Jackie

Jackie was perfect. Her skin was flawless and her body was firm and gorgeous.

She wasn't too tall, too short, too plump or too skinny. But Jackie was about to discover that her beauty was a curse.

Jackie's caretakers loved her. They gave her everything she needed to grow strong and healthy throughout her life. She loved living on the farm and being with her many companions. Jackie was happy.

But then the strangers came. So many strangers arrived one morning and ripped Jackie and many of her companions from their beds. The strangers examined Jackie and her friends from top to bottom. Those who were flawed were cast aside. Those who were beautiful, like Jackie, were chosen.

The awful strangers exchanged tokens with the caretakers who sold Jackie to them. How could they? She would have to leave the only home she'd ever known. She'd miss her companions, she'd miss the animals, the birds, the bees, and the garden, oh the garden. How could she live without the garden?

That evening, the strangers kept Jackie captive in a large cave. She had no means of escape. She caught glimpses of the outside and saw trees and grass through openings in the cave walls. Scary tools with sharp blades lay on shelves throughout the cave. Ghastly images of her kind hung from the ceiling. What were the strangers going to do to her?

Then four of them entered the cave. They looked like the caretakers, but she knew these strangers would not treat her tenderly as the caretakers had done. The strangers smiled their evil smiles. They spoke of Jackie's beauty while gathering up tools with sharp edges.

One of them held a knife with a serrated edge. He raised it and stabbed Jackie repeatedly. He sliced at her face and left horrible gashes. He ripped at her flesh and flung it to the floor. She wished for death to come to end her pain, but the stranger was skillful and kept her alive so she felt every slash of the knife. The others clapped happily as they watched her torture. They wanted a turn, but the knife-wielder would not allow it.

As Jackie hung on to the last seeds of life remaining in her, the strangers set her insides on fire. They picked her up and placed her mutilated body outside of the cave. As she laid there praying for death, more strangers approached the spot where she lay.

One of these new strangers must have been a leader of this cult since she was dressed in a ritualistic ensemble complete with a black pointed hat. She admired what was left of Jackie and said, "Cool, jack-o-lantern, mister."

To which the murderous stranger replied, "Thanks, I carved it myself."