One of a kind, by SEALS

The powder snow danced around the alleyway accumulating lightly on the litter but melting on the pavement. Discarded produce lying heaped outside the garbage bin gave the smell of decaying fruit. One bare light bulb, flickering in the dark barely cutting through the black of the night, revealed a human body which lay partially nude on the cold ground. Manicured fingernail tips were coated in dried blood, and the palm of one hand had four puncture wounds from where the nails had lacerated through. A gold and diamond bracelet was clasped around the wrist; however, the skin around the wrist was missing. The other hand was clothed in a cashmere black glove. Blonde curls had escaped from an arrangement on the back on her head and were blowing around the face. Her pale, white face was decorated with shades of color from makeup. Brown eyes stared out, pupils fixed. Her mouth set in a grimace of pain had red lipstick that was framed with blue announcing the lack of oxygen and consequent death. Her neck, though lacking skin, was decorated with a set of pearls. The arms, torso, and upper thighs of the shapely victim were skinned. No other punctures or wounds apparent. Fine leather boots covering her feet were briefly covered with a newspaper page before the wind blew it away.


Two hundred miles away nestled in the mountains of Vermont lay the small city of Rutland. Cottages and ranch-style homes decorated with thousands of lights lined the streets in preparation for the festive holiday. Children were busy making snowmen in the yards and the air was filled with laughter and chatter. Homes held the fragrance of hot chocolate as mothers prepared for the oncoming ambush of stamping feet and cold hands as their children retired inside for the evening.

Danielle Cobbett had lived in Vermont all of her 46 years. In fact, she had been raised in the town of Clarendon but 15 minutes to the south. A simple girl blessed with bountiful red hair, blue eyes, and abundant curvature. She had married a rich boy from the city. After years of pruning, preaching, and pushing, Danielle had successfully managed to deliver her husband to the seat of mayor. Because of Gordon’s new position, the Cobbett’s were invited to many social events and Danielle’s wardrobe had grown considerably.

The newest piece to her wardrobe was her favorite: a baby seal fur winter coat. She stood admiring it while she chatted with her younger sister. She stroked the white fur and curled her fingers in the softness.

“I don’t like it,” Ginny said flatly as she sipped on her coffee.

“What is not to like,” Danielle asked as she slipped the jacket on. The leather inside was spongy; it felt like another layer of skin.

Ginny was quite the opposite of her sister. Her brown hair was straight, uneven, and not styled. Thick brown glasses adorned her face which had a habit of falling down to the tip of her nose. She was extremely thin to the point that she looked ill. Her clothes hung off her bones and never looked like they fit. She wore plain colors, avoiding anything pastel or bright. And, Ginny was highly opinionated and did not mind if her opinion was unpopular.

Danielle stared at her image in the reflection of the glass doors. The white fur accented all the parts of her that she wanted attention drawn towards. Her red hair looked more vibrant and her blue eyes more youthful.

“Do you realize how many baby seals were clubbed to death to make that coat?”

Danielle narrowed her eyes and looked at her sister. “Well I didn’t club them,” she said sarcastically.

“By wearing that coat you encourage the beasts to continue to kill for the profit.”

Rolling her eyes, she gently eased the coat off. Her sister just did not get it. As a mayor’s wife it was her responsibility to dress well. This winter coat was a statement. As she started to hang the coat on the padded hanger, her eyes caught the label. “One of a kind, by SEALS” was written in red letters. “One of a kind,” she thought fondly. She hoped that this meant there was only one of this particular style.

“Ginny, I don’t have time for your disapproval. I only have a few hours before the Christmas pageant at the high school. The governor’s child goes there and I trust that he will be there. I need to look radiant,” she said as she puffed up her hair.

Used to her sister’s vanity and selfishness, Ginny continued, “After the skin is robbed from the baby seals, the mothers will try to get the baby to nurse. In fact, it is felt that the baby seals are alive when they are skinned. I have actually read some reports prepared by. . .”

