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Previously on Listening For That Sweet Tune:
It was Moony. Only one person has told me
the beginning of that rhyme before and that was her but she was dead, how could
she be here and now and older than she was from before?
'You're supposed to be dead.' I said
waveringly. She smiled towards me and her teeth were sharpened and covered with
blood. I began to panic and turned around as quick as I could but there she
was, just a few inches away from me and puts a finger to her mouth and let out
a quiet 'shush' then, nothing.
I woke up to find myself in a dining room
of a gothic origin pointed arches compiled most of the ceilings. The walls and
ceilings were made of solid stone and stained glass as the floor was made out
of large marble tiles. Blind arcading was against the outer walls with
rectangles of stained glass in between the columns. The stained glass showed
pictures of monsters consuming humans and mutilated yet strung up corpses. I
was placed in the center of this room on a wooden chair with exceptional
details to the wood. In front of me was a large rectangular table covered with
plates of various meats, fruit and vegetables. Silverware and a large plate
were both in front of me and in front of Moony—who of which was sitting
directly on the other side of the table. Her arms were crossed against her body
and her eyes were formed back into her skull showing her light blue eyes.
'Ben. Please tell me, how does it feel to
take somebody’s life?' She asked.
'What do you mean? You have done it as
well.'
'Yes, but its different for every person.
I, personally, feel a rush that goes down my chest, down my waist and it shakes
my legs.' She used her hands to show a more descript image in my head then
raised her hand up towards her mouth as if she was smoking a cigarette.
'I, I don't know. I don't think I've ever
been conscious to feel the act.'
'But you have! Don’t be shy Ben. It makes
you look weak. You chewed that young psychopaths throat straight out of his
neck and you continued to eat like the monster you are.' She said with a big
smile—her teeth were back to normal. I thought deeply about how I marveled in
the taste of the man’s blood and flesh as I consumed him like a six-ounce
steak. I never really thought about how I felt as I killed him but I guess I
had a great high. A big sense of adrenaline pumped through my veins and I
thought I was invincible, in the moment. I felt as if there were no worries to
be had and that all the stress I had up to that point just meted from off my
back and the shackles fell to the floor. I felt invincible since that moment
and nothing was going to bring me down, I was like god.
'It felt good I guess.' I said
'You guess? Now that is a disappointment!
Tell me about how you felt the power of taking life away as you watched the
light dwindle from the man's eyes. Tell me about how accomplished you felt
knowing that you could do whatever you want with no consequences. There's
nobody to reign on your parade. No formal government in place. The world is
ripe for our bidding and no one can stop us Ben.' I then thought to myself how
Moony was still alive. I looked at her with disparity in my gaze with such
sorrow that I couldn't understand what it was like to be dead.
'Tell me Moony.' I repositioned myself in
my seat. 'What’s it like to be dead? That is what you are is it not?' Moony's
smile turned into a frown as she stood up.
'And there you go again Ben, raining on
my parade. Why can't you be happy with just knowing that you are who you are
and that there is no way it's going to be any different? Eat, please.' She
pointed to the food between us and I thought to help myself. I reached out to
what appeared to be ribs of a cow and took the whole helping to myself then
reached for a helping of grapes and an apple. I pulled the meat from off the
bones with my bare teeth and I hungered for more—if I could feel hungry at all
then this moment would have been starving. The juices gushed from the meat to
in between my teeth—I was consuming my food like a lion.
'Its good isn't it? I knew you couldn't
resist.' I drew my attention back to Moony as she paced back and forth. 'I
never thought that Captain Grey would have made a great centerpiece but there
he is, in the flesh. Is it good? I seasoned him with the freshest of herbs in
sautéed onions, I knew you have liked that.' I continued to eat. 'I guess there
is no hard feelings. He went away screaming for me to stop skewering his flesh
as I prepped him for the rotisserie but I couldn't help myself, I wanted to
give you the best, proper meal you have ever had.' I continued to rip the meat
off the bones trying to stop myself but I only hungered for more.
'I guess it's time to explain some things
Ben. This land is cursed. Doomed to repeat its mistakes for an eternity, you
and I are apart of this mess. Because of the decisions of a third party, a
quiet darkness came alive to wake vengeance upon all those who oppose the best
interest of The Wretched.' I raised my head to look towards Moony. 'There is no
such thing as death because we don't age. We are just here, no one knows why so
we make it for the best. We consume the bodies of the dead and reanimate their
souls creating no point of a higher authority than our own. In death, all
becomes one in the great unknown. Every breathing soul becomes the same and
there is no changing that, it's how it's been since the beginning but only
until recently we have found a reason to become something more. The great
Mother Sow and her son appeared in our midst, the first of their kind to walk
here and she became our figurehead. She taught us how to expand our talents and
how to manipulate the world around us. She showed us how to show our true form
to the people of the world and then she showed us how to control the people.
