[ WP ] I always knew one day my luck would run out . Looks like it 's a trip to the market for me .

`` Hello?'' I waved my hands in front of her glazed eyes. They were staring straight ahead, at nothing in particular, and I saw no motion or indication of life. `` Well, damn.'' I pulled my chair back, walking towards the light switch, and turned it on. The candles had provided very little light, and it was possible I was wrong. Her plate was left half-eaten, and mine was pretty much clean. `` No wonder you did n't eat so much.'' I chuckled, picking up both of our dishes and brought to the sink, settling them down with a clack, and came back to blew out the candles. A quick glance at my watch told me the time was 7:24PM. The market was closed, I would have to go there tomorrow; that does give me time, however. I tried to adjust her arms, pulling the fork and knife clasped in her hands. The rigidity was already setting in, but for now she was malleable enough. I sniffed, and caught a faint whiff of soil on her, and pulled out the perfume sprayer in my chest pocket. I sprayed her a little, and gave another sniff. Ah, a little cleaner now. 
 
 I walked over to the closet, my eyes wandering over the photos we took together. There we were, in Vienna, and there, in Paris. Flashes of memories, from a time far before. The closet door opened with a creak as I pulled on it, and I took out the body bag, along with some rope and duct tape, balancing them in my hand while I closed the closet with my shoulder. She still had n't moved a single inch, and I laid out the materials on the dining room floor, the crinkling and rustling of the bag interrupting the silence. Not a peep from my beloved. I walked up to her, and took off the necklace around her, eyeing the once vibrant crystal on it. It had shone a bright red before, pulsing with the life force of some unfortunate debtor; now, though, it was a dull black, though there was a reddish tint to it if I held it close enough. What a shame, these things normally last a lot longer. Just my luck, I bought a bad one - he probably did n't even want to continue on living. No resolve in the soul whatsoever. 
 
 I pressed the pedal on the trash compactor, and threw the pendant in. Was n't even worth anything in scrap. Then, I set to work, bringing her body slowly off the chair she sat on and onto the bag underneath, sending it crinkling once more. I straightened her arms and legs out, taking exceptional care not to crack it, and could smell the scent of death starting to seep in again. Cheap perfume. I took it out, and sprayed the body bag, making sure it smelled all nice, before resuming. The black zippers blended in with the dark material, but I was used enough to know exactly where it was, and I grasped the zipper in one hand while I steadied the bag on top of her, and started pulling it up. The zipping noise almost echoed in the hall - maybe it was just my ears playing tricks on me in the somber silence. After she was sealed up, I started wrapping it in rope, duct taping parts of it to the bag for some extra security, and pulled it tight together. Almost done. 
 
 I walked to the kitchen cabinets, running my hands past the jars of peanut butter, canned spam, tuna, until I found what I needed, and pulled it out. It was a long bottle, similar in size to what you'd find a bottle of ketchup or something. `` Joe's Blood.'' Synthetic chicken blood. Cheap, and great for seals. I walked back to the body bag, taking out my phone with one hand while I grasped the bottle in the other and shook it a little. They had placed something to stop it from coagulating too much. Eh, I do n't know much about the technology. I googled `` anti-possession seal'', and found a simple howto article on it, and started to follow the instructions. I held the squeeze bottle over the body bag, and started writing whatever the article told me. Lines, curves, words in some language I never really cared to study, and soon I was done. The air should dry the writings soon. Eh, science. Not my place to question. I left her there, and decided to go to bed so I could get up early tomorrow. 
 
 The next day, I was at the market, the backseat of my car holding the sealed bag. I walked through the streets of the market, eyeing the several stalls and trying to avoid eye contact while taking in the various goods. Pirated CDs, cheap phones, fake jewelry. I tried to ignore the yelling and the urging to buy their wares. This place was far out of the city, yet there were a good amount of people, even this early in the day. I wormed my way to the one guy I knew, and walked up to him. He was a burly man, dressed in a simple t-shirt, and had a very large beard. There was some sweat on his brown skin - it was n't even hot that day. I checked my watch and saw it was only about 60 degrees that morning. Weird. 
 
 `` Hey.'' 
 
 `` You again! Back for more?'' 
 
 `` Yeah, it broke.'' Maybe it was his love for money, but the smile that always came up whenever I had finished one his souls always creeped me out. 
 
 `` Then you're lucky, I've got a new shipment just last week. 40 middle-class debtors! 5 of them even had families.'' 
 
 `` How much for the fam-'' 
 
 `` They're all gone.'' 
 
 `` Then why even mention-'' He coughed, tapping his fingers on the stall table. Right. `` So how much for the regular ones?'' 
 
 He gave me a price, the price of a car or something similar. I pulled out my card while he pulled out his phone to call his workers, and swiped it at the machine. The stall had various `` mystic'' goods, glass beads and amulets meant to promote health or some crap. The legitimate stuff would n't be here, of course. I signed on the screen just as he had finished his call, and he nodded to me. `` They'll be here in a minute.'' 
 
 `` So how are sales going today?'' 
 
 `` You're my first customer.'' 
 
 There was a silence. I guess I was never too good at conversations. He waved some people over and they walked over. His workshop, the real one, was probably near the marketplace, and I saw the two assistants come by. They looked like brothers, red hair, really pale white skin, freckles. `` Hey there. Follow me.'' I waved them as I walked back to the parking lot, weaving through the rows of parked cars, until I arrived at my own. A little beep, and the car unlocked, and I opened the back door for them. They nodded, and started to set to work. 
 
 One of them took out the body bag while another set to work drawing some circle on the ground. They seemed experienced and knowledgeable, no phones or guides or earpieces. The bag unzipped, and I noticed the flesh had started to rot on the girl, and I sighed. Another fee to fix her up later. Love was expensive. He pulled her out, wordlessly, setting her onto the middle of a circle, while the other started placing candles around. While it was morning, the sun was already bright enough that the candles barely made a dent in the illumination. Words rose and fell, and one of them placed an amulet around her neck, this one glowing a bright fiery red, like the other one used to. It did n't take to long before I saw the color return to her skin, and the slight rise and fall of her chest as life returned to her. 
 
 As the incantations continued, a small crowd had gathered around. These things were always fun to watch, I suppose, and hey, who was I to judge? They clapped when the girl drew in a gasp and her eyes flew open. Her breaths were ragged and short, like each breath hurt, and I suppose it must have. She looked around, her eyes wide and darting, before she settled on me. The incantations finished, and the two brothers stepped back. I thanked them and they wordlessly went on their way. 
 
 `` Hi.'' The crowd had dissipated, the little show done and over with. 
 
 `` Who are you?'' 
 
 `` You're mine, now. Draw into the memories of her brain, and become my wife. I will release you in 10 years if you obey.'' They always obeyed. They never knew if the storage container was permanent or a cheap knockoff. 
 
 She nodded, and closed her eyes. I gave her a few minutes, before she opened them once again, and smiled at me. `` Hi, love.'' 
 
 `` Welcome back, dear.'' 

