C/W: gore, violence, cults, general zombie shenanigans
A/N: I've been in bit of a Summerween mood recently, so enjoy this little thing I made to tide it over and keep myself a bit more active in-between other projects. I might make a continuation if I can come up with an idea for a second part. But in the mean time, enjoy!
He wasn't particularly bright; even in life his brain was as smooth as his biceps were big. But now as an undead maneater, it just doubled. And so did your troubles.
So, how did all of this start?
Simple: by ignoring the one rule of every horror story.
If there was one man that you could gladly live the rest of your life without dealing with, it'd be Cody Wood.
Yes, he was handsome, but holy shit was he the definition of a fucking dumbass. The only way this man could be dumber was if he literally had rocks for brains. For example, you once caught him trying to stick a fork into an electric socket because he 'wanted to see if it would work just like in the cartoons,' and you had to give him a ten minute-long explanation to him as to why that was a bad idea.
Yes, he was nice, but he was more clingy than a leech with attachment issues. You couldn't go more than ten steps away from him before he whimpered for your attention again. You still shivered at the memory of when he hugged you after you were already having an absolutely rotten day.
You could still remember how a part of your soul withered when he hugged you. The feeling of him shoving your face deep within his heaving man bosom. The smell of body spray and energy drinks crawling down into your nose. And by God, how you wanted to cry just like his mother did when she realized that her son was an absolute idiot.
"There, is that better?" He asked, patting your head. His large, dark brown upturned eyes shining innocently like a puppy's while he softly rocked you back and forth, making sure your head was securely wedged in his cleavage.
You still shiver at the memory of him rubbing your back while shushing you, prompting you to reach for the nearest bottle of liquor. But unfortunately, due to him being one of many of your brother's friends, you had to put up with him being in your nearly-daily proximity. Even with everyone else splitting off and moving out of town, only the two of you were left behind-- you due to job prospects being the only thing more dimmer than Cody, and him.... for some reason you weren't entirely sure of.
Regardless, you were stuck with him.
Today was the start of a three-day weekend. It'd been a while since you last been in the great outdoors and given that the weather was going to be nice, you figured it'd be good to visit the nature trails about a thirty-minute drive from your place. Loading up your bag with the necessities, you hopped into your car and drove.
Outside your car window, the scenery changed from apartments and sky-rises to townhouses in neat little rows. Eventually onto the highway where only a few other vehicles zoomed by. By the time you were at the park, the dawn's rays were just poking out from the horizon. Clouds drifted by in soft shades of wisteria and lavender as the gravel crunched beneath your wheels as you came to a stop.
Swinging your legs over, you walked out and slammed the door shut. The fresh air was a welcome change. You closed your eyes, taking in a deep breath before letting it go. Up ahead, was a visitor's notice with the usual warnings about poison ivy, ticks, and wild animals besides the map.
Beneath the cliff was a bay with dark blue waters parted aside rolling swaths of green trees; the waves gently lapped against the beige sands and dock. An osprey glided rather close to your position before it landed on a branch.
After a few more moments of taking in the scenery, you followed the path to your left. Pebbles flew with your steps while you listened to the sounds of squirrels and birds chittering. As you walked, you slowed down your step as not to trip over a rock or tree root.
I should do this more often. You watched as rabbit darted behind a moss-covered log. Nice change of pace.
As you were about to come to a bend in the path, your ears perked at another pair of footsteps.
You stopped. Your muscles clenched up, knuckles tautening over your water bottle's handle.
"I know someone's out there!" You yelled out, suppressing the fear from leaking into your voice. "So fuck off and leave me alone!"
"I'm serious!" You growled. "Piss off!"
You glared over your shoulder before resuming your trail. Dread slammed against your heart while you strained your ears for the footsteps or heavy breathing besides yours. Just when you were about to take a left, a branch snapped.
You screamed and swung your water bottle into your pursuer's head. The sound reverberated with a loud clank! And a familiar, large figure fell to the ground.
"Ow!" Cody yelled, rubbing his face where you struck him. A few branches had fallen into his bleached hair with his black roots starting to show.
"What the hell are you doing here!?" You snapped.
"I just wanted to surprise you." He whimpered, trying to make him as small as much a 6'04 dimwitted hunk could.
"And you thought that coming up behind me, when I'm all alone in the middle of a fucking nature trail, is a great time and place to do that!?"
"Well, uh..." He nervously scratched the back of his neck. "When you put it that way, yeah... That wasn't a good idea."
