A new short story: The Secret Life of Em de Mone
There, standing
next to another elderly gray-haired woman, was Violet with narrow eyes and crossed
arms. “I told you to listen to my warning, and you flipped me off.”
Em ignored her but held out the nightmare scooper. “I found it…it’s all
magic-y…this has to be it.”
“And I have two here,” Granny said.
“Three is the perfect magic number for this,” The older fortune teller
chimed in.
“Em that’s Violet’s granny, Rose,” Granny made a quick introduction and
looked at her friend. “What’s your plan?”
“I brought my medium cauldron, I thought we’d throw the objects in there
and light them on fire, say a bit of a banishing chant and see what happens.”
“Good plan,” Granny said. “Let’s use the Haunted Fun House. I found a
little nook in the corners, not only will it blend in as part of the show, but
the mirrors will let us know if anyone is coming.”
“If anyone is coming?” Em asked.
“Someone took an awful lot of effort to make this happen, I would imagine
whoever initiated the curse is probably going to show up and try to stop us.”
Rose looked over her glasses at Em. “And time’s a ticking, closer and closer to
midnight.”
“Of course,” Em nodded with wide eyes. This was all very new to her.
“Let’s go,” Granny said, winding in and out of the party toward the
Haunted House.
Em cringed as the party goers mixed and mingled, throwing caution to the
wind. Unbeknownst to them, they are all at risk of scooping out their own
eyeballs. She’d seen some pretty horrible stuff, but watching a buff Merman
scoop out his own eye had been in the top three of terribleness in Em’s life.
In a dark corner of the Haunted House, Granny created a mini-magical space
with ease and expertise, it blended right in with the current wacky scenery. Then
they waited.
Em bounced her knee and wrung her hands. She didn’t do well with waiting.
She’d spent her childhood waiting to be adopted, but she’d learned to take care
of herself instead. Waiting wasn’t for her. As nerves and worry crept all
around her, Em concentrated on people watching. There was a young couple in
love, and bunches of friends all here together, and maybe a family. Unsuspecting
people mingled and lingered everywhere. The screams of delighted laughter
reverberated around her. Then there’s was a tug on her fingers, and Violet whispered,
“Do you see that?”
“Wha…” before she could get the one syllable word out, she saw it. Shiny
green eyes. Everywhere. Reflection after reflection after reflection. Endless. “I
know those eyes,” she hissed. Where were they coming from? She had to warn
Granny.
“Come out, come out from wherever you are,” Granny shouted, match drawn,
ready to throw fire into the cauldron and end the whole mess.
“You heard her, dirtbag!” Rose yelled, suddenly wielding a baton of her
own.
Violet inched closer to Em, and they held hands, unprepared for whatever
came next, but expecting just about anything.
The monster grew larger and more menacing. A snarl filled the room. The
mirrors shook.
Em sucked in her breath.
Green Eyes got closer and grimaced. Its hot breath filled the air. It
took a step closer.
Whhffft. A dart hit his leg and he howled. “Aaaargh,”
Whhffft. Another dart. Whhffft. And another.
“Hold it write there! Those are halting darts. Won’t last long for a
creature such as yourself,” Granny yelled. “But it should give you pause.
There’s still time to stop this.”
“And those are just the beginning, pal, I’ve got more where that came from,” Rose stepped up with her dart shooting baton. “Don’t test us.”
Love the picture at the end of Rose with her baton! The opening sets up the action towards the end beautifully, and it is fun to watch Em's awareness keep increasing.
ReplyDeleteThank you! ☺
DeleteI love reading these action packed posts! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are enjoying them. Thank you for stopping by!
DeleteDid I miss the reason why they had to wait before taking action with their plan? Also, what's the reason for the curse make people scoop out their eyes rather than just killing them?
ReplyDeleteThey are waiting as they lure the Monster out. We don't know yet why it's eyeballs, but there is a reason...and it's much more than gore. 😉
Delete