"Why would I be remotely interested in going along with that?" Bo said, flicking Lester's cap off. Lester spun backwards to grab it off the ground.
"Why would you-Why would *I* be interested in going along with that?!" Lenore nearly-shouted.
"Why not? It would give us more variety in our project, and it would give you a place to put the bodies!"
"Lester I think you have bumped that misshapen head of yours and lost touch with reality. Now shut your fuckin' mouth and grab this bitch!" Bo commanded, pulling a Bowie knife from inside his suit.
Surprise showed on the faces of both Lenore and Lester. They looked at each other, then back at Bo, who was advancing towards Lenore. Lester contemplated for a moment, then his bony arms wrapped themselves around Lenore's rotund body from behind, not quite reaching all the way. Lenore grimaced but didn't struggle.
"Jesus fuck, boys, this is not how I wanted to spend today," She sighed.
Bo grabbed her by the scalp, "Yeah, no shit," and slashed his knife across her neck. A long red line stretched across, opening into a wide gash. Blood began to pour out. Smiling, Bo looked at his brother. "Anyways-"
But before he could continue speaking, the wound on Lenore's neck seemed to seal itself back up. She smiled big, blood staining her teeth. Bo took a step forward, confused. As he did Lenore inhaled deeply and spat a mouthful of blood in Bo's face. Bo fell backwards, dropping the knife and franticly trying to get the woman's blood out of his eyes.
"Thank you Sir, may I have some more?" She said, laughing and licking her lips.
Lester let go of her and reached down to his brother in an attempt to help him up. Bo swatted his hand away and grabbed the knife. He lunged at Lenore, sticking the blade into her chest. She fell onto her back with Bo on top of her, straddling her waist. He repeated his stabbing seven more times before yanking the blade out and tossing it aside. He looked down at Lenore, who once again stared up at him and smiled.
"Penetration already? You didn't even buy me dinner," She blew a kiss at him and winked.
Furious, he grabbed Lenore by the throat and began choking her. "God damn, why won't you die?!"
Lenore reached up and grabbed Bo's ass. "...harder..." She requested, in a hoarse whisper. Bo released his grip and crawled away from her.
"What the fuck are you?" He asked, panting. Lenore sat up and adjusted her hair.
"I don't like that question," She said, looking over at Lester, who looked as though he had seen a ghost. "Help me up Les." She reached out for Lester, who shook his head.
"No way!" He said, stepping back.
"What? Don't be a dork, come help my fat ass up," She commanded, gesturing for him to come with one finger. He approached her slowly and reached his hands out. She grabbed them and awkwardly stumbled to her feet. "Well that was... something else. So anyways Les, what was that proposition you had for us?"
Lester looked like a deer in headlights. He looked to his brother, who was scowling and still trying to rub Lenore's blood off. "I, uh, I figured you could bring us b-bodies, and we'd use them in our displays."
"Fuck that. I like the killing," Bo said, using his jacket as a towel.
"Well damn Bo, we can still lure and trap the odd teenager or vacationing couples that come through here, but with Lenore out there bringing them to us, we could really fill this town fast!" Lester explained, half excited.
"I need more incentive than just storage, bruv." Lenore said, her arms folded in front of her.
"Well what do ya want?"
"There's a decent number of houses here, got a place I can stay?"
Bo got up and walked over to the other two. "No fuckin' way!"
"Come on, we can spare one dang house."
"No we can't! Get the hell out of here with that bullshit!"
Lenore shrugged. "Well that's my only stipulation."
"Why do you want to live here? I just tried to kill you multiple times!" Bo asked, throwing his arms in the air.
"Well, rent is too damn high in the city. If I can save a little dough, then maybe I could afford a new car, or some clothes or some food that doesn't resemble sewage for once. Besides, I can understand from your perspective. You probably figured I was gonna spoil everything," Lenore answered, nodding her head.
Bo rubbed his temples, not believing what was happening to him, "Well what's to stop you now?"
Lenore thought for a moment, walked over to Lester's truck, pulled her duffel bag out, and yanked a Hello Kitty wallet from inside it. She pulled a Polaroid from it and handed it to Bo. It was a photo of Lenore, covered in blood and smiling, holding a severed head. Bo looked unimpressed.
"He was my first. Anyways, now you've got some strong stuff against me. Look, I think this whole situation is strange and will probably be regrettable in the future, but you only live once right?" She said, winking at Bo. His face stayed stony. "Will ya please just let me stay here for a while? If you don't like the people I bring you, then I'll leave."
Bo turned around and headed towards another truck. "Lester, bring Wolverine here up to the house. She needs to meet Vincent."
Lester nodded and gestured for Lenore to follow him. They got into the truck and headed up a hill. Lenore pulled out wet wipes and cleared off the blood from her neck and mouth. She turned to face Lester.
"So this town is pretty sleepy. Why isn't there anyone out and about on the streets?"
Lester chuckled. "Ain't nobody alive in this town. Didn't you notice? Everybody here is dead. A corpse my brother Vincent turned into a wax statue."
