Tandem of Terror (18 page)

His mother however, was another story. She
hadn't spoken to them since they announced what they were doing.
All contact had stopped. Jeff new she stirred inside with holy rage
and had remained silent all of this time. He knew it was a matter
of time before he incurred her wrath just as he had so many times
as a child.

Jeff unbuttoned his shirt one button at a
time, feeling so terribly tired, and managed to slide if off when
the phone rang.It was his mother. She could remain silent no
longer.

"
Jeff I've been watching
your sin on the television. How could you do this after how you
were raised?"

"
Hello to you too
mother."

"
Jeffrey this against nature
and against God." Her voice raised in righteous anger. "The Lord
will punish you for this. You and your wife both. Destroy that
child. Women deliver God's children not men. This is an
abomination!"

"
Mother enough," Jeff cut
her off finally. "I've listened to you preach all my life. Enough
is enough. There is nothing wrong with what I'm doing. It's the
completely natural. I am benefiting all of mankind and doing my
part because Camille cannot. I am paving a new way for all of
us."

"
The Lord is coming. And he
will judge thee. You've let the Devil corrupt you-"

"
Goodbye mother." Jeff
slammed the phone down and sighed, running his fingers through his
hair.

"
I can't understand your
mother." Camille stood in the doorway obviously having heard the
whole thing. "I knew she wouldn't accept what we were doing. I
don't remember any bible saying that a man couldn't carry a child.
My mother thinks it's wonderful I wish yours would."

"
I know honey," Jeff
replied. "You know how she thinks. Everything is a sin."

"
I have a feeling she'll
change her mind when the baby comes and she sees how beautiful it
is. How could it not be...it's a part of you now." She walked over to
Jeff and caressed his face with her hand. They kissed as the fell
into each other's arms.

Jeff's belly swelled as the months passed. In
fact it grew quite large and round and they both figured it would
be a boy. His shape wasn't the only thing changing about Jeff. The
cravings he started with had become unusual. He now had others...

He found himself eating raw cookie dough and
when that did not satiate him he turned to raw meat. One night he
pulled raw stew meat out of the refrigerator and devoured it,
slurping the blood in the bottom of the bowl with it. He was
disgusted but couldn't stop himself, he drank vinegar out of the
bottle, purchased raw squid and octopus, items he had found
revolting his entire life. Even when all the milk in the house
mysterious went sour only the day after purchasing it, Jeff sucked
it down instead of throwing it away.

One afternoon Jeff and Camille watched TV and
rested, as Jeff nibbled on an uncooked hotdog. It both repulsed and
concerned Camille to see her husband indulging such things but she
tried to be understanding as long as it wasn't harmful to him or
the baby.

As he chewed another piece, Jeff felt
something strange stir in his stomach. Something moved. Something
pushed. A moment later he felt a strong thrust. He turned to
Camille.

"
Honey, I think the baby is
kicking. Do you want to come and feel it?"

Her eyes lit up as a smile crossed her lips.
"I'd love too." She left her chair and gently slid her hand over
Jeff's plump belly. She felt a push against his flesh. It was
strong and firm. Then there was another...stronger than the last.

"
Wow," Camille remarked.
"What a kicker this little one is." She looked into Jeff's eyes and
bent to kiss him when another powerful kick erupted from Jeff's
belly. Camille's hand was knocked away and she lost her balance,
nearly toppling to the floor.

Jeff buckled, his left leg kicked out as if
he was having a spasm. His eyes widened and he took hold of his
sofa to keep himself from falling over. The urge to vomit sickened
him but he held back.

"
What was that?" Camille
asked as she straightened up.

"
I-I don't kn-know," Jeff
answered in between catching his breath.

"
Are you
alright?"

"
Yeah honey, I'm alright.
I'm not sure what that was. That was one hell of a kick, it almost
knocked me down."

The incident lingered in his mind as they
settled in for sleep that night. Camille had soon forgotten it and
was fast asleep but Jeff struggled to find comfort. He stared up at
the ceiling, tracing every line and speckle. He wasn't quite sure
but the longer he laid there the more he thought he heard breathing
coming from inside his belly.

It was his imagination. It has to be. There
was no way to hear the baby's breathing. That was impossible. He
convinced himself to ignore it as he started to drift off to sleep
until the pain roused him.

Sharp pain assaulted the inside of him and he
felt his belly moved. He pulled his nightshirt up to examined
himself and saw his belly rippling, his flesh jiggling like jelly.
Suddenly the outline of a head pushed against his skin and panic
swept through him.

He opened his mouth to call for Camille but
discovered his voice gone. Paralyzed with fear, he writhed on the
bed as a screech pealed from the inside of him.

A tiny arm punched its way right through his
stomach as blood spurted across the bed. At last Jeff screamed in
agony, clutching the bed sheets in his hands as a shaft of blood
shot out of him and struck the ceiling in thick scarlet clumps. He
heard thrashing and biting as his insides were shred like paper and
he turned to his wife in unabashed terror. "Camille!" He squealed.
"It's here!"

"
Jeff wake up."

He heard the soft voice of his wife, like
that of an angel as his eyes popped open and with relief found his
body still intact. His eyes filled with tears as he reached for his
wife and discovered himself soaking wet. He was in a puddle of
urine.

"
What happened?" Camille
asked.

"
It was a dream. Scared the
hell out of me. Sorry hon, looks like I soaked the bed."

"
It's okay, go clean
yourself up and I'll strip the bed."

"
I'm calling the doctor
tomorrow. Something doesn't feel right. I'd like to have some more
tests done just to make sure everything is ok."

Camille agreed as they got out of bed.

They took a cab to the hospital as reporters
trailed behind them. The driver gave them a few odd looks as they
sat in the backseat but kept his composure throughout the ride.

