There is a town called Styx Hollow where the sun never shines and the skies are always gray. The trees are barren year-round and nothing willingly grows in the soil. People traveling through from out of town only stay for one day if they can help it. The people there live in false happiness, pretending that their lives are just as normal as anyone else's.
The Posen family lives in the big gray house on the edge of the woods. Like everyone else, the grass in their yard is dead and ugly. There's nothing that they or any landscaper could do about it. Nothing grows here.
They are a respectable family. Terrance Posen is a war veteran. Marie Posen is the perfect housewife. Their three children, Avery, Aubrey, and Abraham are outstanding students with excellent grades. Avery is the youngest; she's eleven and an aspiring gymnast. Aubrey is the middle child, being seventeen, and is a wonderful singer with high hopes to be a lawyer. Abraham is twenty, and he's following in his father's militaristic footsteps.
Aubrey is best friends with Chloe Beale, an overly excited redhead with an "alternative" older brother named Chris who works at the local voodoo shop. Chloe sings as well, and the two are in choir together. Mr. Posen isn't too happy about his daughter being friends with a dreamer like Chloe, but she has good grades and she wants to be a veterinarian so he's okay with it.
It's Thursday, and Aubrey decides to venture outside for once. The thick woods behind her house are intimidating to most, but she's not afraid. Chris has warned her about "things" lurking in the woods, but it's hard to take the blue-and-red-haired, freckled boy seriously. Whenever he told creepy stories, Aubrey couldn't help but laugh. She's not afraid. Posens aren't afraid.
The woods are intimidating to most, but Aubrey has spent time in them since she was only a child. The woods don't change; they stay constant as the years pass. Aubrey knows her way around. The paths don't change. Her paths don't change.
Because of this, it's exciting and surprising whenever she finds something new. Today, she finds a clearing not too far from her house, but far enough that she hasn't stumbled upon it before. It was hidden away, blocked by thick brush. The trees are bare and gray, just like everything else.
There's a girl sitting underneath the big tree on the opposite side of the clearing. Aubrey doesn't recognize her. Her hair is long, brown, and messy. She's wearing a black v-neck t-shirt and jeans, and they're torn and tattered. Her feet are bare. Her nails are long and sharp. When she looks up at Aubrey, her hair falls out of her face, revealing gray-blue eyes that are tinged with red and ears that are elongated and pointed. When Aubrey steps forward, the girls lips draw back into a snarl, revealing sharp fangs.
And Aubrey was not afraid.
"Hello," she says to the strange girl.
The girl is confused. Her mouth closes. Then it opens again. "H-hi," she rasps, struggling to form words.
"How are you?"
It shocks the girl that Aubrey is trying to make small talk like this is a normal situation. She's not even a little bit scared.
"I… am fine." There's a pause in her speech. Aubrey can tell from the hoarseness and the involuntary pause in the girl's speech that this stranger hasn't spoken in a long time. "A-and how… are you?"
"Good." Aubrey pauses. "What's your name?"
Before the girl has a chance to answer, Aubrey hears Abraham charging through the trees, calling for her.
"Bree!" he exclaims when he enters the clearing.
Aubrey turns to look at her brother. When she turns back around, the girl is gone.
xXx
A few days pass. Aubrey affectionately dubs the girl "Blackie" due to the color of her shirt. It's Tuesday. Aubrey is having coffee with Chloe at a local café, and she decides to tell her best friend about the encounter.
"Sounds weird," says Chloe. "I'll ask Chris about it. Maybe Jesse will know something."
Jesse was the son of the owner of the voodoo shop where Chloe's brother worked. He was pretty knowledgeable about supernatural things.
"Alright," says Aubrey, sipping her coffee.
"Was she cute?"
The blonde spits coffee all over the table they're sitting at. "Chloe!" she reprimands.
"She was, wasn't she?" Chloe grins.
"She's probably not even human! I mean, I have a feeling that she was at one point, but…" Aubrey sighs and pulls out her sketchbook. She draws a quick picture of Blackie. The details of the sketch are perfect, and Chloe applauds her best friend's artistic abilities, as always.
"She is cute," Chloe purrs. "I can see why you like her."
"I don't like her!"
