Why My Girlfriend Killed Me

CW: gore, violence, blood, bones, death, murder

There’s a sharp crack as my skull smacks the concrete. My teeth rack together and the taste of metal fills my mouth. Warm liquid oozes from the back of my head. My ex-boss stands above me, grinning wickedly as I wipe blood out of my eye from the gash above my right eyebrow. And all I can think is, where the hell is Jess? 

“I’m sorry Cora. I really liked you, but you chose this for yourself,” Barty seethed, his words cutting through the thick fog settling over my brain, “Maybe if you could keep it in your pants, we wouldn’t be in this situation.” 

I need to get up. I need to defend myself, to do something. But my entire body erupts in fiery pain as my limbs try to remember how to move. Then Barty’s boot makes contact with my cheek and I’m seeing stars. The smell of rubber fills my nose as he presses the sole firmly into my skin. 

“Know when to give up Cora, I’m dead, you’re not going to win this-” Silence fills the air as the pressure on my face lets up instantly. Then a loud thud and I am face to face with Barty, his eyes glazed over, black ooze trickling from his mouth. 

“C, I need you to get up quick, please, we don’t have much time.” A familiar voice melts through me but I can’t place it. My thoughts jumble in my brain. Sleep tugs at my mind hard and fast. Threatening to take me whole. 

But then hands wrap around my waist, pulling me upwards. Earthy vanilla hits my nose like smelling salts. A jolt of electricity flies through me as my vision pieces together who’s in front of me. Jess. 

“God, what happened? I thought you were supposed to wait for me at the river?” Her voice soaks into my wounds, numbing the throbbing pain to a dull ache. 

“He caught. Trying to leave. Snuck up behind me.” I choke out. 

“That rat! How did he even know you were here? We were so careful. The only people that know are you, me, and-”

“Me.” A dark voice comes from behind and Jess’s pupils dilate to saucers. 

“Traitor.” She spits, bearing rows of razor-sharp teeth. 

“Me? Traitor? What about you? Hurting your own kind. For her?”

“She's different and you know it.”

“She’s. Right. Here.” I gasp, trying to get my eyes to stop seeing double. 

“It’s Halloween Jess, you know what that means. We are vulnerable!” The other voice goes on, ignoring me.

“Cora’s worth it. I thought you understood that.”

“Why not just let her die naturally? She could come back as a specter, you don’t know she wouldn’t.”

“I can’t take that risk! Why chance it when there’s a way I can ensure we will be together forever?” 

Jess rises. Her cold hand grips mine and wrenches me upward. The joints in my body creak in protest but I’m able to stand. 

As I turn my eyes lock onto the dark figure and the betrayal fully sets in. Rage explodes through my body but Jess speaks before I can.

“You’re her brother Cade. How can you stand in our way?”

Cade looks at me before answering. His blue eyes dark with decay, “Because you’ve spilled so much blood to do this.” 

“Oh shut up!” I spit and take a shaky step towards him, “I always knew you would be the weak link. You don’t have the stomach to do what really needs to be done.” I take sharp breaths, trying to sound stronger than I feel.  

“That’s not true Cora, you’re hurting people. Real people.” Cade seethes.

“When are you going to get that I don’t care. What’s a few lives in trade for immortality?” I step closer again, adrenaline coursing through my veins. 

“Is that how you justify murder? Taking innocent lives?”

“You don’t get it! Oh my god, you don’t get it! You’re one of them! You don’t have to experience the fear and anxiety I do every day. Terrified each breath could be my last. That I could die and never see you or Jess ever again? This is the perfect solution. Why can't you just be happy for me?” 

“Because what you’re doing is wrong.” His voice is laced with hurt. 

“Then you’ve made your choice.” I close the gap between us and grab my dagger from my sheath. The hilt slams into his head and his eyes go slack as he crumples to the ground. 

Jess crouches and holds her knife to his throat, the blade pressing into the thin skin, “Want me to finish him off?”

An unexpected pang of sympathy seeps through my chest, “No, it’s fine. What matters is the ritual. We only have 3 hours until midnight and still need a specter jawbone.”

