Friday, October 12, 2012

FLAYED ALIVE...IF YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS... PHILADELPHIA AFTER DARK HAS A LOT OF TRICKS

There was a resonance, a vibration. Edith said the granite counters in the kitchen made a noise. Tomas didn't hear it. Oh, he did feel something, but he did not hear that. Still, it was possible. The huge crystalline discs of Doctor Franklin's Great Armonica made noise... more than noise... They made 'music.' 

Leo and Conrad felt it. It chased them down stairs. Leo's little collection of detailed, metal cars started rolling around on the shelf. He thought it was that ghost kid from the basement. But the ghost kid from the basement swore it wasn't his fault and told him to go to hell. Conrad laughed. He's a real asshole vampire. Likes to see other folks get in arguments. So the ghost kid kicked him in the balls and ran away. He can do that, you know, 'cause he's like a poltergeist. Conrad grabbed his goodie-bag and started moaning. Then everything trembled again. That's when they ran.

Sarah was getting dressed. She liked sleeping downstairs in the 'crypt.' The rose petals made it smell so nice. Black slacks. Black top, usually like a plain, round neck, pull over thing. Long sleeves... You know. It's not that she made a special effort to appear Morticia-like (remember that girl?), but it just seemed so right. It just seemed so practical. Tomas, as you know affected a similar look. She brushed her dark auburn hair, applied a bit of makeup and went upstairs.

Baylah called from her place. She felt it too. Most of the mortals downstairs in the piano bar never felt a thing. The fact that they're drunk might have had something to do with it. But I don't know. 

Mister Never-You-Mind is off tonight. Think he went to the movies. He does that sometimes, especially around the old Celtic New Year. You know, what junky, flea-bitten costume stores call 'Halloween.' He likes the scary  ones...ghosts...zombies..... corps monsters.... He likes them all. So now you got me for a change. Now you got Zebulon. 

Deep down they all know Papa's coming back. He likes making entrances. Remember how he showed up two years ago?... The snow... The quiet... The dark night... The big house in Chestnut Hill. Glengary Road, I think. See? Zebulon remembers. 

They felt it at the derelict furrier's too. You could see little ripples playing out across the blood. Old, plastic, Ronald McDonald, beach bucket was all filled up now. Annie was almost bled dry. But that don't kill a vampire. They got other fluids squishing around inside them... same as people. Blood's just the most favorite.

Bullet holes in her head all healed up. That mafia, pediatrician did a good job. How could he do otherwise? Vampires are fast healers. She wasn't sitting up or talking yet. Only listening. 

Dark, cloudy, 'momma' thing still whispering. Making death seem like a holiday.... Teasing her.... Calling her. Said they'd be together soon. Mafia princlings out in the front room (the old salon, showroom) coming for the bucket. Gonna sell the blood to shot-up gangster fellas. Gonna burn Annie up... One crispy, little vampirina gonna go 'guhk.' (means head gonna flop and she gonna die).

But Papa's coming. All the rats (not too many around here, but some) run up in the trees. Cats run up too, but nobody eating anybody else. They all just sit. They all Just look.

Mafia boys start toting papers into the cold room, old newsprint, boxes anything. Alright, some of it's cardboard, but you know what I mean. Then they dowse it all with acceleratant, like what people squirt on charcoal rocks to make them go BOOM! But before they can pick up the bucket...before they can light the place up, it happens.

A force, a strong concussive wave expands through the space. Combustible material flies all over. Papa makes his entrance. Two spirit hands hoist the mafia princes up off the floor by their necks, as a second wave explodes the clothes from their bodies. Tiny shreds of fabric dance through the air.

The 'momma' thing has prudently vanished. Annie just lays there, but here eyes seem to focus. She sees. She knows.

Then one rather deep cut opens up at the base of the neck on each quivering bad boys. They gasp in pain and agony, as the almost surgical incisions run down their spines before parting to trace twin paths along their ass cheeks and down each leg. Smaller slices up along the scalp and down each arm complete the procedure.  After that, the top portion of the cut, up by their necks, begins to peel apart and open, as their hides roll off from the oozing, bloody, flesh below. The faces come off like masks. Do they scream? Of course. But Papa's power contains all manner of frequencies, so out beyond, on the street silence reigns.

A quickened Annie claps her hands , as she jumps from the table and capers with delight. Three heartbeats later, the happy vampirina gleefully licks up all the blood dripping from her former captives, before biting into the flesh to claim whatever's left.

After she's done, Papa lifts her up and bears her out, just as the flames begin to rise. Someone will collect insurance money after all....

And back at the townhouse, Edith smiles and whispers - Better go wash that little bastid's sheets while I still got time...

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please excuse the late posting. gremlins did something to my net hook up. that company stinks. ask me and I'll tell you. please use the SHARE BAR. please leave a COMMENT. and once again, sorry for the thirteen hour delay. But this is a good one, so kindly tell your friends. Posting time's more convenient too...