Undead Boyfriend

Mind of a monster

Somewhere in the sinking crimson, watching every act or thought of violence in his life, William felt a pain in his heart. As if he were about to lose something, the pull was so strong it made him close his eyes to the visions of rage and malice. This wasn't what he was looking for; he knew that now.

There was something more important than the pain that pulled at him.

The world around him grew dark, revealing only a pinpoint of light; he moved closer to the small flickering image of a dark room, a bedroom. He knew this place was his home, his and Cassie's.

William smiled and held the small image in his open palms; it was warm and trembled as it swirled and changed. Like having a little bird, something so fragile and precious, he knew this was it. This was what he needed to see in this ocean of memory. This was his last moment alive.

Perhaps, he thought, this was the key he was looking for. As William watched the memory unfold.

He had been sleeping when he heard the sound of glass breaking. He had gotten up, looking over at the sleeping little canary still in its cage and the old teddy bear of Cassie's in its top right spot on the window seat. William was about to lie back down, satisfied that all was right in his world, when he heard the sound of someone going through the living room.

It wasn't the typical sound like when Cassie was home. No, this was different. Like someone was searching through the cabinets and the shelves. That's when it dawned on him that someone was in the house; they were being robbed.

William being who he was, grabbed one of the street hockey sticks from the corner of the room, slipping quietly down the hall, intent on being the intruder who dared break into his home.

Instead, it didn't work out that way; as soon as they entered the living room, his ski mask-wearing assailant looked up, and their eyes met. William thought he was screaming for the man to get out; he would charge and beat the hell out of this guy.

He never got the chance, now; watching the last few moments of his life, William saw the glinting dark metal in the masked man's grasp. The flash of the bullet as it discharged from the barrel…

William bit his lower lip, feeling the pain in his chest. With the realization he'd been shot. He had died right there on his living room floor.

"oh, Cassie...."

All he could think was, what if his sweet girlfriend was the one that found him? He was so mad at himself for doing something stupid, charging into danger like that when someone depended on him.

It was all the man could do not to fall back into that consuming rage. To give into that self-loathing and hurt and let it swallow him whole.

It was in that darkness, as the final light and memory of his former human existence began to fade, that he heard a voice calling from above.

" William, please! Please remember me! "

it was Cassie, and she sounded so afraid, terrified, and alone.

William wasn't going to lay back and let the darkness take him. He wasn't going to forget Cassie. He couldn't leave her like this. Not that she wasn't strong enough for that, but because he knew their happiness. He wanted her always to smile, and if he was the reason that stole that smile, he'd never forgive himself.

Pressing on, William began reaching out to the call above him; the darkness of death struggled to hold him. It gripped him like daggers as he stretched his soul to be free. Soon the sinking darkness was peeled away in brilliant light and a rush of colors.

Was this a dream he was leaning over metal? What was this? A tool? There was so much sound, and they were all too loud and muffled in his head, all just nonsense, all but one ..one voice he could hear with crystal clarity as it slipped through the trembling lips and tear-streaming blue eyes in front of him.

Cassie cried out, "PLEASE! I LOVE YOU!" Shouting it over the pounding sounds on the barred door and the impenetrable observation window.

William froze; this wasn't another vision or a dream. No, this was real. He'd done it. He was alive; he had another chance. But why was his sweet girlfriend crying like this? What was all this noise? It hurt his ears and made his teeth rattle.

One of those noises stood out more than others; everything pales compared to that fearful plee before him. Paired with the utterly heartbroken look on her face as Cassie trembled. He wanted nothing more than to comfort her. To find a way to ease those tears.

But everything was so chaotic in his mind, every sense buzzing with input, and hardly anything made sense. It all just swirled together, and he struggled under the overstimulation to focus on the way to express his desire.

If only he could tell her…