Walking Shadows Book 3 Chapter 21-3

“You weren’t supposed to survive,” Audrey said. “You were supposed to be wiped away by the power of the ritual. But somehow you held on. Somehow you took what was supposed to be ours.”

“My body? It’s mine. It always will be mine.”

“You are a foolish woman,” Solomon said. “The Survivors’ Club wasn’t about sex. It was about the end. The literal end of this world. We were to create two beings, humans perfect in anyway. Able to shape their bodies, realign their very DNA. They would be able to repopulate any world. They would be able to survive any journey or any environment. But it took a massive amount of energy and a massive sacrifice of flesh. The inner circle knew our fates. Audrey, Jolene and I knew we would be composited into something new, but we knew our combined mind would be more powerful than the pieces. But your little brain had to get in the way. It’s time for you to end, Meredith. You’ve been in the way for far too long.”

Solomon and the women started towards her. But they didn’t walk exactly. They floated over the scene around Marilyn. She watched them come. She knew what they wanted. But she didn’t know how to fight it.

“You can’t have me,” she said. “My mind is my own.”

They laughed. “Your body hasn’t been your own for fifty years,” Audrey said.

“You can’t even retain your own memories,” Jolene said.

“You are a shadow too stupid to move on,” Solomon added. “This is a mistake we plan to remedy.”

Marilyn looked at all of them one in turn. Solomon’s face was impassive, as it always was. Audrey gave her a familiar smile, a knowing grin about what she did, but this one more sinister than in her memories. Jolene held a sneer, her disdain for Marilyn—or Meredith—obvious.

“You will try to take my mind, but I have held on to this body for fifty years. You won’t take it away from me now. I will fight. And I will win.”

“We will see,” they all said as one.   

A moment later they all swept towards her as one. Their spectres rushed into her body, one by one. Her very cells seemed to roar in agony at the touch. Marilyn felt her form, whether in her or own mind or in reality, suddenly shift. She lost control of the careful control she had over her form. Her skin shifted and melted around her. She felt their minds inside her own, ripping at her memories and her thoughts and her very being.

She tried to scream, but her mouth was already gone.

Walking Shadows Book 3 Chapter 21-2

Another woman chuckled. Marilyn’s head turned to her right. The raven haired woman in front of her reminded her vaguely of Melinoe. Her demeanor was just as dark. “She was always a fool, Audrey. We lured her in with the games and she never suspected the true purpose of the Club.”

Solomon cleared his throat. “Audrey, Jolene, no need for such cattiness. Our friend here was far from the only one that didn’t know our true goals. She just has the misfortune of sticking around even after the ritual was complete. Her soul was supposed to be subsumed. Instead she somehow maintained control of her vessel. That is what must change. After all, her memories are muddled. She can’t even remember her own name.”

“No, I’m Marilyn. I may not be the original, but that’s still who I am.”

The man and the two women laughed at her.

“What is this? What do you want with me?”

“Come now,” Solomon said. “You must at least remember your own death.”

“My—” Flashes of the room around her filled her head. She remembered the bodies and as she did, they appeared all around her. Dozens of corpses, throats slit, some eviscerated from stem to stern. It was a charnel house. Marilyn couldn’t fight back the tears.

“I do believe she’s starting to remember, Jolene.”

“I think you’re right, Audrey. And the weak little fool is already breaking down. This will be easier than we thought.”

Marilyn’s eyes flashed around the room. She saw the bloodstained altar. She remembered it all too well. She remembered Solomon slitting his own throat. And she remembered someone else. Another figure in the shadows, but he wasn’t here. Because this place wasn’t real. With that revelation, memories flooded into her mind.

“My name was Meredith. I knew all of you. I saw you all dead. It was all part of some insane ritual. It was a trap because you wanted me to serve as a ‘vessel’. I think I understand now. This isn’t any part of the real world. I’m inside my mind. And you’re in here with me.”

Audrey and Solomon stayed impassive, but Jolene showed her surprise.

“You thought I was some weak fool,” Marilyn said. “You thought I was an easy target, the perfect mind for you to take for whatever sick scheme you have here. You thought you could erase my mind, steal my body and use it. I just don’t know for what.”

Walking Shadows Book 3 Chapter 16-2

“I’m so glad you could make it, Meredith. This is going to be the most amazing night in the history of the Club, I promise.”

“Solomon and you have went so crazy about tonight. I’m glad that you’re excited, but I’m still not sure why this night is so much more exciting than any of the others. I thought we’ve had plenty of dang exciting nights, don’t you think?”

