THIRD PERSON
His body was still collapsed on the wooden floor, and the two huddled above him, their eyes locking on the corpse in front of them. The woman moved slightly forward, pursing her lips as she overlooked the man's dead body. "What do we do with him, darling?" The woman caressed her husband's palm with her fingers, his eyes frozen on the still fixture of the man. He didn't move, he was dead. The woman leaned down towards him, tracing her fingers against his skin as she moved towards his face. The smile he once had had drifted away, and he remained frozen in position, his eyes wide open, his mouth closed shut. She traced her fingers towards the man's lips, her short nails clawing against his skin.
"We bury him later. First, we destroy the evidence. Clean this place, leave nothing behind. Clean him, leave no evidence of who he is. Then, we'll separate and I'll meet you later tonight." Her husband sighed, knowing this man before them was just another victim in their spread of disease and betrayal. He still couldn't decide if what he was doing to help his wife was correct, whether killing the innocent truly did revitalize their thirst for revenge. He had agreed to help her, but he had never known where she would take this. When they met all those years ago- however many it had been- he had thought she was just a girl who lost her love and wanted to find sanctuary with someone else, but she drove him further, and she began her rampage, spreading death through this town. Now he had to help her cover up yet another death, and in his heart, he wanted to escape. The man moved closer towards the exit, turning back for a moment to admire the woman's complexion. He smirked, folding his arms.
The woman turned towards him after closing the man's eyes. She began to stand, moving carefully around the corpse before them. "We will bury him later, then." She locked eyes with the dead man, studying him once more. Had she been foolish in believing he would have helped her? She wasn't too sure, but his foolishness had killed him, and she desperately needed to delve away from the past. She always did, and she hated the fact that the past will haunt you. Her past was the epitome of a ghost, and the misery drove her crazy. It had all began with her brother.
She was 23- let's call her Cora- and she had returned home for Thanksgiving to see her parents, her two brothers and her sister. The first day had gone perfectly, as she spent time with her mother and sister, cooking, shopping and enjoying the presence of the one woman she had admired for most of her childhood growing up. That night, however, as she crouched beside her father at the fireplace, he began to mutter some choice words about the family, and she could see the cracks in the family line glistening under the flame of the stoked fire. Her father, this man built strong from his own father, was scattering away from the woman she had thought was the love of his life, and in that moment, she thought about how her own life was currently. She had finished university, she found a man that loved her and she loved him, but would their relationship end in a painful divorce? Would she spend her Thanksgivings huddled by the fire, muttering to her own children about the lost love she shared with her husband? Her father sighed, moving away from his daughter and planting himself in his old recliner. She remembered the way he looked at her, obviously a mirrored version of her mother, and sighed once more, angered by the marriage he was confined to. By now, they have divorced, only fragments of the memories once shared by their family.
The next day, she expected another tragic occurrence with her father, but as she walked into the family's shared living room, he was no longer sitting alone in his recliner. Her mother clasped her cold hands around the girl's shoulders as she moved into the room, awaiting her father to ask for his morning coffee. She had known something was wrong, of course, because her father had not been his usual self as of yet. Her mother confirmed that he had left early that morning for a 'holiday' to his relatives across the country, and her world began to crumble before her eyes. Tears formed on her cheeks, her mind enthralled in a messy tangle of deceit and misery. She had known he might never come back. He never did.
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.
For the rest of the morning, he taught her how to hunt, and she couldn't have been more glad to be away from the house that shared the memories of her father. She couldn't have asked for a better way to spend the frosty morning other than with her brother in the deep woods. However, that was not the end for her, and as she trudged along the dirt smudged bare floor of the forest, she reminded herself of the world she woke up to, the memories of her father shattered, the moment she had spent with him the night before. She remembered something more, too. She needed to talk to him one more time. She had a few final words before he left her for better or for worse.
She needed to kill her father. End of story.
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~Present Day~
She shivered above his grave, white clouds still blanketing the fine blue sky. The trees faded away into a large open space used for a graveyard, the expansive lines of tombstones looming closer to her. She held the single white rose in her hand, pressing lightly onto it as she bent down to place it at the centre of the grave head.
Behind her, a man paced towards her, clenching his fingers as he too held a rose in his palm. He froze, his thoughts lying on the girl before him. Inching closer, step by step, he reached her and stood beside her. "You came." He spoke, filling her ears with déjà vu as she smiled, placing her arm around his masculine shoulders.
"Of course I did, Cory. I still loved him." She whispered, turning her head towards her brother's. The sun was beginning to set as the two spoke in front of their father's grave.
"I didn't doubt that until you killed him." He shivered slightly as he stepped down to place the single white rose, frowning as he reread the inscription one more time. He moved back to his position beside his sister, smiling and wrapping his fingers around the top of her back, a warm embrace. The two stood beside each other, once more overlooking their father's grave, the simplicity yet intricacy of the engraved stone, the two roses crossed over each other. The family never had a wide expanse of money, but luckily he- their father- had enough stored in his save fund to fund the funeral and purchase a coffin and tombstone. If he could see what his hard worked for cash has bought, he'd be distraught. "He still would have liked this." Her brother smiles, pressing his palm on her back as the silence filled the air around them once more, the presence of the two of them hollowing the air.
