With dinner digesting and all of the joy and excitement of presents coming to an end it was finally time for Alex’s surprise. Trevor’s own anticipation had occupied him while Alex and his brother made all the preparations, tonight would be one that they would never forget, especially Trevor.
“All right Trev, are you ready for your final surprise?”
“Now that’s a stupid question Uncle Alex, of course I’m ready!”
His mother Betty snickered at her son’s fervent reply, “Yep, he’s already talking like a smart-alec preteen.” The group rose from the table and with the birthday boy in front of them they guided him to his own pitch-dark bedroom. Confused, Trevor could only stare ahead straining his eyes to focus in the dark, yet saw only a slim line of boxes. Suddenly he was blinded by the light bearing down from above. He blinked feverishly before finally focusing on three rectangular plexi-glass cases, each containing the Holy Grail of the macabre; a perfectly repulsive severed head.
“Well, what do you think?” Still in awe over his newest treasures Alex’s words went completely unnoticed. Trevor’s small fingers traced the corners of the protective cases then flipped the tiny switch at the base, lighting even the most delicate details of its contents.
Betty couldn’t resist asking, “How’d you get away with it? I mean I can’t believe that they’d just let you walk out with those.”
“Uncle Alex! These are the greatest!” His scrawny arms wrapped as tight as they could around his uncle’s waist and squeezed with all his might. So hard in fact that Alex felt his dinner making a return trip.
“Ease up there sport or you’ll be wearing my supper.”
“Sorry. Where’d you get them?”
“They’re from my private collection.”
“You mean you did them yourself?” his mother gasped.
“Sure, that’s what I do Betty.”
“I wanna be just like you when I grow up Uncle Alex!”
A smile played on Alex’s lips, for there was no greater complement than that. “It takes a lot of hard work, study, and talent… but I think you’ll do just fine. You may even be better than me one day.”
“You really think so?”
“Of course. Besides, special effects artistry is a booming business, even the computer techs still need models to go by.”
“Are they just rubber or what exactly?” Curiosity had blossomed in Betty’s eyes and Alex could plainly see where Trevor had inherited it.
“Actually they’re a special latex blend fitted over an animatronic endoskeleton. The remote, which resembles a toy car remote, is still in my suitcase. He’s gonna need a few lessons before I hand that over to him.”
“Can we start tonight Uncle Alex? Please…PLEASE!”
“Not tonight partner, it’s bedtime.” A dark cloud had settled in, but even his father’s announcement of the day’s end could not spoil the joy Trevor felt. He brushed his teeth, changed into a pair of shorts with his tee shirt (only babies wore pjs), and climbed onto the top bunk. For years he struggled to make his room perfect. Monster posters and Halloween decorations lined his walls; fake razor gloves and hockey masks adorned his shelves as homage to his favorite movies, while fake butcher’s knives, meat cleavers, scythes, and axes were placed in just the right spot. The walls were white with dark blood red paint splattered across and running down them, his curtains were black and the fluorescent black lights lining the walls gave the whole room a surreal appearance when illuminated. Even the giant fake spider’s web covering his blood red ceiling made for the perfect morbid effect, but nothing could top his newest possessions. The three heads, exquisite in every way, rested flawlessly on one long shelf against the wall directly opposite his black wrought iron bunk bed that was adorned with chains and handcuffs. Most nights Trevor would lie awake tracing his handmade spider’s web shadow as it danced eerily on the ceiling until he fell into a dreamless sleep, but tonight he would gaze at the still lit cases until the sandman worked his nightly magic.
Animalize
Woe to the inhabitants of the earth... for the devil is come down to you,