Upload
cm-humphries
View
217
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
8/6/2019 Online Stories II
1/21
ONLINE STORIES COLLECTION
By C.M. Humphries
Scribd
2
8/6/2019 Online Stories II
2/21
O N L I N E S T O R I E S C O L L E C T I O N I I
C.M. humphries
2011 C.M. Humphries.All Rights Reserved.
www.cmhumphries.com
8/6/2019 Online Stories II
3/21
Table of Contents
Never Taken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p.2
(originally published inBlood Moon Rising Magazine.)
Aftermath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 10
The After Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 11
Day and Night . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p. 14
(originally published inFashion for Collapse.)
http://bloodmoonrisingmagazine.com/shortstory419.htmlhttp://bloodmoonrisingmagazine.com/shortstory419.htmlhttp://bloodmoonrisingmagazine.com/shortstory419.htmlhttp://www.fashionforcollapse.com/index/day-and-night/http://www.fashionforcollapse.com/index/day-and-night/http://www.fashionforcollapse.com/index/day-and-night/http://www.fashionforcollapse.com/index/day-and-night/http://bloodmoonrisingmagazine.com/shortstory419.html8/6/2019 Online Stories II
4/21
1
Never Taken
By C.M. Humphries
I.
Leaves crackled as a sudden gust of wind stirred the silence of Ravens Crook. On the
outskirts of the towna place not much more elegant than the rest of the town, but more
elegant nonethelessLindsey jogged on the weathered and fractured sidewalk, heading for
home. She paid no attention to the coming nightfall, nor the leaves blowing around in
small cyclones off to the side of the street. Fast beats and repetitive lyrics were the only
items on her mind as she exercised to the tunes coming from her MP3 player strapped to
her upper arm.
Flickering streetlamps guided her way, but did very little to display suspicious
happenings of individuals around her. From afar, one could see her dirty blonde ponytail
bouncing up and down along with her buttocks; her leg muscles tightening and revealing
bluish veins. Without a shadow of a doubt, her blood ran hot and sweet.
From a corner, one could discover Lindsey perspiring from her forehead and
around her neck. She was beautiful unlike most sweaty fitness junkies. Everything about
her looked so inviting, even despite a presumably salty, deep sweat.
Like an angel among mere mortals, Lindsey jogged closer and closer to her home
with the slightest sign of fatigue or exhaustion. In her hands were nothing; not even a
water bottle. She was well-trained to the point that she could head out for miles without
8/6/2019 Online Stories II
5/21
2
breaking or desiring something to eliminate dehydration. Four miles today, although she
had not been the one to count.
From a splintering and collapsing porch, her mother called out, Lindsey, get your
worthless ass over here and finish dinner, as Lindsey crossed in front of her driveway.
Lindsey turned into her driveway and pressed the square stop button on her MP3
player, and then looked towards the front door of her house. Her parents house, for one day
she would be free. She had not heard a word her mother had said. Did you say something?
she asked.
Yes, I said something. Jesus Christ, you and that dumb gadget Brian got you. You
know, that boy is well-suited for you. Hes worthless too. Doesnt contribute to arr
socidity.
Leave him the hell alone, Lindsey called back. She thought he mother sounded
like an angry pirate. Or a native to sticks of Indiana. He loves me and one day well
leave this shit hole.
Yeah, just like me and your father, Lindseys mother said as she turned to head
back into the house.
Lindsey shook her head as she headed up onto the porch. She rubbed her hand
across her head and removed some of the greasy sweat that had built up. Bitch, she
muttered.
8/6/2019 Online Stories II
6/21
3
Inside of Lindseys home was what anyone could expect from looking at the
outside. Worn furniture, an antiquated TV, the smell of burnt meatloaf and body odor.
What topped it all off was her family. John, her father, was a man in his late forties who
had never achieved anything in his life. For years he had switched between one name-tag
job to another, and for awhile, he found himself loving unemployment. Then, his nagging
wife made him get off his cottage cheese rear end and pick up a mechanic job. Well, he
swept the garages at night and cleaned everything including the fecal matter on the toilet
seats. As Lindsey entered, John remained on a ripped couch, beer in his left hand, remote
in his right.
There she is, he muttered as he eyed up a grease stain on his flannel jacket. I
have no idea where you got yer looks frem, but it sher as hell wasnt yer mom.
I can hear you, his wife called from the kitchen. I wouldnt look like this if
youd just git a real job somewhere, one dat can actually pay for a treadmill.
