Vanity

Chapter 1
Vanity

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Chapter Description: Be mindful of vanity, it can distort

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Vanity thy name is

What a waste of time that had been, he thinks to himself as he walks home after a failure of a date. He had bathed, made himself presentable and showed more manners than he ever showed anywhere else but it was all for nothing, his date had turned out to not be interested in men, she just liked him as a friend.

So his heart broken and his pride wounded, he had bragged to his male friends that he was going to score tonight and that wasn’t looking likely now, he is heading home to do a manly cry of not crying at all while strongly yearning to. Six dates in two months and all of them had been busts, either due to his pushy manner, his body odour or she was either not interested or she wasn’t into males.

At this rate he would probably be single for a long time while the rest of his friends bragged about their sex lives. It wasn’t fair.

As he walks home he doesn’t see someone come out of the forest until he almost bumps into them, murmuring a sorry as he steps to the side he keeps walking, he doesn’t see the person reach towards him, not until he feels a hand grip his shoulder and turn him around roughly.

He tries to react by attacking whoever is grabbing him but his strength feels like it’s slipping away, and to add to that his clothes are becoming very loose.

The last thing he sees before everything becomes black is the person, if that’s what they can be called, just looking at him as the world seems to become bigger and his clothes fall to the ground.

He tries to call for help but all that comes out of his mouth are loud cries like that of a very young child, then the cries stop and only his clothes remain and a single drop of blood that begins to dry rapidly.

Turning away from the pile of clothes, the person, for the lack of a better term, heads back into the forest.

The clothes are not found until morning.

~~

Early 2014 ~ Mystery:

Any colder, she thinks to herself as she finishes making her breakfast, and I could open a tin can with my nipples. The house was warm but even with the warmth there was still a strong chill in the air from the cold winter outside, no snow but it was still very icy in the air.

She can hear the front door being unlocked, opened and closed with a slam and her sister calling out:

“Laura? You up?” Her younger sister lived a couple of houses down and had a day off work today, she had said that she would likely pop round in the morning before heading out to the local city to do a little shopping, the town’s market’s didn’t have as a good a selection as she preferred when it came to much of interest.

“Aye, I’m up, just having breakfast” Laura Harrison calls out to her sister, who comes running through to the kitchen with a piece of paper, something she must have printed from her computer.

“Another one, there’s been another disappearance! It happened just last night! They found a pile of clothes outside the forest on Kirles Road!” Not again, all these years and she was still on the case about these disappearances. When was her sister going to live her life instead of chasing after shadows?

“Maybe someone went streaking, people can do crazy stuff during winter” Her sister hands her the print out and she reluctantly reads it. It explained about the discovery of a pile of clothes an hour ago, whoever had reported this news had been quick to get it up online. Looking up at the header she sees that it’s from a local online news service, one of those who had as vested an interest in these disappearances as her sister did.

“If the person had gone streaking then they would probably found the person by now either dead or still alive, there was ID in the clothes, we knew the person, he lived just across the road” Laura looks for a name, Colin James, he was a couple of years older than her sister, nice enough guy if a little pushy. He had tried to date her once a few years ago and she had turned him down, he was too young for her, he had also tried to date her sister but her sister wasn’t interested.

“Like I said, he probably went streaking. Wouldn’t be the first time he’s done that, he’s been dared to plenty of times by his friends” One time, she recalls, was when her sister had been 17, Colin had gone running across the school court yard as a dare, only to get his manhood smacked by a broom handle from one of the students.

He had very little luck with women and there were rumours that he might be homosexual, although he would strongly deny it.

“He’s disappeared, just like the others, just like mum and dad! And it happened just two streets away! Come on, Laura, you want to solve this as well, I know you do” With a sigh and no interest in talking about it, Laura hands the print out back to her sister and resumes eating her breakfast. A little over twenty years of her sister being determined to find out what happened to their parents was wearing on her nerves.

She did want to know what had happened to them, but she didn’t like seeing how obsessed her sister was about it. Ever since their parents had disappeared her sister has been gathering information and anything she can about the disappearances, at first she had supported her sister’s attempts to uncover the mystery but as the years had passed and the disappearances continued with no farther clues beyond the piles of clothing and the drop of dried blood left behind, she just wanted to put it all behind her and hoped her sister would just let it go.

Their parents were never returning, no one who had disappeared was ever returning and whatever was behind it or whoever was determined not to be found.

“Drop it, Carrie, just drop it, it’s been over twenty years. Just drop it and focus on building a life, fall in love, get married, have kids, have a career, whatever, but stop with this quest of yours” She can practically feel her sister’s glare, they had this argument so often over the past few years.

“I’ll stop when the disappearances are solved, maybe you didn’t love mum and dad much, but I did and I want to know what happened to them. I can’t live my life without knowing what happened to them! And what about your life? Unmarried, no kids, a job you’ve never really enjoyed, no ambitions nothing but mum and dad’s house and constant bills, hell you don’t even have any pets for whatever reason!” Every day they had this argument, every bloody day.

