It had not meant to be this way; cowering in an old abandoned shed with her knees up by her ears, crammed tightly underneath a table with a, once pristine white and now dusky brown, heel brandished in one hand as she feared for her life. The sound of distant shouting and groaning only getting louder as she attempted to hide from sight.
Uncle Savage had come into the small chapel that early afternoon with a tourniquet on his wrist, complaining, as always, about the weather. When asked where he had received the wound he had explained that a drunken idiot had bitten him earlier that morning on his walk up through the farmlands, a big 'thank you' for his act of kindness in getting the staggering fool to his feet he had proceeded to protest.
No one had thought anything of it after that, but as the hours rolled by and the priest continued to read out the wedding vows, vows she had been rehearsing over and over again like a broken record since the month before this day of grandeur, Uncle Savage had grown slowly worse for wear. He had eventually gone outside to freshen up but had never come back, causing some commotion of concern until, finally, someone agreed to go check on him.
Still more time had passed with no sign of Savage, and by now another family member and a bride's maid had all but vanished, until eventually Evelyn and Thomas had taken each other hand in hand to kiss and then proceed with the after party reception. Here everyone was talking, asking questions and scanning the small room for the missing family members that only seemed to increase with each passing hour.
"Where did Uncle Savage go?" Evelyn had asked at the time, hoping to shed some light and ease the concern rising within the gathering that had meant to be a joyous occasion.
"He went outside for some fresh air." an elderly member of the family explained, tutting and huffing about how rude it was for them to not have seen the newlyweds take a sacred oath to one another.
In an act of curiosity and concern Evelyn had then decided to go looking for them all, something must have been deeply wrong if they had not come back by now. The air was brisk and dull, the sort of weather you wanted to avoid on a special occasion, especially with a specially tailored wedding dress clinging to you that cost an arm and a leg to obtain.
"Uncle Savage?" Evelyn had called, looking around the open area for the missing individual to no avail.
Walking along the cobbled path the woman continued to search, her vivid green to blue eyes being cast down upon a bloodied tourniquet that was caught in a few branches near the footpath. Frowning, and a little irked by the sight of the blood clotted medical bandage, she pressed on, hoping it would not rain while she was outside. Upon hearing something behind her she had turned to look, her vision catching sight of Elizabeth entering the chapel.
Realising the bridesmaid had been staggering she had quickly went towards the part of the woods she had come from, praying to some unearthly figure that the others were okay. After some time Evelyn had found no one however, and as the evening rolled in, and the forest grew darker, she became lost amongst the trees. Clutching the ends of her dress up by her knees Evelyn went back towards the chapel when the bells tolled, an easy indicator of where she had to go to get back to the reception.
At the large wooden doors everything seemed eerily quiet on the other side, the scent of church essence strangely marred by a smell she could not quite describe nor compare to anything she had come into contact with before. Pushing open the doors she had all but caught half a scream in the back of her throat, the white lotus flowers that decorated the hall were scattered everywhere, a vase was knocked over and what appeared to be blood was smeared across the stone floor from where someone had been dragged across it violently.
Mortified Evelyn had backed off out of the building, a rush of air being vacuumed into her lungs as she took deep breaths and tried to calm her now shaking and nerve wrenched hands by clasping them together. Scared and uncertain she pushed the door back open and nervously went towards the door to the main reception hall, her head carefully coming out from behind the old stone wall to look inside.
Now the smell that had once marred the aroma of candles, finely aged wood and essence had became potent; and it was there and then that Evelyn truly knew what the smell of fetid blood was like. What struck her the most vividly about this sight, which she had only imagined possible in a horror movie, was that there were no bodies. The smeared blood at her feet getting half way into the room before it simply stopped and joined the others as mere patches and droplets of blood, as if the victims had simply walked away from the scene of the crime with grievous wounds.
Not quite sure what to make of the entire thing Evelyn had proceeded to head through the threshold of the door into the reception hall haltingly, her hand carefully picking up the knife from the table which once held their wedding cake, now on the floor and smeared everywhere, to protect herself. Hearing a chuckle Evelyn gasped and turned on her heel, the knife up by her chest in fear. Behind her was her mother-in-law, Sarah, who was simply standing there examining her with an almost crooked smile which did not reach her eyes.
"Sarah?" Evelyn had enquired, confused as to what was going on. "Where's Thomas, and the others?" she continued, lowering the knife ever so slightly.
"They've all gone outside, dear. I told them to go fetch you, but it seems you came here all by yourself." the redhead uttered, the corner of her lip curling more so than before.
"What's happened, tell me! I want to help." the blonde woman exasperated, coming ever closer.
Being shushed by her mother-in-law Evelyn looked to Sarah's hand when she motioned it, her blue eyes then lolling down to the knife cautiously.
"Sweetheart, give me the knife. You'll only hurt yourself or someone else, I'll take you through to the others. A deer got into the church because someone left a door open, it injured a few people but we got rid of it, don't worry." she explained, her hand still out-stretched patiently. Uncertain Evelyn had looked at the knife and then to her hand one more time before she finally gave up the knife.
"Is Thomas okay?" she asked nervously, fearing for his safety.