Hell, woman, John replied while keeping an eye on his daughter, youd need a
fuckin surgery or two ta remove all yer gut. Cmon, Jan, you wouldnt even use a
goddamn tread.
Um, Im just going to go upstairs now, Lindsey said as her legs turned towards an
unstable staircase.
The hell if you arr, Jan called from the kitchen. I slaved all over this food and
yer gonna eat it. It makes me sick to see how skinny you are.
8/6/2019 Online Stories II
7/21
4
John laughed and grabbed his hair. Its only because yer mother never looked as
good as you. Wish you werent my daughter. He chortled some more.
Lindsey gagged and darted for the staircase just as Jan came around the corner with
a black dog that refused to walk. Instead, it just dragged behind Jan, on a leash, as it was
brought to the front door. Not so fast, young lady, Jan said to Lindsey. Take Rufus
for a squat.
Really? Lindsey said. Are you serious? I need to shower, Im upstairs, and
youre there with Rufus in front of the door.
Now, Jan repeated as she let the chain leash fall from her hands to the floor.
Lindsey just stared at it. He mother walked backed into the kitchen. Even from outside
the doors window one could see her resentment.
Rufus stood up for a moment and the moved to a squatting position.
Oh no, Lindsey cried out as she sprinted towards her dog, grabbed the leash, and
walked Rufus outside. Jesus H. Christ, she muttered through grinding teeth as she
brought Rufus to the side lot.
From the porch anyone could admire Lindsey. She was like a white trash
Cinderella. Or, was Cinderella white trash to begin with?
God damn it, one could hear Lindsey say from her backside.
As the dog relieved itselfin the neighbors yard, a cold chill ran across Lindseys
shoulders, she dropped the chain and looked behind her. Nothing. Weird, she thought
8/6/2019 Online Stories II
8/21
5
aloud. Another strong gust passed her by and the leafless trees waved goodbye as she
trotted back inside.
Lindsey toyed around with a burnt chunk of something on her plate. Minus a bite, the
square of meatloaf was uneaten. Jan was starting to notice her daughters lack of appetite.
My food not good enough fer ya?Jan asked as she looked around the table. Or
arr ya just starving yerself again like those movie stars you like so much. Normal people
just aint good enough fer you?
Lindsey ignored her mother and pushed her plate to the side. She scooted her chair
away from the table and then left the kitchen.
See what you gone and done? John asked his wife. You sher arr stupid
sometimes.
Oh yeah? Jan replied. Im stupid? Guess what she axed me earlier? Huh? Jist
axe!
What did she ask you earlier?John stared at his food. This does taste like shit.
I dont blame her.
Its just fine! Anyway, she axed me if she could go ta schoolcal-ledge. Huh?
Now whos the dumb one? She doesnt need to go to no freakin scam-school, now does
she?
8/6/2019 Online Stories II
9/21
6
John fought with a section of the meatloaf he had placed in his mouth. Jan stared
him down. Oh, what da hell you botherin me fer, anway? I dont give a damn if she
goes to some school. Maybe, she deserve ta.
She doesnt deserve a goddamn thing, Jan said as she threw her plate against the
wall. Meat and ketchup littered the yellow-stained walls and ran to the floor where Rufus
was impatiently waiting. We cant even aff-ford no school fer her.
Not if you keep breaking arr shit, we cant.
Lindsey sagged against the back wall of her closet-sized room, sobbing. How could her
mother be so malevolent towards her own daughter? Man, how she just wanted to get her
things and go. But, she knew she would never make it far. Her parents had no money, so
neither did she. She felt like an outcast and was treated all the same. Nevertheless, she
had always found strength and never given up.
Lindsey stood up, turned around, and peered out of the window. Somewhere out
there had to be someone else just like, waiting just like her for a shot at something more.
Even mediocrity seemed redeeming.
Then, like a ghost leering around the corners of a nightmarish haunted house,
Lindsay saw a broad figure in the reflection on the glass. The dark outside world made her
window like a mirror. A lump built in her throat and her lips began to quiver.
Dad? Lindsey began to wonder
8/6/2019 Online Stories II
10/21
7
--In one fell swoop, Lindsey turned around to meet the arms of a faceless stranger
all before being grabbed, swung, and thrown out of her closed window. The world spun.
And with a giant thud, Lindsey met with her gravel driveway as shards of glass rained
down from her room. The world grew black as the stranger watched from her window
while she faded away.
II.
