Veins by Apple Green
In the small town of Raven Dodge of North Carolina it was very difficult to find anything to do. Especially for the six friends: Cherry, Rob, Summer, Almenda, Nikki, and Kale. They had all lived in the small town since birth and their parents were common locals descended down from the founders of the town. It wasn't the most interesting place, but the group that referred to themselves as the Small Town Crew had been quite capable at finding ways around being bored in Raven Dodge. Cherry was the social butterfly of their group. Her real name was Chemise, but due to her rose red hair she had earned the nick name Cherry. She had a baby doll face with plump full lips and emerald green eyes. She typically dressed in a rocker's attire, a leather jacket always in towe. She had perfect teeth and two cheek dimples that only visited her face when a smile appeared.
She and Rob had been together since their freshman year, and were in their last year of high school. Rob was a handsome man. He was a big guy of all muscle. He had sandy brownish hair, with puppy dog brown eyes. He was a love able country boy that was charismatic towards everyone. It was not possible to step in a room with Rob and not have a conversation. Summer was the most exotic of the group. She had caramel complexion with almond shaped brown eyes, and jet black hair that often remained pulled back in a long braid. She was also the shortest of the group, with a full body. She had the purest heart of anyone and unfortunately it had gotten her taken advantage of on an occasion or two. But the group was protective of her an her peaceful nature was welcomed and loved. Almenda was easy going and loads of fun when around friends. She had a head full of perfect spiral curly brown hair and big stormy blue eyes. She was very pale and graceful in movement. Her very posture was catlike and keen, she had a high dexterity. Kale was the more quiet member of the group. He had dark skin and short hair, and wore mostly lose clothes. He was most defined by his intelligence. He had a whitty nature about him. He often calculated funny scenarios and such that got the group roaring with laughter. Finally was Nikki. Nikki was also dark skinned with a ear length bob. She had a saucy personality that allowed her to be more confrontational than others but it only came out when it needed to. Generally she had a contagious laugh that got everyone started up. Her laugh alone was enough to make anyone desire to be around to tell jokes and such. This particular summer Cherry had been graced with her very first camera. Of course the small town crew had heard tell she was saving up for a camera to go with her to college where
she'd be taking photography courses. She was excited to take photos but had not found anywhere to take photos. She asked the group to gather together that day. The day, that would change everything. The only bad thing of this day was when the breeze stopped and heat took over. Rob hated the heat so often spewed words against it. Cherry insisted the group travel through the woods on the outskirts of Raven Dodge. The only member a little hesitant about this plan was Summer. She typically got nervous in unknown areas, but her nature loving side was excited at the prospect of the woods. Almenda was the first to step in due to her dexterity. She was able to demonstrate a clear path quite easily. Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail that she intended to pull down as she usually liked keeping it billowing. She brushed away branches to Rob whose strong arms were able to hold them for everyone else's benefit. He would always extend a smile to Cherry as she crossed under him arm. The further along they went they had a much clearer path. It was odd Kale thought, since there was no reason for a clearer path from within that didn't lead out. But he figured it was some redneck idea that didn't work well. He shrugged it off, he was probably the only one of the group that truly stood a chance of getting out of Raven Dodge. He hadn't yet announced it but he just got his acceptance letter from Stanford. He was excited to say the least. As if Nikki was a mind reader, she began asking everyone about their plans for college. Cherry answered first, "Rob and I both got acceptance letters at Kennessay University." Nikki mockingly swooned, "Aren't you both just sickeningly sweet?" Cherry stuck out her tongue teasingly. Summer smiled, "I'll be going to Nc State starting my studies in law." Cherry called ahead to Almenda, "What about you adventurous cat?" Almenda smiled a little at the remark. It
