The Ladies of Horror
Picture-Prompt Writing Challenge!

Trembling  
by Elaine Pascale

The myriapodologists found the carcass of Diplopoda far from its native terrain. Tests uncovered that the decomposer’s composition was matchless.

Dr. Musgrave withdrew hemolymph from the millipede and determined that its makeup was unlike any other they had on file.

Dr. Stone sent samples of the blood to CODIS and studied some of the compounds in the laboratory at her research university.

It wasn’t until their colleague, a medievalist, was expounding over coffee that they were able to trace the pathway to the ancient origin of the blood.

Once they moved from disbelief to conclusive confirmation, the scientists returned to the medievalist for his validation.

“Belief in magic was prevalent during the Middle Ages, even though we don’t associate that time period with witch hunts,” he explained. “Science and magic were separated by the thinnest of lines and what we might consider homeopathy today was accused of being ‘magic’ then.”

The researchers were pleased that they were dating their findings correctly, but they still had difficulty wrapping their heads around what they had found. Dr. Stone asked, “Can you tell us about Marabecca of Circe?”

The medievalist nodded. “Accusations could also be made for political reasons. Marabecca was convicted of trying to poison King Ekbert. She had crafted a lethal bolus of hemlock, nightshade, foxglove, and oleander which she hid in a secret compartment behind the jewel in her ring.

“One of Ekbert’s men caught her before she was able to deliver the poison and she was sentenced to a cruel death.

“The hand wearing the ring was burned off with an iron, flesh was whipped free from her limbs, her heart was torn from her bosom and flung in her face, and then she was burned at the stake. Rumor was she was still alive as the flames licked her body.”

The scientists thanked their colleague for his time and returned to their lab to inspect the Diplopoda once more.

“Poor Marabecca,” Dr. Stone said. “What a horrible way to go and it sounds like it was far from quick.”

“You don’t believe she was still alive at the stake?” Dr. Musgrave was incredulous. “After her heart was removed?”

Dr. Stone thought for a moment. “I know it’s impossible, but eyewitnesses said they saw it.”

“So you’re saying she was a witch?” Dr. Musgrave scoffed. “There’s no such thing. Witches are an element of fairy tales.”

“I’m saying that the more I learn about the world, the less I truly know.”

“A witch.” Dr. Musgrave laughed. “And her blood was carried along by…” He pointed to the millipede that lay inside its transport tube.

“More than that. Our studies have concluded that the blood is a part ofthat creature. It’s part of its DNA.”

The researchers held each other’s’ gaze for a moment before returning their attention to the many-legged carapace. They would spend the remainder of their years questioning if they had overactive imaginations that day, or if they truly saw the long-dead millipede trembling.

.

Fiction © Copyright Elaine Pascale
Image courtesy of Pixaby.com

More from Elaine Pascale:

The Kitchen Witches

The women of Cape Cod have a story that is dying to be told. If only they could live long enough to tell it.

When Fiona Walker is contracted to write about a party attended by her social circle, her friends begin dying. She captures the competition and misery of the women around her through three different stories.

In Wishes, Melanie Voss discovers a Time Between Time where nothing that happens counts. Initially, Time Between Time is a welcome escape from a life spent watching the clock while doing chores for her family. But something sinister is in the Time Between Time and it is headed straight for Melanie.

Death and Taxes tells the story of Nashville DeCota, the Cape Capo. Nash swears that she is not the Island Impaler, nor the Tooth Snatcher, but she has just as many skeletons in her closet. When her husband, Derrick, is kidnapped, she has to come clean about her crimes if she ever wants to see him again.

Fiona tells her own story in Hazing, where she finds that the real source of evil behind the deaths of her friends is worse than she could have ever imagined.

Available on Amazon!