Tabitha. [HWC2013], page 1

Tabitha stood at the foot of the bed not knowing how long she had been standing there talking to her mother, not that she could hear Tabitha anyway. Tabitha was looking at her mothers feet sticking out of the blankets green and yellow goo had started to grow around the toe nails she didn't like how they looked and reached for the blanket to pull over her mothers feet. Tabitha had to tug slightly to get the sheet to go over those puss infested toes because the sheet had become stuck to her mothers face, from the dried blood Tabitha knew that but she didn't mind looking at the stiff yet slack-mouthed expression on her mothers face. Tabitha put a hand on her mothers forehead every time hoping it would feel warm like it used to, that's about all Tabitha could remember of her mother the warm hugs. As she started to pull away her hand Tabitha saw a mouse poke its little head out of her mothers torn blood crusted t-shirt. "Keep mommy safe little mousy." Tabitha said to the mouse who replied with a squeak and ducted back into the decaying corpse. The front door of the small dark house opened followed by a loud bellowing voice "Tabitha! Get down here girl!" It was Tabitha's father. She didn't like seeing her father at night after the sun went down. "I'm right here daddy." She called as she ran out of her mothers room and down the stairs to greet her father who was still standing by the front door taking off his shoe's and jacket. Tabitha knew instantly she would be dealing with what his father called the 'whiskey way of doing things.' "Look at you." Her father said pointing at the dress she was wearing, it was dirty with food stains, dried blood stains, and dirt from the floor from not being able to wash it. Her mommy did that stuff, Tabitha flashed to a vague memory of her mother doing dishes in the once brightly lit kitchen, the house was clean and smelled good back then. A hand grabbed her long blonde hair pulling her down the hallway just to the left of the stairs. "You were in your mothers room again weren't you?" Tabitha's father said "I told you never go in there! She's dead baby girl just like you'll be if you don't smarten up." Tabitha tears made smears of dirt around her eyes she realized a while ago that screaming or crying only made daddy more angry and he would do things that hurt her a lot worse. One time she got punched in the nose for asking if there was any food, her father said eat a mouse. When she began to cry because of the pain her hungry stomach was in her father cold clocked her right between the eyes. Her nose bleed for what seemed like a long time, a pool of blood and tears puddling in front of her. After that she didn't cry anymore, only tears. This time from the intense pain of her father dragging her across the floor by her hair like a sac of potatoes. Tabitha knew what was coming. Standing in front of the bathroom door now Tabitha was pushed violently into the bathroom she hit the far wall then crashed onto the floor. "Clean yourself up." Her father yelled. "If I see you trying to use even a little bit of hot water I'll tie you to your bed again, understand little girl?" He walked over to Tabitha who had landed beside the toilet and was whimpering softly her small body shaking. Her father walked up to her using his foot to push his daughter away from the toilet and closer to the shower. After he finished peeing and flushed the toilet walking past his daughter laying on the floor he said "I'll turn on the shower don't touch the faucet and hurry up." Turning the cold water on and leaving the bathroom. Tabitha looked up then sat up, her right arm hurt but not as much as her head did. She looked into the shower as the shower head was washing away black dirt from the floor around the drain. Tabitha took off her dirty smelly dress and laid it neatly by the sink as she turned to step into another cold shower the reflection in the mirror showed Tabitha's back all bruised and cut up like long forgotten razor slices. After a while the cold doesn't seem so cold Tabitha thought. There was no soap or anything to wash herself with so she stood there shivering her hair a tangled mess, at least no one can see your tears in a shower she thought. A bang! on the door let her know it was time to get out.
Having dried her self off with a towel that smelled almost as bad as her mothers room she put her stained dress back on and slowly emerged from the bathroom still shivering. Her father was not downstairs watching the tiny TV they had so she walked into the kitchen it was also empty. Tabitha made for the fridge hoping she could get some food in her then head off to bed. She opened the fridge door, the rubber seal made strings of slime as she pulled it open. The smell was so bad Tabitha felt vomit rise up in her throat but she managed to swallow it before any came out, another thing she learned was daddy didn't like when she threw up. He would make her sit in it for hours not aloud to move or make a sound. In the bottom corner of the fridge was half a loaf of green and blue bread, Tabitha quickly opened the bag and shuffled through the slices of bread picking one out that had the least amount of mold on it and shoved it in her mouth. Gagging and holding back vomit to get the bread in her starving stomach. Feeling a little better but not by much Tabitha closed the door and walked to the stairs leading to her bedroom. She quietly crept up one by one she could hear her father talking to the dead body of her mother and knew she had time and was safe for now. Her room was a small bedroom with no bed in it just some sheets and pillows on the floor. The one window in the room was aglow with silver light from the moon outside casting eerie shadows across the paint peeled walls. Tabitha got under her blankets and pillows a kind of nest she made in the middle of the barren cold bedroom. She reached under her pillow and pulled out a photograph of her mother, a nice looking lady with the same bright blonde hair as Tabitha. She kissed the picture saying "goodnight mommy" to it, lay her dead down and fell into a sleep full of nightmares and terrors no child should dream of. Tabitha's father stepped out of the room his wife was in, well that her body was in. "I should really get rid of it" he thought but then realized he wouldn't be able to crack open a cold one every night she was a better lay dead then alive anyways. Plus he had the girl he thought. As Tabitha dreamed a green light started to radiate from outside of her window flowing like mist or smoke and hovered above the sleeping child slowly covering her in a green glow. The mist rose up like a swarm of thick bugs slipped under Tabitha's door and out into the hallway falling down the stairs now glowing bright green. Tabitha's father was fast asleep on the sofa, from behind the green mist loomed over him. Tiny wisps of vapor started to twist and tangle around his drunk body he was lifted into the air suspended by the green mist. At this point he woke up upside down and floating in his living room, and started to scream and struggle but the mist held firm. Tabitha's father felt the mist get tighter around his body as if he was in a presser cooker or deep underwater. Blood started to seep out from his ears this left temple caved in followed by his legs being contorted in positions they shouldn't have been able to be in. A voice whispered in his ear "This is for Tabitha." His body was mangled and crushed.