“My reasons are my own, Carrie, you don’t even have any pets either! You’re still a virgin! Drop the quest, go have sex with some guy, do something instead of being like that guy in that old science fiction programme!” She couldn’t recall the name of the program, her sister has seen every episode and is eagerly waiting for the next movie, whenever that will be made.

“Mulder, that’s his name, Fox Mulder” Ah yes, the fictional guy who was obsessed with finding his sister after she had disappeared.

“Yeah, him, don’t be like him, don’t keep going after what you can’t solve” She knows that she doesn’t need to see her sister’s eyes to see the anger and disappointment in them, she has seen it many times over the past few years.

Before her sister leaves though, she says one final thing:

“Mulder found his sister eventually”

~

After leaving her sister’s home, Carrie heads to her own house. The street is a little active with people heading to work or school and other than a few hellos, which she nods and responds to, she is mostly left alone.

People knew her and her sister, they too have also suffered from a family member or two disappearing just like Carrie and Laura’s parents had done over two decades ago when Carrie had been ten years old and Laura had been twenty three years old.

Their disappearances were still unsolved, just like all of the other disappearances. Only a few people in the town even wanted to solve the mystery, everyone else seemed to want to put it behind them. Maybe because they were scared.

But what were they scared of? Why were the police doing so little to solve the disappearances and why were so many desperate to bury their heads in the sand and just forget about those who had disappeared?

Her investigations have yielded very little beyond what is reported, she has tried to explore the forest only to be found by the police and forced to leave. And now the one person who she had hoped to be an ally was telling her to drop the case, to stop looking.

How could she live her life though without knowing what had happened to her parents? Why had they disappeared? Why had they not returned and why had no one found any trace of them? The drops of blood found in each pile of clothes must have been tested, so where was the information on those?

Why was this town so desperate to keep the disappearances from being solved?

Once inside her home, Carrie returns to her computer and checks her e-mails, a few responses from the few who were also investigating the disappearances, none of the responses had any answers either.

One of the responses suggested something that had yielded no results despite the number of times it’s been done – to check the local history, see if there was anything that could help solve these disappearances.

As fruitless as it was though, it was the only option left. Maybe, just maybe, there might be something they’ve all missed.

~~

1879 ~ Vanity:

Such arrogance, she thinks to herself as the man before her talks, such arrogance. Another suitor who was here to try and win her hand in marriage, another attempt by her parents to force her into a life she frankly had little interest in. She did not want to be like her mother, an unhappy woman who loved her children but hid her unhappiness at her loss of freedom from all but the one person who could see that unhappiness with complete ease – her eldest daughter.

Her mother had been forced to marry young, barely thirteen summers old, while her husband was a man fourteen summers her senior. As was expected of all daughters, marry young, have many children, do not go against the demands of the men.

Why did they have to be the ones to dictate the lives of women? Why couldn’t women dictate their own lives? Such cruelty to force such an unhappy life on women simply because of ideals that come across as little more than slavery.

She listens to the man who her parents are set on making into a husband for her, she has no feelings for the man, he is boring and arrogant. His interests are of no importance to her, his voice annoys her, his strong smell annoys her, everything about him annoys her.

Such an arrogant pompous fool.

“Excuse me, good sir, but I must freshen up” She says suddenly before she falls asleep from boredom, she doesn’t bother to wait for his permission to leave, she simply gets up from where she is sitting and heads for her bedroom.

Thankfully he doesn’t follow her.

Once in her bedroom she sits down at her dressing table and looks at her reflection in the mirror, she was sure that she could see a new wrinkle forming after the past three hours of listening to that arrogant man prattle.

With a snort of disgust, she reaches for some make up and tries to cover what she thinks is a wrinkle to little success.

“I must stay young, I must stay beautiful” She hisses to her reflection. “I must!”

~~

2014 ~ Mystery:

Another research session in the local town library proves to be as fruitless as expected, much of the town’s history was about events, some births, some deaths, but little else that could be linked to the disappearances. When questions were asked if there were any records that weren’t out for public display the answer had been the usual: “Anything that isn’t for the public is kept in the private records office, which is off limits to the public”

Carrie has tried many times to get permission to check the private records but is always denied the rights, so as usual she and the few others who were investigating the disappearances left the library empty handed and disappointed.

“We need to get into those private records” Lauren Ipson remarks while the group are having a slightly late lunch after heading to the local chip shop, which was packed with kids who had left school for their lunch.

“These disappearances can’t keep being swept under the carpet like this” At 38 years old, Lauren is the oldest of the group, the youngest being Carrie at 32. For the past three decades Lauren has been trying to uncover the mystery behind the disappearances after her grandparents had disappeared when she was seven years old, her investigations weren’t well received by many of the townspeople, especially by those who wanted to turn their backs on the disappearances.

