The Raffle: Part Two



I've been under a lot of stress lately. My wife, Victoria, has been acting strangely these past couple of days. She regularly takes medication for anxiety, but lately not even the medication has soothed her condition. Because of her stand-off-ish attitude towards me, I've been taking my frustration out on my employees. One in particular has received my wrath daily. Damon.

Before, I rather enjoyed Damon's company. I even had him over for dinner on various occasions, introducing him to my wife and kids, something I had never done before him. But, that all changed when I found a letter in my wife's jewelry box. Being that she was outside, playing with the kids, I took it upon myself to open it, gazing into the envelope before checking behind me for lurking eyes, unfound.

Inside of the envelope was every man's worst nightmare. It appeared my wife had been communicating with Damon for quite some time, telling him of how she met me and how she settled into the city. Nothing inside suggested she had feelings for him, but, on his end, there were hints of flirtation. What man would flirt with another man's wife? It was the ultimate slap in the face that no explanation could dispel.

So I went into work, staring at his conniving face as he walked around the workplace like the big man he thought he was. It made me sick to see him interact with other employees, a look of disinterest painted over his face as they spoke. Countless times I watched him, scowling as I imagined the sound he'd make as I choked out the last bit of air in his lungs. Each and every time my imagination got the best of me, he seemed to meet my stare with a smirk, invading my sweet dreams and causing my blood to boil.

He knew...

He knew I knew about his sick obsession with my wife. I could see it in his beady, black eyes that he didn't give a shit. So I decided to do the only thing I could do to hurt him. I called him into my office after work, let him sit down on my comfortable chair, and I fired him. The look of rage within his eyes gave me the ultimate confidence boost. And, like the bitch he is, he walked out of my office without so much of a whisper.

Once I left work, much earlier than usual, I hurriedly stepped into my house in hopes the usual laughter of children would fill the space, but there was absolute silence.

"Victoria! Macy! Sebastian!" I called out, walking around the barren house with a quickened step.

With no response and no evidence of playing children outside the patio window overlooking the backyard, worry surged through my body. Where were they? Suddenly, I heard thumping upstairs. Though I wanted to ignore the looming suspicions in my head, I couldn't deflect the images as the thumping continued. Quickly, I rushed up the spiral staircase, knocking down portraits of our happy family as I did so.

Once I made it to the second floor, I stopped in my tracks, noticing the master bedroom's door opened.

Thump

I turned hastily towards the sound, my body pointing in the direction of my son Sebastian's room. Though my suspicion of discovering a cheating wife began to fade from thought, a feeling of uneasiness took its place. Slowly, I walked towards his closed door, the hardwood floors beneath me creaking with each step. Once I stood before the door, my hand wrapped securely around the doorknob. Taking in a deep breath, I mustered up the courage to twist the knob and push open the door.

Immediately, I regretted my decision. Laying on the floor, were my wife and children. Horrified, shock enveloping my body, I noticed grotesque beasts standing there, their eyes locked in on mine. Slowly but surely, I stepped back, my hand muffling my mouth as my jaw dropped to the floor with terror. With every step I take away from the foul creatures, they proceed towards me, their spiked arms reaching out to grab ahold of me.

"Ronald."

My eyes widened as the tallest of the beasts approached me.

"Victoria," I said, stuttering as my body quivered.

The beast nodded, ending its pace an inch ahead of me.

"You weren't suppose to know, Ronald. This-this wasn't supposed to happen," it said, reaching out to touch me.

I stepped away from the creature, my mind racing with thoughts on whether or not to run. The thing appeared to be fast, its body slender and riddled with protruding muscles. I didn't want to take the chance.

"Daddy," one said, appearing beside the tallest monster.

Quickly I recognized its eyes: the right iris blue and the left a fiery brown. It was my sweet angel, Macy.

"Mommy said we couldn't tell you," she said, tears streaming down her spiked cheeks.

I approached her, ignoring the fact that she resembled something out of a horror movie as I did so, but the biggest of the monsters stepped before me.

"Don't, Ronald," Victoria said, guarding Macy with her elongated arm.

I stopped in my tracks, staring intently within the eyes of the creature withholding me from contact with my child.

"What did you do to them? What is this? What are you?" I asked, my tone of voice rising with each question.

She shook her head, looking down at Sebastian and Macy with sympathetic eyes.

"I did nothing to them. It's... it's genetic. I thought if I had them with a human, they wouldn't look like... me," she said, patting Sebastian's hairless head.

As she spoke, memories of our children's births began to flood my thoughts. Not only was I banned from welcoming my children into this world, I was also unable to see them for days after their delivery.

"How did you-"

Victoria looked away.

"I had to do things I'm not too proud of. Things I left the community to get away from," she said, clenching her fists.

No matter how long I gazed upon the beast before me. Soaking in her reptilian-like skin and feline eyes, I could not grow used to the voice of my beautiful wife coming from the filthy fiend's mouth.

"I had to do the same for Sebastian and Macy. A life for a life," she said, coddling the two small beasts beside her.

I fell to the ground, my legs giving out as I looked past the creatures at the skin laying on the floor behind them. Lifeless.

"I'm sorry, Ronald," she said, walking towards me.

For a split second, I imagined my wife approaching me, her beautiful raven hair swaying in the wind as she smiled cheerfully. But, the vision quickly diminished once the beast stood over me, her sharpened teeth exposed.

"I'm sorry," she said before ripping into my neck, viciously.

As the assault continued, my vision blurring from the ferocious attack, I stared at my children who clutched onto one another... weeping.