As soon as Royce had come back to his hometown, he had become very
dazed and confused. It wasn't how he remembered it. Not at all.
"You lived here? This is the place you're so proud of? Did you live in a pile of ashes or something? Your baseball field is FLAMIN'!" Jimmy exclaimed in his twisted form of humor. He was sitting on what appeared to be a charred tree stump with his head sitting on the ground next to his body.
"Shut up! This can't be it! What's happened?!" Royce cried angrily. "And why are you here?"
"You offered. You said, 'I'm going back to where I came from. Come if you'd like, but I'd rather you didn't.' Well I decided to come," Jimmy replied slyly.
"That wasn't really an offer. But it doesn't really matter. You're here now, to bother the hell out of me, I'm sure," Royce said.
"Why are you so damn angry? You're dead. You drove yourself over the edge. It's not like I tied myself in a plastic bag and cut my head off. And then cut my legs off. But I'm not bitter," Jimmy explained.
"Didn't you kill the guy that did that to you?" Royce asked.
"Damn straight I killed him! I wasn't gonna-" Jimmy was cut off by a quick flash of something or possibly someone.
"What was that?" Royce cried. There was another flash. This time they saw that this was something resembling a human.
"Who's there?" Jimmy called out in the direction of which the flash had been seen both times. There was a strange glow by the trees that were still standing. They began advancing toward it.
"There's nothing to be afraid of. Except for maybe him. He is a bit hideous, isn't he?" Royce said to the something; or the nothingness.
"You're not the pretty boy you used to be either, Greaser," Gambdino said to Royce. Whatever was back there seemed to be breathing heavily.
"We don't plan on hurting you. I used to live here. Umm; when I was living, that is," Royce said.
"That's not helping! Oh yeah! 'I'm a dead guy. I'm not going to hurt you but half of my body is all mangled. I'm carrying around this baseball bat that I got to crack someone in the back of the head with already tonight. But I'm not going to hurt you, so you can come out.' I'm sure that one's gonna work," Jimmy mimicked Royce sarcastically. There was a stomach turning snap in the trees just then. There was then what sounded like gurgling and grunting.
Royce burst into the woods just then to see something that he'd never believed, let alone expected to see. There was a woman with her eyes rolled back in her head. Apparently dead. That scene he was used to. However, the girl that had her teeth sunk into the other girl's neck was not something he was used to. When she looked at him, he was even more confused. The eyes glowed. They were empty and evil. The face was distorted, but she seemed so; he didn't know; she looked like the world to him.
"What the hell is this?" Royce cried out. The girl then hissed at him, revealing her fangs and then she rushed at him and disappeared in a strong wind that, even as a spirit, forced him backward.
After Royce regained his balance, he went over to the girl to find out what her condition was. She was still warm, but when he felt for a pulse, there was none. So this girl, who ever she was, had been murdered by what appeared to have been a vampire. 'But that's crazy!' He thought. 'Even as a ghost, I don't believe in vampires! That can't be right. There are strange things in this world, but there can't be something THAT strange.' 'THERE CAN!' A voice screamed in his head. It was raspy and whether it was male or female, he could not tell. Even as a ghost, he was starting to get a bit spooked. He'd loved the thrill of killing; of being able to hit Rafkin in the head with a baseball bat. But now, the sight of that girl, and the overwhelming fear that was slowly going through his enter body was just too much. If he'd been human, he would've thrown up just then. He backed up from the girl and went back to where The Torso was waiting for him.
"That was amazing! There was this black wind with two glowing yellow circles in it! It blew right threw me! There was the hissing noise it made; that wasn't too thrilling. I've seen a lot, but I've never seen something like that!" Jimmy exclaimed when he saw Royce approaching.
"Yeah, great. Just absolutely amazing. This isn't home, this is Hell. Everything has been torched to the ground and there's that crazy vampire bullshit!" Royce shouted.
"Calm down. Things happen. You didn't think your perfect little town was going to stay perfect forever did you? Everything changes. If there was no change, then where the hell would we be?"
"Right. Anyway, what was it you were saying about that son of a bitch that killed you?" Royce changed the subject.
"I was saying that I killed him. I wasn't going to let that asshole run free!" The Torso was overjoyed to be talking about his glory.
