Moondance - Van Morrison
Before...
Eddie and Gretchen were laughing like a couple of hyper kids, as Gretchen rode on Eddie piggyback style. He carried her with ease, his arms holding up her slightly bent legs as he climbed the back steps to the boarding house. An hour ago he had picked her up, enjoying the ride down since it was a clear dry hot day, with not a cloud in sight. Eddie wore a grey T-shirt, the sleeves slightly rolled up over his tanned smooth arms. He had his jeans, and boots on, his wild hair all over the place from the wind. Gretchen meanwhile wore cranberry hotpants, and a navy blue T-shirt, who's neck had been cut out, revealing her aquamarine bra, supporting her extremely full breasts. The second she answered her apartment door, Eddie could feel himself getting excited, stiffening in his jeans as he slowly looked her up and down. The hot pants were so tight, they actually looked painted on. She wore her boots, and her gold hoop earrings. Eddie continued staring at her breasts, pushed up, showing plenty of cleavage. Finally, Gretchen laughed before batting her long eyelashes.
"Hey mister."
She saw that his eyes were still staring down at her breasts, before she laughed and playfully smacked his arm.
"Like the view?"
Eddie laughed, before cupping his stubble covered chin, eyes still fixated on her breasts, and the way the hotpants hugged her ass and hips. Reaching forward, he pulled her towards him, before grinding his pelvis against hers. He knew she must have felt his hardon, before he leaned down and began to passionately kiss her. His mouth opened and closing, as she responded by opening her mouth, and plunging her tongue into his mouth. These past two weeks had been the longest in Eddie's life. He had in fact swung by the bar as he promised, and watched Gretchen carefully, just in case anybody got fresh with her. She was just finishing her shift, and before punching out, she rushed over to him, wearing a denim skirt, and white T=shirt, before wrapping her arms around him, and giving him a tight squeeze, and wet kiss. They had called each other the day before, where she informed him that her aunt's doctors had explained that she better head down there sooner than later. Sounding a little overwhelmed, she signed telling him that lucky her aunt was a practical and responsible woman, and luckily, almost everything was taken care of. From the funeral, right down to the insurance, everything didn't sound that bad, really the only thing she had to take care of was selling her aunt's home, which she remarked had been on the market for the last two months ever since her aunt entered hospice. Everything else was put into storage, and a friend of the family was a realtor, who said she had gotten a few offers, one that sounded quite promising. She explained that this person who put in the offer was currently overseas, but had told the realtor as soon as he returned to the states, the house would probably sell, leaving Gretchen with the money from that, whatever savings her aunt had, as well as life insurance. She gave a sad chuckle, telling Eddie over the phone that with that money she might actually make it possible for her to go back to school. maybe even get her foot in the door at a beauty shop so she didn't have to struggle to make ends meet all the time.
Eddie had asked if she was okay? He could hear the sadness in her voice creep in.
"Yeah. I mean, I don't want her to suffer anymore, and honestly she hasn't really been alert in months. I usually just sit beside her and read to her while she sleeps. Still, she raised me and was the only family I have..."
I'm your family now...
Eddie thought, clutching his phone, closely listening to her. She said she was a little sad, and as much as the money helped, she still sorta wished her aunt wasn't in so much pain now that it was nearing the end. She sighed, before she explained to him she had missed him. Sitting up straight in his chair, he gripped the phone tightly, his knuckles turning a bright white.
"I...miss you too. I can't wait to see you..."
He felt his heart pound deeply in his chest, before she spoke in a nice low voice that sounded sexy, and absolutely drove him wild.
"You wanna spend the night Tuesday?"
Eddie smiled, his face already snaking down to his waist, ready to pleasure himself. Smiling, he licked his lips.
"I would love that."
"I can't stop thinking about you."
Eddie's hand found his swollen manhood, wrapped his hand tightly around it, before he began to stroke himself. Trying to keep his voice even, he felt himself starting to sweat.
"I wanna touch you right now..."
He said, voice starting to sound uneven, as he started stroking himself. Gretchen, who knew what he was doing on the opposite line, kept her voice down, and softly began whispering, turning him extremely on.
"You wanna know what I would do to you if we were together?"