Carrie had been the first victim of the disappearances to ever approach her and aid in helping investigate, not long after more victims came to help. Only one of them has seen a disappearance happen in front of them but it had been very dark and they weren’t sure what they had seen.

“I’ll keep trying to get the permissions to the private records, or maybe I can see if I can find a way to hack into their systems and access the private records from there if they’ve been transferred onto the internet. I may as well put those programming lessons to good use after all, if I can get past that annoying firewall they’ve got” Jane Dori remarks as she eats, most of the group investigating the disappearances are female with only two males, the rest thought it would be an insult to their manhood to work alongside women.

Many of the males in the town tended to be a little too brainwashed with the ideals of masculinity, something which tended to result in a few too many domestic crimes and other assorted crimes around the town due to many of the males in the town trying to prove themselves to their peers.

“My sister keeps insisting that I drop the investigation, she wants me to live my life. But how can I move on with my life when I don’t know what happened to my parents and what’s happened to all of the others who have disappeared? Walking away feels like I’m turning my back on so many, I don’t want to live with that guilt on my conscience” A small yelp escapes Carrie’s lips as a chip she picks up proves to be a little too hot for her fingers, the meal was wonderfully warming on this cold day.

“My mum has been saying the same thing” Jane remarks after a sip of her juice. “She’s been trying to set me up with one man after another, I keep fighting back from telling her that none of the idiots who try to pass themselves off as men in this town interest me, if I fall in love with a guy then I would hope he knows how to be respectful instead of asking to fondle my breasts. I’m hoping there are men like that somewhere in the world” Carries nods, knowing how it felt, her sister was always trying to set her up with a man but it would always go badly. She had very little interest in being in a relationship.

“Clam’s needing to squirt, be right back” Lauren remarks quietly, her way of saying that she needed to pee, and leaves the table.

~

After tending to her waste management needs, Lauren washes her hands and realises that her handbag is still in the stall, turning back and taking it out, she turns and stumbles back in shock at seeing something in front of her.

She couldn’t tell exactly what it was, it had the shape of a person, maybe a female, but it didn’t look like a person, it was hard to define exactly what she was seeing. The flesh, if that’s what it could be called, was dirty and looked almost twisted, what could be called eyes were dark, the mouth, for lack of a better term, was more of a large hole that made almost sucking like sounds as it moved slightly.

The hair, if it was hair, was tangled with branches and leaves, the arms and legs were extremely thin. Swinging her handbag in defence, since she sure as hell didn’t want to touch whatever it was, Lauren tries to make the thing move away to no avail. It simply grabs her handbag and throws it to the ground before reaching out for her, a claw like hand gripping an arm.

“GET OFF!” She screams as she tries to kick, only for her legs to not respond, her entire body is suddenly feeling very weak.

“HELP!” She screams as her clothes begin to feel loose.

~

Looking up from her meal and looking towards the bathroom where she was sure she had heard a scream, Jane jumps up with Carrie racing after her, everyone else stays where they are.

Practically slamming the door open the two women stop when they see the shape standing outside the stall, a pile of clothing in front of it’s feet and what looks like a child’s arm sticking out as if trying to fight back, the arm is shrinking rapidly.

“Let her go!” Jane screams as she charges at the shape, only to be sent flying as it lashes out and is sent flying into the sinks in front of the stalls. A bra, shirt and coat fall to the ground, and a single drop of blood joins them.

Carrie stands in shock as the shape turns from the pile of clothes and looks over to Jane, it ignores Carrie completely.

Jane tries to get up only to find herself pinned against the bathroom floor by a claw like hand, she screams at the shape to let her go, it ignores her screams and Jane’s clothes start to become loose as she starts to shrink into them.

Carrie still stands there, watching in shock, paralysed with fear as Jane becomes increasingly smaller, her features becoming increasingly softer as if she is getting younger by the second.

“Carrie! Help!” Jane screams, her voice sounding like that of a young girl of eight years old. But no help is forthcoming and Jane disappears into her clothing, any indications of a person disappearing completely after Jane gives a final cry that sounds like the cry of a newborn, only to be silenced entirely.

Carrie is still standing in complete shock, her entire body refusing to move. The shape stands up from the pile of clothes that Jane had been wearing, a small dark spot of blood showing a little as it sinks into the top. The shape then turns to Carrie and that is when Carrie screams, bringing people to the bathroom.

The shape hisses, jumps up to the ceiling and dashes out of the open bathroom window just as others enter the bathroom.

“What is it?” Someone demands, Carrie answers with pointing towards the two piles of clothes that had clothed two friends, she doesn’t say anything as she drops to her knees, still pointing.

“What was that thing? WHAT WAS THAT THING?!”

