Antlers

Prelude

You are powerful enough to rip wings off of butterflies
Great enough to tear the legs away from a spider's soft body
You are strong enough to change a life forever
Do not be afraid
For when they speak to you
They are afraid of you
So never be afraid

~*~

The bride was stunning.

She was clad entirely in white, from her veil to her shoes. The color mirrored the flower on the groom's lapel, a sweetly scented white rose, the soft petals faint against the white of the suit, which would have been perfect save for the blood the spattered every inch of it, the groom's lapel soaked through with red from a neck that had been cleanly sliced open. It was sputtering blood all over the bride's still, pale, sickly face, cheeks sunken in and purpling as the rot and decay of death gradually stole away her beauty on her most special day.
Unable to move or even think, James Degray could only stare, stunned, at the mockery of a wedding before him. His fist was clutching a piece of paper so tight it nearly tore, the neatly printed card bending and twisting in his hand.  James tried to get some air into his lungs, steadfastly ignoring the soft murmur of people around him who had slunk in from the night completely uncaring of their tardiness. They barely spared a glance in the direction of the bride and groom, whose heads were now slackening from their loose hold on the necks where they had once sat so firmly, the sinews stretching and straining to the limit in order the keep the heads from falling off and rolling away. James felt sick. Sick of this place and to his stomach.
He barely registered the sound of a woman's voice next to his ear, whispering softly.
"I know that you're new to the town, so I hope that you don't mind that we invited you to my daughter's wedding! But you must know how it is here, like we say, we all preach kindness and hospitality!"
She fondly patted the shoulder of his suit and he distantly felt the pressure on his skin, tingly like his entire arm had fallen asleep. The paper in his hand fell to the floor while the preacher began the ceremony.

Jeffery Dale Hawks and Hannah Lynn Bridget request the honor of your presence at their marriage on Saturday, the second of November at six o' clock in the evening
Father's Church
5673 Little Avenue
Narrow Ways, Virginia
It is promised to be a celebration of new beginnings and old memories.
A collection of lives lived.

James shuddered, and the mother of the bride patted his shoulder softly, probably assuming that he was overcome with emotion.
"There, there, I know it can hurt to see them grow up so fast, after all she's only twenty! But that's just how we do things here..."
Suddenly, she grabbed his entire forearm with one fragile looking hand and yanked him down to hiss in his ear, sickly yellow teeth on display as the crowd cooed at the bride and groom. Their heads had finally come off, and the pastor was playing with them like dolls, pushing their lips together.
"You had better get used to it."

And not for the first time, James bit his tongue to keep from screaming.

He wanted to go home.

He wanted to go home.

He wanted to go home.

The preacher smiled at him, all yellow teeth and stretched lips, and he got the sinking feeling that his wish was to be denied.

