Prologue
The moon caressed the gentle waters of a rustling creek. The watery bed broken by stones and the decaying body of Zara Todd. A silvery sweet glow reflected the eyes of the young slave girls violently green eyes, wide in the horror of her last breath. A feast for the scavengers, her corpse devoured by the bugs and wildlife. Yet, her eyes remained glossy and intact.
The quivering of the restless breeze stirred the weeping willows of the plantation. A noble house, once inhabited, stood motionless. As if it had never been touched by evil or murder. A girl could be seen wandering in and amongst the willows, barefoot and bloody. Her black curls matted with blood, leaves and the earth to which she was married.
For a moment, she stopped. Waiting in the silence for some sign of her lover, long gone from the place. Her violently green eyes were sunk deep in her thin face. Her, light, cinnamon-colored skin glowed iridescent in the light of a fiery moon. Her dress, caked in the blood of her struggle, hung loosely from her bony shoulders.
Slowly, she knelt beside the body that had once been her own. Her trembling fingers brushed the cadavers face, tears chorusing down the specters own face. Gradually, her eyes searched the horizon, haunted by an undeserved fate. Then, from deep within the soul of one unjustly murdered, came a scream. The screams of anguish flourished and echoed in the silence of a callous world. The willows trembled with the pain of the sound and, in the echo; the blood of a lone traveler was turned to ice.
Warily, the lone traveler crept up to the place where the apparition lay. Stretched over the corpse's body, the phantom wept tears of ice and blood. Her eyes remained ajar and flooded by her tears. Hearing a twig snap, her violent green eyes turned on the stranger. In that moment, all that entertained his mind was to escape his peril. Yet, in that moment, his peril became reality. When the spirit arose, he was dead upon the fallen leaves of autumn. Blood covered his body, the ghostly girl's mouth dripping with it. Gently, she smiled at her victim. He was not her original prey, but the randomness of the violence eased her tortured soul. From then on she devoured all that strayed into her path.
Chapter One
Zara Todd was washing clothing in the backyard of the Todd Plantation. She had lived on this land since she was born. The willows were the only witness to the events of the day. Cassidy Todd, the only son of the master, quietly slipped out the door. Not a sound came from him as he tiptoed behind Zara. She hummed as she hung clothes on the line, her mind on the golden sunset above her.
Ah ha! Cassidy wrapped both arms around Zara's waist and lifted her off the ground, spinning about.
Cass, don't do that! You done frightened me near outta my skin! Zara turned and smiled at the young man behind her. His honey blond curls encircled his head like a halo. His deep brown eyes were like melted chocolate, they could see to her very soul. She loved him more than any other.
Cassidy gently pressed his lips against Zara's, taking in the sweetness of her mouth. She was like a sweet rain, her voice and mouth like smoky vanilla. He couldn't imagine loving anyone quite as much as he loved her. His fingers tenderly caressed her black curls, loose and flowing in the autumn breeze. The willows danced about them, their graceful branches tossed about on the wind. Pulling away from their kiss, Cassidy took Zara's hand and led her down to the creek. The suns rosy glow hovered over the silently flowing water, only broken by the stony bottom.
Promise never to leave me? Cassidy held her to his chest, his heart beat combine with hers.
Can't promise nothing like that. Don't got no power over whether I leaves or stays. You know that. Zara tried not to cry, but it was truth. As a slave she had no rights of her own. Her mother and father had already been sold away, why shouldn't she be next to go?
I will never let them sell you away from here. I couldn't live without you by my side. I love you with so much of my heart that virtually none is left to give.
Lifting her face up to his, Cassidy smiled. He knew that he could get his father to do anything he wanted. He was the only son; they had to give him his desires. The dying embers of the sun slipped over the horizon and the moon arose from her bed. A silvery glow encompassed the world inside the willows, a world that only belonged to the lovers, oblivious to everything else.