was a ongoing pet name Cherry gave her when they met. That was years ago as all of them were childhood friends. "Going to Charlotte," Almenda responded, "For art studies!" Nikki grinned, "I got accepted into ECU! Party!!!" Cherry grinned, "What bout you Kale?" Kale smile weakly, "Well I haven't gotten a letter back yet." Cherry could sense something wasn't right bout that. Cherry decided that was a conversation for later. He wasn't hard to press on secretive matters. They continued their journey into the woods. They finally came to a huge clearing in the woods. The sunlight soaked the forest floor... It looked to have once been a wheat field. It was however all burnt down. The place was odd... And eerie. Nikki awestruck uttered, "Holy moley." Everyone laughed, Nikki was one known for the funniest phrases. Cherry began snapping away at the landscape. It was odd, very odd. There were thorn patches grown in, wheat burned almost to the root leaving behind prickly black patches. The trees felt as though they lowered in towards the place. Summer found first a very interesting bottle. It smelled of alcohol and was brown colored like a beer bottle. However the nozzle was shaped perfume bottle like. It was then she looked inside the bottle and gasped. "Cherry come look at this!" Summer beckoned. Cherry ran over obliging her. She also looked in the bottle. She could see dirt firstly, but then upon looking in more so she could make out a shell. She gasped, "It's a snail!" Summer nodded, "What's it doing in there," Cherry tapped the bottle with her fingernail but got no response from the snail. She pressed her lips into a thin line. How odd? Almenda meanwhile was examining this clear pathway. It was the only healthy looking part of the field. She continued looking over everything when she felt something draw her to this
grassy spot. She felt her arms suddenly lace up with goosebumps. On the ground there in the matted grass was a discolored white plastic. It appeared to also be burned. It was the length of a head, but could only cover half the width of a face. In fact it even had what appeared to be an eye hole. "Hey guys check this out!" She beckoned. Cherry and Summer were the closest and therefore got there quickest. Cherry snapped a photo of it instantly and Almenda picked it up. It was then they noticed it had a nail dangling from where the ear should be. They all agreed it was probably a plastic piece from some sort of jug or roof. Almenda held it up to her own face and a giggling Cherry snapped a photo. Almenda then carefully discarded it to the same location it had once rested in. A clothing line was a bit off the path and there was the remnants of a dog house a bit further off the road by that. Cherry then spotted another weird occurrence. A white shell. It was another snail rested dead on the ground. But it was as if a veil had been torn. The burnt field was covered in dead snail bodies. Summer had begun picking them up in hopes of using the shells for jewelry of sorts. There were soo many of them it was impossible to count them all. After discussing it the group agreed to return in a month right before shipping out to college. This place was awesome, they decided just for fun the night they returned they would camp a whole night. Cherry snapped one last photo before the sun began setting in the sky. Time passed as if all was normal. The group planned their visit excited by the prior trip. It was an eerie place. And if anything was true about them, the group loved a good horror tale. They often speculated on what had gone on in that field outside of Raven Dodge. They decided it was best to be patient but all were secretly just dying of anticipation.
Then finally the day came. The group returned with camping bags, tents, and food in complete excitement. Kale wisely brought with him a video camera. They returned to the field quickly. They began examining the field even more. The dead snails, clothes line, dog house, and even the mask. There were more photos taken, Kale documenting it all on video. They all joked about Kale posting the videos on YouTube. Night came and the Small Town Crew set up camp. The fire was well lit and warm in the cool night. Summer started up s'mores and the group agreed that their journey was so worth the trip. After eating Nikki proposed a game of hide n go seek in the dark. The group excitedly ablidged. Cherry and Rob hid by the clothesline. Almenda actually climbed a tree while Kale carefully his underneath for when she'd need help down. Summer hid behind a dog house and meanwhile Nikki stayed back counting. The group loved their night time hide n seek games. Once they played hide n seek under a peer while on a trip to Daytona Beach. The next day the chaperone scolded as sharks typically hung out under peers at night. The group laughed it off. Almenda meanwhile was watching from above as Nikki quickly located Summer first. She giggled lunging from the tree to the ground and landed in Kale's arms. He carefully rested her on her feet both of them laughing at the obscenities Summer had begun shrieking as she had been cornered. That was when Almenda saw something. She stepped foreword to the the wooded area. "Almie," Kale whispered, "Come on she's gonna find us." When she didn't answer he looked passed her to what she was walking to. There in the trees were branches and sticks forming what looked to be a shelter. It was carefully placed together pieced with such precision. It was as though an artist had put it together it was crafted like an elaborate sculpture piece.
