Dead Woman's Curve

Writer and new friend Robert Ropars, who wrote the incredible book, "Dark Bites," has started writing a new horror novel, coming soon. I finally met him in person this past weekend in Chicago and he is a sweetheart and definitely a great new friend of mine. He was kind enough to send me an excerpt of his new story, "Dead Woman's Curve." Here it is. I am so excited for the whole story to come out so definitely stay tuned and be ready for it. Enjoy!



The cafeteria was dark. Security lights were mounted sporadically on the walls, and they punctuated the inky blackness with a few small pools of illumination. A young woman cowered in the corner away from the light. She was shaking and tears were streaming down her cheeks. Her eyes were darting frenetically back and forth, up and down searching for someone…some thing.
A noise came from within the darkness and her eyes desperately sought the source. She could hear it breathing and the raspy sound was getting closer. She strained to focus and see the creature. Her heart was beating so loudly she was sure it could be heard across the entire expanse of the cafeteria.

At that moment she saw movement, but straining to be sure she wondered if her eyes were now playing tricks. A strong smell reached her, and her nostrils flared in reaction. The smell was worse than anything she had ever experienced. As if someone had thrown up on road kill on a hot sunny day.

She bit her lower lip to keep quiet. Her eyes continued to scan left and right struggling to see it. In the near silence, she could hear the slow deliberate steps of the thing. The smell was getting stronger and she started breathing into the left arm sleeve of her shirt. She was desperate not to take a full breath.

She thought she saw it approaching in the shadows, but was still unsure. Lifting her head slightly to focus, she involuntarily inhaled. In that moment she gasped as the fetid putrescence filled her airways and she retched loudly.

“Foound youuuu….”

“No!” She screamed in panic.

She saw the creature now ahead of her in the shadows. It had stopped moving and turned her way. It stood on two legs, had the silhouette of big, curly, crazy hair and a familiar curvy feminine outline.

“Sooo hunggreeee…”

“Help! Please someone help me!”

She screamed into the darkness, as the creature that had pursued her for the past thirty minutes was suddenly moving towards her with great speed. Her arms flew up instinctively to protect herself. The creature grabbed her wrists and leaning forward bit off three fingers on her left hand.

“Oh god no!”

She screamed as her warm blood spurted into her face and began flowing down her arms. The pain was excruciating.

“Soooo hunngreee…”

The creature was chewing on her fingers with a sickening crunch as bones crumbled under its strong teeth and jaws muscles.

“Noooowww…. I feasssstttt on your flesssshhhhh….”

She screamed again as the creature lifted her by the wrists, slammed her against the wall and lunging forward bit into her face. She heard and felt the teeth tear through her left eye socket and begin tugging at her eye. Between sucking and biting, the eye came up and out enough to be wrenched free. Blood sprayed the wall, her clothes and the hideous creature.

She screamed as white-hot pain exploded in her head. She struggled with the creature, but her strength was fading quickly. The creature tossed her to the ground like a rag doll. The foul smelling beast leapt on her, its face now hovering inches from hers. Blood and debris dribbled from its mouth. With her remaining sight she watched as the creature chewed on her left eye. Some of the vitreous humor burst and sprayed her face and mouth. She screamed and sobbed violently.

Choking and starting to vomit she looked into the face in front of her. From the way its hair was hanging across its face, she could only see one of its eyes. It was black, completely black. She felt dizzy and felt the room spinning.

The creature smiled, its gore covered teeth momentarily bare. It then turned into a grimace and dove at her biting her face over and over. She tried to scream and fight but to no avail. She felt hot all over as if she was engulfed with fire.

The zombie paused its assault, moved back and tore the woman’s shirt apart with ease, its nails scratching deep into her chest and abdomen. As she managed to look downward a final time, the creature that had been a woman only hours earlier began clawing at her stomach and leaning forward began to bite, chew and swallow her exposed skin and muscle.

She shook violently and everything went black. Death was taking her away from the pain and bloody mess she had become. Her final heartbeats pounded louder and louder in her head as she swam into oblivion. As her heart beat its last rhythm, her stomach violently growled in ravenous hunger. The creature paused its chewing hearing the noise and laughed a hideous gurgling cackle. She wondered what so funny, and then she was dead.

***TO BE CONTINUED***

WRITTEN BY ROBERR ROPARS

(C) 2011 by Robert Ropars