Phantom Bride

Chapter 1- The Invitation

I stepped over the crimson river of my mother's blood, making sure to not nudge her lifeless body as I made my way towards the exit of the warehouse. My father lay next to her, impaled with splintering wood and still almost as warm as life. I picked a sliver of wood out of my finger and frowned at it.

"I'm sorry".

Those were my parents last words to me. Awful last words, wouldn't you say?

Not "I love you", or "I'll always be with you". Nope, too mainstream. No, essentially my parents used their dying breath to tell me that they had failed me and that they wished to absolve themselves and make themselves feel better before they left me alone in this world. How considerate.

Maybe that's the grief talking, placing blame on them for all that I don't understand to sublimate my feelings, channeling loss and the inability to cope into blah blah...

But that's just it... I. Don't. Understand. What happened?

I stepped out into the misty morning air, breathing in the slightly spicy musk of a forest sunrise and feeling a deep loneliness set in. A brilliant orange began to burn the murky skies that had been my last night of innocence, amber sunlight just barely breaking over the pine tree filled horizon. Crimson lit clouds dripped like blood drops from the flaming horizon. I watched as the day creeped closer and closer, gaining life as the sky transitioned to a deep cerulean. The macabre gore of the sunset suddenly turned my stomach and I wanted to run back into the darkness, but I couldn't face what was back inside the warehouse again. Now I knew something lurked in the shadows.

I set down the now empty oil drum, wiping the rust off my hands and crunching across the dusty gravel to the car. Flames licked the sky, melting into the fiery sunrise just as I hit the edge of the road. The car still smelled of metallic, coppery blood.

"Ms. Cameron? Are we straining your patience?" A sniveling voice pried into my sleep deprived mind. I shot straight up in my cold, college blue chair, brushing some wavy dirty blonde hair out of my eyes and shaking my head. Instead of the fierce majesty of that sunrise of the worst day of my life, my eyes were met with the boring muted colors of my Sociology lecture hall. The whole class was turned towards me, eyes half closed in exhaustion and lips turned up at this first bout of excitement the whole lecture so far. Glad to provide some entertainment for you. My pleasure. I cleared my throat and glanced at a few of the open books around me, fixing my hair and sneaking a peek at the board. Deviance. Okay.

"Oh no, I'm sorry Professor Jacobson. I was just trying to understand where deviance becomes illicit behavior in regards to morality. This particular slide, while it makes sense to me, kinda threw me off and I just can't piece it together." I clearly projected, surprising half the class and gaining a few double glances. I might not have been listening, but this is Final Exam review day. Yeah, big shocker. I've studied.

The Professor didn't look very impressed, just crossing his arms over his chest and tucking his chin down to look at me with expectant disappointment. He reminded me of a sly fox, cackling at the poor rabbit that was about to step into the hunter's trap meant for the fox. Not only would he evade capture, but he'd get an easy meal out of it too. His eyes glittered and he leaned forward ever so slightly, looking like he was ready to pounce any second. Geez, you're creepy. Glad I'm almost done with you.

"Care to share an example, Ms. Cameron? I'm sure the whole class could benefit; there might be another student stuck in the same place you are." He opened his arms up wide and leaned against his desk.