A Little Force

It was a normal day when the letter arrived. A young woman was returning to her apartment after a rather uneventful day at the little bakery where she worked. The young woman had short, wavy hair that was dyed a blush pink, and had bangs that almost covered her eyes. She wore circular glasses with a gold frame, and behind those gold glasses were dusty green irises. The woman’s skin was pale as can be, with many small, circular scars dotting her legs, each one discolored and almost purple. The scars were all from mosquito bites. Her outfit was simple, a yellow hoodie and jeans, along with a little black backpack hanging off one shoulder. People called her Rosemary.

She started working at the bakery a little over two months before now, as it had been the only available job she could find. Rosemary opened up the bakery at 5 a.m. with the owner, Danielle, or Dani. Dani was a short lady, only reaching about 5’3” if Rosemary had to guess. Dani always had her brown hair up in two buns atop her head, with a few strands framing her freckled face. She had the biggest, kindest blue eyes a person would ever live to see, just adding to the list of reasons people liked her.

Dani’s husband, on the other hand…. was definitely a sight. He was tall, probably around 6 feet in height, and by no means was he human. Well, monsters were actually quite common, and had lived at peace with humans for many years, but to get a look at one was always quite strange. Dani’s husband was a skeleton monster. He always dressed very nicely, usually in black with a crimson vest. Occasionally, the skeleton wore a black fedora with a single feather on it to cover the two small, red horns atop his skull. His bones were quite strange, they were thick, malleable, and some fused together to make his skull appear more like a normal human face. Rather than normal irises and pupils, he had glowing, coral colored orbs floating in his eye sockets. As if his appearance wasn’t already striking enough, he had large, black wings sprouting from his back, though he claimed he couldn’t fly. The skeleton’s name was Crow.

Though, at the moment what was done at the bakery was of no importance. Rosemary paused at the doorway to her apartment room, unlocked her door and walked inside. A letter was on the floor under the mail slot. The pink-haired woman picked it up, a feeling of dread overtaking her body as she slowly opened the letter, a $20,000 check falling from it. After she picked up the check, she read the letter that came with it.

To whomever this letter may find,

Five years ago today, a young woman by the name of Ava died at the young age of 18. Her cause of death was never revealed, but it seemed there was no struggle. Months before, she ordered that after her death a distant relative working at the bakery downtown inherit the house in the woods five years later. May this inheritance do you well.

The letter ended with that, and the fear enveloped Rosemary even more. This woman…. How had she known Rosemary would work at the bakery? She only started working there a few months ago. Rosemary grabbed a little black notebook set on the table, and pulled a pencil from her bag. She wrote down all the strange things in the letter, and tried her very best to make some sense of it. No sense was made.

Her phone rang. The noise seemed to blare in her ears, making her jump. Rosemary picked up the phone, putting it to her ear after answering the call. “Hello?” Her shaky voice sounded much quieter than she intended. A masculine voice with a minor French accent spoke from the other line, “Bonjour, Mademoiselle! I have been told you are going to need a driver, mon ami! I am here to assist!” Rosemary was confused, she never ordered a driver. “Oh, mon ami, you must be so very confused! You will be driven to your new estate! You know, the one from your inheritance? Oh, mon ami, don’t tell me you thought you were to find the estate yourself! Non, mon ami! The letter never included the address! Now, mon ami, go pack your things, I’m in the parking lot! Ask for Jack Springer at the front desk! Ta-ta, mon ami! A bientot!” Who? What? Rosemary was confused, but something in her told her to do what the man on the other end said.

Maybe an hour later, the young woman walked towards the front desk with two suitcases full of her belongings. She asked for this ‘Jack Springer’ person, and before the receptionist could answer, a skeletal monster walked through the doors. He was dressed in more old-fashioned clothing, and shoes which appeared to have a spring attached to the heel. He, like Crow, had the same fused bone structure, with the same human-like features. The skeleton had some sort of wing structure similar to a bat’s, said wings attached to his arms rather than his back. He also had two little white horns above his metaphorical eyebrows, and cat-like orbs that swirled with blue and orange in his eye sockets, almost like fire.

“Mon ami, mon ami! We must be quick, put your bags in the car and let us be off!” The skeleton, who happened to be a bit shorter than her, grabbed one of her bags and rushed out the door, calling for Rosemary to follow. He was quick to put her bags in the car, and before Rosemary knew it, they were on the road in a rather fancy vehicle. “Oh, mon ami, where are my manners? Je m’appelle Jack, Jack Springer! Comment tu t’appelles?” Rosemary looked at him with a confused face. “What’s your name?” Jack translated for her, a grin on his face.

