SCRIBBLES CHALLENGE #50
Title: HELL ON HALLOWED GROUND
Short Story
Rated PG
HELL ON HALLOWED GROUND
"It was a dark and stormy night...".
Ava lowered the book and let it rest on her lap. She was not in the mood for this book. She had tried to distract herself with reading her favorite story, but nothing seemed to be working tonight. Thirty minutes before, Ava had turned off the television set. Try as she might, nothing kept her attention for long this evening and she couldn't shake the bitter cold that seemed to be growing colder in her body.
Usually, her dog Ozzy's playful antics brought a smile to her face, but not this evening. Ava threw the dog's ball down the hall and he brought it back with his tail wagging from side to side. She enjoyed playing with him, but tonight she did so half-heartedly. When Ozzy returned with the ball and dropped it at her feet, Ava rubbed his head and planted a kiss on the top of his head.
"Go lie down," she said softly to him.
The dog looked up at Ava searching her face for the reason why their game should end so abruptly and seeing no reaction from his mistress, laid down in his bed.
"I'm sorry, Oz. Just not in the mood tonight, buddy," said Ava with a heavy sigh. She rubbed the side of his face and drew back when she noticed how ice cold Ozzy's nose was.
"Wow, Oz. You're as cold as I am! Let's check the thermostat."
Her thoughts kept returning to the horrible fight she'd had with Mark. Ava tried pushing the bad memories out of her mind. She pulled the cashmere lap blanket off the back of the reading chair and pulled it around her shoulders. It did feel unusually cold in the house tonight. Ava stood up from her reading chair and checked the thermostat on the dining room wall. It read 75 degrees. The dining room felt much warmer than the living room which seemed odd to her, but as she stood in front of the thermostat, the temperature seemed to drop lower and lower.
"How odd," she murmured, shivering as the temperature reached 60 degrees.
Ava returned to the living room and checked the flue in the fireplace wondering if that was the reason for the cold. Perhaps, it was much colder and more windy than she thought and the cold was entering the room through the open flue. But, the flue was closed. She wondered how the living room could be that much colder than the dining room. The rooms were side by side, only separated by a railing with ballustrades. Ava decided to build a fire and soon, the wood caught and began crackling and spitting.
Ava put the fireplace screen in front of the fire and looked deep into the flames. She wondered how her fight with Mark has escalated to the point it had. Mark had such a volatile temper and it always seemed worse when they went out. He had exhibited his jealous rages before, but that night had been particularly bad.
A man had approached Ava at the club while Mark had gone to the bar to get drinks for her and their friends. Ava had been surprised. She did not know the man and had no idea why he would have put a folded piece of paper in her hands and walked away. When the man reached the bar, he had turned and smiled at her. Nervously, she had looked around, but it was too late - Mark had seen.
Mark immediately turned to the man and got in his face. Ava had not been sure if Mark had seen the man give her the note and she shoved it deep in the pocket of her jacket. Yelling ensued and the men had gotten into a fist fight which ended with them getting thrown out of the club. Ava had tried to calm Mark down, but he brusquely pushed her away and kept his attention of the man who had approached Ava. The men kept yelling at each other and when the police arrived, the fight was broken up and both men were sent on their way. Ava knew what would happen when they got home - Mark would blame everything on Ava and she would say nothing. As always.
Ava could barely remember what happened after she and Mark arrived back at their home. Ava remembered Mark yelling at her inches from her face in the kitchen and the odor of alcohol on his breath. She shivered as she recalled his contorted face and blasphemous things he said about Ava and her family. At a certain moment, Ava remembered turning her back on Mark and looking out of the kitchen window and seeing her reflection against the eldritch darkness outside. No other memories were resurfacing at the moment. Ava wondered why her memory failed her.
Pulling a huge pillow down off the couch, Ava placed it in front of the fire and sat on it with Ozzy by her side. She extended her arms towards the fire, hoping to warm her hands, but nothing seemed to be happening. Ava rubbed her hands together and threw a larger log on the fire for extra heat. Ozzy leaned on Ava and she pulled him close and then, shared the cashmere blanket with him. They both shivered.
Ava wondered where Mark was. Even after their most violent arguments, he always came home. They had been together for five volatile years. Her family and friends did not like Mark and had on many occasions, tried to step in, attempting to get Ava to make a move and leave Mark.