"Calm your pits, Bree. Hey, can I take this?" The redhead waves the sketch around. "I'm gonna head down to the library later and I might look through the old newspaper records and see if I can find anything about her."
"Go wild," Aubrey mumbles.
xXx
Aubrey sees Blackie again on Friday.
"Hello," says Blackie. Aubrey has a feeling that the girl has been practicing her speech, but it still sounds wrong and broken. Blackie is standing up this time, and Aubrey is at least a head taller than her.
"Hi," Aubrey responds. "What's your name? I've been calling you Blackie because of your shirt."
"I… don't know. I have… been like this… for a long… time."
"Well, I'll keep calling you Blackie, alright?"
Blackie smirks. "Sure."
"Do you know what you are?"
"I'm not… sure. It's not… like I was… ever told." Aubrey feels like the girl is trying to be sarcastic, but her hoarse voice and broken speech make it hard to tell. "I can't… remember much… but I feel… like the beginning… was bad. And… violent." Blackie winces and clutches her head. "It hurts… to remember."
Aubrey nods. "Do you like music?"
"I guess… I used to?" Blackie replies, though it sounds more like a question than an answer.
The blonde clears her throat and begins to sing. Blackie is mesmerized by her voice, not looking away until Aubrey is done a few minutes later.
"That was… beautiful."
"Thanks," says Aubrey. Her phone vibrates, and it's a text from Abraham, asking where she is. "I have to go," she says.
"Don't come… here… tomorrow. I hunt… on Saturdays. It's… not of… my own will. I can't help… it when I… kill. I don't… like to, but… I can't… control it. Please don't… come out here… tomorrow," said Blackie.
Aubrey nods again.
She's still not afraid.
xXx
On Saturday, Aubrey and Chloe visit Chris and Jesse at the voodoo shop.
"Ladies!" says Jesse, smiling warmly. "Welcome. Aubrey, Chloe tells us that you have a monster of a problem." He winks.
"Very punny, Jesse," says Chloe. "Before you get into the supernatural stuff, let me reveal my discoveries." They sit down at a table in the back of the store. The whole place smells like incense and formaldehyde. "After doing a little digging, I found this."
She drops a copy of an old newspaper clipping on the table. The date on the paper is June 21st, 1947. The title of the article is "MISSING GIRL: BECA MITCHELL", and there's a black-and-white picture of a girl who looks like a less-disheveled Blackie.
"That's her," says Aubrey, studying the photo. "That's definitely her."
"Well, she's over 60 years old, then," says Jesse. "And that's where my side comes in. Chris and I have reason to believe that Beca or 'Blackie' here is the famous Styx Hollow Creeper. The Creeper is a really old town legend, dating back to the late 1800s, early 1900s. Men told stories about a creature roaming the woods that looked like a human but acted like an animals. The old descriptions match your sketch really well."
"Beca went missing in the 40s, though," says Chloe. "And you said late 1800s to early 1900s."
"She wasn't the first," Chris interjects. "The first Creeper was described as a male, not a female. I'm guessing that the first one made her into the second. Hell, the one before her doesn't even have to be the first. We have reason to believe that Creepers have been here forever."
"What do they eat?" Aubrey asks, hoping the answer isn't what she thinks it is.
"Flesh and blood," Jesse mumbles. "They're cannibalistic carnivores. They eat people."
The blond gasps, realizing that Beca was out there, hunting down humans as they spoke. "She told me not to try to find her today. She said that she would be hunting. She hunts on Saturdays."
"Why do you think missing people always show up in the news on Sunday?" Chris asks.
"This is horrifying." Chloe shakes her head, trying to put it out of her mind. "Something like this is living in the woods, killing people every weekend?"
"She doesn't want to!" Aubrey exclaims defensively. "She said she can't control it. It just happens."
"Don't worry, Bree. We're not going after her. It's not like we can do anything even if we wanted to," says Jesse. "You think the authorities would believe us? We couldn't go looking for her on our own."
They sit in silence for a while, staring at the newspaper article. After a few minutes, Jesse offers to let them stay for dinner. Aubrey turns down the offer and heads home.
xXx
On Sunday, Aubrey finds Beca in the clearing again.
"Did you…?" the blond asks, not wanting to even say it.
