The Sweet Embrace of Infernal Vengeance
Not all mysteries are hard to solve. Sometimes, you know exactly what to do.
Three suspicious things happened in the weeks leading up to the death of Maxine Oakley.
First, she met a boy. Typical that a man is the catalyst for the gruesome, unsolved murder of an innocent university student. Her friends agree that meeting Caleb Davorin was the moment Maxine began to lose herself.
Then, for the first time in a decade, she missed Tuesday morning coffee with her closest friend, Anna. When Anna later tracked her down, she found herself looking into dull, sullen eyes that used to remind her of the rainforest, and she knew it was time.
Finally, on the day Anna planned to confront her, Maxine disappeared. They found her body washed up at the bend in the river a few days later. Police deemed her death an accident. Anna didn’t speak to anyone for a week.
She stood strongly now, looking down at her best friend's tombstone after some time away. Light rain amplified the heavy smell of surrounding woods, grounding her as she prepared to complete the final step in the ritual everyone warned her not to attempt. The only person who could want violent, bloody revenge more than her was Maxine, and she was going to give it to her.
The stench of melting flesh accompanied a scorching blast and blood-curdling screams as a hole opened in the ground, engulfing Maxine’s headstone in flames. Anna should have been mortified, but she found herself giddy watching the burnt figure of her friend emerge and rejoin the earth.
The gate snapped shut as quickly as it opened, leaving behind nothing but the smell of burnt cedar and the contorted body of Maxine. Her neck was bent to look up at Anna, her eyes blood red.
“Where. Is. He.”
About the Creator
Mari Brooks
Hi! Welcome to my page :)
I like to write about whatever I feel like. Sometimes it's book reviews, sometimes it's short stories, sometimes it's an opinion piece that nobody asked for. Hope you enjoy!
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