"He is an abomination", her father would say. Mark, indeed, had a strange hold over Ava. She did not know what it was, but she knew that she could not see herself without him in her life, no matter how bad it got.
Ava was getting used to waking up mid-morning and finding Mark's side of the bed empty. Oddly, Ava did not feel as scared or anxious about him returning as she usually did. Invariably, their fights would end with him leaving the house only to resume in the morning. Ava would take the abuse just to keep the peace and let him vent. But after the last fight, he had not returned. Ava felt nothing. She felt numb, with a strange sense of calm and peace. It was odd to her how she did not miss Mark. Perhaps, it was time for their relationship to end.
Ozzy raised his head and seemed to be listening intently to something out of Ava's range of hearing. She cocked her head and focused, but heard nothing. Ozzy got up and began sniffing around the couch. Ava got up and watched her dog sniff and paw at something under the couch. She got down on all fours and peered in the dark under the couch. Ava could make out a bag of some sort way in the back and reached as far back as she could, but she could not reach it.
Ava stood up and pushed the couch out of the way and picked up the plastic grocery bag. It felt heavy. She unknotted the bag and looked inside. There at the bottom of the bag, lay a kitchen knife with blood on the blade. Ava dropped it and screamed. Ozzy barked and Ava took a couple of steps away from the bag that lay on the wooden floor.
As Ava's mind raced with questions and different scenarios, she heard the front door open. Ozzy barked again and ran to the door. Ava hid behind the wall of the living room and then began silently creeping foward. Would it be Mark at the door? He was on the only one who had a key.
Ava stood still and listened instead of going to the door. The door creaked open and she peered out and saw Mark enter. For some reason, she did not feel comfortable making her presence known, so she remained where she was. Ava expected to hear Mark greet Ozzy who was panting and barking in welcome, but there was silence on his part. Ava heard Mark put down something heavy and walk down the hallway towards the living room where she hid. Ozzy's nails clicked on the wood floor, apparently following Mark.
No longer able to hide as he would soon see Ava, she came out from behind the wall. She stood waiting for him in the center of the living room, shivering uncontrollably. Ava saw Ozzy trotting beside Mark, but he paid the dog no mind. This seemed odd to her, but perhaps, he was too distracted to speak.
"Hi," she said softly. "I'm glad to see you. Are you okay?"
Mark did not answer. He stared directly at Ava and then, saw the plastic grocery bag on the floor. Mark looked from side to side and rushed over to pick the bag up. He examined the opened bag, looked inside it and reknotted it.
"Mark, what's going on? Whose knife is that?" said Ava, but Mark ignored her. "Mark!" Ava continued, "Do you hear me?! What's going on! Why is there blood on that knife?!"
Mark simply looked at the blazing fire and put his hands over his face. He didn't seem to see Ava nor hear Ozzy's insistent barking. Now, she was scared and moreso because Mark seemed to be in another world. She hurried to him and put her arms around him, but her hands were met with nothing firm.
Mark had no reaction and didn't flinch as Ava slapped him hard across the face. The palm of her hand seemed to melt into nothingness. It was then that Ava realized that Mark was dead. She had to have killed him, but had no recollection! When had the murder occurred and how? Ava knew she was not capable of murder!
Mark's ghost. How could this be? This just blew her mind, but strangely enough, Ava no longer felt fear, only confusion.
Just then, Mark turned and left the living room with the bag in his hand. He mounted the stairs and entered their bedroom. Ava followed him into the room and was met with an icy blast that stung her face. The temperature had to be in the 30's, but curiously, Ava couldn't see her breath like Mark's.
Mark looked around the bedroom and then, opened her closet. He squatted down and rummaged around her clothing that was in a pile on the closet floor. Ava wondered if that's where she had hidden Marks' body after she killed him. She couldn't conceive of why she was showing no remorse or fear over Mark's death and the fact that she had murdered him.
Mark continued moving clothing over to the side and Ava hovered above Mark. It was then that Ava saw what he had hidden in the closet. There in the back of the closet, sat Ava propped up and at her side, lay Ozzy with his head on her bloody lap. Fifty oozing postules or more seemed to be pulsating on their heads and bodies and in Ava's open hand lay the note the man at the club had handed to her.
It read, 'I know this man. He is a killer and I can prove it! Meet me in the alley behind the club!'
THE END
Happy Halloween :)
My first attempt at a murder mystery, be kind! LOL!
Ellie2008
October 31, 2009
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