Kiss of Darkness (Editing)

Kiss (final)

Well, this has dragged on a bit too long. It's about time to end it. I might go back and lengthen the other chapters. I made the bones, but now I guess it's time to fill them out....Well, hope you like the ending of Kiss of Darkness! There will most likely be an epilogue but until then, read on! 

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I slowly turn around; my hands are on my head.

I can't believe what I see, but there she is. Sunflower. But not the one I knew. This sunflower was different.

She had short black hair, barely a bob. Her hands and face are smeared with what looks like blood.

"Sun...flower?" I can barely choke out her name

She just gives me a blank stare. For the first time, I notice her eyes, they're as big as ever, but all hints of innocence are gone from them.

This wasn't the same sunflower from before, not the one who only killed with painless poison, no. She was a murderer. What’re you doing here? I was so worried about you! Rose was so worried about you!" Despite the fear she sent down my spine, I stepped forward towards her. She raised the knife in her hand to my throat. In barely a whisper she hissed the words, "One more step and you can join those guards." I was shocked. I stumbled backwards, almost slipping on the files I had dropped earlier.

"I always knew I was his favorite." Sunflower walked slowly towards me as I backed away.

She brandished her knife, stroking it like it was her new pet. "He wouldn't say it, but I knew."

"Sunfl-" she silenced me with a glare. "Everything I did, I did for him.

“C’mon Sun, you can't be serious."

"Oh but I am Chryssy. Oh so naive Chryssy." It was weird, weird and scary to hear these things coming from a girl who was almost 5 years younger than me. "Jag is always warmest to his prey. He's sweet and kind and gentle."

"What are you talking about?!" I screamed at her, hoping someone else would come up and see us, see me. She ignored my question and continued walking towards me. I was backing up slowly, looking over my shoulders every few paces to make sure I didn't trip over a body.

I wanted to throw up, the blood, the bodies, Sunflower, it was all too much. My head was spinning; I didn't know what was going on anymore.

“Chrysanthemums are ugly flowers. Sunflowers though, they always look to the sun, they always bloom facing the light." Something in her voice chilled me to the bone. She ran her fingers up and down the blade. I thought she was wiping blood off of it, but she wasn't...blood kept dripping to the floor, even when the blade was spotless. She was cutting her own hands, oblivious to the pain.

“You see, Jag chose me." "He wanted me to do what you and that other lady couldn’t”

“Rose loved you Sun!" I yelled at her, desperate. She let out a choked, strained laugh.

"The only love I need is from Jag. He's my sun." I ran into the wall behind me, I was trapped. Cornered. Sunflower kept advancing. She had stopped talking, she was only muttering to herself under her breath now. Suddenly, the world began to shake, paintings fell off the walls and the lights shook. A deep rumble seemed to come from the building itself. Sunflower stumbled, dropping the knife. Out of instinct, I dove towards it, ignoring the blood that covered the floor. As soon as the blade was in my hands, a second wave of rumbling shook the building. It was closer this time. Sunflower was on the floor, collapsed in a small heap. She looked vulnerable, innocent, like the Sunflower I'd first met. I made my way to her, one hand trailing on the wall, just in case another quake decided to hit. BOOM. It wasn't a quake this time. The whole building was tilting. Everything started to slide in one direction. The metal groaned as the building started to lean to its left. I fell forward, slamming into a wall. I dropped the knife, and went once again toward Sunflower. She was unconscious, and her limp body was in a pile with those of the guards. I grabbed her by the wrist and heaved.

She slowly eased out and before another round of shaking could hit, she was in my arms.

Suddenly, a blaring alarm started to go off, and the sprinklers were activated.

Lights were flashing everywhere, adding to the confusion. The building was groaning again as it threatened to break. I looked for stairs, but the door was blocked by the piles of tables, chairs, and mutilated bodies of Sunflower's victims. Oh god. We were going to die here. Another boom shook the ground again, this time I felt the impact. The explosives couldn't have been far. There was a dangerous creaking, one I recognized as the creaking of burning wood. Fire. There was fire. No no no no no I couldn’t die like this! I ran to a window and peered out for a second, three floors. That wasn’t too bad. Right? No. Too dangerous. It was funny, the sky was so calm, the sun so bright, even the clouds seemed fluffy and perfect. But here, just one wall away from outside, there was utter chaos. I couldn't hear myself think, water was everywhere, furniture was overturned, blood was smeared all over the halls, and the limp girl in my arms seemed to get heavier and heavier. I closed my eyes for just one second, trying to clear my mind, figure out my next move. That's when everything went haywire.

One more boom. That's all it took. It felt like a gust of wind, scathing, blistering, wind. It was like my skin as being ripped off, the heat was unbearable, I felt myself being lifted into the air, and my back made contact with what I assumed to be the window. Then we were out of the building, we dangled into eh air, then everything went black There was no subtle fade-out, just black. I need to describe the pain more, but later, the next thing I remember, is waking up. In a white room, white walls, white sheets. Clean and pure. I couldn't move hell it hurt to breathe. Every breath caused a sharp pain in my chest.

Things faded in and out, white and then black. Black was better, it was softer, nicer than the white. White was too bright, too blinding. It hurt too much, the light. Darkness was so much kinder; I could hide from the pain there. Then one day, someone was there, amidst the white. He had soft blonde hair and blue eyes, they were almost white. "I'm glad you're awake." Are you feeling ok? He looked like an angel.

Surrounded by sunlight. “I’m Doctor Runner. You've been through a lot." His words were garbled, but somehow, I could make out what he was saying. But as he started listing off my injuries, i began to fade back into the dark I picked up a few words, glass, stitches, burn...” But they didn't mean much to me.

But gradually, the pain went away, so did the darkness, I could hear better, see better. Words weren't as garbled. Sometimes I could eat food. It was weird, almost like I was a little kid again; people took care of me the whole time, no worries in the world. But I knew there was something I had to do.

I couldn't be babied forever. When the time finally came for me to go, no one expected me to know what to do after so long. But I knew. Sitting on the nightstand next to me was a half-melted necklace. A small clover, a clear liquid sloshed around inside. I had one last job. It took days of watching, listening, looking for signs. But one day, after several weeks, I found what I was looking for. He sat in a small cafe, sipping from a small delicate teacup. Those dark eyes. I would never forget them. I sat at the table, across from him. I doubt he knew who I was, the burns were too severe. But he would know. A small clatter, the clover fell empty onto the table, glinting in the evening light. Then there was a crescendo, his instant moment of clarity. One moment too late. It was a kiss. One final kiss. A kiss goodbye, a kiss hello, a kiss of tears, a kiss of pain. It was...a kiss of darkness.