Chills & Thrills Anthology

Partners in Crime | His Better Halves

The following is a winning entry from our Partners in Crime contest. Congratulations to our winner!

The full list of winning entries can be found here.

  

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PROMPT

The biggest and baddest crime duo you never expected (or totally expected) are teaming up together against the forces of evil (or good). What could go wrong? In no more than 1000 words, write an original scene where either:

A) The most unexpected duo become partners in crime against the forces of good.  

B) The most expected duo part ways and the world is left wondering who will stop the forces of evil.

  

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His Better Halves

by ab_8643

  

Apparently signing the divorce papers was not the end of Jenna Walsh's relations with her ex-husband. Something Jenna had come to realise as she stood face to face with her replacement - one Kayla Matthews, the new wife. Anguish tainted the beguiling facial features of the woman who had tempted her husband, and thereby ruined their 13 year relationship. And now the woman who ruined Jenna's life was begging for Jenna's help. Tired from her long shift at the hospital Jenna's only desire was to slam the door in the younger woman's face.

Kayla's lips quivered in feeble attempts of speech as she stretched her arm toward Jenna, her knuckles white as she tightly gripped her phone in her hand. Squinting, Jenna finally understood Kayla's disgruntled appearance. The glare from the screen trembled in Jenna's shaking hands as she took the phone from the mute woman in front of her.

Air left Jenna's body. Pictured on the phone, like an art piece, was the dismembered left ring finger of Jenna's ex-husband, scars left behind from his tattoo removal made visible from the glaring light of the camera flash. The finger swam in a pool of its own blood. Kayla's phone jumped in Jenna's hand, sending a jolt of anxiety through her body, an unknown number declared: "you have been warned - time is ticking my dear...", another notification: "47 Halo Street - don't be late ;)

Jenna dragged Kayla into the warmth of her house, where she pushed Kayla into a chair. Tears raining from her eyes, Kayla told Jenna of all that her husband had done - what the man Jenna once vowed to love, had done. Suddenly, a wave of understanding engulfed Jenna, threatening to drown her, as a gasp left her dry lips and she too found herself sat down. It was all too much for the pair to even begin to conceive - the harsh reality ensnared the two women tight in its coils.

It dawned on them that despite the distaste, the hate, the contempt, they held for each other - they were one in the same. They had both been deceived by the well fabricated lies that their husband had deftly woven, trapping them, the innocent flies, in his web of mendacity.

Everything made sense now.

The picture of a dismembered finger was now imprinted in Jenna's brain, as much as she loathed herself for it, Jenna found herself willing to do anything to guarantee the safety of the man who stole her heart - but never gave it back. So, Jenna sat with bated breath, like an arrow poised waiting to be set aflight, as she listened to Kayla. Kayla had had specific instructions that needed to be followed.

At exactly 3:14am of the same night, Jenna and Kayla arrived at their destination. Determination painted their features as swiftly, simultaneously, they unbuckled the seatbelts, the belts swinging backwards like a serpent sniping at its prey. The sound echoed in the small vehicle, the only sound other than their erratic heartbeats.

It was time.

Leaning into the back of the vehicle with trembling hands Kayla picked up the black bag, the bag that had been left for them at the address. Inside were two sets of 'accessories' one red and one black, along with two handguns. A white scrap of paper flew out from the bag, an elegant font shaping the letters - a juxtaposition to what the letters formed. Kayla delicately pressed the black garments onto Jenna's lap before placing the red mask over her head, hiding her blonde hair, before slipping the rough red fabric over her hands, tugging at the wrists securing the snug fit. Kayla watched as Jenna did the same.

Quietly closing the car doors behind them the two women walked forward, intertwining their lives forever while solidifying their path to Hades' kingdom. Using Jenna's ID badge the pair walked through the hospital, dodging any signs of humanity. Following the specific orders that had been left to them, they steadily walked towards room 666 - where their conjoined fate would meet them. Reaching the room, Jenna tentatively opened the door noticing the man, their target, sleeping in his bed, face tainted purple and blue.

Guilt engulfing her conscience Jenna grasped the hospital notes in her hand, placing the gun in her coat pocket. The man - Oscar Graham - had been badly beaten with extensive internal injuries - survival was not a certainty. The men holding her ex-husband were not going to take that chance Jenna realised, as she disabled the monitors attached to their prey.

Jenna's eyes met Kayla's and with a firm nod in her direction, Kayla added pressure to the trigger - the force sending her backward. The bullet passed through the hospital gown as it was swallowed by his discoloured flesh. The women watched stupefied as red drowned the gown wrapped around his body. Kayla trembled at the sight - of what her actions had caused. But their struggle was not over.

Bullets flew through the air embedding themselves into human flesh or forcing themselves through the plaster of the walls. Target practice was not how they spent their mornings... normally. Screams bashed against the walls of the building. Muffled sobs - a serenade.

Jenna and Kayla shot randomly with no care of the rooms occupants - holding the power of a God, choosing who lived and who died. Bodies of the hospital staff, Jenna's colleagues, fell to the floor. This is what had been asked of them, the note haunted Jenna as the two walked in the direction of the back door, "...make it look random". Shooting at anymore who walked past them, like the callous murderers they had become, the two women fled the scene. Speeding home in the safety of Jenna's car there was no remorse, only one thought: was it enough?

It was known that what transpired between the pair that night would never be spoken of again...