"I killed… two campers… from the other… side of the woods."
Aubrey bit her lip. "I found out your name: Beca Mitchell."
Beca stands in silence, letting the information wash over her. As it does, tears begin to roll down her face. "I… remember… now. I remember… what happened." She stops, biting her nails before falling to her knees. "I killed them… I killed them… All of them… My parents… My grandmother… I killed… them all. I killed them… all. I killed them all." She bites down on her bottom lip until it bleeds. "We were… having a party. Me… and friends. I looked… in the bushes. There was… a man. He wasn't… human. He reached up… and scratched me. I woke up… a week later… on Saturday… and killed them. I couldn't… stop. I… ate them. I didn't… realize what… I'd done… until it was… over."
She's standing again, pacing back and forth. Aubrey doesn't comprehend what she's doing until she grabs Beca's hand. The girl whips around and drags her claws down the left side of Aubrey's face. The two stand in shock for a second before Beca starts to back up.
"Beca, don't-"
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so… sorry!"
And she's gone. Aubrey touches her face. She's bleeding.
And she runs.
xXx
The voodoo shop runs on irregular hours. Aubrey rushes in, knowing that's where Chloe spends her Sundays.
"Help!" she chokes out. "Chloe, help!"
The cuts sting badly, and the tears she's crying are making them sting worse. Chloe rushes over and sees her friend's wounds, and she turns around and grabs a washcloth. "Come with me," she says, ushering the blond to the back of the store.
Chloe cleans the cuts and bandages them. She has a decent understanding of medicine, and for once, Aubrey is thankful for that. "Thank you, Chlo."
"It's no problem. There shouldn't be any bad scarring." The redhead pauses. "Was it…?"
"It was my fault. I grabbed her. It was too sudden, she wasn't expecting it."
"Alright, Bree," Chloe says softly. "Look, I'll come by tomorrow and change these, okay? Tell your dad you fell or something."
xXx
With some hesitance, Terrance Posen believes her. Aubrey goes to sleep right at nine. She's exhausted from the day's events. She wonders if Beca will ever talk to her again.
xXx
In the morning, Chloe shows up bright and early to change the bandages. Aubrey hasn't even eaten breakfast yet. Slowly, the redhead unravels the white fabric. When it's completely off, she gasps and covers her mouth, eyes wide.
"Chloe? What's wrong?" Aubrey receives no response. "What's wrong, Chloe? Tell me!"
"They're… They're gone…" Chloe stumbles backwards. "You had four fairly deep cuts on your face last night. They're all gone. No scars. No sign of them at all."
In disbelief, Aubrey bolts up and goes to her mirror. Her mouth forms a small 'o' when she sees that her best friend was right. It was then that she remembered what Beca had said yesterday.
"There was… a man. He wasn't… human. He reached up… and scratched me."
"Oh no," Aubrey gasps. "Oh my god."
"Aubrey?"
"Take me to Jesse and Chris. Now."
xXx
"I honestly don't know what to do, Aubrey. We don't even really know what a Creeper is. We don't know what its weaknesses are, or its strengths. This is the first time we've even found out how one it created." Jesse shakes his head. "All I can do is give you some potions, spells, and charms for the shop for purifying and exorcism. I'll advise you to eat a lot of vegetables for the next week, since that would be the opposite of a Creeper diet. Prayer might help. We can do some rituals…" He trailed off.
Aubrey looked down at the dirty carpet floor of the voodoo shop. "Alright," she murmurs.
Chris collects a lot of the things Jesse told her about and puts them in a bag for her. She thanks them for their help and turns and shuffles towards the door. Chloe hugs her tightly from behind, stopping her from moving.
"I'm so sorry, Bree."
Tears stream down Aubrey's face.
She's not afraid.
She's terrified.
xXx
On Thursday, Aubrey decides to go into the woods again. She's been on a strict vegetable diet ever since Monday, and Jesse and Chris have stopped by every afternoon to perform weird rituals that involve circles and incantations. Aubrey doesn't know if they're working or not; she can't feel any difference.
Beca is sitting in the large tree this time, looking forlorn. "Hello," she says, not daring to look Aubrey in the eye.
"Hello," Aubrey barely speaks. She swallows. "Come down," she says, louder this time. Beca doesn't move. "Come down," Aubrey says again, forcefully.