Eddie closed his eyes, stroking himself even faster, tilting his head back. as she continued talking in soft low tones, saying things he honestly never thought he would hear coming out of her mouth. It was filthy, almost as if he had read her mind, and knew exactly what his fantasy was. He listened, feeling himself shake, as his hand moved up and down faster, and faster, and faster. A half an hour later, Eddie found himself in just his boxers, laying in his bed, laughing, and talking on the telephone with Gretchen. The phone sex had been absloutely amazing. In fact, she had made him climax twice, both times violently, as he spent himself right into the palm of his hand. She already seemed to know what turned him on, and there was no embarrassment about it. Afterwards, completely drained, he laid on his single sized bed, one arm tucked underneath his head, the other still holding the telephone talking about absolutely nothing with Gretchen, even though both were laughing, and ended up staying on the phone for so long, they fell asleep still holding the receiver. He ended up working the following working at one of the restaurants he washed dishes at. Usually, he couldn't stand doing these types of jobs, but after last night, he washed the pile of pots and pans in the suds of the warm water, and even found himself whistling. He ended up calling her again that evening, and the same exact thing happened. Eddie closing his eyes, and licking his lips, as Gretchen softly whispered to her in that low sexy voice of hers.
The next day, he worked a morning shift, before hopping on his bike and headed up North. When he reached the bar, it had been open for a few hours already, and rock music floated out into the parking-lot, before Eddie made his way inside. There he was greeted by Gretchen, and just squeezing her body, he instantly felt relieved, kissing her, and holding her. It was as if he had just taken a hit off a drug he craved, and it washed over his body in waves as he smelled the sweet scent of cherries. Gretchen ran to punch out, while Eddie sat at the bar and ordered two beers. One for him, one for her. When she came back, he caught a few of the truck drivers sitting across the way watching her long legs move, as well as her ass beneath the skirt. He felt a terrible surge of jealousy, but knew he needed to control it. Instead, Gretchen leaned over, kissing him, before taking him for the beer. Taking a swig, she sighed with relief, before motioning over to the pool tables out back.
"We're playing for beers. You ready?"
Eddie smiled and nodded, before Gretchen led him out back, where she racked up the balls, and instructed Eddie to grab two pool sticks off the table. They played just the two of them for the next hour before the dinner rush came. Together, they laughed, listened to music, and drank several beers. Eddie stood behind Gretchen as she leaned down, aiming her pool stick, taking in how great she looked with that skirt on, before venturing back to her place. Now nearly two weeks later, they had spoken to each other every day. Eddie stayed over her place on the nights she had off, and when both had to work, they always found time late at night to spend an hour or two on the phone. Eddie had been in the best mood he honestly had ever been in. Gretchen was the only thing on his mind. He thought about her constantly. While he washed dishes at work, sketching on the boardwalk for ten bucks a pop, shaving in the bathroom down the hall, showering and pleasuring himself, laying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, having a few beers at local bars, any possible waking moment...he thought of her.
He made dozens of sketches just from memory of her, a few even of what he believed she would look like in wolf form, which was absolutely beautiful and wild looking. He loved whenever he got to visit her in person. The two would spend all night making love, before laying in bed. Sometimes they would share a joint from Gretchen's stash, other times, she would lay with her head against his bare chest, watching late night monster movies with him, covering her eyes, and screaming at the sight of these cheesy B movie monsters.
One night Eddie laughed as an old werewolf movie played on the tiny black and white television in Gretchen's bedroom. Gretchen groaned at the gross parts, and covered her eyes, snuggling up close against Eddie. All the meanwhile, he laughed watching the big busted ladies in the movie scream in horror, as a man in makeup "transformed" beneath the light of the full moon. After the beast killed the girl, Gretchen lifted her head, still snuggled in close to Eddie.
"Serves them right for going into the woods on a full moon."
Eddie laughed, before he continued watching.
"Doesn't need to be a full moon."
"Huh?"
Eddie glanced down at her.
"Werewolves don't need the full moon to transform. They can do it whenever they want."
"Bullshit..."
Gretchen laughed. Eddie smiled.
"No really, it's been in a ton of books. That full moon crap is just something Hollywood thought was scary."
Gretchen stared at Eddie softly smiling.
"Is that a fact?"
Eddie turned and smiled back at her.
"It most certainly is."
