Evil Within
By: Carl R. Merritt
It was bright . . . too bright. Even as Marcia squinted and held her hands out in front of her face to block most of the sun's brilliant light from her eyes, she knew she had to get indoors very soon, or die.
What's going on? she wondered. I've always liked the sun! Playing volleyball on the beach . . . working in the garden on a clear day . . . I enjoy it!
So what... ?
Then, reality set in. Marcia screamed when she finally understood.
She was turning into a vampire! Pain burning through to her bones, she quickly turned and ran for the safety of the nearest building.
It was a small diner, and it was just now opening its doors to admit customers for the day.
Entering, Marcia saw that she couldn't even tolerate the morning sun that was streaming through the diner's large windows.
Staggering now from the rays of the killing sun beating down upon her, the policewoman just barely made it to the far
wall where a door was located leading to the back room of the diner. She could only hope the room had no windows.
It didn't. It was the kitchen and the only illumination came from the electric lighting above.
I'm a vampire! she thought.
I'm a blood-sucking, night-dwelling, half-dead vampire! I'll spend eternity searching for human blood just so I can survive!
Marcia leaned against a wall and considered her future. Is there one? she wondered.
Should I kill another human being for their blood just to stay alive another twenty-four hours? What right do I have to take a life?
Even as the cooks and waitresses gave her looks of bewilderment and began calling 911 for emergency help, Marcia began looking at them as though they were food, not as fellow human beings.
How can I kill another person so that I may live? She dropped to her knees and began crying, knowing she had no right to live at such a high cost.
Rising, Marcia ran for the counter where they kept the utensils.
After a quick search, she found what she was looking for . . . a long, sharp knife.
Before anyone could stop her, Marcia plunged the knife deep into her neck, praying she was not yet completely transformed into a vampire.
If she was, the wound would heal immediately and she would have to find another way to kill herself.
The policewoman considered herself lucky when she began to lose consciousness. She knew the wound was going to be fatal.
It's better this way, she thought. I'd rather die than take another life!
In the realm of death, darkness surrounded Marcia.
She was aware and found herself feeling lighter, as though her body was floating in weightlessness.
There was no pain, in fact, she no longer felt anything of the physical nature.
There was only an abstract sense of movement, as though she was drifting . . . drifting into the hereafter.
For what seemed like an eternity, Marcia remained like that.
No sense of direction, no idea of her destination. She was only able to think and reason as she drifted endlessly in this dark void, this twilight of death.
She thought about her life, how short it had been, and all the things she had wanted to do, all the things she never had the opportunity to experience.
She thought about the man she had once loved in the service, her soul on the verge of crying knowing that also was now gone forever.
What's going to happen to me? Am I really dead, or was what I thought was life only a dream and this is my true reality? she wondered.
And if I'm dead, am I to remain in this blackness, this Purgatory . . . for all eternity?
Is this hell? Is this the price I am to pay for all the sins I have committed?
Will I eventually be allowed to go to Heaven? Is there a Heaven? Oh, God!
Help me!! I didn't want to die!! I want to live!!
While Marcia pondered the meanings of life, death and the hereafter, a small pinprick of light entered her realm. In the total blackness, she noticed it immediately.
A light up ahead! I'm really dead and I see the light! I have to go there!
With a sense of purpose and direction now, Marcia mentally ordered herself to drift closer to the light, thinking that it may be the route to her salvation, possibly even Heaven itself. But to wherever the light was leading her, all that really mattered to her was leaving the darkness behind. As Marcia drifted ever closer, the light getting more and more definitive, she felt something . . . a presence.
It was Abe. For some reason, he was intervening.
He seemed to hover between her and the light, a determination about him that told the dead policewoman that he meant to stop her from reaching her goal.
"I CANNOT ALLOW THIS," he said to her, pulling her by the hand away from the light.
Then, as if death never came, Marcia was standing back in the land of the living. . . Abe directly in front of her.
"Why?" she asked the ghoul, glancing down at the hard Earth beneath her feet.
"YOU WILL BE NEEDED," Abe replied as he disappeared in a swirling mist.
Then it was over.
Marcia awoke with sweat running down her face.
