Last Time She Died

  Last Time She Died

  Niki Kamerzell

  Copyright © 2021 by Niki Kamerzell

  Artwork: Adobe Stock © grape_vein

  Design: Services for Authors

  Editing: darkstroke

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or Crooked Cat/darkstroke except for brief quotations used for promotion or in reviews. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are used fictitiously.

  First Dark Edition, darkstroke. 2021

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  something nice will happen.

  To Zach, Mom, and Dad, thank you for your love.

  To Jessica, I miss you and named the town after you.

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you, Greg, for reading two pages of something that became this story and telling me it was worth writing. And then reading my first draft in all it’s horror. Several times. And for everything. I’m only a writer because you said I could be.

  Derry, thank you for being my sounding board and reading every word and telling me you loved them. You’re a great friend. Your support has been amazing.

  Thank you to my friends at Writer Royal: Donn, Don, Hannah, Katie, Marcos, Nigel, and Sabby. You’re all amazing humans. Without you this would be a weird pile of dangling participles with an ending that makes no sense. I could not have done this without you.

  To my husband, I love you. Thank you for making me laugh and talking me down from my many panics. You’re my tink.

  And to Laurence and Steph Patterson at darkstroke, thank you for all your patience, support, and guidance. I’m so glad my book has found a home here.

  About the Author

  Niki Kamerzell lives in Colorado and spends her free time reading and writing.

  She will read just about anything recommended to her and has been known to sacrifice eating and sleeping to finish a good book. Niki writes fantasy and has been writing for the last ten years. When not writing or reading, Niki is probably distracted by her Corgi or out hiking in the Rocky Mountains with her husband.

  Her other distractions include driving around and singing off key with the radio and scrapbooking. Always willing to make things awkward, sarcasm is like a second language to her and, next to her passion for writing, probably one of the things Niki’s most proud of.

  Last Time She Died

  Chapter One

  Alexia Harper’s tires sped along the road as she made her way home. She’d been forced to stay hours after her shift for the third day in a row. A dull ache in her mouth made her realize she’d been clenching her teeth. She groaned and pictured her mid-term, sitting, unfinished, at home. Rubbing her temples, she wondered if she’d even have time to get it done.

  Mindlessly, she pulled the elastic band from her hair and raked her fingers through the bump it left. The streetlamps lit up a purple strand, making her smile. She and her best friend and roommate, Cali, had just highlighted their hair the weekend before.

  Something careened toward her windshield, snapping her thoughts to the present. She stood on her brakes, locking them, and skidded to a stop.

  A large owl pulled up at the last second, flashing its feathery, white belly while lifting away from the car.

  Alexia exhaled, cursing under her breath. She relaxed her grip on the wheel, her hands still shaking. She flicked her gaze up to take one last look at the owl. The clouds banking above her were tinted a dark yellow in the bright moonlight.

  After another shaky breath, she stepped on the gas and reached for the radio. When she turned up the volume, there was only a hissing sound. She jerked and cursed the owl for putting her on edge before flipping through her preset stations. Static on the first, the second, and each one until the last. More hissing. Louder than before. Something hard formed in her stomach and her throat tightened. As she moved her hand to the volume knob, the hiss turned to a sickening, distorted laugh.

  Skidding to a halt, Alexia turned the radio all the way down and swallowed around the lump in her throat. Her hand fell from the knob as she stared vacantly at the radio display on her dash. What just happened? The whooshing of the wind drowned out her raspy breath as she sat in her idling car. Minutes ticked by. Maybe this wind and these weird colored clouds are a storm was blowing in, she thought. It’s just affecting the radio stations.

  Grinding the car back into first gear, she caught sight of her pale, shaky hand and focused on the road while taking deep breaths. She hoped Cali had waited up for her. She didn’t want to walk into a dark, empty living room.

  She pushed her hair out of her face before reaching for the heater. It was early April, and though the day had been warm, Alexia shivered as she neared her apartment.

  Rain began pelting her windshield, making her jump. The night had been clear seconds ago. She put her windshield wipers on high but they could barely keep up with the downpour.

  A puff of yellow dust blew from the vent, and the car filled with a strong sulfur smell. Laughter whispered through the speakers, then blared at full volume.

  Alexia looked at the radio. The laughter trailed off. In her confusion, she’d lifted her feet and the car was rolling into the oncoming lane. While swerving back to her side of the road, she punched the power button, turning the radio off. She sped up, flying down the empty, dark, residential streets. She needed to put distance between herself and whatever caused the smelly yellow dust to blow into her car. She needed out of the car, and fast!

  A hiss from outside, quiet and clearer than the crackling voice over the radio, made her stomach drop. Stealing a glance at her moonlit surrounding, Alexia confirmed there was no one around.

  Another puff of yellow came through the vents. The sulfur smell ratcheted up and Alexia gagged.

