Trapped in Apocalypse Chapter 10
Michael locked the door securely once inside the house. He removed his mask.
Kate quickly took her mask off. "This is your house!?"
He looked at her, confused. "Yes?"
"The Murder House!?"
"Oh." He nodded. "Don't worry. The ghosts won't hurt you. They know not to cross me." He looked around the room.
Kate tilted her head and stepped back. "Michael Langdon. It's all coming together now."
He narrowed his eyes at her comment.
"You're Tate and Vivian's son." She started.
"He is not my father. And Vivian merely gave birth to me." He said.
"Billie Dean prophesied you would be evil. You killed the nanny!" She began to cry.
"There, there." He said, calmly. He held her, placing his hand on the back of her head. "Shh, Shh. You're safe in this house."
Kate unpacked her lightly packed bag in the master bedroom. She placed her five books on the already full bookshelf. Most of those were self-help books. "What's the point in having these books preserved? They're useless now." She muttered. She was still in her grey clothes. She went to the closet with was full of clothes from the previous family. She took out some outfits that were about her size and tried them on. She turned on the light in the room, which actually worked. Kate's eyes widened as the light reflects in her eyes.
"Are you Amish or something?" Violet asked, standing in the doorway.
Kate jumped and turned around. She held her chest. "No, it's... I haven't seen electricity in so long."
"Why not?" Violet asked.
"Because of the apocalypse."
"Apocalypse?" She considered it for a moment. "That would explain why no one's visited in a while. Not even Billie Dean."
"Couldn't you tell by the windows?" Kate asked her. She lifted the blinds on the window in the room. It was boarded shut. "Oh."
"I guess that's why Michael boated the place up." Violet said. "I thought he was just trying to keep the sunlight out."
"Michael," Kate addressed him, "How did this house survive the blast?"
He turned from the stove to face her. "Even I am not sure how that happened. This house has mystical powers. Anyone who dies here will live on as a ghost in this house forever. Well, that can change." He shifted his head to the side. "This house has a spirit. It could have protected itself during the blast. It's not even the only place the survived."
"Really?" Kate asked.
"There's also the Hotel Cortez, The Amityville House in New York, and some place called Camp Redwood." He answered.
Kate nodded. "Wait, so we could have stayed at a hotel instead?"
"It's not that great." Michael said. "It's full of blood-thirsty beings. I'm pretty sure it's overrun with ghosts even mroe than this place. At least here, it feels familiar."
"And you can control the ghosts here." Kate said. SHe wiggled her fingers, mocking him.
He went back to the stove and stirred some food in a pot. He seemed unamused by her gesture, but not upset or angry.
Kate looked in the cabinets. "Canned foods. Of course." She sighed and leaned on the counter.
"It's still edible, and good for the baby." He said. He poured a bowl of the hot soup and placed it on the table. "Eat up."
She sat at the table and looked up at him. "I still haven't noticed a change. You know, if you wanted to play house, all you had to do was ask."
He giggled, "Still nothing? Our child must be shy." He poked her arm.
Kate could help but smile. She took a spoonful of soup. "Aren't you going to have some?"
"Oh, I don't like soup."
"Then what do you like?" She took another spoonful.
"Meat." He said.
Day 7 of pregnancy
Kate began to feel more and more tired during the day. Her back began ache. She started craving odd foods.
Michael continued to cook meals for her. The canned foods limited their selection to soups and spam.
Kate spent much of her time watching TV. There was no signal, so she had to put DVDs in the player. Over the years the owners had acquired a wide variety of films from Western to Musical, Drama to Comedy, Horror to family. Each day, she would make a small pile to watch.
Michael saw her watching Sweeney Todd. He wore less professional or cult-like clothes now. His suits were in the closet. He wore plaid shirts and tied his long hair back in a ponytail. "You know," he entered the room, I used to have this old play station. I could spend hours playing games on there at my Grandma's house. She was always worried about getting me games with any sort of violence." He folded his arms. "She would never let me watch this movie, for sure."