Before she came we were respected like gods but through her influence we
learned that we needed to be feared not loved. To show that we are the
beginning and the end, not just something to pass the time. We became a power
when she showed her face and such a power we became. I am one with them because
of you and I can only thank you for showing me the light.'
'You're one of The Wretched?' I said
while raising my eyebrow.
'Yes Ben and you will be too. I'm sure
you noticed the feelings of insanity pulsing underneath your skin. A grim
outlook on how the world evolves. You even consume the bodies of what you once
were.' I put a napkin to my face then placed it on my plate covering my food.
'But you're so strong Ben you have been resisting the transformation this whole
time.' She minced around the table putting effort into her walk to appear womanlier—I
couldn't help but watch.
'What do you want with me?' I asked.
She continued to walk around and stood in front of me. She bent over to
look directly into my eyes.
'Your willpower is so intense Ben it just
makes a woman like me go crazy.' She stood back up and folded her arms making a
gesture as if she was waiting for me.
'Moony. I'm not like you. I bleed just
like anyone else. I'm maintaining my sanity just fine even though this place
could make the strongest of minds crumble.' I stopped mid sentence because
Moony pushed the straps of her dress off her shoulders and let it drop to the
floor leaving her perfect body naked. When I was finished talking she straddled
me and started to rub her body against mine. I started to talk again but she
put her hand over my mouth and told me to shut up. She moved her neck towards
my neck and started to lick it as she continued to move up and down; the lick
turned into a kiss and then a soft bite. I looked up towards the ceiling to see
the arches that descended to columns to the edges of the room and I marveled at
how the architecture of the room was flawless till white wings covered my
view.
The elegant wings that broke out of
Moony's back started to make crackling noises like that of cartilage popping
underneath the skin; they were full as if they were a swans. Blood dripped off
the tips of her wings as they fluttered in the air. She started to bite me
harder and I started to squirm underneath her because the pain was becoming
something unpleasant. She stopped biting and looked back into my eyes while
placing her wrists on my shoulders. She smiled as she moved up and down my
waist and started to lick her lips. Blood was on her teeth and she smiled when
my pupils grew in astonishment.
'You taste so good Ben.' She emphasized
the 'so' by saying it longer than normal. 'I can be anything that you have ever
wanted Ben. Just let me be that woman.' I thought for a moment longer then
whispered on her ear.
'Ok.' She looked at me with a big smile and let out a playful laughter as she began to take off my shirt and kissed my chest. I looked down to her to notice her necklace that I took from her after she died. Along with the little crescent moon that was once lodged in my hand I also placed the key—once in my leg—on the silver thread. She didn't notice or care to notice the necklace around my neck that was once hers, she was stuck in the moment and so was I.
'You know.' She said between kisses. 'I
was skeptical on how you were going to feel about this. Like you didn't want to
become one.' She continued kissing, as her lips got lower down my chest.
'One what?' I asked. She continued to go
lower with her kisses. I thought to myself that what I could become one with
and I was stumped I looked down to her as she began to take off my pants. 'One
with who?' I asked again. I thought about how she was telling me that The
Wretched was trying to make me to be one like them. She got up off her knees
and jumped back to straddling me as she rubbed her body against mine. I
contemplated if doing this would make me one of them and I continued to reason
with myself when she began to breathe heavily in my ear. This can't be so; I
won't allow this to happen. She's going to take my soul and my search for
Serenity is going to end.
'Its time.' I pushed her off of me as
quick as I could then started to look for a way out as I stood up. She slid
away from me making a slight squeaking noise as she dragged against the tiles
and started to yell. 'Ben Lamb! You know better than to mess with us!' As she
got up to her feet. 'If things aren't going to be settled this way then there
is one last thing we can do! I'm going to kill you to finish the process!' The
corners of her eyes started to bleed and before I knew it they were sunk in
revealing the empty eye sockets I saw earlier. Her wings started to deteriorate
to form a black exoskeleton underneath the feathers. I looked to my right to
see a door no more than a few yards away. I sprinted towards the door and
looked back to see the daemon that was once Moony standing behind me. 'If only
you understood Ben!' She yelled to me as I frantically reached for the doorknob
and opened the door to see a dark abyss. I looked back and Moony still stood
where she was before. I didn't want to be here, so I jumped.
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