  Lightning flashed, illuminating the churning yellow clouds.

  “I found you,” a voice, cold and unfamiliar growled.

  Icy hands of fear slid down her back.

  It had come from the speakers. The radio was still off.

  It wasn’t possible.

  A fresh wave of adrenaline pounded through her. Sweat trickled down her forehead. She struggled to find any explanation. There could be food rotting in the car. Her radio wires could be loose and causing a strange malfunction. She could be dreaming. Something not human could be trying to kill you, her thoughts murmured to her.

  Another bolt of lightning arced, too bright, too close, too loud. Her ears rang. The next would strike her. A screech pierced through the speakers and everything rational in her drained away. Screaming, she skidded to the middle of the road, dumping the clutch and stalling the engine.

  Her shaky hands took three attempts to open her door. Bailing out of the car, she looked at it as if expecting it to do something. Anything. It could turn into a robotic alien, or bloody clowns could pop out of the trunk and chase her. Please let this be a dream, she thought. Hot tears streamed down her face.

  She shivered. There was a definite chill in the air and she was soaking wet. Standing in the middle of the street, she was glad no other cars were around. The old neighborhood had few streetlamps. The moon and porch lights lit up the dead spaces in between the yellow lamps above. In the light she convinced herself she was alone. Or maybe she was trying to convince herself she wasn’t alone. She wasn’t sure anymore.

  Another crack of thunder boomed louder, closer. The sky opened and rain poured down. For a minute, she felt better.

 
The little blue sports car sat innocently in front of her. Shiny. Clean. The same tiny scratches on the front quarter panel that had been there since she bought it. Slightly misaligned headlights. The windshield wiper blades squealed across the glass.

  She was only two blocks from home.

  The wind picked up and the rain seemed thicker and darker somehow. The fear that had dissipated roared back, doubled.

  The dark yellow clouds above her churned with lightning lacing through them. Her hair lifted from her shoulders an instant before a bolt slammed to the ground. The night lit up so brightly, she was blinded. The crash rattled her teeth. She was thrown to the ground. Her ears rang, and she instinctively covered them with her hands.

  Grunting in pain, Alexia curled into a ball with her eyes tightly shut. She tried to convince herself she was dreaming. A loud noise made her jump. Groaning. Her groaning. Loud sobs escaped her while hot tears spilled from her face. She could feel the static throughout her body.

  If she wasn’t dreaming, she had to do something.

  Laying in the fetal position in the road was dangerous. Never mind any passing cars, if she got struck, she would die. She could feel the electricity all around her. Hell, if a bolt got any closer than the last one had, it would probably be enough to kill her.

  She cracked her eyes open to make sure she wasn’t safe in her bed. As if to drive the point home, a thin bolt blinked across the sky, lighting the night.

  The laughing voice hadn’t physically touched her, but the lightning could. The voice was scary, but the lightning was deadly. She only had one choice.

  She needed to move. She had to get off the street. The lightning was too close. Instinct took over and her body moved in spite of logic.

  Swallowing hard, she dropped into the driver’s seat and started the engine. Revving it high into the red, just to listen to something familiar, she breathed in the tropical scent emanating from the little can of air freshener under her seat. The sulfur smell was gone. The radio blared back to life, making Alexia jump. She turned it down, but not off.

  She shifted through the gears as she turned down her street. She could see her apartment. The light upstairs in Cali’s room was on.

  Another bolt crashed to her left. The car vibrated violently, ripping the steering wheel from her hands. The vehicle started to spin. Her own screams echoed around her.

  Streetlights swirled outside her windows. She smashed the pedals to the floor, but she didn’t slow. The car shuddered to a stop as something ground against the bottom.

  She pushed the door, but it wouldn’t open. Clawing at the handle, she pulled at the lock and pressed her body against it, but the door still didn’t budge. She reached into the cup holder for her cell phone, but the screen was dead.

  Crawling over the shifter, Alexia shoved the passenger door open and flopped out of the car. Broken glass glittered around her and rain lightened to mist. On jelly-legs, she crept around her car, leaning against it as she went. She’d jumped the curb, and the wheels were on someone’s lawn.

  The driver’s side door was completely caved in. Gashes scrawled through the metal like a giant, three-clawed monster had scratched it. A tree across the street was burning from the lightning strike and a large chunk of it was lodged into her car.

  She stumbled back toward the front of the car as sparks flickered from under her hood. There was something else. A silhouette in her seat. Something was in the seat she’d just crawled from. It didn’t move. It didn’t look her way. It was just there.

  Shivers rocketed down her spine. Is someone behind the wheel? She moved in closer. Flames exploded from the engine. Startled, she tripped backward and landed on her butt. All the while, the silhouette sat there.

  Chapter Two

  Cali slammed the back door on her way into Studio Demmar. The small, dry workspace offered welcome relief from the summer rain outside.

  “Cali?” Dustin Demmar, the owner, called from the front of the photography studio.

