#para: thou is 2024 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

disengagedspirit · 2 months

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PARTIES: @dirtwatchman, @disengagedspirit TIMING: Later the same day after this solo. SUMMARY: Mercy finds her way into a nearby cemetery, Caleb's cemetery, where he finds her lost and confused after waking from a nearly 400 year slumber. CONTENT WARNINGS: unsanitary tw (brief mentions in regards to her clothing)

Though it had been morning, when Mercy had been revived from her slumber of almost 400 years, the man she had fed from had given her enough strength to find shelter in a nearby tomb located in the cemetery she had found herself wandering into out of desperation earlier in the day. But now, with the night sky hanging overhead, the woman who only appeared to be 33 had found herself conversing with a spirit who donned clothing similar to her own, “Pray tell kind sir, what day is it?”

“Tis’ Wednesday, Madam.” He was an older gentleman who had reminded her of the man who had raised her. At least what glimpses of him she could recall. After spending century after century in the dirt everything she had tried to hang onto had slowly faded, except now, there had been gentle reminders with the fog lifted from the meal she had consumed that morning.

“And the year of our…” Mercy paused, nearly choking on the word Lord. “What year might it be?” It hurt not being able to speak of such things that she was once so passionate about and had been raised on, but to force it out would have meant an agony she couldn’t quite handle at the moment.

“Tis’ 1724.” Though he was kind, his answer didn't sit well with her. There had been so much progress with the sun captured in tiny glass containers. Melodic songs that rang out from small bright objects that shook. And numerous other things. If witchcraft hadn’t existed while she was still around previously, it certainly did now.

—

There’d been an influx of strange happenings going on around town lately which wasn’t all that alarming to Caleb. This had been happening ever since he was a kid. One thing would die down only for another crazy circumstance to take over. It was life in this beautifully weird town. But this circumstance was a little different and even he was being overwhelmed by the noises and the ghosts taking over the place. So many were in the cemetery alone. Where he used to only see a few here and there it seemed like they were multiplying each day.

As he made his way towards a gravestone that he’d noticed graffiti on earlier he noticed a woman who was talking to one of them. She wasn’t a ghost but she was almost dressed exactly like them save for the larger blood stains covering her clothes. Well…that wasn’t good.

Cautiously making his way over to the pair, he caught the tail end of their conversation. The ghost didn’t know what year it was? Hadn’t somebody told him yet? “Excuse me, miss? Are you okay?” Caleb’s eyes trailed over the fresh blood, noticing that it wasn’t limited to her clothes. It was splattered over her face as well. His caution grew but he also had ended up in situations like this so he couldn’t really judge her harshly. “It’s 2024, ma’am. He’s a little off on that. But it also looks like he’s been dead since 1724 too….what year did you think it was?”

—

Mercy let out a soft sigh. If his answer was accurate, she had only been in the ground less than a century, but that realization was soon shattered by the presence of a man approaching her. Pulling her away from the ghost’s attention, Mercy set her sights on someone who appeared to be solid and dressed much differently than she had ever seen, except on one other person who was now laying dead miles away from where she was currently standing. He was rather tall and reminded her of Thomas; at least what little she could remember of her husband. But his vernacular was all wrong, and when she turned back to speak to the ghost, he was gone.

With no other choice, Mercy turned back around to face the man again, “Forgive me, but hast thou proclaimed it to be 2024?” If her heart could beat, it would stop. With her sharp blue eyes widening, it meant that if the math in her head was correct – Thomas had taught her much about the art of mathematics – that she was underground for nearly 400 years.

Stepping backwards somewhat, Mercy reached out for a nearby stone bench and sat down. It had taken her a moment to regain herself and to be able to talk to the man. Though she didn’t want to believe it, it had made a lot more sense, with all of the new discoveries, than what the gentleman earlier had said. And with sad eyes, she looked back upon him, “1694. When thy accusers placed thee underground…”

—

As soon as she started to speak Caleb knew he was in for a wild ride with this one. This woman had definitely missed out on some time but how in the world had this happened? “Um…yea, thou is 2024…okay, yea, I don’t know how to speak old English properly so I’m not even going to try. I’m sorry.” He watched her take a seat on the memorial bench, trying not to spook her too much. Of course it was a shock, he was shocked just hearing her so he couldn’t imagine what was going on in her mind.

