Hellraiser

“Brian, this can’t be. Where’s Zarah? I thought you were… dead?” He hugs me. “I was, but I’m here now, princess. Zarah is fine, Sow has her, they’re already by the tri state intersection, two states away. I want you to come with me.” “So she’s never coming back?” I ask. “That’s right, I’m sorry honey.” He says. I cry even more. “Baby, we’ll see her again, hell, we’ll all be a family again, if you just follow me.”
Manson leads my by the hand to my bedroom. “Brian, I’ve missed you so much.” I breathe. It feels nice to be intimate with him again. Marilyn continues holding me and sucking on my neck. Something wet leaks through his shirt to mine. I touch it and it stains my fingers red. “Is this…blood?” I ask in shock. “Sorry, I’m still relatively new to this.” He says, backing up. In the moonlight, I see bullet holes in his now open shirt. His clothes are torn and he appears to be in the decomposition stage. Flesh blue and hanging off the bone, bodily/embalming fluids leaking onto the floor and his moth eaten clothes tearing more as I watch. “I’m sorry, I don’t control this very well.” He says as he morphs back into an entity that looks like a regular person. “You’re not my husband, you are an imposter!” I shout, standing up and backing to the wall. “Baby doll, please. You’re hurting my feelings. I’ve been waiting to see you and now you don’t believe me.” He whispers, looking down. “It really is you, isn’t it? I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, I’ve just been through so much.” I apologize. He smiles. “It’s ok.” “Brian?” “Yes, Vi?” “Oh nothing, I was just thinking about old times.” I reply. “Oh yeah?” He asks. We were cuddling on the bed and for the first time in a while, I felt complete. “This is just like the good days, do you remember that?” I question. “Yes, and we could live those again, you know.” Brian offers. “How?” “You’d have to die, and I don’t want that for you.” Manson says. “Please, I want to be with you. I don’t have anything to lose. You said Zarah isn’t ever coming back, my parents just gave her to my cousin.” I respond. He appears to be pondering something. “Well, I do know one way but it will not be easy. Do you have any cyanide?” Marilyn asks. “Yes, in the garage.” “What about a syringe?” “Yeah, we keep syringes and clean needles in the kitchen in case Sharon needs them for her allergy medicine.” I answer. “Good, go get them. I will come with you.”
I bring a syringe and bottle of cyanide to my room. “You’re sure you want to do this? This is your last chance to back out.” “Yeah, I’m sure, but can we take one last bath, for old times’ sake?” “Sure, Vi. I’d love to.”
I fill up the tub and keep chugging from the Scotch bottle. I glance to Brian, who is already in the tub and holding the very thing that is going to take my life. I begin to take off all my clothes, he intently watches. “Damn, you are even sexier than I remembered!” He exclaims. “Thank you.”
I climb into the warm bath water and enjoy Brian’s embrace. “I wish Zarah was still here.” I say. “As do I, but now we can both watch over her and see her again someday when her time comes.” Marilyn tells me. “”I suppose you’re right.” I answer, snuggling in like we used to do. “Baby, I’ve missed you so much, your touch, your smell, everything.” He whispers in my ear. “Brian, I have too. This is so nice.” I notice he is rapidly disappearing and reappearing. “What’s happening?” I ask. “If you don’t die soon, I will disappear completely.” As Manson says this, I take the needle from him and stab myself in the heart, rapidly injecting the cyanide. A strange pain consumes my body and after a few seconds I begin to rapidly convulse and struggle to breathe for about three minutes until finally, all is still.
I look around with a messed up perception, like my vision is off. The room appears to be hazy, but was fine a few minutes ago. “Bri?” I ask. He holds me tight in a hug. “You did it. I am so proud of you!” He exclaims. “I can’t see.” I state. He laughs. “That’s normal; you are now dead, like me. We have trouble seeing the living world unless it’s one of our offspring.” Marilyn explains. I remain silent and as he said the word offspring, I see the beautiful baby Zarah sleeping in a baby bed at Cousin Sow’s mom’s house. “I see Zarah!” I point out. “Yes, if you think of her you will see her, that’s one thing. But another is, yourself. You are dead, do you know this?” Brian asks. “Yes, of course I do, I am with you!” He smiles. “Do you want to see yourself?” “Sure, I guess.” I respond. Manson moves out of the way and I see a pale, lonely girl finally at peace, not only with the world, but also herself. “That’s the happiest I’ve looked since you died.” I say in awe. Brian holds my hand. “I know this must be hard for you, it was hard for me too when I saw myself. Your parents will find you here at dawn; we have a few hours to see their reaction.”
I walk up to myself, my body cooling along with the bath water. Flesh blueing. Cadaver eyes upon me see nothing. No goodbyes, just dead, yet I am still right here.
~
“Violet, Violet, you have to wake up!” A voice says. I was lying on the floor, not alone. My eyes flicker open and I puke everywhere. “Sow?” I ask, wiping my mouth with my sleeve. “Yeah, it’s me. I have Zarah right here, I figured you’d want her back. “But, I’m dead! I died last night, I saw myself!” I insist. “Violet, you were drunk.” He answers. “Sow, it seemed so real!” My 15 year old cousin sits next to me on the ground. “I know, but you can’t keep doing that, ok?” “ok, thank you for returning my daughter. You’re Ipod is on the counter.” I hold Zarah close. “I guess mommy’s alive after all.” I whisper. The illusion was great but I’d rather stay with my daughter, though I feel very lonely now.
I take Zarah with me to my room with a fresh bottle. Sitting in the rocking chair, I feed her. “I was gone for 14 days, I might have been gone for more. Held up in intensive care ward, I was lying on the floor. I was gone for all those days but I was not all alone. I made friends with lots of people in the danger zone. See my lonely life unfold, I see it every day.” I quietly sing to her. It is 4:33 in the morning. Something crashes outside my window, then flashes. “Hello, honey!” A scratchy voice rings from behind me. I look up. “Brian?” “Yes, it’s me, I’ve come for you and Zarah. Pack your stuff, we’re leaving. But do it quietly.” “Brian, you’re dead! I just had an illusion about you, I don’t think this is healthy.” Yes, but this time, I am here. Let me explain it to you. You know how you texted me my final goodbye from that ipod? I had one of my assistants track it’s location, and it took some doing but now I’ve found you and we are never going to be separated ever again.

(There will be one more chapter and then this story ends)