  “Yeah?” she called, shaking out her damp blonde bob. She leaned over his computer and he pecked her on the cheek.

  “Can you do the books?” Dustin, four years her senior at twenty-nine, asked. “I tried last night, but I think I messed something up.” He shrugged.

  “One of these days you will have to hire a real accountant.” She rolled her eyes and retrieved the book from the back of the office.

  As his only employee, Cali had gotten used to doing the tasks he couldn’t. She’d tried to teach him, but numbers just didn’t work for him. Cali had learned that long ago and had taken a few seminars on bookkeeping and business management online.

  “I’d rather just have you,” he said.

  Cali popped her hip. “You’ve got me. Now what?”

  Dustin couldn’t hide his grin. “Mind always in the gutter.”

  She bit her lip, hoping it looked sexy, but felt ridiculous. “You like it.”

  He stood and walked to her, took the books from her hands, and sat them behind her. “I like everything about you.” He kissed her.

  She pressed into him but pulled away quickly. She shook her head. “Not at work.”

  He nodded, straightening his glasses, and clearing his throat. “Of course. I’m sorry.”

  Cali ran her fingers through her hair and laughed. “My fault.” She reached behind him. “Now to my accounting duties.”

  They both returned to their desks and she cracked open the ledger.

  “I really will pay for accounting classes. It’s work related and you’ve earned a bonus,” he said after a minute.

  Once, she’d been a freshman at Jaydee College with Lexi. She’d hardly finished the semester. Years later, she still hadn’t recovered enough from her depression to go back for her degree.

  “Maybe someday.”

  Cali blinked away the memory, cleared her mind of the past, and focused on the book. Within three minutes, she’d spotted his mistakes and the numbers were all in order.

  “There are a couple rolls you could develop while I work on these,” Dustin said as she penciled in the final columns.

  All the photos they took for customers were digital, but Dustin’s father had taught him how to use an SLR film camera and develop film when he was young. As a hobby, he still used film, and had a darkroom in his studio. “We don’t have a lot to do this week. Apparently, everyone is busy with their fourth of July barbeques.”

  “No problem.” Cali tried to make her smile and voice happy. High school seniors would be getting portraits done soon, and Dustin’s was one of the top studios in town.

  She eyed the declining sales in the books. It would be a long couple of weeks. Jaydee, Colorado was right at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The studio inside always had the right lighting and no weather problems, but people wanted summer shoots outside with the mountains as a backdrop.

  The wet spring led to an equally wet summer. People were holding out for sunshine.

  Another short week meant another small paycheck.

  “How many rolls?” she asked.

  Dustin didn’t look up. “Three. One’s still in the camera.” He pointed to a small table close to him. She could hear the anxiety in his voice, reminding her that this was his business and his livelihood. No matter how much she loved the studio, it was just her job.

  As Cali passed him, he turned, and his hand brushed hers and she smiled at the touch. They had worked together for years—since Cali’s senior year in high school—and had been dating for almost a year. He pulled his hands away and moved them to his glasses to straighten them. A lopsided smile crept across his face reassuring her his anxiety was not directed at her.

  She pushed up her own glasses, mirroring his actions down to the goofy smile.

  She scooped up the film and camera and headed toward the darkroom, smiling at the framed prints lining the walls.

  Flipping the switch, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dim red light. She moved to the back of the room to lock hersel
f in the light-tight closet, used only for developing negatives. It had a white and a red light, but both had to be off until the raw negatives were processed and ready to be used to make prints. Even the dim red light of the darkroom would ruin the negatives. In the familiar darkness, Cali worked from memory. She smacked the first of the small film canisters on the counter to pop it open and started winding the film onto the plastic wheel. The wheel went inside a slightly larger container that held a solution to develop the negatives. Before she finished, the red light flipped on.

  “What the hell?” She jumped and dropped the container. “You just ruined these! Dammit, Dustin, you—” She looked up and stopped midsentence. Her stomach clenched. Lexi stood at the light switch. “Lexi?” Cali’s voice caught. She cowered back as her eyes adjusted slowly. Lexi was brighter than the red bulb should have allowed and backlit in a way that just wasn’t possible in the small, dark space.

  “Are you mad at me?” The red light played strangely with her face making her eyes look like dark empty sockets above her gaunt cheeks.

  Cali shook her head. “No, Lexi. I’m sorry!” Feeling cloudy, she heard words coming from her mouth but didn’t feel like she had control of them. “I-I thought you were Dustin.” It sounded so stupid as she stuttered through the sentence.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  Lexi turned and walked to the larger part of the darkroom with the developing trays and the dryer. She looked up at the empty lines stretched above her for hanging developed photos.

  Cali followed Lexi, dumbstruck. She closed the negative closet door and flipped the switch, flooding the darkroom in white light.

  “Why are you here?” Cali’s voice shook.