Did she say 1694? Accusers? The paranoia started to grow stronger as Caleb kept his distance from her even if he knew he most likely wasn’t in danger. The woman had to be dead so whatever she ate it wasn’t rotting flesh like him. But what had she done to be placed underground? And who had just become her latest meal? Were they still in the graveyard? “I think I’m going to need a little more context here so that I can try to help you. Could you explain…why you were underground and why you’re here now? Did you wake up here?”

The questions were fair. He was understandably curious but he also needed to know if there was a body that needed to be taken care of before more police started to crawl around the place. Caleb already had enough of those looking his way.

—

Mercy couldn’t help, but gaze up at him with furrowed brows at his attempt. The language spoken now was so different, but yet, still very similar. Thankfully, she had been able to make out what he was saying, and what he was asking wasn’t unfair. Though she was weary in replying. Mercy did not know his motives. Would he try to drag her back to a premature grave or hang her for her crimes? She had seen this happen far too many times, and while she wouldn’t deny being at fault for what she had done, death by the gallows was something that scared her greatly.

“Might I trust thee?” Mercy needed to know, before confessing why she had ended up buried so deeply in the ground. Humans could change and evolve, she had seen that in the short amount of time she had been roaming the Earth. She had witnessed it with Abigail in her jealousy and accusations, and unfortunately, she had only just met this man, “Many a year ago, I was betrayed and don’t trust as I once did.” Mercy looked at the man with sad eyes.

—

Her question threw him for a loop, Caleb not really sure how to answer that. Really, he couldn’t could he? Trusting him was all on her. He could tell this woman all night that he wasn’t going to do anything to hurt her but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t in her mind, especially after what she’d been through and he didn’t even know the extent of it all. “I…I mean, I guess that’s up to you. But I will point out that you’re covered in blood talking to a ghost and I haven’t thrown you in the ground yet.” He gave her a sincere look, not sure if that was the right thing to say or not.

Especially since she’d experienced betrayal before. Anyone who had been through something like that would have a hard time trusting others again but where Caleb stood, she didn’t really have much of a choice, did she? “Tell you what, I’ll introduce myself. Let you know why I’m here and then you can decide whether you want to tell me or not.” The zombie gave her a moment to contemplate that, make any objections if she wanted, before continuing. “My name is Caleb. I work in this cemetery, take care of it, and I see things like this pretty often. Though, I think you’re the first one who’s been buried for…so long.”

—

Mercy listened intently as Caleb spoke. He had made a fair point. As she glanced down to look at herself, she noticed the blood and dirt soaking her dress. A dress that she could vaguely remember being a different color when she first wore it so many years ago. Not dingy and aged and eaten by the worms and beetles that had slipped into the cracks in the coffin over the years. In fact, it had been the first time that Mercy had seen any part of herself – her eyes only having been focused on the vast changes in the world around her, “You are fair in your observations.”

As he continued, she nodded gently, her bright blue eyes remaining trained on him the entire time. When he finished, she paused thinking if it were safe enough to trust him, and when she realized he was her only option of assistance in such a dire matter, she spoke, “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Caleb.” She wanted to quickly return her name, but as the moment came up, Mercy paused. She had been buried for so long and in the dark for quite some time that she couldn't quite recall her name, at least not immediately. And when she finally did, she returned an answer, “My sincerest apologies. You may call me Mercy. Laying in darkness and rot for many a year has taken its toll on my memories.” It was strange being upright. Strange being out of her dark and dirt ridden prison and back in the land of the living. “I suppose it is only fair for me to explain myself. I have repeated my life’s story over and over again, perchance I was to be freed from my eternal prison in the ground. However, I fear I am unable to remember everything, so please forgive me, if I cannot recall every detail as it was.”

“I was born in the year 1656. I was married and gave birth to a beautiful, little girl – my sweet Sarah.” Mercy felt the girl’s name catch in her throat as she thought of her daughter and husband. “We lived in Salem town. But when the war broke out, people started to flock to Salem for refuge; our town twas no longer peaceful. I was later attacked and left for dead, but when I awoke, I had a very unusual craving for blood. In fear of harming my sweet Thomas and Sarah, I fled; hid in the shadows for as long as I could and consumed that which was offered by poor, innocent animals, until I was caught by a former friend who betrayed me. In desperation, I fled from my home and everything I knew to a town known as Wicked’s Rest. Here I was caught and forced to an eternity of rotting in the ground.”

