Jacob rounded the corner as the rain covered the city. His mind raced with thoughts as he considered what he was doing. He was to go on a date with one of the most beautiful women in all of New York, Leonie Lynch. He couldn’t believe his luck, but there were risks. What if his wife found out? Of course, he had used the same tried and true excuse for his adultery.
“I’m going out for a drink with the guys, I’ll probably be home late,” It was a solid excuse, something that his loving wife of only two years would always expect to be true. But there Jacob was, standing on the doorstep of the most beautiful woman in town, and Jacob couldn’t be more thrilled.
He stood impatiently as he waited for Leonie to open the door, looking from his pocket watch to the lamppost, watching the raindrops race down the glass light. Suddenly, the lock clicked, and Jacob saw the door open. Leonie was stunningly beautiful, and even more so tonight. She was wearing a sleek, tight-fitting black dress, and her jet-black hair tumbled to her shoulders. She carried with her a long, skinny cigarette pipe, from which she smoked.
“Mr. Johnson,” Leonie smiled at him, “come on in.”
Jacob gently grabbed her hand and kissed it and walked inside.
“Was the walk difficult?” Leonie asked.
“It was long, but worth it for a beautiful dame like yourself.” Jacob smiled in a suave manner. Jacob walked further into Leonie’s apartment and saw an odd plant sitting in the corner.
“That is quite the shrub! Gee, what is that thing?” Jacob asked, investigating the potted greenery.
“Oh, that’s Dionaea muscipula, also called a Venus Fly Trap. They help keep pests out of the apartment by trapping and eating flies with a sweet scent,” Leonie responded, looking at the plant.
“Wow. You’re pretty, and you have a brain!” Jacob said, looking at Leonie. Leonie giggled as if Jacob hadn’t insulted her intelligence.
“Shall we eat?” Leonie asked, gesturing to the table. Jacob nodded his head and walked to the table. He pulled his chair from the table when he noticed a peculiar red stain on the carpet.
“Say, doll, you have a weird stain on the carpet here,” Jacob said, pointing down at it. Leonie walked over after placing the food on the counter and looked at the stain.
“Oh, yes! I was setting the table and I spilled some red wine. You do drink, yes?”
“Only as much as I smoke,” Jacob said, taking his seat after pulling it out for Leonie. When he said this, a sour expression appeared on Leonie’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing! I’m just not a big fan of smokers.” Leonie explained. Jacob was taken aback by this. Had she not opened the door holding a cigarette?
“But I thought you smoked.”
“I do. I misspoke. It’s not that I dislike smoking as an action, it’s just that smokers are… let’s just say, less tasteful?” Leonie said, a hand to her chin as she pondered what she was trying to say. “Eat, the food will get cold.” Jacob was in an odd state of confoundment as he contemplated her hypocrisy, as he so thought, and piled food on his plate nervously. Leonie went and put a record on the phonograph and smooth jazz filled the apartment.
“Tell me a bit about yourself,” Leonie said after Jacob took a few bites of his food.
“Well, I work in a small, new studio called ABC, much like NBC, that wants to branch into that newfangled television technology and I—”
“No, no, tell me about you, like how often do you exercise? How much do you weigh?”
“Oh… wouldn’t you rather hear about what I do for a living?”
“I’d much rather know what I’m getting into, or who’s getting into me,” Leonie sighed, “and please, continue eating.” Jacob swallowed a breath as he felt his face heat up, but he quickly regained his confidence.
“Well, I exercise often. I try to go for a jog in the mornings. Last I checked, I weighed around 180 pounds. I hope that will be enough for you.” Jacob said coyly, taking another bite.
“That is plenty,” Leonie smiled, “how’s the food?”
“It’s wonderful, thank you. Did you make this your—” Jacob started, before looking across the table and realizing that Leonie did not have a plate. “Why don’t you have a plate, Ms. Lynch?” Leonie smiled at him.
“Well, Mr. Johnson, I think that this dinner date has been successful,” Leonie said calmly.
“Successful? You and I have very different meanings of successful, Ms. Lynch. By God, you haven’t even eaten anything! How could you call this a dinner date?”
“Oh, Mr. Johnson. I’m about to eat my dinner right now.” Leonie smiled eerily from ear to ear. Suddenly, she appeared to grow bigger, her body expanding in odd ways. Her perfectly manicured fingers turned into claws, with long points to them the color of bone. Her feet also grew those same claws, and her legs morphed into odd animal-like hind legs. Her tightly fitting dress turned out to be fur, as her bare arms and legs began to grow that hair rapidly. Her back arched as she grew taller and taller, appearing hunched over. Her face was most harrowing. The emerald eyes Jacob had gazed into earlier had disappeared, and two red dots stood in their place. Her pearly white teeth were gone, and in their place were long, razor-sharp teeth that jutted out of her large mouth. She opened that large mouth and screamed a shrill, disturbing scream that pierced through the air and turned Jacob’s blood to ice. The creature that used to be Leonie gazed at Jacob. No, this was Leonie. This was who she really was. She swung her sharp claws at Jacob, piercing his skin and causing his arm to come clean off, falling to the floor with a sickening thump. Jacob screamed, and Leonie lunged at him, taking his head into her mouth, and biting it clean off.
Britton Griffin is a Colorado-raised writer living in Florida. He likes to write a variety of stories and loves to read. He also loves going to beaches, playing video games, and spending time with his family and his dog, Luna.
