As i hovered the mouse over the small avatar of a cartoon man, I considered all my options. Either I click this and risk everything or I close the webpage and hide my laptop pretending this never happened, but it did happen and it IS happening. Before I knew what I was doing I clicked it, shocked at my own movements.
“What do you need” the message popped up in the bottom right hand corner of my screen, startling me. I didn’t realise it was going to happen so quickly. “A way to help my friend. He’s not a normal person you see, he’s special and he’s in a sticky situation. He needs a person...a dead person. Someone to feed off of... he drinks blood. He’s a ... night walker.” The words felt so silky as I typed them. But I needed to help him, I loved him and love makes you do crazy things.
Nothing. No response for a long 10 or so minutes and finally the sound of the message binging brought me a sense of relief and instant anxiety. “Ok. No problem. It’ll cost you” he wrote. He or she I didn’t know. I just assumed this was a mans job. How could this person not react to what I was saying? Maybe they thought I was lying and just wanted some dead person for nothing. “It has to be fresh. I’m not asking you to kill someone just maybe come across a dead person I don’t know how this works.” I wrote back biting at the last on my nails.
The conversation lasted 10 exchanges between me and this person and ended with us deciding the local library as the meeting place for payment. I had to tell jake right away I was so eager for him to see how normal I could be about all this. Instead of ringing or texting him I just got in my car and drove to his house, running up to the door and banging on it relentlessly. The whole journey from door door was usually a 15/20 minute one but I made it in 10.
He opened it, confused but happy to see me. I could barely control myself. “Guess what I’ve done” I said, like a child telling their parents they’ve cleaned their room. “I’ve gotten you dinner” I thought it would be funny. Apparently not. “What?” He demanded. I didn’t sense the anger behind his words. Explaining everything to him I was beginning to realise what was happening. He was not happy ... and I was in mote trouble than I even realised.
Alice didn’t know where she was going she just knew she was going somewhere. Her brother and father pleaded her not to go but she knew the only chance she would have at happiness would be out of this awful place where no one moved on and no one knew who they were. Shoving as much as she could into her small bag she was growing angrier and angrier at the two blobbing people standing before her, screaming at her. How could they do this? How could they act like this after all they had done to her? To THEM. “Do you really think I would stay here with you two? Do you think after everything you’ve done I would even consider staying here? No. Leave me alone and let me sort my things.” She barked at them.
Two weeks ago. She thought. Two weeks ago, everything was wonderful, her and William were set to be married and she couldn’t be more excited. Although they had a rough start, they were made for eachother and she couldn’t be happier with the person she ended up with. Two weeks ago in two weeks it would be her wedding day. But how can she get married now without a groom? Without her beloved William.
“We are so very sorry my love we did not know he would react in such a way to cancel you’re wedding!” Her father longed for some kind of reassurance from her. “WHAT” she screamed. “You told him I had Taken another lover! You told him that I no longer loved him! Which is NOT true. Not even slightly so!” “I know my love I’m so very sorry I don’t know what came over me. I was so afraid of losing my little girl and when your brother came to me and asked how I felt about the wedding... well it all just spiralled from there and now here I am, losing you”. The sadness in his eyes was so genuine but her fury wouldn’t let them get to her.
“I’m going. I don’t know where. But I’m going” she demanded.
It was at this point she began to grow concerned about where she would actually go and how she would make money for herself to live. Something to worry about on the train, she thought. Nothing was stopping her now, she never even liked it there she only stayed because after her mother died her brother and father were so lost and so broken that she wouldn’t have the heart to hurt them. But since they hurt her, she didn’t care.
“Goodbye” she stared them in the eyes, letting them know she was serious and ran out the door and toward the train station.
Finally. She thought.
How one thing could be so calm but so angry Rippling softly at all times Except When it crashes agains the shore and causes an explosion How can it be so calm and so angry? How?
Everyday it helps us, helps us survive But what happens when it helps nature select? Are we at the hands of this element? Do we control it or does it control us?
Questions go unanswered, inferred, but unanswered, Tell me, can the very thing you need to keep you alive also kill you in an instant? We need you. I need you. But I fear you.
Water. Sea. Waves.
The sea is so peaceful, so calming and so comforting But so angry, so vicious and so vengeful When it approached the shore when it crashes agains the sand when it attacks Me.
The water you drink aids your living but the water you drink aids your dying. Drowning.
Tell me, how can this one element be so normal in the world but so powerful? Is water the enemy? No.
The harsh explosion of the firearms hitting the air, the frightening glow of the fire in the distance and the sound of the men running in unison are just a few things I remember from that day.
It was a Sunday morning and it started off like every Sunday, I would wake up slightly later than the rest of the week and lay in bed pondering the last day of the weekend while I mindlessly scroll through various social media sites not actually caring what I see. Then it happened. Then I heard the bloodcurdling screech of my sister in the next room.
Before I could even think about it I jolted up and ran into her, I saw her standing against the window, she looked so small and helpless in comparison to the huge frame of the window that looked odd on her only average messy bedroom. She was still screaming. Look! She screamed. Look! And pointed. I ran over to the window and I saw something that I’ve only read about and seen on tv. I saw a war zone.
Men everywhere. They were all dressed the same in a greyish green uniform and thick black boots that sounded like thunder with every step, they were wearing hats that looked like they were taken right out of World War Two and they were holding long thin guns. What was happening?
Before I knew it my dad had been standing beside us almost as if nothing was happening. I knew this would happen. He said, non-chalauntley. Knew what would happen? I could barely get the words out. He didn’t answer he just looked at us and said a million and one things with his eyes. I love you both more than I love myself, that’s why I’m going out there. Go down to the basement and stay until you hear NOTHING and I mean nothing. If I come back I’ll sort everything out from there. I love you. He repeated. Dad ... I stumbled but he was gone and I was so confused but all I could do was obey his seemingly last words.
We ran down the two flights of stairs to the basement that my dad used as a lounging area so I couldn’t see how this was going to protect us in any way. We never spoke, my sister and I. We never said a word to each other we just silently wept in confusion and fright. I made sure the door was locked and looked around a room a barely stepped foot in because it was always so cold and uncomfortable. That’s when the door caught my eye, have I never seen that before? I cautiously walked over and tried to open it. Of course it was locked. Looking around for a key resulted in me seeing my sister hurry over with said key, still saying nothing. Where did you find that? She didn’t answer
