Dead Wedding

   It tugged at her, pulled harder as she tried to get away. She again swiped the knife down behind her, but still failed to hit her assailant. Knowing that the full use of both hands would better help her escape, she raised her arm to throw the useless knife away. As she did, however, she saw that the knife dripped with blood and watched it  as it drizzled down her wrist. She had indeed struck her assailant. She looked at it, momentarily frozen, bewildered because she felt no resistance when she plunged and swiped the knife. Her assailant seized the opportunity and tore at the dress again, ripping away pieces from the train. Bella startled, turned around and stumbled backwards. Knife still in hand, it sliced her abdomen as she fell. Blood instantly began to seep from the wound and slowly stained the side of the off-white wedding dress. The knife did not completely penetrate her body, but did enough to slow her down. 

     She balanced herself on her elbows and cried out as the pain shot through her. She turned her head and saw her husband lying about fifteen feet away from her, dead. His tuxedo was covered in blood. His face was ripped open, shredded by whatever was now tormenting her. Initially, she wasn’t sure if it was him, but when her eyes fell upon the ring that she had just placed on his finger minutes ago, it became apparent.

     “Fontaine! My god, Fon-“, her screams were cut short by a more intense, louder version. In front of her, the demented, disfigured entity let out a piercing, skin melting shriek. It flooded Bella’s ears, brought tears to her eyes and she felt the vibrations crawl upon her skin. It paralyzed her. All she could do was look on in horror as the formless entity morphed and shifted in front of her. It was formless, yet defined all at once. The same time something and nothing. Its shriek smothered her consciousness and assaulted her subconscious.

     It was at that moment when she realized that all hope was lost. That escape was impossible. That her death was inevitable. Her frenetic breathing calmed to a faint whisper.  Her pounding heartbeat slowed to a soft patter. And her shivering body relaxed into a meditative stillness. She closed her eyes and waited, resigned to her horrible fate. She could still hear the shrieking, could still feel the entity in every atom of her being. But all panic was gone.

     The shapeless entity approached and hovered over her. Bella refused to open her eyes. She would not give it the satisfaction of a weakened kill. The entity let out one final, angry shriek before killing her. It tore her dress off and seemed to laugh as it did. It ripped her head from her body and tossed it aside. It landed next to Fontaine’s body and rolled to a stop in front of his gouged out eyes. Even in death, the newlyweds find each other. The entity ripped off her other limbs and ragdolled her torso into the rafters of the cathedral.