Kings of the Castle: A Stay Dead short story Read online

  "That's right, but when do you ever listen to me?"

  "All the time, don't be silly," she walked away.

  "Go do your homework."

  "Where do you think I'm going?"

  "To the basement if you keep giving me lip."

  She didn't respond and went upstairs to her room to do her homework. Jerry closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

  Hours later, Kate woke him up once again. "Get up, it's late. You've been sleeping all day," she whined.

  "I'm up...just resting my eyes," he said, lifting his head up.

  "When are you bringing home my new mommy?"

  "Soon. But you can't play with her till tomorrow when you get home from school, understood?"

  "But that's not fair!"

  "Life ain't fair, but that's how it is. Daddy has to have his time alone first, then you can play."

  "Whatever. Can we keep her if she likes us?"

  "Sure. But I don't think she's going to like us."

  "You always say that."

  "And Daddy's always right, ain't he?"

  "Sometimes."

  "Sometimes?"

  "Whatever."

  Jerry pulled himself up off the couch and patted her on the head. He yawned and stretched and his back cracked and he grumbled about it. He grabbed his keys and headed for the door. "I'll be back in a few hours. Make sure you're upstairs with the door locked and your ass in bed. And don't leave any of your shit lying around, okay?"

  "Whatever!"

  Red agreed to meet him in the parking lot of the Food-town nearest Club 18. She'd leave her car there and he'd take her back to his place. She thought it was odd, but went along with it anyway. He was paying enough to not give a shit and she didn't plan on doing any driving once the party started. She was a stripper with a heavy coke habit who fucked on the side for cash, looking just barely eighteen years old, but driving under the influence was a no go for her.

  When he pulled up, he was disappointed that she wasn't wearing her usual costume, but smiled when she pulled out a picnic basket from the trunk of her car with the red cloak dangling out. She looked great aside from that, not oily like she did on stage, but dry and pretty like she could live next door and not be a whore. But she was what she was and that was what he wanted. He wanted a whore tonight, and he wanted to break her in every which way.

  Jerry gleefully drove back to his home. She ran her fingers up and down his leg, stroked his neck and spoke to him in such a soft voice that it almost made him forget he wished her harm. It was euphoric. He was enchanted, aroused, and eager to please her. He pressed down harder on the gas.

  Once home, Jerry was ready to party. He locked the door and headed for the kitchen. He fished out a few beers, a plate, a razor, and a bag of the sweetest candy this side of the street. He handed her a beer and they clinked rings and took swigs.

  Jerry took the plate and emptied out a few little piles of coke. He took the razor and began to smooth them out into nice narrow little lines as Red dug through her purse for a single. By the time he was done she had rolled up a dollar into a tight tube and was ready for it. He slid the plate over to her and she took a nice long smooth snort of it, coughing when she finished. She handed him the rolled up dollar and he did the same, only chasing it with a chug of his beer. They both did another line and found themselves high and numb and ready to fuck.

  They began to probe each other's bodies, pushing, pulling, grabbing, clawing. They tore each other's clothes off in minutes and he was fingers deep in another. They moved at each other so quickly that Jerry found himself wondering what the rush was. To him everything was foreplay. It was all ritual. All a build-up to the climax. He could go right now if that was how it was going to play out and the coke would make sure he could go all night long if he wanted. He just couldn't help himself, and as if hearing his thoughts she stopped.

  "Jeez, tiger, you're ready to pounce, huh?"

  "Can't help myself, babe," he smiled, "just looking at you drives me nuts."

  "Well, then watch this..."

  She walked over to her picnic basket and pulled out her usual stage outfit. She began to perform a little reverse strip tease for him, putting on one article of clothing at a time, as slow as she could. First the panties, then the leggings, the skirt, the bra, the shirt, and finally she donned the cloak, lifting the hood over her head. This was what he wanted. He wanted a show, the fantasy to become reality, the real to become unreal. And here she was standing before him, dressed in red and paled to perfection snorting another line of blow, as Jerry couldn't take it another minute. He got up and began to undo everything she just did, but he left the cloak on. He thrust into her and it felt like everything he ever wanted, the perfect drug wrapped wet around his throbbing member. They did their dance and when it was all said and done Jerry collapsed onto the couch. He couldn't believe how great it was, and how tired he felt. He did another line and pounded a beer, but he still felt so damn tired. Red came over to him, still cloaked and spoke to him in that soft seductive sales-pitch for the champagne room tone. Her face was blurry, and then all he saw was black.

  She picked him up and carried him to his bed upstairs. She placed him gently on the bed, covered him up and as she turned around she saw Kate standing in the doorway.