I walk over to Barty’s almost forgotten corpse and insert the tip of my blade at the bottom of his ear. Shoving it deep in between the bones and muscle I yank down with all my strength. The jaw joint snaps and flies open with a loud crack. Nerves and torn flesh hang from the wound as I pull the bottom of his mouth clean from his head with one final jerk. I wipe the viscous black liquid on my pant leg before holding it out to Jess.

“Mind carrying that?” I laugh and press a kiss on her cheek. 

She giggles, “Come on cutie. I’ve already got it all set up for us.” Jess grabs the still-dripping jaw and starts down the path through the woods. 

20 minutes later we emerge into a small clearing lit by a bed of black flickering candles. A bound book is on the ground at the edge of a large hole. Jess walks to the pit and tosses the jawbone in. It lands with a clatter and I grimace at the thought of what’s inside.

“Come on C, we don’t have all night.” She motions for me to stand by her and my heart skips a beat. But my palms go slick with sweat as my eyes land on piles of bones and decaying flesh. I lean on Jess for support as fatigue sets deep in my bones. 

“I can’t believe you did all this for me. For us.”

“I would do anything for you. Plus it got pretty easy after the first one. You get a rhythm going.” She winks at me and my stomach erupts in butterflies. 

“Then let’s do this.” I hold out my hand and she takes it before I gingerly step down into the hole. The smell is vile, like spoiled milk and mold. I swallow the bile that creeps up my throat and slowly exhale. Bones crunch and crack under my weight as I shift to lay down on top of them. I nod at Jess and she gives me a thumbs up before disappearing from my sight. 

I hear shuffling and the pop of a cork being released. Then Jess reappears above me, holding a large jug of dark liquid, “Sorry about the smell.” She grimaces before pouring the goo onto me with a splash. 

“Oh that’s warmer than I expected,” I cringe as it drizzles onto my bare legs, “It kinda feels like I peed myself.”

“Yeah, the fresher the blood the more potent. It increases our chances of you turning.”

“Just be quick, okay? This is even less comfortable than it looks.” I try to adjust but a stray rib bone juts into my back and I wince.  

“Now close your eyes, open your mouth, and try to breathe out of your nose”. 

I squeeze them shut as thick blood hits my tongue. I try to swallow in gasping gulps as it rolls down my throat. My stomach churns as saliva floods my mouth. 

“Don’t throw up C. Just give it a minute, okay? We’re almost there.” Jess says, reading my mind.

I nod and try to focus all my energy on keeping my vomit in my stomach. 

“Now just clear your mind and try to sleep. I’m gonna fill the hole with dirt and then I’ll dig you up in 2 hours when it hits midnight.”

My eyes fly open as panic rips through me, “What? I thought you just said you had to say some words while I lay over the bones and then boom, I’m a specter.”

“I didn’t think you’d go for it if you knew about the buried alive part. It’s really such a minor detail.”

“I mean…we’ve already come this far. Just…just make it quick, okay?” My voice betrays my confidence and trembles. 

“Hey,” Jess drops to her knees and leans down into the hole, her face beside mine, “I’m here, okay? And once this is all over we’ll be together forever. Just keep thinking about that.” She smiles and presses her cold lips to mine. I kiss her back, reaching my hand up to cup her cheek. 

“I love you,” I whisper against her mouth, running my thumb over her plump bottom lip.

Jess presses her nose into my cheek, “I love you too C”.

I chuckle, “Now, let’s kill me.” 

Jess leans back, a wicked grin spread across her face. She plants one last kiss on my forehead before swinging up out of the pit and grabbing a shovel. 

I watch Jess’s muscular arms heave dirt into the hole, coating my body. Slowly the pit fills, shovelful by shovelful. Jess’s voice mumbling words I can’t understand as everything fades to black. 

Then a ringing starts in my ears and I’m falling, falling, I don’t think I’ll ever stop falling. I can hear my name, it’s coming from everywhere. They’re screaming, it hurts. It hurts so bad. Blood seeps out of every pore. My skin sears and bubbles. My nails tear off. Bones break and splinter. My brain liquidates. My heart bursts. Then nothing. 

My eyes fly open, everything is bright.

“C?”