Throwing off the covers, she swiftly sat up in her bed and surveyed her bedroom in terror.
Looking at the alarm clock, she saw that it was only 4:00 AM. "It was a dream!" she whispered to herself.
No! Not a dream! A nightmare! One hellava nightmare!
Knowing she would never be able to get back to sleep . . . not that she really wanted to, Marcia headed for the bathroom to get an early start on the day.
Hopefully, it'll be a hectic day. That way, I'll forget all about that stupid dream!
At 5:00 AM, Marcia walked into the police station ready for work.
It was so early, the only other officers there were Sergeant Samuel Baker, who had the duty, and Captain Long, who never seemed to leave the office as of late.
"Good morning, boys!" Marcia said, walking over to her desk.
"What the hell are you doing here so early?" the sergeant inquired.
"You don't start until eight!"
"Couldn't sleep. Thought I'd come in early and finish up that report on that break-in yesterday.
Don't worry, Sam, I won't be hitting you up for any of your doughnuts!" she said playfully.
Marcia may have been joking, but the thought of eating a doughnut really didn't sound too appealing.
And that was something Marcia couldn't quite figure out. Normally, she loved stealing a few of Baker's doughnuts, especially the cream filled kind...
"Ms. Lewis, your injury is only two days old!" Captain Long said, a concerned look on his face.
"I've allowed you to come to work since you're feeling up to it and you'd just ignore my orders to stay home anyway, but do you really think you should be pushing it like this?"
"Cap, I'm fine! Really! Since when am I going to let a little bump on the head stop me from doing my job?!"
Throwing his arms up in frustration, Captain went back to what he was doing before Marcia came strolling in . . . sitting with his feet up on his desk, waiting for something terrible to happen. Unfortunately, in Moore's Lake, the wait was never too long.
Forgetting about the doughnut and the captain's worries, Marcia opened the manila folder which held her report and picked up where she left off the day before.
If I'm lucky, she thought, I'll have this stupid report done by the time I normally come in.
That way, maybe I can talk Captain Long into allowing me to hit the streets in a patrol car!
At nine o'clock, Marcia was riding shotgun for Jake Anderson in one of the town's seven squad cars.
She had ultimately convinced the captain to let her go by stating the fact that Anderson didn't even carry a firearm . . . probably wouldn't know what to do with it if he did!
And since Marcia had qualified expert with all sorts of weapons, both in the service and on the police force...
Marcia smiled as she thought of how she had wormed her way into patrolling the streets.
She knew that if it had been anyone other than the kind-hearted Captain Long, she'd probably still be in that damned hospital!
Reaching inside her purse for her shades, she put them on, wiped the grin off her face and took on the look of the professional police officer.
The "serious" look.
"What's the sunglasses for, Marcia?" Jake asked.
"It's pouring down rain!"
"Just wanna look cool. That's all."
"Well if you ask me, it looks kind of stupid!"
"Just drive, Kato, and let me be cool!"
The reference to the "Green Hornet" put a smile on Anderson's face.
He used to like that television show when he was a kid and wished it would come back as a rerun someday.
Trouble was, everyone in the station knew about his fascination and almost always kidded him about it.
Jake didn't mind it, and truth be known, it always made him feel pretty good knowing that the others cared enough about him to joke around.
As with any police force, if your fellow officers didn't like you, the last thing they would do would be to make jokes of you.
"Long to Car Two! Come in!" Captain Long's voice over the radio was nearing the frantic level.
"Lewis here," Marcia replied, looking over at Jake and wondering what could've made the captain so upset so early in the morning.
"Get on over to the tomb! Lamas is trying to report! Jump on
it!"
"We're on it, Captain!"
Jake hit the accelerator and was at the cemetery within a minute.
It didn't take long to get anywhere in a small town like Moore's Lake. Stopping the patrol car, both Anderson and Lewis jumped out and ran through the tombstones.
They were both panting heavily by the time they made it to the cave. It was difficult to hear clearly, but both officers heard someone yelling from somewhere deep within the cavern.
The voice sounded angry.
"I hear him!" Anderson said pulling a flashlight from his belt.
"Sounds like he's having big trouble and needs our help! Let's go!"