They must've stood there for a while because Nikki came rushing to the woods where they were. She teased, "I found all of you! You just make it to easy-" Her voice cut out when she too saw the structure. It was... A shelter? Did someone live there? After a bit all of them stood there dumbfounded. Rob was the first to speak up, "Well, that defies the meaning of creepy." Kale shrugged, "There's no telling how old that is though..." Almenda interjected, "The wood is fresh though Kale.” Rob rolled his eyes playfully, “You sure you’re not being paranoid?” Almenda clicked her tongue in protest but said nothing more. Cherry then broke the tension, “Alright guys, let’s just get some rest. Ok?” Everyone nodded. The crew slept sleeping bags cuddled together. Despite the summer heat of the day, for some odd reason, it was cold that night. After what may have only been two hours of sleep, Rob sat up urged to relieve his calling kidneys as he’d like to say. He felt the need to pee come on. He smiled as he saw the sleeping form of Cherry pouting slightly when she could no longer snuggle to his warmth. He kissed her forehead to reassure his return. He stood up unzipping the door to the tent. The fire was out at this point, so he grabbed the nearby flash light. For it to be a forest, it was deathly quiet. He had expected the sounds of an owl, cricket chirping. But the silence…. Deafening silence. Rob was not frightened easily, he shrugged it off. It was weird, and becoming increasingly uncomfortable. Just pee, he told himself. He found a spot by a bush, unzipping his pants and relieving himself. The silence was still freaking him out. The sound of a breaking branch caused him to jolt a little bit. He shone his flashlight into the woods, looking for the source. His light hit a leg. Rob could hear his heart in his chest. He began moving the light up the form. He caught the glowing eye staring back at him. It was an orange eye, which was embedded into the face by veins that seemed to cocoon the socket of the
eye in its place. There was a large protruding nose, pointed at the end and hooking under. The entire body appeared to be made completely of cocooning veins. “WHO ARE YOU?!” Rob yelled. The creature tilted its head to the side a grin forming. It was perhaps the only thing not made of veins. It was in fact blood dripping teeth Rob saw. The group had awoken and exited the tent to see what had awoken them. Summer was the next to lay eyes on the strange creature. She screamed in terror. The creature outstretched its arm, “I am beauty.” The voice which came out sounded like the voice you have when your throat. It had a gurgling and bubbling with each syllable. The group got closer together, in order to insure they’d protect one another. Summer latched her arm onto Nikki. The creature edged closer. Rob pulled out the pocket knife which was always on him. He growled, “Back the fuck off.” It laughed. A terrifying laugh. Too quick for the human eye the creature lunged towards Summer. Summer yelped as the creature ripped her shirt from her, drawing blood. It rested its hand against her wounded back, the others tried to fight it off but there was a barrier between them and it. They remained frozen and unable to help their terrified friend. Summer felt pain unlike any before. From the creature’s veined fingers, a vein attached from its hand to her wound. She felt blood leaving her body at an excessive rate. But also, there was something the creature was replacing her blood with. She screamed until her voice gave out on her. The gurgling laugh continued for what felt like hours. Until finally, it dropped her in a slump to the ground, and disappeared into the night. The group finally were freed of the paralyzed position. Nikki reached Summer first, and examined the wounds. They were… healing. She shook her head in confusion. She just kept repeating, “I don’t understand.” Cherry and Rob agreed that it was time to pack up camp and
leave. They helped get the unconscious Summer to the car, leaving behind their tent and sleeping bags. What was important in their minds were two things: getting far away from those woods and getting Summer to a doctor. They arrived at the hospital waiting for the doctors to attend to her. Nikki remained by her bedside all day and eventually Summer woke up. The doctors could find absolutely nothing wrong with her. Nothing that appeared unusual, no chemicals, not even the slightest hint of anemia. Nikki spouted at how lazy the local doctors were, but Summer insisted everything was alright. The doctors left and the group discussed the wild trip in the woods. What could all of this mean? Certainly none of them knew a thing. Summer said she kept feeling as though something new was inside her, she explained that when the creature made of veins attacked her it also put something inside of her. The group tried to insist the doctors look harder, but it was eventually decided perhaps a medical person from another location may be best suited for this job. The discussion was interrupted by the arrival of a scruffy looking man. He was covered in dirt, and somehow had managed a bicycle into the hospital. No one in the room was trying to question this fact, however it was certainly odd to say the least. Rob reached in his pocket for a pocket knife, but tossed around the fact it would do him very little good if this was the creature. Cherry placed herself in front of the hospital bed, her main intention being to prevent anything to continue to happen to Summer. “Ya aint gonna find a doctor who can save ya now missy,” the man muttered, “Bloodwork got you good.” Almenda was the first to speak, “Bloodwork?” The man nodded, “That’s what we call that creature in dem woods.” Kale was the next to speak, “Look, I’m not trying to be rude in any way, but our friend experienced something traumatic and unless it’s