"How did it happen? Your killing him; that is," Royce was willing to feed The Torso's pride and ego, as long as he could temporarily take his mind off the damage of his home.
"I waited. I followed him around for months. I waited until he felt guilty and his conscience ate at him. I waited until he was on the verge of suicide. Took awhile though, being he was a gambler and a mob leader and all that. But anyway, then, at the perfect moment, I showed myself to him. He damn near had a heart attack. He thought he was going mad; seeing things. That was until I said, 'Do you remember me? Remember what you did to me? I wasn't looking for trouble. I was naïve and I guess maybe I deserved something; maybe even what I got. Gambling with strangers isn't too intelligent I realize now. But you deserve more than I could ever give you. You don't deserve to live, that's for god damn sure.' He tried to run. But you can't run from ghosts. I followed him, flashing here and there. Then I found his axe. Cut his right leg off, I did. Then I let him bleed for a while. He begged me for mercy. 'Please don't kill me! I didn't mean to do it!' Can you believe he would say something like that? So I cut off his other leg. Then, after doing that, I put my head on his chest and looked him right in the eyes. They were full of anger and hatred; fear and self-loathing. 'You didn't mean to kill me? You didn't mean to cut me up and wrap all of my individual pieces in plastic? You didn't mean to throw me in the ocean? I wonder how it would've been had you meant to do it.' What I did then was probably unnecessary, but I did it anyway. I cut off his third leg and his balls. I knew how much that must've hurt and I was starting to get a little soft, so I just ended his misery and cut his head off. I had to give the cops something creative to find, though. He had trash bags under his sink, so I put all of his pieces into one bag. And I just left the axe in the middle of the kitchen floor. Then I put the bag under the sink and left it all. That's how he was found a couple days later, too. I think they're still searching for the murderer. And that's my revenge. It's quite wonderful. Possibly overwhelming for some, but wonderful all the same," Jimmy concluded.
"I guess the only time I've ever had revenge or felt the glory of it was when I got to hit Rafkin that one time. I would've gotten him a few other times, too. Of course, if the glass hadn't been in the way. He came down to the basement as the power guy. He leaned up against my glass and everything. But I couldn't hit him. I wanted to knock his head off. I was so pissed that he'd helped to trap me in that basement," Royce said. "Then I hit him right next to his temple. He couldn't see me, but that damn Nanny put on the glasses and told him where to dodge until the glass came up and he got away." He thought for a few seconds. "Then him and Arthur came down, but they carried a piece of glass. They pushed me right into the wall. I was squeezed between two pieces of glass, so all I could do was leave. Yup. Those were the only times and they were all in the same night."
"Maybe we should go have a look at the ruins. Maybe you can see if there are any signs of life still here," Gambdino decided.
"Yeah, I guess that would work. But I wonder if there would be any sign of life from about sixty years ago. Maybe some signs of what happened to my friends and family," Royce thought out loud.
"Maybe we should check the cemetery. There is one in this town, right?"
"Yeah. There should be at least one still here. I want to go by my old house first, though," Royce said, walking in the direction of the town. He peered down from the hill they were standing on. It didn't look like there was much remaining. There was charred grass and lots of dirt all over the place. If anything was still standing, such as the trees, it was covered in ashes from everything that had burned around it. From that hill, he could see the cemetery, though. It seemed to still be there. This saddened him greatly. That meant that his home had been completely burned to the ground because from that hill, he remembered, the old high school and his house and had both been in the way of the view of the cemetery.
"Are we ready to go?" Jimmy asked.
"Yeah. But we're going to go ahead and cut the stop to the house and go directly to the graveyard," Royce said, emotionlessly. He was having trouble digesting these devastating changes.
"Everything gone?"
"Except for the cemetery," Royce informed him.
"Alright, let's go ahead and get down there, then," Jimmy said, sounding motivated.
"Yeah. And, um, one question?"
"Sure, what's that?"
"When did we start getting along?" Royce asked, somewhat playfully. They then made their way to the cemetery. Jimmy went the fast way, disappearing and reappearing in the destination. However, Royce wanted to walk and let it all sink in. The vampire; the ashes; the absolute nothing that was not what he'd remembered leaving behind. His home was in ruins and he was going to find out what had happened and for what reasons.
