His tears were lost in the pouring rain. The night, clouded over in a thick storm, was almost as pitch as the void in his soul—a mark forged by great loss, eating away at his insides until it defined him.
Rain and sorrow dripped from his face, splashing onto the raw soil below. The astringent odor of earthen mold burned in his sinuses despite the heavy storm. His middle-aged muscles burned, but their complaints fell on ignored synapses as he now ran on a higher octane fuel than human strength alone. Powered by desperation and passion, he worked feverishly, shoveling faster and faster despite the toll on his body.
“You wouldn’t want to help me, would you?” He said panting, swallowing heavy breaths between words.
A smooth voice responded from the hole’s edge above him, somehow making the faint moonlight dim further as it intoned.
“Why would I do that?” The voice crooned, dropping on him with such depth that he flinched at its weight.
“To… to speed things up.”
“Time is of no consequence for me.”
“But, w… what if the effort strains my heart and I go into cardiac arrest?”
“Hmph, that would speed things up, wouldn’t it?”
The man cursed to himself and continued in his labor. He dug the rich, dense soil, carving deeper into the flesh of the earth. It wasn’t long before the frenzy of his passion succumbed to exhaustion. His body wore down, opening the door for all his emotions to flow free.
Slowing to a stop, he dropped to his knees in the saturated mud and sobbed. “I’ve missed her so much. She was everything to me!”
He cried amid the harsh applause of the rain as it pummeled his world.
“I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep since she died.”
“Oh, do tell.” Oily, sighing sarcasm.
“I feel empty without her. I’ve lost the desire to eat, food is tasteless now. I have to gag it down just to survive, but I don’t—”
“Do I really have to listen to this? At least dig while you complain, Frank.”
The man did as he was asked, sobering slightly from the hint of anger in the dark voice above.
“She had so much life ahead of her. We, had so much life ahead of us, together. All of it gone in a stupid car accident. Why did she have to die?”
The thing sighed. “Does that really matter at this point?”
“But you’re going to change that.” Frank said, ignoring the question. “You can bring her back! I’ll be able to hold her again, feel her heart beating against mine. It’ll be just like before the crash.”
“Not quite. Do not forget the terms of our agreement.”
Frank shoveled in silence like a scolded child until his spade hit something with a solid thud. His passion returned and he scrambled to uncover the coffin. With a few chops of the shovel blade, Frank disengaged the locks and opened the lid to reveal a young woman dressed in white.
He plunged his hands beneath the corpse and pulled her against him.
“Mandy! Oh, my darling!”
Her lifeless body hung from his arms. Rain pelted her face. The funereal makeup rinsed away, exposing bruises and glued lacerations along her marbled skin. Mud sullied the angelic-white gown. Before Frank could turn to look out of the grave with a ‘What now?’ expression, the dead woman began to stir.
“Mandy, Honey, can you hear me?”
Her eyes fluttered and a groan oozed from her pale lips.
“It’s me,” Frank said, leaning back to look at her. “I’m here, now. You were in an accident, but I’m going to make it all better.”
“No, no, no,” she moaned and flailed her arms in feeble swipes at the air between them.
“I don’t think she wants to come back,” the dark figure added, chuckling with the gritty sound of rattling coal.
“She’s just in shock,” Frank snapped. “Give her a few moments to adjust.”
Mandy’s eyes opened and focused on his face. “Wha— But, I was—”
“It’s okay, Sweetie.”
“No, I don’t want to be here.”
“You’re just scared and confused. It’s—”
“I don’t want to be here!” She screamed and tried to squirm free of his grasp. “Get away from me!”
“Don’t say that, Honey.”
“Why won’t you leave me alone? I had to kill myself to get away from you and I’ll do it again!”
“But, the love we shared, it’s deeper than—”
“No!” Twisting her body, Mandy slid out of his arms and clawed at the mud walls of her grave.
“Please, Honey.” The man pleaded with outstretched arms. “Don’t push me away, I love you! We can be together again, just like before.”
A guttural laugh descended upon them. “It doesn’t seem like your student enjoyed it the first time, Frank.”
“It’s just the resurrection, she’s confused!”
“Really? Well, let’s make sure she understands, then, shall we?” The shadowed figure crouched down and spoke in a casual, sincere tone. “Mandy.”
“What? Who…” She search frantically for the origin of the voice, but couldn’t see past the driving rain with her clouded eyes.
