The New Flesh

Penelope Aftergut slipped on her red stilettos and wrapped her long thick blonde hair in a tight bun securing it with a ice pick. The black slacks and red sweater ensemble she donned almost made her look like every other mother. She would remove her clothes during the activity. She examined herself in the full length mirror and applied her signature blood red lipstick to her perfect, pouty lips.


“Sara, I have to go,” Penelope said walking into the living room and leaning down pushing her ten-year old daughter’s hair behind her ears. “Grandma will be here in ten minutes. Think you can manage Brian for that long?”


Penelope kissed the top of Sara’s head, grabbed her Louis Vuitton and opened the front door. With one last look at her daughter she said, “Call me if you need me, or if Grandma doesn’t show.”
“Sure mom,” Sara huffed, crossing her arms. “Have fun at the PTA meeting with that stupid Mr. Hodensack. Johnny said he’s a cult leader and likes to eat children!”


“I know honey.”


Penelope arrived at the meeting and sat in a chair on the aisle in the back row wanting to make sure that Mr. PTA President saw her. Glancing around she saw each of her special friends. She had her reasons for wanting to kill Jeffrey Hodensack and her friends were along for the ride.


The cafeteria was half-full when he took the podium. Pledge allegiance by the boy scouts and that’s when he noticed Penelope. Bile rose in Penelope’s throat as his eyes pierced her soul. A cult leader he was, and he was good at it. Charismatic. Charming. Influential. And a passionate speaker.


She could smell the vile, evil creature within him. A door slammed and everyone’s focus was shed on the side door and Penelope’s heart thudded as…
Rex Miles stood in the doorway looking as out of place as a, well, as an assassin at a PTA meeting. He wore all black and had a crazed look upon his face.


Just like I remember him, Penelope thought. She intimidated most men. But not Rex. He did things to her no other man had on their one night together. He stood her up on what was to be their second escapade. God help her, she wanted him now. Heat swarmed within her. Her eyes narrowed in anger and glimmered with passion. Penelope got up and made a beeline towards him. She slammed him on his shoulder and hissed, “What the hell are you doing here?”


“Penelope Aftergut, you remembered that I like it rough,” Rex said smoothly. “How have you been?”


“Don’t fuck with me, Rex!” She looked him up and down and thought of those hands touching, rubbing, pinching, plunging and she shivered.
Rex’s lips curled into a crafty smile. “Oh, I’ve already done that.”


The meeting continued as Jeffrey Hodensack began to speak. The crowd now focused on him instead of the back of the room where Rex and Penelope stood.


“Bastard, you could have done it again too,” she replied. “Now tell me why you’re here.”


“You know me, Penelope. I’m an assassin,” Rex glanced at the podium.


“I’m here to kill Jeffery Hodensack.”


“The hell you are,” Penelope snapped back. “That’s why I’m here!”


“Well,” Rex began, “I was paid to kill Jeffery Hodensack, and his followers. So…” They looked around the room. “I guess there is enough killing that will satisfy both of our needs.”


“I have some friends here to help.” Penelope smiled brightly and brushed up against Rex whispering in his ear. “This is going to be fun.” She removed the ice pick from her bun and shook out her hair. “I hope to have fun with just you afterwards.” She showed Rex the ice pick and started to undress.


Rex grinned, “I think that can be arranged.”


Hodensack’s voice rose like a dictator addressing his army. With a nod from Penelope, her special friends barricaded the doors. Rex pulled two nine-millimeter Beretta’s from his shoulder hostlers. He looked over at Penelope and asked, “Do you want to kill Hodensack?”


“Yes,” she said with yearning desire.


Rex aimed at Jeffery Hodensack and pulled the trigger. Hodensack grabbed his chest as blood began to pour out of the wound. A large man wearing a gray suit lunged at Rex, but Penelope jammed the ice pick into his throat.


“Damn!” Rex quipped. “I knew there was a reason I liked you.” He raised the Beretta at a man who was running towards them screaming, “You asshole! You’ve shot Jeffery! You’re trying to kill him!” Rex shrugged a shoulder and pulled the trigger. The man’s head flew backwards as the back of his skull disappeared in an array of blood, bone and brain matter.


Penelope smiled and said, “Now, it’s time for me to play.”


Blood pooled around Jeffrey’s mid-section as Penelope stood above him. Even dying he looked like the filthy wolf he was. His eyes opened and closed and she watched in amusement. She was only vaguely aware of the screams and gunfire surrounding her. Jeffrey reached a hand out and grabbed Penelope’s ankle. She shook it away. “Don’t fuck with my children,” she said and laid a well placed stiletto imprint on his arm.

* * *

Penelope followed Rex to the same place of their first encounter. She watched as Rex got a room and walked over to her car. Penelope was still reeling from the thrill of the kill and from what would prove to be the best night of her life.


“Ms. Aftergut,” Rex said.


“Mr. Miles,” she said as she exited her car. He grabbed her by the back of her hair and yanked her head back so she looked up at him. “Foreplay starting already, Rex?” She smiled.


“Foreplay started an hour ago,” He kissed her hard while freeing the bloody ice pick from the tight bun. He released her and a grin spread on her face.

“We won’t need this,” Rex said, tossing the ice pick into her car. “I’ve got something else that I’d like to poke you with.”

"The Meeting"

Copyright: © 2009 Suzie Bradshaw & Chad Case

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Suzie Bradshaw loves speaking and writing about herself in the third person. She doubts that light is really the fastest thing in the Universe and in her next life she will prove Einstein wrong. But in this life all she wants to do is write. Is that a song? A list and links to her stories can be found at her blog at http://www.suziebradshaw.blogspot.com/. She's never been happier in her life and would like to thank you for reading.

Chad Case lives in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, with his wife, Melissa. He enjoys writing short horror fiction in his spare time. To date his works have been published on MicroHorror.com, The New Flesh Blogzine, Flashes In The Dark, and in the anthology: Toe Tags.