Gretchen leaned forward, and began making out with Eddie at a frenzied rate, causing him to completely forget about the movie, and wrap his arms tightly around her, before pushing her back against the pillows as he climbed on top of her. That's what it was like for Eddie. A dream finally coming true. He felt as if he was in paradise. It was his own special little world with Gretchen, none of these "fake" people seemed to matter. It was just the two of them. Eddie had great plans on taking her back to The Colony. He knew it was only a matter of time before he moved forward with his plan. He would have Doc explain to her, and stand by her side, showing that there was nothing to be afraid of. He would marry her, and she would become his mate. It was just the two of them, and they could spend the rest of their lives up there in the woods happy.
He had picked her up, and headed down to Los Angeles since Eddie needed to pick up his paycheck tomorrow. He had explained that the boarding house he lived at wasn't exactly in the best area, and that it wouldn't be offended if she wanted to get a motel room instead? Gretchen wrinkled her nose at him, said she didn't mind, and was actually pretty curious about where he lived. When he pulled into the lot, before killing the engine, and putting the kickstand down. That's when he saw tons of broken glass, most likely as a result from drunks throwing broken bottles. Turning, he had his back face her.
"Jump on, I don't want you stepping on the glass..."
Gretchen looked and laughed.
"I'll be fine..."
"Come on, I don't want you getting cut."
Laughing, Gretchen shook her head, before jumping up on Eddie's back. He swayed for a second, before having her hook her legs. Both laughed, before he adjusted her, as she became completely hysterical laughing.
"Giddle up."
Laughing, he walked with her on his back, before he climbed the steps, and entered through the rear door. The stale scent of beer and pot lingered in the air as Eddie continued carrying her piggyback, before heading down the hall. A few of Eddie's neighbors raised their eyebrows in their direction, before Eddie found his door. Digging into his side pocket of his jean, he swayed for a second before nearly falling backwards. Gretchen squealed, as he steadied himself, before unlocking the door, and nearly spilling in with her inside. Both landed on his unmade bed, completely cracking up, laying side by side. They laughed like that for a solid five or so minutes. The sound pleasant, and unfamiliar in such a bleak depressing place.
Later...
After sharing a joint, which Gretchen produced from her purse from her own personal stash, both laid in each other's arms sweating slightly naked, slightly covered by one of Eddie's sheets. This was long before Eddie had become "Eddie The Mangler" so the only things that plastered the walls were his sketches, as well as some comic book covers. Gretchen didn't once bat an eyelash at her surroundings. Eddie knew it was a dump, but working as both part time sketch artist and dishwasher didn't really pay that well. Still, he saw how comfortable she had made herself, and even had cracked up laughing when he firmly insisted he walk her down the hall when she needed to use the restroom. He knew his place wasn't in the greatest part of town, and Gretchen afterall was a pretty young woman. Never affected really by drugs ever since getting bit, he passed the joint back and forth, not feeling the giddy effect it left on Gretchen that he thought was just plain adorable. The TV played softly in the background, before Gretchen nuzzled her head against Eddie's chest who was sweating lightly. She had curled up against him, kissing his tanned skin. Eddie looked down at her, and stiffened when he saw her hand snake beneath the sheet and start to slowly graze up his inner thigh.
Later...
An hour or so later, both had dressed. As Eddie was zipping up his jeans, he watched Gretchen staring at all of his sketches, mostly at the much larger scale drawing he was in the middle of making of the bay from The Colony. He smirked with amusement watching her lean in closer, cupping her elbows as she stared at his work. That was on a much larger piece, and he was really doing it from memory since he didn't have a camera. This was one of his larger projects he was in the middle of tackling, and was really hoping to finish and gift it to Doc. Gretchen was impressed and turned towards him.
"This is really great."
Eddie slipped on his button up shirt, leaving it open as he walked over and put his arm around Gretchen, smiling as he leaned in, staring at the artwork.
"Not bad huh?"
"That's an understatement! How long have you been working on this?"
Eddie shrugged and motioned "so-so" with his hand.
"Here and there when I get the time. I'm not used to working on such a large canvas board like this, and I'm working mostly from memory, but I was hoping to finish it up and give it to the doc someday."
Gretchen smiled before giving Eddie a big wet kiss on his cheek.
"I think it's wonderful. Now come on, I want you to bring me to the greasiest burger joint in town. I'm starving."
