The Widow

I'm just going to start where it all began. No need for my background information, childhood, etc. This is all that matters. She'll be back any minute now, and I need to let the others know before it's too late. Anyway, here's what happened.

About 8 years ago, SHE moved in. She bought the abandoned farm between the city and the fields, and started her ranch. Molly. She was about my age, which meant she was about every other bachelor's age in Castanet, and it didn't help that she was beautiful. Her red hair curled into a neat bob under her chin, her pale skin seemed to shimmer in the sun AND moonlight, and her eyes… well, let's just say they made the stars look dim. Kind and gorgeous, so it didn't take long for all of us to fall in love with her. Even the Wizard, who is such an introvert that I was surprised he wasn't asexual.

We all died a little inside when she married Gill. That stuck up braggart and his fancy clothes, marrying the sweetest, prettiest girl in Castanet. We all wanted to kill him. They were married in the Summer. The same year she arrived here. He moved into her luxurious house and wealthy farm, and they lived there happily. Molly got pregnant in the Fall, and Gill was ecstatic. The rest of us were so angry, we didn't need another Gill around. In Winter though, the baby was miscarried, and everyone was sad. Even though I hated Gill, I had nothing against the baby. In the Spring, something even worse happened.

Gill was found dead.

He was found in Molly's attic, with a bottle of pills next to him. Just from looking at it, it seemed he committed suicide. It didn't surprise anyone, considering the loss of the baby. Nobody questioned it, so a funeral was thrown for Gill. Molly was there, red, puffy eyes from crying, and she was totally dressed in black. I saw the widow talking to Owen at the funeral, crying to him. He walked her home that evening, and each day, they became closer and closer. That Summer, they were married.

This is how it went on for seven more years. She would marry someone, and some way or another, they would die. Toby was found with a harpoon through his stomach, which was considered an accident, Owen was found in a mineshaft, run over by a mine cart. My best friend Luke was found crushed under a tree. People began to go missing as well. All of these things were accidents, and at every funeral, Molly was always crying.

After Luke's funeral, which had been her seventh husband, Molly came up to me. She talked to me about her late husband, and how much she loved him, the future they had planned together, etc. I of course listened out of pity. To lose seven people you loved must have been hard. I walked her home that night. One thing led to another, and we were married the Summer after the funeral.

She was a great wife. She brought me gifts, and I reciprocated, she loved me, cooked for me, and we had a happy, happy time. When I told her I didn't really want kids, she understood and accepted that. She came to the bar every few nights to keep the other girls from flirting with me. She was just…perfect.

And then it all went to hell.

It is a clear night, with a full, harvest moon in the sky. The air is slightly cool from the remains of the Winter season. I got off of work early, so it was around 11pm. There weren't enough customers at the bar, so I left. I got home about midnight, and the lights were off in the house.

I guess she's asleep I thought to myself.

I slowly creaked open the door and looked inside were the bed was.

It was empty.

I was puzzled. She was always in bed by 10. Always. I tried to think logically.

She probably just had to go to the bathroom. Yeah that's it.

I walked over to the bathroom door and knocked on it with my knuckle.

"Honey," I said softly, "Are you alrig-"

I stopped midsentence, because somehow, I knew she wasn't in there. I turned away and followed the hissing sound, and was lead to the open attic door. A light was on inside, and all I could hear was faint hissing. I don't know what possessed me to climb up the ladder, but I did just barely enough to peek inside. Looking back on it now, it was the worst thing I had ever seen.

Tied up to one of the support posts was a slouched figure, breathing heavily. I nearly fell off the ladder when she let out a pained yell, but it gave me enough to recognize who it was.

"Irene," I whispered.

Her hair was matted in its ponytail, ripped clothes covered her body, and her legs seemed to be broken. She had a knife in clutched in her hand. The ropes around her body looked as though she had tried to cut them, but obviously failed. She had managed to free one of her hands. Why was she like this? Why in my attic? Who did this to her? I scanned the room and saw what was the most terrifying thing in my life.

She…It- well MOLLY was standing in the corner looking through some strange bottles on the shelf, but the again it wasn't her. The top half of her body was paler than I'd ever seen it, her hair was coal black, and the only thing that covered her was black cloth made of a thin thread wrapped around her chest area. Her arms were longer, with 8-inch razor sharp claws that could easily cut a man in half. The bottom half of her body was that of a black widow spider. All 8 of her legs were black and strong, and her body had the familiar red hourglass on it. I could just barely make out what she was saying.

"I've never had to use a woman before, but with the shortage of men in this town," She turned to Irene, her voice like nails on a chalkboard, "I'll have to improvise."

She crept back over to Irene laying the bottles down. Irene saw her chance as Molly turned away, quickly attempting to stab her. Irene though, wasn't quick enough. Molly grabbed her wrist and smiled.

"Were you trying to stab me?" She flicked Irene's wrist, forcing her to drop the knife, before violently jerking it. With a crack, Irene screamed as her broken wrist was dropped at her side.

"You might want to try a bit harder."

Irene's whimpers gave way as Molly crept closer.

"It will all be over soon, Irene," she crooned. "Just close your eyes."

She leaned and her fangs pierced the old woman's neck and she began to…to…

To suck her blood.

My foot slipped, causing my sandal to fall off. Unfortunately, SHE heard, and turned in my direction before smiling. It was a creepy, cartoon smile, filled with sharp, yellow fangs and what looked to be a forked tongue, curling at her cheeks.

"Sweetheart," she crooned like she would if she was asking me to water the crops, "why are you home so early?"

I looked into her red eyes for a moment, looking for the woman I married. The kind, beautiful woman who loved me, but she was gone. What was standing in front of me was a monster. I jumped down from the ladder and ran.

I heard her scuttling along behind me as I ran to the front door. Trying to open it, I realized I had locked it when I came in, and the key was in the bathroom. On the other side of the house. I ran down the hallway into the storage room where I slammed the door shut and was covered in pitch black darkness. I hear some metallic clinks before hearing her scuttle back away to the attic. I got up and realized she had removed the door knob, and I was trapped.

That brings me to right now. I've been in here, reading the journals she's had over the years. These marriages weren't for love, and her husband's deaths weren't accidents. She is a Broodmother. She lives off of blood from humans, but not in a vampiric way. Their bodies are used as nests for her spider children, and the blood is used for their food. She can only nest every harvest moon, and I am on the menu tonight. She was eating Irene because the woman was going to get Jin's body biopsied.

I have been in here for hours now, and heard her go out the front door a few minutes ago. Probably to dispose of the body. I attempted to open the window, but it only opens enough for me to slip this journal through. I decided to do that, just so it would land in the brush, and someone will find it. The door just creaked open and I hear scuttling coming to the door. Oh Goddess, help me.