Groaning, you rubbed your forehead. "What do you want?"
His averted eyes said it all.
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
"Well, I didn't want to have you be here all by yourself-- in case of a bear or something!"
"I'd sooner deal with a bear than some idiot stalking me!"
"I wasn't stalking you! I was making sure you were safe!" His face took on the same shade of red as one does while straining on the toilet. "Besides, I found something you might wanna check out."
"I am not following you!" You snapped. "Now leave me alone, dammit!"
"Listen, please." He pleaded, getting to his feet and dusting the seat of his pants. "I'm not gonna do anything bad, it's really cool."
"You do know about the house out here, right?"
You froze up. "The... house?"
"It's real. It's not too far from here."
"I am not getting off the path."
"It's on the path! Just follow me!" He grabbed your wrist and dragged you with him.
"H-hey! What the hell! Get off of me, you lummox!" You raised your water bottle once more.
"Okay! Okay!" He dropped your arm and raised his calloused hands up. "Just follow me, please? I won't grab you!"
"The moment you try anything-- and I mean anything-- I don't like..." You trailed off, letting the silence sink in.
"I know, understood!" He gulped. "Now, please follow me. I'll make it quick."
"You better." You hissed.
"C'mon! This way!" He pointed towards the right path.
Rolling your eyes, you followed after him while grumbling a few swears. Now and then, you nervously glanced up as the forest's canopy grew thicker the further you ventured. Just as you were about to yell at him, he finally stopped in front of a massive clearing.
"Right here!" He exclaimed.
Your mouth dropped as you looked up to a dilapidated Victorian mansion. "Holy shit..."
Everyone in your town and the surrounding ones knew about Blackwoods Manor. It was constructed around the early-mid 1800s as the holiday home for an eccentric writer named Edgar Blackwoods. When he was alive, people said that he was practicing occultist and necromancer, and maybe even a serial killer as many people had gone missing around his estate.
Some people said that servants and guests would spot ghostly figures wandering around, hear whispers when all alone, and even feel a cold hand graze their cheeks as they walked through the many halls. Many of your classmates claimed that he had hidden passages snaking through the house which led to secret rooms full of the most horrific things imaginable. There was even one version that said he sacrificed his own parents to summon a demon during one Halloween night.
Whatever actually happened within those walls, it was known that Edgar disappeared in the summer of 1885. Since then, the manor was left to rot. However, some say that in a clearing out in the woods, the manor would appear... Waiting. Watching. Starving.
Up close, the infamous manor was more ominous than what you already pictured: a towering mausoleum with crumbling gray walls suffocated by webs of ivy. The dark and cracked windows glaring at you like spider eyes and a chimney sticking out like a fractured bone. Its gingerbread trim tangled with thick cobweb drapes slowly drifting in the wind. A lantern hanging from the porch's ceiling swayed like a noose waiting for its victim.
Just looking at it made a deep coldness sink at the pit of your gut. Already, one of your feet was pointing towards the clearing's exit.
"See? Told ya." He puffed his chest out as if he was standing first place on an Olympic podium.
"And?" You stuck your head out.
"Well, aren't you impressed?"
"What are you getting at?" You responded, trying to suppress the groan at the bottom of your throat.
"I'm saying we get some photos of us in here!" He pointed at the decrepit house.
"Uh dumbass, have you never seen a horror movie?"
"I've seen plenty!" He enthusiastically nodded. "I've watched It, Friday the 13th, Cabin in the Woods, My Best Friend's Exorcism, also... what was it called? Uh.... Trick 'r Treat, and also--"
"Then you'd know entering the creepy fucking abandoned house believed to be haunted or have some sort of sordid past, is a stupid idea!" You snapped. "Even if it isn't haunted by some evil ghost or demon or whatever, you're gonna get jumped by some tweaking squatter or a whole group of them!"
He stared at you while his last two braincells were battling it out for third place. "Oh... right. But anyways, even if there's like a crazy person in there, I can always beat them up!"
"I highly doubt gym muscles are any good against crack-fueled rage with a crowbar." You shook your head.
"These aren't just from the gym! They're also from years of doing martial--"
"And besides, everyone knows that the virgin survives in those movies!"
"What?" You flatly stared.
"I'm saying, if we come across a demon, I'll survive and defeat it!" He beamed.
"What the fuck does your lack of experience have to do with--"
"Enough talking, now come on!" He raced towards the front doors and waved towards you.
Grimacing, you gingerly put one foot on the porch. The gray wood crunched like a bone underneath your weight. A shiver ran down your spine as you stood there.
