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"Cast Your Faith Away"
May. 28th, 2022 04:14 pm"Cast Away Your Faith"
5/3-5/5/1971
I.
"I won't do it!" yelled Shay. "You don't want to be like this. You have no idea how horrible it is."
In the harsh light of the naked light bulb hanging by a wire, her face twisted up in pain. Ashley 'Shay' Dunne was a pretty young woman at twenty, not movie star-stunning but attractive with shiny black hair, an oval face with a cleft chin and full lips. Standing in that cellar with its damp stone walls, she had wrapped herself in a wool blanket so only her head and one hand showed.
"I can't taste anything, I can't smell anything," she went on. "I only take a breath when I need to talk. I can't tell if it's freezing or a hundred degrees outside, I can't feel pain. And the worst part is, I can't laugh and I can't cry. I'm numb inside."
Walter Helton stood waiting until she finished. He was almost ten years older than she was, a thickset man with short black hair and a round thoughtful face. Coming down to his cellar, he had kept his down-filled winter parka on, which made him look even bulkier.
"Do you understand? Are you even listening?" she shouted, inches away from her face.
"Honey, think this over," Walter said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "You know what's gonna happen to me. You want me to go through all that when you can help me?"
"Oh, don't. Stop. Even dying is better than this. I'm not alive, I'm not really dead, I'm trapped into the hell between. I can't stand it."
He pulled her closer. "Okay, okay. Right now, get your rest. Tonight when you get up, we can talk about it calmly. We have to do something soon."
"I suppose." She pulled away and dropped the blanket to the rough stone floor. The basement had never been finished. Naked now, Shay climbed into the coffin which sat propped up on concrete blocks, stretched out and reached up to lower the lid. Outside, they knew it was dawn.
( the rest of the story )
5/3-5/5/1971
I.
"I won't do it!" yelled Shay. "You don't want to be like this. You have no idea how horrible it is."
In the harsh light of the naked light bulb hanging by a wire, her face twisted up in pain. Ashley 'Shay' Dunne was a pretty young woman at twenty, not movie star-stunning but attractive with shiny black hair, an oval face with a cleft chin and full lips. Standing in that cellar with its damp stone walls, she had wrapped herself in a wool blanket so only her head and one hand showed.
"I can't taste anything, I can't smell anything," she went on. "I only take a breath when I need to talk. I can't tell if it's freezing or a hundred degrees outside, I can't feel pain. And the worst part is, I can't laugh and I can't cry. I'm numb inside."
Walter Helton stood waiting until she finished. He was almost ten years older than she was, a thickset man with short black hair and a round thoughtful face. Coming down to his cellar, he had kept his down-filled winter parka on, which made him look even bulkier.
"Do you understand? Are you even listening?" she shouted, inches away from her face.
"Honey, think this over," Walter said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "You know what's gonna happen to me. You want me to go through all that when you can help me?"
"Oh, don't. Stop. Even dying is better than this. I'm not alive, I'm not really dead, I'm trapped into the hell between. I can't stand it."
He pulled her closer. "Okay, okay. Right now, get your rest. Tonight when you get up, we can talk about it calmly. We have to do something soon."
"I suppose." She pulled away and dropped the blanket to the rough stone floor. The basement had never been finished. Naked now, Shay climbed into the coffin which sat propped up on concrete blocks, stretched out and reached up to lower the lid. Outside, they knew it was dawn.
( the rest of the story )