"Wait a minute, Jake!" Marcia said, not only getting her flashlight ready, but pulling her 9MM automatic from her belt also.
She continued as she led the way into the cavern. "Marc's speechless for the next year, remember?
That's not him you hear! That's someone else!"
When they were close to Abe's tomb, both officers sighed in relief.
Marcia holstered her weapon and just shook her head in total amusement. What they saw put a grin on both their faces.
An old man, looking homeless and maybe a million years old, was sitting hogtied in the wooden chair everyone used when
standing guard for Darlene and Vampra. He was spitting out curses at poor Marc left and right, demanding to know why the young officer didn't have the common decency to answer his questions. Lamas, not willing to leave his post and risk further repercussions from Abe, and not being able to use the radio for anything other than an emergency signal by clicking on and off on the transmit button, looked like he finally got tired of listening to the old man and simply tied him up until help could arrive.
Luckily, for both him and the old man, help was not a long time in coming.
"What's the problem here?" Jake asked, thinking even as he asked that it would have to be the old man who answered.
"This young punk won't even answer me when I ask him a simple question!
That's what the problem is!"
"Just who are you, sir?" This came from Marcia as she began to untie the man.
By this time, poor Lamas just gave up on the entire situation and went back to the table to resume his paperback.
"The name's not important! Not anymore!
I came to see Abe!"
Right away, both officers nearly went into shock.
Did Marc prohibit this old man from seeing the ghoul? Surely not!
Not after what happened to him the last time he attempted such a foolish act!
"Did this officer stop you?!"
"No, Ma'am, in fact he even helped me open the crypt's heavy damned door!
But Abe either wasn't there, or else he refused to see me! All I did to deserve getting tied up like this was to ask this 'police officer' what the problem was.
He won't answer me! Will you?"
A few minutes later, Marcia and Jake knew the whole story.
This gentleman had seen Abe before, over a hundred years in the past. He was the one that everyone in town had heard about, the one who had originally inscribed the ominous warning outside the tomb.
Abe had punished this man long ago, making sure he would always remain poor . . . and to ensure the punishment endured, Abe also gave the man immortality.
At times, Abe's imagination could be cruel. Now, the old man wanted Abe to lift the sentence of eternal poverty, perhaps even allow his long awaited death...
Obviously, the ghoul was not interested in replying at this time.
"But I got to see him!" the old man shouted, becoming very agitated.
Marcia watched the man work himself up, and moved a little closer to him in case he got violent.
"Sir, just calm down. I'm sure Abe will see you when the time is right.
And you've got to realize that if anything, time is on your side."
That was the wrong thing to say.
The old man suddenly jumped to his feet and tried to bolt for the tomb's entrance, possibly with another attempt to reason with Abe in mind.
Marcia, standing in his way and trying to restrain the man, received a slash across the face with long,
unkempt fingernails.
Moments later, Marc, Jake and Marcia joined forces to subdue the old man by jumping on top of him and with some effort, handcuffing his hands behind his back.
While Jake used his radio to call for more backup and an ambulance, Marc's old paramedic skills came in handy as he inspected Marcia's wound.
Jake, after finishing his call, also came over to take a look at his partner's face.
"Hmmm. Not too deep, but as I'm sure you know, infection is almost a certainty with an injury like this.
Fingernails are a breeding ground for germs."
Unperturbed by the prediction, Marcia used the back of her sleeve to wipe away the small amount of blood, and said, "I'll put some alcohol on it when I get a chance.
Right now, get this gentleman to a holding cell. Captain Long will probably release him shortly, but in the meantime, see to it that he gets cleaned up, properly fed and clothed."
"Gotcha." Jake replied, staring at the wound on Marcia's face.
It's a shame, he thought. A cut like that will leave one heck of a scar.
Then, to Jake's surprise, Marcia took her index finger and dabbed at the cut.
With a glance at her fellow police officer, Marcia stared at the drop of blood on her finger for a few moments, and then with a wicked smile . . . licked it off.
As Marcia speculated, the old man was released from jail the moment Captain Long had determined he had been properly fed.
It was clear the captain felt as sorry for the old man as everyone else in town.
