Chapter 2:

"Living Dead Girl"

NOTE: The point of view will switch to the third person indefinitely.

Lucille Marie Galvin is a kind, compassionate woman, unafraid to speak her mind and tell people what she thought in a way that made them thank her for her opinion. She always tries to do her best to be positive, even in situations that seem completely hopeless. She was also scared shitless and wondering what possessed her to agree to her daughter's far-fetched plan to get her health back and extend her life.

But for all her efforts, she could not say no to traveling deep into the woods on the edge of town to find a mysterious psychic. That's a new one for sure. I wonder what the doctors would say if they knew I was taking this trip. Lucille knew she was dying, she knew there was very little chance of her life continuing beyond the end of the year. But her daughter's happiness was important and she had to at least show an effort to getting better.

Her thoughts focused on her daughter's life and how things would be once Lucille was completely gone. Distracted, she failed to notice that the taxi had stopped moving, parked at the entrance to a very long and ominous-looking path into the woods.

"This is it ma'am, I won't go no further than this. Though it's none of my business, what's a little thing like you wanting to go out into the woods like this on your own?" The gruff voice pulled her gaze from the window to his face. I wonder what's got him so freaked out. "A bit of light exercise for my health." His disbelieving eyes shifted to take in her sickly frame, knowing without being told that she was sick with something most people don't recover from. But it WAS none of his business, and he knew better than to pry into the affairs of others, especially if it meant protecting his ass from anything unpleasant. Lucille watched as his eyes looked up and down her body, knowing he wasn't doing it with any sort of sexual thoughts in mind. When his eyes met hers again, she could see that he wanted to stop her, prevent her from walking into the great unknown by herself.

Before he could act on those thoughts, she unbuckled her seat-belt and grasped the door handle, throwing it open and stepping out into the partial sunlight. She held the strap of her pack, pulling it with her automatically and without pause before she shut the car door with finality, effectively ending the conversation and any attempts he might have made to keep her inside the car until she was safely in front of a hospital. The taxi pulled away slowly, before finally picking up speed and traveling steadily down the dirt and gravel road. Lucille stood in the cloud of dust left behind in the wake of the taxi's departure, wondering to herself if she was ready for the trip ahead of her. From the maps Carrie printed off for her, it didn't look like a long walk. But she was weak and frail; a walk around the block will tire her out quickly these days.

Lucille looked down at the pack still clutched in her hand, testing its weight and determining how long she'll be able to carry it without her shoulders aching and her back on fire. With a sigh, she pulled the pack up and over her shoulder, stretching around to slide her arm through the other strap. A little bit of shuffling around settled the pack more comfortably, though it pulled on her frame not matter how she adjusted it.

The chemotherapy and radiation really took a lot out of Lucille and she was still getting used to the different changes that her body went through. She was essentially a new person, physically speaking at least, and she had to make adjustments based on what she could and couldn't do anymore. There were a lot of things she used to be able to do that she was no longer capable of and at times it got very frustrating. But she persevered.

The pack tugged uncomfortably on her head scarf, forcing her to pause and tug it back into place. Without any hair to hold the scarf in place it was often slipping and twisting around, wrapping tightly around her neck at times. "Bald and beautiful" became a way of life for her at home after she woke up one night out of breath with a bruised and sore throat. That experience was not something she ever plans on repeating, but the head scarf is necessary to prevent people from questioning her.

The pitying looks from adults she could handle. It was the innocent questions from children that made things so difficult. How do you explain to a child that you have no hair because you're on your way to death? Especially the ones that have no understanding of what death really is. What are you supposed to say when they ask where you go? If they're religious it's obvious, Heaven is easy to explain to children. It's just a place a person goes to when they die. If they aren't religious, well, there are quite a few explanations for that one. But it's also important not to say the wrong thing. Telling a Catholic child that God doesn't exist and when he dies his body will decompose and feed the earth instead of going to Heaven is not exactly a good way to break the ice on any conversation. It just makes things awkward and uncomfortable for everyone involved. If given the choice, Lucille would gladly take the piteous stares. At least then she can ignore them and go on to enjoy what's left of her life.

A shock of bright yellow flashed across her eyes, temporarily blinding her until she wrestled the loose ends together and tucked them back into place. Lucille was never very good at wrapping her head scarves, no matter how long or often she wore them, and YouTube videos could only get her so far. Those YouYube People just make it look so damn easy. Too bad Carrie isn't here to help me with this; she's always so good with her hands.