Kate paused the movie. "I can start it over if you want to-"
He put his hand down. "No, I've already watched this one. I came across it shortly after my Grandma died. I thought that watching it might... nevermind. Not that that would have mattered. The blast destroyed that home and all its possessions. No more play stations in the world."
"Of all the families that lived here, no one had a game console?" Kate asked. She unpaused the movie.
"The last few people who lived here didn't have children, or their children just weren't interested." Michael said.
Kate paused the movie. "The family that moved in after the Harmon family. They had a teenage son. He must've had something. An XBox or PS4."
"They fled this house after one day. They didn't even unpack."
"So their stuff is still here?"
"No. They sent movers in to retrieve their belongings."
"Well that story went nowhere." Kate said. She leaned further into the couch and pressed play on the movie.
Day 10
Kate was starting to show. She looked about four months along. She found a stretchy purple dress to wear in the closet. She looked at herself in the full length mirror of the bedroom. Kate stood to side, seeing her belly from an angle. How is this possible? They can't really make me have this child. He or she won't be in the real world. I can't take them with me. They won't let that happen. Sam isn't that cruel. Luke wouldn't let that happen either. It would hurt him too much. Oh, who am I kidding? He didn't care when he was stealing my blood to use my powers to trap us here!
"You're scared aren't you?" Vivian said. She stood near the bed in the room.
Kate turned around to see her. "I'm carrying a little human inside me. Of course it's scary."
Vivian walked closer to her. "How much do you know about Michael?"
"I'm learning more every day." She said with a hint of a smile.
"How far along are you?"
"10 days."
Vivian was speechless. Her mouth was open but no words came out.
"I know. It's not normal." Kate said, nonchalantly.
"I think your pregnancy may be a lot like mine. When I was pregnant with Michael, he grew so fast. He was stealing the nutrients from his twin in the womb."
Kate placed her hand on her belly. "Dear God, I hope it's not twins."
Vivian swayed her head. "It's not. Constance told me. Just one baby in there."
Kate let out a tiny sigh.
"Do you think Michael loves you?" She asked.
Kate gave her a look. "We're not there yet."
Later that day, Michael cooked something fresh in the kitchen. Kate smelled it was she walked down the stairs.
"What's cooking good looking?" Kate said.
He turned around, beaming. "I am making a special meal for the both of us."
"Ooh," She said. "Well it smells great."
"They're so mundane." Vivian said to Ben. They were watching them in the kitchen, unseen by the living.
"I've never seen him like this." Ben said. "Do you think it's an act?"
"On who's part?" Vivian asked.
"She doesn't seem naive." Ben said.
"She is worried about this pregnancy, as she should be. She told me she was 10 days along."
He turned to her. "You talked to her? With Michael in the house?"
"Oh relax." Vivian said. "She'll need guidance during this whole thing."
"The pregnancy or falling for an evil person?" He asked. "Because Violet might be more helpful in that department."
"Actually I think Tate could be more persuasive." Vivian said. "He's changed, and he knows what Michael is."
"How long do you think this is last?" Ben asked. "I think we have at least two more weeks of mundane Michael before it all goes south."
Michael poured two bowls of chopped meat for them. They sat at the table, across from each other.
"What animal did you kill?" Kate asked. "And how was it not infected?"
He grinned and took a spoonful. "I have my resources, however limited they may be."
Kate took a spoonful of the meat.
When she was halfway done with the bowl she had a realization. "This tastes familiar. I've eaten this kind of meat before."
"Okay?" He said. "I'm not familiar with your diverse meat experience-"
"This tastes like that stew. Stu." She said. She put the spoon down. "We had stew, which may or may not have been Stu. Then there were snakes. They showed up just as you arrived. They were chopped up into a soup and they all came back to life." She looked at him. "How did that happen?"
"How could I bring snakes back?"
"You have magic." Kate said.
