The Kiss of Life

Chapter 6 ~ Cow Dung and Whorehouses

Chapter 6 ~ Cow Dung and Whorehouses

The following morning I pleaded with the inn keeper to borrow hers car for the next two days and left a hefty payment in return. I set off on my short journey to find the much needed answers. I sped up as I came across winding roads, feeling much like a racecar driver. The turns and bends gave me a slight adrenaline rush.

“Boo!”

“What the-“I screamed as my hands automatically clasped my chest.

“Chrissie, the road!” Zac shouted in distress.

Immediately I turned back to the road and starred in horror as I realized we were pummeling straight towards a huge oak which could clearly do some damage. In movies whenever characters were put in similar situations, I would scoff at the idiocy of their reactions. Surely the would move out of the street when an oncoming van is ready to plow them, right? I then realized just how gripping fear can be and cause immobilization.

From the corner of my eye I saw an arm reach out and swiftly turn the wheel to the left. I slammed my foot on the brake, probably not the wisest decision, and the car began to fishtail. It continued to twirl for what seemed like a lifetime when, with the aide of Zac, it began to straighten and proceed to run into a post fence lightly.

I gripped the steering wheel and stared through the windshield not seeing anything, my mind was a total blank. Zac and I sat there for probably minutes, not making a noise or even shifting in our seats.

“Mooooo,” came from a nearby cow causing the both of us to flinch.

I glanced to my right and noticed Zac staring at me.

“Well, that was…fun,” he chuckled nervously.

All of the sudden huge boughs of laughter poured out of my mouth like verbal diarrhea. I hear near death experiences can do that to you.

I was suddenly wrapped in Zac’s warmth. I inched closer to him and laid my head in the nook of his neck as my body uncontrollably shuddered.

“Hey, it’s okay. Nothing happened, it wasn’t even that scary,” he soothed.

“Yeah, maybe not for you! You had nothing to fear, you’re already dead,” I mumbled in return not bothering to move from my current position.

“Ouch, that’s hurts,” he mockingly put a hand over his heart in pain, “thanks for reminding me of my lingering, lifeless state.”

“Oh, who’s being dramatic now?” I chuckled pushing away from him. “Well now that the excitement for the day is over, let’s get on the road before the cow decides to maul and cover us in manure.”

“Because he would totally have a rather strong to do that.”

“You never know,” I teased.

I pulled away from the seemingly undamaged fence and pull onto the road again, after looking both ways of course. After a few minutes we finally reached Ipswich and began searching for Daciana’s house. We scoured the town for a while and finally came to a dirt road with trees towering over. The trees were on each side of the road and leaned to the side, interlacing with each other creating a canopy. The canopy shielded all view of the sky and combined with the early morning fog, the scene was rather ominous and forbidding.

Owls, which I thought were nocturnal, were hooting in the forest, creating the notion they were surrounding us. I clutched the wheel a little tighter and double checked that the doors were locked. Something nagging told me the owls weren’t friendly.

“Maybe we should just turn around?” I suggested, alternating my glances from the road to the forest.

“We’ve came all this way, just to leave? I don’t think so, this is important and I’m sure you can put your ridiculous girlish fears to the side and consider what this trip means.”

My heart clenched, what did I do to make him so grouchy and rude? Consider his feelings and future? Last time I checked spending two years searching for answers for someone I don’t even want leaving is extremely considerate.

Wait, I don’t want him to leave? My mind whirled as I came to realize just how much I don’t want him to leave. Of course a small part of me has always dreaded the thought, but this part has multiplied and consumed me. Would I honestly be happy with him finding peace?

“Listen, I’m sorry about that earlier comment. I’ve just been on edge lately and I apologize for taken it out on you,” he cut into my thoughts while staring at me deeply.

“It’s fine, I-“

“No it’s not fine! I was being a complete ass to you and that was beyond uncalled for. You have done a lot for me, more than my own family would-“his eyes widening as the last part slipped out.

I didn’t know what to say in return. His life before and how he died has been a taboo subject. He would always brush the subject off when I brought it off and eventually I stopped asking because it upset him.

The trees began thinning out and I took that as a distraction. “Look, I think we’re getting closer.” Looking at the dash I realized we had been cruising down the gravel road for a good ten minutes.

We finally pulled into what seemed like a driveway, covered in dirt with weeds sprouting out every which way. I pulled to a stop in front of a rundown cottage that looked hundreds of years old. The roof, dilapidated in various places, was made of straw like olden times. A few of the windows were broken and cracks throughout the foundation could be seen.

“Well looks like a typical witch lair,” Zac muttered.

We starred at the cottage a little bit, not noticing any movement from within. Before I lost my determination, I quickly unclicked my seatbelt and swung my car door open. Zac followed suit and we quickly moved towards the door.  Something silver and shiny caught my attention from the corner, and from closer examination a doorbell came into my vision.

“Well that’s odd,” I muttered.

“I wasn’t aware that the sixteen hundreds had doorbells,” Zac joked.

“Neither was I,” I puzzled. Nevertheless, I pushed the bell and for good measure I kept pressure on the button for some ten odd seconds. Removing my fingers, I twiddled my thumbs nervously waiting for someone to barge through the door. After a while of waiting I began to repeatedly press the doorbell.

Suddenly the door swung open and out came a dark haired beauty with striking eyes. Her black haired was wild and all over the place, and she was dressed in black and crimson red.

“Welcome to Frank’s whorehouse, you got the dough, we supply the hoes,” she smiled sinisterly.

My jaw dropped and I met Zac’s gaze noticing he was in a similar surprised state.

The madam of the house, I suppose, began cackling viciously doubling over her waist. Her nails, which were painted a midnight black and sharpened to a point, were digging into her sides.

“Your expressions!” she laughed boisterously. “Welcome to my abode, I’m Daciana and you must be Zacariah and the lovely Christine,” she smiled in what I’m sure she assumed was a friendly way, but was actually menacing.

“It’s Zac,” he muttered right before I surprisingly feinted, my world becoming pitch-black. As I drifted out of consciousness, her disturbing chuckles resonated through my mind till I blanked out and heard nothing.

I know it has been over a year since I last updated and I sincerely apologize, A LOT has been going through life and I felt absolutely no motivation to write. I suddenly got the urge again and hopefully this urge stays until I finish the story.

I’m not going to promise anything, because I would hate to disappoint you guys and not keep my vow. However, I am going to try and update at least once a week. So I wouldn’t really expect another chapter till next Monday. Fingers crossed!

Please, please vote and comment. Your votes and comments, especially, motivate me to keep writing and I’m always open to constructive criticism (not the nasty criticism, that’s just rude). I will take suggestions for improvement though and I wouldn’t mind hearing what you want to see from the story J

I would like to give a shout out to those on the east coast and I wish you guys the best and hang in there and fight Sandy. Show her whose boss ;)

Rant over J