The Russian Zombie

She had just finished locking the doors to her brand new bar. It had been quite a night. The locals had seen the announcements everywhere. Poster ads were on trees; in small stores; uncompetitive restaurants and even in the town newspaper. For months she had struggled to find a suitable name for the bar and settled on "The Twilight Zone Bar". It seemed appropriate for the small town residents who needed to at least experience a couple of nights out of the week to have fun, as soon as the sun would set come early Friday evening.

Years earlier ...

Anelej, was Russian-born. She had migrated to America to pursue wealth and happiness. She also wanted to forget the haunting memories of her husband that had been found dead in Moscow, but mysteriously disappeared after the coroner did an autopsy.

After opening up a clothing store in the city of New York she invited her sister, Anastasia, to join her in the adventure of profit. Her sister became more ambitious and soon both became top models in the fashion industry. Unlike her sister, Anelej was a natural. Tall, slender, with deep facial characteristics and soft complexion, modeling became second nature to her but Anastasia would often eye her, at times with envy; an envy filled with the dark secrets of events that had taken place in Russia, yet unbeknown to Anelej.

As the two sisters ventured deeper and deeper into the "American Dream", their ancestral beliefs of vampires, zombies, werewolves and other strange elemental realities began to slowly fade into the normal cultural beliefs that all rested upon imaginary folklore or the magic of Hollywood. Their past had become superstition. Gone were such days as the glimmer of fine garments, stages and audiences worldwide feasted their eyes, like voyeurs, upon the two beautiful models.

Despite the years that had passed, Anelej still mourned over her husband. She had never forgotten him. Clutching to his small picture which she always carried with her, her undying love was fueled by his inexplicable disappearance. Eventually, Anelej began to believe that he was still alive, somewhere. What other explanation could there be? The facts were vague; only her sister had apparently seen him die and no one else. She never had the opportunity to visit the morgue. She had been deprived by his family to never see him in his supposed final hours, for they had cursed her to never lay eyes upon him again, as their pain blinded them. She did not believe the coroner, who remained adamant in trying to convince the family members that her husband, indeed, had arrived dead at the morgue. Anelej remained unconvinced, as she tightly clutched his picture.

One day, Anastasia walked in on Anelej, who was crying alone in the dressing room. Instead of consoling her sister, Anastasia began yelling at her, telling her to wake up to the reality that he no longer existed and that she had to move on. So tumultuous was this encounter between the two sisters, that it forever breached them and set them going into opposite directions.

Anelej left the city, seeking a quiet town with simple neighbors who knew nothing of her past, except only that of her career as a model, which was impossible to hide. Though the town people welcomed her into their midst, she had grown use to city night life and with her earnings decided to open up the "Twilight Zone Bar". Watching American television had an impact on her.

The "Grand Opening" to her bar was a success. After a long night of celebration and locking the doors to the bar, she hurried to her Mazda Miata and began to drive home. The roads were quiet as she came upon another car that bore a license plate "DEAD". How odd, she thought. Simultaneously, a singing group, "Hollywood Undead" came onto the radio. Anelej was tired and her Russian upbringing soon had her questioning the supernatural. "Everything happens for a reason, "she said.

The driver in the Mazda Miata kept in front of her no matter what road Anelej would turn on to reach home; almost as if the driver knew where she lived. As both drivers rounded a bend, suddenly the car in front of her spiraled out of control and landed half-way into a ditch. Anelej trusted the town people and immediately stopped, thinking that one of them could have been injured. As she quickly stopped and opened the door to her own vehicle, she was surprised to see a man suddenly standing in the middle of the road. He looked oddly familiar, despite the blood streaming down his face.

Anelej called out, "Are you all right?" As he stood there, his eyes began to glow, his mouth began to open and only but a few teeth could be seen. Anelej felt compelled to walk towards him, slowly. As she approached, she began to smell a strong putrid odor, at first thinking that car fumes were the cause but soon came upon the realization that the man was emanating the odor. The more she neared him, the more she felt she knew him.

With only a few feet between them, she gasped in horror as she saw what appeared to be her husband.

Anelej broke down sobbing hysterically as she yelled out, "Vlad! Vlad! I don't understand! Please! Explain my Vlad! What happened to you! What became of you!" as she collapsed to the ground in both pain and fear.

Vlad bent and touched her hair, softly caressing it with a ragged hand. Words began to come forth deep from within his throat, his voice struggling hoarsely, "Anastasia tried to kill me, but she did not succeed. She did not want me in your life, but you will become like me and we will go visit her, because I want her to know that you will always be a part of me. We will always be together."

Through the thick tree branches and foliage, the early morning rays fell upon a road where two cars were left abandoned, with only a few blood stains on the ground to spawn a mystery. The supernatural always wins, so they say.