Basil Page #4

• Short story
• Horror

								


It sounded like something I had heard in a movie before. He had clearly painstakingly prepared himself for this moment, sweat dripping from his brow. Lyle lifted his wine high, and everyone followed along, even children lifting small cups of grape juice towards the sky. My mother gazed at Lyle, eyes sparkling with love, as Loretta gazed at me. Weakly, she smiled with her teeth, staring directly into my eyes. I love you so much that it burns. 

“Now, we drink.” 

Sipping sounds filled the spring air, as my family downed their wine, or juice. Loretta’s lips were stained red, and I leaned in, kissing the sweet wetness from her mouth, as she did to mine. This would be our last kiss. I didn’t want it to be. It couldn’t be. I couldn’t take it. My soul screamed in lust for a million more tender kisses from her; to hold her gentle hands and feel her thumping pulse with my mouth. It was too much. Too heavy to bear on my shoulders was the fact that I would never hold her in my arms, or see her tangled in my sheets, eyes sparkling as I woke up beside her. I’d never feel her breast, or give her a child, or watch as crinkles formed by her eyes over the years and gray streaks littered her hair. I’d never grow old. I would never marry, and my mother would never have a grandchild. The wine which was sweet only moments ago seemed to burn a hole in my throat.

“Let us step into eternity together, my truest friends. My lifelong loves. My family. Pick up your forks, and feast.” 

Lyle choked on the last word, like it was lodged in his throat. I remembered Liam’s face, blue, nostrils crusted red, as my fork shook in my hand. Lyle’s hands remained still, folded on his table. His eyes were locked on his plate, and his teeth were tugging at his bottom lip. His leg was shaking, undeniably. I grabbed Loretta’s hand, eyes raging wild with fear. 

“We have to go,” I hurriedly whispered in a panic, “I love you, and we have to go right now.” 

I heard forks clink against plates, as my family began to eat the meal that I had a part in making. I could feel bile rise in my throat, thunderous and hot, but I choked it down. Loretta shook, and grabbed my hand. There were the nails again, digging so deep into my flesh, that they had finally poked through.

“Then what was it all for? I- I don’t want to be left behind. I can’t…I can’t. Please don’t do this to me. I just, please…you can’t do this, not now… I’m sorry, but you can’t make me question my faith in everything I have believed in since I was a child. You’re being cruel,” she choked, her voice trembling like a train car. 

She picked up her fork, and I quickly turned my head to my mother, dabbing the pesto off of her heart-shaped mouth. My teeth chattered, as hot tears formed in my eyes. 

I turned back to Loretta and slammed her hand down onto the table. Her fork made a clank, hitting the side of her glass. She shook me off with all of her strength, sobbing as she pushed me away, and grabbed the utensil once again. I could feel my body go numb after a wave of heat washed over me, and I saw my life flash before my wide eyes. It all went to hell after that. She stabbed the angel hair on her plate, and shoved a small forkful in her mouth like a rabid animal. I felt another hand clutch onto my thigh, and turned my head in horror, hearing a desperate gasp for air. My mother. I shifted my body to face her, as she squeezed my thigh, eyes bulging, her other hand grasping at her throat, before she threw her head down and retched, pink foamy vomit escaping from her mouth. 

“Le-Leo…” she gurgled, my name almost unrecognizable amidst the bloodied sick she expelled. 
She moved her shaking hand to my face, as tears fled down my cheeks. I could hear it everywhere, the sounds of gagging, screams, and horror. I couldn’t take my eyes off of my mother, choking on her own vomit right in front of me. 

“I…I…” 

The veins in her eyes turned pink, and her lips shook into a smile, right before her ocean blue irises rolled back into her head.

“MOM!”

She started to tremble uncontrollably, spitting blood and chunks down her white blouse. I grasped onto her arms but couldn't stop her from convulsing so hard that her chair flew back, sending her to the ground. I had to look up now, and I saw a blur of faces heaving, bodies shaking and contorting in ways I didn’t know were possible for a human being. Mom stopped moving. I stood up from my chair, rushing over to Levi, the child gardener, son of carpenters Lenny and Lauren. I had babysat for him, and now he was in my arms, shaking like a leaf in a tornado, his puke staining my white button up. 

“Oh God, oh f*ck,” I cried out.

I pushed sweaty, soft hair from his face, a face once rich and dark in color, now greyed. My eyes drifted to the left, and I saw his mother on the ground, foamy blood spilling out from her mouth, her eyes wide open in pure terror. As awful and harrowing as this was I would say they were some of the lucky ones, along with my mother. For them, and the majority of my family, it was quick. Some were not so lucky. 

I turned back to see Loretta, but before I could, Lenny grabbed my ankle from below. Tears and pink puke stained his face, and his eyes were bulging. 

“Oh God, Leo, please. Please kill me, plea–” 

He belched loudly, and large bits of God knows what were expelled from his mouth in a stream of pink. His cold, wet hands held onto my ankle with his last ounces of strength. 

“Kill me…” he choked out, scratching at me hard, and violently. 

Regrettably, I yelled and pulled away, as I heard banging from where Loretta was once sat. Her blouse was tarnished by bloody spit, and she sat, sweaty and shaking, by a stone pillar about six feet away from the table. I ran to her, hurrying down to her level, skinning both of my knees to hell. She desperately grabbed onto my hand, turning her head to me. Her eyes were full of pain, and the air surrounding her was clotted with a palpable despair as she gagged, blood dripping down her chin. I grabbed her face, wiping her mouth, as I felt tears spill onto my hands. 

“This isn’t…what I wanted” she cried, before puking up the same foul substance that Lenny had. 

Terrified, I held her hair back, but she ripped herself from my grasp, and slammed her head into the stone pillar, rapidly.

“STOP!” I screamed.

I threw my hand in between her and the hard surface, but she forced her skull so far into it that I heard two snaps, one from my hand, and one from her. She spit thick blood up in a flowing foam, dirtying herself even more. I screamed so loud that a blood vessel popped in my throat, and spat up a bit of blood myself as my throat went raw. I wrapped my weak arms around her body, holding on for dear life, as the pounding continued. The space had gotten quieter, screams and gags more scarce and spaced out now, and I could hear Loretta’s banging more clearly. It was wet, yet made a crunching sound that churned my stomach like butter. Then, I couldn’t bear to look.

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