"Marcia! Come here for a moment." It was the captain, standing on the other side of the small office.
He had the look that told Officer Lewis that he was either concerned, or angry about something.
While Marcia walked over to her boss, she
noticed the captain staring at her in disbelief. Not understanding, she asked, "What's wrong, Cap?"
"Come with me to my office," replied Long, motioning for Marcia to follow with his finger.
After shutting his door and sitting behind his desk, the captain continued.
"Ms. Lewis, I think you . . . uh, we . . . have a big problem. Uh... "
"What is it, Cap? What could be so bad that you call me in your office like this?"
Captain Long didn't know how to proceed.
Marcia was not only one of his most trusted and valuable officers, but a friend as well.
What he needed now was tact, pure and simple. Trouble was, that was never one of his strong points.
"You got that scratch just a few hours ago, right?"
Seeing Marcia's nod, he said, "Well, Marcia . . . it's gone already! Can you explain that?""
Almost as an involuntary response to Long's absurd statement, Marcia shot a hand to her face and was astonished to discover there was indeed no sign of the scratch.
How can that be? she wondered. It was deep! It should have taken over a week to heal!
She looked at Captain Long in bewilderment.
"What's it mean?" Marcia asked, fear beginning to take over.
"Has there been anything else strange?"
Thinking, Marcia did remember a few things that, at first, didn't seem strange, but now that she thought about it...
"I need sunglasses to go outside, and... "
Marcia hesitated.
"Go on."
She didn't know if she should mention anything more.
There have been other strange things happening the last few days. A sudden craving for raw liver and bloody steaks.
Marcia had never enjoyed the taste of liver in her life, and before recently had always enjoyed her steaks mostly well done.
And mirrors were also suddenly driving her nuts as of late. Twice now, Marcia had not seen her reflection while putting on her makeup.
At first, she had thought "the mirror thing" was some sort of delusion resulting from lack of sleep.
But now that she had time to think about it...
"Marcia, I think we both know what's happening.
Is there any possibility that you're somehow turning into a vampire?"
Shocked at hearing from another what she had half expected herself, Marcia simply hung her head in shame and nodded.
"But how? When? Vampra didn't bite me, Captain . . . there were no marks when I got to the hospital except for the lump on my head!
How?"
Captain Long didn't have an answer, but he had a good idea who would.
"I think we should go have a talk with Darlene and Abe."
"OFFICER LEWIS HAS BEEN INFECTED BY VAMPIRE DNA. THE ONLY CURE IS DEATH."
Marcia and Captain Long each sagged in despair.
They knew Abe would not lie about something like this.
"How did I become infected? Vampra didn't bite me . . . did she?"
"WHEN YOU WERE UNCONSCIOUS, SHE DROOLED INTO YOUR OPEN WOUND.
HER FLUIDS MIXED WITH YOURS. YOU WILL SLOWLY CHANGE AND THERE IS NOTHING OF THIS EARTH THAT CAN SAVE YOU."
"But I thought a person had to be bitten by a vampire to turn into one," the captain replied.
"A little saliva doesn't sound so bad."
"IT IS ENOUGH."
The situation looked hopeless to the two police officers.
They could deal with the everyday problems the city faced: drugs, homicides, and so on . . . but something as unnatural as this?
"I'm as good as dead," Marcia said, preferring to die rather than live the rest of eternity as a vampire.
Always the optimist, Darlene was not so sure that all of Marcia's alternatives had run out.
"Abe, there's got to be a way to save Marcia.
Take some time and think about it!"
The ghoul turned to the vampire and, in a voice straight from hell, said, "I CAN HELP IF YOU WISH. I CAN TAKE AWAY HER LIFE."
"That is not an acceptable option, and you know it!
Look, Abe, you have powers far beyond those of mortal men. Your abilities even surpass those of mine!
Use your talents and do something!"
"OFFICER LEWIS NEEDS TO DIE. THAT IS THE ONLY WAY I CAN HELP HER."
By the following week, Marcia was much worse off. Though still not a full vampire, she could no longer tolerate sunlight at all, and her thirst for blood had become an obsession.
Worse, Marcia was surprised to discover that her hunger was not just confined to the blood of animals.