~*~

Eliza bit into the leftover pizza slice, tugging and tearing into the almost rock solid crust with an animal-like viscousness in her attempt to get the week old foodstuff to last for just one more dinner.
As she finally got a piece to tear off she set about chewing it, feeling much like a dog with a rawhide bone. Grinding her teeth as hard as she could as she attempted to appease her stomach, she looked down at her feet when something cold brushed her leg. Her large German Shepherd mix was currently sitting at her heels, the one ear he had pointed in her direction, the little scars on his face stretched in a doggy grin.
"I'd offer you some," she said in a loud voice so that he could hear her, gesturing to the pizza, "but I don't want you to die."
The dog cocked his head in a puzzled gesture, and she spoke again.
"It's bad. Not for dogs." She explained, waving the solid slice in the air. "It's barely for humans," she mumbled.
Discouraged, the dog loped away, collar jingling as he flopped down on the nest of blankets and pillows in the corner that was his bed.
"Aw, c'mon boy, don't be like that," she said as he rolled over so that his back was to her, resting his head on his paws and clearly giving her the cold shoulder.
"Alright, what if I-" she stopped in her tracks when she realized that if she offered him a treat in recompense for denying him a piece of some questionable pizza, she would have to go upstairs to get them from where she had set them on her dresser. The problem with that was that her mom was upstairs with some guy, fucking.
Sighing, she stood up from where she had crouched down to beseech the dog to forgive her and walked into the dining area of the small home they lived in. Opening the fridge, she reached in and pulled out a leftover piece of grilled chicken.
She let out a loud whistle.
"Hey, hey Jack c'mere boy! I have something for you!"
Soon enough she heard the familiar lopsided tap-tap of the big dog's claws on the hardwood, and finally the mottled brown mutt came into view, greedily sniffing about her fingers before snagging the treat in one bite and beginning to search for more.
"Ah, ah! No more." She gently bumped him away from the fridge, and after she pulled out a small carton of chocolate milk, she closed the door.
Huffing, Jack nosed her leg while Eliza stuck the straw into the little container with maybe a little too much force as she turned her head to where the stairs where. Moans poured down the hallways along with no shortage of vulgar language, the thudding of the floor not stopping either.
Groaning, she set the milk down and clasped her hands over her ears, hating the steady stream of noise that flowed through the previously quiet house. Jack laid his head on her feet and rolled over so that his belly was exposed, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. She responded by face planting into his belly. They stayed like that for awhile. The noise died down and the thudding stopped, and only then did Eliza look up.
It was even darker outside and the pizza she had stuck in the microwave was cold once more. She considered the slice as she scratched Jack's belly, aware of his leg going wild in the air.
She reached for the slice and with a well aimed hurl, she threw it into the trash. No sense in eating that, really.
A few minutes later, her mom came downstairs clad in nothing but a pair of a man's boxers, long, dark, and straightened hair a mess and fluttering about her dark skin. Her brown eyes danced in content. The guy came down a minute or so later, mousy brown hair plastered to his face with sweat and nearly pink from exertion. He was also still naked.
Her mom seemed startled to see her.
"Oh! Eliza..." she trailed off awkwardly, glancing at the guy with some trepidation. She turned to him. "Jason this is my daughter, Eliza, she was just heading out the door, right?"
Eliza frowned.
"No, I just got home an hour ago. Why would I be leaving?"
Jason raised an eyebrow at her, and for some reason Eliza felt the need to just hide away.
"Well, your mother and I have been busy see, so maybe you'd like to duck out and give us a little more time alone?"
Eliza pursed her lips and sighed. It was freezing outside, snow fluttering down from the sky. It was dark too, the sun setting earlier now that it was winter.
"I'll walk the dog."
Jack, for one, looked thrilled. Her mother did too, turning to the guy with coy eyes and waving her hand at Eliza to get her to leave.
Eliza was on her way out the door when a hand fell on her shoulder and she nearly jumped out of her skin. Turning, she saw Jason, now wearing her mother's pink robe and looking utterly ridiculous.
"I just remembered," he said, smiling. He carefully pushed something into her hands, and when she looked down from where her eyes had been focused on the frills of lace around his neck she saw a roll of wadded up twenty dollar bills cradled in her right palm.
"Take a nice long walk, ok?" He grinned at her, straight teeth under thin pale pink lips glinting slightly. She nodded wordlessly, and Jack was getting restless as he turned around and paced in front of the door. Jason had stood back some, and she let a soft breath in relief. He was still staring at her though, and she felt his gaze burn her.
"You're Degray's daughter!" The realization hit him then, and he was grinning that same straight toothed grin again. Peering closely at her, she could tell that he was picking out all the looks that she must have gotten from her father.
Instead of her mother's long, straight, black hair she had her father's thick mane of deep brown curls. She was darker than her mother was, with lighter brown eyes that bordered on gold in the right light. It didn't help that she had none of her mother's height either.
"What grade are you in now?" He asked, eyes still rapt on Eliza's face.
"Eleventh." She mumbled.
He let out a low whistle.
"Well, you're just sprouting up huh?"
She opted not to respond, unsure as to whether or not that was a question he wanted answered.
After a drawn out silence, she heard her mother call out from upstairs.
"Jason! Are you coming?"
He smiled.
"I will be!"
She laughed and Eliza promptly turned on her heel, Jack eagerly wagging his tail as she opened the door. It was opened just a crack, when Jason abruptly slammed it shut, looking down at her with sharp blue eyes. He smiled again, and this time it was not the same grin, but rather a thin-lipped fox-like smile that stretched his face.
"Should you see him anytime soon, do tell him that his wife is in excellent hands."
Then, just like that, he was gone and the two of them were out the door, Jack letting out a string of happy barks and snapping at snowflakes and Eliza found herself grateful for the cold that soothed her face and ears that burned in anger.
They set off down the side walk on a very, very long walk.

