Challenge Accepted!
The resulting piece actually fills out some back story for a character in a film I helped make called Codex Noctumbra. You probably don't have to watch the film for it to make sense, but it would certainly be nice if you did. It definitely leaves things open for the story to continue, so watch this space.
Codex Redux
Susan flopped
down on the bed beside me, a mischievous grin on her face.
My reaction was
immediate and instinctive “No.”
She pouted. “But
Trish,” she said stretching the vowel out into a whine. “You
don’t even know what I was going to ask.”
“Your ideas
always end up with me getting in trouble. The answer is no.”
She lay on the
bed in silence for a few minutes, no doubt planning her next attack
run on my sensibilities. I battened down the hatches and raised my
shields.
“You’re my
favourite twin…”
“I’m your
only twin. That’s how it generally works.”
The pout
deepened. “Fine. Don’t come with me. But I’m gonna have a great
time without you. This guy Adam is showing us all sorts of wicked
occult stuff…”
“Come on Susie,
you know I’m not into that stuff. Besides, isn’t it kinda
dangerous?”
“Not when you
know what you’re doing.” Haughtiness and condescension dripped
from her voice. I’d fucked up, and now she was pissed. “And Adam
knows what he’s doing. He’s done this stuff before.”
I sighed. She’d
made up her mind, there would be no stopping her now. “If you’re
sure.”
“I’m sure. Do
you want to come with me? It would be good to have someone
there that I know. Please?”
She looked so
earnest, completely abandoning the serious goth she tried to be most
of the time. I was tempted.
“I’m fine,
thank you. You be careful though.”
“I’ll be
fine. Besides, nothing will go wrong.”
***
Everything had
gone wrong. When the police started talking about chunks I had to
leave the room to throw up and I couldn’t make myself go back in,
not even to support mum. I sat in the hallway shaking and sobbing,
calling out for my baby sister.
I later learned
that she was one of the lucky (ha!) ones. She hadn’t been reduced
to her constituent parts like some of the others. Susan died almost
instantly after some sort of barb pierced her brain. There shouldn’t
have been much pain. Somehow that wasn’t much comfort.
The police had no
idea what had happened. The best theory they could come up with was a
mysterious axe murderer but there was little to no evidence of that.
Whoever—or whatever—had killed my sister and her friends had left
almost to trace behind. I thought the police were wrong.
I struggled with
the guilt for a long time. I should have gone with her, but then I’d
probably be dead too, and mum would be all alone. Just another
mysterious death in an unsolved case. As much as it hurts to live on
without the other half of me, I’m glad I stayed home.
I never believed
in the occult nonsense Susan was into. Not until she died. I think
they summoned something that night, something that was stronger than
they were and it tore them apart for their arrogance.
One day, I’m
going to find whatever did this, and kill it.
