They speak
‘Ugh, I can’t believe Ms Nel assigned homework for the holidays. What a witch.’ Raindrops splatter on the stained glass windows on a cold Friday afternoon as I sit in the library doing my homework amongst the overachievers who want to get a head start for the next term. I work and work until I feel my eyes sag. I loll back and forth in my seat until I crash into the table head-first, scaring the other occupants of the library.
As I drift into a light slumber, I feel someone's presence behind me. I place a hand on my pocket knife and groggily remove myself from the table.
"I thought that was you. Are you okay, Mal? I heard a crash."
My head was throbbing, I must have hit my head very hard when I fell asleep. I turn around to see Briar standing before me with furrowed eyebrows.
"My head hurts a bit but I'm fine." I rub my head and remove my other hand from my knife.
"That's good. I wish I had your ability to sleep anywhere on command. It would save me from insomnia." He rubs his eyes, and the purple around his eyes stands out against his pale skin. "Well, I'll see you later. I need to get home now. Bye, Mal."
"See you later. Just try to get some sleep." He nods and heads towards the library exit.
I wave goodbye to him and watch as all of the other students filter out as the clock strikes noon, each one grabbing their umbrellas from the stand near the ornate doors of the library. The last students leave and the door shuts with an ominous bang.
"Mallory"
The voice that calls out to me is high-pitched and squeaky.
I looked around for the voice calling me but found no one. It had been years since I had heard my given name since everyone called me Mal, the only people who called me by my full name were dead now. I shake my head to clear before thoughts about them cloud my mind. I head out of the library and wait for my Grandpa to fetch me since the library was starting to get creepy.
The rain had stopped leaving the area littered with puddles of murky rainwater. The area in front of the school had long been deserted, leaving me with nothing but the occasional breeze and the flickering streetlights to keep me company. I’m about to jump into an unsuspecting puddle when a deep, rumbling voice calls out.
"Mallory"
I grab my knife from my pocket and brandish it in front of me.
"What do you want from me?" I echo into the empty area.
"Mallory! Don’t you worry, we-” The voice squeaks.
“Are coming to fetch-” The other one interrupts
“You.” The voices finish in sync.
'They're coming for me' That's the only thought that runs through my mind as I run down the slick road. ‘They’re coming for me!’
I hear two people running after me as I tear down the road. I don’t dare look back to see them. I pump my arms and urge myself to run faster when I hear them gaining on me. My eyes caught my reflection in the murky puddles, my uniform was no longer neat. My shirt was untucked and my slacks were creased.
“Mallory, Why are you-”
“Running from us? We are just here to fetch-”
“You from school, don’t you-”
“Remember?”
‘No, No, No.’ This couldn’t be happening, this couldn’t be real. They couldn’t be real. No one can come back from the dead.
I skid to a stop and turn around keeping my knife between them and me.
They were so grotesque, I almost didn't recognize them but I knew they were my parents as soon as I saw Father’s gold wristwatch and Mother’s silver locket. Where they once had smooth brown skin they now had black moldy skin that held together pearly white skeletons. The sight of them almost had me lose my lunch on the concrete road. They smile as if they are excited to see me with their horrific teeth.
“Why are you here? You’re supposed to be dead.” The hand that holds my knife begins to tremble ever so slightly at the sight of my undead parents.
I must have let my revulsion show on my face because they started frowning.
"How rude of you Mallory. First, you run from us and now you don't even greet your darling parents." She speaks in a sickeningly sweet tone. "This is not how we raised you." She smiles, Father however continues to frown, and his large frame trembles with anger.
"I agree. I thought we instilled more manners in you." He sends a jolt of fear down my spine with each syllable spoken.
I could do little to stop the fear that flooded my system, urging me to either run away from these foul creatures or plunge my knife deep into their skulls to make sure they stayed dead this time.
“You’re supposed to be dead! I saw you die, how are you here?!”
‘How were you alive when I saw you die? I saw you convulsing on the floor, reaching out to me for help like you hadn’t abused me my whole life. I saw the life leave your eyes, so how? How are you here?’
"You should watch your tone dear. You always sound so angry with us.” She simpers, crocodile tears shining in her worm-eaten brown eyes.
I scoff, “All you ever did was hurt me and despite that, I was never angry at you. I was in pain and you put me there! I-"
He moves faster than lightning for a corpse of his size, he cuts off my words gripping my throat with the strength of a boa constrictor.
A strangled gasp escapes my throat as he lifts me up from the ground.
"Mallory." He rumbles. "I thought I taught you not to speak back to your us. Maybe this will refresh your memory."
He squeezes my throat, putting even more pressure. I try to rip his hands away from my throat, I even jam my knife into his hand but he refuses to let go.
I'm running out of air quickly as I dangle uselessly in the air.
'This is it. I'm going to die.'
I feel myself fading as he continues to suffocate me. Just when I'm about to pass out he releases me and I crash painfully into the concrete. My limbs strewn about as if a puppet whose strings had snapped. I gulp the air greedily as I lay on the floor.
"We'll see you again Mallory." They promise in unison.
My last thought was I lay there, on the concrete road. 'They' are going come for me again.' I continue to breathe in and out.
'Maybe I should have killed myself when they died.'