Audrey smiled and gave me a firm pat on the shoulders. “You’re right, my dear. I can think of more than one night I left you more than just excited. But tonight will be different. Better. I promise you.”

I shook my head. She and Solomon had been saying the same thing every time we’ve had a meeting since the new year. At this point, it felt like they were just repeating themselves. I leaned forward and gave her a peck on the cheek, said a quick goodbye and went to join the rest of the party.

Most of the Survivors’ Club parties started with dinner and some kind of social hour. While drinks and hor d'oeuvres were easy to grab as I entered, as I walked into the apartment complex it was clear the main event was already well under way. Moans and groans emerged from the first few apartments as I approached.

I stopped for a moment at the first door. It was empty but for a single bed in the living room, which was quite occupied. Atop the mattress, I saw the sitting form and familiar face of Jolene. Her head was thrown back, her skirt pushed up and her blouse pulled down. I didn’t recognize the bobbed red hair of the woman whose face was between Jolene’s legs. Jolene glanced up at me with a wicked grin on her face. I only gave her a slight nod before I moved down the hall.

I glanced into the next few rooms. I saw a women with two men, a group of three men and two women and a pair of men that I paused to watch for just a moment. Even in our club, it wasn’t common to see men go that high up the Kinsey scale. I probably stayed and watched a moment too long before I moved on, but not both before they gave me a glance and a smile. I simply waved, my cheeks surely a bit red, before I moved on.

Walking Shadows Book 3 Chapter 13-7

As dinner turned into more drinks, I realized it was getting late. But only a handful of the guests left after the food. As it grew from evening into night, I continued my time with Solomon, Audrey and the rest of the Survivors’ Club. About two dozen of us still filled the floor and no one was feeling any pain from the free flow of the alcohol in the room.

Audrey hung on the shoulder of a young man probably barely out of college, while Jolene had paired with a thirty something with a weightlifter’s build. They laughed and played around, clearly letting the men get a bit more physical than one would see in polite company. It intrigued me that these two women could be so free in front of others, even if it was the limited scope of the club.

I downed another rum and eggnog concoction that was mostly rum as I watched Audrey pull in her young man and kiss him passionately on the lips. I could feel their lust as an almost palpable force.

“They are something together, aren’t they?”

Solomon’s voice came from behind me and before I could react his arms were around me from behind. I was startled at the sudden contact, but I sunk back into him seconds later. I hadn’t expected landing him to be so easy, but I was more than happy to keep him close.

“Yes, they are,” I said. “But I’m not used to such public affection.”

“We have no secrets in the Survivors’ Club. We aren’t about forming attachments. Instead we focus on ways to fulfill our needs, rather they are those of everyday life in America or of a more primal nature.”

A few of the couples had disappeared into the closed office doors around the area. I realized now why they were gone. Jolene and Audrey were both slowly undressing the men with them, even as they pulled them both closer to one another. The half naked men watched as the women released them to turn and kiss each other.

I felt my cheeks grow red as I watched. But I could not draw my eyes away. When Solomon started to kiss my neck, I kept my eyes on the women and men in front of me as their kisses turned into more. I watched them as I let Solomon take me, and I knew I had found a place as a member of the Survivors’ Club.

Walking Shadows Book 3 Chapter 13-6

While a few conversations continued at the table, over a dozen faces turned myway. I suddenly felt very put on the spot. I forced an awkward smile onto my face.  

“It’s not a special story or anything. Dad died in World War II. My brother died in Korea. Mom lost it and ended up under hospice care. I was left pretty much alone just as I graduated high school. I just tried to make a life for myself after that, so I went to trade school and got a job in the office pool.”

Solomon nodded knowingly. “You are far from the first of us that have lost family before coming to the Survivors’ Club. Some of us lost them to death, others to decisions of theirs or others. But all of us are in a situation where we have no one to welcome on this day or often, any day. Because of this we gather together and find companionship. That brings us all together for this meal, which several of our members graciously prepare every year. And it brings you to us, hopefully for the first of many such visits to our little club.”

I nodded. “I think I would like that.”

Audrey’s hand found my shoulder. “We would all certainly enjoy that as well. You’re one of us already, Meredith. You just didn’t know it until today.”

As I turned to look at her, I saw the scowl on Jolene’s face. She really didn’t like Audrey’s attention towards me, but I wasn’t quite sure why. I wondered if their bond was more than friendship in Jolene’s eyes.

“Thank you,” I told Audrey, trying to ignore Jolene’s look. I turned my attention back to Solomon. “And thank you for being such a gracious host.”