—

“You don’t have to tell me everything...” She just kept talking, Caleb, surprised that when she finally decided to trust him the woman decided to tell her whole life story. And what a sad story it was. He could feel his heart going out to her more and more, especially after hearing her throat catch while talking about her daughter. Being turned into a vampire, losing her family, a friend betraying her and her ending up in the ground buried alive because of it…it was heavy. Something occurred to him though. The whole time she was talking, she never once mentioned the word ‘vampire.’

Did she even know what she was?

“And then you woke up in 2024…you’ve missed a lot.” He let out a deep breath that he’d been holding in, probably for longer than he should have. “I’m sorry you had to go through all of that. Do you…know why all of that happened to you? I mean, the reason you woke up craving blood, do you know why that is?” He didn’t want to mansplain vampires to a vampire but Caleb couldn’t get over the fact that she’d avoided the word. “Did you crave it when you woke?”

He knew she did. The blood on her dress was enough to tell him that but he also knew that not eating for so long was enough to throw them into a frenzy. Now he was wondering if there was a trail of bodies he needed to help clean up and maybe some he could harvest for his own needs. Caleb ran a hand over the nape of his neck and looked around them, seeing only the old fashioned ghosts that had taken to walking around the town. At least there was no one alive around to witness this.

—

“Sorry. I needed to speak it. To allow it out so that my life and the life of my Thomas and Sarah were still relevant even in…” Mercy still couldn’t process the year, “Two-thousand and twenty-four.” She looked away from him, still trying to understand how she could even still be here. But his questions caught her attention, “Excuse me?”

Mercy still didn’t understand that part of her life. She knew that whatever it was had made her an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. Any holy words spoken had burned her tongue and any time she had tried to lay her hand on a Bible, it sent a searing pain through her body. If any memory from her time previously walking the Earth that she had held onto, that was it. And it had made laying in a wooden box for centuries so much harder. Her faith not being an option to get her through the longest days of her undead life. So she made her husband and her child her faith with the hopes that she would one day see them again, but now that she was once more free and living in a completely different era in the history of the world, even she knew it was impossible.

“All I know is that I am an abomination.” She tugged at her bloodied dress in frustration. “A parasite that can still roam freely needing to take the lives of innocents to survive. Even…God’s…” She paused as pain coursed through her small figure leaving her to ball her fists, “green pastures and warm sunshine burn my skin if I am in them for too long. I assumed it must be some illness of my time, but I never recalled a name given to its description.” Mercy’s chest heaved up and down as the pain from speaking the Lord’s name slowly dissipated. “So no, I do not know the true reason why I crave the blood of a man or animal, but merely for the reason of my survival.”

—

Everything she was saying only confirmed what she was. If drinking blood to survive after being attacked wasn’t enough to clue him in, not being able to walk in daylight was the seal on what species she was. Watching choke the word ‘God’ out, seeing the pain it caused her, was only the bow on top of the neatly packaged picture she had given him. “Abomination is harsh.” But was it true? It’s what Caleb felt like most days and it’s what a lot of the undead he had met over the years felt like as well. Maybe they were all abominations. It wasn’t like they were meant to walk around this earth after experiencing a death.

“Mercy…I’m certain that I know what you are. I’ve seen quite a few of them over the years. I don’t know if the name was a common thing during the time you lived but they have one for it.” The zombie paused, hands going to his pockets as he tried to let that sink in a little. He was trying his best to be gentle. “You’re a vampire. The person who attacked you before you woke up and craved blood, they must have been one and they turned you.”

Caleb didn’t pretend to be an expert on the subject. He’d run into many while working in the cemetery but he’d never really known one personally so he was sure he didn’t know about everything that came with that life. But what he did know, he could try to help her with. “Unfortunately, blood is not an option. You’ll have to keep drinking it to survive. I don’t know if there’s any way around the sunlight thing either. I’m not an expert on vampirism but I can see what I can do to help you through this. The good thing? It’s easier to go undetected in this town. Plenty of them live around here.”

—

Mercy didn’t know any other way to describe herself. She could no longer be around people without the lingering threat of killing them. She couldn’t walk in the daylight. And worse of all God had shunned her from speaking his name, singing hymns, or saying her prayers. It was an impossible life to live, and the only reason she had been hanging onto it all before had been the existence of her family. Now, she was in a completely different time in the history of the Earth, and they had long been in the grave as she had once been, “Tis my judgment upon thine ownself.”

