Jodi Lee - Ante Mortem

The strange thing was his apartment was a corner unit and there was no one on the other side of that wall, nothing but the outside of course.

Chad placed his ear to the wall, listening attentively. A smirk formed on his lips as he figured he was probably just suffering from the effects of a hangover that would undoubtedly render him useless when the sun came up.

Suddenly, the wall shook violently. Chad fell back, stunned, his mouth agape. A fissure formed, shooting right down the length of the wall, splintering like a spider web. Debris shot over the bed and Chad leapt to the floor.

A roar pealed through the room as the wall crumbled, and a creature hurled itself to the floor in a giant ball. It rose slowly to a towering height, its body covered in razor-sharp quills.

Azure eyes pierced the gloom and focused on the terrified Chad, who refused to believe what he was seeing. A scream died in his throat, but his legs sprang into action and he dashed for the bedroom door.

The creature howled and he could see it writhing out of the corner of his eye. Intense pain washed over his back and he fell to the floor, his skin ripe with the quills that lanced his back and buttocks like acupuncture needles.

To his horror, Chad realized he couldn’t move as a poison pumped into his flesh. The pain diminished as his entire body went numb.

He heard the creature scale the nearest wall, then drop to the floor beside him with a thud. It turned the helpless Chad over with spindly claws, leaned its grotesque face into him, and thrust a blunt, wet snout towards him. In the meager light, he could see a lipless mouth open, revealing massive tusks and rows of tiny teeth covered in black foam. The creature took hold of his shoulders and climbed atop him.

Unable to move, Chad watched as hundreds of teeth sank into his chest. Not a sound escaped him, but inside he prayed for death and shut his eyes as the beast ate him alive.

Daniel’s eyes popped open and he reached for Jeremy’s side of the bed. “Jeremy?” Where’s he gone to now? He rose from the bed and stepped into the small bathroom just outside the door. After relieving himself, he downed a glass of water and headed down the stairs.

The dining room and kitchen were dark, so Daniel strolled through the living room and stepped into the narrow back hallway. A single door to his right was closed. It was never closed. The room behind it was a small, oddly shaped room that Jeremy used as an office. A lot of these old two or three story houses had whacky little rooms that could barely serve a purpose.

Dim light flickered under the door and Daniel heard a groan on the other side. “Jeremy?” he called, thinking his boyfriend was in some sort of distress until he heard a giggle.

He pushed the door open in time to see Jeremy extinguish a candle and close the glossy cover of a rather large book. “Jeremy, is everything alright?” The faint scent of sulfur wafted past his nostrils.

“Everything’s good, Danny.” Jeremy turned and smiled. He held out his arms and Daniel went willingly into them, the embrace warm and comforting. Over his lover’s shoulder he spotted the book, the title read: Queer Magick. There was a subtitle but Daniel couldn’t make it out.

“Where did you get that book?” Daniel asked with a chuckle. He thought the title was absurd and knew it had to be some kind of joke Jeremy was conjuring up.

“On the internet,” Jeremy replied. “I thought it was very fascinating. I didn’t even know we had our own magic,” he laughed out loud.

Daniel returned his playful mood with his own. “Sounds really hokey to me.”

“Well, it’s just for fun. You know how I like weird and mysterious things.” He tussled Daniel’s hair.

“Cut it out and come back to bed.”

Jeremy ran his fingers down Daniel’s cheeks and stared into his eyes intensely. “You are so beautiful, Danny. I wish I was too.”

“Don’t be silly,” Daniel kissed Jeremy on the cheek. “You are beautiful to me.” He really did believe that. For an older man, Jeremy was in very good shape. So what if his skin was beginning to show signs of aging with a few stress lines? So his chestnut hair had more strands of gray than any gay man he knew. It didn’t matter. He only cared about what was inside , having something real and lasting. That’s why he gave up the scene and the parties to move in with Jeremy six months ago.

“You’re sweet, my love.” Jeremy pulled Daniel to him again and they kissed, deeply. “Okay, let’s go back to bed.”

The morning sun was rejuvenating. Daniel basked in it momentarily before fetching the newspaper off the front stairs and heading back up to their second floor apartment.

He straddled a stool at the kitchen countertop as Jeremy poured himself some coffee, who planted a peck on his cheek before searching for something to eat.

Daniel unfolded the paper and his eyes widened. A flood of emotions rushed through him. His heart fluttered. “Oh my God…” the words tumbled out of him.

“What, sweetie,” Jeremy stopped what he was doing and turned to Daniel. “Danny, what is it?”

“It’s your ex… Chad, he’s… he’s been murdered.”

“Good riddance I say.”

Daniel’s heart dropped, shock nearly crippling him. The newspaper slipped from his hands and for a moment he stared speechless at Jeremy. “How can you say that? Chad was one of my best friends. We were so close before I started dating you. For God sakes he introduced us.”

Jeremy slammed the refrigerator shut. “You have no idea how hurtful he was to me. How he treated me. He told me I was ugly. He left me because he didn’t find me attractive anymore. How do you think that made me feel?”

“I know he hurt you, babe, but Chad wasn’t a horrible person. He didn’t deserve this. No one does.” Daniel’s bottom lip trembled as he finished the sentence.

An awkward silence swallowed the room until Daniel felt his lover’s hands ease gently around his shoulders. “You’re right,” Jeremy whispered in his ear. “That was a bit cold. Sorry, sweetie.”

“It’s okay.” He glanced up at Jeremy noticing how deep the bags under his eyes suddenly appeared. It’s like I don’t know him sometimes.

“I’m going to eat out for breakfast,” Jeremy said. “And do our food shopping. I’ll catch up with you later.” He tussled Daniel’s hair and headed for the front door.

Daniel got up and shuffled over to the living room window. He watched Jeremy get into his car and check his face in the rear view mirror, running his hands over his cheeks again and again as if he was trying to smooth the skin. He ran his hands through his hair a few times then started the car.

What is he doing? A chill slithered up Daniel’s spine despite the growing humidity. A creak caught his attention and he turned to see the office door slightly ajar.

Daniel took the orange line subway to Chad’s neighborhood, where rows of brownstones loomed over him like ruined castles. They all looked the same, silently guarding their secrets. He stopped in front of Chad’s building and took a deep breath before entering.

“I’m not supposed to be doing this,” the elderly landlady said. “The police told me not to let anyone in but I know you and he were so close. Chad adored you. The two of you were inseparable. How could I not let you have one last moment here?”

“I really appreciate this Mrs. Bennington. You don’t know how much this means to me.”

The landlady unlocked the door to Chad’s apartment. Daniel ducked under the yellow crime scene tape and slipped into the room, but as soon as he was in the apartment he wanted to leave. An overwhelming feeling of dread filled him.