The Plague Doctor ©

N e w • S t a r t

Cori watches the scenery rush by as the car cruises down the highway through Keld, Maine to the rural countryside that holds the Andersons' new home, "Are we almost there? We've been traveling for five days." She whines as she pets her loyal Australian Shepherd, Sammy. The blue merle dog lays his head in her lap.

"We're almost there, Cor." Shale, one of her moms, smiles as she looks behind her at her daughter.

While Jane has delicate white skin with long, wavy honey-colored hair; Her wife, Shale, has beautiful chocolate skin with curly, thick black hair. Janes' daughter, Cori, has tan skin with a lovely hinting of red, piercing green eyes with ember flakes and brown hair with golden highlights.

"You said that yesterday," Cori growls as she looks back out the window, watching the trees pass, mixing, turning into a moving smear.

"Yeah, but we're in the town now." Jane chuckles from the drivers' seat, pointing to a sign that reads, Keld, Maine. Population: 60.

As Cori watches the large, wooden sign pass, her eyes land on a figure in a black cloak, a hood pulled over his head, and a strange mask on his face, "Wonder where he's going, Halloween was months ago." She mutters as Sammy pokes his head up and growls, "You don't like the sight of that either?" The young girl chuckles as she puts in her earbuds and listens to Daylight's Dimming by Life Awake. Cori lets the song lul her to sleep.

She is awoken by the car slowly pulling to a stop; rubbing her eyes, Cori looks over to the two-story house.

"Isn't it quaint?" Jane says as she gets out of the driver's seat.

Cori rolls her eyes as she gets out and lets Sammy jump out of the car, "It looks like every other goddamn house here." She groans.

"Hey! Watch the attitude miss!" Shale snaps her head to her step-daughter; when Shale's eyes land on Cori, her eyes and voice soften, "We know you left a lot of friends back in LA, but your great-grandma is sick; she desperately needs us."

"How come I've never met this grandma?" Cori questions to her mothers as she grabs her bags from the trunk and carries them into the house.

"Seems like the movers already dropped everything off," Jane smiles as she walks into the new household.

"Don't change the subject, mom!" Cori growls out, following her moms into the two-story house.

Sammy runs up the stairs in a hurry, "Why can't you be more like Sammy, Cor?" Shale uses her head to point to the stairs the blue Merle dog just ran up, "He's excited to be here."

"Well, Sammy didn't leave friends back in Cali." Cori rolls her eyes as she walks up the stairs to her new room, following the dog.

Once at her door, she hears the dog growing, "Sammy?" She questions as she slowly opens the bedroom door.

Sammy is standing in the middle of the room growling at the mattress that has yet to be placed on a bed frame, "What's wrong, boy?" Cori ruffles his head. Before long, she notices a strange mask sitting on her dresser, "Guess this must be one of the moms ' collectibles'."

The worn, leather mask is rusty-brown, with empty, soul-taking eyes and a long, almost raven-like beak. The tip is stained with a thick, aged, crimson-brown substance.

Cori carefully picks it up and shows it to Sammy; The dog barks when he sees Cori in the mask, "Creepy, huh boy?" She takes the mask and holds it in her hands, "It smells bad too," Cori crinkles her nose at the old, wet, musty smell coming from the mask.

Sammy quickly spins around to face the door, "What is it, Sam?" Cori walks over and scratches the dogs head, "It's an old house, it's probably the wind." She assures the dog.