Undying Devotion

cheese pizza

The dark web was not a place Krista ever thought she would find herself. As she scrolled through pages of different web addresses she stumbled upon some very disturbing things. There were a lot of forums discussing "cheese pizza", most likely some kind of euphemism for something Krista did not want to know about. After a while she stopped being surprised by tag lines related to torture and sex trafficking. She doubted that anyone could managed to get cocaine delivered to their door... Did people really try something so stupid? The most disturbing was probably a video site selling clips of girls stomping on live kittens. She did not click the link, nor did she think she was going to be getting very far researching in this godless underbelly of the internet. Still she pressed on. Finally she had made it past most of the cringy stuff. A few more pages and their were a few guides for laundering money, a few hit men for hire, and finally a thread on a forum that was occult in nature. It was the only lead she had gotten in hours, and she already wanted to claw her eyes out. Most of the threads were useless, more sick and sadistic bullshit that was more about satan than anything else. A few were more legit, some talking about off the market ghost hunting gear. Oh well, at least it beat scrolling through links of horrifying sex acts that involved killing kittens. Krista rubbed her eyes, she could swear some people didn't deserve to be dressed for their graves. She had to do what she had to do though. A few off site links later she was reading a few articles about Santaria and strange paranormal exchanges and rituals that people had attempted. None of which had succeeded, or even claimed to succeed, except for one. Of course the author was anonymous, but he left an email address to those seeking to learn more, even going as far as to offer his or her services in the occult. It had been hours, and she was deep into this stuff by now. This might be the best and only lead to follow up, and so she sent out an email on a proxy adress of her own. She may need to burn her lap too after this, but it was worth the risk if it meant finding out any information that could help Laura. She wrote:

To whom it may concern,

I would like to follow up on your offer to talk more thoroughly about your article, and should it satisfy my interest inquire about potential services in the future.

Short, sweet, and professional. Who knew if she would get a reply anytime soon. Krista shut down the computer
That was enough for now. She may not have enough to go on yet, but hopefully soon. She linked the fake email to her phone so that she could be notified of a reply. It was possible that she wasn't being careful, but she figured most of the wild bad stuff that went down would be more monitored  than a creepy occult page. She would have to figure a way to cover her tracks later if this even worked. She felt a little drained as the afternoon went by. She tended to Laura, using various chemicals to preserve her. She felt a little like giving up, but she needed time, and she knew if she did her job right she would at least have some. Even so the more she administered the less human it felt. Poor little Laura Lee was going to grow even paler after this treatment, but it was the next best thing to throwing her in a chest freezer, and that was not going to happen. Krista peeked up a little bit as she finished. She got the idea of using some of her own makeup to give some color back to her girlfriend. Krista mostly used darker or earthier tones as opposed to anything flashy. She did have some nice plush though, and a more vibrant foundation than what Laura's face was projecting at the moment. A little bit of lip stick finished it off, and Laura was looking stunning once again. Krista blushed at her work, it was hardly an achievement with such a beautiful canvas. She checked her phone, nothing. Krista was having so much fun now that she decided to do Laura's nails. Krista washed her hands and feet in a basin of warm water with a little bit of Epsom salt. She clipped the nails only slightly, knowing they wouldn't be growing back anytime soon. She massaged Laura's hands an feet slowly, not wanting her to miss the full experience even in death. She finished with a fine cote of deep blue that seemed to match Laura's aura. It was perfect, and Krista couldn't wait to do herself up so that they could match. As she began to get herself set up she went to check the time. She had one new email.

You may call me Collins,
I have dedicated my life to the supernatural. From religious practices, to the occult.
I don't waste time on solicitors.
We talk over the phone tonight, yes?
If it is good, then we meet. If no,
then I can not help. You call here at 8:00 PM, same time zone I check this already. This number #458-746-8508

Krista read the words thrice over. This was going to be a rabbit hole she was nervous to go down. The reality was setting in, and she might just end up going down with the ship. She looked up from her phone back to Laura. It was worth it she thought to herself. Whatever it takes.

It was around 6pm. She had some time to kill, and she had an idea of what she wanted to do with it. She put on a plain black dress, formal, but not over the top. She put on her black heels, a shoe she hated at first, but after all these years she had gotten used to. She said goodbye to Laura and locked her up tight, confident Allison wouldn't be returning anytime soon. It was only a few blocks to the funeral home, and not long after she could see it. There was a line of cars waiting to enter the parking lot. The director noticed her car and strode up to her window. "Miss Krista? Your not working tonight, what brings you in?"  "I just wanted to sit in on the service for a moment if you don't mind, Ben." The energetic young man stiffened his body for a moment as if to salute in deference. "Yes, ma'am, here I'll get you over to the employee parking lot." And with that Krista was in attendance to Laura's wake. To her surprise many of the people in attendance were young, most likely friends from school. There were a few older couples sitting in folding chairs at the center of the small room that held the urn on a not so impressive altar. This was a protestant affair, yet just as solemn as a catholic one. Krista greeted her father in one of the other rooms that were less occupied as he checked tissue boxes and replaced water bottles. She gave him a hug without saying hello. They tried their best not to talk during service, and he wasn't surprised to see her. It wasn't the first off duty wake she decided to attend of her own accord. She was of the family in charge of the service after all, and it was good business to give condolences to the grieving patrons. She tentatively navigated through various groups of people. Many of them were young boys and girls. All were dressed very nice. Some of them wept quietly while others kept up conversations in low voices. Krista walked towards the front of the room slowly, looking at every picture on the wall. It was sad to her, that for as many pictures played out on poster board as there were, many of them seemed to be academic. A few were of class trips, maybe a spring break picture for every five in class with friends. She wondered how well any of these class mates truly knew Laura. At least they got to know her... Krista swallowed the lump in her throat. Their was a young woman and a middle aged woman talking quietly near the urn. Krista knew that the middle aged woman was who she had come to see, and so she went to patiently wait for her chance to speak. As she got closer though, she realized the younger woman, it was Allison. There was no mistaking it when their eyes met. The middle aged woman turned as Allison pointed at Krista. Krista's soul left her body in that moment.