“I am not the host,” Solomon said. “We are all equals in the Survivors’ Club. I just happen to enjoy greeting new members, such as yourself.” He gave me his grin again and I couldn’t help but fall into that smile. Something about his charm drew me in. I could see myself with this man and unlike the men at the agency, I didn’t think I would regret this.

Our conversation turned more casual after that, mostly onto weather and the latest programs on television and radio. Audrey raved for a bit about Some Like It Hot, but I gathered most of her audience already knew about her affection for Marilyn Monroe. I just sat and took it all in, finally happy to feel accepted for a change.

Walking Shadows Book 3 Chapter 13-5

Audrey didn’t give me time to ask about what she meant by ‘interesting’. Instead she whisked me back into the crowd where she let me talk to a few more of her friends. Jolene followed us, but was far more quiet than she was. I wasn’t sure if she was angry, but she seemed a bit jealous of the attention Audrey was showing me.

I didn’t apply that much thought to it as I fell into a series of conversations with eligible bachelors, promising young men and a few young women that I suspected might have as much interest in me as either of the other two groups. Audrey was a charmer, able to control any conversation and at her side I quickly found myself comfortable with the ragtag group of men and women that made up the Survivors’ Club.

I didn’t even notice the hours passing until Solomon returned to the rest of the group to declare dinner to be served. A few of the younger members of the club appeared after his announcement with multiple platters and set them up around the punch bowl in the middle of the long table. Chairs came next and I found myself sitting at a feast of ham, ribs and roasted beef. Audrey sat to my left (with Jolene, still not quite happy, to her left) while Solomon took the seat to my right.

He gave me a knowing smile as he exchanged nods with Audrey. “How are you enjoying your first meeting, Meredith?”

“It’s quite lovely, Solomon. I have to say you’ve all been incredibly gracious hosts. It means a lot to find people like myself on days like this.”

“Indeed it is. We all have different reasons for coming here, but we all have a need for love and camaraderie in common. I lost my beloved wife to cancer while I was off fighting in the Pacific. I’ve never felt the need to remarry, but that doesn’t mean I wish to be alone. I’m sure Audrey and Jolene have told you how they don’t feel that societal norms for women fit their lifestyles. I can give you a dozen stories from a dozen different people at this table, my dear. But what I wish to know is why a woman such as yourself is alone on the holidays, Meredith? Please, tell us your reasons for coming here tonight.”

Walking Shadows Book 3 Chapter 13-4

Solomon introduced me to all the guests as we made the rounds. The group was about thirty strong and I certainly couldn’t memorize everyone’s name. But most of the group seemed open and inviting, even if they were a bit wary of a new outsider in their mix. I suspected the Survivors’ Club didn’t get many new members as often as Solomon implied.

Solomon left my side a bit after he introduced me to Audrey and Jolene, two of the women already hard at work on a punch bowl that I suspected held a bit more than juice. They seemed about my age and dressed as if they were regular office workers as well. I watched him return to the elevator to await any more guest arrivals.

Something about the man intrigued me. I was always intrigued by older men and Solomon knew how to groom and present himself. I wasn’t quite sure how the man could be without family at Christmas, but I wanted to know more about him.

Jolene threw an arm around me and leaned in close. “Audrey, it looks like our new friend Meredith here already has eyes on someone.”

I quickly turned my attention back to the two women. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t be modest,” Audrey said. “He’s a handsome man. A bit old for me, but I can see it if you’re into that type.”

“Hush,” I said sternly. “This kind of talk isn’t proper for mixed company.”

Audrey and Jolene both chuckled. Jolene leaned in close to my ear, her breath showing the hint of vodka under the fruity concoction she drank. “Don’t pretend like the men don’t do the same thing all the time. You’re either predator or prey when the hunt begins. Audrey and I just like to find a target that’s the right size for our appetites.”

I felt my cheeks grow red. I wasn’t sure if it was the drink, but Audrey and Jolene certainly were much more forward than any women I had ever met. In the office, the subject occasionally turned to the eligible bachelors of Davis Brothers, but it never grew so colorful.

“Now, Jolene,” Audrey chided. “I think you should settle down with that talk. Meredith clearly isn’t used to being as free and open as we are.” Audrey took my arm and pulled me away from Jolene. “The Survivors’ Club doesn’t really worry about the limits society puts on us. You see all the women here. Most of us are the type that don’t want families, but rather want to make our own way. We can be open about that here in a way we can’t when we’re working ten hours at Yancy’s. Get it?”

I nodded.

“Good. Now let’s get you some punch. And trust me when I say that if you want a shot at Solomon, stick around to later. That’s when the party gets really interesting.”