"(Y/N)! Come on!" He pouted.
"I'm taking a picture out here as proof and then we have to turn around!" You demanded as you pulled out your phone and took a quick photo. "I am not going in there!"
"But, being outside it isn't enough evidence!" He responded.
"No, no, no! I like having my skin on my back!" You said. "If you want to prance around in there and take stupid photos for your Instagram, go right ahead! But keep me the hell out of this!"
"Then at least stand in the doorway." He pleaded and pushed open the front doors. They let out a deep groan as he stepped in and posed in front of the staircase.
"Fine." You sighed. "But that is the absolute furthest I am going."
"Fine, scaredy cat!" He stuck his tongue out while you took a few more pictures. "Anyways...."
"Oh no..." Your eyes widened as you saw that gleam in his.
Before you could protest, he bounded up the stairs and vanished from view. You heard his energetic steps alongside him shuffling through the shelves.
"Come on up, (Y/N)! There's a lot of cool stuff up here!" He shouted from upstairs.
"There's even a suit of armor!"
"I don't care, I am not going up."
"Hey! There's even this old book here! You think it's his spell book or something?"
"If it is, then put back down and don't read out anything from it!" You yelled before grumbling to yourself: "Not like you're very literate to start...."
"From blood and bones of where I came. I shall I come once more upon the gloom of night! Let old blood flow out and let new blood flow in me! And once more, I shall return from the coldness of the other side to feel the warmth of this realm once more!" He shouted.
"Oh my God..." You shook your head. "We are so fucked."
For several long moments, there was total stillness. Your heart's heavy pounding was far too loud in your ears. Your toes curled inside your sneakers as you waited for the ground to split open-- the trees to come to life and grab you-- a demon screaming and rushing towards the two of you-- something-- anything, to break the silence.
"That didn't do anything..." Cody finally spoke.
"You know what? Your funeral. I'm done." You rolled your eyes and stormed away before he could protest.
You weren't even fifteen steps away, when the doors slammed shut behind you.
"Huh?" You turned around.
Something groaned inside the house and he yelled only for it to be cut short. Dread crept through your bones as your feet shuffled towards the door once again. Gingerly wrapping your fingers around the dented doorhandle, you opened it.
"C-Cody....?" You trembled out.
No response. You couldn't see him. It was far too dark.
A cacophony of malicious whispers came from the darkness as a tall figure stood in the doorway. Two pairs of white, beady eyes glowered at you as an impossibly wide grin flashed like a blade's glint. Without another thought, you slammed the door shut and sprinted all the way back to your car. You didn't dare to look back to see if that thing was chasing after you.
"Come on! Come on!" You screamed while your shaking hands fumbled for the keys in your bag's pocket. You yelled several swears before your fingers finally wrapped around them and you unlocked your car before slamming the driver's side door shut.
As soon as the keys were in the ignition, you sped out of the parking lot-- gravel flying in your path. It wasn't until you were on the now-busy highways did you finally feel safe to look at your rearview mirror.
No demon, no ghost, no shadowy figure. Just part of your face and the cars behind you.
"Holy shit...." You breathed as your shock and terror wore off, and was replaced with the realization of what just transpired.
Later that night, a group of occultists were walking about that same forest. Black cloaks pulled up, obscuring their faces in shadows as they made their solemn journey towards Blackwood Manor.
The leader pushed open the front doors, marching inside as the others followed in a single-file line. He stopped at a specific bookshelf in the living room and twisted the left bust's head. A rumbling sounded out as part of the wall to their right turned to reveal a hidden tunnel. Down the spiraling staircase they went, torch flames lighting up along the way.
Crumpled on the ceremonial circle was a body-- a fresh one at that. His shirt stained red from a stab wound and his eyes were wide with shock. The man's blood already filled the engraved lines in the floor, the crimson streams almost glowing in the heavy gloom.
"Change of plans." The head one said, inspecting the man's corpse. "This one is a perfect subject. He even filled up the blood circle."
"Look at him!" Another one pointed. "He's massive!"
"He's got at least D-cups!" Someone else exclaimed and poked the corpse's chest.
"Even if we were to bring him back, what are we gonna use him for?" The shortest member asked.
"Putting him in stupid costumes?" Someone else suggested.
"Putting him in stupid costumes." The leader nodded.
With that, the occultists got to work. They lit up tall, skinny bone-white candles, placing them on the skulls at the seven points of the summoning circle. Wax bled down their sides, turning red as they mixed with the blood.