“Oh- um, call me Rosemary,” she answered quietly, adjusting her glasses.

"Enchantée, mademoiselle! Very nice to meet you! So, I suppose you know about your destination?”

Rosemary shook her head, causing Jack’s expression to morph into shock. “Now that just won’t do! Ah, I suppose I couldn’t have expected Ava to remember…”

“W-what do you mean by that? Could you tell me about this place,I- I mean I’ve only just learned about this today! I must admit I’m quite nervous,” Rosemary responded nervously.

You’ll be moving to the estate of a dear friend of mine. You won’t exactly see Ava around much, her…. Less-than-physical state is rather weak, so don’t be alarmed if you see items moving about on their own, that’s just Ava. She’s a ghost, you see. She argued her way out of death, just so she may still care for her children. Or, creations. They’re not biologically her kids, she created them. She made the world in her head a reality, though we don’t know how,” Rosemary was dumbfounded. She didn’t know how to react to any of this, and Jack seemed to catch on to that rather quickly. “Mon ami, you’ll be fine. The home is wonderful, and Ava will make sure her children don’t bother you, though really you’d only need to worry about the middle two,” Rosemary still wasn’t too sure, and the odd way Jack stared at her was unnerving. He never broke eye contact, those fiery eyes of his burned into the back of her mind. The look in his eyes reminded Rosemary of a tiger waiting to pounce.

Not long after, they arrived at the estate in the forest. The house had two floors, and a large backyard overlooking a lake. The grass in the backyard seemed to be false, but Rosemary couldn’t see from the distance. Jack helped get her bags from the car, and then put them by the front door. The door then opened, revealing a young woman with dirty blonde hair a bit past her shoulders. Tired green eyes met Rosemary’s, a weak smile appearing on the woman’s face. It was only then that Rosemary noticed everything wrong. The woman had a large hole, about the size of her forearm, going through her neck, and what was probably another going through her chest if the circular bloodstain on her hoodie was anything to go by. This woman was dead...

“Oh, uh…. Hi. Name’s Ava....” The ghostly figure said, stepping back to allow the two inside the house. Jack and Rosemary walked in with the suitcases, an awkward silence in the room.

“I’m Rosemary,” the pink-haired woman said, giving a small smile.

“Heh, nice meetin’ ya, kiddo. I’m Ava- wait I just said that didn’t I….” Jack snickered, ignoring the glare he got from Ava. “Jack, you were not invited, go home, you idiot,”

“Oui, mademoiselle, whatever you say,” Sarcasm dripped from Jack’s voice, but he left anyway. "Au Revoir, Rosemary!”

Ava shook her head, “Well, welcome to your new home, I guess… My kids aren’t usually here, and neither am I so you really just have the place to yourself and the cats. Oh, yeah, the cats- there are four of ‘em, Oreo’s the tuxedo, Mocha’s the tabby, Tuck’s the solid black one, and Cookie’s the calico. All four are real friendly, ‘specially Mocha,” a small smile appeared on Ava’s face as she continued to describe each cat in detail, from how she ended up with the cats, to all the little features no one else would notice.

All too soon, Ava finished her stories, silence coming over her for a moment. “Well, Rosy, I need to go. My youngest, Pippin, told me to come visit him today… He’s a recluse- literally and figuratively- so every moment with him counts. What I mean by literally, is he’s a drider- or would it be skider? He’s half skeleton, half brown recluse. Don’t know what a drider is in the first place? Spider version of a centaur,” Rosemary nodded her head as she received this information, fiddling with her hoodie sleeve. With a little wave, the ghostly woman disappeared, and Rosy had the house to herself.

Someone else, though, could only watch from afar. He knew Ava hated him for being Rosemary’s driver, as he wasn’t supposed to interfere. He was never allowed to interfere. This time, though, he was going to be selfish. Jack couldn’t help it, Rosemary was quite delightful to talk to, though she didn’t seem to talk much in return, but that was perfectly fine. He just adored the small bit of attention he got, and he’d do any and everything to have her attention on him and only him. She may not be one for conversation, but Jack loved that those beautiful green eyes were on him. Surely, she wouldn’t mind if he stole her away, if he took her attention for himself, would she? If she did, he’d just have to fix that. Nothing wrong with a little force, Jack told himself, not if it’s for the best. Some part of his deranged mind told him that this wasn’t for the best, and that this was very wrong. Jack never listened to that part of his mind. Jack knew what he wanted, and he was going to get it. He always got what he wanted, no matter the cost.

Jack stared at the blade in his hand.

There’s nothing wrong with a little force.