Candy Pop Corpse

4. Gumdrop Goodbye

She narrowed her eyes and pulled Mary closer. "I don't remember being an exhibit for the 'Please Touch Museum,' do you?"

"No, no, no, it's not like that." I waved my hands in defense. "I... I just want to remember what a heartbeat felt like."

"I see. Mary, could you go get some more candy? It'll make Mama and Lulu feel much better."

The girl looked to her mother and nodded. "Candy save Mama and Lulu. Is it make-up time?"

"Yeah. Hang on," she said before walking to another box and taking out cosmetic supplies. Brushes, reds and whites were applied to Mary's face to hide her peeling skin.

"Look alive!" I said after she was done. Indeed, the girl transformed―her flaws and wounds covered by the power of powder. Her cheeks even held a faint blush that only the living could pull off.

The girl stepped towards the opening in the wall. Before crawling out, she waved. "Okay, bye bye."

"Bye bye!" we both said.

When I heard her footsteps grow distant, I sighed. "Nevermind about the breast thing. I guess I still... can't believe I'm dead. Sorry, Miss..."

"Bonnie. It's Bonnie. I normally don't do this, so consider yourself lucky." She slid closer to me and took my hand. "This is a one time offer, got it?"

I stared at her, bulge-eyed when she placed it over her left breast. "Thank you, Miss Bonnie! I―"

My sentence rested unfinished as I registered the steady thump, thump, thump beneath my palm. Even with her blue dress covering it, I could feel her heart at work.

I brought my free hand to my own chest in hopes of finding the same rhythm. Alas, it seemed like mine was on retirement. "So," I muttered, dropping my hands to my side. "You're alive, and I'm... My heart really doesn't work anymore."

She shook her head while pushing me back down. "Neither does Mary's, and I still love her."

"I wish Jack thought the same way."

"You must really love him." She took hold of her needle and pushed a thread through its eye. After tying it in a knot, Bonnie reached for my arm. "Always cherish those feelings."

"Sure, I do." Yet as I spoke my voice wavered. Was I, as his little sister, expected to love him no matter what? The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to strangle him. My fingers twitched at the idea just as I slid my tongue across my cheek. The same grotesque flavor captured my tastebuds. "He may be gone now but, I won't let him die until I find him."

A tooth for a tooth, after all.

Bonnie pushed her hair behind her shoulder with a sigh. "Alright, that's enough. You're a valued patient and can't do anything as you are now. So sit still and let me do what I can."

"You're a doctor?" I asked, rising my brows. How unexpected.

A small smile perched on her face. "Something like that."

While she sewed my wounds closed, I kept my eyes on the ceiling. Every time she poked the needle in my skin, the bitter memory of Freddy and Guno made me flinch. But, they were dead now. Apparently, I killed them...? Still, Mary was the one with blood on her. Maybe she lied. It couldn't be me. After all, I'm... I'm different.

Or am I?

Two threads twisted together into a scarlet bow at the end of my wrist. I brushed my finger against it. "If you're alive, how come Mary's like that?"

"I didn't protect her." She snipped the threads' loose ends.

"Ah, I'm sorry―"

"I don't mind. This world's too chaotic for anywhere to be safe, but I still had hope she would be." Bonnie moved to my punctured ankle. She kept her eyes glued on my wound, hands trembling. "A few days ago, we were attacked by savages because of my daughter's... speech condition. I didn't want Mary to get hurt, so I told her to run away. But... she was attacked by the undead right after. Now, she's―"

"―a monster?"

"No! Mary's still my daughter. I just know it. She hasn't attacked me ever since her turning, even when I was terrified and injured. Mary still gives me these things," she said, pointing to the candy next to her, "because I used to tell her it healed people. If this keeps her sane, then I don't care what she eats."

"You're an odd one. Aren't you scared of her? Of me?"

Bonnie shook her head with a smile as tears slid down her cheeks. "Sometimes the greatest monster is man, and I don't mean the dead kind."

I nodded in understanding, remembering the savages who attacked me yesterday along with the ones who threatened my brother and me when I was still alive. Maybe that was why Jack left me. He was tired of it all.

As if on cue, a plank of wood fell to the floor. "Back," someone's high-pitched voice squeaked.

"Mary!" The creases in her face relaxed once Bonnie laid eyes on her daughter. She put the tools down and ran to embrace her. "Are you hurt? Did anyone see you?"

Mary shook her head. When she tried to speak, her words were muffled by Bonnie's breasts, so she backed away with a cough. "No one saw me. But I lost some candy."

"That's okay, I'm just glad you're back." Bonnie took the candy from her arms and dropped it in the pile near me. She smiled at it, then got back to work on my other wrist. "You can have some candy if you want―it's not like you can get cavities."

"Ca... Candy?" she sputtered. "I love candy!"

Then, the girl proceeded to carefully unwrap a chocolate bar. She licked her lips before taking a bite.

I gulped, thinking of the slice of cake I never got to eat before getting tortured. My fingers twitched more at the longing for sugar than the constant probbing at my wrist. After puking up rainbows, I'd eat anything right now. Even brains. My eyes switched from the ceiling to Bonnie's rather delicious-looking head. If I pushed hard enough, I could squeeze out her pink, swelling brain. Until it oozed out like the jelly stuffed in a doughnut.

Mouth hung agape, I turned away once she glanced at me. No, no, no. She was helping me―why would I eat her? Besides, eating someone was wrong!

But if what Mary said was true, then...

I didn't dare finish that thought.

**

A smile spread across Bonnie's sweat-soaked face. "Done! Try getting up now. Slowly."

Slowly. I used my elbows to sit up. They twitched at first, then settled down once Bonnie pulled my back up. I looked at Mary, who was busy licking the chocolate off her cheeks, then smiled. "Okay, I'm ready."

Bonnie's hand froze above my shoulder. "Do you want help?"

I shook my head, pushing her back. "With all due respect, I don't think I'd be able to handle being so close to someone so..."

Plump.

"A-Anyways, I want to try it on my own." I fiddled with the hay to keep myself distracted. Snatching a strand off, I stood. At first my legs wobbled, then straightened after Bonnie gave me support. I leaned on her shoulder while offering a shaky smile. "See? Just like rehabilitation!"

Bonnie didn't seem convinced. She shook her head, chuckling before taking hold of Mary's wandering hand. "How about this?" She picked up a bundle of lollies and waved them in my face. "Everytime you successfully walk to where I point, I'll give you one of these."

I rose to the challenge. With a smirk curling my lips, I shook her hand. "Deal."

However, as we settled on the agreement, the barn shook. My focus switched from Mary and Bonnie to the rusted lock dangling at the entrance. I turned to the worn doors to find an eye peeking through a hole.

"Found you," its owner sang, accompanied by sinister laughter.

Savages.