~*~

The early Christmas lights were beautiful, bright specks of color that served as a guide to help her make her way back home. The walk was originally intended to be longer, but as the snow came down heavier and the wind picked up Eliza cut it short, consequences be damned. Jack had calmed down greatly, long tail wagging back and forth at a steady pace as he walked some ways ahead of her, the blue leash sagging between them.
As it were, the weather was quickly getting too intense for Eliza to see properly, and she was wishing that she had Jack's warm coat of fur as she bundled into herself, trusting her dog's senses to get them home.
Her fingers were stiff and her teeth were chattering so badly that she had had to clench her jaw to keep them from cracking when she finally saw her house.
She saw the neighbor's Christmas lights, and then she saw the police car lights that blazed in red and blue around her house.
The neighbor's few scattered decorations were the kind that sung awful Christmas music is broken, tinny voices, so as Eliza broke into a run upon seeing the cops milling about her doorway, the strained tune of "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" provided a backtrack to her footsteps as they crunched in the snow.
She reached the house and they wouldn't let her in.
"No,no,no! My mom is in there! What happened? Is she ok? Was there a break-in? Was it-"

The cop was a great deal bigger than she was, at least six feet tall and while he was rather heavy set, he had more than enough strength to keep her five foot two inches and one hundred thirteen pounds of worry-driven fury away from the door. He set her down and looked at her face.
"We got a call about thirty minutes ago, and we wanted to come and check with you family. Have you heard from your dad of late?"
She blinked.
"Yes, he called a few weeks ago. He wanted to make sure that I was still coming up to meet him this weekend...why?"
The cop pursed his lips and jerked his gaze away, blond hair flopping beneath his hat as he turned from side to side as if he was looking for escape. 
"Shit, I don't want to have to be the one to tell you this..."
He still had both of her shoulders in a firm grip, and she wanted to wriggle and squirm her way out of his touch. The cop looked back down at her and nervously began-
"Well, listen kid-"
"That will not be necessary."
A new voice cut in, low and soft yet still firm enough to belong to someone in authority.
Turning, Eliza saw a woman, tall and very slender, clad in a dark pantsuit with her greying blond hair pulled back into a bun.
She bent over to show Eliza her badge.
"Detective Inspector Cristo, I'll take this from here officer."
The officer looked relieved.
"Yes ma'am." He let go of Eliza and walked away.
The woman turned back to Eliza, her sharp, angular features catching the light and sending shadows over her eyes so that Eliza couldn't see them. Her features softened only slightly, and Eliza supposed that that might have been the warning for the news she received next.
"Eliza, I regret to inform you that your father is dead. He passed about a week ago. And, well, the only reason that we know this is..."
She trailed off, and before she could begin again Eliza's mother burst from the house held by two medical officials, completely hysterical.
"A hand! His hand! They sent me his hand!" She was shrieking at the top of her lungs, eyes wide and bulging as she thrashed about in the official's arms. Jason was lingering in the doorway, face pale and eyes watery as he followed her mother with his gaze. He saw Eliza and mouthed "I'm sorry" at her.
The detective nodded somberly.
"We know that he is dead because, well, just half an hour ago, a truck passed by here and delivered this."
She brought out a box from behind her back.
In her later years, Eliza would look back on this exact moment with some hatred. This was the moment after all, the moment that sparked a fuse that burned along a trail of madness. This was the moment that would warp her mind forever.

In the box alongside a collection of photos depicting her father's hanging body, was her father's bloody right hand, the fingers broken and skin lacerated.

As her vision blacked over and she fell to the ground, she was faintly aware of that same broken Christmas decoration from her neighbors lawn chanting out one verse of a familiar tune.

'And a happy new year'
'And a happy new year'
'And a happy new year...'