The Face of Death

 

Maxine stared at her monitor, an evil, dark face stared back at her. She was frozen in her seat awaiting the next command. Bound by dark manipulation, she was a slave to her addiction. Her existence depended upon the computer monitor and the voices from another world, a world filled with hatred and violence. She played one computer game after another competing against beings she thought were her friends. Cry of Fear was her favorite game, the more she played, the more addicted she became. Sixteen-year-old Maxine sat for hours at a time, eating barely anything, mesmerized by her addiction.

Maxine, who ran track and belonged to the year book committee, removed herself from outside activities completely. She only went to school if the mood struck her. Once a straight A student, her grades were slipping considerably. Her mother was surprised to get a call from the school.

“Hi, Mrs. Bentworth. This is Mr. Baxtine, the school principal.”

“Hi” asked Connie. Connie was surprised to hear from the school.

“We are concerned about your daughter, Maxine,” said Mr. Baxtine.

“Why are you concerned?” asked Connie.

“Maxine is not keeping up with her school work. And it has been reported that she is missing a lot of days. One of her teachers told me they were concerned with the way she looked. She looks very tired,” said Mr. Baxtine.

“I will check on her. I am surprised to hear that she is not keeping up in school. She has always been a good student,” replied Connie.

“I know. That is why we are surprised and concerned,” said Mr. Baxtine.

Mr. Baxtine asked, “Has there been any changes in her life?”

“Yes, her father moved to another city a hour away so she can’t see him as often as she would like,” reported Connie.

“When did that happen?” asked Mr. Baxtine.

“Two months ago.  She was mad at her dad at first and then she seemed to adjust to him not being in her life.  She hasn’t said anything to me about having difficulty in school.”

“Teens her age don’t always confide in their parents when something is wrong. You should discuss what is going on with her,” said Mr. Baxtine.

“I know, I need to spend more time with my daughter. I work tonight so perhaps we can talk tomorrow night when I have the night off,” said Connie.

Mr. Baxtine sighed and then said, “That will have to do. Thanks for your time.” The call ended.

Connie was a single mother who worked most days at two jobs to make ends meet so it was next to impossible to pay enough attention to her daughter and see what she was up to. Maxine’s unemployed father did not consider financial support a necessity for their daughter. The woman he moved in with, did not want anything to do with Maxine.

Maxine was left to her own device many days and some nights. She would often have to prepare her own dinner and sit by herself to eat. Before she would use this time to hang out at  with her friends but now she stayed by herself when she wasn’t working at McDonalds.

Connie knocked on Maxine’s door. Maxine didn’t answer so she opened the door to Maxine’s room. Maxine was staring at her desktop computer screen. She looked like she was in a trance.

Connie called out her name and Maxine ignored her. She placed her hand on Maxine’s shoulder and Maxine jumped. Maxine continued staring at the screen. People were running and she was holding the joy stick and shooting at them. Connie was horrified at the sight and at her daughter’s interest in such a game.

Connie turned Maxine’s chair around so she was facing her. Maxine took a while to recognize her mother. She was in a daze. Connie was confused and concerned that her daughter was in such a state.

“Mother, don’t you need to be somewhere right now instead of coming into my room uninvited to interrupt me.” Maxine’s tone was disturbing.

Connie turned off the monitor. And turned her daughter back around to face her.

The monitor turned on by itself and the game was on where Maxine left off.

The hair on the back of Connie’s neck stood up and she got a prickly feeling in her stomach. She turned off the monitor again and the same thing happened. The screams of the people running for their lives rang in her ears.

“You see mother, they do not like it when you do that. You must leave the game on and let me play.” The voice Connie heard was not her daughter’s.

Connie did not know where she found the strength and nerve but she unplugged the monitor and disconnected it from the screen and started hauling it out of the room. The game still appeared on the computer screen. Connie could not believe what was happening. She put down the monitor and walked out of the room.

“I can’t come into work tonight,” said Connie.

“What’s wrong. You never miss,” said her boss.

“My daughter is really sick and I think I have to take her to the emergency room,” lied Connie.

“I am sorry to hear that. Hope she feels better soon.”

Connie ran up the stairs and when she got to the top of the stairs, she was shoved down the stairs with great force. She ended up breaking her arm and received a large bump on her head from banging her head on the banister. She was passed out at the bottom of the stairs from the concussion.

