Demon Lovers (Pinhead And Chatterer)

Chapter 14

Julia opens the front door. She is still very nervous, fumbling with the keys. Prudhoe stands beside her. They step inside. Julia closes the door.
Prudhoe gulps. "You know it's not often I...you know..."
Julia turns to him. "There's a first time for everything."
"I suppose that's right."
"You want a drink?" Julia offers.
"I'm already way over my limit. You know it's funny. I feel like I've knows you for years." He approaches her, his gesture made slightly clumsy by the alcohol he's drunk. He kisses her. She presses him off her.
"Oh, come on..." He takes hold of her breast. "It's what you brought me here for, isn't it?"
"Yes." She says nervously. "I think we'd be better off upstairs."
"Oh. Oh, fine."
They both slowly walk up the stairs. Julia opens the attic bedroom door.
"Come in. Make yourself at home."
Julia steps inside. Prudhoe does as he's instructed. He looks around the gothic bedroom, the very large bed as Julia closes the door behind her.
"Big bed."
"That's right."
"Huh?"
"I like a big bed." She tells him. Julia moves towards him. "Why don't you take off your jacket? Your warm."
Prudhoe agrees. "You're right."
Julia slips the knot of his tie. He starts to undress himself.
"Why don't you do the same?" He kisses her cheek.
"Maybe I will."
Prudhoe starts to shed his jacket and trousers, trying not to take his eyes of Julia.
"You know, you're very beautiful." His voice is slightly slurred.
"Am I?"
"You know you are. Loveliest woman I've ever set my eyes on."
Julia smiles.
Prudhoe stops unbuttoning his shirt. "Oh, Christ."
"What's wrong?"
"Too much to drink. I better empty my bladder."
Julia steps out of the way so that he can cross to the door.
"I be a moment." He tells her.
As he moves to the door, she throws a piece of cloth off a hammer, which lies beside the wall. Prudhoe takes hold of the door handle. He turns it, it's stuck.
"The doors stuck."
Before he can turn, she hits him on the back of the head. He doesn't fall, but the blow sends blood down the back of his shirt. To avoid the following blow he stumbles blindly towards the wall but Julia's not going to stop now. He holds the back of his head - dazed, apologetic, pitiful - while she moves towards him.
"Don't... I.... Please... I'm sorry...."
Julia raises the hammer.
"... I... Don't.... Understand...."
Julia strikes him. He slides down the wall, his jaw broken, blood pouring from his face. He twitches. Then the twitching stops.
Julia drops the hammer, and stares down at the body.
"Enough." Frank crawls from underneath the bed and moves towards the body.
"Don't look at me."

Grace sighs as she exited the cubicle toilet. It was passed seven in the evening, she has an hour till her shift was over. Her father would be finishing work soon and be welcomed home with a cooked meal and brandy.
She rolled up her sleeves and twisted the tap. Cold water spluttering in to the sink then flows gently as the temperature of the water gets warm.
As Grace washes her hands, she stares at herself in the mirror. She looked tired, with dark circles underneath her eyes. Kirsty was right, it looked like she was wearing makeup. Around her eyes were a dark blue and in the inner corners looked purple. Her face was pale with whitish gray with no hint of colour to her cheeks or lips.
Grace thought she looked pretty.
The longer she stared, the more she noticed her reflection change.
She froze as she saw Julia's reflection, like a movie, Julia enters her bedroom with a man. She watches him taking off his cloths. Their lips were moving, but she couldn't hear what they were saying. The man went to leave the bedroom.
Grace's eyes widen, her body froze as she watched Julia kill the man with her hammer. A thing crawls from underneath her bed and starts sucking the life out of the dead body.
The room groans, she could hear a bell ringing as the room got hotter.
Grace covered her mouth with a scream. She slowly backed away from the mirror and quickly left the room. Her back hit the counter. Her eyes staring at the toilet door. It closed with a soft click. The sound of the bell stops.
The cinema was closed. Her boss never returned.bshe could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest, she could hear her blood pumping around her body. Tears running down her cheeks.
She tried to think of a logical explanation. Halloween was close. Customers have been playing pranks all day. Maybe this was a prank. Larry knew her boss, maybe this was a prank for her. If it was it worked. She was scared shirtless.
She only had a coffee and breakfast that morning, she didn't have time to get dinner as she was busy. She was tired as well. Maybe she over worked herself. Maybe she needed to eat and drink then sleep. She would feel better after, right?
She was hallucinationing.
With a couple of deep breaths,she moved away from the counter and started cleaning as fast as she could. Lucky she wasn't working in the morning, she needed to sleep.

