This story takes place in a small rural Tennessee town. Everyone having sex is over eighteen.
^^^Day one Mid-afternoon^^^
Grandma's eyes opened. They were a ghastly yellow color. She growled and lunged for Diana.
"What are you doing?" her daughter screamed. She fended her off as her grandmother tried to bite her.
The old woman tore her daughter's shirt. Her fingers caught on the right bra cup. The material didn't give, but the front clasp did. The shirt and bra opened.
Boobs fell out.
The old woman snarled and clawed at her.
"Ah!" Diana screamed. She slapped her mother's hands and tried to get away.
^^^Day one five minutes past midnight^^^
Dan and his son, Max, sat in the clearing smoking cigars, drinking whiskey, listening to the radio, and looking out at the night sky.
The radio announcer said, "Tonight, it will be clear. There is no rain in the forecast, and the temperature will be sixty-nine degrees. We have a waning crescent moon, which the astronomers say will allow everyone in our area to get a good view of tonight's meteor shower. The best time to see it is between midnight and dawn."
A few minutes later, the father and son saw cosmic debris enter the Earth's atmosphere. For the next three hours, meteors flashed across the night sky.
The men said little. They sipped their whiskey, smoked, and watched the unusual celestial event.
When the shooting stars became less frequent, Dan drained his glass, stubbed out his stogie, and said, "That was a nice light show."
"Yes," his son concurred. "We're lucky the fragments of space junk are small. The last time a big one hit, the dinosaurs got wiped out."
Dan chuckled and asked, "I wonder if that's how humans will become extinct?"
^^^Day one. Early afternoon^^^
"I wanna know what love is. I want you to show me!
I wanna feel what love is. I know you can show me!"
A middle-aged woman belted the lyrics, singing along with the car radio. She and her daughter were driving to visit Grandma.
The old woman was born and raised in a small town in one of the secluded valleys in the Appalachian mountains, and she refused to leave. Her daughter, the singer, and middle-aged mom, could not abide the place and left after graduating high school for the attractions big cities hold.
Traffic was light. Few people lived in this rural county. Jobs were scarce. As far as the daughter was concerned, culture and fun were nonexistent here.
"Mom! Enough! You're not in tune," Marla complained. She laughed and added, "You can't make up for lack of talent by singing louder!"
Her mother, Diana, took her eyes off the road to give her daughter a withering stare. She couldn't pull it off because she knew she was a terrible singer. Enthusiastic, yes. Talented, no.
"You're jealous."
"Right," Marla said sarcastically.
The radio stopped playing. Marla said, "There. Are you happy? You broke the radio."
"It's the mountains. They are blocking the signal."
They left the state highway and took the only road into the valley. They drove through a small town, turned on Mulberry Street, and parked in front of Grandma's house.
They knocked on the door and were greeted with hugs and kisses, sweet tea, and homemade cookies. The older women were polite. They avoid their areas of disagreement. The purpose of this visit was for the eighteen-year-old granddaughter to spend time with Grandma.
Thump!
The startled women looked toward the sound of the noise: the front door. There was another thump. The door shook.
"I think someone's out there, Grandma," Marla said, sounding scared.
"It's strange they don't ring the doorbell," the old woman said as she stood. "Maybe it's my neighbor, Frank. When he's drunk, he gets confused and comes to my door."
The old woman opened the door and said, "Frank, you're at the wrong door. You live in the next house over."
The man mumbled gibberish. He was bent over at the waist and looking at the floor. Long greasy hair covered his face.
"Are you okay? Been drinking again?"
Frank straightened up and clumsily lounged at her while growling,
"Ahhh!" Grandma screamed. Her neighbor sunk his teeth into her arm. He bit her neck and face.
Diana and Marla were momentarily stunned. They could not move or scream.
The pair regained their senses, ran to the old woman, and pulled the man off her. He fought weakly. They were able to throw him out of the house and lock the door.
"Mom! Are you all right?" Diana asked as she knelt over the injured woman.
The old woman groaned. Blood oozed out of her wounds. She wasn't bleeding profusely. The skin was punctured; the edges of the bite marks were jagged.
"Call 911," Diana said. "I'll get the First Aid kit."
Her daughter picked up the old phone on the table beside her grandmother's upholstered chair. The landline had a dial tone. She made the call.
She was still holding the phone to her ear when her mother returned. Marlo said frantically, "They aren't answering!"
Diana knelt by her mother, opened the kit, and said, "Mom, we're getting help. Don't worry."
Di looked at her daughter as she opened a packet of large gauze. Marla shrugged her shoulders, indicating no one had answered her call.
Diana put gauze on multiple bites. She ripped the tape and said, "Don't worry, Mom. I'll drive you to the clinic downtown."
Grandma's eyes opened. They were an angry yellow color. She growled.
The other females stepped back.
Grandma closed her eyes and was silent and still.
Di maintained her distance and studied her mother. Thirty seconds passed; she didn't move or make a sound. Diana put a silly grin on her face and said, "Mom, you scared me."
She knelt beside her and used the tape to secure the bandage to her mother's wounds.
Grandma's eyes opened. They were a ghastly yellow. She growled and lunged for Diana.
"What are you doing?" Di screamed. She fended her off as her grandmother tried to bite her.
The old woman tore her daughter's shirt. Her fingers caught on a bra cup. The material didn't give, but the front clasp did. The shirt and bra opened.
Boobs fell out.
The old woman snarled and clawed at her.
"Ah!" Diana screamed. She slapped her mother's hands and tried to get away.
Marla dropped the phone and went to her mother's aid. She pulled her chomping grandmother away from her mother; Granny turned on her.