~~

1880 ~ Vanity:

Flesh so supple, it’s youth still intact. The cruelty of time is still to take out it’s abusive ways on it, eventually the flesh will sag, the youth will be wasted and the body it coats will be good for nothing more than food for the worms.

She hungered for that youth, lusted for it, she did not want to age and wither away, she wanted to stay vital and beautiful for as long as time itself. Why should she be subject to the ravages of age? Wasn’t it punishment enough to be a woman in a world owned by the foolishness of arrogant men? Why should age and death be added to it?

No, she would not fall the way of many, she would not wither and die before she has enjoyed her youth. No God or deity of any kind will take that from her, they would have to destroy her entirely to take what she values so passionately.

Youth would be hers regardless of the measures she must take to sustain it.

And like she has done to others before over the past few months, she will take what another will only take for granted, their youth, their life.

“Please, no, don’t, please” A voice says weakly, the voice is groggy and sounds like the person has been heavily drugged.

“Embrace the end of your wasteful life” She replies coldly before bringing the knife in her hands down into her victim’s chest, using just enough force to push through to the heart.

As the person breathes their last she kisses them, holds the kiss for about a minute then pulls away.

“Thank you for your youth” She needed more, so many more.

~~

2014 ~ Mystery:

The police had arrived quickly and the chip shop was closed while they cordoned off the area, Carrie was taken to hospital due to her shock at what she had seen and Laura had been called, as well as Lauren’s and Jane’s families.

After a check up, Carrie sits on a hospital bed while she listens to her sister talking to a nurse outside.

What had she seen? What was that thing? What had happened to Lauren and Jane? Was that what had happened to her parents over two decades ago?

What was that thing?

“Miss Harrison? Your sister’s here to see you” Carrie nods and her sister enters, heading directly for Carrie and hugging her.

“Are you okay?” Laura asks, Carrie nods, it was still hard for her to speak, the shock from what she had witnessed was still strong.

“What happened exactly? I keep getting vague answers” What was that thing? What had it done to her friends?

“Carrie?” What was that thing?

“It...they...I saw it, something, it attacked Lauren and Jane, it...it did something to them and it almost did it to me. I saw Jane turn into a child and then she was gone, just her clothes left, just like Lauren...I saw it...I...” Words turn into shaking, then tears join the shaking, tears of fear and loss. She had witnessed the deaths of two of her friends and there weren’t any bodies left behind, just their clothes.

What was that thing?

~

After her sister is discharged and allowed to return home, Laura stays with her until she falls asleep, once her sister is sleeping she heads back home and receives a call from one of her sister’s friends, they wanted to see her at the chip shop.

She didn’t like the idea of being out after dark but the person was pretty insistent. It didn’t take her long to get there, she saw the person waiting for her. She was a little older than Carrie, a few months or so older, she was pretty in a fairly average way.

“I don’t have any information if that’s what you want, Carrie was pretty shaken up, saying things like Lauren and Jane becoming younger before disappearing, something about some kind of creature that was hard to describe. But I’m sure you already know all of that from your own investigations” Garret Young, one of those who investigated the disappearances, shakes her head, she looked surprised.

“No, I haven’t heard any of that before. That’s more than we’ve ever found on the disappearances. She says that they became younger? That’s impossible, but now that I think about it it does seem to make sense. What if the whatever it was that she saw is consuming it’s victims by making them so young that they return to the point of conception? I don’t know what kind of creature could do that though” Laura wraps her arms around herself, it was far too cold to be out here at this time of night. Maybe her sister had seen something else happen and the shock had caused her imagination to go into overdrive, no one became younger, it was impossible.

“Just let the police handle it, it’s their job. Go home, drop the investigation, live your life” Shaking her head as she turns away, Laura heads back to her car and stops when she hears a scream behind her. Turning back quickly she sees Garret being held by...something. It was gripping her hard and as she watched, Garret seemed to shrink into her clothing, her jeans and underwear falling to the ground while this is happening.

“Let her go!” Laura cries out, the something ignores her. Garret keeps screaming and to Laura’s ears, it sounded like the screams were becoming more infantile by the second.

“LET HER GO!” Laura cries out again, she makes to run back over and slips on the icy tarmac, her gloves and thick winter wear thankfully taking most of the impact as she lands on the ground. She tries to get back up and slips again, so she tries to crawl backwards to her car and lever herself up that way while Garret’s screams turn into what sounds like the cry of a new born, then silence and the rest of her clothes fall to the ground.

The something then looks over to her, as if scrutinising her.

Finding the door handle, which was thankfully unlocked, Laura pulls the door open and practically throws herself into the driver’s seat just as the something moves towards her. Closing the door and locking it securely, she rams the keys into the starter and the car comes to life after a quick turn.

“What was that thing? WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT THING?! WHAT DID IT DO TO HER?!” The wheels skid against the icy tarmac and the car starts to move just as a claw like hand slams against the glass of the driver side door.