Julia looks at herself in the mirror. Blood is splattered on her face; her hands are similar stained. She's trembling from head to toe.
She slips off her mustard coloured blouse, and flinging it over the side of the bath. She douses her face, neck and breasts with cold water. Then she stares at her face again, examining it. She can scarcely believe what she's done.
Julia leaves the bathroom and crosses the landing to Grace's bedroom. She opens the door. As she does, Frank retreats from under the bed.
Julia stares at him. Frank's body is fuller now.
She looks at Prudhoe body. A trail of blood leads away from it into the darkness. The body itself is a grotesquely misshapen husk now, the muscles and fat withered, the eyes sunken into the skull, the lips drawn back to expose the gums.
Julia looks across at Frank, who is no longer sitting, but standing.
"Do I disgust you." Asks Frank, his voice sounds more stronger now.
Julia doesn't reply.
Frank stretches his arms into the light. His flesh glistens and pulses.
"See? It makes me while again."
He turns his arm over for her appreciation.
"Every drop of blood you spill puts more flesh on my bones. And we both want that, don't we?"
Julia nods.
"Good. Come here."
She stares, unable to move.
"Come here, damn you. I want to touch you..?"
Still she doesn't move?
"Come to daddy. I only want to touch..." Frank says softly.
Julia takes a step towards his outstretched arm. His fingers touch her face. She steels herself against him. Now, he starts to trace the line of her jaw, stroking her. Now her lips, caressingly.
Suddenly, a sound from downstairs. The front door opens.
"Sweetheart?" Larry calls her.
Julia withdraws from Franks touch.
"Where are you?"
Julia takes a step back, her foot hits Prudhoe body. She quickly wrapped up his body and now lifting it. The body is lighter now, having been drained if nourishment. It's head lolls back and it's dentures drop out, hitting the floor loudly. She freezes? No sound from below. She's back out if the room with her burden?
Frank's arm reaches for the fallen dentures and peers at them. "Who's a pretty boy then?" A soft laugh from underneath the bed.
Julia pushes the door of the junk room, next door to the attic. She lays the body down.
Down stairs p, Larry is looking for Julia. He hears a noise from above. He looks up.
"Julia?"
He slowly makes his way up the stairs. Larry ascends to the top of the stairs.
"Julia?"
"I'm here?" She calls from the bathroom.
Larry leans against the bathroom door.
"Sweetheart... I've been calling you..." He tries the door. It's locked. "Are you alright?"
"Just feel a bit sick."
"Oh, baby..."
Julia still trembling, she sits on the edge of the bath. "I'll be okay. Just leave me be a while."
"Can I get you anything?" Larry asks with worry.
"Maybe a brandy."
"Sure, baby."
"I be down in a minute."
She listens as his footsteps recede down the landing and stairs. Then she crosses to the mirror and tries to erase the sign of panic. She brushes her hair, and puts on a new blouse. That done, she unbolts the door and steps out. She doesn't go downstairs but back into Grace's attic bedroom.
She opens the door. "Frank?" She whispers.
"I'm hurting." He slides from under the bed.
Julia looks at him confused. "Hurting?"
"My nerves are beginning to work again."
"Good."
"One more. Maybe two...."
Julia's face registers no horror at this.
".... To heal me completely. Then we can be away from here, before they come looking."
"Who?"
"The Cenobites. It's only a matter of time before they find I've slipped them. I have to get away from here."
From downstairs. "Julia? Are you alright?"
Julia crosses to the door and calls down. "Just a moment. Put on some music will you, babe?"
"Okay."
She returns to her conversation with Frank. He smirks. "Poor Larry. Obedient as ever."
"Keep your voice down."
Julia closes the door. When she turns around, Frank is in front of her. Suddenly he reaches out and catches the hold on her arm. She gasps in pain.
"Shhh. Don't want babe to hear." He teases.
"Your hurting."
"You won't cheat me will you? You will stay will me? Help me? Then we can be together, the way we were before. We belong to each other now, for better for worse..."
Frank let's her go.
"...like love. Only real."
Julia opens the door and leaves frank behind who smirks with satisfaction.