important-“ The man interrupted, “Mr. I don’t know any of you from Adams Apple, but I do know that last night while I was getting ready to rest in my shelter, I watched Bloodwork do his weird ritual with yer friend.” Almenda spoke, “You’re the one who made the shelter.” “I’ve not got a home, the woods are my home. That creature roams those woods and I’ve been trying to lose track of him. I’ve watched him do it to people before. That… weird transfusion type thing,” he said fumbling for words. Rob stood to his feet, “What happens to people he ‘transfuses’?” The man shook his head, “He doesn’t aim to kill. Not early on anyway. He’s like a parasite, he’ll come back again and again to feed on your friend. Something about blood gives him a more human appearance. He’s not been feeding for a while cuz he can’t leave the woods without a host.” “A host?” asked Kale. The man nodded, “Yeah, several years back there was a serial killer in them there woods. He was controlled all by Bloodwork, he’d bring him people to feed on so he could keep going. Eventually though it got harder to lure people into those woods. One night he was in that there field and Bloodwork was on his tail. He lit it on fire, thinking that was gonna stop old Bloodwork. Bloodwork showed him. All he managed to do was rip off Bloodwork’s plastic skin.” “Plastic skin?” Almenda staggered out. The man clicked his tongue, “Once he gets to feeding on you he don’t got skin like the rest of us. It’s plastic, harder to get rid of. Melts real good in fire though. Guess you’d know that, you picked up a chunk of his face that day you showed up.” Cherry then interjected, “But it had a nail in it.” The man laughed, “That serial killer tried to stop Bloodwork with a nail gun. Didn’t turn out so good for him.” “Can we stop it?” Kale asked. The man sighed, “I aint found a way yet. Keep moving, keep running. He’s got her blood now. It’s just like a blood hound. He’s gonna know where ya
are before you get there. He’ll be coming for her.” Nikki nodded, “Then we’ll keep her away from him.” The man chuckled, “See it don’t work like that. Bloodwork takes but he gives a little something. It’s his blood in you now. The longer she goes without it her body will reject life out of her.” "So there's nothing we can do?" Cherry blurted angrily. The man's mouth pursed into a thin line, "No ma'am. Aside from getting right with God. All you can do is hope he wants to keep her around for a while." "There's gotta be something," Kale muttered, "An antidote?" The man shrugged, "If you can get his blood, you might can figure it out. But Bloodwork ain't gonna let her go. Not till he drains her dry of what she's got." Almenda retorted, "You can't even get close enough to him to get a sample. He paralyzes you." "I can help ya there missy," He pulls out a bottle of suntan lotion. He chuckles, "For some reason beyond my understanding, this stuff makes it impossible for him to paralyze ya." Kale inquired, "Does the brand matter?" The man shook his head, "I just get whatever's is cheapest and try to make it last." The Small Town crew left the hospital quickly with their new accomplice, who revealed his name was Trent Williams. Trent was rendered homeless and penniless due to his encounters with Bloodwork. He had no guarantee that they could escape the vile being, only that he had been searching for a way to stop the creature. They arrived to the out skirts of the woods with sufficient amount of sunscreen supplied. Hesitantly the group entered the woods in search of their camp site.
Cherry clutched Rob's arm protectively. She watched the wind blowing the trees. It felt as though the trees were caving inward and caging them inside the forest prison. Rob kisses her forehead in reassurance. He clutched her closely. Rob could feel the tension too. He hoped that it would be much easier to escape that thing if this plan failed. They found the camp at sun down. The night was so quiet that the group felt as though it would reach up and choke them. Nikki, Kale, and Almenda carefully guarded Summer. Nikki had Summer's arm grasped tightly. The silence was interrupted several hours later when scratching was heard against the trees. Everyone stood up quickly. Trent prepared a flashlight, shining it into the trees. But there was nothing. Trent sighed deeply before lowering the flashlight. The group were just relaxing the tense muscles when the sounds of laughter jolted their souls. Trent continued shining the flashlight when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He quickly turned, face to face with Bloodwork. Bloodwork smiled evilly, before pressing a hand against Trent's back. He screamed as he felt the strange ritual begin. Kale grabbed his syringe. He lunged at Bloodwork jabbing his syringe into the neck of the monster. Bloodwork screeched in gurgles, wripping apart Trent's helpless body. The bones breaking sent chills down Kale's spine as he watched Bloodwork rip out Trent's bottom jaw bone. "You enjoying this smart boy?" Kale knew then Bloodwork was enjoying the fact Kale was watching. Bloodwork opened his jaw wide, his veigny tongue exiting his mouth and lapping up the blood and muscle meat dangling off Trent's jaw bone.
Kale removed the syringe quickly and did all he knew to do. He ran. With strength he would not recall he threw Summer over his shoulder and ran to the direction of his car. The others made it there also, unable to save Trent. Kale spent days assembling the antidote. He finally was able to, and successfully gave it to Summer. She was then completely free of Bloodwork. When the time to start school came the crew was forced to go their separate ways. For awhile they often checked up on each other concerning the encounters with Bloodwork. But he never came for them again. They'd never forget. That night they had escaped. The night they met the man made of veins.