“Move, you piece of over priced junk, MOVE!” Another slam and a crack appears. “MOVE!” The car finally jumps forward while the something gives a screech of anger mixed with pain. Pressing down hard on the accelerator and hoping the whatever it was isn’t following, Laura races for home, thankfully not having an accident in the process.

What was that thing?

~~

1884 ~ Vanity:

So many dead by her hand, so many who have given their youth to her without having a say in the matter. The thrill of the kill was like a sweet nectar to her, the sensation of having the power of life and death was a drug that she wanted more of.

Oh the villagers were angry and scared about the murders over the years but she didn’t care, their anger did not matter, only their youth. The elders she would kill happily, there was no issue there, but the young she would kill to feed from.

She could see their torches and hear their angry cries as they stood outside the house, she knew what they were here for – blood.

She knew that they blamed her and they were right to, she had so much as confessed to her crimes in public while slitting the throat open of a victim in front of them before running to the house, laughing with glee and euphoria at what she had done. She felt no shame, no regret, she felt only her hunger to remain as young and beautiful as she was forever.

They could kill her for all she cared, her youth and beauty will never fade. Never.

Swinging the large doors open, she steps out to face the villagers, a large smile on her face, blood around her lips.

“Welcome to my home, if you have come to kill me then please do, my deeds will be forever remembered, I will never die!” She laughs again, her laugh maniacal as several of the men approach her and restrain her, she doesn’t fight them.

They push her back into the house and close the doors, then torches are thrown in after the windows are smashed and the carpets and curtains go up in flame. Still she laughs, dancing as she does so. She didn’t care any more, she would never truly die, not really.

She doesn’t see that as she is dancing that the flames are nearing her, she doesn’t feel the flames as her clothes catch alight and she is encased in flame, she just laughs.

And the laugh doesn’t end even after she is dead.

~~

2014 ~ Mystery:

The race back to her house was a blur to her, she had stopped the car so fast and had run into her house, locking the door quickly and checking her windows and doors to make sure they are all closed and secure, which they were.

She didn’t remember falling asleep on the sofa while clutching the biggest and thickest rolling pin she could find, it was all a blur to her.

Calls to her sister go unanswered before she passes out, the phone ringing wakes her hours later after the sun has risen. A co-worker was worried that she was late for work, something that usually never happened.

After saying that she would be right there, Laura freshens up, grabs a bite to eat and heads to her car. She looks over to her sister’s house and wonders about popping in quickly to check on her, she couldn’t risk being any later for work than she already was though.

What had she seen last night? Had it even been real? It couldn’t have been, it was impossible. Wasn’t it?

It had to be.

~

As Laura heads to work still thinking about what she had seen, Carrie is waking up from a night of nightmares. Everything felt so weird to her, like it wasn’t all there, all she could see was that thing and Jane shrinking into her clothing.

Had it all been real? Had she really seen what she had seen? What was that thing? She needed to know, she had to know.

Sitting up in bed with a groan, Carrie tries to process what she had seen into a more understandable form. Was that creature some kind of secret in this town? If so then why? Surely the police and anyone else who knew wasn’t actually turning their backs on people being hunted by this thing?

Were they?

So many questions and not a single answer to be found, the police had even suggested to her when she had been in hospital for her to avoid speaking about what she had seen. They had seemed fearful when talking to her, but why?

What was that thing and where did it come from?

~

Images of what had happened to Garret continue to plague Laura’s thoughts as she tries to work, it was hard to believe that what she had seen could have been real, but it made more sense for it to be real than not. She had really seen Garret become younger and then disappear, she had seen that whatever it was. Had that thing been responsible for the disappearances of her parents and many others over the years?

She wanted to talk about it but who would believe her?

“Laura? Boss wants to see you” She doesn’t respond at first, she was too lost in her thoughts. “Laura, boss wants to see you” A hand touches her shoulder and she jumps, her heart racing before she realises that a co-worker was trying to get her attention.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you, but the boss wants to see you” Nodding a mumbled thank you, Laura gets up from her desk and heads through to the mayor’s office to see what she wanted.

She couldn’t stop thinking about what she had seen.

~

Breakfast was tasteless to her, the act of the usual morning routine seemed hollow to her, even the call from her work about her being late didn’t mean anything to her. How could it? Everything seemed so pointless while she tried to understand what she had seen.

No one talks to her much at work, which is fine with her, and once it is done she heads back home in time to see her sister waiting for her.

“Carrie, I think it’s time I helped you” Laura says quietly and Carrie just nods, she felt so numb. After letting her in and closing the door, being sure to lock it securely after closing it, Carrie drops her coat and handbag on the floor with no desire to place them on their pegs and flops down on her sofa, Laura doesn’t say anything for a moment.