Hesitantly, Beca complies, sliding out of the tree. She hits the dead grass with a soft thump and pads over to Aubrey. They're inches apart. Aubrey suddenly throws her arms around the girl in a tight hug. Beca is shocked still; she doesn't know what to do or even how to react. After a minute, she relaxes and slips her arms around the blonde's midsection. She leans into the taller girls shoulder.
"I'm… sorry," she mumbles into the crook of Aubrey's neck.
Aubrey doesn't say anything. She simply whimpers and lets the tears flow.
xXx
Aubrey spends Friday with her friends and family, having the time of her life. She has on a mask of joy, hiding her true sorrow. There's a chance that she might not be herself when she wakes up the next morning, and she's not letting this day go without enjoying it.
Most importantly, she spends the evening with her father, thanking him for always pushing her to be her best and unlocking her potential. She might not get the chance to grow up to be the lawyer he's always wanted.
Before she goes to bed, she kisses his forehead and gives him a hug like she always used to when she was little. He smiles and tells her that he loves her. She does the same in return.
Aubrey falls asleep with tears in her eyes.
She's more scared than she's ever been in her life.
xXx
At 2 AM on Saturday morning Aubrey's eyes fly wide open. They dart around the dark room, seeing more than they should in the dim moonlight filtering in from her window. Moving almost robotically, she clambers out of bed and opens the door to her room, stepping out into the hallway. Her parents' room is to the right; her brother and sister's rooms are to the left.
She goes right.
There's a red haze clouding her vision as she looks at her sleeping parents. Slowly and silently, she moves towards them.
With no sound, she breaks both of their necks without hesitation and drags them out of the room, tossing their bodies down the stairs. The noise wakes Abraham, who is a light sleeper, and he sees her and asks her what's going on. Faster than any human being, she plunges her hand through his chest, ripping out his heart in one quick motion. Avery is the last. Aubrey stands over her little sister's bed, watching the younger girl's chest rise and fall with every breath. She places one hand over the girl's mouth and nose. Avery's eyes open, and she stares at her older sister, confused and scared as the air stops going in and out of her lungs. She struggles, but can make no sound, and soon, her body falls limp.
Aubrey takes her siblings' bodies and they join her parents at the bottom of the staircase.
Aubrey doesn't realize what's happening until it's all over. She's sitting in the kitchen hours later when the red leaves her vision. The entire room is covered in blood and human entrails and so is she. Looking at the mutilated corpses of her family, tears fall from her eyes. The noise she makes is inhuman, but it's one of pain and regret.
She flies to the front door, wanting to leave and get the scene out of her mind as quickly as possible, but she knows she can never forget. At least not for a while. When she tears the front door open, Chloe is standing on the front porch.
"Aubrey…" Chloe whispers. For a moment, they're stuck staring at each other, neither able to move. Chloe's eyes look past her blood-covered friend and into the kitchen, where she sees the corpses lying in the floor. Tears begin to well up in her eyes. "No… You can't… It wasn't supposed to be like this!"
Distraught, Aubrey shoves Chloe out of the way and sprints off towards the line of trees while the redhead screams after her. She can't keep up with the blonde, though, and she finds herself watching her best friend disappear.
With Chloe far behind her, Aubrey makes her way to the clearing. Beca is standing in the middle with a blank face. Aubrey is torn into emotional pieces, and she crashes into the brunette. Beca wraps her arms around the blonde, holding her tightly as her body is racked by uncontrollable sobs.
When most of the tears have fallen, Beca pushes Aubrey's face up with one finger so that the two are looking straight at each other. Gray-blue eyes tinted with red meet sky blue eyes tinted with red.
Clean lips meet bloody lips.
And Aubrey melts in Beca's arms, knowing that this is the only life she'll ever have now.
She's not afraid.
She's broken.
Two things:
If you think that bit of violence at the end deserves and M rating, that's your opinion. I could have written something much more gory and detailed than that, so it's staying at T.
Mitchsen isn't one of my favorite pairings. I really prefer Bechloe and Chaubrey over it, and even Triple Treble. However, this story works better with Beca as the monster and Chloe as the friend.
An epilogue will be posted shortly.