Cornfield

The Empress

Cornfield grabbed Caiden's head by the tufts of his hair and dragged him to the oven. He opened the oven with his scythe. I didn't know what he was doing, until I heard the first slam.

Caiden had a slash going from his forehead all the way to the back of his head. He looked dazed and confused.

I stared wide eyed. His head. He just got his head slammed in.

Another slam.

Caiden had blood oozing down his face. It collected in the socket of his right eye that he could no longer open.

Another slam.

"Caiden!" I screamed. Tears streamed down my face. Chills ran up my body, as I started shaking.

The slams continued and got worse. I saw the structure of his face shift and morph. I didn't recognize him anymore. The boy that loved me and always proved it. My boyfriend. My best friend.

"Caiden..." I slid down the wall and collapsed on the floor. "Caiden!" My voice mixed in with the slams. I screamed out for him like somehow, someway my voice was going to protect him. It only caused my throat to become raw.

When I looked up again, half of Caiden's skin was off his skull, while the other half hung onto a straggly piece of skin. His jaw hung slack from his face. The bones in his face were shifted or protruding from open wounds. Blood was smeared all along his face, but something was missing. I didn't know what, until I saw his eyeball on the open oven door with a puddle of flesh and blood.

My stomach lurched. I turned and threw up beside myself. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, as I looked up at Cornfield.

There was a gleeful look in his eyes, but his mouth was straight. He let go of what was left of Caiden and made his way towards me.

I screamed. "No! Please! Help me!" I pushed away from the wall. I glanced at Cornfield before focusing on the shotgun. I grabbed it and pointed it at Cornfield. The higher I aimed the gun the shakier my hands got. The tears in my eyes made my vision blurry. Sobs escaped my mouth in waves.

"Please," I cried.

Cornfield knocked the gun out of my hands. He grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me up towards the kitchen counter.

I screamed and pulled against him. His grip was like a machine: cold and strong. I couldn't escape.

"God, please," I whispered. "Help me."

A switch went off and the whorls of a blender sounded throughout the room. Before I knew it, my hand was shredding inside it.

"Aaaaahhhhhhh!" I screamed loud enough that I felt it throughout my whole body. I shook and cried as I watched the tops of my fingers slowly disintegrate. Red filled the blender quickly. My nails mixed in with my flesh and blood at the bottom of the blender.

I turned my head, as I felt a grumble in my stomach. If I hadn't already thrown up, it would've happened now, watching Cornfield create a smoothie made from my flesh. I watched as the blades ate up the rest of the flesh on my hand; chipping some of the bones along the way. The only thing that remained was the blood stained bones in my hand.

Cornfield pulled my hand out of the blender and pushed me back. Blood oozed down my forearm. I took a deep breath. "I believe in God." I looked up at Cornfield.

He was in the middle of bringing his scythe down on me.

"The Father Almighty," I continued, "creator of Heaven and Earth."

On the way down, the scythe got caught on my necklace; breaking it. I listened to the sounds of beads against the floor, as the scythe entered my chest.

"And...in...Jesus Christ..." I gurgled, as I slumped down to the floor. "His only Son...our Lord...who was conceived...by the...Holy Spirit..."

***

"So you all heard everything?" Officer Lycan asked.

I took a breath and nodded. "There was a gunshot...and...and Natalie screamed...a lot." I paused. "After what we assumed was the last scream, we waited a while before deciding what to do.

'Do you think something happened?' Kaitlyn asked.

'I don't want my mind to imagine things,' I said. 'We need to check on them.'

'Is Roxanne okay enough for that?' Danny asked.

The three of us looked in her direction.

'I'll stay in the kitchen,' Roxanne said. 'I'll keep a lookout at the top.'

Danny and I shared a look.

'Let's just do it,' Danny said. 'I'm worried.'

I nodded.

Danny and I helped Roxanne up to her feet. She wrapped an arm around Danny's shoulders. The four of us slowly walked out of Kaitlyn's room. I was at the front of the group with Kaitlyn a few paces back. Danny and Roxanne were behind Kaitlyn.

At the bottom of the steps, we rounded left and walked back to the kitchen. The first thing I noticed was the oven. Blood coated it as well as the areas around it. I walked closer and saw pieces of brain squished against different surfaces like the floor and counter. On the oven door was a thick pile of flesh and brain that contained sprinkles of bone. A couple of flies flew around it or burrowed themselves into it.

My stomach lurched. I turned and took a breath before looking back. The one thing I failed to notice was the eyeball staring back at me from the mountain of flesh. I hunched over and threw up. My stomach convulsed in waves, as everything forced itself out of it. Tears burned in my eyes.

Someone patted my back.

I turned and looked up at Kaitlyn. She held out a paper towel for me.

I took it and wiped my mouth before tossing it in the trash. 'Thanks.'

'Are you okay?' Danny asked.

I nodded. I stood up straight and looked at the rest of the kitchen.

The room reeked of flesh and vomit. Blood was splattered against the cabinets and pooled around the counter. I noticed the blender was filled with blood and something else, something like flesh. Drops of blood slid down from the counter. There was also a big puddle on the floor. I noticed drag marks coming from the puddle towards the basement door. Looking near the basement door, I noticed a pile of vomit beside it. Two flies were resting in it. I closed my eyes and took a breath. I slowly opened them.

'A body was there,' Danny said. 'And it was drug down to the basement.'

'Only one?' Kaitlyn asked.

'He could've carried the other.'

'But our best bet is down there,' I said, nodding my head towards the basement door.

Danny walked Roxanne over to a chair.

Roxanne slowly eased herself down on the chair.

'Will you be okay?' Danny asked.

Roxanne nodded. 'Go find them.'

Danny and I shared a look.

'And don't forget the first aid kit, while you're down there.'

I nodded. I grabbed Kaitlyn's hand. 'Let's go.'