“Your professor, here, is trying to reincarnate your lives together. Is that what you want?”
“N-no.” She sobbed and pointed a decaying finger at the man. “Keep him away! He raped me. He raped me repeatedly and blackmailed me to keep quiet. I’d rather die again!”
“Well, there you have it, Frank. You fucked the life right out of her long before the car crash took it.”
“Hey!” He shouted back, furious passion giving him false confidence. “A deal’s a deal, take my soul and let us go home.”
Everything stopped suddenly. The moonlight vanished, the rain ceased to fall, and the ambient noises fell silent for one long moment. Then, Frank knew why.
Cloaked in darkness, the demon landed in front of him with a teeth jarring explosion. Mud splashed over him like an ocean wave, the wet earth beneath him quaked despite its saturated surface, the rain renewed its heavy assault, and the creature’s voice pounded his eardrums.
“Don’t forget who you’re talking to, Mortal!”
Frank still couldn’t see more than just a shadowed form, but he felt the demon’s presence—hot breath pluming against his face and the pressure behind its voice seemingly added weight to the air.
Frank trembled violently and lost control of his bladder.
“Please,” he said, his voice meek and broken. “I need her!”
The demon reached out, placing a dark tendril on Mandy’s head, and commanded, “SLEEP!”
Her panic-stricken reincarnation came to an end. She collapsed at once and lay in the mud unmoving like the corpse she was and is again.
“No.” Frank croaked, his throat swollen with fear and despair.
The creature’s appendage turned to Frank and wrapped around his neck. It cinched tight and lifted him off the ground.
Now face to face with the demon, he finally saw its eyes. Painful to witness, Frank saw worlds of fire, grotesque creatures and beings of torment, gore and death, and horrors his brain couldn’t comprehend.
“You betrayed a student’s trust, abusing your mortal powers,” the demon said. “You destroyed her soul just to get your rocks off, then you sought to bring her back and live it all over again. Even I find that repulsive. You, Frank, deserve my worst.”
“But—”
“Let’s take the elevator all the way down, shall we? I want to introduce you to your new bed-mate.”
~ Tyr Kieran
© Copyright 2013 Tyr Kieran. All Rights Reserved.
Pen of the Damned 
Almost topical, over here in the UK at the moment. Very dramatic, Tyr, and interesting how we are lulled into believing their love before Mandy awakens to tell her side of the story. I’m sure it is often the case that one half of the ‘relationship’ assumes the other half feels the same way.
I felt like it could be performed quite powerfully on a stage. A sort of Gothic/Supernatural melodrama. Maybe you could start a Vlog of the Damned on Youtube?!
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I’d love to see that play! Thanks, Thomas, much appreciated!
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A great twist when we find out the nature of the relationship! I felt sorry for the digger until Mandy gives her side of the story. I wonder who/what awaits him below..? 😉 Really enjoyed this, Tyr!
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I’m sure his time in the depths of Hell won’t be… ideal. Thanks, Karen!!!
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Grossed out a demon? That’s talent. This guy, Frank, needs to run for office, he’d fit right in. I love me some demons. Well told, Tyr!
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Yeah, it’s a little known fact that some demons still have scruples, or at the very least they despise when humans act in ways as evil as the demons themselves… a jealousy of sorts. You’re, right, Dan. Frank would be a perfect fit to run for the Senate. Thanks!!!
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It’s been said above but the way you twisted what seemed like a happy, true love into something else was masterfully done. A great piece!
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Thank you Wanderer! I’m very happy to be on your good side, my Lady–I’ve heard tales of your exploits in Hell. I offer you my allegiance.
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It is accepted with pleasure! Although, Lord Daemonwulf may have exaggerated my otherworldly talents.
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Daemonwulf is incapable of rending the truth… flesh, on the other hand, he twist and tears quite frequently. Exaggerated or not, your Will, be done!
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Wonderfully done.
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Thank you, Mari! Thanks for reading the Damned!
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Great story, Tyr. Your MC makes for an empathetic character in the beginning, begging and bargaining with a demon to have his lost love back. Then quickly turns to a pathetic creature who has used his hold over a student to satisfy himself while thoroughly blinded to her distress and disgust for his abuse. Nicely sick & twisted! Well done! 😉
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I do so enjoy the sick and twisted. I guess this is why I’m Damned. Thanks very much, Nina!!!