Ginny’s voice droned on and on as Danielle sat at the table and finished her coffee. Clearing her cup and Ginny’s cup, she rinsed them before placing in dishwasher. She wondered what the governor’s wife would be wearing this evening. Mentally she went through her wardrobe until she decided on a stylish outfit that she had recently purchased out of town.

“. . . inhumane treatment.” Ginny finished her speech and fixed a stare at her sister knowing Danielle had not heard a word she said. Ginny had her jacket on and briefcase in hand before Danielle even noticed she had moved.

Danielle hugged her sister tightly and kissed her on the cheek. “Take care of yourself. I’ll see you soon.” She followed Ginny to the door.

Impulsively, Ginny turned and gave Danielle another hug and kiss. She tried once more, “Danny, please get rid of that winter coat.” Ginny felt a sense of foreboding when she had first seen that coat, and she was sure it was not just because of the way the fur was collected.

With her sister gone, Danielle glanced at the grandfather’s clock at how much time she had left. Pleased that she had enough time for a bath, Danielle went to the kitchen to retrieve her coat and headed for the stairs. She loved the softness of the collar and rubbed it as she started up the mahogany stairs.

Barking like that of an ill large dog echoed in the hallway.

Startled, she turned and looked below her. Nothing was out of order in her immaculately clean house. Her hand tightened on the banister and she proceeded cautiously up the remainder of the stairs.

All was quiet in the hallway as she slipped quietly to her bedroom and gently placed the coat on her bed. The coat opened slightly revealing the tan leather interior. Danielle started to close it when one area caught her attention. It was a spot that was indented out and colored slightly darker than the rest. She traced the spot with her finger and bent over closer to inspect it. The irregularity had a brown dot right next to what appeared to be an areola.

“What would a freckled human nipple being doing on my coat?” she thought to herself. A flickering of black in the corner of her eye drew her attention momentarily and she looked over her shoulder in that direction. Glancing back at the coat lining, the abnormality was gone. Shrugging, she rearranged the fur to lie flat.

Danielle went to her bathroom and started the water in the tub. While testing the temperature and adjusting the nozzles, Danielle caught her reflection in the mirror. Straightening, she puffed up her hair and smoothed her dress over the bodice.

Walking to the closet to pull out her outfit for the evening, she stopped at the bed to caress the winter coat. As her fingers brushed against the silky fur, a movement in the corner of her eye shocked her. She turned to the hallway and thought she saw something black disappear to the left of the open door. Protectively, she grabbed her coat and held it against her bosom moving toward the hallway. Flipping on the light as she reached the hall, her eyes searched the long space.

A spot of wetness was directly to the left of the door. Upon bending over, one could see the traces of melting snow and a long streak of tracked water. Danielle bent over and smeared some of the wetness on her forefinger. Sniffing her finger, she thought she smelled a slight hint of fish and when she licked the finger she tasted salt. Her eyes darted to the floor again.

The floor was dry.

Her breath came out in puffs of steam as the air around her started to turn to freezing temperatures and the scent of the ocean was overwhelming.

Abruptly, she stood, backed up, and slammed the door shut. Slipping the coat on to take away the chill, she brought a hand to her temple. Danielle knew she was dealing with a lot of stress with Christmas so near and balancing the social calendar. Her mind was playing tricks on her. Maybe her son had come home after all instead of spending the night at his friends. He had tracked in the snow and her overactive imagination had started to spin a tale around all that garbage her sister was preaching about.

At the thought of her son her mouth set in a frown. She didn’t have time to deal with him now as the pageant was approaching fast. She closed the coat further around her and went to the closet. Browsing through her closet was relaxing and soothing. Look at how far she had come since living in that trailer in Clarendon. Danielle was proud of the success of Gordon and subsequently herself.

As she pulled the velvet dress from the wardrobe, her eyes caught a spectacular spectacle in the window. Danielle’s jaw dropped open as a huge ship appeared to be a few feet away from the glass. The dress fell from her hand as she went for a closer look. Mesmerized, she watched the sailors working on the ship. How could this be in her back dooryard?