More and more over the last few days she had caught herself craving for human blood . . . perhaps even the fresh blood of little children.
With no uncertainty whatsoever, Marcia knew that within a few days, she would have to have fresh human blood if she was going to survive.
It can't be like this, she thought.
I can't go around killing people just to eat!
Officially on a leave-of-absence from the department, Marcia spent her time hanging around the house during the day, and walking around town at night.
The policewoman needed this time to herself. There was a very important decision she had to make.
If she was going to be forced to kill in order to survive, she had to decide if she should allow the full transformation into a vampire to happen.
The way Marcia looked at it, her choice was either to commit suicide sometime in the near future, or else wind up being as vicious of a killer as Vampra.
To a police officer who had spent her years on the force serving and protecting the public, there could only be one answer . . . suicide.
Nine days after the discovery of her impending transformation into a vampire, Marcia waited impatiently inside her home by the front door.
Nearly fully transformed into a vampire now, she couldn't leave until sunset, another few minutes.
Her curtains were closed and the windows shuttered. Marcia could take no chances of contacting direct sunlight.
Doing so meant a slow lingering death and there were still a few days of life she wanted to enjoy before . . . that is if . . . she decided to end it all.
While she waited, Marcia pulled out a small mirror she kept in her pocket.
She was using it as a gauge to determine how far along her transformation was.
Checking her reflection, Marcia noticed that her image was nearly transparent.
A few more days, she thought. A few more days of being a mortal then I'll be one hundred percent vampire!
Marcia returned the mirror to her pocket and began to weep.
A little after sundown Marcia walked out her front door, not bothering to lock it, or even shut it behind her.
What does it matter at this point? she thought. After a couple more days, I'll probably never see my home again anyway.
If someone wants to break in and steal something, more power to them! Walking slowly towards the downtown area, Marcia tried to decide exactly how she was going to end her life.
Being mostly vampire, Marcia knew that her death now had to be lethal not only to mortals, but to the immortal as well.
She knew sunlight would do the trick, but Darlene had once commented that death from the sun would come long and hard.
No, I never did like pain. There's got to be something a little better than that.
Still walking towards the busy downtown district, Marcia eventually came up with the notion of paying someone to drive a wooden stake through her heart when the time came.
Considering the idea further, she realized that instead of a single individual, hiring a group of people to kill her would be even better.
She's always heard that there was safety in numbers. Maybe I should hire an entire gang to kill me, she thought.
That way, if I go berserk and kill a few of them, it'd be no great loss.
Marcia's concentration was interrupted when she heard a young girl, perhaps six or seven years old, let out a scream of joy from across the street.
She was playing on a swing set located in her front yard. There was a light on, illuminating the brightly colored apparatus and the surrounding area.
Marcia couldn't take her eyes off the little blonde girl. A ravenous hunger began to overwhelm the policewoman, an insatiable desire that could not be contained.
Marcia found herself entranced and discovered she had no control over her emotions, or actions.
From deep within, there was an evil part of Marcia that was finally coming to the surface after a lifetime of suppression, no longer allowing her any free choice.
She wanted to consume that little girl's life giving blood and nothing was going to stop her.
For now, Marcia was on the verge of becoming a full vampire . . . an evil vampire.
A small part of Marcia still tried to fight back, to regain control, to put a stop to this madness before it was too late, but the deep rooted evil within her was too strong.
Using a power she didn't know she had, Marcia mentally ordered the girl to cross the street and be consumed.
The girl, too weak of mind to resist the vampire's newly developed ability, began to comply.
As the girl neared, Marcia began taking a few steps to move closer to the street.
Canine teeth slowly grew longer, muscles tensed and a feral expression came to Marcia's face as she watched her victim approach.
She knew that it would just be a matter of moments now before she would be sinking her canine teeth into the tender, soft flesh of the girl's neck and fulfilling her desire to feed.
Marcia was standing on the curb, shaking with desire, the girl only a few yards away when it happened.
A sports car abruptly came out of nowhere and rounded a nearby corner, accelerating toward them . . . disrupting Marcia's entrancement of the little girl.
The youngster screamed at the sight of the car barreling down upon her. She put her small hands up as if they could ward off the two ton death machine.