"You lived here? This is the place you're so proud of? Did you live in a pile of ashes or something? Your baseball field is FLAMIN'!" Jimmy exclaimed in his twisted form of humor. He was sitting on what appeared to be a charred tree stump with his head sitting on the ground next to his body.
"Shut up! This can't be it! What's happened?!" Royce cried angrily. "And why are you here?"
"You offered. You said, 'I'm going back to where I came from. Come if you'd like, but I'd rather you didn't.' Well I decided to come," Jimmy replied slyly.
"That wasn't really an offer. But it doesn't really matter. You're here now, to bother the hell out of me, I'm sure," Royce said.
"Why are you so damn angry? You're dead. You drove yourself over the edge. It's not like I tied myself in a plastic bag and cut my head off. And then cut my legs off. But I'm not bitter," Jimmy explained.
"Didn't you kill the guy that did that to you?" Royce asked.
"Damn straight I killed him! I wasn't gonna-" Jimmy was cut off by a quick flash of something or possibly someone.
"What was that?" Royce cried. There was another flash. This time they saw that this was something resembling a human.
"Who's there?" Jimmy called out in the direction of which the flash had been seen both times. There was a strange glow by the trees that were still standing. They began advancing toward it.
"There's nothing to be afraid of. Except for maybe him. He is a bit hideous, isn't he?" Royce said to the something; or the nothingness.
"You're not the pretty boy you used to be either, Greaser," Gambdino said to Royce. Whatever was back there seemed to be breathing heavily.
"We don't plan on hurting you. I used to live here. Umm; when I was living, that is," Royce said.
"That's not helping! Oh yeah! 'I'm a dead guy. I'm not going to hurt you but half of my body is all mangled. I'm carrying around this baseball bat that I got to crack someone in the back of the head with already tonight. But I'm not going to hurt you, so you can come out.' I'm sure that one's gonna work," Jimmy mimicked Royce sarcastically. There was a stomach turning snap in the trees just then. There was then what sounded like gurgling and grunting.
Royce burst into the woods just then to see something that he'd never believed, let alone expected to see. There was a woman with her eyes rolled back in her head. Apparently dead. That scene he was used to. However, the girl that had her teeth sunk into the other girl's neck was not something he was used to. When she looked at him, he was even more confused. The eyes glowed. They were empty and evil. The face was distorted, but she seemed so; he didn't know; she looked like the world to him.
"What the hell is this?" Royce cried out. The girl then hissed at him, revealing her fangs and then she rushed at him and disappeared in a strong wind that, even as a spirit, forced him backward.
After Royce regained his balance, he went over to the girl to find out what her condition was. She was still warm, but when he felt for a pulse, there was none. So this girl, who ever she was, had been murdered by what appeared to have been a vampire. 'But that's crazy!' He thought. 'Even as a ghost, I don't believe in vampires! That can't be right. There are strange things in this world, but there can't be something THAT strange.' 'THERE CAN!' A voice screamed in his head. It was raspy and whether it was male or female, he could not tell. Even as a ghost, he was starting to get a bit spooked. He'd loved the thrill of killing; of being able to hit Rafkin in the head with a baseball bat. But now, the sight of that girl, and the overwhelming fear that was slowly going through his enter body was just too much. If he'd been human, he would've thrown up just then. He backed up from the girl and went back to where The Torso was waiting for him.
"That was amazing! There was this black wind with two glowing yellow circles in it! It blew right threw me! There was the hissing noise it made; that wasn't too thrilling. I've seen a lot, but I've never seen something like that!" Jimmy exclaimed when he saw Royce approaching.
"Yeah, great. Just absolutely amazing. This isn't home, this is Hell. Everything has been torched to the ground and there's that crazy vampire bullshit!" Royce shouted.
"Calm down. Things happen. You didn't think your perfect little town was going to stay perfect forever did you? Everything changes. If there was no change, then where the hell would we be?"
"Right. Anyway, what was it you were saying about that son of a bitch that killed you?" Royce changed the subject.
"I was saying that I killed him. I wasn't going to let that asshole run free!" The Torso was overjoyed to be talking about his glory.