Laughing, Eddie hooked his arm around her tighter, playfully giving her throat as lick as she squealed with laughter. All the while his heart pounded in his chest, never wanting to bite her flesh, taste her blood that he could smell pumping in her body, and turn her. Instead he forced this animal like instincts, and tried to remember the words Doc had told him about self control. Marsha thought it was really all bullshit, but Eddie on the other hand wasn't so sure. Besides, he knew he needed to make sure everything was perfect. There were strict rules at The Colony about turning someone, and he knew he needed to clear it with Doc as much as that annoyed him. Still, it couldn't hurt to wait. Besides he was honestly having far too much fun with Gretchen, actually pretending to be just a regular guy in his twenties.
To him, this was Heaven on Earth.
Later...
Eddie had made good on his promise to take Gretchen to the best burger joint around. It was a small little place with red and yellow booths, and they had ordered themselves up a couple of cheeseburgers and beers. Rock music played from the front counter, as the two sat underneath one of the many stained glass lamps, and ate, talking, and getting to know each other a little bit better. Just as they ordered their second round of beers, Gretchen sighed and told him that her aunt's hospice nurse called. She was probably going to have to head down there tomorrow, and had already called and booked a bus ticket. She explained that they said she hadn't woken up in the last two days, wasn't eating, and fading fast. She figured she might as well sit with her if this was really it. Eddie, who wasn't very good with emotion, actually hated seeing that sad look dance across her eyes.
"Let me take you. I can blow off work."
Gretchen sighed holding her half eaten cheeseburger and shook her head.
"I appreciate that but I rather just go up alone and get it over with. My aunt was a practical woman. I was reading up through her stuff, and she doesn't even want a funeral. I had always thought she did, but her will clearly states she doesn't believe in them, and has the burial already paid for and taken care of. She's...well I guess I can now say was...a very practical woman. The house needs a little clearing out, but she had a few neighbors who have been doing that mostly. I have a realtor booked that's a family friend and they have a showing set up once it gets cleaned up. I need to meet with him. Just a week's worth of bullshit..."
"I can't help?"
Gretchen put her cheeseburger down in the plastic basket of french fries, and wax paper and smiled. Reaching across the table, and touched his hand.
"I rather just get it behind me, but thank you though. Trust me. I would want nothing more than to have you with me...but I gotta get this behind me once and for all. I loved my aunt, she was all I had left...but she's been suffering and I knew her well enough to know she would have wanted this to get over with quickly. She was practical, and a complete riot. I just wish she could have met you..."
Eddie smiled softly, actually touched, before he picked her hand up and kissed it making her smile.
"Are you sure?"
Gretchen nodded.
"If she's going as fast as they say she is...yes. I'll be a week, maybe ten days. I already cleared it with Larry. I could maybe use a ride to the bus station tomorrow if that's okay? It's not far from my apartment but..."
Eddie kissed her hand again.
"Say no more. I'll even pick you up when you're ready."
"What about work?"
"It will be fine. But if you do change your mind, just call me okay?"
"Thanks."
She said smiling, before returning to her cheeseburger. They chatted a little bit more about nothing really, until Gretchen began to ask about his parents.
"You said they died when you and your siblings were all young. Do you mind me asking what happened?"
Eddie at first wasn't about to get into all of those terrible memories, but instead sighed and shrugged before taking a big gulp of his beer.
"My parents weren't exactly great people. My mother was the only daughter to a girl who was from a reservation up North. She ran away with her Irish boyfriend, and they had my mother young. They ended up giving her up when they figured out they couldn't make a go of it and she was passed from foster home to foster home. When she was fourteen she met my father, an Italian wise guy who worked at a local garage. They dated for a while, and after he got her pregnant with my sister, her foster parents kicked her out, and his parents...religious Italians remember, kicked him straight out disowning him. They moved around a lot, before settling in a small town where my dad got work at another garage, and my mom worked behind the counter at a drugstore making sodas. They lived in a two room apartment above a bar, and when my sister was only four, and they were basically living off food stamps and the government, my mom got pregnant with me. Marsha claims that even at four she remembered my mother had started doing serious drugs with my dad. Acid, heroin, pills, booze, you name it they did it. I guess they fought constantly since my mom had gotten fired from the drugstore and my dad kept getting into fights down at the garage. Marsha said they barely had any furniture, and were either drunk or high half of the time. They had this old woman across the hall who was half blind to look after Marsha half of the time, and she said she remembered them even stealing from her purse from time to time whenever they came to pick her up. Marsha said she remembered my mom trying to miscarry me once she found out she was pregnant again. She even tried throwing herself down the stairs once when she was almost seven months along..."
