Free The Pulptress by Pro Se Press

more. You’ll never claim another life. I
won’t let you.” Betty held the cross at arms length. “Gloria, take
Gladys into the house now.”
    “ Get back,” The Pulptress
croaked her raw throat and swollen jaw barely able to form the
words. “Don’t get near him.” Pain raced through every fiber of her
body as she climbed to her feet.
    Betty gazed at Gladys’
ravaged face, taking her eyes away from Von Rohm. He moved
instantly. His hand closed on the cross in her hand, squeezing
Betty’s flesh against the metal. Blood curling screams came from
both throats.
    Von Rohm wrenched the
crucifix from Betty’s broken bloody hand. He tossed it to the
ground, turning his hand to examine the charred flesh. “I’ll bear
these scars for all eternity.” He threw back his head gazing at the
heavens. His lips spread unnaturally wide. A howl of rage filled
the night. “I’ve suffered these flea bites long enough.”
    The Pulptress crawled over
the frigid ground. Her hand circled the hot silver crucifix. Her
swollen eyes fastened on Von Rohm’s hazy form. The monster squatted
over Betty, lapping blood from her crushed hand.
    Gloria ran from the
mansion. Her hands fisted in the German’s hair pulling him away
from her mother. “Leave her alone,” she shouted.
    “ Gloria,” Ross screamed.
“Get away from him.”
    “ Again my feasting is
interrupted by insects.” He pushed her away. “You can’t stop me.
You don’t have the knowledge of the old priests.”
    “ I know this painting is
special,” Ross shouted. “It’s just like a coffin. You have to have
it. It’s your refuge during the day.” He held the portrait by the
frame. “What happens if I destroy it? What happens to you, if you
don’t have a place to hide from the sunlight?”
    Von Rohm spun. A light of
recognition flared in his eyes. “The curious boy, I remember you
from years ago. I see time hasn’t been kind to you. You should have
been mine that day, but you managed to escape.”
    “ You didn’t answer my
question. What happens if I destroy your portrait?” Ross demanded.
He watched, as The Pulptress crept behind the creature.
    “ Place the painting on the
porch and leave and I’ll spare your miserable life. You’re
tampering with forces you can’t comprehend.” Von Rohm swatted
Gloria away. The young woman crawled to her mother’s side. “You
don’t know what I’ve endured, trapped in that blasted metal prison
all this time. Starving, only feeding when a simpleton managed to
unlock the door. I’ll spare you and the girl if you back away
now.”
    “ You need to back down, if
you want your home to stay in one piece.” Ross pulled a squeeze can
of lighter fluid from his chair.
    “ Destroy that painting and
you’ll beg for death long before it comes.” He took a step forward.
His long fingers wrapped around Gloria’s throat, lifting her from
the ground. “This girl is special to you. Drop the painting or I’ll
snap her neck like a dried twig.”
    “ Okay, you win. Don’t hurt
her.” The painting dropped from his hands. “You can have
it.”
    “ No, Ross,” Gloria mumbled.
“Don’t give in to him. He’ll kill us all when he gets what he
wants. He has to kill us now. We know too much.”
    “ You’re a very intelligent
girl.” His grip tightened around Gloria’s throat. His slimy tongue
licked her cheek. “You’ll watch me feast on the others before I
kill you. I’ll save your chair for the bothersome one after I
cripple her.”
    The Pulptress leaped
forward, driving the cross into the creatures back. The shaft of
the cross cut through his clothes and penetrated the hard flesh
along his spine. She pushed with all her might, seeking the demons
heart.
    Von Rohm’s mouth dropped
open in surprise. “No!” he screamed through blood flecked lips.
“I’ve endured so much. It can’t end like this.”
    “ It’s over. You’re
finished,” she whispered in his ear. “It’s over.”
    Von Rohm stiffened his