The moon was high as Zara tiptoed back to her shack. The stars glowed as bright as the sun. She was afraid that someone would be awake and realize that she wasn't in her cabin. The cabins were checked twice a night to make sure that no slaves had gone missing in the night. For some reason, the slave driver hadn't checked them yet, because the door was still closed as she had left it earlier that morning.
As she opened the door it was as if she was in a dream. Mr. Jordan, the slave driver was sitting on her cornhusk bed, his eyes bright in the darkness. As if his eyes were that of a tigers, they smoldered hazel in the heat of the room. His hate was apparent, as was his lust.
Where have you been? You were supposed to be here an hour ago. His voice caused Zara's blood to run cold, a prick of fear at her back.
Chapter Two
Zara backed away, slowly. Her fear of Mr. Jordan was apparent. Seizing her arm, he fell upon her neck, kissing her with savage and cruel lips. Struggling, she broke free and ran from him. Deeper and deeper into the sullen forest she tread, his whip are her heels.
Out of exhaustion, she fell to the ground beneath a quivering weeping willow. A creek sped past her and, in despair, she claimed unconscienceousness.
Mr. Jordan, being out of breath, came upon Zara's limp body and was glad of the solitude. His way was cruel and when he had finished he slunk back to his cabin. For a lengthy time Zara lay quiet. Wishing for the pain her body was feeling to cease.
She managed to crawl back to her hovel and, in pure agony, fell upon the corn husk bed. When the cheerful sun arose, Zara was pale with fever and chilled to the marrow of her bones. She prayed for death to come, but it didn't. She cried out for someone to save her from her anguish, but no one came.
Then, slowly, she began to concoct a plan to exact her revenge on Mr. Jordan. She would murder him. And no one would ever find out. Yes, that's it, she would kill him after torturing him for all the torment she had suffered at his cruel hands. And when Mr. Jordan came again to claim her, she was ready.
Chapter Three
Standing, Zara began to walk to the creek to wash the blood from her hands. The moon seemed stained with the blood she had shed, as it stood crimson against the dark. In its light, Zara perceived a man coming from Maria's cabin. This man stumbled about, still drunken and uncleanly. Quietly, she came closer to him, in hopes of getting a better look. Was it a ghost? She wondered. Because, standing in front of her was Jordan. But that wasn't possible, was it? Jordan lay dead in her cabin.
Jordan didn't seem to notice Zara as he stumbled back to his cabin. He was starting to feel drowsy and, through bloodshot eyes, trudged past. Zara took off, running for the creek, quickly washing the scarlet from her hands. When she returned, she gingerly stepped over the body, praying it was Jordan. Shaking, she struck a match and held it to the face of the man.
In terror, she dropped the match. Golden curls hung limply, dyed a deeper red than she knew existed. Deep brown eyes lay, like discarded marbles, near her bed. The dead man was Cassidy Todd, her lover and best friend. Hot tears of regret and horror engulfed her as she took the mutilated head of her lover into her lap. How could she have mistaken her beloved Cass for someone as wicked and evil as Thomas Jordan? She had purposefully caused pain to the man that had loved her; she had tormented him in his last moments as if he was a common scoundrel. Her shame and pain slowly took over her body and she fell into a sleep like state, Cass's head still in her arms.
Her sleep was tormented by nightmares, replaying her acts in her head. She awoke to the sound of a pounding on her door. Casting a terrified glance about her, she looked down to see that she still cradled the head of the dead man. Darkness still cloaked the sky and the moon had not moved since she had fallen asleep. Yet, the pounding on her door remained ceaseless. Carefully, she pushed Cassidy's bloody body into a corner behind the door. Then opening it, she discovered Cassidy.
Pale as a shadow, the ghost smiled at Zara. Taking her hand in his own, he led her to the willows. There he finally spoke.
"Zara, you killed me." His voice was deeper than the thunder and sharp like the knife that had killed him. Every word cutting her deeper than the previous.