"Jesus..."
Gretchen answered holding her glass of beer. Eddie knew he outta stop, but the words kept pouring out.
"Well I was born, and we were being taken care of by the old woman across the street. When I was four my mom got pregnant again with TC and after that...like right after she took off. Our dad told us a few weeks later the police told him they found her body raped and murdered, tossed in a ditch on the side of the road. He explained that the state buried her since he was broke, and he told us he outta thank whoever did it since they finally took care of the world's best breeder. After that it was just Marsha, me, and baby TC spending most of our time across the hall. I think the woman's name was Mrs. Alice or something like that. The apartment smelled like cat piss, but she fed us, and had Marsha buy food along with milk for TC down at the market once a week. We wore clothes our dad just grabbed out of a bin from the Goodwill, and we basically learned very fast we had to be the ones to take care of TC. This went on until I was nearly eight. We went to school a little, picked on for what we wore, and for being so poor, but we made sure TC was never bothered. Our dad was barley around. He sometimes remembered he left a little bit of money for us to get food, and after my dad got fired from the garage, we moved around for another few years, never staying too long anywhere until finally he landed iup in Oregon. My dad was a bad addict by then, and well...seeing that Marsha and I were getting older we tried making us...do things to each other while he watched."
Gretchen looked heartbroken as she listened. Eddie couldn't believe he had just shared such a huge thing with her, something TC didn't even know about, but from seeing the heartbreak and understanding in her eyes he continued. He trusted Gretchen. In fact...she was really the only person he felt he could fully trust.
"It went on a few times, and I mostly blocked it out. We just made sure it never happened to TC. Then our father thankfully disappeared about a year or so later."
In reality both Marsha and Eddie had killed him one night after he beat them so badly and forced them to partake in another one of what he called his "shows". Once it was over, both splattered with blood, they heard TC from the other room ask if everything was okay? Marsha snapped at him not to come out, before she began stripping off her clothes that still remained. She ordered Eddie to do the same, and they started working quickly. It was something they had planned after Marsha who had just really turned into a woman the year before, constantly being touched and pinched by their father had miscarried. Their father never went all the way with her, instead he got off on just plain touching, and pleasuring himself while watching them. When Marsha didn't get her monthly blood, which she was deeply ashamed of, she came to Eddie in a panic, who was just as horrified at what he had done.
"This isn't your doing Eddie. He forces us to do it."
It was a sad reality, but never much true. If they tried refusing, he could beat them so badly they could barely move. More than once Eddie had his ribs broken, as he tried to take the brunt of the beatings whenever they happened. A month before while their father was out drinking, and TC was thankfully fast asleep, Marsha stood before Eddie and told him what to do. Eddie was scared, but knew after talking with her what needed to be done. Marsha backed against a wall, stuffed an old rag into her mouth to muffle the screams and cries, and had Eddie punch her in the stomach as hard as he could. The first punch she doubled over, and Eddie stood back uncertain and scared. After finding her breath, she took the rag out only for a second and stared up at him angry.
"I told you, don't stop! Now keep hitting!"
Eddie took a deep breath, as she put the rag back into her mouth and stood up straight. Here Eddie took a deep breath, truly hating that he even existed and punched her in the stomach again, and again, and again. Finally she collapsed, and Eddie saw what she had told him would hopefully happen. Blood started coming out from between her legs and onto the floor. Eddie so badly wanted to carry her to the hospital, but she weakly told him no. Instead he stole a few loose pills their father had forgotten about in the bottom of his closet, and he gave them to her, while helping her clean up the mess.
"Marsha...what if that didn't do it?"
He asked as he helped her get cleaned up. Marsha looked pale, her eyes glassy from the effect of the pills. Breathing deeply, she shook her head.
"Then we'll do it again and again until it happens. He'll kill us if he ever knew. Now come on, help me to bed."
Eddie was thankful that their father was on a nearly week long bender, and didn't come home until the following weekend. By then Marsha was better, even though she suffered terrible cramps, and awful bleeding after that night. TC meanwhile was blissfully unaware. Two nights before their father returned, Marsha told him her plan.
"We can't..."
