was dying. H e r siblings were dead. She was all the family left to take over and run her father's multimillion dollar businesses. Why had life sabotaged her this way, ruining every plan she made?
As she was fiddling with the flashlight and reaching for the combination lock, she felt a sudden, sharp pain in her left scapula that caused her to almost pass out. She swayed on her feet, dropped the flashlight, and held onto the wood panel door to keep from fainting outright. Oh God, she thought, what's happening? Am I havin g a heart attack?
She bit down on her lower lip. As the pain passed, she stumbled in the dark to chase the flashlight that had rolled a few feet away. When she bent to retrieve it, another sharp pain brought her to her knees. She reached for her shoulder an d pressed down, trying to bar the pain. She gasped. She felt an ominous knot and, in the darkness, her eyes grew wide in fear. She got hold of the flashlight, twisted her head and aimed the bright white beam on her shoulder. She pushed back the collar of h er blouse. She saw it now. The knot was no knot at all. It was a tiny...
… head .
She clenched shut her eyes, then opened them again, hoping to find it gone. No , she thought, no-no-no-no. A cold shot of adrenalin forged through her body like a ship steaming full throttle across a placid ocean. Her vision was clear, her mind blankly open in fascination. There was no hair on the tiny head, just a skull covered with her taut skin. The miniature face was misshaped, the nose flattened to one side, the lips hangin g open on raw gums, the little eyes closed against the world. Even as she stared, dumbfounded, the head grew, stretching against the skin and muscles of her body, inching forth into the world. She saw the beginning of a neck, the tendons tightly coiled, st r etching, arching.
Hello, MaryBeth. Can we be friends?
The shock of the new voice inside her head traveled through her body, shaking her to her very depths. She dropped the flashlight and screamed.
#
Enveloped in a giant black hoodie, the skinny blond girl crept around the tents of the sideshow. She could hear the announcer inside introducing the acts.
She passed by the carnival barker counting his proceeds from the crowd inside, and turned the corner of the tent. High overhead a full moon rode a gray cloudless sky, tracking her with shadow. Beneath her feet the gravel wheezed as she stepped forward. The scent of donuts fried in pots of hot grease made her stomach turn. She found the flap and pushed in s ide, shutting out the noise and babble of the midway.
The hall was dark. She made her way by putting both hands on the canvas and following it until her fingers touched cold glass.
"Are you there?" she whispered.
Light suddenly flooded the small enclosure behind the glass and the smiling two-headed man stood there as if he had been waiting ever since she had left days before.
"Hello, there, we're glad you've come."
"Shut up," she said. "Talk to me, dead head."
Hello, MaryBeth. I knew you'd be back.
She thr ew back the great black hood of her jacket and slipped it off her shoulders to let it fall to the sawdust floor. "Look at me." She glowered in fury. "Look what you've done."
Next to MaryBeth's normal head sat a second one just the same size, the eyelids cl osed with eyeballs rolling, the mouth agape and dripping saliva onto her shirt.
Oh, how beautiful you are!
"Devil! Demon! Warlock! You put a curse on me. You've disfigured me!"
I did no such thing. That's your evil, MaryBeth. That's your heart and your sou l. That's your twin self, the one that has wanted to come out all of your young life-- and now it has. It was fueled by your mean spirit. It was born of your heartless ambition. I suppose it speaks to you, does it not? And is it wise, MaryBeth? We know it isn't really beautiful, not like your brother and sister were before a train dismembered one and a deadly mushroom poisoned the other. But, tell me, is it all you could
As she was fiddling with the flashlight and reaching for the combination lock, she felt a sudden, sharp pain in her left scapula that caused her to almost pass out. She swayed on her feet, dropped the flashlight, and held onto the wood panel door to keep from fainting outright. Oh God, she thought, what's happening? Am I havin g a heart attack?
She bit down on her lower lip. As the pain passed, she stumbled in the dark to chase the flashlight that had rolled a few feet away. When she bent to retrieve it, another sharp pain brought her to her knees. She reached for her shoulder an d pressed down, trying to bar the pain. She gasped. She felt an ominous knot and, in the darkness, her eyes grew wide in fear. She got hold of the flashlight, twisted her head and aimed the bright white beam on her shoulder. She pushed back the collar of h er blouse. She saw it now. The knot was no knot at all. It was a tiny...
… head .
She clenched shut her eyes, then opened them again, hoping to find it gone. No , she thought, no-no-no-no. A cold shot of adrenalin forged through her body like a ship steaming full throttle across a placid ocean. Her vision was clear, her mind blankly open in fascination. There was no hair on the tiny head, just a skull covered with her taut skin. The miniature face was misshaped, the nose flattened to one side, the lips hangin g open on raw gums, the little eyes closed against the world. Even as she stared, dumbfounded, the head grew, stretching against the skin and muscles of her body, inching forth into the world. She saw the beginning of a neck, the tendons tightly coiled, st r etching, arching.
Hello, MaryBeth. Can we be friends?
The shock of the new voice inside her head traveled through her body, shaking her to her very depths. She dropped the flashlight and screamed.
#
Enveloped in a giant black hoodie, the skinny blond girl crept around the tents of the sideshow. She could hear the announcer inside introducing the acts.
She passed by the carnival barker counting his proceeds from the crowd inside, and turned the corner of the tent. High overhead a full moon rode a gray cloudless sky, tracking her with shadow. Beneath her feet the gravel wheezed as she stepped forward. The scent of donuts fried in pots of hot grease made her stomach turn. She found the flap and pushed in s ide, shutting out the noise and babble of the midway.
The hall was dark. She made her way by putting both hands on the canvas and following it until her fingers touched cold glass.
"Are you there?" she whispered.
Light suddenly flooded the small enclosure behind the glass and the smiling two-headed man stood there as if he had been waiting ever since she had left days before.
"Hello, there, we're glad you've come."
"Shut up," she said. "Talk to me, dead head."
Hello, MaryBeth. I knew you'd be back.
She thr ew back the great black hood of her jacket and slipped it off her shoulders to let it fall to the sawdust floor. "Look at me." She glowered in fury. "Look what you've done."
Next to MaryBeth's normal head sat a second one just the same size, the eyelids cl osed with eyeballs rolling, the mouth agape and dripping saliva onto her shirt.
Oh, how beautiful you are!
"Devil! Demon! Warlock! You put a curse on me. You've disfigured me!"
I did no such thing. That's your evil, MaryBeth. That's your heart and your sou l. That's your twin self, the one that has wanted to come out all of your young life-- and now it has. It was fueled by your mean spirit. It was born of your heartless ambition. I suppose it speaks to you, does it not? And is it wise, MaryBeth? We know it isn't really beautiful, not like your brother and sister were before a train dismembered one and a deadly mushroom poisoned the other. But, tell me, is it all you could
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