Abby’s head was swirling with the argument she just had with Henry. She couldn’t believe how angry she was. “Fucking idiot,” she whispered while looking up at setting sun. The approaching night was gentle, as soft as the sigh of the summer breeze and a stark contrast to the fiery anger fuming from Henry. A full moon illuminated the gorgeous, empty beach. Abby walked along the shore, her thoughts struggling to stop thinking about the beach house where her boyfriend waited to keep fighting. For the first time in nearly an hour, she was actually alone, the whispers of the sea and the crunch of the sand under her feet her only companions.
Their relationship had always been rocky. After losing her virginity to him, he constantly wanted more. But she wasn’t promiscuous when it came to sex. She grew up sheltered and religious, but when she met Henry during a fitness class in college, she knew she wanted to be with him. At first, she was willing to try anything with him. But the longer they stayed together, the kinkier he became. Sadly, Abby wasn’t the same way, and that only annoyed him.
Suddenly, her focus on the argument was shattered by the sight of a woman sprawled on the beach. Abby’s heart started to race, and for the first time in what felt like forever, her mind was focused on something else. The older woman’s bikini-clad form looked slender and weak, appearing more bone than flesh. It was a disturbing sight, and Abby felt a knot of worry lodge itself in her stomach. She hurried over, her mind racing, thoughts of first aid courses and emergency numbers whirling around. “Hey, are you okay?” Abby asked. She noticed the woman stirring something. It sounded like something was ripping, and she thought that the woman’s swimsuit was somehow coming undone. Her old eyes opened and looked directly at her, and her lips mouthed something. “Hey, you’re awake! What’s your name?”
“C-Cassandra,” the woman said in a dry, croaky voice. “I was waiting for you.” Abby didn’t know what to say to that, but she simply smiled. She asked her if she knew her from the nearby resort, and the older woman nodded. “Ever since I spotted you, I knew I wanted you.”
A strange, creepy sensation ran through Abby’s body. “I’m sorry, what?” As Abby ear neared the stranger’s lips, the woman stirred, her eyes opening to reveal a depth of despair that sent a shudder through Abby. And then, something strange happened. Cassandra's skin began to deflate, like a balloon losing its air, each wrinkle disappearing one by one like the glowing green eyes in her now empty eye sockets.
"Goodbye wrinkles, hello muscles!" Cassandra wheezed, the words barely making it past her lips before her body gave one last shudder and became lifeless. Abby recoiled in shock, her mind failing to comprehend what she just witnessed. Then, Cassandra's form moved once again. With a suddenness that took Abby's breath away, Cassandra's face latched onto hers, smothering her, blocking her air passage. Abby fought, but the strength was leaching out of her. As the world darkened, Abby's last conscious thought was of the beach house, of her boyfriend, and of a walk that was supposed to get her mind off their argument.
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