Well, here we are! I'm actually updating within a week because you people are getting excited about it and that really makes me proud of my work. So in short if you keep reviewing, I'll keep typing. :) OOH! I just can't wait to see what happens! Well, here we go, more angst and scary crap…
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Chapter 4
Grapes of Wrath
Elli walked down the cobbled streets of Mineral Town, enjoying the fresh summer dawn that promised yet another beautiful day. She walked briskly past the even flower beds and front lawns of different cottages. Yes, today was going to be a beautiful day indeed, the doctor would be back this afternoon and she had big plans for this evening. Elli's heart jumped at the thought of the doctor. His brooding looks, his worried posture, that chiseled body…She burst out with a happy song as she rounded the corner to the clinic and pulled out her keys. The nurse fumbled around with the lock for a bit and swapped the "Closed" sign around. She stepped in, still singing under her breath and flipped on the lights….
Carter was being shaken violently back and forth. Someone was screaming very loudly in his ears. He responded by groaning and pushing the screamer away. "…what the hell?" He sat up and stared at Elli, who was extremely distraught. Carter blinked over and over again, everything was a bit fuzzy around the edges. He focused and realized he was sitting in his underwear on a curtain rod. "That's what that was." He mumbled to himself. Elli was still babbling pathetically and Carter became more and more confused as he started waking up. "Elli, what is it?" She tried to speak but was completely disjointed, she ended up pointing dumbly across the room. Carter fallowed her arm, rubbing at his eyes. But in an instant he was wide awake and vomiting whatever was left in his stomach. In the center of the lobby, among jumbled curtains and their respective rods, hung the unintelligible remains of what once was a person. It hung from its neck, and was in fact a mangled torso, bloody and ratted like a coyote had been chewing on it. Elli was sobbing in Carter's arms, and he was sobbing too. He turned away with dry heaves. "E-Elli? What…what the hell is this!" He mumbled out, completely shocked through. It was so sick.
She was shaking. As a nurse she was used to injuries and blood, but this sort of malicious thing took the cake. "I don't know." She cried, burying her head in her arms.
Carter shakily stood up, reaching out for some sort of support. He mustered up his wills to take another look. He fought down another gag. The mandible was fixed in a freakish howl, and its eyes had been popped like grapes. Carter swore that for as long as he lived he would never eat grapes again. The priest turned away, this time to comfort Elli who was a variable wreck. He pulled her up and hugged her. This couldn't be happening. It had to be a nightmare. No one could have done this. He would wake up soon and that would be the end of it. But the sad thing, was that it wasn't the end at all.
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Elli and Carter sat on a bench outside the clinic, which had been taped off and the sign had been switched around from "Open" to "Closed." It was an extremely minor thing, downplaying the horrors that waited inside for whoever was brave enough to find the culprit. Officer Harris, the one enforcer of the law in town, had already taken testimonies and called for a bunch of city folk to come out and investigate the crime. For now he just sat in front of the entrance, making sure nobody trespassed. Like any small town, everyone had come and stared and asked questions. And just like any small town a thick string of rumors were started. But for right now that was the least of Carter's troubles. His trouble now was the noise he heard the night before. Was it really someone or was it his imagination? He pulled the blanket around his body closer. And why hadn't they at least let him get his clothes out of there? That had an obvious answer, but had still left him half-naked in the street. Elli sat next the priest, shell-shocked. She hadn't said a word besides telling her side of the story to Harris. This worried him very much. How was she taking it? Carter glanced over at Elli, who was staring at the ground, seemingly lost deep in thought. He didn't know what she was thinking about, her face was unreadable. He looked away. This was going to either make or break his relationship with her. If she thought he was to blame he might as well say goodbye to any good medical treatment in town, and if she didn't think it was his fault…then she would be closer to him then ever. Carter sighed; the only way for him to grow close to anyone in this town was evidently through bizarre happenings. This place was definitely not like the other towns.
"Carter?" Elli spoke.
"Yes?"
"Wherever you are walking bad things seem to happen." She said this blankly, as if it was not her own words.
This statement sent the pit of his stomach sinking. Great, he wouldn't be able to talk to her ever again after this. "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean, Carter. Don't play innocent." Her deadpan suddenly changed into a vehement tone. "What's going on? What did you do so wrong that's bringing these things to happen?"
"Elli, I don't know what's happening." Carter tried to defend himself.
"Something obviously did happen. You did something didn't you? And now everyone else is going to pay for it aren't they!" She was almost to a yell. Harris, nearby, had looked up from his book.
"Elli, please, don't make a scene," Carter pleaded with her, "I honestly don't know what's going on."
"You know what's going on; I can see it written all over your face." She was practically snarling at him. "Someone's trying to get back at you, and I know you're lying when you say you don't have a clue. So why don't you just tell the damn truth?" She leaned in close to him, her once sweet and kindly eyes seeming like they never existed. "Carter, what did you do?"
He felt like punching her in the face for that onslaught. But he knew that she was right. Elli was actually a lot brighter and attentive than it seemed. If he told her anything though, things would only get a lot worse. "Curb your tongue, and understand who you are speaking to." He spat at her as angrily as he could through waves of guilt. "I am not a child to scold." And with those rather weak words compared to hers, he swept away with as much dignity as he could muster in his boxers. He had to get out of Mineral Town. Carter was sure now that someone had found out.
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The priest stormed angrily through the streets, on his way to the pier. This was where he always went to think, especially when his mood was as black as now. He moved through Rose Square silently. There were the three gossipers in town there, which made him a bit anxious. They were sure to be talking about what had happened at the clinic. Charter shuddered as images of the mangled body passed through his mind. Anna, Manna, and Sasha stopped talking and stared at his dark image. He moved by hastily without making eye contact, and when he had passed they leaned in and whispered urgently to each other. He headed down the steps to the beach. This obviously wouldn't be the last of the sneaky looks and whispers. Carter sighed. Just another thing to put up with.
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Oh the suspense! I can't stand it. I'm thinking about upping the rating just for the gore factor, so if any of you feel that the gore-factor in this chapter is above a suitable teen level please tell me. Otherwise please R&R as always.
K. W. Lycan