Kearny, Arizona
Alison Shuster was a fresh faced college graduate with sad brown eyes and short black hair. As she stepped out of her boyfriend's rust covered truck, a pair of ratty old tennis shoes clung to her feet with silver masking tape wrapped around the toes of the left. She looked upon the worn down old house with distaste, much like she did every day she looked at it. A few months ago it was nothing like this. She had been getting ready to graduate from college and achieve her dream of getting out of this crappy town.
She was supposed to go to California and see the coast.
Then one night she had a little too much to drink when a friend from town came to visit her. She barely remembered the night that changed her life but now it was like she couldn't get away from it. A month later she found herself to be pregnant. Instead of giving the child up for adoption, Alison dropped everything she had worked so hard for. She and her child's father, Eric Danforth, moved in together in the only house they could afford. Now the swell of a five month pregnant belly rounded her shirt.
Did it make her a bad person that she was starting to despise that bump a little more every day? The larger it grew, the farther she was from her dreams. Now she felt like she'd never get out of this town.
Taking a breath, Alison shoved her keys in her pocket and grabbed a paper bag full of groceries from the passenger side. Hoisting it upon her hip, she started to waddle up towards the screen door. It was unlocked, so she walked right in, turning her nose up at the smell that assaulted her nostrils. "Eric!" she called out, looking towards the living room where the only good piece of electronics, a big screen tv, recapped a football game. The recliner chair in front of it was his spot of choice. His arm hung down the side and the sillhouette of his face was turned from the television, eyes closed. Probably sleeping.
She huffed and turned to walk towards the kitchen and found the trash can knocked over, all it's contents spilled across the linoleum. Her face reddened as she put the paper bag she'd been carrying down and then looked at the trash. Eric had probably gotten drunk and knocked it over and not even had the common sense to pick it up. But that was just Eric, that's how he was. He never thought about what he did and how it would affect her. "Damnit!" She hissed. All the heat built up inside of her. She couldn't stand it!
After kicking the trash can across the room, Alison had had enough. "I swear to God Eric, you wake up and get your ass in that kitchen and clear up the mess you made!" She stomped into the living room but he hadn't moved from his spot. Her cheeks turned even darker red as she grabbed the remote and muted the television.
"Wake up!" She yelled at him. "You can't just expect me to come home every day and clean up after your mess! I'm not your slave!" But he still wasn't waking up. It just made Alison angrier until she felt like she couldn't breathe. It was knotted so tightly in her chest. She didn't want this life and this was just the final straw. "You know what? Screw you. You do whatever you want, sleep and drink your life away because I don't even care. I'm leaving!"
Pulling her keys out of her pocket, Alison went to the door and kicked it so it swung open but before she left, she peeked back.
Still nothing.
"You bastard.." Her voice was raw from anger and her eyes tearing. Well, she decided, she wasn't going to leave like this--with him pretending that he didn't have to get up when she was leaving him. She marched over to the recliner, clasped one hand on the back and pushed it. "I want you awake and watching me leave. You outrageous son of a--" A thump stopped her sentance and it took a moment for her to realize what happened. It replayed in her mind again and again until suddenly it sunk in. Eric head had rolled onto the ground and rest by her shoes. She couldn't tell if her heart was beating a million beats a second, or if it had stopped completely. The rest of his body lay headless in the chair with a half empty beer can in one hand.
"Oh... Oh my God!" Alison screamed as she backed up. Her widened eyes couldn't look away from the head on the ground. This had to be a scary movie, or some kind of horrible joke. She'd be pissed at him later but please let it be a joke.
She took one more step backwards and for a moment, the room was trust into darkness. Alison whimpered as she spun around, positive that she'd just seen someone but no one was there now. Or were they? Eric was dead and she was alone. Her heart was definitely beating now, and it felt like it would come right up her throat and fall out of her mouth. "W-Who's there?" Her voice trembled and she tightened her fingers around the set of keys in her palm, hard enough that she felt the metal cut through her skin.
A rush of wind passed behind her so quickly it felt like a person was there but as she turned once more, the room was empty. But it didn't feel empty. "What do you want!?" She cried out. It was possible that the silence was more frightening than anything else. Someone was here, she could feel it. Through the window, she looked towards the truck that was only fifty feet, if that, from where she is right now. She was going to have to make a run for it. She could drive to the next county and go to the police station, but at least she'd be gone. At least she would be safe.
She took two very slow steps towards the door, scanning the room every couple of seconds and trying very hard not to look at the severed head on the ground. Just five more steps towards the door. She took another but as she turned to reach for the door, she felt something hard hit her. Her head snapped to the side and she spit blood that landed on the television, covering the face of a broadcaster. She let out a scream as she hit the ground and lowered her hand to her stomach before snapping her head up.
Another cry came from her lips as a black shadow appeared.
Alison started to backpedal as the blackness slowly took form and before her eyes, a man was standing in front of her. He wore a modest white suit and looked to be in his fourties. She started to wonder if she had been seeing things. As her hand pressed down to the ground, she felt it slide over something slick. She brought it up covered in blood and darted her eyes to the ground. The blood had been from his neck rolling off his body. She screamed and jumped but didn't have a way to go. Wide, wild eyes glared up at the man who had a very simple expression on his tanned face.
His hands were stuck in his pockets as he stood there just looking down upon her. "You have something my boss needs."
She was flabergasted. "Money? Jewelry? I don't have anything. Take the tv or the car, just please don't kill me." The tears fell down her face freely now and she was shaking.
The man chuckled as he lofted a brow, "I have a proposition for you."