“I saw it” Laura eventually says. “Garret called me after you had passed out, I went to see her and I told her to drop the case. I went back to my car and I heard her scream, I turned back and I saw her being held by something, and I watched her shrink into her clothing, I watched her turn into a child then disappear. I wanted to help but I couldn’t, then it came for me and I barely got away. You were right, the whole bunch of you were right, there is something here and it’s responsible for the disappearances. Carrie? Say something” The lights flicker before going off completely and a loud thump can be heard upstairs.

“Oh shit” Carrie whispers.

~

Hours earlier:

The mayor was nothing special in many regards, she had a stern appearance but was capable of surprising compassion when she wanted to be kind. Other times she was someone you really didn’t want to anger, even at her age of 60 years old she was a force to be reckoned with which many of her rivals have found out over the years.

“Miss Harrison, take a seat” She waits until Laura is sitting before continuing. “I understand that your sister had an encounter yesterday, is that correct?” A nod. “Miss Harrison, your sister’s encounter is a risky one. What she has seen has been a closely guarded secret for some time, we have tried to avoid the disappearances being known outside of this town but that is now looking unlikely” The cries of a new born baby, of Garret’s final cries, echo in her mind, had that been real? Had Garret been reduced to, what, to nothing by whatever that thing was? How was that even possible?

“Over a century ago there was a very wealthy family who had been one of the founders of this town, they had been a generous and caring family who had given a lot to the townspeople. When the last of the family had been murdered we lost a very valued and loved part of our town, their legacy however has left a very ugly and very dark shadow that continues to this day” Those screams, that cry, could she have been able to help? Or would she just be another pile of empty clothes and a single drop of blood on the tarmac?

“In the late 19th century a spate of murders occurred and the culprit was the eldest daughter of that family, she was known as Alica Forest. Her parents had tried to marry her off to no avail, she had no interest in being married to anyone. Many felt that she was not very interested in men or not interested in any kind of sexual relationship at all, it is hard to say, but she never married. Instead she turned to murder” Is this what had happened to her parents all those years ago? Had they been de-aged to the point of conception without a fight? Her sister was right, they had been murdered.

“From what people have been able to piece together from her diaries, which had survived the fire that destroyed her home and ended her life, or so they had thought, the murders were her attempt at being young and beautiful forever. She believed that by taking their souls at the point of death that she would be given long life, so for several years she would invite the most beautiful and handsome townspeople to her home where she would wine and dine them, then drug them and kill them” How many have been murdered in this fashion? How many more would die? If being reduced to the point of conception could even be considered murder.

“After several years she confessed to her crimes in public, but not in a court or in church, but in the town square when she slit open the throat of a young woman and seemingly kissed her as she died. She confessed to her crimes and coaxed the villagers to kill her, which they did as they chased her back to her house where they killed her. They thought that the deaths would end, but they were wrong. A few days after Alica was murdered the disappearances began, one a week at first, then two. Never too many at one time, never more than ten at a time and there would always be a gap of a year between the disappearances” So many killed, if it could be called death, so many lives wiped away.

“We learned exactly what was happening when forensics and science improved, we learned that the victims were having their youth removed from them and in the process were being made so young that they would reach the point of conception, leaving only a drop of blood and a very small amount of genetic material. Without anything to sustain them and allow for development, those cells died quickly. The victims were simply being denied existence in a very cruel fashion, by being made completely helpless then reduced to nothing but basic cells” She hears the words, she hears everything and she sees the images of Garret’s demise.

“Lauren was my daughter, Miss Harrison, and now she’s nothing but cells that will never live again, that will never be that beautiful baby girl I gave birth to. I am tired of that creature being hidden, of the disappearances being swept under the carpet because of fear. It needs to end one way or another, the creature has taken too many lives from us” Yes, it had to end, it needed to. This couldn’t be allowed to continue.

But how?

~~

1884 ~ Vanity:

Hunger, need, she, no, it felt nothing but those yearnings. It needed to feed, it needed youth. Crackling is heard as burnt skin falls away, a twisted claw of a hand reaches out and finds purchase in the burnt wood. A hiss of hunger, a yearning, a need.

It needed to feed.

The chill of the day does not faze it, the burnt skin falling away from it’s twisted mass does not bother it, only the need to feed keeps it moving. Youth, it needed youth.

It can hear the sounds of people near by, it did not want to attract a crowd though, it would have to take one of them without being seen. So it waits, stalking, watching, waiting. The hunger is intense but the danger was too great, too many people to defend against.

It sees a villager walking alone, it waits until the villager is close enough then reaches out quickly and pulls the villager in. The villager tries to scream but is silenced by a claw while the other claw grips tightly onto the throat.

The villager begins to shrink, their features soften, youthfulness returns to their aged features and the villager becomes lighter as their mass decreases. The sensation of feeding was intense, overwhelming. It’s body sang with the delight as it fed, it did not care what was happening to the villager for the youth only became purer, more delicious as the villager rapidly returned to infancy.

