Tainted, Chapter 1

All the lights in the neighborhood were dimming, one by one. It was about 9 P.M. and since the mayor had announced a curfew for anyone under the age of eighteen, the children were already tucked inside. The sky darkened, and night fell upon the medium-sized town of Silverham.

Mildred Green, a mother of three, put her children to bed as usual. After plugging in her children's night lights, she made her husband a cup of hot tea, retrieved her dog-eared romance novel from its place on her nightstand and headed to the bathroom. She began humming to herself, anticipating her 'me-time'.

Mildred piled her red hair on top of her head, eying herself in the long mirror on the wall. She had never really liked the way her bathroom was set up, with mirrors all over. There was no way to avoid your reflection. Sighing, she assessed her reflection for what it was, trying her best to disregard the darkening circles around her eyes, the soft sagging of her cheekbones that came with watching her babies grow up.

She moved to the tub, turned the hot water knob on full blast. She absently emptied a bottle of bubbles into the tub as the water filled it. The room filled with the adventurous scent of tangerine. Mildred wiped the makeup off of her face, twisted the faucet back to the right, and dipped her toe into the giant foaming garden tub. She supposed that the size of the bathtub made up for the inescapable mirrors.

Like a swan, Mildred's lithe body slid slowly into the steaming mixture of foam and water. She sighed as she reached over to pick up her novel, opening it to begin where she had left off.

Twenty minutes came and went and Mildred lowered her book. The tangerine scent had faded, but that wasn't what had brought her back into the real world. One second she was surrounded by the story she was reading and the next she was startled by an unnatural scent arising from the bubbles. She set her book aside, sitting up in the water. Light orange bubbles stuck to Mildred's supple skin.

Repulsed by this unknown smell, she jolted upright, standing suddenly. Swirling red and orange dripped down her body. The tangerine bubbles were supposed to have a faint orange tint, but not like this. This was the color of raspberry wine. Her eyes widened as she mentally accounted for every bit of her skin, every muscle and every pore. She was not physically harmed in any way. She wasn't bleeding.

And alas, she was surrounded by a liquid, watery, tangerine bloodbath. Coming to a realization, she screamed aloud and bounded out of the water. Her voice was contorted, sounding screechy and disproportionate. Mildred hardly recognized it as her own.

Her husband was perched in front of the television, and the news channel was flashing messages about a young missing girl from the town over. Jordan Green had just taken the last sip of his tea when he heard a high-pitched scream coming from the master bedroom. It didn’t sound like Mildred, but he felt the need to go to her nonetheless. He moved towards the hallway just as Mildred, dripping water all over the hall carpet, threw her naked form into his arms. "Come quickly, you won't believe this," she told her husband.

Taking his wife's hand, Jordan allowed her to lead him into the bathroom. It wasn't like Mildred to run through the house naked. It wasn't like her at all, he thought. And her voice was riddled with great alarm. Whatever had happened was sure to be more than a spider or a snake.

Sure enough, when the couple rounded the corner and Mildred pointed toward their giant bathtub, Jordan instantly saw the problem. There was something wrong with the water. The tub water was stained crimson, burnt orange bubbles floating about on the surface. "What is it?" his eyes frantically searched her face for clues, gaping at her. She swallowed slowly, "can't you smell it?"

Jordan sniffed the air, which was swarming with an odd and atrocious smell. He realized then, as his pupils grew and his jaw dropped. He pulled his wife away, handing her a towel. "This is blood! Are you hurt, Mildred??"

She shook her head, "No, honey. Not even a scrape. That's just it... The blood, it came out of the faucet." She watched as her husband moved over to the bathtub and turned the knob labeled 'hot' to the left. Water streamed out of the tap, ruby streams of liquid inter-fused exactly the way that soft drinks did in the soda machines at restaurants.

It was the strangest thing, they went through their house trying all of the taps. None of them spilled blood when they were turned on except for their master bathtub. When they returned to try again, the water ran clear. They fixed their eyes upon each other. "No one will ever believe this," Jordan claimed, pulling his wife closer. He moved towards the shower, turning on the perfectly clear water. He pulled the towel off of Mildred's shoulders and she got inside to wash off.

Jordan reached his hand inside the tub, which was filled to the brim. He lifted the plug, letting the water drain from the bathtub as his wife took a shower across the room. This was unexplainable, he thought, as he rinsed the tub with clean water, wiping the stained sides clean. Then he moved to the bedroom to get dressed for bed. It was nearly midnight now, which was entirely too late in their household. Mildred emerged from the bathroom, pulled a nightgown over her head and laid down.

"It just doesn't make any sense. It scares me, Jordan." Mildred clung to her husband under the covers. He held his worried wife close, running his hands through her pretty hair. “It’ll be alright, darling. Don’t worry.” They fell into deep sleep next to each other, their dreams were riddled with concern and wonder.