It was a cold and windy night as I breezed past shops and building on my bycicle. Usually the darker streets of Roseateval were more troubling than this with gangs and low-level thugs roaming around, but it seems tonight everyone was peaceful. I darted past pedestrians, some of them grumbling harsh words at me but other than that it was good. I was probably the only real disturbance tonight.
I kept my breathing steady as I raced around on my bike. I was happy to be going home. I had just worked a 18 hour shift and I couldn’t wait to sleep for even longer. I couldn’t wait to go and see my sleeping wife and son too. Unfortunately, to get back I had to get through a whole workout of peddling. To counter the challenge, I decided to take a shortcut through an alleyway. Most of the time I don’t do this because I’m scared to run over anything sharp and ruin my wheels, but I thought it was worth the risk. You only live once anyways, may as well make your life easier.
I turned the handlebar and made my way down the dimly lit alley. The shuffling of my tire slide over my worse fear, glass and nails. ‘_There was probably a fight around here. Damn drunks’ _I mumbled to myself in irritation.
I maneuver my bike slowly around the broken shards, my feet pushing my bike against the ground instead of the peddles. As I steady my pace I notice someone up ahead. It was a skinny looking boy who couldn’t be any older than 12. His appearance in the shallow light was frightening. His hair was jet black, hiding his face which also looked to be partially covered by a bandage. He turned his head, and gave me a look that made me want to scream. His gaze was unnerving and his eyes were shot wide, as if he was just as surprised as me.
The young boy looked like a Skeleton, a living nightmare.
His presence had momentarily distracted me from my surroundings. From the body that lay one the ground next to his feet. The corpse had a slash wound on the neck that caught my attention.
The boy was holding a knife.__ __ “Hey Zion, remember no witnesses!!” A voice sang out from a chirpy sounding girl. I looked over and noticed that two silhouettes were hiding behind a bin. Her words rang loudly in my head.
I had already turned and raced away, no longer worrying about the nails that could harm my bike. I had raced out the ally, hoping to call for help, but there was no one. Even if there was, they wouldn’t save me anyways.
I peddled harder than I had ever done before and was afraid that the chain might come loose. I glanced back, the boy, who responded to the name Zion, was running right after me.
“No witnesses” __ Was he really not going to let me go? I promise I won’t tell anyone. I’ll forget about it. I’ll go home and act like everything is okay. I just wanted to see my family. I just wanted to go home. For as long as I live I won’t tell anyone. I promise.
Zion was intent on keeping that promise. He pursued me, and as soon as I thought I had lost him, he found me right again. He isn’t giving up. Why won’t he give up?
I was getting tired. I had just worked for so long, I wanted the easy way to get home. ‘I want to go home’ I kept repeating to myself. My whole body was trembling with that want. I needed to get away! My boy was just about to graduate Highschool. My wife and I told him we would take him out to his favourite restaurant in celebration.
From the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of pink hair run into the side of my bicycle. It was the girl who called out before. I fell in almost slow motion, my head was going to hit the concrete. The last thing I saw before I fell unconscious was a person watching this unfold close by.
_“Hey Zion, remember no witnesses!!” _
Many years ago, before any of us were even born, there had been a house in the outskirts of this city that lived a girl. This girl was said to be the devil itself, the angel ready to kill at a moments notice. There had been many stories of her existence, but I just think it’s a myth that she ever even walked this planet. She was just another tale that folks tell their children at night.
The self proclaimed angel’s name was Scarlett. She used to live in Roseateval, and according to history, she even studied in the exact Highschool i go to. Back than, Roseateval had been a big and bustling city. It was infamous for housing the worlds largest criminal population. Nowadays it’s just a rundown town. But my father told me that was because of Scarlett’s doing again.
Where life and death meet, Scarlett had been in the middle of it all. I remember my father telling me about a horrible day, a day where many people got hurt. People that Scarlett hurt. I heard that she had made a deal with the devil and became a god, that her plan was to destroy earth and everyone in it. A lot of people died that day. But my mom said their souls were in good hands because of our god, Cupid. She told me that Cupid had saved us all from Scarlett, and that’s why we worship her.
It was a cloudy day and I was a bit damp from the light rain that hit my body. The trees that ran far down the road in front of me was scary. I was afraid I might get lost down here, but I’m sure I’ll be fine if I stay near the street.
These were the trees that Scarlett would have walked past everyday, these were the trees that know of her evil. These were the trees that would have seen her exist. But I still don’t think she was a real girl.
It felt like that in between the shadows of the woods were voices calling out to me, eyes that had been watching my every move, pleading that I walked away. I don’t know why I didn’t. But how could I believe in Cupid if I don’t even believe in a girl that she saved us from? I wanted to see this house that she sheltered in.
