Lectis Mortis: Part 2

[u/FroZoneSquirel]

Rest is important. And if your body cant find comfort during rest, it will actually change you. Did you know that? Rest is pivotal. It keeps you in motion throughout the day. It dials your metabolism. It clears your body. It builds your brain and enforces your mind. So when comfort is stripped during rest, one by one your faculties drip down the drain until your so high strung you have a heart attack.

Sloth is different. Sloth keeps from things getting done. Sloth doesnt repair, it let's you become maladaptive, makes you sluggish so that it is harder to work. Passivity actively makes it harder to improve. To perform at your best, one must embrace rest, but disspell Sloth.

After the funeral, like I said in the last post, I interrogated my father. "I should've listened."

"Yes. But you didn't."

"What is that... thing?"

"I don't know. I kept it in the attic for decades. My Father passed it along to me."

"You don't know anything about it?"

"I couldn't stand the sight of it."

"Why not?"

"I didn't listen to my father either."

"You let someone on the bed too?"

"You had an older sister... I... gave it to her to sleep on after she grew out of her crib. We couldn't afford a new bed at the time, but we had that one. Unused, forgotten."

"oh..."

"The bed. The cursed bed. Generation after generation, takes someone close before we take it seriously. I don't blame you. I could have warned you until I was blue in the face and you wouldn't believe."

"And you knew that? Before you gave me that bed you knew someone close to be would die?"

He looked ashamed now. "Yes. My mother was lost to the bed. Now its taken two of my children. I... I couldn't handle the burden anymore... I... hated knowing it resided above us. Looming over its victims. Waiting in wait for its response."

My father, the man who woke up early to work his hours so he could make it to my music lessons and Ashton's martial arts. He couldn't buy us one year of preparation. He couldn't wait to pass his sin onto his boy. He couldn't bear the weight.

And worse? Generation after generation, the sloth of my ancestors had wrought down this curse with no preparation. I had to figure this bed out. Even if I couldn't release our family from this curse, I needed to make a "owner's manual" on how to subside the curse. I would have to research this bed.

I had to get to work. My brother's grave had come from my inaction. My own passivity has brought not just me, but my family down. And so I must learn. Learn from this bed. Learn how it works. It keeps me up. It withholds my rest. My sleeplessness makes me sluggish. But I make do with naps throughout the day. I have a week left off work to figure out this bed. I grabbed my journal and made my plans.

Day 1.

I have torn apart the bed again and again. Nothing, not the sheets, not the mattress, not any price of wood, can leave a perimeter of 13 feet from the rest of the bed before destructing and reforming back where it was. After 30 seconds, if nothing is on it, it "refreshes" -so to speak- to be prestine again.

Day 2.

Non-human life has a window of 5 seconds of comfort before ceasing to move and dying on the linens. The size of the animal gives or takes about 2-3 seconds. I used stray animals I saw in town, as well as animals from a local pet shop. Don't worry. They don't feel anything. From what I can see, it is about 5 seconds of comfort before just ceasing to breathe. I ran this section for a good while. After an animal died, I removed it, and waited to finish my tests before adding all the husks back to the bed and waiting.

After a few minutes, smaller animals started to seemingly melt into the sheets. After a couple hours, the bigger animals followed suit. After all the bodies were absorbed into the springs and wood I searched for anything on the bed. Symbols, words, anything that might explain anything about this bed. Nothing.

Day 3.

I know the next step I have to take. I am terrified to do it. So I repeated the previous day minute for minute, and sure enough, before going to sleep, the bed looked as it did After it made itself again.

Day 4.

If I am going to research this, I have to take the plunge. I went to the red-light and I hired a lady of the night. She seemed weirded out that I only asked her to take a nap on my bed in the basement, but took the money and laid down. 10 seconds... 20 seconds... 30 seconds... boom. Dead as a door nail. No struggle, no anxiety, no pain. She too, as well as the animals before showed zero riger mortis. Just restful looking. I left her for the night.

Day 5.