Lenore's mouth made an 'o'. "I see. That... that is brilliant. I didn't even notice!"
"He's good, ain't he?" Lester beamed.
"Very. So Vincent is your other brother, I take it?"
"Yep. Bo's twin," Lester said, nodding.
"Ohhh. Great, another of that guy."
"Uhhh, not quite." Lester said, chuckling again.
"Oh no?" She applies lip gloss and powders her nose.
"Vincent, he's uh, quiet. He's real messed up in the face, so he just kinda keeps to himself and his art," He said, pulling into a driveway.
"Uh huh," Lenore puckers her lips. "How do I look?"
"Um, real nice I guess. Now lets go," He said, jumping out of the truck. They make their way up to the house, climbing a few steps with loose boards ready to trip someone, and step inside.
Curtains were closed. Newspapers, photos, random tools and tattered clothes littered the floor. The walls were nicotine stained and the whole placed smelled like curdled milk. Lenore wrinkled her nose. As she sat her bag down on a table, the legs came loose and the whole thing slumped against the wall, pathetically.
Bo came down a flight of stairs, a slightly larger figure trailing behind him. He had changed from his suit into a pair of Carhartt slacks and stained white t-shirt. The person behind him wearing a thick wool sweater and a similar pair of pants.
"Vincent, this is Linette," Bo introduced.
"Lenore," She corrected, holding out her hand to the stranger. He didn't move, so she put it back down to her side. Up close she could see he had long black hair that was greasy and tangled. He wore a blank human-looking mask. "Nice to meet ya, Vincent."
He said nothing. She could see one eye, catching some of the light coming from the kitchen. It was blue and she couldn't register any sort of feeling from it. The other hole was black.
Lester, who was chewing on some kind of jerky in the kitchen with his back to everyone, pulled a chicken out of the fridge and sat it on the counter. "I know what will open him up. Vincent, y'all should take Lenore and show her your pride and joy."
Lenore brightened up. "Eh?"
"Our mama's old House of Wax. This whole town is Vincent's canvas, but the House is his own personal 'Sixteen Chapel'," Lester said, Lenore trying to contain a snort.
The shadowy figure turned to Lester and nodded. He walked past Lenore, almost through her, and out the front door. Lenore followed him outside, where he got into yet another pickup truck. She ran over to the passenger side, grabbed the almost completely rusted door handle, and with a loud screech opened the door and got inside.
As they took off down a path, Lenore noticed piles of tools in the bed of the truck. Many had dark crimson stains on them. She noted to herself a major clean up would probably need to be done in this town. Why tip off any visitors to the danger by leaving bloody weapons out in the open?
"I'm excited to see your work," She said, still getting no response from him.
Soon they ended up in front of a giant building with the words 'HOUSE OF WAX' in the center. When they approached the front, Lenore reached out and touched the front door. It was wax. The entire building appeared to be. Grabbing the door handle, Vincent gestured for her to enter.
The interior was covered in soot, but the designs were still beautiful. There was a throwback to the '70s vibe with older furniture and yellow/brown/gold color scheme. There was a staggering amount of human wax figures in the first few rooms alone. Each styled to a specific theme. It was impressive. Some of them still looked somewhat alive.
Aside from the figures of humans were many paintings, and smaller figures of strange looking beasts with the artist's signature in the corner of each. These were clearly his specialty. The subject matter appeared dark, and obviously was, but there were so many details within each piece, it made you forget it was a homunculous or some such other monster.
"Vincent, did you do all of these?" Lenore asked, turning to face Vincent, who looked at the ground. "This, this is astounding. Did you go to school for this?" More silence. "Ah, just naturally talented, then? No surprise here. You can't teach style this... raw."
As they went from room to room Lenore stared wide-eyed at each piece. After a while a trend became clear in most of the stuff. Frustrated monsters lashing out at the air. Small creatures with twisted faces in pain. One lone figure surrounded by blackness. It was all good, but it was all troubling. She got up close to each work, but was mindful not to touch anything. After a while she faced Vincent, who turned his gaze away from her.
"Got any spider pieces? I love spiders," She asked.
Vincent shook his head slowly. Lenore nodded and they continued to look through the rest of the house. As they entered the top floor of the building the theme changed again. These works were less based in fantasy and more in reality. Beds with straps hanging from the headboard. Children, bruised and weeping. And twins. Dozens of them in the beds and on the shelves. Most were conjoined at the head.
The air was different on the top floor. It was stuffy, almost suffocating. Lenore could sense a shift of Vincent as well. He had been uncomfortable before, but now she could feel he was aggravated. His breathing was heavier and he was stiff as a board.
"Well, I think we've covered just about everything. Want to head back to your house?" Lenore asked, seeming to break the spell Vincent was under.
He nodded and they descended the stairs and headed out the building. As they got back in the truck, Lenore instructed Vincent to take her to her car. He did as she said and she followed him back to the house in her vehicle.
When they came back inside, Lester and Bo were eating at the kitchen table. Vincent sat two plates down and sat beside his brothers. He pulled a chair out and Lenore took it. Bo saw this gesture, but said nothing.