He looked down, hiding a smile.
"Was this your plan all along?"
"I never planned this." He said, glancing down at her belly, all the while smiling.
"Mead said that the snakes must have been hiding underground all this time but that was all BS. You brought them here." She grew more stressed as she spoke. She stood up and backed away from him. "You-you brought them back to life because you needed them alive, so that Venable could use their venom to kill us all."
Michael stood up and walked over to her. He held her hands. "Hey, I did not know that would happen. I wasn't in control of Venable. She lied about the rules. That had nothing to do with me."
Kate looked at up at him. "Do you even care about me?"
He got down on one knee. "You are the most extraordinary person I've met in a long time. You've awakened something in me." He placed a hand on her cheek. "I really like you."
Kate softened, and leaned into his hand.
Michael leaned forward and kissed her.
"He sure is suave." Travis said, standing in the kitchen, unseen.
"I'd do him." Hayden said.
"Don't you ever tired of yourself?" Travis asked. He shook his head and left the room.
Hayden remainded, staring at the couple, or more specifically, Kate's belly.
Day 12
Kate woke up in bed next to Michael. She got up and went downstairs. Vivian was in the kitchen, cooking something in a small pan.
"Vivian?" Kate asked. "What are you doing?"
She turned to face Kate. "There's more to eat in this house than you think." She poured the pan of oatmeal into a big bowl. She sprinkled brown sugar over the top. Vivian scooted the bowl over to Kate.
"That stove sure is getting its use." Kate said. She got a spoon from the drawer and began eating.
"You shouldn't eat the meat." Vivian blurted.
Kate looked up at her, eyes widened. "Why not?"
Vivian looked down. "Because it's-"
They heard footsteps coming down the steps. Kate looked over the stairs then back to Vivian, but she was gone.
Michael entered the kitchen and narrowed his eyes at her breakfast. "Where did that come from?"
Kate shrugged. "Hey Michael, I've been wondering something." She took a spoonful of oatmeal.
"What's that?" He smiled. He leaned on the counter.
"You were born in 2011." She said.
"Yes." He answered.
"But it's 2019." She said.
"Yeah." He agreed.
"How? How do you look like that? Do you age twice as fast or something?"
He smirked and licked his bottom lip. "I was in such a hurry to grow up and take on the world that I made it happen. I made myself grow up."
Kate put her spoon down. "So technically you're eight?"
"Technically I've been alive for eight years, but physically I'm about 22."
Kate looked down. "Oh my God, I slept with a child."
He laughed. "Do I look like a child to you?"
Kate smiled sweetly and shook her head.
Michael smiled back and placed his hand on the side of her neck. He leaned in and kissed her.
"Now, let's get you some real food." He said.
Day 14
Kate was showing more than a few days before. She pull on another stretchy dress with spandex underneath.
"How old are you?" Violet asked Kate. She lied on her bed, in the opposite direction of Kate.
"I don't even know. My ID says 20." Kate said.
"Aren't you scared to have this child?"
Kate sighed and put her hands over her head. "I have enough to worry about. The apocalypse. My friends. Survival. I don't have time to worry about this too."
Violet looked down. "It will be nice for my brother to have someone his age to play with."
Kate looked puzzled for a moment. "Oh, you mean the baby. But he's only a day old."
"Not anymore." Violet said. "We had some visitors a while ago who helped us out. They had magic, but good magic. They casts a spell so he would age. They helped me forgive Tate-"
"You forgave Tate?" Kate said. She sat up.
Violet sat up too. She shrugged, "Well yeah. He saved my mom. He rid himself of that evil that was inside him. Constance said that he wasn't like this until coming to this house."
"So she says." Kate said. "She would say anything to justify his actions."
"Not this time." Violet said. "Tate has changed."
Kate rolled her eyes. "And how do your parents feel about that?"
"They're slowing coming around. Still don't want him at the dinner table but don't hate me for choosing him." She said.
