Playing with Death - Part 3: The Pain Inside

He couldn't breath.

He couldn't move.

He couldn't scream.

He stared into the lifeless eyes of his mother as she stood there in front of him. Time froze for what seemed like eons. Cody was completely horrified.

His mother's mouth hung open, blood stains giving evidence of internal bleeding, exiting through the mouth. Her pupils were black as night, and they held no emotion whatsoever, and her skin was pale, as if she had been sick for years.

This was not his mother. Not anymore. She was gone, and yet here she stood.

Time ran once more, and Cody realized that his mother was coming towards him, arms reaching out, snarling and growling like some kind of fierce animal. He fell backwards, and pushed himself away, sweating hard, and heart beating fast. She wasn't fast, but he wasn't either as long as he was on the floor. He pushed himself hard and quickly stood, but he banged his head on his brothers bunk bed. He was momentarily stunned, and he lost his balance. He caught himself before his face hit the floor, turning to face his mother as quickly as he could. That was when he realized he still held the machete. No, I can't do it... how could I? She's my mother! She got closer to him, as he pushed himself backwards one more. She's not my mother... not anymore, and whatever she is now, is trying to kill me. He stood once more. He had never killed a person, let alone an animal. This was frightening.

"Oh God... what do I do!?"

Cody felt a peace come upon him as he held the machete. This was the right thing to do.

He stood his ground, his mother five feet away from him. He held the machete in position.

Four feet.

Three feet.

Two feet.

She was in range. A tear fell from Cody's eye, and he swung the machete.

Playing With Death - Part 2: Bloody Floors

Bewildered, Cody continued to make his way towards home. As his house eventually came into view, he noticed that both the family van and the civic were still at the house. Obviously, they were still home.

Instead of entering through the front door, he went to the garage and went inside that way.

Silence. It's what scared him the most. "Yo Mom, Dad? Anyone home?" Nothing. Cody made his way through the kitchen, and into the living room. Peeking down the hallway, and peering into the dining room, there was still no sign of anyone. "Hey! Is there anyone home!?" he yelled. He was starting to get very worried.

He slowly made his way to his parents room, located at the end of the hall, which was also across from his room. The door was open, so he walked in. Mom wasn't at her computer, and Dad wasn't laying on his bed in his underwear, staring at his Kindle Fire. He opened the closet and peered in. His baby brother Tyler was asleep in the crib. Well, that means at least one adult has to be here, right? Quietly, he closed the door and exited the room. He decided to check his brother's room. Everything seemed to be normal. His brother's laptop was playing Owl City, his other brother's desk was a wreck, and the room was a mess.

Then he noticed the broken window.

Cody ran over, examining the broken glass on the floor, and then the window itself. He tried to assess the situation, trying to deduct how the window may have broken. He then noticed something peculiar on some of the shards. He squatted down and grabbed one, and started to examine an odd substance on it. It was a burgundy color, almost like...

Dried blood. And it was all over the floor.

He dropped the shard in horror, backing away slowly whilst covering his mouth in shock. Oh God... oh God, what's going on!? His back hit the bathroom door, and he slid to the floor. He held his knees and rocked back and forth, trying to calm himself down. Whose blood is that... is my family dead? His forehead started to sweat. He couldn't keep himself calm. "What the heck's goin' on God!?"

He had to calm down, somehow. Maybe some water in my face would- before he could finish the thought, he heard... he wasn't sure what he heard. It was almost as if someone was half choking, half gurgling water in his throat. It was coming from the bathroom.

He wasn't sure why, but he felt the need to grab his brother's machete. After doing so, he placed his hand on the bathroom door-knob, and slowly, quietly, opened the door.

It was his mother, facing the closet door.

"Omigosh, Mom!" He was just about to run up to her, when she slowly turned to face him.

Cody screamed in horror.

Playing With Death - Part 1: Traffic Jam

"Howya doin today Ms. Wynona?" 18 year old Cody asked the customer, as he bagged the woman's groceries.

"Oh, not feelin' to well for some odd reason. I developed some sort of fever this morning, but I had to do some grocery shopping." She replied, looking a bit uncomfortable.

Cody smiled, "Aw, don't worry, I don't mind bein' around sick people. In fact, I quite enjoy helping them more than anyone else."

She smiled, "well, thank you."

Cody finished bagging her groceries, Ms. Wynona paid for her groceries, and the headed outside.

"It's a beautiful day today..." Cody commented.

"It really is. Such a wonderful- oh!" She stopped, and lost her balance. Cody quickly responded, catching her before she fell. He avoided getting to close to her mouth, not wanting her to breath on him and get himself sick.

"Gosh! Are you okay!?"

She nodded. "I'm fine... just fine. Thank God you were here... I just got dizzy so quickly."

"Should you call someone to come pick you up?"

"No, no!" Ms. Wynona laughed, "I'll be fine. I'm alright now. Thank you so much for your help. You have a good day."

Cody nodded. "You too Ma'am."

Walking back inside, he noticed his manager, Mr. Yosez, A respectable black man in his mid forties, talking to the woman working in the office for the day, Jasmine, a bigger white lady. She was wiping sweat off her forehead, and looked very weak. Gosh, is everyone sick today? 

Before Cody had the chance to walk away, Mr. Yosev stopped him. "Cody, things are slow, and you only have half an hour till your off, so go ahead and clock out."

Cody smiled. "Awesome. Thanks, have a good day sir."

Cody clocked out quickly, then called his Mom to pick him up. It rang five times before it went to voice mail. He tried his dad, but it was the same deal. He called them both again, but still, no answer.

"Hey Cody, need a lift?" It was Jack, one of his co-workers.

"Actually, yeah, I do. Thanks man."

Jack smiled. "It's all cool."

It was only three minutes to Cody's house, but surprisingly, there was a ton of traffic along the way.

"Damn," Jack said, "this is jacked up, there's never traffic like this man..."

"Hey," Cody said, "There's no one behind us, I'll just walk home, and you can get outa here, kay?"

"Alright. I'll talk with you later man."

Cody smiled and nodded, and exited the car.

As his former ride drove off, he examined his surroundings. He noticed the most peculiar thing: the cars were all empty. What the heck? Where'd everyone run off to? Not a person was in sight. He pulled his phone out once more, and tried calling his Mom, but again, no answer came. "Mom," he said on the voice mail, "it's Cody. On my way home by foot. Call me please." What is going on...?