"I regretted it everyday, you know that. It was a mistake that changed my life, Cody." She spoke, continuing. "Please, this disease won't stop spreading." Tears began to form in her eyes. She swallowed as she collapsed to the floor, reminded of the past she was desperate to escape. Killing her father, killing anyone, took its toll on a person, and she was never meant for this life. She knew her brother was responsible for all of this all those years ago.
"What disease, Mara? You killed our father. That was your choice, your stupid freaking choice!" He stepped backwards, raising his voice. "I didn't infect you because I wasn't infected. I don't kill humans." He froze, lowering his voice as he spoke the last word. His cold breath huffed another breath, and he locked eyes with his sister. He began to speak once more, but she cut him off, opening her mouth to speak. She brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes as she spoke.
"Nobody calls me that anymore." She spat, turning away from her brother and beginning to walk away from him. He stops her, pressing his palm against her shoulder. She spins around, snickering. The trees surrounding the graveyard seem to collapse as she stares around towards them, the tears still formed in her eyes. "I didn't mean to continue killing humans." She mumbled on the last word, her throat beginning to tinge from the length of speaking she's faced.
"What do they call you then, sis?" He smirked, the girl turning around to stare back at him. She smiled, turning her head towards the bare ground floor beneath her. She thought about the names she had been called every time her name flashed over the news. The Devil's Bride. Persephone, queen of the underworld. All the names she had been called, the world searching aimlessly for her demise. The police officers rifling through evidence with no leads. The interested investigators searching the wide wide web for anything to lead them to her. Nobody had found her yet, and they won't find her now.
"Watch the news. Read a newspaper. My name is scattered in lights, in words, in articles over the town, even in the city. Then you'll know my name. It's everywhere, but not Mara Ludgate." The woman frowned, pursing her lips. Once, when the world had been simpler, she has been Mara Ludgate, a girl with nothing else but her family and big broad dreams that shattered the moment she killed her father.
"I've heard about your killings, Persephone. You're a new legend. Recently, the town has been driven mad over your...obsession with death." He sighed, stepping closer to his sister. "Mara, don't go too far." He smirked, stepping back and crunching leaves below his feet. His voice lowered, and he began to murmur once more. "Don't go too far." He smirked, stepping away from the grave.
She stopped him with her voice. "Cody, wait." She grinned as he turned back towards her, running his fingers through his dark brown hair. He flashed a small smile, turning back towards his sister. "I'm sorry about father. I'm sorry about everything I could have done to hurt you." He frowns, lowering his eyebrows. She purses her lips, the smirk disappearing from her lips as she stepped closer towards him. "I don't enjoy killing."
Her brother froze. "Don't lie to me." He snapped, stepping closer towards the woman. He smirked, brushing back his dark brown locks of hair. "I know the truth, Mara. You kill for fun." His fingertips crossed over his sister's forehead as he brushed the loose strands of hair away from her eyes. "Don't make me have to reveal the truth, Mara." The man stopped, moving his palm to his waist. He gasped in pain. Behind him, the woman's husband appeared, holding the small blade in his hand. Tears traced her cheeks as she watched her brother collapse to the floor in pain. Her own fingers laced around the blade in her pocket.
She didn't want to risk her brother revealing the truth to the town. Her name needed to be kept hidden for as long as she needed to seek the ending she wanted. To end everything she wanted to end. She removed the blade from her pocket, lacing her fingers around the silver frame. She stepped towards the brother who once taught her how to hunt, and she cried single tears as she bent down to squat beside him. "I'm so sorry, Cody. I'll miss your laugh. I'll miss your sense of direction. I'll miss your lies." She raised the knife, frowning as the tears caressed her cheek. The blade slipped into his skin. "Goodbye, brother." His eyes closed as she ripped the blade from beneath his flesh.
She had killed the man who created her seek for death. Her need for death.
She had killed her brother.
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~Flashback~
The man collapsed to the floor, the gunshot wound caving in as he slowly drifted into death. She began to walk towards him, watching him collapse to the ground in gasping pain. She stepped towards his outstretched hand, pressing hard on his pale fingers. He screamed in pain, turning to see his attacker. He froze, scared for his impending death and shocked at who had shot him. His daughter. He opened his mouth to speak, a weak mumble. "Why did you do this, Mara?"
"You're divorcing my mother. You lied to us. You hate us. I couldn't let you get away with it." He froze, his eyes glistening as the blood drained from his body. He was dying. Slowly, but surely, he was dying, and she was...proud. Killing her father, something she would never have done before, felt surreal, and for now, she thought her family wouldn't break down due to the pending divorce. For now, she didn't need to wire about suffering. Had she ever loved her father? That was doubtful. Her father spoke one last word before he drifted off to the heavens.
"Mara..." He slipped into the painless grip of death and she said goodbye to his soul as he floated aimlessly towards the clouds in the sky.