Kate took a moment before speaking again. "What did these visitors look like?"
"There were three of them. One was a man. Bald. There was a girl. Blonde. Another girl. Younger. Dirty blonde hair. They all wore black."
"Sounds like I might know them." Kate said.
"The younger girl gave Patrick grief for cheating on Chad. It gave Chad a newfound confidence. He actually showed his face again and started helping out with my baby brother and told off Constance for her homophobia."
Kate giggled. "Oh, that has to be Amy. She was here..."
"What's wrong?" Violet asked. "Oh, right. The apocalypse. She's dead isn't she?"
"I don't even know." Kate said. Her voice sounded wobbly.
"Hey," Violet said, all cheerfully, "There is a huge stash of food in the basement. Michael doesn't go down there-"
"And neither do I." Kate said.
"What are you so scared of? I used to love going down there-" Violet said.
"Infanta. Hayden. Mr. Montgomery. That Dentist-"
"You don't have to worry about them. They won't hurt you because they know Michael will... make them regret it." Violet said. "You'll be safe. Besides many ghosts here want you alive."
Down in the basement, Kate found the shelves full of jarred foods and other edible goods. Below the fruit were twist off containers with dried fruits and nuts. The next shelf over had jars and jars of honey. On the floor shelf were large bags of rice and beans. Kate touched the bags, and laughed. One the walls were a few bottles of red wine. Violet gave her the tour. "Here are the jarred vegetables."
Kate smiled at all the food options. Pickles, peas, peppers, etc.
Violet pointed down to the lower shelf. "And there are the nuts. Over here are the jarred fruits-"
"Peaches!" Kate grabbed the jar and hugged it. "It's like Christmas morning."
Violet giggled and continued to show her all the foods available.
While Kate indulged in the jarred peaches, a ghost that Kate hadn't met yet appeared before her. Kate was eating the jarred food in the bedroom when she appeared.
"You don't love him." She said.
Kate looked over at her. She put the jar down and stood up. "Constance?"
"I see this facade you put on. You don't really love my grandson-"
"But I-I really do care for him."
Constance walked close to Kate. She placed her hands on Kate's shoulders. She grabbed her firmly and pulled her in towards Constance. "Listen to me. Michael is unlovable. He is incapable of love. He will corrupt you. He will destroy everything you love."
Kate looked at her scared and confused. After a moment, she replied. "Everything I love is already dead."
"You cannot have this child. This bloodline of evil must end." Constance said. She raised her hand.
"No!" Kate said. She flung Constance across the room without touching her.
Michael entered the room, seeing Constance on the floor. "Grandma?" He said, like a child.
Constance quickly disappeared from view.
"She tried to hurt our child." Kate said.
Michael stood next to her and kissed her forehead. "Looks like you handled it."
Day 20
Kate woke up in pain. She grabbed her belly and cried out.
Michael quickly got up and held her hands. "What's wrong?"
"It hurts!" Kate shouted.
"Like Labor?"
"No." She shook her head. "Something's wrong."
Michael ran out of the room and down the stairs. He opened up at the cabinets and drawers. He pulled out random ingredients and put them together in a bowl.
Meanwhile, Kate screamed from all the hurt.
Vivian and Violet appeared by her side. They each took a hand and tried to ease her pain. Vivian spoke very calmly saying that everything with be fine. Violet asked Kate to talk about her friends. The nurse, Gladys showed up too.
Michael frantically crushed the ingredients in the bowl. He moved as quickly as he could, almost spilling over the bowl.
"What is that baby doing to her?" Ben asked, revealing himself to Michael.
Michael looked over at him for a moment. It's the first time he had seen Ben in years. "I-I can't talk right now. I have to help them."
"Is this baby killing her?" Ben asked.
Michael threw the crusher down on the ground and ran back up the stairs holding the bowl. He fed it to Kate and she quickly felt better.
Michael lied in bed, holding her. The ghosts disappeared from their sight.