Producing a ceremonial dagger from the folds of his cloak, the leader pierced his fingertip and let a bead of blood well up. They watched as the droplet fell into the corpse's mouth.
"From dust we decay, from rust we rot, from bones and blood we were formed." The leader chanted, raising his hands up as the circle grew brighter. "From sun to moon, to moon from sun, let what was once gone return!"
A thick silence fell over the dungeon as if the world had gone mute. Not even the howling night's air nor the drones of cicadas from outside dared to break it. They looked over at each other nervously, then back down at the body.
A rasp tore out of the man as he violently arched up, letting out a deep groan.
The occultist didn't have time as the undead man lunged at him and ripped open his throat with his teeth. Blood jetted out while the victim flailed and tried to scream-- only letting out wet gurgling as he slumped over. The sounds of meaty tearing and crunching bones with loud slurps and groans filled the room as they watched in horror.
"Holy shit! He just ate Toby!" One screamed out.
The zombie stopped, dropping his victim and looked at the remaining four.
Even though it had been two days, you still couldn't enjoy your now Cody-free life. The sinking guilt weighed down at the bottom of your guts even though you reported the incident when you finally had regained enough of your wit. However, they said they couldn't find either Cody or the house. The only thing there was a clearing with some old blood stains and torn clothes.
You weren't sure how to break the news to your brother. Even though as much as you disliked Cody, he didn't deserve to meet a grizzly end in haunted house.
Your finger drummed against your beer can as you tried to focus on Night of the Living Dead that was currently playing on your TV. Quickly, you swung the rest of your beer down before reaching for another. By now, you were starting to get a little buzzed-- yet even the booze couldn't entirely drown out the gnawing guilt.
(Y/N), you did what you could. You did the best that one could in that situation. You acted in self-preservation and did the smart thing by high-tailing it. You reported it to the police and gave an honest account of what happened. You aren't at fault.
You exhaled a shaky breath and slowly sipped before grabbing a slice of pizza from the box. He didn't listen to you. That's on him. You warned him. You're not at fault here.
As the film was reaching its climax of the zombies breaking through the farmhouse, the door thudded open. You gasped and spun to face a familiar bulking figure filling the threshold.
You didn't have time to finish as Cody stumbled in and your heart stopped. Blood smeared all over his face while he gnawed on the arm of some hapless person. His soulless, white eyes stared past you as the can in your hand slipped. A low groan pushed out from his mouth as he dropped the arm and stumbled towards you.
This should have been impossible. There was no way.
"(Y-(Y/N)...." He moaned, reaching a hand towards you.
You flinched back and took a few steps away, eyes darting around for a weapon. "G-get away!"
However, he ignored you and kept lurching. Low groans came out of his slack jaw, one hand reaching for you. Your back hit against the wall and you gasped as he finally touched your shoulder.
"(Y/N)...." He repeated and pulled something out from behind his back...
"What?" You rapidly blinked.
"Gift from me!" He smiled, revealing rows of bloodied teeth. "Want to give you it earlier!"
Your eyes rapidly darted from the stuffed toy back to him. "What the...?"
"Uh... what? How are you--"
"Me put here for now." He placed the stuffed animal on the coffee table, patting it on the head. "Now: hug!"
"Aw, hell no!" You yelled.
A sharp gag tore out of your mouth as he wrapped his arms around your waist and dragged your head deep into his bloodied cleavage.
"Damn it! Let go of me!" You demanded, smacking your hands against his chest. Your body shuddered in disgust at the sticky texture of gore smeared over him.
"Hug!" He repeated and patted the top of your head. "Like hug!"
"No like hug!" You snapped, trying to pry free from him. "Now get the fuck off of me!"
"No like.... hug?" He pouted. "But hug feel good."
"You're coated in blood, you idiot!"
At that, he hesitantly let go of you and looked at the red streaking all over him. He glanced back up at you. "But me keep you safe! Me keep protect you!"
"No! No! No!" You hissed, hunching over. "Get away from me!"
"Hey... shouldn't you be finishing that first?" You pointed to the chewed arm lying on the floor. "You know... because, protein."
He looked at you for the longest time before his milky eyes widened. "Right! Need to keep strong to keep you safe!"
You just stared at the undead nuisance resumed eating away at the forearm in his hands. When he caught you looking, he flashed a goofy smile at you. Bits of flesh clung between his red-stained teeth before he turned back to the limb, moaning and snarling as he devoured the limb.
Now what the hell were you going to do now?
