I MARRIED WITH THE STRANGER

There's a small party happening at my friend Kassie's house because it's her birthday today. I've had a lot to drink and my vision is starting to spin because my alcohol tolerance is low. My eyelids are getting heavy because I'm getting sleepy. Maybe I'm already drunk.

I glanced at the clock on the wall, it's already eleven. It's late, I need to go home because my mom might be worried about me.

"Kassie, I'm leaving. It's late," I said my goodbyes. I also bid farewell to my other friends who were there.

"Alright, take care," Kassie replied, giving me a kiss on the cheek before escorting me to the gate of their house.

I didn't take a tricycle because it's already late. There are many crazies out there these days, I might end up in a bad situation.

I walked towards my house, it's only a few kilometers away from Kassie's place. It's quite a distance, but it's walkable. The road is dark because the streetlights are off, I can only see a few that are still lit. The wind is cold too. I hugged my arms to my body to ward off the chill.

There's no one around. I was about to cross the street when I heard a loud dog howl. It barked at me again and again. I got scared, so I quickly walked in a different direction, but the dog ran after me.

Its tail was up, and its sharp teeth were showing. I ran as fast as I could because I was afraid of getting bitten. I just kept running. I glanced back while still running and I was somewhat far from it. But the dog was still chasing me. I kept on running until I reached a dark place, a place that was unfamiliar to me.

I stopped running when I couldn't figure out where I was. I looked around, there were no houses and no lights nearby, only the moonlight giving me some visibility. I walked around to try and find my way back to where I came from. As I walked, I passed by a small church with a high gate in front. I went back to where I came from earlier, it seemed like I was getting even further away. But it turns out my return was futile because once again my feet led me to the front of the church.

I was supposed to go back to where I came from when I suddenly felt the urge to pee. What the heck?! Just when there's no bathroom, I feel the need to go. Ugh, where can I pee now? In the grass? Gross, what if an ant bites me down there.

Before the crazy ideas in my head could run wild, I looked for a place where I could relieve myself. I approached the tall gate of the church, it was open so I went in. As soon as I entered, fear gripped me because it was dark. What if there's a ghost? What if the tree is actually a kapre, and it suddenly touches me when I pee underneath it. But I really need to go. I have to be brave because I might end up peeing in my pants, and that's even more disgusting. And there's probably no evil being here. It's a church, not a horror house. God is here, not Shomba.

I walked towards the front of the church. I was about to go inside but the door was closed and I couldn't open it. I really had to pee so I quickly ran to the back of the church. When I got there, I saw a lot of tombstones.

Oh my God! Hell!

I shuddered, but I still didn't pay attention to it because I was more concerned about peeing in my pants.

I really had to go, so I disregarded the fear I was feeling. I ran quickly towards the shade of a tree and hastily pulled down my pants. I sighed with relief when I finally let out the pee I had been holding. Thank goodness no ant bit me. Hehe.

I stood up and zipped up my pants.

The surroundings of the church were illuminated by the light from the full moon. The moon looks bigger today compared to normal, maybe it's closer to Earth now. The strong wind blew again.

It's so cold.

I once again scanned my surroundings. There are so many tombstones; there's actually a cemetery here behind the church.

Oh no! There might be ghosts here. Oh my God, I need to get out of here before I encounter scary beings!

I headed towards the gate to leave, but when I got there, it was already closed. I was overcome with intense fear. It was just open a while ago, but now it's closed, and there's a chain and a big padlock hanging on it.

W-wait, why is it closed now? Did someone close it? D-don't tell me there's someone else here. And why is it closed? What will they do, why did they close it? Strange thoughts started filling my head. Calm down, Rica, you're getting too paranoid.

I took my cell phone from my pocket and dialed my mom's number. I waited for her to answer from the other line, but the call wouldn't connect. I heard footsteps getting closer to me.

Oh no, why is there no signal now?!

I pressed the phone to my ear and pretended to talk to my mom.

"Hello, Mommy, I can't see you. Where are you?" I thought that if the person approaching me heard me talking to my mom on the phone, they might think she's outside the church waiting for me, and they wouldn't try to harm me.

