“Goddess give me strength. Goddess give me patience.” River Moon Falls had been praying all night. The chicken she had started to make for dinner, the one that looked like a man’s ding dong, still sat on the kitchen counter letting watery blood spread all over the counter top.
She sat in meditation and prayed for anything that her mind could grasp at. The problem is, she didn’t think that anyone was listening. They say the Goddess always provides-well, why couldn’t she give her Samantha back?
River Moon Falls had her ear phones in and was sitting in front of her alter. Calming and soothing music (that did nothing to calm and soothe her broken heart) was playing. Finally growing tired of Celtic music and praying to a Goddess that had more important things to do, she took out the ear phones.
It was then that she heard people screaming. They seemed to be yelling at each other, a bunch of women and two men. Goddess, what was with some people? She stood up and made for her apartment door, intent on opening it and telling the people making all the racket to shut the fuck up, when there was a knock at her door.
She stopped River Moon Falls tried to look through her peep hole, but couldn’t. It had been blacked out or was being covered by something. “Who is it, please?”
“Candy gram.” Said a mans voice. “Candy gram for Miss Petunia? From a Miss Samantha Reves?”
River’s heart sped up and her cheeks flushed. She started to cry again and didn’t want anyone to see her. She looked like a chipmunk on steroids when she cried. “Just leave the package there, please.”
“With pleasure, ma’am. Don’t stay inside all day, you should come out and play. It’s too nice a day to stay inside.”
River Moon Falls had no idea what the delivery man was talking about. It was early morning and the sky was still pitch black. She could see a line of red sun on the horizon though, so the sunrise was coming.
With careful steps, no idea why was afraid, River walked towards the door. She opened it and looked down for her package. When she looked down she let out a scream instead. Samantha’s body was lying there, bloody from the neck down from a long gash that ran along her throat. Even now, it gushed blood, hot and wet and red.
She screamed again when Samantha’s body started moving. She got up on her elbows then sat up, looking at River Moon Falls the entire time.
Samantha smiled at her. “You going to help a girl up? Or are you going to leave me on the floor and fuck me here?”
“Wh-what?” River hated how her voice sounded, all reedy and pathetic.
“Help me up, Petunia.”
She nodded and reached out a hand to Samantha. Her hands were cold and, this close up to her, River could see that Samantha’s collar bone was broken too. She screamed again and tried to back into her apartment, but Samantha grabbed her hand.
“That’s no way to leave me, on the floor like a piece of trash. You can at least invite me in for a drink. And for fuck sakes, stop screaming.”
River nodded again and prayed to the Goddess for strength. Once again, however, she didn’t think the Goddess was listening. River wondered if she had anything in her book of shadows about dead people coming back to life, but that would make Samantha a zombie, right? She didn’t have anything in all of her books on zombies, didn’t even like horror films.
Samantha closed the door behind her with a click. “Good thing the trannies and lezbos were arguing downstairs, otherwise your screaming would have sent everyone running to see what the matter was. That’s okay though, as I am a little hungry, but there would have been so many questions.” She took a cigarette out of her coat pocket and lit it. “I so hate questions.”
“Why are you here, Samantha? How are you here? You look as if you died.”
“I did die, but the desire to live can do amazing thing, you know. Amazing thing. I had to see you one last time.”
“Why? You had your other tart. You had the person you’ve been cheating on me with.”
“To be fair, I was cheating on her with you.”
“Fine, so why did you come back? How can you be back?”
Smoke from her comes out of the gash in her neck as she puffs on it. “Well, see, your to blame for that too. I was leaving and some fucktard slit my throat. I thought I had died, but I woke up like this. Everything is your god damned fault and your precious goddess can’t provide you an answer to this.”
“Then why did you come back!” Petunia screamed, all trace of River Moon Falls gone. “Why? What do you fucking want from me?”
“To give you this.”
Samantha lunged at Petunia and Petunia let her. It was easier to let her dig her teeth into her neck and give in rather than fight her. Her blood slid out of her body and she wondered how she tasted. She was about to let go completely when a light inside her said: *fight* It was a strong voice that filled Petunia with a will not her own. *get up and fight, darn you. do it now!*
So Petunia listened to the voice and chose to fight.
69B 