Maxine walked to the top of the stairs and gazed at her mother. She begrudgingly called for an ambulance. Connie came to when the paramedics were placing her on the stretcher.

“What happened?” asked one of the paramedics.

“I don’t know. I reached the top of the stairs and then it felt like I was shoved down the stairs backwards.”

The paramedics looked at Maxine to see what she knew about the incident. They were wondering if she pushed her mother down the stairs.

“I don’t know what happened. I was in my room,” replied Maxine.

“I did not see anyone, but it did feel like I was pushed,” said Connie.

“Are you coming with us?” asked one of the paramedics.

“No, I have homework to do,” replied Maxine.

Connie looked hurt and said, “Yes, you do have homework to do. I did get a call from the school today about you not turning in assignments. Please work on the assignments and get them turned in.”

“I will.”

Maxine turned around and entered their home. She did not look back. The paramedics were surprised at her daughter’s lack of concern.

Connie had a tear rolling down her cheek.  One of the paramedics handed her a tissue.

 

“Now that we are alone at last, we have an assignment for you,” said the gruesome creature staring at Maxine from the computer screen. His face was dark, his eyes were red and two horns protruded from his head.

“What do you want me to do?”

A group of similar creatures were standing behind him.  They also had red eyes and appeared to be very tall. Their skin was a strange shade of gray. Maxine thought they were very handsome. She was being manipulated to like what she saw so they didn’t have to change their appearance.

“We want you to seduce and poison the mayor. We have someone else in mind for the position,” said the entity named Frezenik.

Maxine washed her long blond hair and styled it on top of her head. She was told that the mayor liked long sleek necks. She pulled out a little black dress that accentuated her bust with a low cut and she donned black high heel shoes from her mother’s closet. Maxine examined herself in the mirror. She placed the vial of poison she found in a desk drawer in her small black beaded purse. She did not question how the poison got there. Unexplained things were happening in Maxine’s life. She did not question anything she was asked to do, she only followed orders.

The mayor was expected to be at his favorite local establishment having a few drinks with some of his friends. A pretty young woman like Maxine would be more than welcomed to be a part of that womanizing group of men.

As Maxine entered the bar, which was dimly lit, she walked to the bar and ordered a glass of wine. She had to present her phony ID which she found next to the poison in the drawer. Maxine imbibed in alcohol with her friends on occasion and wine was her favorite alcoholic beverage.

She took a sip of wine and let it rest in her mouth as she savored the taste. The wine was dry chardonnay and she was used to the sweeter wines. She liked the boldness of the wine. After one glass, she started feeling the effects. She needed to slow down so she asked for a white wine spritzer.  The men she wanted to pay attention to her definitely had their eyes on her. She started flirting with the bartender pretending not to notice.

The mayor, Fred Burstein, walked over to her and offered to buy her a drink.

“You can pay for my spritzer, sir,” said Maxine.

“No need for the formalities. My name is Fred.”

“Thanks, Fred.”  Maxine smiled at him coyly.

“Do you want to join us?” asked Fred.

“I can for a little while,” said Maxine. She picked up her wrap that fell to the floor which got every man’s attention as she bent down to pick it up. They either got a good view of her backside or her breasts that were somewhat exposed as she bent down. She was taught very well by some of the friends, she used to hang out with, about the art of getting attention from men.

The bartender smiled and handed her the spritzer and she walked to Fred’s table. He knew women like her would bring in more business. One of Fred’s friends retrieved a chair for her to sit on. She noticed, as she sat down, that all the men were wearing wedding rings including Fred. She slipped the vial from her purse and put it on her lap.

“What are you drinking, Fred?” asked Maxine.

“I am drinking rum and coke. Do you want to try a sip?” asked Fred.

“Sure.”

He handed his drink to her. As he did so, she knocked over her spritzer. It went all over the table and in the laps of a couple of men. She used the distraction to slip the vial of poison into Fred’s drink. He was none the wiser as they all jumped up to get something to clean up the drink she spilled.

“I am not sure I like this drink. It tastes strong to me,” said Maxine. She handed Fred’s drink back to him. She was told that the poison would be slow working and would take a couple of hours to kill him. It had to work through his system.

The men were bragging about their jobs. One worked as the city manager, the other was the chief financial officer for the local hospital and Fred told her he was the mayor. She feigned  she was impressed with what they did, but she could not care less. She did what she was assigned to do so it was time to leave. She wanted to get back to her computer game.