Her heavy breathing soon fogged up the window which caused a winter design of thin ice on the glass. Danielle moved her hand across the window to clear the frozen fog, and the boat was gone. She searched the frozen domain and could find no trace of a huge ship docking in the yard or even footprints upon the virgin field of snow. Her fast heartbeat pounded in her head. She tightened the coat around her.

The sound of something being dragged was heard behind her and she whipped around to search. In her peripheral vision she noticed several black objects moving out of her sight. Danielle twirled in their direction but they were not there. She experienced more movement just out of her field of vision.

Ocean mixed with a strong fish scent invaded her nostrils and the temperature in the room dropped. She could hear men shouting to each other but she could not understand what they were saying.

Something wet, cold, and smooth touched the back of her leg.

Danielle gasped in surprise and looked down to see what had touched her. Nothing was there.

Was someone playing a prank on her? Was the house haunted? Could she be losing her mind? She swallowed hard as these questions swarmed her. Danielle scowled at herself for being weak. “I just am a little stressed. I will call Gordon and I will feel better,” she thought to herself.

Walking to the phone on her bed stand, Danielle heard water running. Pulsing of her heart throbbed in the base of her throat. “Ah, the bath water!” she thought to herself as relief flooded her. Walking hurriedly to the bathroom, a scream escaped her lips.

The bathtub was filled with blood.

She held her hand over her mouth and leaned her back and head against the tiled wall. Closing her eyes and counting to ten, her head thumped loudly. When she opened her eyes and glanced quickly at the tub it was filled with clear water. Danielle took a deep breath and reached for the faucets with visibly shaking hands. She secured the nozzles off and stood up. On wobbly knees, she left the bathroom using the walls for support.

Black objects darted in and out of her vision, disappearing before she could catch sight of them. The images were close to the ground and appeared to be dragging themselves rather fast.

An acrid smell of death besieged her. The winter coat she was wearing seemed to increase in weight and seemed wet. Slowly, she pulled back a cuff in the front and was disgusted to see it covered in blood.

“After the skin is robbed from the baby seals, the mothers will try to get the baby to nurse. . . ” Ginny’s voice came to her.

Danielle stifled a scream and started to remove the jacket, but the blood weighed it down and made it slippery. She fell on the hardwood floor as she struggled with the coat. The coat seemed to adhere to her body, and she was unable to remove it. The hardwood floor in her bedroom rapidly turned to snow and ice, and then it was gone – replaced by a huge body of water and an icy landscape.

Frightened, she tried to stand but found her legs unable to comply. In dismay, she noticed her arms had been replaced by white flippers. All around her seals watched her transformation. Finally realizing what the black ghosts were in her vision she sought help. With relief she saw the huge boat that she had viewed from her window. Danielle tried to call out but only a sound similar to a meow came from her lips.

She heard footsteps crunching snow and looked ahead to see a tall man approaching her. The white seal tried to move forward but was unfamiliar to its new limbs. It slipped on the ice and cried again trying to alert the man’s attention. Indeed, she did alert the hulk as he moved forward to her fast.

A large blunt item similar to an enlarged baseball bat was wielded by her soon-to-be rescuer.

“Do you realize how many baby seals were clubbed to death to make that coat?” Ginny’s voice came again inside her head.

As the man raised the instrument over his head Danielle realized her error too late. She tried to flee but felt a horrific blast to the back of her head. An intense headache overtook her and she passed out.

A severe pain like all of her nerve endings exploding with a pulling sensation awoke her briefly. “In fact, it is felt that the baby seals are alive when they are skinned. . .” was the last thing Danielle heard before darkness embraced her.



Three hundred miles away in New York City, owner of the store Lapierre noticed a beautiful white seal coat exhibited on one of the models. “I don’t remember receiving that coat,” he thought to himself as he stroked the soft fur. “A piece of work such as this deserves a front row seat,” he said aloud to no one while he thought of the clientele that may come to inquire about it. He removed the winter coat from the mannequin and scanned for the label at the neck. “One of a kind, by SEALS,” was the designer label written in a blood red scribble. He chuckled to himself quietly at the irony of the designer while he placed the coat on a doll in the front of the store.

Word Count: 2,620