Just before the car could strike the little girl, something snapped within Marcia.
The small part of her that had been trying to resist found new strength at the prospect of the little girl getting run over by the car.
It now had the motivation and the intensity needed to break away, to once more take control...
Marcia bolted into the street, her concentration totally focused on the little girl.
Her police woman's instincts took over as she raced to save the child. Reaching out at the last instant, Marcia grabbed the girl's outstretched hands and flung her to the safety of the curb . . . just as the car struck.
The impact was devastating. Marcia was hit hard and was thrown further in front of the automobile.
The moment Marcia hit the pavement, she was trampled by the fast moving vehicle, her small body crushed and mangled by the machine's tires, frame and undercarriage.
Her head burst open, blood and brains spurting everywhere as the car turned her body to shredded pulp.
The policewoman, her last act on Earth that of a savior, died instantly.
In the realm of death, darkness surrounded Marcia. She was aware and found herself feeling lighter, as though her body was floating in weightlessness.
There was no pain, in fact, she no longer felt anything of the physical nature.
There was only an abstract sense of movement, as though she was drifting . . . drifting into the hereafter.
For what seemed like an eternity, Marcia remained like that.
No sense of direction, no idea of her destination. She was only able to think and reason as she drifted endlessly in this dark void, this twilight of death.
She thought about her life, how short it had been, and all the things she had wanted to do, all the things she never had the opportunity to experience.
She thought about the man she had once loved in the service, her soul on the verge of crying knowing that also was now gone forever.
What's going to happen to me?
Am I really dead, or was what I thought was life only a dream and this is my true reality? she wondered.
And if I'm dead, am I to remain in this blackness, this Purgatory . . . for all eternity?
Is this hell? Is this the price I am to pay for all the sins I have committed?
Will I eventually be allowed to go to Heaven? Is there a Heaven? Oh, God!
Help me!! I didn't want to die!! I want to live!!
While Marcia pondered the meanings of life, death and the hereafter, a small pinprick of light entered her realm.
In the total blackness, she noticed it immediately.
A light up ahead! I'm really dead and I see the light!
I have to go there!
With a sense of purpose and direction now, Marcia mentally ordered herself to drift closer to the light, thinking that it may be the route to her salvation, possibly even Heaven itself.
But to wherever the light was leading her, all that really mattered to her was leaving the darkness behind.
As Marcia drifted ever closer, the light getting more and more definitive, she felt something . . . a presence.
It was Abe. For some reason, he was intervening.
He seemed to hover between her and the light, a determination about him that told the dead policewoman that he meant to stop her from reaching her goal.
"I CANNOT ALLOW THIS," he said to her, pulling her by the hand away from the light.
Then, as if death never came, Marcia was standing back in the land of the living. . . Abe directly in front of her.
"Why?" she asked the ghoul, glancing down at the hard Earth beneath her feet.
"YOU WILL BE NEEDED," Abe replied as he disappeared in a swirling mist.
Marcia was once again standing across the street from the little girl's house, the child still playing on her swing set.
As Marcia watched the child, she could ascertain no deep driven hunger, no evil within her that compelled the policewoman to feast on the young girl's blood.
But all the same, Marcia knew that the evil was there, hiding just below the surface, waiting for a chance to take control again.
Retrieving the mirror from her pocket, Marcia checked her reflection and saw that it was solid . . . completely normal.
She dropped the mirror and ran her hands over her face, checking for any sign of the injuries that caused her death.
There were none. Obviously, Abe had once again turned back the clock.
Marcia heard the child squeal that same cry of joy as she swung high on the swing set.
Then, Marcia remembered something else. Something very important to a police officer.
Quickly glancing around in the darkness, Marcia spotted something in a neighbor's yard that would help her with her plan.
It was a common garden rake. Knowing there wasn't much time, she ran for it.
The police woman grabbed the rake on the run and turned as quickly as she could towards the street.
She stopped a few feet out from the curb to judge her location and carefully laid the rake down so the tines were pointing upward, then quickly backed away from the trap.
It worked perfectly. As the sports car screamed around the corner, Marcia stood safely on the curb and smiled as both tires on the right-hand side of the automobile ran over the rake.
