Shades: Eight Tales of Terror

Shades: Eight Tales of Terror Read Free Page A

Book: Shades: Eight Tales of Terror Read Free
Author: D Nathan Hilliard
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in and crept up the stairs…still armed with the same knife she killed poor Betty with.”
    “Okay, Margie. I get the picture. You don’t have to tell the rest.”
    “Yes.” The older woman turned to face Jessica and leaned back against the sink. “Yes, I do. It was worse than you think. Emma woke up to the sound of Priscilla stabbing Robert. She opened her eyes to the sight of that psychotic bitch standing over him, wearing her wedding dress, and covered in his blood. He must have already been dead or dying, because Emma never heard anything from him. And there she lay, naked and unarmed with a blood drenched psychopath in the room.”
    “What did she do?”
    “The only thing she could.” Margie shook her head sadly. “She fought. She fought Priscilla with her bare hands when that murderous tramp came over Roberts’s body after her. I don’t know if I would have had the guts to try it, and I know a lot of women who would have just screamed and hid under the sheets while they got stabbed to death, but Emma fought her.”
    “Good for her!”
    “Yeah,” Margie whispered, “good for her. She tried—and it got her killed—but not before she managed to send that evil witch to hell.”
    “Emma killed her?”
    “Yep…Oh, I doubt it’s what she intended. I imagine she was just fighting for her life, or just fighting, but I’m pretty sure she didn’t plan what happened. She had already been stabbed several times and was bleeding out when she managed to push Priscilla off of her. That’s when the crazy bitch rolled off the bed and fell against the gas stove used to heat the place back then.”
    “Oh my God…”
    “Exactly. Unlike Priscilla, Emma didn’t want a custom tailored dress. She wanted to wear the one her mother got married in thirty years earlier. It was a pretty thing, but old and a little dry. Somehow a piece of it got through the bars and grate of the little stove…and Priscilla went up like a torch.”
    “Oh…my…God…”
    “And even then she didn’t stop. She still chased Emma to the door, and actually managed to stab her again before the flames probably blinded her. Then she went staggering and screaming out of the room, blazing like a bonfire. Somehow she made it down the stairs before she collapsed against the curtains in the downstairs living room. Of course, that just made the fire worse. Fortunately, the Whitfields, the old couple who ran The Timber Pine, had been roused by all the noise and they managed to get the blaze out before the whole house burnt down. Even then, they lost half the living room. And it was too late for poor Emma. She managed to tell Carol Whitfield what happened while they waited for the fire department, but died before help could arrive.”
    “That’s horrible, Marge!” Jessica commisera ted while rubbing her eye again. “I’m so sorry I pulled the ratty old thing out of that box, and brought all this back up for you.”
    Marge favored a fond smile on the younger woman and shook her head.
    “It’s okay, dear. It was a long time ago. If anything, I should be apologizing to you for acting like a dainty old woman with a case of the vapors and getting you worried. Here I’ve been jawing about a bunch of grisly history, and your poor eyes are killing you.”
    “It’s okay.”
    “Honey, you should see your eyes.” Marge reached across the table and gathered Jessica’s cup and saucer. “It’s not okay. You go upstairs and get that nap I’ve been keeping you from, and I’ll go take care of my shopping.”
    Jessica rose gratefully and headed for the stairway at the front of the house. She paused at the kitchen door.
    “You sure you don’t want company? I don’t mind.”
    “I’m sure.” The older woman set the china in the sink. “I would rather you rest your eyes and be feeling good this evening. Ricky and his father won’t be home till late, so you can keep me company then. Now off to bed with you!”
    “Aw, Mom!”
    “Off with you!”

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