Lazy Lion Books Presents
Third place goes to Luna Black of Raleigh, NC. Luna is also a returning top-three winner from our 2003 FrightFest contest and her husband Andreas won first place in last year's contest. Talent *does* run in some families!
The Final Days of Jesse and James
Jesse knew he was being watched. He opened the refrigerator and whirled around. An octopus huddled on the bookshelf, caught in the light. He closed the door. James was at it againJesse knocked on his brother’s door. No answer. “I know you’re awake. The octopus ate your guppies.” He opened the door. James was sitting up in bed, flipping the pages of an illustrated encyclopedia. He looked up at Jesse and grinned.
“Come on, you know you have to take your meds. The hallucinations are too much.” He sat on the bed. He’d taken care of his identical twin since they were children, ever since his father hacked his mother to pieces on the living room carpet in front of James. Jesse had come home to find the house swarming with people and cameras. James had been catatonic for weeks. He’d improved, but he acted like a child, and he was paranoid and hallucinated if he didn’t take his medicine. Unfortunately, Jesse did too. They’d always been able to tell what the other was thinking or feeling; when Jesse broke his arm, James felt it. It was comforting, when they were children. Now, it was a nuisance.
“Sorry.” James hung his head and fidgeted with the covers.
“Go to sleep.” Jesse took the book and turned out the light.
#
The next week, Jesse began seeing body parts in the living room. An arm with a charm bracelet by the sofa. A bleeding foot in the dining room. James became hysterical when Jesse tried to give him his pills. Little by little, Jesse had to watch their mother’s body appear until it was exactly as James remembered it. Their father’s face began appearing soon after that.
#
Jesse sat in a chair in front of the door and sighted down the shotgun. His brother had locked himself in his room days ago. Stubble covered Jesse’s cheeks, and his hair was limp and dirty. His clothes were rumpled. Their mother’s body was still on the floor. He knew their father was coming. They knew their father was coming. This time he was ready. He’d kill the monster and everything would go back to normal. His brother would be normal, they’d be normal, he could keep a job and have a girlfriend and it would be all right. His father’s face hung above their mother’s body, then winked out. It had been appearing and disappearing like a grisly firefly for so long that Jesse no longer consciously noticed.
He checked the shotgun again to make sure the safety was off. The doorknob rattled. Jesse’s fingers convulsed and two holes appeared in the door. He reloaded with trembling fingers. Someone laughed behind him. He turned to see his father in the hallway. He fired again. The body hit the carpet with a muffled thud. He walked over to it.
It was James. Jesse reloaded the gun one last time.
©Luna Black