"How did it happen? Your killing him; that is," Royce was willing to feed The Torso's pride and ego, as long as he could temporarily take his mind off the damage of his home.
"I waited. I followed him around for months. I waited until he felt guilty and his conscience ate at him. I waited until he was on the verge of suicide. Took awhile though, being he was a gambler and a mob leader and all that. But anyway, then, at the perfect moment, I showed myself to him. He damn near had a heart attack. He thought he was going mad; seeing things. That was until I said, 'Do you remember me? Remember what you did to me? I wasn't looking for trouble. I was naïve and I guess maybe I deserved something; maybe even what I got. Gambling with strangers isn't too intelligent I realize now. But you deserve more than I could ever give you. You don't deserve to live, that's for god damn sure.' He tried to run. But you can't run from ghosts. I followed him, flashing here and there. Then I found his axe. Cut his right leg off, I did. Then I let him bleed for a while. He begged me for mercy. 'Please don't kill me! I didn't mean to do it!' Can you believe he would say something like that? So I cut off his other leg. Then, after doing that, I put my head on his chest and looked him right in the eyes. They were full of anger and hatred; fear and self-loathing. 'You didn't mean to kill me? You didn't mean to cut me up and wrap all of my individual pieces in plastic? You didn't mean to throw me in the ocean? I wonder how it would've been had you meant to do it.' What I did then was probably unnecessary, but I did it anyway. I cut off his third leg and his balls. I knew how much that must've hurt and I was starting to get a little soft, so I just ended his misery and cut his head off. I had to give the cops something creative to find, though. He had trash bags under his sink, so I put all of his pieces into one bag. And I just left the axe in the middle of the kitchen floor. Then I put the bag under the sink and left it all. That's how he was found a couple days later, too. I think they're still searching for the murderer. And that's my revenge. It's quite wonderful. Possibly overwhelming for some, but wonderful all the same," Jimmy concluded.
"I guess the only time I've ever had revenge or felt the glory of it was when I got to hit Rafkin that one time. I would've gotten him a few other times, too. Of course, if the glass hadn't been in the way. He came down to the basement as the power guy. He leaned up against my glass and everything. But I couldn't hit him. I wanted to knock his head off. I was so pissed that he'd helped to trap me in that basement," Royce said. "Then I hit him right next to his temple. He couldn't see me, but that damn Nanny put on the glasses and told him where to dodge until the glass came up and he got away." He thought for a few seconds. "Then him and Arthur came down, but they carried a piece of glass. They pushed me right into the wall. I was squeezed between two pieces of glass, so all I could do was leave. Yup. Those were the only times and they were all in the same night."
"Maybe we should go have a look at the ruins. Maybe you can see if there are any signs of life still here," Gambdino decided.
"Yeah, I guess that would work. But I wonder if there would be any sign of life from about sixty years ago. Maybe some signs of what happened to my friends and family," Royce thought out loud.
"Maybe we should check the cemetery. There is one in this town, right?"
"Yeah. There should be at least one still here. I want to go by my old house first, though," Royce said, walking in the direction of the town. He peered down from the hill they were standing on. It didn't look like there was much remaining. There was charred grass and lots of dirt all over the place. If anything was still standing, such as the trees, it was covered in ashes from everything that had burned around it. From that hill, he could see the cemetery, though. It seemed to still be there. This saddened him greatly. That meant that his home had been completely burned to the ground because from that hill, he remembered, the old high school and his house and had both been in the way of the view of the cemetery.
"Are we ready to go?" Jimmy asked.
"Yeah. But we're going to go ahead and cut the stop to the house and go directly to the graveyard," Royce said, emotionlessly. He was having trouble digesting these devastating changes.
"Everything gone?"
"Except for the cemetery," Royce informed him.
"Alright, let's go ahead and get down there, then," Jimmy said, sounding motivated.
"Yeah. And, um, one question?"
"Sure, what's that?"
"When did we start getting along?" Royce asked, somewhat playfully. They then made their way to the cemetery. Jimmy went the fast way, disappearing and reappearing in the destination. However, Royce wanted to walk and let it all sink in. The vampire; the ashes; the absolute nothing that was not what he'd remembered leaving behind. His home was in ruins and he was going to find out what had happened and for what reasons.