I looked around, it was getting foggy. The whole area was covered in thick fog, so even right in front of me, I couldn't see clearly. As I glanced through the dense fog, I saw a dark figure of a man who seemed to be coming closer. Will he not stop coming closer to me? I just waited for whoever it was to emerge from the fog. Maybe this person is kind, maybe I'm just being overly paranoid.

As he approached, I smelled an incredibly foul odor. Like a dead rat, a sewer, spoiled food... just extremely foul!

He was right in front of me and finally emerged from the thick fog, so I could see the image of the man-a living corpse! His skin was rotting, one eye was being consumed by maggots, and on the other side, there was no eye. He was turning black, and all of his nails were gone. Plus, the skin on his face was peeling, so I could see the flesh!

I screamed in terror. "Waaah! Zombie, zombie! There's a zombie!" I ran as fast as I could in any direction. I didn't look where I was going, I just kept running. Because of the thick fog, I couldn't see where I was going, and I collided with another zombie.

"Where are you going?" it asked in a terrifyingly loud voice.

I screamed loudly out of shock. I quickly picked up a stick. "Don't come near me!" I pointed the stick at it.

"Hey, he's got a stick. How scary..." the cheeky zombie said sarcastically.

Soon, the zombie I saw earlier arrived too. They whispered to each other and laughed loudly at me.

"Don't come near me! I'll hit you!" I threatened them.

"Wow, we're so scared of your little stick," the mischievous zombie retorted. "Come on, let's get her," it invited its companion.

They slowly approached me.

"Waaaaah! I told you not to come near!" I waved the stick in front of them. "Stay away!"

Suddenly, one of them sprinted towards me. "Bwahaha! We're here!"

I ran as fast as I could. I couldn't see where I was going because of the thick fog, so I crashed into a tombstone. I fell down and my head hit something hard. I felt dizzy. I don't know what happened after that.

I woke up. My head felt extremely heavy, I was so dizzy. I touched my forehead as I tried to get up from where I was lying down. I felt the part of my head where it hurt the most. It was swollen.

Oh my goodness, I think I have a bump. And there's a really strong, foul smell. What is that?! It smells like poop!

"I think she's awake," I heard someone whisper.

I turned to where the voice came from to see who spoke. It was the zombie from earlier. It was standing beside me, accompanied by other zombies. That's why it smelled rotten. It extended a hand towards me. I didn't accept it because it was gross, not to mention, it stank.

I looked around. I was inside a dark room, illuminated only by the moon. The only thing in the room was the small bed I had been lying on earlier. There was also a large mirror on the side. I faced it to see myself. I was startled to find that I was no longer wearing a striped shirt and pants. I was now in an elegant white wedding dress. I looked like a princess in my reflection.

"W-wait! Who changed my clothes?! I demanded, addressing all the undead in the room. "Don't tell me you undressed me while I was asleep! I'll sue you!"

The zombie in front of me grinned lewdly. It was disgusting, its teeth looked like a broken fence and it was rotten.

It was about to grab my arm, so I moved away. "Don't touch me! You're disgusting, you stink! Oh, my God."

The expressions on the faces of all the zombies turned angry. I must have hurt their feelings because they really did smell bad. They slowly approached me, causing me to scream in fear.

Suddenly, the door swung open. From the door, an aristocratic-looking woman walked towards me. "Miss, don't be afraid of them, they won't hurt you," she said.

The woman was beautiful. She was wearing a corset dress and her curly hair was neatly arranged, giving her the appearance of an aristocrat. She didn't look like a reanimated corpse like the zombies with me. She didn't smell either. She seemed like a normal person.

"Hey, are you sure about that? They might suddenly attack me," I replied nervously. I sat next to the woman and whispered behind her. "Are you sure they won't hurt me? Look at that nasty zombie, it's been bullying me since earlier!"

The woman looked at the zombie I pointed out with disdain. "Don't worry, Miss, they're just playing with you. Come with me before they change their minds and decide to eat you." She grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the room.

