The Devil's Bride (Book 1)

Chapter 15- First Blood

Cora had decided to spend the day with her older brother. Anything to forget the loss of her father, she had thought to herself as the two paced through the wallowing forests, their heavy boots trudging against the soft crunching leaves on the floor of the woods. Her brother moved ahead, holding the small weapon in his hands, brushing past the branches as they closed in on his face. Cora anticipated their arrival to the location, the misty autumn morning overcasting into the woods. She smiled, the drama from behind had done just as she had hoped- it had stayed behind her. Her father couldn't bother her thoughts now, she had thought, but this story isn't about loss, this is about the road to the one thing you can lose it all to- death.

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She turned her head towards her husband as he took the shovel in his hand, pressing deeper into the earth before him. Jeremy's lifeless body fell collapsed behind the two of them, sealed in a thick grey bag. They were deep in the woods, a small clearing only a few feet wide, where they had planned to bury their latest kill. A few days ago, she had thought Jeremy would always help her, but sadly, nobody in this world can always be trusted, not even her family, not even her husband, sometimes not even herself. Once, she saw the dread and terror in Jeremy's eyes as she drove him away from the strip club, his fidgeting hands controlling his actions. She knew he never truly trusted her, but she preferred to think of everyone she had achieved with him. Soon, she'd kill again, for his memory.

Tears formed in her eyes as her husband lowered his body into the small hole he had dug up for her. If the police found Jeremy's body, they couldn't trace anything back to the true killer. They couldn't trace Jeremy back to anyone, because for all they knew, he was no one to them. He was no one to anyone. The woman thought back to that fateful Thanksgiving, and the vile act she committed. Nobody would be forgiving when she was caught. Nobody would care when she was thrown in prison. Nobody cared for a cold-blooded killer. It was a fact she faces each and every day, when she wakes up with her husband to her side, her hair pressing against his most of the time, and she gazed to the sun hoisted aimlessly in the cerulean sky, her eyes filled with darkness. Darkness so disintegrating in her eyes she fails to see the light. Now, her world is grey and dull, the only people she loves falling into grave misery.

The thump of Jeremy's body at the base of the hole interrupted her thoughts, and she returned her attention to her husband. "What next, baby?" He spoke, winding his hands through hers. 

"I want to visit my father." She spoke, pushing away from her husband after kissing him softly on the cheek. She stepped out of the clearing, brushing past the branches and bushes that leap towards her. Her husband sighed, piling the dirt above Jeremy's body as he dug deeper into the pile of soil beside him, carefully covering the corpse.

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~Flashback~

She lifted her finger from the trigger, releasing the gun from her hands. The small bird flew away, scared from the gun shot moments before. She turned back to her brother, who sat on a small log, sipping from a bottle of water. He laughed, and she stopped smiling, clearly upset from her missed shot. "You didn't help much, Cory!" He laughed once more, moving towards her with the water bottle in his hand, passing it to her once she handed him the small gun. She took a swig of water before watching her brother aim towards a wild hare. He focused his attention to the small creature, squinting as he positioned the gun.

"Rule number one, never lose focus." He pulled the trigger, the bullet firing towards the small hare. He laughed, stepping back and placing the gun down beside the log. He pulled his sister into a tight hug. She smiled, for the first time this morning. Knowing her father was leaving them wrecked her inside, the memories of the family carefree and happy shattering in front of her eyes. Her brother could cheer her up, always, and today was no exception.