Her eyelids stuck together as though glued. Lindsey fought to open her eyes. The more
she fought, the more it hurt. A sharp pain shot across her face as she gave it one more
attempt. A quick squirt of blood spilled along the cement floor in front of her,
underneath a small, dangling light. Some of it ran down her face.
While the blood was certainly startling, the sight before Lindsey was much, much
worse. In a circle, five other young women were strapped to chairseach one of them
with their eyes clothes or dried blood along their cheeks. Clone-like. Staples sealed their
mouths shut. Metal claps pressed their wrists against armrests.
Ohmy god, Lindsey wanted to scream before realizing that, she too, had her
mouth sealed shut. She wanted to cry, but her eyes burned too much.
She wiggled her lips around. Thank goodness, she thought. She felt a sticky cloth
across her lips; not a steel plate. Duct tape, she told herself.
Blop. Drip. The subtle dripping of water from a busted pipe suggested to Lindsey
that she was in a basement.
8/6/2019 Online Stories II
11/21
8
Then there was the stranger. He wore a plain, white flesh-colored mask that bared
no emotion. He was tall and fit. Such a man could very well flip a SUV on his own,
which would make tearing a human being in half much simpler and much less grueling.
He walked towards the girl closest to him, a weak light revealing only
indistinguishable sections of his upper body. His face remained prominent, however. He
took a deep breath and exhaled along the girls neck. Out of the five, this girl looked the
closest to Lindsey. He said, Do you love someone?
The girl shook herself in the chair as if she was being electrocuted. His question
alone brought misery and pain to the girl.
He asked the question again, and she still didnt answer. The stranger pulled a large
pocket knife from his right pocked and brought out the blade. He pressed it against her
bottom eyelid. Though she could not see, the girl obviously felt the presence of the knife,
for she squirmed and mumbled different pleads for her life.
Do you love someone? he asked again, his voice deep and scratchy.
At another failed response, the stranger ran the knife against the bottom of her eye
and cut out the flesh. Underneath the plate, Lindsey could still hear her scream.
Answer me! he demanded. Without giving her enough time to respond, the
stranger whipped the knife along her throat. A monsoon of blood stained the girls white
shirt and before long, her head dangling off the side of her neck, holding onto a few bones
and veins as the flesh started to rip as though perforated.
8/6/2019 Online Stories II
12/21
9
The stranger walked over to the next girl and did the same. She even tried to
answer.
It wasnt before long that Lindsey was one girl away from being dead.
And you? the stranger said to the girl.
This girls eyes were wide open. Her entire face quivered and her body went
through convulsions. Yes, the managed to squeak out from behind the plate.
The stranger grabbed the side of the metal and ripped it off of the girls face.
Blood-covered screws and lumps of flesh fell to the floor. What? he asked.
The girl spat out a pool of blood and struggled to form words with her deteriorated
lips.
Pressing the knife against the corner of her left eye, the stranger demanded a more
proper answer. The girl only squealed.
The eye rolled towards Lindsey as the stranger made his way along. Looking over
at the girl, Lindsey discovered that the stranger had not killed everyone. In fact, two of
the girls were only injured, though they might soon die from blood loss.
Lindsey glanced back over at the stranger. He vanished.
8/6/2019 Online Stories II
13/21
10
AftermathBy C.M. Humphries
Starlight pierces through a shattered window; reveals the trailers living room.
Crickets chirp outside. Inside: shivering. On the couch lies a woman, kitchen knife
slipping from her hand. A mans sprawled out below, bat at his side. In the corner, a little
girl hunches over a handgun with closed eyes.
8/6/2019 Online Stories II
14/21
11
The After Effect
By C.M. Humphries
10AM flashes on the face of her cell phone rather quickly, and Missy finds herself frozen
in front of the clinic. A bone-chilling drizzle spits from above. For some reason, the rain
feels colder than ever. She shivers before she can even take a step, meaning she nearly
convulses standing up.
The first step stretches out an eternity like a bad nightmare. Her legs, though the
kind of petite most young women desire, feel like they weigh more than her little hybrid
car. She meanders towards the vehicle, worried that she has lost her keys. With that in
mind, she searches her purse.
Rummaging through make-up kits, assorted pens, and various things she once
considered necessary, Missy struggles to locate her car keys. With her free hand, she pats
her jeans. They are damp and start clinging to her legs, which is useful for checking
pockets. Despite the aid of the rain and her persistence, she fails to locate her keys.
