Black Don't Crack

"The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window."

Stephanie had finally opened her eyes, finding herself lying on the cabin floor staring at the ceiling. The atmosphere was cold and wet, and the air smelt raw. She was drained and thirsty with no feeling from the neck down. Stephanie was dressed in a bloodied wedding dress, wondering what she got herself into this time? Stephanie listened to the winds blow as the trees scratched along the windows and the wolves cried out to the harvest moon. She had come to terms that help was far away.

Suddenly, the outside noises came to a standstill. Stephanie was now hearing the sounds of her breathing and increased heart rate; she then felt an itchy sensation as a spider made its way near her face. The spider crawled around her glittery Afro puff; it then tumbled down her cornrows smack dab in the middle of her forehead. The spider's tiny legs kicked around as it made it's way back to its feet, then the spider eased its way to the opening of her ear. With her mind running rapidly, tears from Stephanie’s dark brown eyes ran down the side of her face. The only thing Stephanie could do was think.

***

Summer Time Chicago 1997

Stephanie and her mother, Vita Simone, were enjoying church service as bishop Oshay Jackson preached the good gospel. It was hot as the church member's swayed back and forward and shouted out in the lord's name. Seven-year-old Stephanie chuckled as one of the members caught the Holy Ghost; her mother pinched her on the knee.

“Ouch!”

"Well, then knock it off." Whispered Vita.

After service was over, Vita spoke to the Bishop for a while; they laughed and joked while Stephanie stood nearby, hiding behind the water fountain. She then began to frown as Bishop embraced her mother with a hug; while doing so, Bishop smiled at Stephanie.

“And who might that little girl be? That must be your younger sister?” Bishop asked.

“Oh no, Bishop, this is my daughter Stephanie. Stephanie, come say hi to Bishop."

Stephanie paused, looked at Bishop, and turned back to her mom. Stephanie then took a deep breath and finally gave Bishop the middle finger.

“Stephanie!” Vita yelled.

***

On the ride home, Vita gave Stephanie an ear full after she popped her in the mouth.

"What in the hell is your problem, Stephanie Simone! Where did you get that finger crap from? Huh? Yo dead beat ass daddy? Yo cousins? That's alright; you won't be going to grandma's for a month; I don't fool with your daddy's side of the family anyway! And when you get home, you gonna wash up, eat, and go straight to bed! You hear me?”

“But mommy, he's the bogeyman."

“Well, bogey yo ass in the bed tonight! And you’re going to apologize next Sunday when we see Bishop Again! You understand me?”

“Yes, mommy."

***

Later that night. Stephanie said her prayers after supper and got ready for bed. She then reached over and turned off her night light; as she lay on her backside, she slowly fell into a deep sleep. Drifting off so heavily, Stephanie began to sink inside the bed; while opening her eyes as her room went dark and turned upside down. She twirled about in open space, feeling like she was falling off a roller-coaster, and in a blink of an eye, Stephanie landed on her feet. Now, inside a dark basement, smelling of burning flesh and hearing voices, just down the eerie halls. Stephanie then tip-toed towards a room up ahead; once she arrived, a single light shone over an operating table. On top of the table was a lifeless young woman with wide-open eyes.

Poor Stephanie began to tremble in fear; the body was cold and seemed like someone had stuffed the girl’s upper body with newspaper. As Stephanie got closer, two men dressed in operating attire entered the room. Stephanie had no place to run as she stared at the men, but the men walked past her weirdly. Shortly another gentleman entered the room with surgical instruments in hand. Stephanie jumped back in shock when she realized the person in charge was Bishop Oshay.

The Bishop then approached the deceased young lady; he then pulled back the covers revealing the rest of her body. The dead girl's head turned towards Stephanie as a clear liquid poured from her mouth, terrified at what she was witnessing. Stephanie screamed so loud that the impact blew back everything and everyone in the room. It also caused Stephanie to return and wake up in her body.

***

Once Stephanie woke up and realized she was back home, she immediately went into the dining room and called the police. She explained to the authorities what she saw in a panic; the officer on the line found it hard to believe coming from a child. The officer recorded Stephanie's complaint and got her personal information. Stephanie then started her way into the living room and hid under the covers on the couch.

Hours later, there was a knock at the door and two police squad cars outside. Stephanie ran to wake her mother up.

“Mommy! Mommy! The police! The police are here!”

“What, Stephanie? It's 4 in the morning; why are you playing?" Said Vita.