"Thomas is waiting on the other side, I'll take you to him." Sarah uttered, the words not quite sitting right with Evelyn as she nodded and went to follow her through to the next room.
In the main part of the chapel Evelyn looked at all the pews which were occupied by everyone from before.
"What's going on?" she asked, looking at everyone. No one seemed right, everything seemed so wrong about this situation.
"Uncle Savage wanted you to do your vows again, darling; since he missed them. He's very sorry about it, we know how much it meant to you that he came so we all agreed." she explained, coaxing Evelyn back towards the front of the congregation.
Not quite sure what to really make of all this the bride climbed the small set of steps whilst looking at everyone in each row of pews, her body turning to meet her head once she had arrived at her destination at the top of the stone steps so that she could examine everyone properly. They seemed so vacant of any expressions right now.
"Thomas, I-" she went to speak, gasping and backing off when she realised it was not her husband. "Who are you?" she gasped, reaching her arm up to shield her chest as she looked from this stranger to the families below in search of Thomas.
Feeling her wrist being grabbed Evelyn looked back towards the man she did not know, his brown eyes glinting with a flicker of red, an unnatural colour for any ordinary person.
"Don't be shy, Evelyn. Say your vows." he cooed, catching a bouquet of discarded flowers Sarah had thrown to hand to her.
"Where's Thomas?!" she asked again, utterly bewildered.
"I told you she was going to be difficult, Bernard." Sarah huffed mockingly, getting to her feet to come to the front.
"I guess having the wedding rings on will suffice for now." the brunet uttered nonchalantly, hooking his arm around her waist quickly to grab and drag her towards him.
In retaliation Evelyn had slapped him, or at least she had attempted to, as he had grabbed her hand just as quickly as she had swung it. Flicking his head forward Bernard sunk his teeth into her throat, forcing a scream to rumble out of her throat and past her lips. Punching and clawing at him Evelyn attempted to escape, though she only managed to prise him off once he had torn his teeth back out of his own accord and dropped her to the floor.
As soon as he had done so Evelyn had scrambled across the floor, rolled down the steps and had staggered to her feet. Terrified she began running towards the door, her body slamming into it as she tried to claw it open and escape.
"Like a wee rabbit." the man stated, watching her claw at the door until finally she got it open and managed to make a run for it. "I love a good chase. Servants, bring my bride back to me!" he shouted, observing the undead he had previously created rise shakily from their seats and stumble over one another to go towards the door.
And so there she was, hiding in a rotting old shed, praying for mercy and for them not to find her. Her eyes were squeezed shut as she continued to clasp her neck and restrain her muffled groans of pain, her body being pressed further against the wall of the building as the sounds grew nearer still. When she thought all was lost there was a strange moment of silence, the night air causing the shed to creak before there was a sudden array of gunfire polluting the airwaves, causing the darkness which once enveloped her to flicker like a candle in the wind.
Frightened for her already endangered life she did not move, she did not speak and she defiantly tried not to breathe until the gunfire seemed to push the once groaning creatures back towards the chapel, the sounds of people barking commands dissipating with the bangs until she was certain she was alone once again. Slowly sliding onto her side Evelyn remained in her hiding place underneath the table, the darkness veiling her form as she began to rock back and forth and talk to herself in an attempt to soothe herself.
As day broke through the murky window of the shack Evelyn continued to make helpless groaning noises, her eyelids crinkled shut as she hid within the shadows until they burst open and a guttural growl rumbled through her throat. Panting and clawing at the wall at her back as she lay twisted at an angle the young woman slowly calmed down, her dizzy vision settling so that she could look around the old shack, partially confused as to where she was. Trying to remember what had happened Evelyn slowly sat up and went to crawl out from underneath the table, a deep hissing parting her lips when she put her fingers underneath the beam sunlight coming in through the window.
Clutching her hand in pain the young woman looked at her blistered skin in horror, her eyes flicking to the sunlight that appeared to be so ordinary. Cautiously she reached back out towards the sun and was burnt again, her hand being torn away as she reeled her body back against the wall underneath the table. Trembling and confused the young woman stared at her hand, her eyes catching sight of her reflection. Stilling she slowly crawled towards the broken glass and stared into it, her green to blue eyes examining the grievous wound on her neck.
Pushing herself back towards the wall the young woman sat there for a moment, allowing the silence to envelop her as she stared at the garden utensils on the other side of the shed. Lifting her hands to look at them, turning them as she did so, the young woman slowly raised them up towards her face. Resting them against her temple Evelyn remained still for a long moment, until finally her face screwed up and her head flicked backwards, her mouth opening as far as it could go as a scream of distress thundered out past her lips.
As dusk set in Evelyn staggered out from her hiding place and wandered the eerie forest, taking some solace in the fact that the moonlight could not burn her. Looking for the chapel she soon found it, her hands pushing open the doors and allowing her inside. Aimlessly wandering through the halls of the building the young woman looked for her family, however she could find no one.
Going to the backroom of the chapel, where the priests would normally only be allowed, Evelyn opened the doors to the cellar and slowly climbed inside, searching for a place to hide and find solace so that she could be alone to grieve, and it was there that she remained for longer than she could remember, allowing endless sleep to overwhelm her mind and help her find momentary peace.