Switching her hands, Missy begins to search the purse again. Its not a knock-off; no one
dared to even insist that. Said the purse was classy.
Cling cling. She hears the clatter of keys and panics when she cannot find them
Ah ha! They were in her hands all along.My god, she tells herself.
8/6/2019 Online Stories II
15/21
8/6/2019 Online Stories II
16/21
13
Her husband stares at the pages for a long time. His feels his face growing warmer.
His gag reflex teases him. His stomach churns. The slips fall out of his hands and onto the
expensive, oak flooring. Missy picked out the flooring. Said it was classy.
8/6/2019 Online Stories II
17/21
14
Day and Night
By C.M. Humphries
For awhile I think Ill never wake. Every night, for as long as I can remember since
Jen was taken away, Ive ended upin the same town square. Im never sure where
exactly, but I know it might be somewhere in Lovington, the second-most crime-
ridden town of Chase County. No lie there. They have less crime than Ravens
Crook, Chase County, but in my night terrors, its all the same. Something always
lurks behind me, an ominous presence breathing down my neck.
I travel the flooded streets of this town with Jen at my side, window-
shopping in front of bakeries, pawnshops, and jewelry shops. The jewelry stores
usually capture her attention, and consequently mine, but we both know its beyond
our reach. For the most part, we cant even afford the pawned off jewelry. But this
evening feels different than the rest and closer to being reality.
This is the evening that I had a little to spare, so we bypass the bakeries and
pawnshops. Instead, we enter the real deal: Ralphs Jewelers, home of unique cut
diamonds rings and pearl necklaces. Despite their commercial claim, they are almost
the same as the other pawnshops, but theres prestige to a jeweler, right?
8/6/2019 Online Stories II
18/21
8/6/2019 Online Stories II
19/21
16
*
Then I really wake up to the gray world, where Im once again in a dark living
room. If I wouldve known Id pass out like that again, I wouldve have struggled up
the stairs, to my bedroom. Hell, I knew. I just hoped I wouldnt pass out.
The night terrors have become too much to keep enduring. The quivers, the
cold sweats. I cant do it anymore.
In a haze, I lean over towards my cell phone on the end table. The touch
screen reads 8:04AM. No, I mean 4:08 in the morning. Sometimes I do that.
Shit, I mutter. I never want to sleep, yet even when I succumb to the
sensation, I receive or steal no more than ten winks, or about five fence-jumping
sheep.
I cant take it.
I hear something tap and look at the clock again. Why cant I figure things
out? Its 8:04 for sure.
Jumping out of my seat, I rush to the blinds and peer out. Contrary to my
first instinct, there is no one out there; no UPS or FED-EX truck. Nada.
8/6/2019 Online Stories II
20/21
17
Even with the lack of delivery men, I scurry to the front door, like a child
rushing to a Christmas tree littered with presents on Christmas Day. That was the
plan for our child: spoil the shit out of him or her.
Hesitant, I reach for the door knob. The turn. The gasp. The click. I rip the
door open, slamming it against the front wall, and I allow a blue sky to have a peek
of my face for a few seconds. Its hard to bear much of the world these days. It
sickens me that everything still moves and still goes on, despite my life feeling static.
Theres no one at the door, though. There never is. However, a small
package sits at my feet, addressed to my wife.
Why would anyone do this to me?
I step outside and breathe in the fresh air coming in from the lake. Glancing
around, I can see an elderly woman strolling around the block with some children. I
bet those are her grandchildren. There are also two girls on bikes and a group of
friends heading down towards the beach.
I cant remember the last time I enjoyed living at a lake. Disappointed, I turn
around and stare at the box again. I feel the need to open it.
And I think Ive made a great mistake once I rip away the masking tape.
How?
8/6/2019 Online Stories II
21/21
Knowing nothing better to do, I pull apart the box and find myself staring at
cotton. Just a necklace box. Empty. I feel like theres something to it, a greater
meaning of sorts. Maybe I just cant see it, so I remain outside, clutching the case
close to my chest, and I observe life passing me by.
I notice a strange thing. Clouds look like clouds, not animals. And the streets
are nothing more than pavement. The world holds no analogy or metaphor.
Only during nights do these things morph into flooded dark streets and the
inviting jewelers. Awake the world is always constant and brighter like a sunset in
the country. And all this means nothing to me compared to the empty box in my
hands.
www.cmhumphries.com
tweet: @1cmhumphries
http://www.cmhumphries.com/http://www.cmhumphries.com/