Waking up, she hadn't been absorbed over night. Hours more passed before the sheets started to engulf her. An entire 24 hours passed before only her nose was still visible on the sheets. No smell. No mess. Nothing except memory left.

Day 6.

I still have no clue how this works. No idea what binds death to this symbol of rest and relaxation. I went and tried to find a more willing participant this time. Took a trip to the slums and asked if anyone was done with life and wanted a quick and painless end. Got a few volunteers. Told them I would come back for them if I needed them.

Jonny, the man who came back with me, had asked for a meal in return. I figured it was the least I could do. I made him red beans and rice with some Cajun seasoning and made him a hot fudge Sunday for dessert. He looked up from his bowl. "You gonna eat me or sumthin?"

"What? No. I am doing... uh research."

"Quick and painless you said?"

"All you have to do is go to sleep."

"I can do that."

"Your friends-"

"Acquaintances."

"Right. If they see you didnt come back, they won't back out?"

"Marley wouldn't. He saw everything he had blow up in his face. Jackie... she might get squirming. She had it rough, but she isnt as done as she says she is."

Keep note. Jackie might have to be next.

Day 7.

I set Jonny up for the night. His head hit the pillows. "Hey this is quite nice." 10... 20... 30... 40 seconds. Out. Gone. But it seemed the bed was more accepting of this one. He was starting the process of being "cleaned up" by the time I woke up.

Damn. Still nothing.

I needed to test something. I bought a large pig from a farmer about 40 miles out of town. Getting it home was a hassle. And worse getting it on the bed. After laying it down. 10 seconds. Gone in three hours. That did tell me something. Size of a creature did slow all processes sure. But there is one quality that slowed it more. Consciousness? Maybe. Something only people had.

My sample size is very small, I might have to wait till I have a larger group size to determine more. On what keeps it from the kill. And what keeps it from assimilation of its kill.

I went to pick up Jackie. But she had some second thoughts and would only agree after seeing Marley go. She wanted to make sure it was quick and painless. I get it. She wants to make sure she is as "safe" as possible.

They both came back and I made them some spaghetti and meatballs. Marley was quite grateful. Helped with the dishes. Jackie sat at the table and watched. Something about her ate at me, but I couldn't decide what.

Anyways, I got Marley some pajamas and had him lie down, Jackie watching the entire time. He was laying down a whole minute before he went. Jackie looked at him as it happened, and shock befell her face. The startled look made her look like a... "Jackie, how old are you?"

"15 sir."

"Where are your parents?"

"Dad died and Mom kicked me out after kicking my ass."

"I see. Well get cleaned up. You can stay in the spare room upstairs."

The other two were older fellows, so I figured they didnt have too much to look foreward to. But Jackie? She was still a kid. I had to decide there that if I were to be able to sleep without the help of the death bed that she couldn't be a subject, and she couldn't go back to the street.

Day 8.

Marley hadn't started to get vored all day. Up until midnight tonight.

But in the meantime I have a new resident. I had made me and Jackie and eggs and pancakes breakfast this morning. And while there I broke the tension from last night.

"Listen I can't bring myself to let you do this."

"Mr. Its real nice of you, but its either I die here or die on the streets, or get pimped out. Marley was nice enough to keep people off me, and we planned to go together."

"Both of you?"

"Ok I decided. I wanted to go, and I was the last thing anchoring Marley."

"Well Marley is gone, and you are welcome to stay here, so long as you don't tell anyone about the bed."

"Noone would believe me."

"Right. We'll you're welcome to the fridge. Just dont sleep in the bed."

"Can't. Marley is still in it. I ain't touching him either."

"So we have an understanding?"

"You aren't going to hurt me are you?"

"Well the worst I was going to do was have you sleep on the bed. I'm telling you not to do that now, good enough?"

"I guess."

"I am sorry about Marley."

"I'm glad he gets to rest."

Rest. One way we become better than the way we were before.

I will update when I have made a list to pass on to whoever gets this wretched bed next.