Eddie began, uncertain, before Marsha firmly grabbed his arm, forcing him to look at her.
"He's going to keep forcing us to keep doing it like animals in front of him for his pleasure. You won't be able to help it, and put another baby in me. Our luck can't hold out forever. It's only a matter of time before he starts forcing TC to do it. Do you want him to start doing to him what he does to us?!"
Eddie bowed his head in shame, before shaking his head.
"No..."
He softly said.
"Then listen to me."
She began to talk, camly telling him exactly what she wanted to do, and how to make him disappear. When he arrived two nights later, drunker and meaner than ever, it all went into motion. In the end, they dragged his body into the tub, where Marsha and Eddie took the saws they had stolen from the handyman who kept his tools in the basement of the building they lived in. They used the cleaning chemicals from under the sink, and old rags to scrub the wooden floors, before going to work in the bathroom. They kept the door locked, and in case TC happened to wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, they were prepared to tell him he had to pee in the kitchen sink since the plumbing was backed up. Thankfully, he didn't, and they worked through the night, their shirts off, sweating, as they sawed, ignoring the gory horrific deed they were actually doing. Marsha had triple bagged the trash, and had ties. By the time they were finished, their father was dismembered, and stored into two heavy bags. They used a plastic tarp Marsha had saved up and bought at the five and dime, and lugged the bags on top of it into the other room while they cleaned. They tossed their bloody clothes into the bags, and worked naked as they ran the shower, praying TC wouldn't wake up, and scrubbed, and cleaned until the grimey bathroom was spotless. Marsha triple checked the apartment, before she tossed Eddie the keys telling him to bring their father's old beaten up truck that he had bought used a few years back before the constant moving began, and to bring it out back near the fire escape. She was going to write a note for TC, in case they weren't back by dawn, saying they would be back soon. Eddie, who was changed into fresh worn clothes, was the most scared he had ever been, but listened. He took the keys, and headed outside. It was late and nobody was out. Starting the engine, which caught after the third crank, he carefully, not having a license, but learning how to drive by watching his father over the years, and brought the truck around back.
Marsha met him, and they dragged the bags out, lugging the plastic sheeting that served as a rug to pull them, and loaded them into the back. Using an old black tarp their father kept to cover his tools, Marsha and Eddie weighed it down with rocks from the back lot, and covered the bags. Marsha, who had actually driven the truck on a few occasions opted to drive. She didn't have her license, but was a far better driver than Eddie. They started down the dark street straight out of town before Eddie nervously eyed her. He had never seen her act like this before, and for the first time ever, she actually seemed like a real woman. Dressed in their hand me down rags, hair pulled back in a ponytail, she drove under the speed limit, before Eddie cleared his throat.
"What if we get pulled over?"
"Then we go to jail."
She simply said, making sure to not say another word as the headlights cut through the darkness, Eddie sat there staring forward, tightly clutching his hands between his knees. It seemed insane to think that just a few hours ago Marsha had crept up behind their father who was beating the holy Hell out of Eddie and whacked him with the old frying pan. Their father who was both drunk and high had backed off Eddie, nearly falling as he swayed, and touched the back of his bleeding head. His face crumbling like an animal he advanced onto Marsha when Eddie jumped on his back. Their father swung around, fighting to throw Eddie off, slurring and swearing when Marsha grabbed the kitchen knife and stabbed him right in the gut. Their father had frozen, stopping dead, as she plunged the knife right up to it's handle into him. His eyes wide in shock, he held his stomach, before Eddie grabbed the steak knife that laid on a tiny tin table they shared meals over, and rammed it straight into his back. Their father didn't even get a chance to scream as his children like wild animals began stabbing him over, and over, and over again until he dropped down in a heavy heap.
The last thing he saw as he laid there dying on the apartment floor was his daughter and eldest son staring down at him, both of them looking like wild animals.
In the end they weighed the bags down, and tossed them into an old deep swamp Marsha had read up about. Eddie questioned on the pieces of the body getting discovered, but Marsha who stood with Eddie on the shore, staring at the water, shook her head.
"He was a nobody, he won't be missed. Everyone knew he was in massive debt to his dealers. We'll stick to the story that he came home tonight drunk. Said something about owing somebody money and left on foot since we usually hear his truck pull out of the lot. Trust me Eddie...nobody is going to miss that bastard."