Her phone rang and it was Frezenik pretending to be her boss.

“I have to go into work. I am glad I didn’t drink too much. I liked hearing about what you do for a living. I would like to meet with you, again.” She smiled coyly at the men. They returned the smile and looked disappointed she had to go.

“Where do you work?” asked Fred.

“I am a lawyer and work at Sampson and Connoway’s firm. We have a big case coming up and they need my help. Last minute stuff, if you know what I mean.”

They were impressed that the young woman was a lawyer. She picked up her purse and wrap and walked out of the bar. Even the bartender looked disappointed. He liked watching her.

Fred died in his sleep. His wife discovered he was dead when she tried to wake him when he didn’t get up to his alarm. Frezenik seemed pleased that Maxine carried out her assignment to the letter.

 

Connie had to call one of her friends to drive her home from the hospital the next day. Maxine was in school.  She had two broken ribs, a concussion and a broken arm. She was in pain and refused to take painkillers because she could not handle the way they made her feel. She was hopeful ibuprofen would work for her. She took a couple of pain relievers and called into work and told them what happened. They were shocked and gave their condolences. She fell fast asleep. She heard her name called out and left her bed to see who could be saying her name. It sounded like a man. No one was in her home. She checked the locks and windows and everything was closed and locked.

Perhaps I was dreaming that someone was saying my name. 

Connie went into the bathroom to relieve herself and looked in the mirror at the bruising on her face and she saw what looked like a monster standing behind her in the mirror. She screamed and looked behind her. No one was there. She looked in the mirror again and the monster was gone.

I am losing my mind.

It was somewhat of a gray day which matched her dismal mood. She walked outside to get some fresh air. Her home, which usually felt like her safe place, was now a place of fear. She was wondering if Maxine brought something into their home by playing the games she was playing. What she saw on the screen was horrible. People were running and being killed. Why would anyone want to play a game like that? She felt like she lost her daughter. She didn’t know her anymore. 

Am I working too many hours? Am I too exhausted? Now, I don’t have a choice, I have to stay home until I heal. Aflac comes in handy sometimes.

Betsy Kindlewood was outside pruning her flowers.

“Hi neighbor. It’s weird seeing you home during the day. What happened to you?” asked Betsy when she looked at Connie.

“I fell down the stairs last evening.”

“Oh, my. Are you going to be okay?”

“I have a few broken ribs, a concussion and a broken arm,” said Connie.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” asked Betsy.

“Would you mind picking up some dinner for us?” asked Connie.

“Sure.”

Connie went inside to get her purse.

Betsy said, “I owe you for taking in our mail and watering my plants. Let me pay for your dinner.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I do. It was mighty neighborly of you to take care of our plants and take in the mail when we went on our vacation.”

Connie didn’t feel like arguing so she agreed with Betsy.

“Could you pick up a bucket of that fried chicken from the supermarket?”

“That’s sounds good. I think I will get some for us, too.”

“Do you need anything else?”

“I need you to look at something in my house.”

Betsy followed Connie into her home. They went upstairs and into the bathroom.

“Look into the mirror,” said Connie. Betsy looked at Connie strangely and then looked in the mirror.

“Why am I doing this?”

“I saw something scary this morning,” said Connie.

“Maybe that bump on your head is making you see things.”

“I was thinking I was working too hard and my mind is playing tricks on me.”

“That might be it. It will probably be good for you to rest for a few days.”

“I think so, too.”

            The mayor’s face was plastered on the front page of the local newspaper. The reason behind his death was unknown. His heart and lungs were fine. An autopsy was conducted and they found no trace of anything foreign. The cause of his death was a mystery.

           

            Maxine was sitting in front of her computer. She was playing a new game, House of Abandon. A hand reached out from the game and she was pulled into the game. She was one of the people in the house who were running for their lives. She was terrified. She woke up shaking in her bed. The dream felt so real. She opened her window and threw her computer monitor out of the window.  It crashed on the pavement of the walkway. Her computer screen was next. That crashed and broke into several pieces. Her keyboard was thrown out last. She closed her window and looked into the mirror in the bathroom, she no longer saw the man that stood behind her. He was gone. She went into her mother’s room and laid down beside her. Connie woke up and rested her hand on her daughter’s arm.

 

            A few miles away, a teenager by the name of Zeke was staring at his laptop. A man with gray skin and red eyes was looking back at him. He pressed play and started playing the game Cry of Fear.