Camille waited for hours while the doctor's
examined Jeff. She couldn't remember the last time she was this
tense. The wait seemed an eternity.

Finally Jeff and Doctor Hadgmon came out with
elated expressions. Camille practically leapt off her chair.
"Well?" She could no longer contain her worry.

"
As far as I can tell
everything is completely normal," Doctor Hadgmon began. "Jeff and
the baby are just fine. Try to understand that this is all new. The
characteristics of a male pregnancy may differ greatly from a
woman's. The baby will probably develop a bit differently in a
man's body, feeding off his vitamins and nutrients. I'm sure that
these strange occurrences will pass."

"
That's the best news I've
heard in a while," Camille said as she reached out to shake the
doctor's hand. "Thank you."

It was by sheer luck that the strange
incidents and Jeff's behavior were kept out of the media. The
thought crossed Jeff's mind that they were at least blessed with
that during this circus as they rode home.

Jeff worn out once again, growing more tired
with each passing day. He dragged himself to his bedroom to
undress, the stress of the hospital visit nearly doing him in and
noticed something strange. No, downright bizarre.

The crucifix above his bed was now hanging
upside down. He moved closer to get a better look at it and found
that the statues of the saints around his room were crying but not
with tears...with blood.

"
Camille!" Jeff called,
concern in his voice.

She came running into the room and stopped
short when she caught view of the crucifix. "Who would do this? Was
the house broken into?"

"
I don't think so. There's
no evidence of it." He walked around the room and studied
everything closely. "Wait, I think I might know."

Jeff rushed to the phone and dialed
immediately. "Mother, what did you think you were doing? Don't give
me that. Did you think this would scare us? Answer me!" His voice
grew louder as he seethed.

"
The Lord is already working
his will," was all his mother would say. "You're being punished
Jeffrey. "Repent now while..."

Her voice trailed off in his head as Jeff
hung up the phone and stared blankly.

"
It had to be her," Camille
said. "Who else could it be?"

Jeff didn't respond he simply wiped the blood
from the statues.

"
Honey you said so yourself,
she's a fanatic." She went on, trying to pull her husband out his
sudden funk.

"
I'm not so sure," he
answered. "She sounded so sincere. She had no idea what I was
talking about." He finished by turning the crucifix right side up
with a trembling hand.

"
Jeff?"

"
I'm alright. Let me just
wash up." He walked past her and into the bathroom.
Was that
really blood?
He wondered.
Could it have been animal blood
that mother splattered around the room? No...No! I believe her. She's
a good Catholic woman. She would never do anything like
this.

"
Da-da..." a whisper caught
his attention-- faint, weak, a child's voice. It stirred him. Jeff
looked around the room and knew he was alone. He peered back to the
bedroom and Camille had left the room. He looked down at his huge
belly and rubbed it softly with both hands. He felt the time was
getting near. A second whisper hung in the air, this time more
animal-like. A baby, a cub of some sort. He was confused as his
head began to spin and his vision blurred.

His stomach rumbled, snapping him out of his
daze. "Hungry again I see." He ventured towards the kitchen. "Raw
liver and lemon juice sounds good right about now."

More disturbing dreams and nightmare
assaulted Jeff that night. These were more vivid then he had ever
remembered and somehow familiar. In one dream three different
personas of his mother hovered over him as he lay chained to his
bed, helpless. His nightshirt has been ripped from his body and
black circle was painted on his belly.

The first version of his mother was clad all
in leather lingerie with studded belts and bracelets dripping off
her body like ornaments. Her face was caked with make-up in a
twisted version of a cheap prostitute. In her hand she held a
whip.

"
You dirty boy," she purred
as she prepared to lash the whip across his chest, licking her lips
in front of him.

No! You're not my mother. You're a lie!

Another version of her mother joined the
prostitute. She was dressed in a long, flowing white gown with a
cowl. In her arms she held a huge black book with a golden cross
stamped on the cover. Her entire body glowed with soft white light.
Her face was hidden beneath the cowl and Jeff strained to see her
face.

Slowly, she lifted her head so he could see
and saw that her eyes had been sewn shut. Black thread slithered
through her eyelids like serpents as blood streamed her cheeks.

Mother no! Who did this to you?

I did it to myself
. She whispered
humbly.
I could not bear to witness the birth of evil incarnate.
The Lord has forbid it.

Jeff turned away from the two ghastly images
of his mother and settled on the third. Her back was to him but he
knew it was her. She was dressed in a sterile hospital smock with a
cap on her head. Her head turned slightly and he noticed she wore a
hospital mask over her mouth and cradled something in her arms.

He heard the sound of liquid pooling to the
floor, it pattered like a leaking faucet over and over.

Mother, what are you holding in your
arms?

You child, your son.

My son? It's a boy? May I see him?

Without the use of her legs, his mother spun
around swiftly and revealed the creature with claws and fangs
gnawing into his mother's throat and suckling...drops of her blood
pattered to the floor again and again.

Jeff tried to scream but his voice was
snatched into the silence. His rebelled against his chains but they
held him tight as his heart slammed against his chest. He refused
to believe what he was seeing.

Here he is
, his mother cackled.
Child of the damned
The gray slug-like mass of wriggling
flesh continued to feed on her as it croaked with glee.

The three visages of his mother laughed in
unison as a bolt of lightning ripped out of the ceiling and struck
the circle in the center of Jeff's belly. He screamed in silent
agony and woke from the dream, clutching his stomach.

He moaned as intense pain wracked his body.
He sat up immediately and knew the time had come. It was early but
the time was now. "Camille!" he cried. "It's time, the baby is
ready!"

Camille jumped from the bed and called an
ambulance. Then she opened the closet and hauled out their packed
suitcases. They'd been preparing for this day for a long time.