She squeezed his hand, before they turned and climbed back into the truck. They got back before dawn, completely unnoticed, before parking, and climbing up the fire escape. Marsha tossed out the note for TC since he never woke up, and once again they looked over the apartment for so much as another speck of blood. Thankfully there was nothing. Returning to bed, they climbed in with a sleeping TC, and fell into an exhausted sleep.
The next morning Marsha made TC breakfast, and they never spoke a word about what happened. In the end it was their father's boss down at the new garage he worked at that called asking where he had been since he missed work the last few days. Marsha answered the phone, and repeated the same exact story they had agreed on. A few days later, the sheriff came to see them. He asked if they had seen their father, and both Eddie and Marsha repeated the same exact thing. They could tell the sheriff was looking at how they were dressed, and the conditions around the apartment, and had muttered that if their father was in fact off on a bender, he better come back quick. He told them he would be back in a few days to check on them, and maybe get one of those ladies from child services to come check on them. The second he left, Marsha turned towards Eddie and told him they had to get packing and leave.
When Eddie asked why? Marsha simply stated that if the sheriff did come back with that woman from child services, they would be taken away, put into orphanages, and separated. Did he want that? Eddie knew better, and helped her pack their few belongings, along with the little money left from their father, dressed TC, and took the next bus down south towards Northern California. They sat together, as a wide eyed TC sat never questioning where their father was, or why they left the apartment. Eddie had a feeling that TC was actually smarter than they thought. The whole bus ride down, Eddie used a worn pencil he had, and a ratty notebook he kept, and practiced sketching. His father had called him named over his hobby, even ripping up some of his drawings he had made in the past. But now, they were free. Their father was rotting beneath the swamp water and mud, being food for the fish and animals. That depressing tiny apartment was abandoned, and Marsha, and him, and TC were finally free. They weren't sure where they were going, but at least Eddie knew for certain two things would never happen again. He would never be humiliated and forced to do those terrible things to his sister, and he would never be hit again. To him this sounded like paradise. But Eddie never told Gretchen any of this. Instead, he figured he would wait to tell her the truth. He knew he would in time, but not just yet. Instead, he shrugged.
"Well my dad left us, and thank God he did. It was getting bad and I'm just glad it never happened to TC. We protected him as best as we could. Well, we didn't want to get split up, so we took the little we had, and took a bus down North towards where The Colony was. We were too young to really be on our own, but we were determined to stay together. We found an old guy who rented cabins, and I started working washing dishes under the table at the diner in town. Marsha started working at a small gift shop. We lived in a small cabin for forty bucks a month, not bad...but we worked hard. We tried homeschooling TC as best as he could and he befriended the guy who rented the cabins who taught us how to fish and hunt. We never starved, and were actually happy. Right around the time I turned seventeen..."
He remembered the night the old man who's named was Buck had introduced them to Doc. Shortly after...they had been bit. The night that happened was still a blur, but nevertheless, they were welcomed into The Colony the three of them, and started living there full time. Marsha had developed into a beautiful young woman, but her sexual appetites were nearly out of control. She had slept with Eddie only twice more after they escaped their old life's, and finally Eddie had had enough, pushing her disgusted. He swore to her never again, and that's when he got his bike fixed up, and started riding down to L.A. He liked the city, found work, and started living there during the week, while every other weekend he came to The Colony, where he was allowed to express what the Doc called his "gift". He knew he really didn't buy into much of this bullshit, and the Doc had made it possible for them to stay together and survive. TC was slow, but loved the forest, and they had slowly collected a sort of false family with the other members who had been turned and lived there. After Marsha along with a few others were responsible for a few hikers going missing, Doc instead they live off the cattle from the ranch, and tried to condition them. Most of them bought into it, but Marsha was always on the fence. She had slept with nearly everyone in the area, and they all lived together in the tiny cabin, "hunting", and protecting the The Colony's secret.
Eddie only lost control once when a group of teenagers passing through the woods happened upon him and Marsha sitting by the river with TC who was finishing. Eddie was up for the weekend and sketching, and Marsha was softly humming making a necklace out of used animal bones. That's when the two teenagers came walking over, their hair long, and smelling of weed. They started teasing TC for his fur vest, and began looking Marsha up and down. When Marsha stood and spit on them, one of them slapped her across the face. That's when Eddie felt his heart beginning to pound. He hated to transform since the pain was absolutely horrible. He had only done in a few times since moving to the city, but at that exact moment he felt his bones start to crack and shift, before his face started to pulsate, as his eyes turned green.