"But I…I didn't mean to. I was trying to…"
The apparition interrupted her with words colder than ice. "You did try to kill me. You wanted me to suffer and you wanted me to die like I did. You wanted me to die as if I was a cruel and harsh man."
"Why are you telling me this?!" she pressed her hands over her ears, Cass's blood still staining her hands.
"I want you to have to bear this cross forever. I want your mind to wither with the knowledge, forever echoing with this damning thought. You are a murderer of innocent blood."
With his last words, Cass disappeared from her sight. Leaving behind only a chill in the air that settled over her.
Chapter Four: The Ending of All
For years no one knew what had happened to Cassidy Todd. His family offered to pay money for someone, anyone to find him. Only Zara knew what had happened and she alone knew where the body was hidden. Pain tore at her every waking moment, every night she couldn't sleep because of her nightmares. She became thinner and thinner, denying herself food. Her mind was being eaten away with the knowledge that she had destroyed the one thing she had loved.
She would follow the paths through the woods to the place where she had placed Cass, talking to him and driving herself insane with her memories. Even Jordan left her alone now, not even he derived pleasure from kicking a dog when it was down.
Then, one night as she lay in her bed, she heard the sweet laughter of Cassidy. She could hear him calling to her, singing to her. Teasing her into moving. She followed the sound to the edge of the creek bed. There she saw Cassidy's sister, Anna Sophia, the female version of her brother. She stood on the other side of the creek, dancing in the soft light of the stars.
"Zara, dance with me!" she called, her willowy spirit floating and twisting in the savage wind.
"No, no. Please, don't do this to me." Zara mumbled under her breath. Tears began to fall. Then she saw Anna Sophia moving across the creek, as if she was walking atop the water. Eyes wide in terror, Zara began to move backwards, staring at Anna Sophia. Anna's mouth was dripping with blood, her ghostly blonde hair floating about her face. Anna had died a year before her brother, murdered by her lover.
Zara's soul quaked at the beauty of the ghost girl. She longed to be like the apparition before her, she was tired of her guilty insanity. Her soul had been murdered by her own hands, by her own faults and failures. She could feel the tears falling faster as she watched the girl dance around her. The girl's face was beautiful despite the blood that dripped from her face and hands. She held the image of her brother's crestfallen head in her palms, taunting Zara. Zara couldn't breathe, her mistake burning into her weary mind, stealing all her hope of ever living again.
"I've come to claim revenge for my brother." Said the specter. She was smiling, the blood oozing down her face. Zara began to shake, her heart beating furiously in her. She looked down to see a knife, covered in blood. It was the same one she had used to kill Cassidy. Trembling, she took it in her hands and then thrust it deep inside of her chest. She could feel the sharp pain of the knife burying itself in her broken heart and then it was over. Zara's body lay in the emerald grass of the quiet place. Anna Sophia's bloody mouth, smiling above her. Dooming her to an eternity in misery and loneliness.
Epilogue
Thomas Jordan murdered the rest of the Todd family in the middle of the night; he then kidnapped the slaves and began his own plantation in the Caribbean. The rumors of the ghost of Zara Todd began after the mysterious disappearance of David Marks, a wanderer and distant relative of Cassidy. He had the same blond curls and deep brown eyes. A week after his disappearance, his bloody, decaying body was found next to the decayed body of Zara. The ghost of Zara Todd still wanders the plantation to this day, but no one will go near to see her. Whenever you get close enough you can still hear the shrill screams of her anguish. Legend says that if you come close to where she hid Cass's body that she will kill.
Many disappearances were later attributed to the vampiric ghost and she has become known to take her vengeance upon any that dare to disturb her in her misery. Maybe one day she will find peace, or maybe she will kill again. No one knows what she will do and no one has ever survived to tell.
This story has been dedicated to Joe Newman, who had to wait WAY to long for the ending! Joe, you are a good friend and appreciator of my crazy stories. Thanks!
Sarah E. LeTendre
Mortified