The car was running so fast, the front tire completely jumped the rim, causing the automobile to go careening out of control and hitting a telephone pole.
With a smile on her face and a strut in her walk, Marcia boldly walked up the car and its two drunken
occupants proclaiming, "Gentleman, you are both very much under arrest. Any rude or drunken comments you make will be held against you, not only in the court of man, but in God's court as well!
You have the right to an attorney, but I should advise you that he's not very good!
In short, I am happy to say that you both will be spending some time in my jail!"
It was almost midnight and a meeting was in progress at the police station while the two drunks were being charged.
Charles Peterson was in attendance, along with Captain Long, Marc Lamas, and Sergeant Baker.
Darlene and Bret were there also. And even though he could not be seen or heard, everyone suspected that Abe was there as well.
"You know," Marcia was saying. "I wish I'd never seen the evil side of myself.
That's something so . . . private . . . so repulsive, no one should be forced to admit to themselves that it exists.
Up until the last few days, I always thought I was a pretty good person. Now I know different.
Basically, I'm just a bitch with a lot of self control."
Everyone knew Marcia didn't really mean that.
She was simply being too hard on herself after suffering an experience no one should have to go through.
"Give yourself a break, little
girl," Bret said, taking on a look that told everyone that Marcia wasn't the only one who had seen their own dark side.
"You've met your own worse half and you've conquered it. You've taken back control of your life.
I'd say for good. Most people can't say that."
"I wonder if it's like this for all the criminals we arrest.
Maybe they too have a good side and a dark side, but they're just too weak to control their urges."
"That's possible, Sergeant," Captain Long said. "But Bret's right.
Marcia won out on her evil half. That's proof enough for me that she'll always remain in control.
I think this city is very lucky to have Marcia back!"
"It's too bad Jake is guarding the cavern and can't see this," Sergeant Baker said, staring at Marcia like she was a long lost daughter.
"He's been awfully worried about you, girl. I hope you plan on telling him you're okay!"
"Don't worry," Darlene put in before Marcia had a chance to reply.
"I'm going back to the cave as soon as I leave here. I'll tell him then."
"Thanks. I appreciate that.
This ordeal really has taken a lot out of me, and if I'm gonna report to work on time tomorrow, I've got to get home and get some rest."
"Whoa there, young lady! Just who said anything about you reporting for work tomorrow?
As far as I'm concerned, you're still on a leave of absence. Take the time off, Marcia, and enjoy yourself.
Lord knows you've earned it!"
"Are you kidding, Captain?" Marcia asked, standing and putting on a show as if she was in shock.
"Sir! After what I've just been through, you know - dying and all, I would've thought you would at least respect my wishes enough to let me get back to what I do best!
You know - driving you nuts!" Marcia then batted her eyelashes at the captain, totally embarrassing him.
"Agreed, Lewis! Report to work tomorrow morning at the regular time.
But instead of patrolling in a squad car, or guarding the tomb, I'm placing you on 'Light Duty' for the rest of the week.
For your own good, of course."
"Uh . . . 'Light Duty,' Captain?" Marcia repeated, suspicion written all over her lovely face.
"I'm not sure I like the way you said that. Am I missing something?"
"Oh, most definitely, Ms. Lewis.
Most definitely. But don't worry, you'll find out tomorrow." The smile on his face wiped away any further comments from Marcia, who by this time was envisioning all sorts of demeaning jobs, including mopping floors and cleaning windows.
While everyone snickered, Captain Long continued, "You know, I just realized that Abe was right when he said that Marcia would have to die, and that would be the only way he could help her!
If you think about it... "
"That ghoul!" Darlene said rather loudly, standing and shaking her head.
"Sometimes I think he just plays on our emotions!"
Marcia laughed and said, "Yeah, I think he enjoys it!"
"Maybe, but he's giving us immortals a bad name!"
Unseen to everyone, another immortal being nodded his skeletal head in understanding.
Then, without ever announcing his presence, he quietly departed back to his cave . . . smiling.
The End
Next story . . . The Next Life!
E-Mail the author at: CarlMerritt@compuserve.com