Another loud knock at the door, so Vita quickly jumped out of bed to answer. When Vita opened the door, the police officers had a look of sorrow on their faces. The one officer politely explained the situation to Vita. It turned out that Bishop Oshay was the lead suspect in a string of child abductions in the area; he and some of his deacons worked in the church basement with the deceased body of a young girl that had been missing for two weeks.

“So why are you at my door telling me this?” Asked Vita.

“Well, mam, because your daughter called us. When we arrived at the church, it seemed to have been some explosion in the basement. The Bishop and his men were badly injured but still alive. We're trying to figure out how your daughter know?" Asked the officer.

***

Back in the Cabin

Stephanie lingered on the memory of her first time traveling outside her body, but this wasn't that. She was physically in a cabin paralyzed, with a spider waiting on the outside edge of her ear. Suddenly, the spider began to move. Step by step with a clicking sound that caused Stephanie's ear to ring, her eye's to water, and the back of her throat to itch. The spider made it's way deep; there was a sudden moment of silence. The spider pressed against Stephanie’s eardrum, causing Stephanie to blackout and travel down memory lane again.

***

The Day Before

It was noon in Oswego Illinois, seventy degrees with a calm breeze and traffic moving steadily. Two hundred in attendance waited patiently for the groom and bride to make their union official—all-white everything, followed by the groomsmen and bridesmaids dressed in dark gray and plum colors. Everyone was in good spirits as they hugged and kept their conversations to a whisper inside the church. Stephanie's mom Vita greeted guests and kept a watchful eye on the venue, but deep down, she felt something was wrong. The wedding should've started forty minutes ago.

***

Upstairs in her dressing room. Stephanie sat in front of a mirror, questioning her reflection. She shined and blossomed all over, but she didn't think so. Behind her, restrained to the wall and gasping for air, was Stephanie's soon-to-be husband, Luke. Stephanie got up and approached him, watery-eyed and hurt.

“I don't know where to start, and honestly, I don't know how this will end. But I can't control it." Said Stephanie.

Luke’s eyes were bloodshot red as snot ran down his nose; the dark energy from Stephanie's anger was crushing Luke’s skull.

“I didn't even want to get married, but you pushed and pushed. I told you all my darkest secrets and shared my dreams with you. Until one night, I traveled outside my body and followed you home after work.” Said Stephanie.

***

Meanwhile, the time went on, and the wedding still had yet to begin. Vita decided to go on stage and inform the guest she was going to search for the groom and bride; she then asked the bride maids and Groomsman to follow.

***

Back in the dressing room, the more Stephanie spoke caused more damage to Luke. He started to bleed from his eyes and ears; the dark energy then caused Luke's blood to whirl around him and Stephanie as the pressure in his head increased.

“How could you, Luke? The week before our wedding? And yeah, I'm coming to you now, but I tried praying about it and seeing it from your point of view. It didn't do anything but build up inside and turn into this.” Said Stephanie

As they got closer, Vita and the crew yelled out for Stephanie and Luke

“Yeah, I watched you that night; you called me and told me you were staying late for work. You drove towards the South Side while sipping on your Hennessy, and you stopped at your destination. You got out of the car smiling walking up to some random Airbnb and that’s when she came to the door.”

Luke's eyes continued to bulge, for he knew Stephanie was telling the truth. At that crucial moment. Vita and the gang walked into the room.

“Oh my God! Stephanie, no!" Vita screamed.

Stephanie focused on Luke, trying her hardest to forgive and let go.

“But why did you think it was alright to sleep with my mom?” Stephanie asked.

And in a blink of an eye. Luke’s head exploded, causing Stephanie to snap back into reality.

***

Back in the Cabin

That last trip down the rabbit hole was enough for Stephanie to build enough strength to sit up and realize she wasn't drugged, but her fear of spiders kept her pinned onto the cabin floor. Stephanie immediately screamed and started smacking her right ear; she got up and ran into the bathroom. She cut on the light and kept beating her ear over the dirty sink, and finally, the spider came falling out the left side of her ear.

“Ahhh!” Stephanie screamed.

The spider crawled back into the bedroom shadows; a dark cloud started to form around the spider, transforming it into a demonic entity. Stephanie splashed cold water on her face. Confused and on edge, she still needed to figure out where and how she ended up inside an abandoned cabin. Once Stephanie gathered herself, she walked back into the main room; before getting to the door, she heard a voice call out.

“Stephanie Simone, leaving so soon?” Said the voice.