Soon there was nothing but a pile of clothes at it’s feet, the villager was gone and some viscous fluid along with a single drop of blood splashed down onto the clothing.

More, it needed more. It must feed!

~~

2014 ~ Mystery – Mayor Ipson:

Giving Laura access to the private records, Mayor Sandra Ipson heads back to her office and takes out an old photo album. The news of her daughter’s death had been hard on her but she hadn’t wanted to show any sorrow in case it made others lose any morale due to the disappearances.

Too many people were disappearing and she didn’t want to cause a panic, although one was bound to occur if the creature couldn’t be stopped.

For years she had tried to keep it as secret as her predecessors had done, they had explained the reasons why and she had accepted them. But none of them had lost a family member to the creature, none of them were facing a funeral without a body to be buried or cremated.

How could one bury a dried spot of blood and dead cells that couldn’t be seen in anything but a microscope?

She opens the album and the first picture she sees is herself as a much younger woman 16 years younger than her daughter had been at the time of her death holding a new born baby girl in her arms, a large beaming smile of tired pride on her face.

She had loved her daughter deeply and had done nothing to prevent her daughter from investigating the disappearances, aside from preventing her from accessing the private records. Maybe if she had given her the access then she would still be here, maybe.

A sudden chill can be felt from behind her and she turns to see a window has opened, and a shape stands.

“Take me then, you took all I had left. You want your revenge then go ahead, have it! You’ll never be satisfied, Alica, never!” The shape hisses in hunger and reaches out, gripping Sandra’s shoulder tightly.

As her clothes begin to loosen and the years fall away, Sandra thinks of her daughter before darkness embraces her.

~

Hours later:

Another heavy thump can be heard from upstairs, the doors upstairs were closed but that likely wasn’t going to stop whatever it was up there.

“We need to leave the house, come on!” Laura remarks as she makes for the door, Carrie doesn’t move from the sofa though. “Carrie, come on! It already got the mayor earlier and several of the staff, it didn’t get me because I was going through the private records” She turns back to her sister who is just looking up at the ceiling.

“It isn’t safe here, Carrie, that thing is after both of us!” Carrie doesn’t say anything, she just listens while looking up at the ceiling.

“Carrie, we have to go!” Carrie raises a hand, a finger going to her lips. The street light outside the house gives a little light but not much.

“It will just come after us no matter where we go, it’s seen us and we’ve seen it, it won’t stop until we’re gone” Getting up from the sofa quickly, Carrie heads through to the kitchen and returns with a couple of kitchen knives and torches. Handing one of each to her sister, she indicates to the upper floor and to the stairs, that was the only way down to the lower floor.

“That thing is stronger than us, than pretty much anyone, one touch and we’re done for” Laura hisses, the thought of being reduced to nothing but basic cells didn’t appeal to her.

“It will just keep coming after us, I can hear it in your voice, you know what this thing is and you know that it won’t stop. What is it?” Laura explains as quickly as she can, another loud thump can be heard and the sound of a door opening upstairs can be heard.

“So it’s some kind of monster created from a dead psychopath who died over a century ago? Great, that’s just great, really. And it reduces it’s victims to the point of conception leaving just a drop of blood and basic cells behind? That’s even better! We’ve not monster hunters, Laura, both of us can barely open a jar without help, what chance do we have against a youth eating monster?” Another thump, it sounded a lot closer.

“None, that’s why we should run for the car and get out of town, it never ventures far from the town limits, we’ll be safe as long as we’re miles away from here” A hissing like sound can be heard from above them. “RUN!” Laura yells as a shape drops down in front of them, Carrie lashes out with a foot and a pained hiss can be heard. Grabbing her sister, Laura runs for the back door and barely manages to get it open before a mass hits her from behind, and something strong grips her throat.

~~

1992 ~ Vanity:

Hunger, food, it needed youth. So many to stalk, so many to take. A couple approaches, they are both in their mid forties, they would be enough. Food.

They don’t see it until it’s too late, it jumps out in front of them and grips their arms tightly. They try to fight it off but their strength is draining as the years fall away. The husband tries in vain to kick out, but his shoes are too big for him now and they are sent flying.

The wife screams as loud as she can, her scream sounding younger with each passing second. The husband weakens at the same rate as his wife, both of them now little more than children of barely four years old, now three, two, one. They cry and soon those cries cease, silence fills the night.

The clothes aren’t found until the next morning, ID is found on them when the police search through the clothing. Karen and David Harrison, they had two children, Carrie Harrison age 10, Laura Harris age 23.

Laura takes the news with shocked silence, Carrie screams and cries for her parents to return. They never do, they are never able to.

The funeral is an awkward affair, no bodies to bury, only empty caskets. With no one to care for her sister, Laura becomes her sister’s sole guardian.

The disappearances continue, unsolved, no bodies to bury.