Sometimes it's hard to tell who the mother is in their situation with the way Carrie protects her mother and holds her so close. Even before Lucille got sick Carrie always wanted to coddle her and make sure she had everything she needed. And it wasn't just Lucille she tried to mother; it was a sight to see when a 7 year-old tried to baby an elderly woman whenever she had the opportunity. At least I know she'll be okay when I'm gone, I won't need to worry about her taking care of herself. Although she does have a hard time taking care of herself mentally. Carrie was known for putting others before herself, even at the cost of her own happiness and comfort. She was even willing to risk her college career just so she could be there for Lucille on this trip.

"Mother please, I can reschedule orientation! You need me there with you, what if something happens? What if you can't make it there on your own? There's no way I can let you go alone and we both know dad isn't going with you! Come on, you know I'm right about this. "

But Lucille needed to do this on her own, regardless of how sick or how tired she was. And Carrie needed to do something for herself, as well. There's no way Lucille would be able to live with herself (not that she would have to for very long) if she allowed Carrie to risk her future on a woman who won't even last a year. This is MY illness, MY disease, MY suffering alone. Why must she make this so difficult? Carrie will understand in the future, when she has children and a family of her own.

Lucille would do anything to protect her daughter's happiness and future. Even if it means going alone on a journey as terrifying as this one, both here and now in this forest and in the future when the end is near. Lucille would rather die alone than have to watch her daughter fall apart with sadness as she withered away. It was not fair to Carrie to have that image be the last thing she sees of her own mother.

Lucille shook her head, clearing away all thoughts of that time. She will clear that bridge when she gets to it. For now, she has to worry about clearing THIS bridge directly in front of her. Literally speaking, not metaphorically. She did not notice it at first, hidden behind the trees as it was. The red, wooden foot-bridge in front of her wasn't very long or high, but it was directly over a large stream-bed full of water. The storms from the night before really raised the water levels, making the normally calm water rush violently down the stream. Here I am, facing death head on. But I can't even cross a damn stream without getting scared.

Lucille edged herself closer to the bridge, toeing it once she got close enough, silently testing the sturdiness of it. Not that her small feet would make much of an impact, but it helped her feel better regardless. Several deep breaths later, Lucille was inching her way across the bridge tightly holding onto the railing with one hand, her wooden cane clenched in her left. A large gust of wind floated through, making the bridge shudder and her scarf twist around her head.

She gasped and clenched the railing with both arms before yelling angrily, "Damn wind, you stop it! I just want to cross safely!"

As if the wind heard her cry, it settled down slowly, laying her scarf around her shoulders delicately. Lucille closed her eyes and tucked her head into the corner of her arm as it rested on the railing. Several minutes later, she decided she was ready to continue her trek across the bridge, telling herself she needed to move before the wind picked back up.

On the other side of the bridge, Lucille was able to really take in what lay ahead of her. It's gorgeous. A leaf-strewn path stretched ahead of her, surrounded by tall Oak trees that have clearly been there for several hundred years. Sunlight peaked through the canopy of leaves over-head, creating a filtered effect that dampened the intensity of the sun and made the area darker than it would be otherwise. The path did not look man-made but it was well-worn as if it were travelled frequently for years; the growth surrounding and covering it now made it seem as though the path was walked less frequently in recent years.

Lucille was captivated by the beauty of it, pausing her steps to take in everything around her. First the bridge and now this… I'm never going to get there in a timely manner. I wonder what kind of history and life this place holds… With her thoughts dancing around the historically possibilities of this path and the bridge connected to it she began to walk, carefully making her way over the multitude of leaves and sticks that settled in her way.

The walk itself took longer than she expected and not just because she was captivated by the beauty of the foliage around her. To be honest, the novelty of it wore off quickly after seeing hundreds of leaves and Oak trees that look the same. This "light exercise" in the forest was really shaping up to be enough for an entire month.

Despite the soreness already beginning to settle in her muscles, Lucille pushed on, only stopping periodically to rest. Walking with a cane was new to her and the muscles of her shoulder and back stiffened quickly. This was nothing like the casual wheelchair strolls through the park directed by Carrie. Two hours later, Lucille was still walking, sticky sweat plastering the edges of her scarf to her neck and face. It felt heavier than she was used to with the sweat beginning to soak through it.