I got to the point where Scarlett would have lived. There was a small path from the road that lead to her supposed house. As I walked down the dirt trail, my legs began to walk quicker than before. I could hear the stomps of many feet running around me. The wind was replaying sounds from the past for me. I could pick up the echo of children screaming and running around, brushing their legs against bushes and climbing up trees. There was subtle conversations but the whispers were too far away to hear.
_“Tag you’re out” _the breeze of a brittle boys voice whooshed past my ear. The trashing of running children had gotten louder and I could feel that I too was running with them. Why were they running, why was I running? I think I was loosing my mind.
The voices of screams and yelling had only gotten worse as I ran faster. My legs were sore and my heart felt like it was going to stop at any moment. I ran and ran and ran and ran to only find that I haven’t even gone that far, that in the midst of all the chaos that I could still hear the occasional cars that drove past the line of trees. I turned my head up from the dirt path and all of a sudden the screeching had gone quiet.
There infront of me was a house. A house where the devil lived and breathed. I was scared of something that didn’t exist. I think didn’t exist at least..
This house had lots of vandalism around it and looked to be torn and broken down. The windows were boarded up and the roof was a bit caved in. I walked closer, and than I walked up the stairs to the door. It was a regular looking house if you ignore the ruin to it. I pushed the door open and was surprised that it let me entre so easily.
It was really dusty and the inside was also vandalized and things were destroyed. There were tons of beer bottles and sketchy things left behind. Maybe some teenagers had snuck in here too like me.
I could tell that there had been pictures on the walls but it looks as if they had been removed. I knocked something with my boot and found that it was a broken picture frame that was left behind. I bent down and let my hands dust it off.
From what I had heard about her before, the girl in the picture looked like what they said Scarlett looked like. She had pink hair and yellow eyes. But other than that she didn’t look like any devil, she just looked like a girl. I wonder why no one had taken this photo with them.
I run my fingers more across the broken glass of the frame, careful not to cut myself. My eyes widen in surprise as I stare down at the old photo. With the devil was another two boys and a girl.
I recognized one of the boys. He was a tall and lanky person. He looked like a walking corpse, breathing only for Scarlett’s sake. He was pale and sickly. It was Zion, Scarlett’s dog they called him, even if he was a person.
I didn’t know who the other two were, but I felt to invasive to take the picture with me. Maybe that’s why the photo was left there to rot in this house. No one wants to take Scarlett’s friends away from her…
I guess Scarlett did exist. But did her so called evil exist? I’m not sure. I want to believe in my parents, to believe in Cupid, but how could such a smily-looking kid have done so much malice?
I looked down the hall. There were so many other rooms that I could search. I decided to just leave instead. I gotten what I wanted, to see if she was real. That’s all I needed to know. I didn’t want to intrude on Scarlett’s property anymore.
Scarlett, the angel which will come back to kill us all, I hope you might spare me. I’m sorry for inviting myself into your home. I’ll go back to my own now.
I’ll get out of here. Someday I will. Someday someone will hear my screaming and cries.
I look out the window, but I fail to see the outside world. The lights hurt my vision. The only light I was used to was the TVs artificial glow. It blinks black and white. When I first came here I tried to fix it, but when I lost my sense of time, I lost my sense of determination.
I simply gave up.
I sat in the room, alone.
Sometimes, I screamed so loud I feel like I could make myself go deaf. Sometimes, I cried so loud I realize I’m not actually crying at all.
Sometimes it’s just silence. My own breathing couldn’t fill the terrible pain of solitude.
Days go by, weeks even. Maybe I was dead. Some days I couldn’t even bring myself off the floor.
One day I couldn’t get up anymore. It was like the weight of the air was stronger than me. I couldn’t move.
Fear set in. I had no strength anymore. My vision started to fade and fracture. All I could see was the TV light. Black and white. My eyes stayed still with my whole body. I could feel my soul tremble and whine.
I figured I was actually dead. I didn’t ascend like they say. If there was a heaven, they couldn’t find me here. I wonder if all I will see for the rest of eternity was the flash of the TV.
Someday, maybe, I will be free.
She stood with her hands up
While the gun kissed her forehead
The holder whispered anger
She stares at him
Like a cat stares at a mouse
The mouse can try and outrun the cat
But the cat is trapped if the mouse is pulling the trigger
Karma baring his teeth
Karma showing his claws
You reap what you sow
That was the only lesson she ever needed to learn.
Opening my eyes One deep breath It was almost as if I was a fly on a lamp The lights were blinding Soon I wake to the smell of artificial fragrances The smell was familiar The smell of life and death itself The scent was bittersweet A bright white room Laid down on a bed where others were cured of illness or where they met their end I awake on my hospital bed Maybe even on my death bed