And it continues to hunt.

~~

2014 ~ Mystery:

The grip is tight and Laura tries to get free of it, but her strength is slipping away and her clothes seem to be becoming loose as her age begins to melt away.

“LET GO OF MY SISTER!” Carrie screams out and she slashes out at the creature, the knife not even making much of an impact. The creature hisses and lets Laura go before turning on Carrie, tackling her and holding her down.

Feeling her strength return to her, Laura quickly gets up and sees her sister beginning to shrink rapidly, she looked to be no more than sixteen years old, now fifteen.

Grabbing the first thing that comes to hand, Laura brings it down as hard as she can onto the creature while yelling at it to let go of her sister.

“LET HER GO! CARRIE!” Carrie tries to cry out, her voice sounding like that of a six year old girl.

“Lauwa! Hewp me!” Baby fat forms on Carrie’s face and increases, she was no more than two years old now, tiny in her clothes. Bringing down what she had grabbed even harder, Laura kicks at the creature and it finally lets go of Carrie and turns to Laura, hissing angerily. The sound of a baby crying can be heard from Carrie’s clothes.

“You want youth? Be reborn!” Laura cries out as she brings her weapon down hard onto the creature’s head, making it stagger and fall to the ground. Again she hits it and again, throwing all of her rage and anger into every hit. With a hiss of pain and hunger, the creature avoids the final hit and runs into the night as quickly as it can, leaving Laura standing with what she finds to be a shovel in her hands, Carrie must have left it out when she was shovelling the snow that had covered the town last week.

Dropping to her knees in exhaustion, Laura turns her attention to her sister and picks up the tiny infant in the bundle of clothes. Carrie coos at her, now little more than around 18 months old, maybe a little younger. Her eyes showing her return to innocence, her hair soft and wispy on her head, her arms, hands and fingers as tiny as Laura remembered from when Carrie had been a baby before so many years ago, back when their parents had been alive.

“My beautiful, brave sister, I’m so sorry that I didn’t believe you. You were right all along” Carrie just babbles in reply and reaches for her sister, not caring that she’s wetting herself and her former grown up clothing.

~~

Leaving:

A few days after fighting the creature away, Laura kisses her sister gently on the forehead and returns to her typing, her sister babbles happily in her baby swing while she plays with her rattle.

’I will close this report with these final thoughts. I do not know if the legacy of Alica will ever end, the private records reporting that what was created from her remains has proven to be hard to injure or kill, it’s strength is enough for it to fend off against many men, it can survive being burned, run over, crushed, beaten and shot.

This town is cursed by the twisted remains of a mad woman who died revelling in her madness, from what the reports have said as the villagers heard her laugh until she died, and even then her laughter still echoed in the ruins of the former Forest house. That curse may never be ended if the monster that has come from those remains is unable to be destroyed.

My return to young adulthood is taking some time to get used to, being in my early twenties again is nice but unusual at the same time. To be so young again and so filled with energy is not what I ever expected, I was reluctantly getting used to the fact that I was no longer a spring chicken, so to speak.

My sister’s return to infancy has been hard to adapt to, she is such a beautiful and precious baby, but I am worried that I may not be a good mother to her. And in many ways I am her mother now, the monster’s reversion process when it attacked me and fed on me has changed things in me, I do not feel like a sister to my sister, I feel like a mother, I have even found myself lactating and breast feeding her.

I am concerned about how this will affect my sister, well my daughter I guess if these motherly feelings continue to increase. It will be hard to explain all of this to her when she is older, if I feel it is best to explain it to her.

I have decided that it is time for me and Carrie to leave this town, the monster will only return for us and I do not want to risk either of our lives. The arrangements have already been made, it is short notice but every second here is just too dangerous for both of us.

I hope that some day the legacy of Alica will be ended, for the sake of the townspeople and for anyone who comes to this town.

Her vanity and lust for eternal youth turned her into a monster, and that monster is feeding on the youth of innocent people, their very lives.

Monsters truly do exist, and they never give up as long as you are in their sights.’

Her typing now finished, Laura saves the file to an external drive, takes the drive from the computer and places it in her handbag.

“Well then, my little nappy bum, let’s get out of here” Laura remarks as she takes Carrie from her baby swing and straps her into a baby car seat, Carrie happily blowing bubbles before sucking on her baby dummy that Laura pops into her mouth.

~

Laura’s car leaves the outskirts of the town behind, leaving behind many painful memories. In the back seat Carrie suckles on her baby dummy happily while Laura focuses on her driving, occasionally taking a second to peek back on Carrie, smiling with love and tenderness for her sister.

“Wherever we go, I hope we never return here”

~~

Ten weeks later:

Hunger, food, need food. Must feed.

Someone coming this way, a ripe age, plenty to eat, to consume. Must eat, food, need, hunger.

Must eat.

Vanity thy name is

 

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