous, unconstitutional, but everyone let him do his thing. Sure, they tried impeachment. Ha, what a joke. His own party excused his every move. After all, they were in power, and power is everything when increasing the bottom line is your only goal. Screw the people!

Most of my family voted him into office, then placed him there again, no matter what laws he broke. Even the people he wanted to destroy voted for him. It boggles the mind. Scars the soul. Now the old, the disabled, and anyone else who doesn’t bow and swear allegiance or simply doesn’t fit the mold are being forced to move into ‘camps’ for their own good.

I can't help, but wonderdo these camps have ovens, gas chambers, or were we to be poisoned during dinner?

The End

540 Words

Yolanda Renee © 2020

Please Vote!

The future of our Democracy 

depends on you!

Photo by visuals on Unsplash


Monday, September 21, 2020

Sweet Revenge - A Halloween Challenge


It's Time!


A   Blue Moon  on
Halloween
What could be better?

 October 31, 2020, at 12:49 AM.

Are you ready?
To help inspire you, 
Here is the last installment of 
Blood Moon.
It's title

Sweet Revenge

Enjoy!

If you missed the first three excerpts just click the link:
Romance & Death
Hunted
Masked





Sweet Revenge

         It took me several years to learn the secret of the mountain. Each anniversary of my death, I would get to relive the horror of that night. It took a while, but I learned that if I quit fighting the forest, I could separate myself from the event. 
          The next time Kyle brought his fun to the mountain on a Halloween, I was ready. 
           Do you see him? His bones are bleaching in the sun. He came back to me, and revenge was ever so sweet.
         The young girl he brought with him was led safely to the main road by the forest. Help came for her in the form of a couple returning home from a Halloween party. She is safe and now sharing her tale of horror with the authorities. Soon they'll be searching the woods for Kyle and his victims. They'll find most of them, and they'll find me, but Kyle is here to stay. He's mine—a plaything to help me while away the years.
           I tortured, killed, and thoroughly relished his screams. I told you revenge is sweet, and the music of it even sweeter!
         The forest, my new friend, cooperated fully. The brambles stripped him of his clothes, and using their sharp thorns, they ripped the skin from his body. His howls were a melody like no other. All the animals joined in, and I danced to the macabre tune.
         Tree roots pulled his limbs from his body, slowly, but deliberately. His shrieks were a crescendo that I still hear echoing in the loneliest hours of the night.
         Rocks and boulders covered him. Using their weight, they crushed the life out of him, slowly. His last breath was like a caress, sweet, warmorgasmic. Heavenly.
         Before he died, I plucked his eye out and stuffed it down his throat. I left him one eye, so he could watch me dance on his grave. I did to him all that he did to me and more. The pain he experienced, the terror he felt, is like having life returned. The memory of it I relive each night. I dance in the moonlight and relish the peace of the wind in the trees. 
          My treesmy mountainmy home!
         Beware, dear friend, for if you visit my new abode with evil in mind, we'll be waiting. The forest and I have honed our skills.

The end 
or is it?


Are you ready for the challenge now?

Read the other installments of Blood Moon here

Romance & Death

Hunted

Masked

Sweet Revenge

Have I enticed you?
Is your writing muse tingling?
Then join the WEP in October for
the Halloween Challenge!


A Grave Mistake, you ask?
Well, what in the hell is that?
Well, dear friend
It’s the next WEP task.
And believe me
there’s many away
Where errors take sway
Where ghosts and ghoulies will play
and many unorthodox ideas
 rue the day.
So, get out your pens and pads.
We’ve given you
A dare for your best scare
Because Halloween is for all
And who knows?
You may take
first prize for your Grave Mistake!

Monday, September 14, 2020

Masked - A Halloween Challenge


It's Time!


A beautiful  Blue Moon  on
Halloween!
 October 31, 2020, at 12:49 AM.

Are you ready?

To help inspire you, 
Here is the third installment of Blood Moon.
It's title

Masked 

Enjoy!

If you missed the first two excerpts just click the link:
Romance & Death
Hunted


Photo by Luke Southern on Unsplash


Masked 

The monster that took me wore his mask well. His deep blue eyes sparkled when he laughed. His smile was captivating and felt sincere. The dimple on his right cheek was so endearing; I even saw it on the child I imagined we'd someday have. And his physiqueswoon-worthy. When he held me in his arms, I felt safe. I trusted his strength to protect me, and I imagined our lovemaking would be indescribable.
          Remember, we'd only dated a few times. Tonight was going to be the night. It was already planned, but that was before I knew I'd be fighting the devil for my life.
          And I did fight. A lot of good it did me. He won. In the end, don't they always. After all, a successful serial killer plans his task well. His victimshe never has a chance.
          But I tried, and I did leave my mark. You can still see it today, but I'm sure all the girls tell him his jagged scar just makes him look more rugged. His blood and skin under my nails would never do me any good though because I never told a soul about Kyle. I never told anyone where we were going. No one even knew I was missing until a week had passed. It wasn't until months later that a tourist found my camera near the road and gave it to the police. My prize-winning picture of the Blood Moon was identified as mine because of the selfie I took. It was my last photograph and the one my parents value most. Even now, I kick myself for not taking it with Kyle, but he was camera shy. Of course he was—the bastard!
          It was a full two years later that a hunter discovered my skull and a few gnawed bones. Dental records finally identified me.
          Kyle is still at it, and if he comes back to his cabin in the woods, I'll be waiting. I'll be ready because now I've won the forest to my side and his time has come.


To be continued…


Join me next week when

I’ll publish the final installment of 
Blood Moon
Titled

Sweet Revenge

Have I enticed you?
Is your writing muse tingling?
Then join the WEP in October for
the Halloween Challenge!


A Grave Mistake, you ask?
Well, what in the hell is that?
Well, dear friend
It’s the next WEP task.
And believe me
there’s many away
Where errors take sway
Where ghosts and ghoulies will play
and many unorthodox ideas
 rue the day.
So, get out your pens and pads.
We’ve given you
A dare for your best scare
Because Halloween is for all
And who knows?
You may take
first prize for your Grave Mistake!