  "Hi, Kate," she said, "I've heard so much about you."

  "Hi...umm..."

  "You can call me Lilly."

  "I thought you were Red?"

  "That's what your daddy likes to call me," she smiled.

  "Is that because you dress like Little Red Riding Hood?"

  "Exactly. I'm an actress at the Downtown Theatre Group."

  "That's not what my daddy said. Daddy said you're a whore from the strip club."

  "That's no way for a little lady to talk."

  "I can talk however I want when I home. Not that its any of your business...can you...I just...I want my daddy to read me a bedtime story, okay?"

  "Daddy's sleeping right now. How about I read you a bedtime story?"

  "Whatever. But daddy makes up his own. He makes them better than they are in the books."

  "Don't worry about that. I got a story for you, sweetie. Why don't you come lie down with me and we can keep daddy warm?"

  "Whatever."

  They each took to a side of Jerry. Lilly snuggled close, making sure their skin touched. Kate just looked agitated and impatient.

  "So...a long time ago, when the world was still new there was a man named Adam. He was made out of dirt and dust. He thought he knew everything, but he didn't. He was blinded by his father and only knew the world as it was told to him. Then one day a beautiful woman came along who truly knew the world. She knew Adam was made of dirt and dust and didn't care. They fell in love and got married in a big garden. They were happy for a while, but Adam didn't really love Lilith, he thought he did, but he didn't really. He just wanted a wife because he didn't have one. So, Lilith left and Adam and his father wouldn't let Lilith back into their garden because she found another man who could love her for her, and ever since then Lilith was called bad names. Men began to hate her, they would throw stones at her, even spit at her in public, but when they went home all they thought about was Lilith and how they wanted her. After a while all the bad words they called Lilith gave her strength and power. From then on Lilith would take the power of men who spoke poorly of her and leave them to die, and if they had children she would sometimes eat them. The end, now go to sleep."

  "That's a stupid story, my daddy tells much better ones. His have tons of blood and guts in them."

  "How about we save the blood and guts for tomorrow?"

  "Whatever."

  Want more? Get it now: http://www.smashwords.com

  About the author

  Steve Wands lives in New Jersey with his wife and son. He's a comic book letterer for DC Comics by day, and an artist and writer by night. He drinks massive amounts of coffee, and sleeps very little. He is the author of Stay Dead: The Stranger and Tunnel R
ats, Words Like Daggers, Modern Nightmares, Damaged, and plenty of short stories. He also co-edited and contributed to Dark: A Horror Anthology. Visit his blog here: http://www.stevewands.blogspot.com

  Discover other titles (Stay Dead: The Stranger & Tunnel Rats, Dark: A Horror Anthology) by Steve Wands at http://www.smashwords.com

  Check out the Stay Dead blog:

  http://www.pleasestaydead.blogspot.com

  Nice words from nice people about the Stay Dead Series available from smashwords.com

  "...an interesting story. It has a fantastic plot and plays out wonderfully throughout the entire story. There are some very good, gore filled scenes that will make anyone cringe..."

  Lyle Perez-Tinics of Undead in the Head Book Reviews

  http://www.undeadinthehead.com

  "...it's a tribute to Steve's imagination that my attention was held from beginning to end. I especially liked a sequence in which we find that zombies ain't the scariest thing out there... encouraging moments of insight into how a kid might feel if life became a horror movie..."

  Martin Gray Journalist

  http://dangermart.blogspot.com

  "...focuses on atmosphere and desperation...gruesome and really interesting, both stories oozing hopelessness...a really strong debut."

  Corey Graham formerly of the Midnight Podcast

  http://www.midnightpodcast.com

  "One of the most humanizing zombie stories since Romero's Night Of The Living Dead."

  Bryan Wolford of the Drunken Zombie Podcast

  http://www.drunkenzombie.com

  "This collection of short stories is brutal and heart breaking. Steve Wands describes the state of the world in the midst of a zombie outbreak as if he were there. These tales will make you feel like you know the characters and are sharing in their plight."

  Mike Benedict of The Cadaver Lab Podcast

  http://www.cadaverlab.com

  "...one of the more intense and downbeat endings you will ever read... endlessly fun...nothing wasted...no pulling of punches."

  Desmond Reddick of Dread Media

  http://www.dread-media.com

  "...very well done...makes you want more...a great read... I couldn't put this down."

  Darryl Pierce of A Little Dead Podcast

  http://www.alittledead.com

  Stay Dead: The Stranger & Tunnel Rats was also nominated for a 2009 Mail Order Zombie Dead Letter Award for Best Zombie Book/Fiction.

  http://www.mailorderzombie.com

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER 1: Dark days

  About the author