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A wonderfull story, I must admit I had my own expectations of what is to happen, but you pleasently surprised me. The way you depicted Frank and brough him to life was fierce, nicely pulsing through the dialogue aswell as his behaviour. What I also liked is the way the demon behaves, it was refreshing to read how the events turned out.
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Thank you very much for your kind words, Oloriel!!!
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Ah, another wonderfully crafted tale from the Terrible Mind of Tyr Kieran. I too especially enjoyed having been made to empathize with our protagonist only to later have the rug pulled from under my feet when it became obvious he was indeed not worthy of our empathy. What a devilish tale of obsession taken to the extreme. Great stuff!
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I tend to pull rugs when I see them. It’s a chronic disorder. Thanks, brother Wulf!!!
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Truly a magnificent piece, my friend. The supreme ecstasy of the words within your tale puts the most horrific, Damned visuals in my mind as to what awaits our unfortunate rapist. Ah, but that is what great writers are supposed to do, is it not?
Blaze
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Ah, Blaze, you say the Damnedest things! Thank you, my friend!
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You great story made my fingers fly on the keyboards last night thinking of a different scenario but with a grand stroke of justice being handed out also. Thank you!
Blaze
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You’re welcome! I am very pleased and honored to have set inspiration in motion. Set that keyboard afire, Blaze! I look forward to reading that when it’s finished. 🙂
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I’ll have it up by the weekend, my friend. 🙂
Blaze
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A great read, Tyr!!
One man’s love drives him to do the unthinkable, all the while blinded & steeped in denial… I enjoyed the measure of justice dished to Frank by something we would hardly call a judge.
You’ve crafted another punchy tale, Tyr, and one extremely entertaining at that!!
Write on, my Damned friend!!
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I think any obsession by nature blinds you to the truth. Frank had it bad. To be oblivious to the horror of his actions is damn near insane. And, that’s what I love to inject in my tales so that they hit back, hard. Who wants to be coddled by a story when they could be slapped in the face? Thanks, Joe! Continue to write, I will!
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Demons. Tortured souls. Punishment and the unholy. The kind of story that brings a loathsome smile to my face.
Its amazing how some people can be so blind to their own view and perception of something, whether it’s a relationship, politics, or even reality itself, that they have absolutely no clue how full of shit they are.
You did a great job pulling me into one train of thought (cue Living Dead Girl music here) and then bashing in my head with the actual direction the story was going.
GREAT
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Living Dead Girl, good song! Sorry for bashing your head in, but it was too much fun! Thanks, bud!
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We can all use a good head-bashing once in a while!
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Wow. This is not my usual read, but I am so very glad I did. An amazing tale that has my vindictive inner child cackling with glee.
Thank you for sharing this!
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My pleasure, Sheila! I’m glad you enjoyed it! It’s always fun to watch someone eat their karma-filled just deserts.
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Excellent twist. Love the demon’s voice and yes is true as in “I Lucifer” some demons certainly do have morals 😀
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Thanks for reading, Sue! I had a lot of fun writing the demon! I liked the idea of demons and devils being evil, as they are, but with their own specific distastes or moral boundaries.
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My main characters (though I’ve since changed story lines) work for the devil (Mr.D) as soul collectors. There are four of them each married to a human. The devil’s agents are the good guys
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Sounds like a story I’d like to read! What’s the title, Sue?
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Unfortunately except for my blogs it’s never been completed or published. I did NaNo this year to figure out the ending (basically the devil was just goofing around when he put a stipulation into the Regulations) but when I finished my 50,000 words and then took a screen writing class, I realised the story had no plot…..
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Hey, this is a great story! 🙂 I loved the surprise ending. Here I was feeling sorry for him until the end when he just turned out to be a sicko and a rapist. I also like how the demon actually seemed kind of like a good guy (at least in comparison to the protagonist.) Great job! 🙂
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Thank you for reading and leaving a comment, Camille! I was pleased how the contrast worked out with the good in the demon and the evil in the human. Thanks again!
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The way you describe Frank’s sorrow….it’s almost palpable. Hit very close to home. Then of course, you grab us by the hand and leap down a vortex of churning depravity! Well played, Sir!
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Sorry, I have a habit of taking company with me down in the Vortex. It’s more fun to share the mentally scarring images. All kidding aside… thank you!
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