I heard the ringing of bells. I had a strange feeling about this woman, so I abruptly withdrew my hand from hers and hurried towards the nearest window. As I stepped outside, I saw many people. They were all dressed formally. I wondered if it was a Halloween party. Maybe there was just a Halloween party, which is why there were zombies. But that's impossible; it's only August now, and the zombies from earlier were genuinely horrifying. The thick fog that had covered everything earlier was gone. I could now see clearly. It was bright due to the beautiful lights, as if there was a grand celebration happening.

I saw the woman passing by the window. She had difficulty getting out because of the size of her petticoat. Soon, her feet touched the ground, so I ran to hide. I secretly moved towards the gate, avoiding the people around me. I was by the gate, about to leave. Yes! I was free! Wuh!

My joy turned to disappointment when I realized that the woman was also there. W-wait? How did she get here so quickly? She held my arm tightly, almost breaking my bones. As we entered the church, there were seated figures, all dressed formally in rows of chairs.

There was a black carpet in the aisle. At the end of it was a white wooden arch surrounded by wilted plants. Everyone was just quietly staring at me, their faces expressionless. It seemed like they were all lifeless.

"W-what is this?" I asked with a trembling voice. I couldn't understand what was happening at this moment, but I knew it wasn't good. I was scared, I wanted to leave. I wanted to run away.

The woman gave me an apologetic smile. "Miss, please forgive me. I was just following orders," she said before she pulled me towards the front where a dead priest and a man with his back turned to me stood.

I didn't know what the woman was asking forgiveness for, but I could feel that something bad was about to happen.

I'm scared. "L-Let go of me! I'm leaving!" my voice trembled in a scream.

I forcefully pulled my hand away from the woman, but it was the dead priest who held onto me. I screamed loudly out of fear and disgust. The priest violently dragged me towards the side of the man with his back turned to me. I continued to scream, but it fell on deaf ears inside the dimly lit church, they just watched in silence.

I was frozen with fear, standing in place. My knees were trembling, feeling like I could collapse at any moment. When the priest noticed that I was no longer resisting, he let go of me. He gestured, and from somewhere, a haunting wedding music began to play.

The priest conversed with the man, so his attention shifted away from me. I was about to try to run again, but I stopped when the man, who had been facing away, turned to look at me. Everyone in the church stood up and bowed in unison to show respect to the man.

I looked at the man's face.

He's beautiful...

I felt my jaw drop as I stared at him.

This man is incredibly handsome.

The kind of handsome that could make you stare in awe even with a dead priest in front of you. He's tall, with neatly arranged hair. There were a few strands falling on his cheek that only added to his charm. His eyes were blue. They were what caught my attention amidst all the fear I had just experienced.

"I have her," he said to the priest.

He has me?

But his skin hasn't even touched mine yet, not even a bit. What does he mean? I don't understand.

The priest nodded in response to the man's words. I remained dazed and rooted to my spot. The man's form in front of me was perfect. The features of his face were just right. I continued to gaze into the stranger's blue eyes. They were so beautiful, I felt like I never wanted to look away. He took my hand and gently squeezed it. I wanted to pull my hand back, but for some unknown reason, I couldn't. It's like something in my mind was telling me to just let everything happen. But I didn't want this, I didn't want to do what my mind was dictating.

"Don't resist," a voice whispered in my mind. Where did that voice come from?

I tried to scream. "Let go of me." But instead of a scream, only a faint whisper came out of my lips.

"It's not possible, you're mine and I am yours. I promise to make you happy," the man said emphatically.

"Be quiet!" I shouted loudly. My voice suddenly grew strong, and I almost shook the church.

Again, I heard a voice in my mind. "Don't raise your voice, my love. Don't embarrass yourself." The man in front of me had a sly grin on his lips.

Could it be... he's the one speaking in my mind?

He gently held my hands, trying to give me comfort.

The priest closed the book. "You may now kiss her," he announced.

Wh-what?

The man embraced me, then wrapped his arms around my waist to pull me closer.

He leaned down.

He kissed me on the lips. He was gently kissing me and then tightened his embrace and buried his head in my neck.

"This will be painful, my love. Forgive me," he said in a gentle tone.

I suddenly felt a sharp fang sinking into my neck.