The guys watched in horror, as TC, and Marsha did the same. In a blink of an eye there were screams as fangs and claws burst out of skin, and the three of them completely tore the two to pieces. In the end they ate everything and tossed the bones into the river. When they transformed back covered in blood, Eddie felt horrified. Flashes of stabbing his father kept appearing before his now red eyes. TC seemed unbothered, chucking to himself and going inside to bathe. Marsha on the other hand stood naked before Eddie who leaned against the side of the cabin for support as he tried to catch his breath.
"See, we are what we are now. We're special. That old fool knows nothing. We're hunters Eddie. I just wish we could have torn father apart..."
Disturbed, Eddie pushed past Marsha, grabbed some clothes and headed to see Doc. He knew TC loved him like a grandfather, constantly sneaking behind Marsha's back to visit him. Eddie bought into his rap simply because it made TC happy, but today he felt as if he had discovered a terrible awful truth. They were monsters. The doc measured him that he needed to withstand these animal like impulses in order to protect his siblings. He listened to more bullshit, and started spending less time at The Colony. Now he found himself sitting over cheeseburgers and beers with the love of his life, totally unaware that he was some sort of supernatural being. Sighing he shrugged, now feeling uncomfortable about talking so much. He knew he might keep some things from her, but in time he would tell her everything. That was after he turned her, and knew that Marsha was wrong. He wasn't a monster like she was turning into. He had a gift, and would live a peaceful life with Gretchen by his side.
"We met The Doc, he brought us to The Colony. I got my bike, fixed it up, and started heading down to the city. I found work, got my place, and live here most of the time. TC and Marsha work for the Doc around The Colony, and are happy."
"Wow, that's some story."
You don't even know the half of it...
Eddie thought, before he shrugged.
"It's in the past. I'm happy through, and I met a pretty awesome girl."
Gretchen laughed biting into her cheeseburger.
"Oh yeah? Is she a looker?"
Eddie grinned staring across at her.
"100%."
Both laughed and continued eating.
Later...
Eddie and Gretchen walked hand in hand around downtown. They were waiting for some of the bars to open up, when Gretchen spotted a seedy porno shop. Laughing, she yanked him inside as he rolled his eyes. Once inside the dim lit store, they walked down the aisle, as a few customers, all men glanced up, and quickly dropped their eyes embarrassed. Gretchen found the movie booths out back, and turned smiling at him.
"Come on!"
Eddie laughed making a face, before she yanked him inside. It was a dark booth, but Gretchen dug out a quarter, and put it in. Instantly grainy footage began as the projector lit up of a violent movie of a girl getting raped. Gretchen snorted shaking her head.
"Damnit, of course I pick the weird one."
Laughing, glancing at the screen, Eddie watched for a second before feeling a strange feeling of aroused tingling up and down his body. He turned his attention towards Gretchen. Moving forward, he pressed her against the wall, his hands going up her shirt, finding her breasts as he started kissing her neck.
"You like that? Does it turn you on?"
Gretchen giggled, then began to kiss him, running her hands through his hair. Both started breathing heavy, ready to do it right then and there, and Gretchen pushed him gently back and motioned for the chair.
"Sit."
Eddie raised an eyebrow, before she nodded, guiding him over to the chair. He sat, before Gretchen got on her knees, and gently pushed his knees apart.
"Keep watching..."
She said with a smile, before she unzipped his pants, and Eddie suddenly stiffened, his eyes widening, before he gripped tightly onto the arm-rests. He stared at the grainy footage of the woman being forced by four different men. He watched as humiliating acts were done to her, as the men all took turns taking her. Flashes of those times with Marsha and his father watching clutching a bottle in the old apartment flashed before his eyes. Stabbing him with Marsha, the night they were all bit which was still such a blur even after all this time, and that morning in the forest when all three Quist siblings turned on those two boys and ripped them apart. Licking his lips, he never felt so turned on in his life. White knuckling it, he continued gripping onto the arms-rests while Gretchen's head bobbed up and down. He took deep breaths, still staring at the screen. His eyes for just a brief second glimmering red and then green.
Unknown to both of them, that this would be the very same movie booth he would trap Karen White in.