The small brunette held her head in shame, until Caleb had confessed to knowing what she was. And immediately, though with sorrow in her eyes, raised her head, “Pray tell, Caleb. What have I become?”

As she listened to him explain and finally put a name to what her illness was, Mercy couldn’t help but repeat the word over and over again in her mind, before saying it outloud, “Vampire…I know not of this word, but your description is accurate. I suffer from all of those afflictions; the hunger for blood being the worst of them.” If there had been more of these creatures during her time of living had it meant that the Salem Witch Trials were based on accuracy instead of accusations? It was a question she would ponder for another time. Instead, the realization that she wasn’t alone was more important, as was his offer to help her, “I am indebted to you, sir. Tis your kindness in this moment that means a great deal. The revelation of more…vampires…however, is quite the shock.”

Mercy paused for a moment, “Seeing as though you are willing to help me, how shalt we proceed?”

—

“I get that. The hunger isn’t easy. Mine’s not exactly the same but I experience it in a different way than you would…different than humans too.” Caleb didn’t exactly know if it was wise to bring up what he was to her but he also wanted her to know that he could understand in a way. He wasn’t just some random guy who didn’t know how to relate to her. Still, telling her that he was a zombie would come at another time as she was still processing what she was.

“Oh, no, you’re not…indebted to me. I just want to help. You looked very lost and…” He paused, not sure how to explain why he wanted to help her. It was something he did quite often for many different people but there was a pull with Mercy. It might have been because Caleb was also lost when he was turned. It took a long time to realize what he’d become and how to properly live as it so maybe there was a sort of kinship there. “Your story seems familiar, is all. Besides, the town doesn’t need a confused vampire on its hands. We’ll all suffer for it, not just you.” That might have been a little harsh but it was the truth. If she didn’t know how to control herself things could turn messy.

The zombie was still focused on the messy part, actually. “I think we should start with whatever body you left behind. We can’t leave it.” Especially if it was in his cemetery. Besides, he could harvest from them if they hadn’t started to decompose yet. “And then, I guess you’ll need somewhere to stay. I have extra room but I need you to promise that you won’t go into the basement of my house. It’s kind of off limits.” More than a little off limits. His stash of brains was littered across that entire basement, the supply for most of the zombies in Wicked’s Rest. It would most likely scare the hell out of her.

—

Mercy was curious, but she dared not question him. Not when he was offering a helping hand despite knowing what she was. There would be time for that, because, apparently, at this rate, she had all the time in the world, “I trust thee, Caleb. No need to explain thyself.” He was right in his assumption though, she was definitely lost. This world and all its changes had been nearly impossible to understand. And though she hadn’t encountered many people yet, she knew things were going to get a lot harder, especially in the upcoming days, until she could actually adjust and blend in more, “I fear you are correct. I don’t want to take the life of another innocent. Tis not fair nor right.”

Mercy knew that consuming the blood of the man who had freed her had been a sin. She had taken him away from his family, much like she had taken the woman who had been caring for her after being attacked, away from her family. The only right thing to do was to give him a proper burial, and it seemed that Caleb would be the one to help her, “I shall take you there. He deserves peace - the peace in which his family will never have. She hung her head in shame as she slowly climbed back up to her feet.

All the vampire had wanted to do was to pray for forgiveness and to ask for guidance, but in some ways she was at least getting the latter, especially when this man, who could have easily gone about his ways, had offered to help her. What she didn’t expect was for him to allow her a place to stay. Normally, she would have hesitated – what would it have said of her reputation, boarding with a man, whom she barely knew? But Mercy was in no position, and looking up to him with a true innocence, she spoke up, “I promise. It is your home, and I am merely a guest. It may have been many years since I have resided above ground, but I know my place, sir. And I will cause no problems.”

With that, Mercy turned away from him and began to walk in the direction from once she came. She wasn’t entirely sure how Caleb had planned to handle the body of the man she had feasted on, but just like everything else currently happening in her long and barely lived life, she would soon find out. She was just grateful to have someone on her side who, rather than shun her and point fingers, gave her the opportunity to explain herself, and if this was commonplace in the world now, then maybe life in this new time wouldn’t be so horrible after all.

#para: thou is 2024 #para: caleb #dirtwatchman #wickedswriting #unsanitary tw

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