As sharp pains started to shoot through her joints, Lucille decided it was time to stop again and actually rest her body while she could. She moved through the trees carefully, looking for a fallen tree thick enough to sit comfortably on. Several minutes later she found one that was perfect, reaching as tall as the middle of her thigh and thicker than her arms could wrap around. Lucille sat down carefully, being mindful that some parts of the tree have already started to decay and fall apart. The last thing she needed was to find herself wedged into a tree and unable to extract herself from it. She turned her face to the canopy again as sunlight peeked through the leaves above her, creating golden rays of light that struck the ground at odd angles. She smiled happily as birds began to chirp around her, playing her a song that only some stop long enough to listen to.

The sharp rustle of bushes behind her made the smile drop from her face in a flash. She moved her head and turned slowly, looking over her shoulder as conspicuously as she could without moving too much of her body. A sharp snort escaped her nose when she saw the wiggling snout of a brown rabbit browsing through the surrounding grass. She gently turned the rest of the way, wholly prepared to befriend the beautiful creature.

Before she could slide off the trunk and onto her knees, a dark, winged creature leapt out of the same bush and tackled the rabbit. Lucille fell back onto the grass behind her, landing on her upper back with her legs splayed in the air, startled out of her seat. The peaceful sunlight now stabbed sharply into her eyes, blinding her and adding to her fear. Scrambling to her knees as quickly as she could, she peered over the edge of the tree trunk looking for the mysterious creature. The fluffy rabbit was no longer there, instead replaced by an over-sized bat.

How strange, She thought. I've never seen a bat that large. Or during the day… She silently studied the creature, contemplating its existence, when deep red eyes suddenly turned and were staring directly at her. Sharp white fangs revealed themselves in the mockery of a grimace before the creature began stalking her way. This is ridiculous, 45 years old and I'm hiding from a bat behind a tree.

Dark, leathery wings unfurled themselves as the bat grew closer. She could see the veins and ligaments in the wings as clear as day. The smell of it reached her as it closed the distance between them step by step, but suddenly it stopped. Its tiny nose started twitching, not unlike the brown rabbit it had just devoured, as it sniffed the air in front of it.

Lucille held her breath, hoping that doing so would hide her from the bat or at the very least make it more difficult to find her. I may have accepted my death but that doesn't mean I want to be eaten alive by an overgrown rat with wings.

She prepared herself, tensing her muscles ready to fight, or run, or something other than just sit there. Right before she would have launched herself from her position, it sneezed and took off without preamble, flying high and far into the trees and out of sight. Well, that was even stranger. Though I am not complaining one bit.

With the danger out of the way, Lucille took a moment to collect herself before standing. 'Taking a moment' is what got me in this mess to begin with. I wonder why it flew away so quickly?

After snatching her cane from the forest floor where it had fallen, Lucille turned sharply and marched her way back onto the path, ignoring the musical birds and the gentle breeze that flowed through the trees. A few turns and twenty minutes of walking later, Lucille found herself at the base of a tall set of stairs.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me. The monster bridge and endless path wasn't enough? This has to be a test."

The Oak trees continued on up the hill, lining both sides of the stairway and creating a cover from the sun. The height of the stairs made it difficult to see what lay beyond them, leaving everything to the imagination. Maybe a hot bath and a comfortable bed!

Well, if wishes were fishes anyway. Without pause, Lucille took the first step and pushed herself to the top, limiting the amount of breaks she took so she could reach the top faster. The spiritual tags stretching across the stairs caught her eye but she paid them no mind, determined to reach her destination.

At the top of the stairs she froze, caught up by the beauty of the green sloping roofs and the red paneling of the Shinto-style doors. A porch stretched around the entire temple with small sets of stairs placed in significant spots along the way.

A smile stretched across Lucille's face with the thrill of finally reaching it. Oh how I wish Carrie could see this, she would love it's beauty and design! Maybe someday…She took a brief second to straighten her clothing and scarf once again before walking toward the building. She climbed the smaller set of stairs with ease and stood firmly in front of the door, steeling her nerves before sharply rapping on the door.

The sound echoed in the courtyard and she glanced around, wondering if it was loud enough to be rude or not loud enough at all. Stuck in her worries, she was surprised when the door slid smartly open. Her wide eyes and slack jawed-look was greeted with a set of bored apple-colored eyes. Her eyes widened further when the man in front of her began sniffing the air, nose twitching like the peaceful rabbit she intended to befriend earlier.

"You smell like death."

NOTE: The title credits belong to Rob Zombie. I originally had a different title for this but this came on my Pandora one day and I thought it fit considering the scene with the bat ^_^

I have found that writing in the third person is much easier for me. I can get things across easier and in more detail and overall I think it's a better story in the end.