Stephanie turned around; the spider's new form was tall and slim, with long claws and sharp pearly teeth. His voice was edgy, and his face looked like an evil mime. Stephanie stood front and center to hear the ghoul out.

“So you brought me here?” Stephanie asked.

“Yes, Stephanie, I did. Sorry to be so rude, but my name is Eel. And your services are needed, Miss Simone."

“Listen, I ain't got no beef with you, I ain't got no money, I just want to go home.”

“Why? So you can blow some more of your loved ones' heads off with that special gift of yours? I know your mother did a pretty bad thing”

“What?”

“OH yes, Stephanie. I saw all your wild memories when I crawled around in your head. And you are unlike any human."

“So what the hell do you want so I can go? What is this?” Stephanie asked.

“Straight to the point, I like it. You see, Stephanie, you've been traveling and wandering around in the spirit world for a long time. You even learned how to view your nightmares along with others, and somehow you manage not to become a victim of the invasion.”

“Invasion? What invasion?”

“There is an alien being known as the Undertaker of Mars; for the longest, he has been watching Earth and using it as a tool. He is the only one of his kind, and his children keep him company on his planet. When the children from Earth pass on, the Undertaker snatches their souls in his machine. He then uses the dirt from his planet and sculpts the deceased child to perfection; after that, he places the art pieces into his magic oven. Once the dirt hardens, he tries to place the soul back into the new body. But his invention is imperfect because only 40 percent of the child's soul is active.Leaving the new child dumb, strong, and thirsty for human blood"

“And why do I need to know about this? Why don't you call area 51? I don't have time for this bull."

“Because Yesterday After you blew your fiance's head off, you blacked out, and 30 minutes later, the Undertaker Of mars arrived, and put everyone on Earth in a trance. But you were the only one that it didn't affect. So I made my grand entrance, grabbed you, and brought you here.”

“You’re full of it. If you can appear out of the blue and turn into spiders and shit, why don't you do something about the alien invasion yourself?”

"I can't play with dreams or travel far into the spirit world like you. You witnessed children kidnapped, killed, and other unsettling things happen because of your gift. The people on Earth can use your help; right now, outside that door, the Undertaker has started the first part of his plan."

“And if I refuse to help? And who are you supposed to be?”

"Refuse to help. It will just be me, and you left here on a dead planet, and as for me. When the humans die, I am the one who escorts them to the gates. But with The Undertaker doing his reckless duties, my purpose is meaningless."

“So what you like, the grim reaper?”

“He-he, folktales. I lived once, and I betrayed the one person who meant the most to this planet with a kiss, and this was my curse. But that’s a story for another time.” Said Eel.

Stephanie couldn’t believe what was happening, and it seemed that the creepy man was legit. With so many nightmares and visions, it was time for Stephanie to face her new dark reality.

“OK. You know my secrets; you kidnapped me and brought me to this F'd up cabin! You turned into a spider and played around in my head! And you telling me I gotta talk, or maybe fight an alien more powerful than you? Who are you supposed to be, my guardian angel or some ish? "

“Ha-Ha, no guardian angel. Again. I'm a Gate Keeper who escorts the dead to the afterlife, but right now, every man and woman's soul is in limbo. The Undertaker of Mars is too strong for me to handle; his genius between magic and science is far beyond my understanding."

"Whatever, let me see for myself."

Stephanie made her way out the front door, and the world she once knew was in crisis. It snowed ashes as the sirens echoed through the night. The bodies of every human were floating six feet in the air under deep hypnosis. Stephanie continued to walk forward slowly; she then heard voices of the dead children from mars chanting her name with laughter. Some children ran past to hide, but most were waiting in the distance with glowing, toxic eyes. The children understood once the invasion was over, they would be allowed to feed off the human remains.

“What the hell? What is the Undertaker doing? Why is everyone floating?” Stephanie asked.

“Because he is abducting them." Eel responded.

“Abduction?”

“Yes, Stephanie. He is trying to find where the human soul goes after death. And once he finds that place. God have mercy on us all."

"I have no other choice. It is what it is.”

Eel walked back inside the cabin closing the door behind him; he then went over and blew out the candle in the window and said to himself.

"Good luck Stephanie Simone. The clock is ticking."

Stephanie took one last look at her surroundings; she finally walked over and took a butcher knife from the hands of a floating chef. She then ripped off the bottom part of her wedding dress to give herself some leg room. Stephanie took a deep breath and started her way deep into the void.

Ready to come face to face with the Undertaker of Mars.

The End