Horror 100 Volume 2

Baby Stupid

It lay there, fat and sluglike. It's skin was flushed red and overheated. The arms and legs were nothing but cylindrical rolls of fat with no defining muscle or shape. Its face was twisted now, screaming with mindless fury, the mouth open in a wet gaping red maw.

Louise's father nudged her with an elbow. She glanced up at his cheerful face.

"What do you think of your little sister?"

He stared at the baby proudly. Louise looked at him, then back at the baby, and frowned, considering her answer. She had a thin serious face, brown hair cut in a page boy, and horn rimmed glasses.

"I think we ought to take it to the river and drown it," she said finally.

"Louise!"

She ignored his shock, staring at the baby. She scratched her nose and held out a hand to her father.

"I'm hungry. Give me a dollar for the vending machine."

He gave her the dollar and she walked away.

*

"It's not normal."

"Of course it's normal. Good grief, it would be abnormal if she didn't feel some jealously."

Marie sighed and went and lay down on the bed. Home at last. If she didn't move for the next hundred years, that would be just fine.

John had begun unpacking her clothes, still pacing around with nervous energy.

"It doesn't seem like jealousy," he insisted. "Anyway, she's too cold about it."

Marie closed her eyes, placing her hands on her belly. It was going to take at least six months to get rid of this excess weight. Maybe more. She debated the pros and cons of being fat and decided it wouldn't be so bad. It wasn't as if she had made a living out of being a fashion model or anything. Besides, once you had a child you weren't considered fat; you were matronly.

"It's just her way," she said finally. "You know that. Louise is a real child not a Disney character. Good for her. Personally, clingy kids annoy me to no end. They remind me of Rhesus monkeys."

"I'm not worried because she's not affectionate," John said, though privately he had worried about that. "I'm worried because she's not just jealous of the baby: she hates the baby. With no reservations."

"Well...." Marie rolled over on her side and curled up to get more comfortable. "She'll get used to her. One way or the other."

John shrugged, not knowing how to answer. The discussion seemed to be over. He glanced at his wife.

"Do you want an extra blanket?" he asked solicitously.

"No thanks, hon. Would you mind, though...sleeping in the guest room? I'm exhausted."

"No problem."

*

"I hate you. I hope you die. You can fool everyone else, but you can't fool me."

Louise paused, staring at the baby. The sun had gone down earlier, but there was still enough twilight slipping in around the sides of the venetian blinds for her to be able to make out most of the baby's features. It was awake, simply watching her with that flat strange gaze. Babies were supposed to be innocent, but there was nothing innocent in this baby's eyes. It wasn't necessarily evil, just...alien.

Whatever it was, Louise hated it. She wanted to put it under her shoe and crush it.

She glanced quickly towards the door to make sure neither of her parents were coming. The house was perfectly still. She and the baby were the only two creatures in existence.