Kyle Rolinatis is a midwestern horror/comedy author. She is the two-time recipient of the prestigious “Pleasure to Have in Class” award at Prairie Lincoln Elementary School. Kyle spent most of her life with her nose in a Stephen King book, brooding, or writing poetry and short stories. These days you can find Kyle working on her debut horror/comedy novel “Ope!” between crippling bouts of procrastination and her day job in healthcare administration. In her free time Kyle spends time with her family and too many animals in Columbus, Ohio and loves to vacation in coastal Maine. Her debut novel is set to be released in 2024 and if you follow her on Facebook or Instagram she promises to get a website started as soon as a child or teenager shows her how.
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LOURDES
by
Kyle Rolinatis
“I’ll take one more” Ron said while gesturing with his index finger toward the surly bartender. The simple act of lifting his finger nearly put him so off balance he almost fell right off the stool. “Ok, but this is your last one man” she retorted “you are getting a little too fucked up.” “Pssht” he blew his lips out at her rejecting her statement. He was going to get way more pissed drunk than he was now and if she wasn’t going to help him, he’d just stagger into another bar. Ron had a credit card with a tab running and a damn good reason to drink tonight. His girlfriend left him for their neighbor. “Bitch” Ron mumbled under his breath and lifted the newly filled Jack and Coke up to his numb lips.
The Tigers game was on the TV above the bar and occasionally Ron would look, but he really had little interest in sports tonight, he was looking for a distraction. Maybe some revenge sex with an anonymous woman. The other patrons moaned out in a collective display of irritation when the game was interrupted by breaking news. The anchor reported there was a string of murders in the Detroit area and the unidentifiable, severely mutilated bodies of ten men were found in as many weeks. “That’s so fucked up” Ron mumbled under his breath taking another long draw off the glass in his hand.
Ron turned to look around the bar and he spotted a woman walking in. She had on a sleek black tight fighting dress, short cropped blond hair, and the longest slender legs he had ever seen. She made her way to the bar and placed her small leather clutch right next to Ron’s nearly empty drink.
“Is anyone sitting here?” the woman said in a thick French accent. “No, no. Go ahead” Ron gestured to the stool. Ron extended his large sweating hand to her, and she grabbed it with her long slender hand. “My name is Ron, nice to meet you” “Hello Ron, my name is Lourdes” She looked at the bartender and gestured toward the bottles of wine and said, “Pinot Noir please”. The bartender nodded and grabbed the bottle, popped the cork, and gave a very generous pour.
“That’s a beautiful accent” Ron slurred. “Where are you from?” Ron twisted his body to make eye contact with the exotic woman. “I’m from France, but moved to Montreal several years ago, and now America.” Ron found himself just staring at her far too long with his mouth agape. “So Ron, big Tigers fan?” Lourdes asked. “Who? What? Oh yeah, they are pretty good” Ron stumbled. Lourdes laughed and took a drink of her wine. She placed a few bills on the bar. She leaned closer to Ron “So, Ron, do you want to get out of here?” Lourdes whispered. Ron was entranced. “Yeah” he said dumbly. “Yeah, let’s do it” Ron smacked the bar and motioned for the bartender to close his tab.
Ron did not notice how tall Lourdes was when she walked in, but she had to be 6’2” because he was 5’10” and she was towering over him. Lourdes ushered Ron into an Uber waiting on the curb. Lourdes slid in the backseat next to Ron and ran her hand from his knee and up his thigh. She put her face right next to his ear and drew in a long deep breath. Ron really hoped with all the whiskey his body would cooperate tonight. He turned his head toward her and tried to kiss her. “uh,uh uh” she wagged her finger no at him. “Plenty of time for that later”
They arrived at her apartment, and it was a dump, Ron noticed. There was trash in the hallways and the sounds of screaming couples, doors slamming and dogs barking. “I’m in between places right now” Lourdes explained as she worked the key into the rusty lock on the door. “Oh yeah, no problem” Ron said as he watched her long lean muscles move under her dress as she led him into the apartment.
Her studio apartment looked and smelled like a terrarium. There were plants lining the walls, the floor, and hanging from the ceiling. There was not a clear space in sight, not even the sink. Though his senses were dulled from the booze, Ron felt a sense of danger he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Lourdes pushed Ron on the bed which had four posts that were twisted with vines. She undressed Ron, crawled on top of him, pulled one arm up and wrapped a vine around it. She did the same with his other arm and both his legs.
Lourdes stood up next to him “Ron, are you familiar with the praying mantis?” He didn’t know much about them. “The female of the species is very misunderstood” she said. “Uh huh” Ron agreed. “You see, sexual cannibalism isn’t what it seems. The females ingest their mates to get nutrition to feed their young. Being a single mom is hard, Ron!” He looked over and saw an undulating sac about the size of a watermelon full of what looked like eggs nestled in greenery. “Wait... what is that?” Ron asked nervously. “Oh, those are my little ones, Ron.” Ron looked back at Lourdes confused and terrified.
Lourdes began to disrobe and as she did her appendages elongated and began to turn iridescent then emerald green. Her head began to morph into a triangular shape. Ron could not look away though he wanted to. He struggled against the vines but could do nothing. “What the fuck is this?” he begged. She continued to morph, and she stood before him now a giant praying mantis. She tilted her head sideways, her antennae twitched, and large wings stretched out from her back. She moved her front legs into the prayer position, blinked her large black eyes, and pounced.